it rains everywhere...

another monday morning here i am reflecting back on the past week..all i really can think of is that it rained. rainforests really do mean rain i guess. there was one nice day last wednesday which was ANZAC day (similar to our memorial day) so we had the day off school. one of my friends/roommates here has found an austrailian navy man so we got up at 6 am to go to the ceremony and see all the festivities. it was really cool to see all the different branches of the service and the ceremony was interesting as well. especially when they sang thier national anthem and i tried singing ours...the rest of the day was dedicated to service men and them letting loose and having the day off -- aka drinking. let me tell you sailors know how to drink! it was so funny seeing everyone in the day in their uniforms but they all made sure to take thier name tags off in case a boss or someone saw them. it was a fun day overall. nothing more exciting happened this week unfortunetly. i have about 6 or so weeks left i think (im not trying to keep count!) so i am trying to get all my bucket list things off before i leave. i booked my ticket to Fiji so i am for sure going there at the end which im assuming will be an awesome way of ending the trip! ill put some pics up of ANZAC day and other randoms. sorry i dont have anything else to add ive just been doing homework and papers :( sad part....

Spring Break!

we meet again! this time i have some new news that doesnt deal with stuff here in cairns. this past week was americans spring break and australias fall break (as its the fall here) but either way we had the past week off from class and got to do a little traveling. my group of mates here and i went down to the gold coast which is on the east side slightly south of Brisbane. we flew in there saturday afternoon and just walked around for a bit and made our way to the hostel that we were staying at. now this was my first hostel experience and yes i have seen the movies and thought that i was going to be staying with bugs and crazy russian speaking jocks that stunk up the bathroom..well it wasnt that bad! we got checked in and went to our 6 person dorm style room and saw that 2 of the 6 beds had clothes and stuff on them. so us 4 american girls just thought oh its just 2 other females no big deal...once we started to analyze their clothes and style we quickly realized they were boys! none of us remembered that the rooms were co-ed so this came as quite a shock to us all. trying not to let that idea affect us we went to walk around town and see what was around us. the first 2.5 days were overcast with not the greatest weather. so those days were spent just meeting people and finding out what activities were in the town. on tuesday we rented scooter/mo-ped type things for the day and got to scooter around town. now this was a blast dont get me wrong but we brought along our 2 german male 18 year old roommates figuring they would have some clue as to the rules of driving in australia--bad assumption. all i can say is im glad that i have some driving experience and am a professional snowmobiler because i was using hand signs looking at people moving over so cars could pass us stopping for the red lights and other helpful skills of the road. not only did the 2 germans have not a clue as to the driving regulations here (as i didnt either) but there was 7 of us total and no one besides me had ridden a scooter before so it took a good hour or so for the group to realize how to work the blinkers, look in the mirrors, and communicate with other drivers. having a couple near death expereinces and having to calm down a few fustruated drivers we turned the scooters in for the night and hit the town (well we did that every night!)
the next day we went to an amusement park type thing similar to those back in the states. there were rollarcoasters and a water park that we spent the enitre day at wearing ourselves out acting like complete children!
i think the best memories of the trip were made living in the hostel...between the beds sqeaking when anyone moved, to the screams and yelling of drunks coming home at 4 am, to the rain pouring down in the night that we could hear everything, to living with boys and the excitment they bring at night/early morning! we were actually really lucky with our roommates getting 2 men from ireland the first night, the 2 german boys for a couple nights, 2 female nurses, and  then 2 girls living here but are from Atlanta. overall it was a good experience that will not be forgotten!
on thursday we went surfing! now this was not only i think the best workout ever but the most painful sport ever. i have so many bruises scrates and sore muscles even a week later! we took lessons through some guy and it was really helpful. i am a professional at getting on my knees but the whole "jumping to your feet" gets me every time! the board was so slippery and everything was happening so fast that by the time i realized that the wave was coming i have the strap of the board wrapped around my foot, the board going sideways, and nosediving to the bottom. the instructor said he had never seen so many people do the things and positions we did! i guess ill take that as a compliment...after the pain and suffering that brought us we spent the remainder of the day laying on the beach in awe of the people that could just pop up on the boards...i think ill just stick to swimming!
on friday we got on a train and went north to brisbane for the night. we had tickets to a rugby game and stayed there for the night. this town was beautiful! the landscape and buildings are  very unique and just awesome to look at. the game was very interesting in that i had no idea what was going on, there were men running around jumping on top of one another and people were yelling and booing at times i thought something good happened...thank god for the guy sitting next to me who was trying to help me and explain some things while the game went on. it was a good expeience tho and im glad i got to see iit happen in person. the stadium was fantasic and we had AWESOME seats for the price we paid. i was very much surprised.
upon returing to the gold coast on saturday afternoon we spent one last day at the beach taking in as many rays as possible and just enjoying the location we are in! we had to wake up at 4 am sunday morning to catch the shuttle back to the airport to fly back to cairns. coming back felt good to be in my room again by myself with no men seeing my every move and being able to shower with a door! it was a great break and i am so happy that i was able to make it happen. now back at school and trying to get back in the mindset of schoolwork and homework but its just so nice here everyday all i want to do is go to the beach and lay by the pool! the work will get done when it needs to in the mean time ill just enjoy the beauty and awe that i see every morning!
hope all is well back home and remember its getting closer to summer for y'all! peace and blessings

just another week!

well here we are again on a lovely monday evening sitting in my room thinking back to the past week and what new adventures I have all accomplished. this weeks main highlight was bungee jumping. the place is literally right behind our school so about a 20 minute walk from where i live. if you are a local (in which i am) they offer this membership thing that you pay for the first jump and then every jump after that is only $10 so i did my first jump on tuesday. now i am an adreneline junky and love jumping off things and doing thrill rushing things and so i figured this was something i would have in the bag and nothing to worry about. so we got to the place did all the paperwork signed my life away and started climbing the stairs. its 165 feet off the ground so we started to walk up. i was not nervous or anything at this point just starting to get excited and ready to jump! i had to wait like 5 people and then it was to be my turn so i was watching everyone thinking oh this is so simple i have nothing to worry about and judging all the others on their technique and trying to say how much better i was going to be at it. so my name was called and i stepped into the little box area and started getting harnessed...now this guy clearly knew it was my first time as i had not a clue as to what was going on so of course he started messing with me telling me all these jokes and the likihood that the rope would break and whatnot so the anticipation was building. i was then told to stand up and walk to the edge...now at this point i was like alright this is actually happening the only way to the bottom is jumping alright i can do this. i was totally ready all the way until the guy started saying "5-4-3-2-1-GO!" as soon as he said go i squated down to this really awkward position and did like a 3 second pause thinking "holy #%$ im actually going to jump" and then just went for it! now for your first time you are supposed to just lean forward and go head first well of course why would i do something the right way?! so i jump feet first and start flying to the ground with my eyes shut. before i jumped the guy asked me if i wanted to hit the water or not and i said surprise me so i didnt know what to expect..alright so i jump and shut my eyes and am FREAKING out. next thing i know my feet are being jerked up behind me, my body folds in half and im heading head first for the water. next part was be going in the water and springing back up. i tried opening my eyes at this point but the water was all in my contacts and i had no orientation to what was going on so i just kept screaming and waited for it to be done. now im sure this sounds like a horrible event and i would never do it again but bet yourself that im planning on going some time this week and doing it all over again! i was told at the end that i did a level 3 jump on my first time and all the workers were like wow we have never seen that before..real good support that was! that pretty much sums up the bungee experience but have no fear that there will be more stories to come!
the other kinda cool thing that i did this week was attend a zumba work out class and get my butt handed to me! the instructor, unbeknown to be, was one of my professors of my "sport and practice of physical activity" class so as soon as i walk in the door she starts yelling yeaaa Jess so glad you can make it get ready to get sweating! and through the whole class she would come up to me and yell go, faster, more, push and just encourage me cuz she has seen me the past 6 weeks in her class. she is really nice it was just ironic that she was the instructor for the class.
we had friday and today, monday, off of classes so a nice 4 day weekend consisted of the lagoon and beach! it was VERY relaxing and nice to get caught up on homework and just enjoy everything around us. on sunday night a couple friends and i went down to the pier and walked around at night time and it was so pretty to see the water and everything in the moonlight. that was pretty much my last week! this week i have one test and to finish one paper and then it is spring break! i feel like saying that is such an oximoron since the past 2 months has been a form of spring break but we get a full week off so a couple of us are heading south to the gold coast for 7 days for nothing but hanging out and laying on the beach! thats all from me next update will be filled with information im sure!

Highlands Tour

'ello again! it is offically 2 months today (monday) that i have been in this fabulous place..the time is literally flying and i have no idea where it is going! i have around 3 months left but i dont want to think of the time but rather enjoy every minute that i get here. the past week has consisted of going to class, laying by the pool, eating dinner, and watching movies--cant say its been a bad week! this past weekend a group of us went to the highlands and had an all day adventure through a variety of places. starting off we went to a lake that used to be an old volcano and had a nice morning swim. i swam across the whole thing and felt better that i was finally able to actually swim in open water! the rest of the group was awe-struck that i swam across and back in 20 min but it was literally like a warm up set for what i am used to at practice ha. after that we went to see a "fig tree". this is a slow moving tree that strangles other trees as it grows moving slowly across the rainforest--truely a sight to see. we then went to a pub for lunch and made our way to a volcanic crater. i kinda saw it as a cliff that had nasty murkey water at the bottom of it but it was the remains of a crater in a massive explosion cause by a volcanic eruption. it was 60 meters deep which is about 196 feet. we took a little trek into the forest along a path and then came up to the sight. we were throwing rocks down and seeing them fall into the water, now i realize this sounds pretty elementary and boring but it was really neat--i guess you had to be there to understand it ha. after that we went to a lookout on top of the moutain and it was truely breathtaking we got to overlook the southern region of the atherton tablelands (now i have no idea where this actually is or where i was but it was BEAUTIFUL!) see pictures below for a slight indication of what i was witnessing. the lookout led us to this fresh water waterfall that of course mermaid me had to jump in and swim under and climb to the highest rock-->so worth it! the last place journeyed to was the Babinda Boulders which are massive granite boulders with a swimming hole and a picturesque path through the rainforest. this part reminded me of back home as it was kinda a lake setting with lilly pads and gross stuff on top of the water unlike the beaches and oceans i have been seeing daily. overall it was a wonderful trip that had a lot of informative information and images i will never forget. that was pretty much the summary of the last week. this weekend is easter weekend and we have friday and monday off so a couple of us are planning a trip or a couple adventures to get out and see the sights offered here!
the weather is finally nice with no more rain, no humidity, and nothing but pure sunshine and a cool breeze! for this i have been outside pretty much everyday and trying to see has much as possible. i cant believe it is april already and time is just slipping by! hope all is well back home :)

the lake i swam across for a fresh morning exercise!

the volcanic crater

trying to balance on a fench overlooking the town

waterfall!

planking on the "danger" sign by the boulders

the fig tree that is strangling other trees along its path