Hello there! Internet access has been very difficult for me for the past few days and will continue to be difficult for the duration of my stay in Australia due to cost and time constraints. And so I plan to keep a written record of what I've been doing and write one big blog post about my travels when I get back and internet is easily accessible to me. If you know me and are interested in knowing how I'm doing before I return on June 24, by all means please shoot me an email, and I'll answer it as soon as I can. So goodbye for now, and you'll hear from me when I'm north of the equator again!

     I've been so busy this past week and a half that I totally forgot to write my last post for my Maymester lecture! Well better late than never, so here goes. Instead of having a regular classroom lecture for our last week, our class went to go see a 3D IMAX film called Ocean Wonderland in lieu of lecture. There were a couple of parts that seemed to drag on for a bit, but it was still a pretty good film overall. What I really enjoyed about the film was the fact that I was able to view the types of corals and fish I will encounter in a few weeks up close and in 3D. I felt as if I was already snorkeling in Australia and seeing everything in person! During the movie, I attempted to identify the coral and fish I saw on the screen but to no avail. Now that I have access to fish and coral identification textbooks, I'm thinking about reading up and quizzing myself on the long flight to Sydney. I figure that if it was hard for me to label fish and corals on a screen, it'll be even harder when I'm holding my breath and swimming about. So it might be a good idea for me to become familiar with them while I'm above water first. Also, what else am I going to do on a 20+ hour flight anyway?

Ocean Wonderland 3D

     The excitation is finally starting to kick in now that I've seriously begun to collect items to bring with me, pack my bag, and make plans to travel after my Maymester ends. While I'm sad that I will be spending time away from friends and loved ones, I can't help but smile when I think about going to Australia. I'm getting the chance to live on an island and snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef, something that most people would only dream of! Considering that I am graduating this semester, I think this Maymester class is going to be the perfect way to conclude my studies as an undergraduate. Two weeks and counting!