These last couple weeks I have been terrible... SORRY, ENJOY :]

I have been compiling a really fun list of things that are different then home that I think yall will really enjoy!!

Differences…

1. Walking to walk, I have learned that you have to walk on the left side inside of the right

2. When you ask people how they are doing (or rather how they are going?) they answer with great or fabulous instead of just fine

3. Also walking to work, I have found that pedestrians really don’t have the right away and to steer clear of all traffic

4. Tipping is not common here so you don’t have to do it (which I am definitely not complaining about) and when you purchase food or items there is no tax attached to it (love that!)

5. Air Conditioning and internet are not offered everywhere like how it is back home

6. Ages: 17 to drive, 18 to drink

7. Healthier food options are cheaper then the junk food options (definitely not true back at home)

8. Vulgarity is more acceptable and the environments are much less professional

9. They use the metric system, record the date day/month/year instead of month/day/year and military time, which can really confuse me at times

10. Wearing shoes is uncommon! I have been told that it is really a north queensland thing but no one seems to wear shoes and it is acceptable… like even in food places and businesses?

11.Spelling and phrases are slightly different. For example “color” is spelt “colour” and “organize” is spelt “organise” and as for phrases an example would be “what do you reckon?” instead of “what do you think?”

12. Australians love their coins and unfortunately I do not… they have a 2 dollar, 1 dollar, 50 cent, 20 cent, 10 cent and 5 cent just too many to deal with when you aren’t used to them!

13. When you look up to the night sky instead of seeing a clear night sky, you see a dark sky full of bats flying about!

14. KFC doesn’t have my favorite part, mac and cheese, and they also don’t have biscuits!

15. As pets they don’t have hamsters, rabbits, and ferrets!

Port Douglas!

The week started off on a good start when I was on my way to work and passed the bus stop only to see all the roommates still sitting at the bus stop looking discouraged. I know this may not be the kindest thing but I was eagerly awaiting for the day that I would walk past the bus stop and see that the roommates had missed the bus so that I could see them before work!

That weekend Sam, Marcy, Kristen and I headed off to Port Douglas!! It is a little beachy town north of us, it was the place that Fools Gold was filmed. This is where Darryl and Andrew were vacationing and although we had some adventures planned we were hoping to catch up with them at least for a little. We checked into our hostel, Dougies, and hit the town. We had a really good first night meeting some locals and going for a late night hang out on the beach. The next day we went on an all day tour to Daintree (the oldest rainforest), Cape Tribulation, and Coopers Creek. The rainforest never seizes to amaze me with its beauty! The sites and sounds when you take a walk through the lush green forest are spectacular!! Our guide tried to stumble upon a Cassowary in the wild, a large aggressive bird native to Australia, but we only stumbled upon a nest (which was huge and really interesting) and lots of droppings. We also went to a swimming hole where we had the opportunity to swim and canoe through the clear spring water! We opted out of swimming because we didn’t want to be wet and uncomfortable for the entire day but canoeing was really quite enjoyable. Sam and I were in one canoe and Marcy and Kristen were in the other. We even had a little canoe race and of course my canoe came out as the winner! We then went to probably the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. The water was beautifully clear, the waves were perfect, the sand was hard, and there were big rocks in the water, kind of like the jetti in California- but better! I would have been alright with spending the entire tour just on this beach! The last part of this tour was a boat tour on Coopers Creek, where we were able to observe crocodiles in their natural environment. Our other days were spent shopping in town, climbing big trees, and visiting the beaches- really just enjoying this small beautiful town.

CAIRNS SHOWS

I love the atmosphere of a state fair and we were lucky enough to be in town for the Cairns Show, which is their version of a state fair. Everyone in town goes to the show and when we were talking about it at work I discovered that the night I was going was the night that Carol, one of the vets, daughter was going to be having a cheerleading performance-so of course I was excited to watch! We rushed over to the show after work and watched Penny perform. I felt like a proud mom, pushing to the front of the crowd so that I could take tons of photos for Carol! After the performance we were walking around and because all the rides were so expensive we decided to only ride one. Since it was only going to be one we obviously had to make it a good one and Hangover looked like the perfect one! It was super fun because it spun upside and went really fast. Sadly I pulled the short straw and had to ride by myself but I still had lots of fun screaming to myself.

Sydney

Sam, Marcy, Kristen and I headed off to Sydney for the weekend!! We were all stoked because as Americans, Sydney is like THE place to visit when in Australia so we were so glad we were able to make it there for a long weekend. We all got that Thursday off from work and caught an early flight to optimize our time in the big city. This trip was going to be extra fun because we were going to be meeting up with 10 of the girls from orientation that were stationed in Sydney and 9, including us, from other cities in Australia (Cairns, Brisbane, Melbourne, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Perth). The nine of us were staying in the Big Hostel together and it was so nice to see everyone again and to hear first hand how everyone’s internship were going. I felt so fortunate to be in Cairns because most of the other girls either didn’t like their internships, or their cities, or their living arrangements and us Cairns girls had no complaints We took the first day to get settled, walk around the city and then to plan our adventures for the weekend! That night we met up with all the Sydney girls for a reunited at last dinner and I swear there was not a moment of silence the entire dinner as everyone was trying to catch up with everyone, it was so lovely!

The next day we went on a full day tour to see the Blue Mountains, the three sisters, and go to a wildlife park. We had to cross the Sydney harbor bridge to get to Featherdale Wildlife park and crossing THE Sydney bridge was such a cool experience! Featherdale was a really amazing park. They had wallabies and kangaroos running all over, had the chubbiest koalas, a Tasmania devil, a little petting zoo (which Marcy who lives on a farm went crazy for), and emus you got to hand feed! We had been to some many wildlife parks that this was part of the tour I wasn’t too excited for but again was proved wrong and blown away by the contact I was able to have with the animals! We then hopped back on the bus and went to a lookout to see the Blue Mountains and the three sisters. The view was just marvelous and so surreal! The story behind the three sisters is that during a wartime a witch doctor turned three aboriginal sisters into stone to protect them from the war but then unfortunately died before he had reversed the spell, so the three sister remain as stone today. We were given the opportunity to ride a scenic skyrail and cableway over the rainforest and got to ride the worlds steepest railway (felt like we were on a ride at Disneyland, so fun)! After all this fun we were treated to an unlimited buffet lunch, first time is Australia that we were able to eat like we were used to back home! Something the buffet learned that day was to never say to five American college girls that we were welcomed to go back to the buffet as many times as we wanted! We definitely took advantage of that offer seeing as we were sitting there eating for an hour and 45 minute!! The buffet was located in a beautiful restaurant that looked out to the rainforest and a waterfall, plus the floor revolved so that every table got the chance to eat with the best view in the place, it was just too enjoyable! We finished the day with a ride back into the city on a ferry, where we were able to see the harbor bridge and opera house all light up in the night sky, so beautiful!!

The next day we went on a half-day city tour that literally took us all over Sydney so we saw everything there was to see! We spent time in front of the opera house and harbor bridge and took a thousand photos! It was just unreal to see them up close and in real life… I have only seen them in movies so I felt so special being able to take my photo in front of these popular sights! We visited The Rocks which is historically Sydney’s birthplace and Kings Cross, Sydney’s hot spot. Another fabulous lookout spot we visited was The Gap, it was a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean and the heads, also very historic. My favorite part was again the beach! We went to Bondi Beach, Australia’s most famous surf beach and it was absolutely marvelous! Oddly enough even though it was winter there, here was a winter games expo going on at the time of our visit and they even had a ice rink looking out to the water where you had the opportunity to ice skate.

Sydney was an absolute blast and so beautiful! It felt so nice to be able to meet up so many of the other interns and I wish we would have been able to travel together around Australia more!! Plus we went when it was Heather’s birthday and Sam’s was the next for it made for an even bigger celebration!

WORKKK :]

Where and the heck do I even begin?! I have nearly been here for a total of ten weeks now and it seems like I have only arrived a day ago… There was not a day that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy my time at work or that I didn’t learn something! I feel so fortunate for all of the people at Airport Vet Surgery because it was them who were my teachers and most importantly my friends! I am so glad that I ended up choosing the ten week because I feel like ten weeks was a good amount of time that allowed me to experience so many different cases but also to allowed me to make bonds with the clinic. Sam and Meaghan did the six week program and I know that I would have been even less ready to leave after just six weeks!!

There was one case that I was lucky enough to be there for its entirety. A set of German Sheppard puppies came in for their vaccinations and they were just too cute, such sulks. Two weeks later one of the puppies named Augustus came back in with vomiting and we observed him for a couple of days. He was still vomiting so x-rays were taken and then barium was given and a series of more x-rays were taken. This is when it was discovered that he had an enlarged esophagus condition, which resulted in his inability to properly contract his throat muscles to keep the food down, causing the vomiting. This condition is untreatable and cannot be corrected through surgery. Unfortunately, his condition is was already very advanced so his prognosis was not good and was going to end with him being put to sleep. Since he was only a young pup and he was having to spend his nights in the clinic alone, I asked if I was able to bring him home with me and show him a couple of really enjoyed last days. These couple days were some of my most rewarding spent in Australia. Although the outcome for Gus was one that greatly upset me, it was truly the best for him and I was happy that I was able to contribute to the joy of his short life!

Here is a list of my accomplishments over the ten weeks:

· Assist the vet with consultations

· Answer the phones and help the clients with what they were calling for

· Prepare the surgical instrument packs and surgical drapes

· Administer sub-cutaneous, right under the skin, injections to both animals under anesthetic and conscious

· Administer sub-cutaneous, right under the skin, fluids to animals both under anesthetic and conscious

· Assist with radiographs

· Administer medications both orally and injections

· Prep the patient for surgery, shave the incision site and prep the site through scrubbing it with a three step process the sterilize the site

· Retrieve a blood sample intravenously, through the forearm

· Administer intramuscular, into the muscle, injections to animals under anesthetic

· Manual monitoring: recording the heart rate via stethoscope, pulse rate, respiration rate, gum color and refill, jaw tone, and eye position

· Intubated a dog for surgery, putting the ET tube into the throat so that the animal is receiving oxygen and the anesthetic gas during the operation

· Gained immense knowledge and experience with an array of wildlife species, common and those native to Australia

Before I came over to Australia everyone warned me that I was going to fall in love with someone and I was going to find my prince charming. I laughed at them and told them they were silly because I was coming over here for an internship and not love BUT I must admit I slightly wrong because I did fall in love, with Airport Vet Surgery!!

Until Next Time :]

Just a fair warning.. it has really been ages since I have updated this thing on my life sooo it is going to be a NOVEL!!

And the fun doubles!

Fourth of July weekend the other australearn interns arrived! We were expecting two but there ended up being THREE! Sam is from Michigan but her family now lives in Arizona so there is a good chance that lots of you will be able to meet her :] Betsy is from California and is in Sigma Kappa and Meg is from the east coast! Our house is divided into three separate apartments with about five people living in each. Marcy, Kristen and I have been living in one together and now Betsy has joined us, taking Michael’s old room and Meg and Sam are living in the downstairs apartment together but are over all the time so it is just perfect! At first we were bummed we weren’t all in one together but realized it was actually really nice because now we had the opportunity to meet their housemates as well. Their other housemates include a boy from Australia, a boy from Ireland, and two French boys. That same weekend we also got new tenants living in our upstairs room from England. Only a couple days later all of our unopened liquor was missing (2 tequilas and their mixes, 1 vodka, and 1 jager- not cool) so we contacted the sharehouse office about the matter and our English friends moved places… Just recently we had two more housemates move in from Spain! They are just lovely and quite cute because they are trying really hard to learn English!

ZUMBA and pole dancing

Yes you heard me, the Zumba craze has just hit Australia! One of the vets at work, Karen, was talking about going to classes one day and I happen to say how much I love zumba classes back home. She quickly invited to be join and I just couldn’t pass up the offer sooo I have been having some extra bonding time with Karen at Zumba every Wednesday night after work! It is a ton of fun because in this class they turn off the lights and turn on colored lights, which really gets you in the mood to shake it! At times it is a little awkward shaking my booty and shimmying in front of a coworker who is married with children haha

Our Canadian friend Jen had been in Australia for quite some time before we got here and she had really gotten into pole dancing classes. We discovered this one night when we were out and one of the bars we went to had a pole in the middle of the dance floor! She invited us to come try it out and we really couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say that we have tried a pole dancing class, so we went with her. It was actually really hard and the next day it looked as if I had been badly beaten… I had bruises everywhere! So long story short, it was very interesting to try it out but lets just say I now definitely have no interest in a career in pole dancing haha!!

Harleys

Billy, one of the boys who works in the reptile department at the zoo offered to take us interns in Hartley’s, a local croc park a little bit north. Since we were going to be able to get in for free, again the offer was not turned down! The park was really cool. We went on a boat tour through the swamp in the park and saw crocs everywhere and watched them being fed straight out of the water! They offered a croc attack show at this park, which was really nerve-racking! The zookeeper was in the pen with the ginormous croc and was literally wading in the water with him, aggravating him to stimulate an attack! We even got to see the croc roll over a couple of times, it was a really cool show! It may seem a bit morbid since I was at a croc park BUT this is where I tried my first bit of croc. It was actually pretty tasty… I had a lemon pepper croc burger :]

FOURTH OF JULY

That Sunday was our good ol’ independence day so we HAD to celebrate! It was my first fourth in a long while that I didn’t spend with the five so I was bumming a little bit. I decided to pick up my chin, put on my American flag swimsuit and red white and blue dress, and go out on a search for an American flag with the roommates. We had decided to throw a big BBQ in our backyard and invite everyone we had met, so we had to show them a good American time complete with decorations! It was good fun and we actually had such a great turnout, close to 40 or so people there from all over the place! I decided to give kanga another run for its money since we had probably cooked the first batch incorrectly AND they were sausages, which I don’t really like to begin with. I was talking about this when we were at Hartley’s, so Billy was kind enough to offer to BBQ kanga to perfection for me. He followed through with his word and I had the most delicious garlic and herb kangaroo steak! The night ended with sparklers, red white and blue decorations and an American flag pinned to our clothesline= SUCCESS!

WHITE WATER RAFTING

So I have been white water rafting before in Colorado with the five and it rocked my world, I thought it was the must exciting thing since a roller coaster. BUT this white water rafting made that trip look like a trip down the lazy river! It was the most legit thing I have done in a long while! It was an all day trip down the Tully River and during this all day trip we went down like 15 rapids, like full thrilling rapids! Only myself, Kristen and Sam went on this adventure so in our boat with us we had four large German boys haha. They didn’t speak much English and were definitely holding us back, they couldn’t row very well! Our river guide was amazing, so down to do crazy fun things with our raft and was just really enjoyable to spend the day with. There were parts in the river that he would allow us to get out of the raft and swim through little rapids, so fun! At the point when we pulled our boat to the side to have lunch, there was a waterfall and he took us right under it! It was kind of scary hearing the powerful water hit your helmet because it made such a loud noise and was such a full force BUT nonetheless it was awesome to go through it! My two favorite parts of the adventure definitely would have to be the human water slide and the birthing canal. The water slide was like a 15-meter water drop and you basically had to hang on for dear life going down it. It was kind of successful, most of us managed to stay in the boat for most of it but by the end I would say 6 out of the 8 of us were out stranded in the water! The birthing canal was located in the point past where it was appropriate to swim because was the chance that crocs could be in the water… Well we were going through the birthing canal, literally like the birthing canal, it was two huge rocks placed really close together and we had to try and squeeze the big raft through it, and our boat got turned in an awkward way and we got stuck! The force of the rushing water capsized our boat and being located in the back of the boat, the next thing I remember was being crushed by four large German men under the water! All I remember is telling myself to remain calm and that it was all an adventure… haha I didn’t even think of the threat of the crocs, the other girls said that was there first thought but it didn’t even cross my mind, oops! You should definitely go check out the photos, they are amazing and really capture the exciting nature of the adventure plus you can see just how big the German men were haha!

BUNGE JUMPING!

The next day Sam and I seized the day and went bunge jumping! As we made our way up this huge hill, we thought of turning around and coming home BUT we figured it was already too late so we kept walking. We made it there and had to walk up 50 meters worth of stairs and let me tell you that was enough to get your heart pumping! We got to the top and got into our harnesses, then watched many people take the leap… I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it! It came to being Sam’s turn and off she went, she made it look so easy! It was my turn next and to be honest when he counted down 3 2 1, did Courtney go? NOOOO haha it took another countdown and then instead of nose-diving like a true pro, I literally bent by knees and jumped.. such a fool haha You should def check out the video the first jump looks so awkward! Yes I said first jump… Sam and I jumped three different times! The first time was alone and the next two we jumped tandem or together. The second time we did a swan dive together and it was so much more fun the second time around and together! We were laughing so hard, we thought our eyes were going to pop out of our heads! For our last time we decided to go backwards.. this was by far the SCARIEST! We were screaming our heads off like little girls haha it was just like the feeling when you were little and would fall backwards on your bed but before you hit the bed, you would bend your legs because you were just too scared, except you couldn’t bend your legs to save yourself and just kept falling and falling!!! It was the most insane thing I have done in my life and I loved it! Now I just have to jump out of a plane and skydive :]

Sunday Night Dinner

Chad, who works in the bird department at the zoo, invited us girls over for dinner at his place on Sunday. It was really very nice of him to cook for six girls and we had a really good time. Getting there we got off at the wrong bus stop and got a little lost.. ohh ya did a mention it was raining? Haha when we got there we were just a little wet! It was all made up for with the wonderful chicken meal he had made for us, cooked to perfection. The roommates had checked the bus schedule twice and we were sure that the last bus was at midnight, before we knew it we had let time escape us and we ended up running in the rain to the bus stop. (running in the rain was actually quite an enjoyable experience I discovered haha) We waited and waited at the bus stop and no bus came… Seeing as it was late, wet, dark, and cold oh and the fact that Chad doesn’t have a car it left us with one option, yes you guessed it a cab. I don’t think I have told you that Chad lives in Clifton Beach, which is a good 40 minutes away… the cab ride was a whooping 72 dollars. I would say that it was all still worth it, made for a good story in the least!

I still have WORKKKKKK, Port Douglas and Sydney weekend to tell you about but I am just exhausted… soo hopefully this keeps you entertained and satisfied for awhile! Plus you have something to definitely look forward to :]

So Until Next Time :]

BEST WEEKEND EVERRR

FRIDAY- Sky rail and Tjapukai

We started off this action packed day on a bus to the sky rail. We wanted to do the sky rail because it it much like a sky lift, only it flies right over the tropical rain forest! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and breath taking, you couldn't even see the ground because of all the plant life. It was crazy because back home cockatoos, the big white birds with a yellow mow hock, are really only kept as personal pets... well here they are wild and it was crazy to see them just flying around over the tree tops! There were two options to stop along the sky rail to walk through the rain forest but we decided to go straight up and do that on the way down. The destination of the sky rail was a little, artsy town called Kuranda. This town was filled with cool shops and nice cafes. This is where I had my first MEAT PIE! I have heard so much about these little guys and for good reason because it was delicious!! I had a steak and pepper one, which was soo tasty but I can't wait to try all of the others.. They are much like a chicken pot pie from back home but BETTER. We walked around the shops and hung out in Kuranda for a couple of hours before getting back on the sky rail. On the way back I was getting a little bored all cooped in that little box of a cart so I jumped up and proposed the idea to do something crazy! Soooooooo we did back bends, handstands, hung upside down, surfed... all sorts of fun things and we even took pictures to prove it. It was great fun. The stops on the way down were beautiful! We got to see Baron Falls, a waterfall, up close and I think I have to say that this was the first real waterfall I have seen in my 20 years! After we got down to the bottom starting point it was time for Tjapkai, an aboriginal culture park!

The aboriginal people are the native people to Australia, so their story is much like that of our Native Americans. It was fascinating learning the culture of the people and hearing that it is still very much alive. They told stories in their native language, of course translating for us, gave a little talk on the didgeridoo (a musical instrument that makes marvelous music), sang and danced for us and even let us join in! It was great fun BUT the highlight of my day was getting the opportunity to throw a boomerang and a spear, SO COOL!!

SATURDAY- Horse riding through the rain forest!

I love horses and although I have ridden before none of my experiences have been like this one! The ride was absolutely fantastic. The trails went through the rain forests and it was legit because it was actually raining a little bit haha. The trail was very narrow, just big enough for the horses to get by, so we were literally immersed in the rain forest itself! I was the next person in line after the guide and she was telling me that with the first ride of the morning you have to be really careful of all the spider webs between the trees along the path, greatttt yall know how I love spiders... and what did we see?! yep you guessed it, the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen in my life! it was about the size of a ruler and it was black and yellow, EW! We were able to take the horses off trotting which was soo fun! i am soo used to just walking the horses and that can get boring after a while but trotting is real exciting! We had to wait around a lot for the Japanese tour group we were riding with which made me practice the virtue of patience, which you all know I need help with... the best part of the trip was the fact that we got to wade in a river with the horses! this river was crystal clear water and the horses went as deep as their backs in the water, so we got all wet but it was amazingggg!! my boss went the next day with her daughter and I so wished we had run into each other accidentally on the first day because that would have been so funny!

SUNDAY- Green Island

Kristen and Marcy work at the zoo together with lots of other interns and volunteers. One girl from Germany is living with a host family and they were taking her to green island, so she kindly extended the off to us Americans :] We gladly accepted this offer and away we went! It turns out her family was the most lovely family ever, honestly they were the cutest little (well big, they had 5 kids) australian family everrrr. The boat ride was magical. it was a huge boat but acted like a speed boat, it was sooo fast! There were more Japanese tourists on this trip as well BUT you will never believe what happened! this group of about three girls and 1 guy were taking pictures the entire time! like every angle possible on the boat was taken... One of the ladies even had an outfit change, like were they serious? all they are going to remember of the trip is taking pictures.. we finally arrived at the island and it is breath taking! the water is soo blue and the island is sooo green (probably where they got the name haha) The island had a lot to offer.. wind surfing, diving, snorkeling, treasure hunts, sea creature building, volleyball tourneys, BBQ, and PARASAILING!! I had always wanted to do it soooo i finally did it!! Jana (the German volunteer) and I did it!! the views were marvelous and the ride was so exciting because it was a really windy day :] I never wanted to come down and then when we sadly did, I never wanted to get off the little boat- it was just so beautiful and relaxing! when we finally did go back to the island the whole group decided to snorkel... but the conditions were poor and the water was to murky right off the land so we couldn't see much. Instead we decided to partake in the sea creature building and sculpted a mermaid, she was beautiful- looked JUST like the little mermaid.. Then for the rest of the day we enjoyed a live band and just sat back and relaxed the day away on Green Island!

SOOOOO

Until next time :]

Just a couple of stories for now..

Oh my Oh my, where do I even begin…

[Safari Zoo]

Evan, who is head of the reptile department at the zoo, was kind enough to take all of us to the Safari Zoo a little far up in the mountains! Now going into it I wasn’t all too excited because the animals in this zoo were going to be the same ones that we see in our zoo but boy was I wrong! The zoos here are really small and because it that really interactive! Instead of the over crowded zoos back home where you can hardly see the enclosure through all the head in front of you and that if you do, you are lucky to even spot the animals within them… The zoos are all about the feedings! We were literally taken around to all the different animal enclosures by the zookeepers themselves and got to see the animals eat and while hearing a little bit about their behaviors. This was amazing… I literally felt like I was on a safari on the plains of Africa! Watching the loins of a pride (like 11 females and 1 male) running over the hills to various piles of raw meat, fighting each other for the “bigger pieces”, and listening to the purring noises as they eat was absolutely breath taking!

[BBQ]

While we have been here we have met more foreigners then actual Australians… I think this has to do with the fact that we are living in a sharehouse type of housing so the people we are surrounded with obviously aren’t locals but instead from overseas. The group we hang out with on the regular consists of Scottish, Canadian, American, and British. The Scots put on a BBQ one night at the esplanade and it was such a nice atmosphere. We were sitting in sort of a park-like place along the coast watching the sun set, listening to a live local band singing all American covers, and BBQing up a storm- what could be better?! Kristen and I decided that tonight would be the night that we would try Kangaroo… I didn’t really like in to be honest. People were describing it as really meaty and lean tasting but I couldn’t really put a finger on the taste, I actually kinda thought it tasted a little fishy BUT I think I was just psyching myself out! After a long while of just enjoying the BBQ a large security man approached out table with a stern look on his face. My heart immediately sunk because I thought it had to be because we were drinking, even though I am legal here to drink, I still didn’t think we were able to in public because I know we aren’t allowed on our beaches back home. Sure enough I was right and not only was it a slap on the hand, it was a $350 dollar fine- EACH! Somehow we weaseled our way out of it and I am so thankful because that would have just been awful… I mean $350 could pay for me to go white water rafting all day and bungy jump the next! Little did I know that that was not all the excitement in store for me that evening, it turns out that when I got home I quickly realized that I had locked myself out for the second time. REALLY COURTNEY, come on?!

JUST EXPERIENCED THE BEST WEEKEND YET!! But I am too pooped to keep writing… will update again tomorrow and try to keep more on top of this so its not such a task, we will see how successful that is!

Until Next Time :]

It has been too long!

The days are just flying by and I feel like I am living out the expression "life flies by, when you are having fun!"

WORK is AMAZING. Some days are definitely harder then others but I always leave feeling happy and well accomplished! I have won over the heart of Gulliver, our clinic cockatoo, which is a huge feat for me seeing as I am used to dealing with Lily, the clinic cockatoo in Tucson, that literally hates everyone! Recently soo many exciting wildlife creatures have been coming in.. a kookaburra (porcupine like animal), a scrub python (which I got to hold for a blood draw, so exhilarating def got my heart pumping), a flying fox (they carry a form of rabies so I am unable to hold these guys since I have not received the proper vaccines), and two wedge eagles!!! These eagles are HUGE and very aggressive birds. I got to overlook a partial wing amputation on one of the eagles and it was just too cool! After the bird recovered from the anesthesia, he vomited days old food everywhere and my first inclination was too rush in there and clean it up, so I did. Well little did I know that it was going to be soo foul that it would make my eyes water BUT in the end win my a huge gold star with the head vet who only comes in for the wildlife cases! I didn't even think twice about it because that is what I am used to back home, cleaning, and I am happy for that because I was able to make a good impression with Annabelle! I have started to administer sub-cutaneous injections, ones just under the skin, and I am really starting to really get the technique down, which is very exciting for me!

AUSTRALIAN BEACHES! We went up to Trinity Beach, which is a beautiful Australian beach a little north of us. The beach is a very private, secluded area where the water is mucky because of all the sand. But I just about decided that I would take the mucky water of seaweed invested waters any day. The weather was beautiful and the water was warm, it was just a relaxing day in aussieland! However, since beaches have such a connection to home, in my mind, as I sat there looking out into the ocean I really started to miss home. It was one of my first realizations that I was half way around the world and not looking off the coast of sunny California like a am used to but rather was looking off the coast of AUSTRALIA! I ended my beach day with some ice cream because that is just what the Leibering family does after a day at the beach, so I would have had it no other way :]

CAIRNS TROPICAL ZOO. My two roommates intern at the Cairns Tropical Zoo and I thought there was no better day for me to experience this zoo then on the public holiday, which I had off and they did not. So I woke up normally on Monday like I was headed to work but instead hopped on the bus with Kristen and Marcy and headed off to see Kangaroos and Koalas!! I will be honest.. I did feel a little strange walking around the zoo myself and having to ask strangers to take my picture but at the end of the day I really didn't care. Why you ask? Well because I was able to cuddle a koala named Kimberly and play with the kangas all day :] I really got one of the kangas to take a liking to me and it just made my day. The secret with her was the fact that she loved her underarm scratched and I found that out very quickly only to be rewarded with a kangaroo kiss!!

NIGHT ZOO! This zoo also has a night zoo and the roommates really wanted to experience that so on Tuesday night we went! It is normally $100 to get in but when you have sweet hookups you can get in for half off and split it between everyone, soo nice!! The night zoo started off with dinner and drinks (unlimited drinks at that). Then we headed out on our journey through the zoo at night. We saw so many nocturnal animals and was able to learn a good deal about them since we were guided by zoo keepers themselves! There was one zoo keeper man, that was rather attractive- a detail that just shouldn't be spared, that the girls didn't recognize... We were determined to find out just who he was and it turns out he only works the night zoo part time and full time at Hartley's which is a local croc farm. As we all put on our pretty smiles for him and were rather interested in everything he had to say, he asked if I would like to hold the python he had around his neck! I was really excited/taken back because normally you have to pay $16 to hold that python, so I was glad that the other day I only payed for the koala because now I was going to be able to hold the python for FREE! We took pictures and then Shane (zoo keeper man) got in trouble for letting hold the snake, oops, but I was still glad he offered! We finished up the journey through the zoo with a kangaroo night feeding and some billy tea. This feeding was much different from the day feeding because all of the kangas were out of their "free don't touch me zone" and roaming about! The last activity on the agenda for the night was dancing and more drinking. Well you all know how Courtney loves both of those things so I really enjoyed myself!

THURSDAY! Darryl and Andrew came down form Port Douglas for a little visit because there flight to Brisbane was out of Cairns for the next day. I was soo happy to see them, it had been soo long since I got to hang out with them let alone all the way on the other side of the world! We all had such a good time drinking and catching up and I was definitely sad to see them go BUT they assured us that they would be back and we definitely want to go visit them too, so it was not good bye! They were a little taste of home and because of that, it actually made me miss home just a little bit more!

Last night we sat down at the round table to discuss all the MUST DO travel plans and adventures to be had for the duration of our stay here in Australia! Some brilliant plans were made so today we are off to the office to book our adventures and get everything set! I couldn't be more excited!!

Until next time :]

First and Second Days!

So it was time for the BIG first day! I hate and love first days.. Lucy my supervisor/head nurse is amazinggg :] she really takes the time to teach me just about anything whether it be the background on an animal or just about australia! Damien the senior vet is soooo great! He is just about the same way but a little more focused on the medical aspect of teaching. He let me feel out the knee of a little dog while it was under to really get an understanding of how the knee ligaments work! Tamara is the other nurse is just a little older then me and really cool. She took a little more warming up then the others but by the second day we were buddy buddy :] I also really enjoy walking to work everyday, even though it does take about an hour each way, it was really quite refreshing.

The clinic is absolutely an amazing clinic, they see EVERYTHING! and when I say everything I mean everything!! Right now we have a bearded dragon, 2 blue tongue lizards, a chicken, a black swan (vicious bird), a saw shelled turtle, cats, dogs, frog, birds (exotic and pet), wallabies, and a big scrub python! On my first day, Tamara offered for me to bottle feed her wallaby that she is nursing (they call it carer, but basically its like nursing them back to the wild) and I died of excitement. It was absolutely breathtaking! Today when I was feeding Lucy's, which is a little younger, she grabbed onto my finger and I wanted to cry it was just an amazing experience! Don't worry I have got pictures to prove it :] Today my exciting moment was watching a rat autopsy. Strange that that would excite me but there so much learning to be done by opening a little guy like that up for a looksie!

The work environment is such a lovely one, we all really work as a team which is very comforting. I am super stoked because they said by the end I will know how to do everything from blood draws to incubating (tubing for surgery)!! I keep thinking how truly blessed I am to have been placed there because the experience offered really seems like one of a lifetime!

I have been compiling a really fun list of things that are different then home that I think yall will really enjoy for next time so get ready!!

Until next time :]

MOVING DAY!

'elllllo mates

(before I begin I want to apologize for all of the typos in the first two posts... I was pooped and didn't proofread as you all could probably tell!)

So the next morning we woke up bright and early and saw everyone off to their final destinations. Marcy (from Kentucky, goes to school in West Virgina), Kristen (from New Mexico, goes to school in Colorado CSU) and I are stationed in Cairns so we were lucky enough not to have to catch another flight! We got a maxi taxi over to the sharehouse office and got all set up for our new living arrangements. However, we were sadly informed that Sam and Betsy, two more australearn interns coming at the end of June, whom we thought were staying in the same place as us are not in our apartment within the sharehouse! BUMMER but this means that we have other people already living in our apartment... There is a couple from Scotland upstairs and a 16 year old boy from a little south of Cairns. Brendon and Cheryl are in their early 30's and very nice, Brendon is the friendlier of the two and loves to chit chat with us. Michael is the boy and he is up in Cairns taking carpentry classes during the week and returns home on the weekends. Michael is really fun to talk to and knows a lot about the area. I think that it is easier to connect with him because the age difference is not to far apart.

Our first day in our house we got all settled in and walked around the town only to stumble upon.... MCDONALDS!! Looks like i will definitely survive, seeing as they have my favorite place right here in town-let alone walking distance! The second day, we woke up early to go shopping for food and some necessities. While in TARGET, yes they have target too :], I found myself separated from the girls and lost! I was soooo nervous and after looking for them for about ten minutes I felt sheer terror running through my veins! We hadn't exchanged numbers yet so how and the heck was I supposed to find them?? Finally I hear a beautiful word said in a southern accent, my name, Marcy had found me! Whewwww

Once back home and settled again it was time to figure out our ways to work and that meant tackling the public transportation system! We walked about 10 minutes to the bus station we needed and hopped on the bus, which was a fee of a whopping 10 bucks! Our first destination was the Cairns Tropical Zoo where Marcy and Kristen will both be interning. It took us like an hour to get there and once we did it was 8 minutes too late because it had just closed, REALLY? On the up side, on the way home we saw our first real life wallabies in a field :] Now it was off to my work, Airport Surgery Veterinary which we had spotted on the way!!! We stopped, got out and took a look through the window. I cant wait to go in and meet everyone but am SUPER nervous!! We decided to see how long it would take to walk the journey because the public transportation is very expensive here and it was like a 2 min bus ride. It took about 45 min to walk home so I as of now i am on the fence for buying the $200 monthly pass or walking home in the dark?

When we got home we thought it would be a fabulous idea to relax and clear our minds before our first day of work by enjoying the spa in our backyard, WRONG! It smelt a little funny but we decided that it couldn't be too bad, little did we know that it was a breeding ground.. We had been in there for about 15 minutes (the entire time I was trying to keep to myself about how disgusted I was) only to find a floating head rest inside with gunk growing all over it and surrounded by a film of foaming grossness.. We quickly exited the "spa" with quite a few laughs!

The night could only get better after that right, wrong again! The first thing I did after an experience like that was naturally take a shower. Well I return to my room afterwards only to discover that I HAD LOCKED MYSELF OUT!! (I am starting to get a reputation for this) Keep in mind that I look like a hot mess in only my towel, do not have a spare, it is 10:30 at night, and my first day of work is TOMORROW... I vaguely remember them mentioning something about an emergency number so I ran down to Marcy's room and gave it a ring. The poor man on the other line was just falling asleep but the gem that he was came out for of course just a little fee. He was my knight in shinning armor and rescued me from terrible times, I gave him a LARGE tip (which is an uncommon gesture here but I decided in this circumstance was very necessary!!) and I am thinking of bringing to him at the office a little treat :]

Now after all that excitement it is time to rest my head and get my beauty sleep before the big scary first day of work tomorrow, which I probably wont be getting much sleep at all since I am feeling so awfully nervous haha

Until next time :]