I'm back!!!

Needless to say it's been quite a while since i last made a post. I'll try and update everyone on my activities for the last 3 months the best i can. The last update I had was in Darwin before thanksgiving. We ended up inviting 6 Australian friends over along with us three Americans and celebrated thanksgiving. We baked a turkey and had mashed potatoes and tried to make it as authentic as possible. About this time, I found a job in Darwin working at citybeach. It's a surf shop/clothing store in the local mall in Darwin. The website to check it out is citybeachsurf.com.au. I worked there from the end of November to the beginning of January. During this time I was living in an apartment with the 2 American girls and an Australian couple. I slept on the couch but it wasn't too bad of a place. The next big event was Christmas. It was weird without family there but we made do. We bought presents for each other and even had a little Christmas tree set up. We had about 10 people over an grilled sausages and spent the day outside. One large difference about Australian Christmases is that the weather is pretty warm. On Christmas day it was 90 degrees in Darwin. This was a big adjustment! We also celebrated new years eve in Darwin. We went over to a friend's house for a barbecue and ended the night at the local pub where one of my roommates was working. On the second of January i left Darwin to meet my parents in Sydney. It was good to see them after 5 months of being away! From the we traveled to Melbourne, Carins, and Brisbane. Some highlights from the trip include watching the penguins near Melbourne, scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, and four wheel driving on Frasier Island. They left the middle ofJanuary and it was hard to tell them goodbye! After they left I flew back up to Cairns and have been here since then. For most of the timeI've been here I've been a "hostie" on the dive boat we were on. I would go on the boat for 3-5 days at a time and I would do the dishes on the boat and clean some of the rooms. In return, I would get free room and board and 3 dives a day. Through this i was able to make 25 dives on the Great Barrier Reef. I have an opportunity to work full time on the boat and to get my Dive Mastership, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to complete this. Since I've been here I've stayed in different hostels. They're fairly cheap and it's a good way to meet people. I've also become good friends with the crew from the boat and have spent a lot of time hanging out with them. In the next few days I will know for sure what my plans in the future are. I plan on making a trip north of cairns to an area called Cape Tribulation. It's a very tropical area that boasts beautiful lakes and waterfalls. After that I will most likely head a little south to try and find some work picking fruit. I've been told it's hard work, but it pays well. I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks and I'll try and update in a couple days when I know for sure what my plans are. I hope everyone back home is doing well and I've been thinking about all of you. Until next time,
tj