In the midst of traveling to breathtaking Australia 1n the fall of 2010, junior Mtchelle Cascio made sure she would never forget her experiences. She documented all of her adventures in her online blog, michellesinaustralia. wordpress.com. From bungee Jumping off the tallest cliff in New Zealand to eating a fried tarantula leg in Cambodia, Cascio never had a dull moment, and the following were some of her entries that captured it all. 9/8/10: WE'RE IN AUSTRALIA! .. . And it's Wednesday. We left on Monday. You better believe there's been a slew of Back to the Future and Doc Brown jokes circulating. It's 9 a.m. here, but 6 p.m. in Arkansas.They drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side in the car. We're still waiting to find a toilet that swirls so we can let the wot'ld know if it swirls differently than in America. 9/15/10: Eleven Bizarre Australian Things I Have Learned 11. You can't get ice cubes anywhere. They just don't use ice in drinks. 10. You would think you'd find Australians in Sydney. Nope, we found mostly Asian tourists. 9. It's not all sunshine and warm temperatures; we've been wearing fleeces and jeans. 8. You can go to the Outback for two days and not see a single kangaroo. Whoever said they are like roadkill lied. 7.Australia "lost" their prime minister, Harold Holt, in the ocean one day in 1967. He sank under a wave, never to be seen again. 6. A box of Froot Loops can cost $7! Mitlimum wage for 21-year-olds is $21 /hr (according to a grocery store kid fresh out of high school). 5. Australians have a $2 coin. It's smaller than the $1 coin. 4. If you ask for jelly with your toast for breakfast you WILL be scoffed at. 3. "Hope you have a fair dinkum bonza Christmas" means "We really hope you have a good Christmas." 2.Trash is called rubbi sh. 1. Australia has the most animals that can kill you in the worst ways. 9/18/10: Kookaburra sits 1n an old gum tree ... in Binna Burra rainforest If you are thinking, "Certainly it must be warm in a rainforest in Australia!", you are sorely mistaken. My hands were numb as we trudged through the 13-mtle hike.We saw so many beautiful . . .trees. Trees, trees, trees ... trees with buttress roots, trees with epiphytes, trees with deadly stinging leaves that will leave you forever blistered ... the trees were definitely endless.We saw paddymelons (like small kangaroos) and platform spiders (So big.And gross. Of course I was the one that spotted it ... ) and a red-bellied snake (extremely venomous apparently). 9/28/10: Possibly the BEST DAY so far! Today was probably the best day I've had so far- we went to the Australian zoo! Here are a few highlights: we got to hold a koala, feed and pet kangaroos and watch the lrwins do a show!! 10/13/10: I just jumped out of a plane at 12,000 ft. . It was beautiful! It was scary to watch three of your friends jump out of the plane and scream before you went last, but it was so much fun!!!! The freefall was amazing - it lasted 45 seconds- and even better was after the parachute opened, 1. because it opened and you could finally breathe a sigh of relief that you weren't plummeting to your death and 2. you got to see the amazing landscape that is New Zealand. 11/16/10: Bungee Jumping! This was the scariest day of my life. I'm not going to lie; I freaked out. Standing up there on that ledge, alii could think was, "This is stupid! This is a perfectly good ledge, why would I want to jump off it?" But jump I did. After that initial feeling of instantly thinking I made a mistake when I jumped and wanted to grab the ledge again and hang on for dear life, it kind of felt like free-falling during skydiving. By far actually jumping was the worst part. I laughed the rest of the way down and loved bouncing. 3/1/11: I can't believe my trip is over! I can honestly say studying abroad in Australia was the best decision I have ever made. I met some great friends, and shared so many unforgettable memories with them. I crossed off many things from my bucket list, and consider the trip as a whole as one personal test to overcome my fears. I jumped out of a plane at 12,000 feet, voluntarily jumped off the tallest bungee jumptng ledge in New Zealand at 143m (470 feet for you Americans), got my cartilage pieced (I'm extremely afraid of needles) in a tattoo parlor, found my way around a country with no passport by myself and ate atarantula leg on the side of a road in Cambodia. I have held a koala, and pet and fed a kangaroo. I have seen and experienced many different cultures and seen how others live their daily lives. I have seen unshowered children begging for a dollar to bring home for their family. We brought candy and gifts to the poorest school in Cambodia, and witnessed their genuine overexuberant excitement to get a lollipop, a marker and a noisemaker. The trip enhanced my wanderlust; I want to travel everywhere and see as much as I can. I am so blessed and fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to study in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. God is good! Gina Cielo •
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