skistemaker-blog

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My knee 😕. As many of you know I have torn my ACL for a 4th. Which is probably some sort of unfortunate world record. Last Friday it gave out on me while I was playing soccer. It's been a tough week. Tonight I realized that no matter what we will all go through storms in our lives but only some will seek shelter in the Lord. Please pray for strength and courage it's difficult to be so far from home. I'm am still able to walk and am doing my best to enjoy the rest of my time here in Australia. Love always, Steffy

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Visit to the Gold Cost this weekend. It was beyond gorgeous and the weather couldn't have been better. #beautifulAustralia #Studyabroad #loveit

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I think it's a #beautiful #city. 🌃🌉🌆🌇#farriswheel #brisbane #australia

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Spent today exploring the city 🌆😃 #brisbane #australia #city #beautifulday

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inch worm 🐛

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Got a job teaching swim lessons 3 days a week! 🐳🐠🐟🐬☀👏 #yay! #blessed #answeredprayers #australianlifeguard #hott #Godisgood #allthetime

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Bali Bali Bali!!

As you can see I made it back safely from Bali. I had such an amazing time and we did so much! Sorry it has taken me so long to post this update here is what we did!  On the 29th of March I went to Max Brenners (which is an amazing chocolate restaurant in Brisbane) for my birthday. It was delicious!! I had lots of fun hanging out with my “mates.” The 30th of March I spent packing for Bali and on the 31st (Easter) Hannah and I pulled our suite cases down the street to the bus stop. It was an experience to say the least. We took the bus to the train to the plane. Then we were off on an adventure of a lifetime. Once we landed in Bali we were completely overwhelmed. First of all we got off the plane outside and had to get on a bus to get inside the airport. Then once inside the airport no one directed us where to go people were everywhere speaking all different languages. There were few English signs. So we did what any intelligent young women would do and sucked it up! Put on a brave face and tried to figure it out. In situations like these confidence is key! When you arrive in Bali you have to buy a visa for 25USD at the counter people are literally throwing down money in exchange for a peace of paper that says visa on it. At the counter I went to open my bag I couldn’t find my money and my heart dropped right into my stomach. I thought I lost it all! Thankfully I just went off to the side and dug through my bag until I found it. What a relief! Then we continued to follow the crowd to “security” which consisted of people pushing through to put there bags through the conveyer belt and grab them quickly at the other side. Once we exited the airport we were confronted with about 30plus men holding signs and some yelling “taksi?!” Thankfully we found a man holding a sign with Hannah’s name on it. We followed him to the car and were on our way to the hotel he spoke very little English. Driving in Bali is crazy!  Scooters and cars fill the streets passing whenever they can. Drivers use their horns constantly. Sometimes cars drive 3 wide on a two lane road and more often then not they drive right in the middle until another car comes. Props to our driver for getting us there alive! That evening we ate a four course meal at the restaurant because it was so much cheaper then at home. Around midnight 3 of our other friends joined us at the resort. April 1: The following day we hung out around the resort and made our way into Ubud for lunch. It was a great way to tour around. We also planned trips for the next three days. For dinner we ate at Cafe Lotus. They had an Indonesian dance performance in the temple which was behind the restaurant (outside). I had some tuna, mahi mahi and rice. After dinner we took a look at the temple behind the restaurant which had candles leading up to it. It was so pretty. April 2: We had a full day of adventure. We got picked up around 8:30AM and headed to see how the Balinese clothing was made. Then we went to see a dance. Which proved to be very interesting. It was difficult to follow. Next, we went to both a silver shop and a painting/art market. Then we went to the elephant temple. The guide told us about the Hindu beliefs. We couldn’t tell much of why he was saying but, learned a bit about the different rituals. These rituals seemed kinda silly to me and even our driver (who was Hindu) couldn't seem to explain it. Then we headed north to see a volcano. We ate lunch at a buffet overlooking the volcano. I was a bit rainy but still so beautiful. Next, our driver took a spice garden where they grew coffee and coco and few other spices. We got to taste all the different teas and coffee. We had a lot of fun here with the umbrellas they gave us making our way around the puddles and through the garden. Then we loaded back in the car to head back toward Ubud to see the monkey forest. When we entered the gates a lady asked us if we would like to buy a banana to feed the monkeys. Tara, one of the girls with us (from Canada) said she wanted to. As soon as she got the bananas the monkeys started going crazy. After several attempts we successfully got a picture of her with a monkey on her head eating a banana. It was pretty scary because the monkeys are so unpredictable. We saw several people with two or three monkeys on them trying to get into their bags or get their jewelry. Some even got bitten. I decided not to risk getting rabies or some kind of disease and stayed clear of the monkeys. Then we took an hour car ride to a spa near the coast. The spa was a very interesting experience to say the least. Since, I had never had a massage before I had no idea what to expect. I’m not sure weather I want another Balinesian massage in the future. Lastly, we drove a quick ten minutes to dinner. We were shocked when we got to the restaurant and they took us out onto the beach where we sat facing the ocean. They had candles everywhere and a band went from table to table playing songs. We ate a seafood BBQ feast and I even got to try some squid and some muscles. Once we got back to the resort everyone was exhausted and ready to sleep. April 3: It was finally time to ride the elephants! If it wasn’t for them I would of had a hard time getting out of bed. After another free breakfast at the hotel we were picked up and brought to the elephant camp. We took a 30min ride on the elephants. They are much slower then I expected. They are also very tough and their hair is wiry. After the 30 minutes on the trail the elephant keeper asked us if we wanted to ride on the front of the elephant rather then in the saddle. It was scary but I am so glad I did it. The elephant did all kinds of trick like sitting on a stool and smiling for the camera. I am so glad that I got to go. Then we enjoyed lunch at the elephant camp and headed back to the hotel. We went out to dinner that night at a Mexican place Hannah read about on trip advisor it was very tasty. We got back to the room fairly early so we decided to watch Eat Pray Love and then get some sleep.

April 4: This was probably one of the scariest days we had in Bali. Today we decided to go to the coast and go para sailing, jet skiing and ride on the banana boats. We got picked up at the hotel around 9:30 am and took a long drive. Our driver today was a little sketchy and made me nervous. Once we got to the beach we were greeted by a man who explained what we were going to do. The whole thing was a little weird. The boats were tiny and rusted. Thankfully we didn't have to get in them. With para sailing we had to quickly run up and get buckled in as soon as the last person was unbuckled. I was very nervous but once I was up in the air I was so glad I did it I had an amazing view of the whole island. After jet skiing and banana boating (which is practically riding a tube) we had lunch and then headed back to the hotel. Three of our friends (Tara, Gus, and Caroline) headed home that evening so Hannah and I decided to try out one of the restaurants that we read about on TripAdvisor.com. It was so great! I had the best curry I had ever had and the desserts were incredible.

April 5:This was our last day in Bali so we decided to hit the shops. Hannah and I got to experience first hand bargaining. We learned that walking away was the best way to get them to lower their prices and that you can usually get them to go to  about 70-50% of their original price. We had a lot of fun. It was definitely a learning experience. That evening we took a cooking class. At first I would have never have done it but I am so glad I did. We got to learn a lot about the culture of Bali and how to cook the food. We made Nasi Kuning (yellow rice), Sate Lilit (minced of spices chicken skewer), Pensan Be Pasih (steamed fish in banana leaf) Ayam Bumbu Bali (Balinese Fried Chicken) and Cram Cram (clear chicken vegetable soup). By this point I have to admit I was a little tired of Balinese food. But it was still very cool to learn how it is cooked. The dessert was amazing we had Kolak Pisang (Braised banana saba in palm sugar gravy). We also got to meet several others that were taking the class. There were 3 people from California, 3 from Britain and 2 from Canada. It was a lot of fun getting to know people from all over the world.

April 6: We headed to the airport this morning and after over 20hrs of traveling we made it home to Brisbane. It was so weird to be home from a trip but not really be home. I was a little bit homesick and very tired the next few days but it wasn't long till I was back to being busy with school.

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When my sun sets I know yours will rise ☀ thinking of home all the time. #goinghome #butnotreally #tripwithinatrip #Godisgood #allthetime

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Bye bye Bali! 😘👋✈ #illmissyou #thanks #flyaway #aussiebound

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Making friends everywhere :) 🐘#bali #elephant #riding #funandscary

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Bali Adventures #puddle #girl #umbrella #artsy @hmills

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Volcano in Bali!! #beautiful #bali #nofilter #greatday #busygirl #studyabroad

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Happy Easter from Bali! #studyabroad #cultureshock #excited #beautiful #ricepaddies

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I AM HIS. 👑 #roomdecorations #pintrest #daughterofaking

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Koala :)

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My new friend #kangaroo #australia #zoo #loveit #socute #pulledmyhair 🙆

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I miss my sister.

I just wanted to say that I miss my sister.  I miss seeing her at school, randomly grabbing lunch or having her over to make some food. Of course we bickered and nagged at each other, but most of the time I needed it anyway.  Someone to point out how selfish or stupid I was being.  Often she was lil miss sunshine, bringing light and life to my day, and always making me laugh.  Hopefully, wherever she is, she brings sunshine to you. Cause if she doesn't, she should come home cause I miss her.

-Jon