Day Ten: Home At Last!!!

Today was our final travel day, which was sad.  I woke up with a fever and a sore throat, accompanied by a headache.  Fun.  So I just took Tylenol and then I was peachy.  Our flights were waaay too long, but it was all worth it.  Wake up call was at three this morning, which majorly sucked.  We flew from Cairns to Sydney to L.A. to Chicago, plus a fifteen hour time difference.  All of this put together makes thirty four hours that I was awake until I crash tonight at ten.  How exhausting.  Coming home feels sooo good because I don't have to pay for food, I don't have to wait for a teacher to check my room, I don't have to put up with roommates, even though mine were fantastic, and I can shower whenever I want!!!!!!!  Also, I can do laundry whenever and I have access to a dryer!!! For free!!!  Being home is so nice, as much as I will miss Australia and New Zealand.  I love my house and my room and having a fully stocked fridge and no annoying wake up calls.  And I didn't pass out on the flight home!!!  WHOOOO!!!!!!!

I hope to return to Australia and New Zealand very soon, because they're so amazing and they stole my heart.  I still can't believe I've been there; it hasn't sunk in yet.

Day Eight: Great Barrier Reef!!!!!!!

Today, we went to the Great Barrier Reef, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World; I can clearly see why it's on that list. The GBR is the most unique and most beautiful thing I have ever seen!  We went out in a huge cadamaran and it docked at a permanent pontoon where all the snorkel equipment was.  We went snorkeling as soon as we could, in our uber sexy masks, flippers, and life vests.  We ditched the life vests pretty soon.  The coral was amaxing.  A lot of it was gray, which was sad, but it was all different colors in other places.  And the fish!  Oh, the fish.  They were so cool.  It was Finding Nemo all over again, minus the sharks and jellies.  I'm not kidding, I saw Dory and Nemo and some anemone.  Lexa, Reilly, and I all saw an eel, which was pretty awesome because on one else saw it.  The water was really cold at first, but once we got used to it, it was absolutely amazing and we didn't want to leave.  Kelsy showed Lexa and I a place where the coral was really bright, so we swam around there for a while, and then we brought Amanda and Alex there.  As we cruised aweay from the Reef, I decided that I was going to visit the Reef again, after I saw all of the other Wonders of the World.
The wildlife int he GBR was so incredible becuase it was nothing I had ever seen before.  Aquariums don't do the ocean any justice; it's just so much better when there's no glass or noises, just your breathing through the snorkel.  There were some enormous clams down there.  I didn't realize what they were at first because they were purple on the inside.  And then I saw one close.  I'm not going to lie, it was pretty scary.  Apparently, Mr. Schagrin and Mr. Ewen saw a five foot reef shark and they were chasing it, and, according to Schags, that was when he lost his wedding ring.  I'm pretty jealous of the whole shark thing, but at the same time, they didn't see an awesome eel slithering along the ocean floor.  The GBR amazed me because it is not man made at all, so the fact that it's all natural is incredible.  I've never been much one for nature, but the GBR turned something on inside me that ust makes me want to go explore the whole world and to see all the different ecosystems that can create a little world in which everything can coexist.

Day Six: Sydney Bridge!!!!!!

Today, we split up so some people hiked the Blue Mountains while some of us went whale watching and climbing the Sydney Bridge.  Well, whale watching was cancelled due to poor weather, which sucked, but we were still climbing the bridge.  So in the morning, we went to Paddy's Market, which I did not like, probably due to the fact that I was dizzy the whole time...thanks to the Dramamine I took.  But the Bridge was incredibly cool...we were able to see for sixty miles!!!!!!!  It was unbelievably beautiful.  It was basically a bird's eye view of the entire city.  And then we went back to Alice's for more thai! :)

Over the last week or so, I have thought about how well I would do if I were to travel alone, and I have come to the consensus that I would be a pro in the airport, but getting out into the city or wherever I'm headed might be a little tough for me.  I know airports really well; I've been in way too many to count, but I do know that I've been in at least seventeen.  So airports are kind of my thing.  Getting into the city would be gough, but I could do it.  As long as I book a hotel in advance, I'll be okay for that.  From there on out, I would probably be just fine, as long as I book my outings and plan in advance because if I have a somewhat structured plan, I can leave room for the best part of travel: adventure.  Although I'm not good with navigating at all (I suck at reading maps), I think that I could find my way around, even if it meant getting lost a few times.  I would need some help, probably, just with booking and finding good hotels for cheap rates and looking for flights.

As for the whole adventure part, I would be pretty good because I like to go and explore and (sometimes) get lost because that's fun.  Getting lost is often the best way to find your way around a place.  My biggest challenge while traveling would be a lack of company.  I'm a very talkative perosn, so not having someone by my side to talk to would be really really hard for me.  I suppose I would get used to it, but I feel safer in a group.  Overall, I don't think I could go traveling on my own mainly vecause I'm sixteen years old and even though traveling is second nature by now, it just isn't an easy thing to do, so until I get into college, traveling without people older than me is probalbly a no.

Day Five: Challenges

Today, we went on a harbour cruise around the Sydney Harbour, which was SO cool because we got to see everything from a different angle than a lot of people do.  My group of friends and I mainly stayed on the top deck so we could have an unobstructed view of everything.  We also explored the city and we got to go inside the Opera House...how cool is that?!  It's pretty cool, but we didn't get to see the concert hall, which is ok...I guess I'll just have to go to a performance there some day.  We also went to the Sydney World Wildlife Center, where we saw koalas!!!!!!!!!!!

Left to right: Me, Lexa, Reilly.  It was pouring.

So far on this amazing, fantastic, crazy, unpredictable trip, the toughes thing has definitely been the lack of a dryer because it is the rainy season.  It has rained nearly everyday this trip, so having dry shoes and pants for the next day has been a little trying on me since that is a luxury at home that I am so used to having.  I am wondering if, at home, I will have to get used to having a dryer again.If I do, I know it won't take long.  Another challenge I have faced is just going with it and not worrying too much.  I have found that as the trip has gone on, I have become more adventurous and much more laid back.  I don't really care if my hair is a little mess up or windblown, which at home, I would probably freak out... My easiest thing to get used to so far is probably bing in such a fun group.  I love traveling with such a great group and surprisingly, dealing with our ups and downs has been one of the best parts of being in a group.  It is also really cool to me to see the different group dynamics as we travel.  For instance, at the Thai restaruant last night, we were a really talkative group, but there have been other groups that barely talk at all like that.
One of my biggest shocks has been how well I'm dealing with all of the fatigue.  I get so soaked up in what we're doing that I forget how tired I am, and I think that's how I know I'm a traveler, not a tourist.  When I signed up for this trip, I knoew I wasn't coming to Australia and New Zealand to relax, I was coming here to become immersed in simething and somewhere new and to forget about Facebook, email, texting, and TV for 11 days.I could honestly live like this forever. I'm having the time of my life.

Day Four: Sydney!

Today, we flew out of Auckland and into Sydney, Australia!!!  We also walked around and saw the city and explored a little bit, which was really cool because I'm a total city girl.  My camera died, so I'll put up pics from tomorrow or another day.  But when we were walking around Sydney, it got me thinking of Chicago...


Although this is from the harbor cruise on a different day, we saw the Opera House today.




Today, when we left Auckland, I promised myself that I would not allow that to be the only time I traveled to New Zealand; it stole another piece of my heart. <3
However, when we flew over Sydney and I saw the bridge and the Opera House, I knew that I would be returning to Australia as well.  When we were walking around Sydney, it was really odd because I felt like it was a mini city, since it wasn't like the cities in the States, like Chicago.  For one thing, it is shorter, as in the height of the skyscrapers.  I like it because it makes the city more personal and less corporate.  However, I love Chicago as well because it's so iconic and it will always be my home, no matter what.  It reminds me more of London; a smaller city that has tons of culture and tourist attractions, but is also really easy to love and hard to leave.  The fact that the skyscrapers are shorter strikes me as weird just because I am so used to the my beloved Chicago skyline back home, and I couldn't imagine not seeing it from the Metra on the way into Union Station.  My favorite parts of Sydney are cliche, but I don't care.  The Opera House and the Sydney Bridge are really incredible.  The Opera House is way bigger than I ever imagined, and so is the Bride.  I would guess that the Bridge is around the sized of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sand Francisco.  To me, the Opera House is beautiful because of the movement the architecture portrays and how it reflects the movement in the Harbour.  The Rocks Market tonight was really cool; it was really like an art show.  I loved it as well.  Talking to the locals was really fun because they were so different yet so similar.  The people here are sooo fantastic and really are super friendly. 

After that, we had the choice to order pizza in the hotel or go out for dinner, so I decided to go out.  We ended up going to a fantascic place called Alice's Thai Restaurant.  We all tried new food and had a really deep conversation about our trip and traveling in general. (I order chicken pad thai.  It was delicious.)  The group was: Lexa, Megan C., Steven, me, Reilly, Alvaro, and Schags.  I know that when I look back on this trip, I will remember tonight for sure, and that is really important to me bacause I know I have grown from just being in that conversation tonight.  Overall, I love Sydney and I don't want to leave.

Day Three: Hiking and Rangitoto

So today, we went hiking in a Redwood forest here in Rotorua-in the pouring rain.  But it was all cool because we sang Disney songs (and Queen) the whole time and we didn't care what the South Korean tour group thought.  Until they smiled and clapped.  Then we thought we were pretty cool.  Well, after that, naturally, we had to change, so we all returned to the hotel to do so.  Then we bid Rotorua good-bye and we headed to Auckland to visit Rangitoto College.  That was easily the coolest thing ever-a barbecue and another Haka.  Except this Haka was like thirty times better than the pros because because these dancers were high school students.  But more on that later.  

As you may recall, it was raining.

We're just a bunch of tree huggers.  And singers.  What pros.

 This morning, we went for a hike in the Redwood forest, which reminded me of the Redwoods in San Francisco.  Except it wasn't raining when I went to San Fran.  Rain and all, I had a great time; it was quite the adventure.  We traipsed through the trails singing Disney songs, even in front of the South Korean tour group.  Fletch, Lexa, Reilly, Katie, Shelby, Amanda, Madi, and I all sang A Whole New World (Aladdin), The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Lion King), I'll Make a Man Out of You (Mulan), and a ton of others.  We got lots of smiles. :)
This evening, we went and visited our Kiwi buddies at Rangitoto College in Auckland.  It was really cool to meet all of them and to see how different their school was from ours.  For one thing, it's way bigger, with over twice as many students as at North.  They have about 3500, where we have about 1500.  The Rangitoto students seemed a lot like us with all their extracurriculars and sports. However, they are fiercely proud of their Maori culture and background, so they performed an amazing Haka for us, way better than the pros we saw at the Hangi.  The students seemed way more enthusiastic and you could tell they they loved what they were doing one hundred percent,  whereas the pros seemed pretty indifferent as to what they were doing in comparison.  Then they taught us the Haka, which was SO fun, but really hard; I still don't know the words!  The Maori guys looked really scary while they were doing the Haka, and they got all up in each other's faces, which was something the pro Haka group didn't do.  When we were at the Hangi, I didn't understand why anyone would be afraid of someone doing the Hake, but when the high school boys performed it, I totally understood.  Overall, the two Haka groups were really different.

Me and BETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome Haka!!  You guys are pros!

Day Two: Cultural Differences

Today, we woke up rather early and got the extreme opportunity to see a spectacular sunrise over the lake outside our hotel.  It was so incredible that my camera didn't do it justice, so I didn't take any pictures. :(  But it's all in my head, so it's ok, at least for me.  But really, it was fantastic.  And then we heard an awful rumbling noise and a hideous amphibious vehicle rolled up.  It was an army duck.  Pretty soon, another followed.  My group and I went on the second one with the guide, Grant.  Later, we went to Whakarewarewa (Whaka), which is an extremely awesome geothermal village.  After that, we went to the Agrodome for a sheep show, which was unique, to say the least.  Finally, we went in the Ogo balls, which was soooo fun.  I really can't explain an Ogo ball.  You'll have to look at the picture.  They do put some warm water in them, though.  They're really fun.  I highly recommend them. :)

Lexa is on the left, and I'm on the right- falling :)

Ogo roll down a hill...

Pre-Fishpipe!!  Me on the left, Lexa on the right

This morning, we went on a Duck tour of two lakes in Rotorua, including Lake Rotorua. (Rotorua actually means "second lake".)  A Duck is amphibious vehicle from WWII.

This is a Duck. :)

After the Duck tour, we were dropped off at Whakarewarewa. Whaka is a geothermal village where a community of Maori families live and tourists come to visit.  I loved Whaka because it's so different from what you would see in America.  The people there bathe daily in the water from the hot pools.  They also have these little wooden boxes where they cook their food with the geothermal.  The houses have no heating or ovens.  The people gather in big houses to celebrate and to talk and socialize.  They also have churches that aren't what you would expect; one is Anglican and the other is Catholic!  One question that I forgot to ask was how the two religions coexist because both Catholicism and Anglican are monotheist and the traditional Maori religion is polytheist. 
In the afternoon, we went to the Agrodome for a sheep show, which was smelly but really funny!  They had a bazillion different types of sheep.  The sheep shearer was really funny, but sheep shearing looked like hard work, so I'm glad that's not my job...

At the Agrodome!

After the Agrodome, we went in the Ogo Balls, which was a total blast!!!  I didn't want to spend a ton of money, so Lexa and I went in the Fishpipe, which doesn't roll down a hill.  I can honestly say that I have never done anything like it in my life.  Words can't describe how incredible the Ogo was.  The guy who incented it was there too, and he was a pretty cool guy.  After the Ogo ball, we all went back to the hotel for the Hangi, which was delicious, especially the chicken. There was a traditional Maori group there that did an hour long performance, including the Haka, which I love.  Then the girls went on stage to learn how to use the poi balls, which is waaay harder than it looks because the poi are so light.  But it was fun. :)    After that, the guys learned the Haka, which was great to see.  Overall, I loved the entire experience.

The Haka!!!!!! :P