Submitted by Marissa Serrao on the 2019 spring semester study abroad program in Australia sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics…
I did not think it was possible for my time in Australia to get any more spectacular, but I was wrong. I had a three day work week at St. Vincent’s Hospital, with Monday being a public holiday for Australia Day, and Friday off for a weekend getaway. Friday morning I woke up at 3:45 AM for an early morning flight to Cairns, Australia- home of the Great Barrier Reef. As a certified scuba diver, the Great Barrier Reef had been on my mental list of places to dive since I made it when I was thirteen. This weekend, my dream eight years in the making finally came to life.
Hopping off the plane, we drove through the city streets of Cairns. It had been a three hour flight from Sydney, and we had crossed one time zone, but it felt as if we were on the other side of the world. The air was thick with humidity, and the surrounding foliage was straight out of a tropical rainforest. Lush trees and bushes covered towering mountains that had been hiding behind a vaporous fog, making the scenery that much moodier and mysterious.
The marina that our dive boat would take off from was a quick walk from our hostel, and during our walk there, the sky opened up, and that warm tropical rain soon had us soaked from head to toe. Amazingly I barely noticed, and cared very little, because I had my mind set on one thing only, and that was being 60 feet underwater.
The boat ride was two hours long to get us to the outer reef. Our boat, full of eager divers, was surrounded by green mountains embedded with thin waterfalls and lined with still water beaches. The sky had cleared up the further we got from shore and by the time we reached our destination, it was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for diving. Two dives, and one snorkel adventure later, I was overwhelmed with contentment. Standing on the bow, watching mountains pass by and the teal waves crashing gently into the sides of the boat, I couldn’t help but smile. I couldn’t process what I had just accomplished, and I repeated it to myself over and over in my head to make it stick. I had just dove the Great Barrier Reef. The coral had been vibrant as ever, and the sea life, shy but curious. I had seen anemones with clownfish wiggling their way in and out of, held the biggest sea cucumber I had ever seen, and got to dive alongside instructors who trusted and respected me as a diver, allowing me freedom to see and do what I pleased.
Returning to Sydney after an incredible trip to Cairns, I realized that it is not just about what the program provides, but about what I make out of my time abroad when there are no plans and it is up to me to choose what my day will entail. The semester will only be as amazing as I make it, and I plan on getting involved, increasing my knowledge and understanding of Australia, and continuing to have an experience of a lifetime.
