I thought it might be an appropriate time to post my first blog entry while being in Australia. It was a VERY long journey to get here, but I can tell already that it is going to be totally worth it. A quick note about the flight-it was a 30 hour experience finally arriving in Australia. My flight was MUCH better than expected. We were constantly being offered snacks, drinks and anything else to make our flight more comfortable. We got blankets, pillows, socks, eye patches, mints, chocolate, and a menu for each meal. We were also each given a set of headphones and an individual TV where you could watch movies, TV shows and a lot of other things. I watched Australia because it was long and it seemed fitting :) I met Juan on the plane as well. He is an exchange student from Mexico city. It was so cool to hear about his life and compare it to mine. The challenges that he's had to face made him seem so much more interesting than me...but in the end, I learned a lot and made a friend! I had my first instance of culture shock when he said goodbye to me and kissed me on the cheek. I knew from my Spanish classes that it's customary for people from Mexico to do that, but I was still very awkward and I felt bad.
After arriving and spending 2 days here, there are a couple of things that I've already noticed about Australia:
1. It's beautiful-the trees, ponds, birds and wildlife in general are magnificent!
2. The people are very laid back and incredibly nice. They are also very upfront and tell it how it is
3. There is a major water shortage here. Your showers are limited to 2-4 minutes or the government will penalize you with fines
4. I've had to get used to bugs and lizards inside my dorm and room-the cocoons hanging from my curtains made me a little uneasy, but nothing has hatched from them yet...
5. It's HOT and there is no air conditioning. And when I say hot, I mean hot and humid. I am getting used to the feeling of always being a little damp from sweat but it's pretty uncomfortable to sleep in. I just have the fan two feet away from my face blasting at full speed all night.
6. I can wear my clothes once, and then they are dirty. By the time I change into my pajamas, my stuff is damp and definitely unwearable. Looks like I'm going to be doing a lot more laundry this semester!
Right now, it's 5:30 in the morning Australia time (aka 1:30 pm Minnesota time). I didn't have jet lag as bad as I expected, but I NEED to try to wake up later than 5:30! I've already met a new friend. Her name is Mila and she is from Canada. She is going to be here for 4 years for the pharmacy program. We have been hanging out quite a bit and it's been really nice to have someone to eat breakfast with and someone to go apartment searching with.
The apartment search is going all right... We looked at 4 different places yesterday, and nothing was promising. The first two apartment were horrific and way overly priced because they are on campus. We've learned that the best thing is probably to live a little off campus and take the bus in because we will get the best deal. I am going to look at a share house today and I'm crossing my fingers that it becomes a serious option.
Other than the hours we've spent walking around campus looking for apartments, I haven't really done much. Mila and I took a walking tour around St. Lucia and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Yesterday, we took the bus to Toowong, a neighboring area where there is a big shopping center. Inside, they had a fresh fruit market that took up a huge portion of the mall. It was so awesome! We think it was inside because all the fruit would be ruined from the heat.
I am hoping that by this weekend I will have found a place to stay, so I can celebrate and finally go out! Maybe by that time, my body won't be exhausted by 8:30 pm...
Well, as the Australians say, good day!
ps. Here is a picture of my school. It is SO pretty! (This is the Great Court)
