"No worries, mate!"

G'day, sweet readers! I'm terribly sorry if anyone has been checking back for updates on my arrival in Australia - believe it or not, I only just got the internet up and working! Plus, I only get a certain download quota for free from the uni (Aussie for university - they abbreviate everything!), so online activity will have to be somewhat limited. For a country that is so similar to the US, Aussieland's wireless is TERRIBLE! We're told it's because there are only about 21 million people in this country while in the similarly-sized US over 300 million reside. Regardless, it's annoying.

So much has gone on in the past six days that it's taking me a minute to decide where to start. I guess the plane ride would make sense. I won't lie, I was pretty antsy during the four hour flight from Chicago to LA, which I didn't think was very promising considering the subsequent 15 hour trek across the Pacific. However, when I hopped off the plane at LAX (anyone? anyone?!), I was feeling ready to just get going! And to be honest, the flight to Sydney was worlds better than I had expected (complete with Aussie-sounding flight attendants saying things like "Here you go dahling" and "No worries love!"). Only 14 hours, two movies, some Tylenol PM, and about 80 episodes of The Office later, we landed in Sydney!

As we pulled onto the road, John Mayer crooning over the bus speakers and views of Krispy Kreme and McDonald's passing by the windows, I couldn't help but think that this place seemed...just like the States. Then I realized we had pulled onto the LEFT side of the road, and I was brought back to reality. Though I must say, the three days we (the 50-ish American students studying in Australia through this particular program) spent at a sports complex in Sydney did not feel very much like being in Australia. Aside from the parrots in the trees and the constant supply of vegemite (an Aussie favorite I have yet to sample...), it was hard to remember we were in a totally different world. The days were spent at info sessions, hiking, touring the Taronga Zoo (where I pet, yes PET, a kangaroo - I'll get that picture up a.s.a.p.), exploring the harbor and surrounding area in Sydney (what a gorgeous city), kyaking, and generally getting to know the other excited Americans before we headed off to our host cities.

I do have to say that there have been moments since landing in Australia when I have never felt more alone. I don't mean lonely - there are lots of great people here - but alone. A number of the people on the trip came with friends, from school or from home, which makes me miss my own friends more than I anticipated. An ideal example was yesterday, right after I arrived at school and dropped my bags in my room, and realized I had absolutely no idea what to do next. In a strange city in a strange country with people you just met three days ago, I suppose one would naturally feel slightly out of her element. I'm definitely not saying all of this to be negative, it just highlights the fact that I can, in fact, feel those 10,000 miles separating me and everything I'm familiar with!

But those 10,000 miles are a beautiful thing. As I look out my window at the river lined with palm trees, under a setting winter sun (winter? it had to be in the 70s today!), I can't help but feel the excitement at the prospect of exploring and falling in love with this incredible country. While at the University of Queensland I am living in a residential college (a dorm, basically, but with the enthusiasm and pride of a frat or sorority) called St. John's. I am living in a flat with two other girls, both fourth-year (the equivalent to grad school) Australian science students. We each have a single bedroom attached to a common room with a kitchen and a bathroom, a pretty wicked (the Aussies use this word too!!) set up. Each college has different traditions and practices. One of these at St. John's are formal dinners: four each week (Monday through Thursday) where students from the college eat together wearing formal academic gowns - I'm thinking Harry Potter-esque? I'm excited for these, so no worries, there will be more on them once they start.

So here I am, in Australia. In a lot of ways, it's the same. There's skim milk for my coffee. The Bush band we listened to the other night (folk-y type music) played "Wagon Wheel." I saw a sign for a park called Centennial, and I was able to find peanut butter at the grocery store. At the same time though, it's so vastly different. When that skim milk is offered to me, it's called "skinny." The new moon looks like a "U" instead of a "C" in the sky. It gets dark around 5:30pm, and we shouldn't swim in the river because there are sharks. Long story short, I'm obsessed, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow's Brisbane has to offer!