Finally made it!

After a 4 hour flight to LA, a 14.5 hour flight to Sydney, two more 3 hour flights to Cairns and back, and a 1.5 hour bus ride I'm finally in Wollongong! There are about 40 students from all over the US going to the University of Wollongong through the same program as me, and we all met for the first time at the gate in LA. Everyone is super nice, and we all seem to have a lot in common.

We started our adventure in Cairns, Queensland, which is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. It was very hot and humid there (94 degrees), but none of us really minded it since a lot of us left the cold. On Saturday we took a 2 hour boat ride out to the reef and I got to go on two dives and snorkel. It was AMAZING!!!!!! The highlight was undoubtedly making friends with a sea turtle who enjoyed eating seaweed out of my scuba mask. We also saw stingrays, giant clams, and lots of beautiful coral and fish. On Sunday we went to the rain forest and got to hold a koala, pet kangaroos, throw boomerangs, play a didgeridoo, and watch an aboriginal dance performance. After we got back from the rain forest a few of us went and learned how to play cricket with our authentic Australian orientation leader :).

This weekend has seemed more like a dream than reality. Maybe it's because I'm still pretty exhausted from the time difference, but I still have to keep telling myself that I'm actually in Australia. I felt like a tourist these past couple days, and I'm now ready to be an actual resident. The reality of it all just started to set in about an hour ago when we were dropped off at our housing. I haven't met my roommates yet (I'll be living with 2 girls and 2 guys-we all have our own rooms and share a living space and bathroom), and I have no idea where anything is or how to get anywhere. I'm excited for tomorrow when it will be light out so I can see what campus looks like and go explore! I don't have internet on my laptop yet, but as soon as I do I'll be on skype!

I hope everyone is well, and I miss you all a lot! I'll keep you updated on how this week goes! It's orientation week and it sounds like it can get pretty crazy! I apologize if this post seems all over the place and random. My brain is caught somewhere between 9 PM and 4 AM and I don't know if I should be awake or sleeping!

Love.Love.Love.

Ready to go!

I leave tomorrow!  My flight from LA leaves around 10 or 11 PM, and then the 14 hour flight to Australia begins.  The time difference there is 16 hours ahead (for the central time zone), so we'll have to plan our Skype dates carefully!  Alright that's all for now, more news to come when I have arrived "Down Under!"