Friends and family~
Please excuse all typing errors- I am on a French computer and the keys are in different places, specifically the A,M, and comma button, and when my thoughts are on a roll, I tend to resort back to the American keyboard.
So, the weekend, always nice to have a few days off from classes. Friday was ANZAC day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). A bunch of us (from the P&O), and millions in Perth woke up at 4 am, rode the 40 minute train to Perth; took the bus to Kings Park and enjoyed the annual ceremony for the ANZACs. What is ANZAC day, you wonder? This day (April 25) in 1915, so during the first World War, the ANZACs formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula. The objective was to capture Istanbul, an ally of Germany. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stale-mate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties. Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died! I am really glad I could be a part of the commemoration for the Australian soldiers and I learned something new.
Saturday was a homework day, so I was productive. Sara, Tonya, and I rode into Perth and spent the afternoon at the library, after shopping for a bit at the markets, no harm in that right? I waitressed on Sat night and fell asleep right away that night!
Sunday- woke up to pouring rain and frigid air blowing through the P&O. This was not making me excited to Scuba dive that day. I DETEST being cold, more than anything in the entire world! Wet and cold is probably the worst, but since we already paid for the adventure...and lunch, we would make the most of it! By 8am Jess, Emily, Tonya and I were at the dive shop trying on our wetsuits and gear. There were about 15 people diving with us today and the 40 minute ride out to Rottnest Island was a bit chilly.
The first dive was miserable, not to sound too negative, but my goggles were too big and didn't suction to my face, so they fogged up immediately, only allowing sight through the bottom left corner of my goggles. How frustrating. Try to envision me 60 feet under the sea, contorting my entire body on the side of the reef to see approximately one-inch of ocean out of that tiny little corner in my goggles. Since my sight was limited, this made for a bad dive. Luckily there weren't sea snakes or sharks in sight, because I would have been the first target, not being able to see in front of me! Not only could I not see, but the water was FREEZING! I was convulsing the entire time. The dive lasted 27 minutes and then I had to surface.
After a hearty lunch of shrimp (amazing!), some other fish (also amazing), salad, and cheese, I was pumped for the next dive, especially since the captain lent me his goggles for the next dive. I knew it would be a much better experience than the first. The 3 cups of coffee also put me in a better mood. Caffeine= happiness. I saw amazing things on this dive, which included a sea lion!!!, some nudibranches (look like neon blue and orange slugs), a sea nettle (huge jellyfish), and a globe fish (it's a type of puffer with bright yellow spines). I was freezing again, but I was seeing so many fascinating things under the sea, that I didn't even care. Our entire group pretty much ran out of oxygen, because we were down for 53 minutes and didn't want to come up!
It was a great weekend, and I LOVE SCUBA DIVING! I now get to look forward to a rough 3 weeks behind the books!
Until next time,
Peace and love
Molly
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