Cairns!!

Well I've already started to fail at keeping this blog. But here goes nothing!!

Cairns was an amazing experience and it went by so quickly!! A quick recap: I stayed in a room with three girls. The room was basically koala mania including a giant stuffed koala. The first day many of us got our australian cell phones - always exciting! The day we arrived was Australia Day, so when we went out for dinner at the Blue Sky Brewery, we were quickly immersed into the culture. My first Australian beer was a Cairns Gold. Woohoo! The night ended at Gilligan's while we danced in the rain. And of course, it ended quite early because 11 pm in Cairns was about 7 am in Chicago.
The following day we went to a place called rainforestation where we got to feed kangaroos, and hold a koala for a picture. Also, we were taught out to throw a boomerang by the aboriginal people, who also did a dance show for us and showed up how to play the didgeridoo. There was also an Army Duck tour that took us through the rain forest, where the guide pointed out different trees, plants, and animals. One of my favorites was a tree that the Aboriginies used to grind up and get high off of. Apparently that no longer works. That afternoon our AustraLearn leaders taught us how to play cricket. It was fun but tough trying to play a sport when you aren't very good at it. At least I can understand the rules now!
Thursday was our "free day." I went on a jungle tour with Mike and six other people from our group. Our tour guide was Scotty, and he was quite a witty Australian. We went to the rain forest habitat to see more animals - my favorite is the kookaburra! They make this hysterical cackling noise - maybe I like it because it sounds like me when I'm hyper. After that we went to a rainforest to walk around, ironically, in the rain. it was beautiful though. At one point we stopped at a lookout and Scotty pointed out the area where Steve Irwin died. We went on a boat tour looking for crocs, but unfortunately (??) didn't find any. We found a frog instead. I wasn't too sad - the boat was so peaceful that I definitely could have napped. We ended the day at Cape Tribulation where we spent an hour on the beach. It was a beautiful sight. Something that wasn't beautiful were the toilets there. Bathroom is called "toilets" in Aussie, btw. Anyway, as I was about to go in Scotty said "spiders like to hang out in toilets. oh and you think i'm kidding!" and he walked away. Quickest bathroom stop EVER!
Friday we did some volunteering at the Community Nursey where we helped plant trees to save the endangered cassowary bird. Learned about worms and how to make soil (by using koala poo). This is where I tried the green ant - if you lick its butt it tastes like sour apple.. it was pretty crazy!! Went shopping and got TimTam gelato that night. TimTams are this crazy Australian chocolate covered biscuit that I'm pretty much addicted to. and if I come back fat they are the reason.
Saturday we went to the Great Barrier Reef. What an experience!! It was crazy rain and waves for the two hour boat ride out there. We went snorkeling to the reef - at first I didn't think my claustrophobic self could do it - but I made it out there with a member from the crew. Saw big clams, coral, and fish. Made a jellyfish friend - luckily I had the wet suit on because the tentacle was wrapped around my arm! That night we went on a pub crawl - great last night!

On Sunday we journeyed to Manly by a three hour plane ride. I will talk more about O week in a later post. This one is way too long already!!