Day 1:

Here we go! After a period of planning, applying and sending all kinds of documents back and forth for almost two years, I am finally on my way to Sydney, Australia. First stop: London Heathrow - the only airport in the world (so far) where I've actually managed to miss my flight despite the fact that I was on time at the terminal. Next stop: Sydney via Bangkok where they will refuel the aircraft. I have two hours to fill myself with some British lager before boarding to a 24-hour flight to Australia. Looking forward…

Leaving is always bittersweet. That's a real cliché but true. You have mixed emotions. On one hand it's hard to leave everything behind and travel as far away from home as possible on this globe. Friends, family, work, hobbies. On the other hand you're excited to go abroad again. This is what life's all about. Seeing new places, continents - other parts of the world. Building everything from scratch again is challenging but in the end one of the most rewarding experiences you can have.

Day 2:

Finally here in Sydney! My flight from London to Bangkok was delayed by two hours thus adding to the 12-hour duration. It wasn't as bad as I had thought. All the seats had their own little TV-screens and you could watch a lot of popular TV series, movies and documentaries. I even tried to sleep a bit. From Bangkok to Sydney it was - to my surprise - only nine hours of flying. The airplanes landing to the Sydney Airport make their way right over the downtown area. It was almost unreal to finally see the opera house and the famous Harbour Bridge through that little window. Long ways from home now…

The airport security/customs in Sydney is quite peculiar in its ways. They are extremely strict on having any foreign soil in your shoes or on any other article you may be carrying. Also wooden products are thoroughly inspected. I didn't have too much difficulty there and made my way through the customs moderately fast. Then I simply hopped into a shuttle bus with a couple of American guys and got to my motel, Billabong Gardens, which is a nice little place in a lively district called Newtown in central Sydney. It happens to be very close to the University as well so that worked out nicely.

I checked in and went on exploring the area. Naturally, my first meal on this new continent was a Subway-sandwich! To my surprise, I haven't seen many McDonald's restaurants yet but I will track them down one way or another.

Day 3:

Who said Australia is hot and dry? While the forests are burning in Melbourne, it has been raining like hell ever since I got to Sydney. This morning, as I was trying to sleep off my jet lag, I woke up and saw water coming into the room from under the door! Being a resourceful guy, I quickly grapped the towel and stuffed it under the door to avoid further flooding…

After my 12-hour nap, I got a call from another Finnish guy that was coming to this same motel. I had already met him at our "departure orientation" in Finland so I knew he was coming. Just wasn't sure when. I really gotta give this guy (Miku) some credit. He had been in Australia for three hours and already had a date booked with an Asian flight attendant. Go figure. Anyways, after a while we decided to go get something to eat and see the main attractions on the way.

Tomorrow's the first information session held by the University comprising issues such as housing, transportation, studying etc. Looking forward to seeing other students. Hopefully they're better looking that the combination of Brits and Asians I have seen so far! Stay tuned.