June 17- Journey Home/ Top Ten Experiences in AU/NZ :)

Today started out with a loud wake-up call at 3:00 AM.....it was great!! Especially because my roomate and I were up the night before until about 11:30 because we were trying to pack.  Packing sounds easy but not when our suitcases were already stuffed when we began the trip, and now we were trying to fit our suvvies and new clothes! Anyways, we left the hotel at 4 and made our way to the airport. Keep in mind, everyone was cranky for being up so early and hungry because we weren't having breakfast until the 18 hour plane ride (which was after the 4 hour plane ride). The bus ride over was pretty intresting due to circumstances above :)  We got to the airport, checked all of our bags, and boarded the airplane.  I immediatly fell asleep and stayed asleep for the whole flight!  I woke up after we landed and we all got off the plane.  It must have taken as awhile to get through security and other stuff because all of the sudden, we were all running for the next flight.  I think I was third to last getting on the plane.  When we took off, I was sooooo tired from before but I made sure to stay awake because I was hungry from some airplane lunch!! Thats right, didn't get to have breakfast, just had to go straight to lunch. Don't worry, I was too hungry to complain/care about which meal it was.  The lunch consisted of chicken covered in tomato sauce, vegetables, a roll, salad, cheese and crackers, and water.  I ate alittle bit of chicken, all of the vegtables, the roll, and some salad.  I also got some coffe which was a BIG mistake because I was awake for awhile after that. Before I knew it, everybody around me was asleep.  I took the opportunity to watch some free movies!! I watched The Unknown, The Rite, (and for some reason) Tron.  The first two were awesome and Tron was just ok :)  After watching Tron, I fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I woke up to the pain of having my head squished.  I'll explain:  I feel asleep with my pillow/head on the tray table (very comfy) and the person infront of me decided to recline her chair ALL the way back without even so much as looking to see if I cared or not.  Thankfully, the flight attendant was right there and she said something to make the lady infront of me move her seat forward.  I fell asleep again (this time with me head on the seat) and woke up twenty minutes before landing.  When we landed, we got off, got our luggage, went through customs, dropped our luggage off again, went through security (I got to go through a giant body scanner thingy) then took a shuttle bus to our terminal.  At the terminal, we had to fill out a custom card (for the billionth time) and then we boarded our plane.  Once again, I slept for most of the flight.  I was awake when we took off, fell asleep, then woke up a couple minutes before landing.  It was the same routine when we got off.  After we got through customs and got all of our stuff, we went outside and the bus was waiting for us.  We all piled on the bus and drove back the G.N.H.S.  When we got there, everyone's parents were waiting and (for some reason) taking pictures of everyone when we got off the bus.  I was totally being anti-social because I soon as I got my stuff and the O.K from the teachers, I practically ran for car.  I really wanted to go home, see everybody, unpack, show my parents the pictures, and tell them all about the trip!! :)

 This is a list of the top ten favorite things I did in both countries!!

*These aren't in any specific order*

1)Visiting Ranitoto College- I absolutley loved meeting me pen pal and all the other kids!! We all talked so much and it was really fun learning about new things and explaining different american things.

2) Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef- I never thought I would get to see the GBR, let alone swim around in it.  I'm not a ver good snorkeler but it was still great to see the GBR and the fish.

3) Holding a Koala- Had the best time "cuddeling" a koala. She (her name was chimpy) was so soft and fluffy!!  She was really calm and quiet and when I held her, she grabbed me almost like she was hugging me!!

4) Visiting the Maori Village- The maori village was the best "culture experience" I've ever had.  Our tour guide really explained alot and the village itself was so cool!

5) Seeing the Opera House- It was unbelievable being so close to the Opera House!  It was beautiful inside and out.  I have always wanted to visit it ever since I started being musically acclamated.

6) Climbing the Sydney Bridge- I'm not afraid of heights at all and that definatly made this experience more enjoyable.  The views were beautiful!

7) Going on the Duck Tour- I loved seeing all the lakes.  The tour guide kept everybody updated on what was going on and he even held a trivia at the end!

8) Overall sightseeing- I absolutley loved seeing both countries.  I love seeing so much green and nature everywhere :)

9) Scenic Train Ride- The ride was beautiful because we were traveling through the mountains and we saw a waterfall!

10) Lugeing- I was really bad at it but I had a great time riding down the course.  The gondala ride up to the courses rocked as well!