my journey to oz

Two days ago was my first step into a country I would call home for four months. This is my journey to AUSTRALIA! It all began when we rushed off to the airport from our house, on the way discovering Kristin forgot her ipod! Tears later we made our way to DIA where we realized my bag was 2 pounds over weight. Frantically digging through my suitcase trying to figure out what was not an “essential” for our trip and sending it home with my mom, Kris and I said our happy/sad goodbyes to our parents and were off having no idea what would be in store for us. We landed in LAX, and to be honest, I was already tired of flying haha and that was only a two hour flight! Getting our bags we had to “switch” terminals, which entailed us carrying our own bags (haha a 50lb suit case, winter coat, 20lb backpack, camera bag, and purse) onto a bus where we got lost! Everyone was starring at us because I couldn’t even lift my bag onto the bus. After asking 3 people for directions we finally found where we were supposed to meet our group in an hour. We ended up eating dinner and talked through every possible way of walking up to the group because we were so nervous!! Truth be told, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had anticipated! We finally boarded our plane and I was blown away by how HUGE the plane was! Haha this was the type of plane you see in movies. We each had our own personal tvs with free movies, games, tv shows, music, basically anything you could ever want while traveling!! One movie later I was out for most of the flight! The only times I woke up were to eat! First time I have eaten a meal on a plane since I was 5!! It seriously was the coolest thing ever,  haha it was like I was a kid in a candy store!! The 14 hours finally became a reality and next thing I know, I was in AUSTRALIA!!! Meeting our ASC members, we left on a bus to school, and this was the first time getting to see Sydney. I didn’t really come here knowing what to expect, but I can say it is totally different than I imagined (haha even though I don’t even know what that was).

Our whole group has been exhausted and severely jet lagged, and on top of that we have been going through orientation. Our second day here we met all the “first year” students at our school and were sent into the city for a scavenger hunt! This is my first time seeing the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House! Seriously AMAZING! Pictures don’t even do it justice! But this truly was a day we will never forget. Half way through the day Kristin started feeling sick and ended up throwing up 6 times all over Sydney. She christened the ocean off the Dock of the Sydney Opera House just as we were boarding a boat for a harbor cruise! The sites were so incredible, but Kristin and one other girl in our group ended up spending their evening in the bathroom both being sick. Not a way we all thought our trip would start, but definitely has made us all a lot closer.

Coming to Australia, I was shocked to find: the street signs are MASSIVE, every kid you see wears a uniform, Australians actually love Summer Heights High (because its exactly how it is here),  you eat 6 times a day, you get 2 breaks throughout the day for morning tea and afternoon tea, everyone is REALLY friendly, everyone takes public transportation, there are tons of oriental and Thai restaurants, there is a park every block, our school is just like the movie Step Up, there are spiders bigger than both of your fists, they don’t have AC, I love TIM TAMS, everyone loves our American accents, and my host family has 3 chickens for pets!! Haha so weird, but so cool!!!

I know I have only been here for 3 days, but it makes me excited for what’s in store over the next few months! “This is not my semester, this is our semester.”