P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, SYDNEY!

Last week, while white water rafting I conquered a 7 meter waterfall, which is the highest you can legally go over in a raft in the world! Our guide, Chunk, was hilarious and made the trip really fun. The last time I went white water rafting was with my Aunt Sarah, and the rules she drilled into us then were helpful to remember this time around - things like "Do As I Say!" and "Don't Let Go Of The End Of The Paddle!". It was interesting that about 3 times during our trip down the river and once before we started, the guides said prayers to the spirit of the river. The New Zealanders are very spiritual people, but do not see the need in going to church. All of the prayers were offered in the name of "the Man upstairs...whoever that may be for you." The similarities and differences between each culture we have encountered so far is so interesting! Every culture finds a spiritual being or someone greater than themselves to pray to, but they haven't been very strict or firm in their thinking about who that is. So many cultures are open to the idea of God, but just need to be informed like when Paul explained to the people of Athens that he knew the God they honored as THE UNKNOWN GOD. (Acts 17:16-33)

Now, we are in Australia and have been keeping busy here as well. Our first destination was Cairns, and we spent time at a small lagoon then took a catamaran cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. We didn't go to the beach to swim because the waters are full of jellyfish right now, so the lagoon was a great alternative. Tons of people were there, but it didn't feel crowded. So, we had fun swimming around like in a pool and laying out in the sun to dry off. Don't worry, we all kept each other in check reapplying SPF 30+ sunscreen very often, especially since all the locals kept telling us that the UV was in the danger zone and we could easily burn within 15 minutes of being exposed to the sun.

On our cruise, we spent about 2 hours driving out to our destination on the Reef relaxing out on the deck or inside in the shade. Snorkeling was included in our day trip, but we were also given the opportunity to scuba dive if we wanted to. I've been snorkeling before in Hawaii, but when we started snorkeling it was also starting to rain just a little bit, so the water was really choppy. I decided to give scuba diving a try, and it was so incredible! I was nervous that I would panic under the water after trying to snorkel in the waves for a while, but the guides were very patient and gave us plenty of time to practice and went over our hand signals and testing us just under the surface. I had bought an underwater camera since it's not everyday that you go see the Great Barrier Reef, and I hope when I get them developed they look as awesome as the real thing! There were so many bright and beautiful fish that swam right around us, and we had the chance to touch lots of clams and other weird creatures at the bottom of the sea. I even saw a sea turtle swim just over us! It reminded me of Finding Nemo, and I wondered what the fish thought of us. They didn't seem bothered at all that we were swimming around, and in fact they seemed just as interested in us.

Now, we are in Sydney, and we will be taking classes at Macquarie University the next 3 days along with our own free time to tour around. It's so fun being here because it feels so much like home, but it's still just so exciting to be in Australia! Today I felt sick, so I stayed close to the hostel, but several people went out exploring and came back with stories of petting koalas or accidentally running into a movie premiere where they saw Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman! It's strange to think that this is the tail end of our adventures, but we still have so much to do and see. Hopefully I get to feeling better very soon so I can enjoy Sydney.

I love you all, and I enjoy hearing from you about home!

Amy