Finally Here

I have finally made it to Australia and gotten settled in to my new apartment. I haven't been able to update because I've been staying on campus where I didn't have any internet access.

I've done so many things and met so many people over the last week, and I don't even know where to start. The flights from home took roughly 23 hours, with stops in Dallas, San Francisco, and Sydney.

Dayton to Dallas was uneventful, and on a very small plane. I sat quietly for 3 hours thinking about what the bloody hell I had just gotten myself into. Right before I got on the flight, I had lost my boarding pass within 3 minutes of getting it. The worst part is, I did it in view of my poor parents. I was off to a rocky start, but I think it was a really great thing to happen to me because I have been incredibly vigilant ever since.

The Dallas Airport was more like a gigantic mall, but I had no trouble finding out where I was supposed to be even though they switched the gates on me. On the plane, I talked hockey with this woman that had a son that played. She seemed really interested in my plans to go to Australia, and told me that after meeting me, she really wants her son to do the same thing. I stuck with her after getting off the plane in San Francisco to pick up my bags. She offered me a ton of travel tips and was very caring and motherly.

The San Francisco to Sydney flight really as bad as you'd think, but that could be due to the fact that I had some great people to sit with. I was in the aisle seat, and the girl named Lindsay by the window took sleeping pills, drank wine, and passed out for about 10 of the 13 hour flight. She was going to live just outside Melbourne for the next 2 years for school. The woman in the middle seat was an Australian woman named Gail who had just spent 18 days in Canada skiing. She was pretty happy about being the first Australian that I got to talk to on my trip, and she was incredibly nice. She's the kind of woman that I spent a short time with, but I know that I will probably remember her for the rest of my life. We went our seperate ways in Sydney, she took a different plane to Melbourne than Lindsay and I.

I got off the plane in the Melbourne International Airport and met several other exchange students and the Deakin International Student Advisors. I was greeted by Jess, who immediately confused my already tired mind by saying "How you going?" as soon as she saw me. I was caught off guard and gave her a bit of a blank stare, which wouldn't be the last blank stare I give the Aussies. A few of them are incredibly hard to understand, but I'll get better.

We took a bus to Geelong, and I was amazed by how different the trees and plants are from home. Spindly Eucalyptus trees lined the highway, and I was driving on the opposite side of the road. This definitely was not Ohio anymore. I set up temporary housing on campus and went out to dinner with the other international students that got there that day. None of us had any time to sleep, so we were all very tired.

Over the next 2 days, I explored the city and quickly made friends with all of the students going to the Warrnambool campus that is about 2 hours from Geelong. They were all staying in the same college as myself, along with a few more that were only on campus temporarily. An English guy named Pete, a German named Peter, and an American named Ben all moved about 15 minutes away to Torquay to live permanently. Torquay is one of the best spots around for surfing and fishing.

After a few nights on campus in Geelong, we all packed a few things and went to Lorne. The school set us up in some great accomodation and fed us 2 meals each day we were there. I played some footy (Aussie Rules Football) and surfed. I have never gone surfing before, but I must say, I'm pretty amazing at it. I got up on my first try and even had the instructors telling me that it looked like I had done it before. I met a ton of people in Lorne and had a great time.

We left Lorne to go on a sight seeing trip on the great ocean road. We went to the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard, the Otways, and Gibson's Steps. I took some really great pictures that I will have to load up for you to see. (The internet here is really slow, so I won't get to upload all 466 photos, but I'll try to put on the best ones.)

After Lorne, I moved my things from the Deakin campus to Carlton Central. It is one of the older buildings in the city, so it's a little run down. I have a little room with a dresser, bed, desk, fridge, and sink. There are shared toilets and showers right across the hall from me. I like it here with the exception of the incredibly loud and annoying Indian kids that live on my floor. They will be moving out on Saturday, which is a very good thing.

I am going to go food shopping tomorrow morning, which I am pretty excited about. I've never done it before for myself, so it should be fun. I'm making a list of things to buy that I've thought of over the past few days.

I'll update again when I get the chance, but I will be pretty busy for the next few days. Melbourne on Saturday and the Surf Coast on Sunday. It should be a good time.