Hey guys,

I wanted to call you this morning to tell you all about skydiving, but when i got to call it was already pretty late so i figured i'd just email and then try to call you tonight. it was UNBELIEVABLE!! I was pretty scared but like i told mom, i wasn't worred about my safety at all. they do it 6 times a day, 7 days a week. also they explain everything they're doing -- checking equipment, etc. at first when we got up there, i felt pretty calm, but looking out the door made me really shaky. everyone was really helpful and supportive though. he just said "1, 2, 3..." and then next thing i knew i was floating through the air. the freefall was about a minute, and it was amazing, impossible to even describe. we could see the ocean and mountains and everthing perfectly. and then he pulled the 'chute and we were just descending calmly. they have really good control over the parachute. also we were close to the others so we could all talk and the guy pointed stuff out to me a! nd even let me steer for a little while -- it was pretty wild! when we landed on the beach it was really slow and calm and everyone hugged each other and was excited. afterwards it felt unreal, especially looking up and seeing how far we had jumped (14,000 feet by the way!!! can you believe that??) before we went we watched the others go and that was a little scary, just seeing this little dot in the sky falling, until you see the parachute open. but it made me feel better to see how smooth the landing was. when we came back we went to a BBQ sponsored by UNSW. since we were the first in our group to go, everyone wanted to hear all about it. a bunch of my friends went today. i was going to wait, but i didn't want to make mom wait another day, plus i had gotten mentally prepared. but i can't wait to get the pictures developed, i gave someone on the ground my camera to get some pictures. i guess that's the excitement for me! i'm leaving tomorrow morning at 5 am. i do! n't have the info here but i'll email it to you tonight when my friend lauren gets back. i can't wait to see everyone!! i miss you guys a lot, but i guess its not that much longer. i can't believe it was 2 months ago when i called you guys crying because i was so homesick. i've come a long way, baby! i'll try to call you guys tonight if i can, but i'm not sure how it will work with the plane trip and everything. i love you.

love,

me