Written: Feb. 12
I’m sitting in Australia listening to music. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m here. Maybe because I haven’t started classes or maybe because I haven’t meant many Aussie’s yet.
Packing was atrocious as expected. I was packing up until the last minute. One of these days I won’t be a procrastinator. Or at least I’ll get better at it. :) Regardless I made it. 23hrs and 3 stops later I was peering out of my window at the golden arch….oh McDonald’s I shall never escape you…from the U.S. to Guatemala and now here…nonetheless…I grabbed my backpack and started on my journey.
I will be the first to tell you overweight luggage is no fun. 4days later and I still have trouble raising my arms. They were not lying when they said you’d have to carry your own luggage. After finally meeting the group we all waited anxiously to see where we’d be for orientation.
Let me tell you when we arrived on the scene the 4H center or any camp center for that matter immediately came to mind… it had bunk beds and all. It was nice though. We split into schools and proceeded to eat lunch...BBQ style….I’m starting to see they are quite fond of those here.
In a nutshell the first three days were cool. Day one we went to the zoo, had a nature walk, and a boat ride. Day two another nature walk and lots of dancing. Day three we went surfing. My inability to swim held me back from surfing but it did look lots of fun and when I become a confident swimmer maybe I will try it again. J
Now I am at my school and I have halfway unpacked. I’ve met some of the older students but most students don’t move in until the following week. It’s so strange being an international student. Several people have referred to us as the “Americans”. Monday starts orientation and I hope to meet some more people soon.
I will say I miss my family and friends but I’m not quite homesick yet. I’m a new kind of anxious. Ready to get this thing started but since I’ve arrived at school everything is just really slow. So I currently don’t have internet in my room which wouldn’t be so bad but I want to Skype and such. This is really nerdy but I really want to get on facebook…lol...by the time this is posted I will have been on but right now I’m suffering from withdrawal…well I’m going exploring soon but for now my analysis of my city is “quaint” for lack of a better adjective. My neighborhood is quiet but like I said the students are not back in town yet. We shall see…
Anecdote of the week:
I was walking to the atm when 3 guys sitting at a table called to me. I didn’t know if I should ignore and keep walking or just stop and talk. I had only been in the city 15hrs at this point and met a total of zero Australians. My friendly side won the battle and I decided I’d stop and chat. Guy 1 proceeded to ask me in a slurred manner, “Do you think I should buy my friend a new couch.” (In my mind I was thinking you stopped me for this how the heck do I know.) Then Guy 2 says “You see my friend got really drunk last night and slobbered all over my couch...just left a huge puddle. I think he should buy me a new one.” By now Guy 3 is eating it up and just laughing. I still can’t tell if they’re serious or joking so I say, “I think he should clean the couch or hire a maid for you.” In unison they agree and I smile and start to walk away while they yell more things at me. In my mind I’m thinking this can’t be normal. Well I happen to meet a lady who stops and chats with me and tells me they refer to these types of men as “yobbos” and that this is not a typical scenario. I think, is anything ever typical with me? Nonetheless it was if these men were everywhere. 3 blocks later I meet them again and they tell me my walk is suspicious…is it?? Who knows?? The moral of the story is if you’re sloshed stay off the streets and when in Australia, steer clear of the Yobbos!!
Oh and happy Valentine’s day!! I’m going to buy myself a huge bag of candy and sing love songs all day cuz this southern gal is still a lone star….One these days some guy will be able to hold handle the reins!!
Until next time!!
~*Southern gal*~
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