Lately I have been swamped with work. Honestly I didn’t think I would have to do this much homework while abroad! The assignments I have had since I last wrote include but are not limited to: a Chinese presentation convincing my Chinese class why they should travel to Antarctica (yes, in Chinese), a paper on the threats and opportunities for cyber warfare in China for Chinese defense policy as well as a 15 minute presentation on that topic, a 2 hour Chinese written midterm, numerous profiling reports for my Criminal Profiling class, and the beginning of a case study project for my Learning and Behavior class. Oh yeah, also applying to co-ops for the fall and registering for summer 1 classes.
But the main focus on the entry is my trip to BALI. I left on the morning of Thursday 2/27 and left Bali Monday 3/3. It felt more like five minutes than five days. The flight was around 5 hours. Our days were extremely packed, I’ll give a brief overview. Day 1 we settled in to our hotel and walked around the neighborhood. Day 2 consisted of a 15 mile bike ride, an elephant safari, and white water rafting; all of which were absolutely amazing. Day 3 we had a tour of Ubud and rice fields. Day 4 we went to the largest temple in Bali. Day 5 we took a cooking class, relaxed and then headed back to school. I wasn’t planning on going to Bali originally, but the trip just looked so amazing and 3 of my friends were going. It was so worth it and it had everything I wanted in it: culture, wildlife, and adventure. I had never seen elephants so up close before and I got to pet one! She liked me very much and was hanging out by me; attached is a picture. A big change from Australia—none of the spiders in Bali are poisonous! Given the opportunity to hold one by one of my tour guides I obviously did. Bali was an experience like nothing else and the preservation of their culture is absolutely astonishing.
I am so lucky to have gone there and I felt very spoiled when I didn’t want to return to Australia even though Australia is also amazing! I am going on a few trips around Australia before I leave. I only have about 5 weeks left in my study abroad and am going to Cairns on Wednesday to live on a boat for 3 days and dive the Great Barrier Reef, something that has been a dream of mine for years. I am so excited! I am also planning trips to Sydney and Melbourne before I leave. This semester has flown by so quickly and I am trying to pack as much as I can before I leave. I am extremely happy to have seen so much wildlife already and going to the Great Barrier Reef will be a whole new experience of seeing wildlife. Goodbye for now and I will have a lot to say when I get back from Cairns!
Cheers,
Shannon
