Jess Down Under: Classes and an Island Get-Away

Hey guys! Much to update you about. First of all, classes started and they seem pretty cool. By far my favorite is definitely going to be Australian Vert. Fauna. I can see it already. The classes look like I'm going to have to put in some work, but it's going to be fun with the field trips I get to take!

Last week, I started going to a church here in Townsville, and it's nice because they send a bus to pick up all of the students on campus that want to go. And, the big hook, they feed us dinner on Sundays! It's pretty awesome and I've met a ton of pretty awesome kids. I even won two free movie tickets! I'll just have to find a ride and a friend to go to the theater. After the service every other week, all of the young adults go to a "house party," where we can hang out, eat snacks, play billiards or Wii or even watch a movie. I even got involved with one of the connect groups, which is a bible study. Last week we went to Georgia and Elle's place. It's so good getting a
chance to get off campus and hang out.

Speaking of getting off campus, yesterday, we went to Magnetic Island, also known as Maggie. We took a bus down to the ferry terminal and then the ferry out to the island. It is soooooooo pretty there. If you want to go swimming, you have to go where it is netted off so that the jellyfish can't get you. And even if you are swimming there, the Irukandji Jellyfish are so tiny that they can slip through and get you. Plus, they're really dangerous. We decided to stay out of the ocean water.
First we visited Horseshoe Bay and hung out there for a while. Then, we bussed over to Arcadia, because we'd heard about a waterfall there. Well, we jumped off the bus and had to climb a crazy step road (which is actually a walking path. It takes about 2.5 hours one way to climb! I want to go back and try it, though!) and about 5 minutes up we found the waterfall. It was really cool, though not nearly as big as we'd thought it was. We jumped in the pool and just relaxed for awhile. Sitting in a pool in the jungle is the life! It really felt like paradise there.
After reluctantly leaving the waterfall, we went to grab some lunch. It took about forever, but it was okay...we just sat there looking at the ocean and talking. After lunch, we walked over to Alma Bay which was gorgeous. It was my favorite. It just seemed so deserted and it was cool to walk around and climb the rocks on the sides of the bay. I definitely want to go back there!

Here are some pictures to make y'all completely jealous:

Horseshoe Bay: