Weather extremes

It's times like these that I realise I really am on the other side of the world. After language school I headed to the Carribean with the other 3 interns; Sarah, Marcos and James. It was about 4 hours by bus so the chance to go was really to good to ignore. Unfortunately it had rained non-stop for the 5 days preceeding. Sarah and I stayed in a place that literally had a river in the front yard (picture me wading up to my knees). The weather cleared up a bit and we even got a bit of a walk on the 'playa negra' (literally 'black beach'). The beach however was covered with palm trees. we even saw some in the ocean 400m from the shore. So after a weekend spent getting to know each other rather than getting to look more like locals (i.e sun-baking) we headed off to the internet cafe, because it had been almost 48 hours without internet. It was then, via the Canadian news I learnt what was happening in Melbourne. Ten minutes later on the way to the bus stop the reality of 84 deaths and 700 houses set in. Fairly recent emails from my parents suggested they and the house were probably ok, but it was a difficult experience feeling so helpless when so many people who share my geographic surrounds were dead or homeless. So to all the Melbourians out there, please know that we are praying for you all.