A Trip I'll Never Forget

Hey wassup hello – it’s me again with a final update of my Australian adventure. I want to say thank you to all my fans still reading my cheesy blogs; I love you people. Once we got the room keys to our hotel – yup, that’s right we moved on to bigger and better places ladies and gents, no more hostels !! – we were all shocked. Almost everyone posted a video of their hotel room to Snapchat all simultaneously. There were two queen sized beds for the two of us, we had our own kitchen, and I could actually sit in the shower to shave my legs. AND we had a balcony with an oceanfront view. You already know I slept like Patrick Star in my bed our first night. We were livin it up like VIPs. The area around our hotel kind of reminded me of Cairns – there were a lot of restaurants, shops, and bars within a few blocks of us.

Once we landed in the Gold Coast, we changed into our “swimmers” and went straight to the Southern Cross Uni where we learned all about Australia’s surf culture from Dr. Carroll, the coordinator of the Southern Cross University diploma of sport management surf studies. I think it’s really unique that there are so many contrasting career paths from business to exercise science that all share the same interest in surfing – you don’t really see that in the States. Once Dr. Carroll’s presentation was over, we went to the largest surf shop in the area and of course I splurged (sorry mom). We then got back on the bus to depart for our surfboard riding lessons. We put on a wet surf shirt and got handed a board and headed down to the beach for our instructions. We totally looked like amateurs by the way most of us were holding our boards. The “right” way to hold it is under your arm but my arms were too short to get a good grasp on it so I carried my board on top of my head, whacking people whenever my surfboard and I turned. The instructions seemed really simple on land, but once we got out to the water it was A LOT harder than it looked. Getting up on the board wasn’t even the hardest part; it was getting out there while carrying your board and trying not to get swept up by a wave and washed up on the sand (it happened to me more times than I actually stood up). Not only that, all 31 of us were basically on top of each other trying to surf and it was impossible to move out of the way once you were in the water. Like I said, I couldn’t even hold my board on land so trying to hold it in the water was a workout. I’m still sore from it all and it’s now been 5 days since we surfed.

The next day, we learned more about the surf culture and beach safety from the Head Coach of the Surfers Paradise Club, Mr. Hammil. He first gave us a little background on the history of the Club and the surf life saving movement. In Australia, there are lifeguards which are paid and work Monday-Friday year round. But there are also life saviors who are volunteers that dedicate their time to help promote beach safety. Mr. Hammil talked a lot about the importance of the youth, as they are the ones who will be the future life saviors of the Club. He shared some of his real life experiences with us as a life savior and an experienced surfer which was cool to hear about. We were finished with lectures by 12 pm, made a stop at Woolworth’s (the only grocery store in Australia) and got some groceries for the next few days that we could actually prepare in our own rooms !!!! And by 1 pm we were down by the beach for the rest of the day.

On our last day in Australia, I decided to be extra spontaneous and jump out of a plane, from 12,000 feet high. I never thought my mom would allow me to skydive considering she can’t even go up on an escalator without being scared of the height. So I want to give a big S/O to my mom and Jon for all their support and making this happen. I wouldn’t be on this trip at all if it weren’t for you two – so thank you. There were only 6 badasses out of the 31 of us who ended up doing it. We got picked up at 8 am by the skydiving company and once we arrived, we were told that only 2 could go up together at a time and guess who volunteered to go first?!?! ME !!! If you’re going to be spontaneous, might as well go all out right?! 

Once we got all of our gear on, we got back onto the bus which took us to the airport. I don’t really know what kind of plane I was expecting, but definitely one that was bigger than the little jet that awaited us. All 4 of us (me, Emily, and our two certified instructors) were crammed in the back of the jet like peas in a pod. I wasn’t nervous until we were above the clouds and our instructors told us that we weren’t even halfway up yet. Then it started to hit me that I was literally about to jump out of a plane. Once the door flung open, a swoosh of wind hit us in the faces and that’s when I got the goosebumps and asked how many people pee their pants in their air, because I really thought that I was about to. Emily, one of my friends on the trip, and her instructor jumped first and as soon as their feet left the platform of the jet, they completely disappeared. That’s how fast you fall. And that’s when I really thought I was about to pee my pants.

Within seconds of them jumping out, my instructor and I were getting ready to jump. I’m getting anxious all over again just writing about it. My instructor counted down 3, 2, 1 and just like that we were free fallin’ harder than Tom Petty. I can’t even explain the feeling but it was the most euphoric experience I’ve ever had and one I would do again and again if I could. After about 45 seconds, my instructor pulled the parachute and I caught my breath – that was awesome. We floated over the city of the Gold Coast for what felt like a good few minutes before our surprisingly peaceful landing onto the sand. I sat there for a few seconds, catching my breath – skydiving really takes the breath out of you if you’re wondering why I’m always out of breath lol – in complete awe of the whole experience. Once I stood up, my legs felt like jello and I felt like I had just ran a marathon. I’ve never actually ran a marathon lol but I would imagine it felt a lot like this – exhausted but proud as ever. Check out my video of the whole experience on Facebook !!!! And of course, we treated ourselves to a beer at 11 am when we were all finished and laid like noodles on the beach for the rest of the day.

Tonight was our farewell dinner ... can you believe it?! Because I can’t. A few people went to Woolworth’s and got heaps of food for us all and we grilled out by the pool – well I didn’t, but the boys did. We all ate together in the dark and then watched a video which was created by one of our classmates (S/O to Maddison) of a collaboration of all our pictures and videos taken from the trip. It got me in my feels. I don’t want to leave Aussieland, but I have to admit I do miss America and not having to live out of a suitcase and my bed and having ranch with my pizza. This was a trip of a lifetime that I will absolutely cherish forever. I created so many friendships that I know I wouldn’t have made if it weren’t for this trip. And to share this experience with 31 others with the same passion for exercise science and helping others is pretty cool. Our professors really challenged us to think about what we want to do with our lives after undergrad and I know the connections I made not only with Dr. Mensch, Dr. Yeargin, and Dr. Mazoue but with all the professionals we came into contact with on this trip, will really help me excel in the future, whether it’s as a PT or not. I want to say a big thank you to all of our professors and all of my classmates that I shared this trip with for the best 18 days I could’ve ever asked for.

SEE YOU SOON AMURICA !!!!!!!!!