Hey guys!! Here's what's been going on with me........

I arrived in Melbourne at 1pm on Friday after a long day...or days?...of flying. Seattle to LA to Sydney to Melbourne. It was rough but I made it unscathed. Twenty or so international students were met at the airport and we were taken to our new homes. I met two girls who actually ended up living right next to me. One from Kentucky, the other from New Jersey.

Right off the bat people were mingling and introducing themselves. Forgetting names is pretty popular around here because there are so many people to be met. I ended up hanging out with a very proud Canadian girl, Ayla, who loves to talk US politics, which is very fun considering the circumstances back in the states. We went grocery shopping where I learned how difficult it is to convert EVERYTHING from US to Aussie numbers. It's nearly impossible and pretty much just a guessing game. I'm pretty sure I'm being taken advantage of, but it's my own fault for not being more educated in the metric system.

My roommates arrived yesterday. One from St. Louis, Caitlin, and the others from Denmark, Katja and Charlotte. Everyone seems very nice so I think it'll be a really great semester living here. We've got a small pool, internet cafe, and tiny gym in our little cottage living area called International House. I also learned that I'm not as great as I had originally thought at understanding thick accents. Our caretakers are very very nice and always willing to help us with anything at anytime, which is comforting.

So yesterday was spent unpacking, settling, meeting more students like me, and getting a tour of the city. We were taken on a tram that runs by school downtwon on a 40 minute ride. Myself, my new US roommate, Caitlin, and another from Delaware had dinner on the Yarra River in town and walked along were river tours were being given. We encountered a very bizarre rap battle that was being filmed for an unknown show and found out how very friendly Aussie men are.

From there we tried to get into a Pub which I was unable because I wasn't dressed to specifications. Several of us had the same problem so we walked around and found a free concert put on by a water conservation group. People were dancing and drinking and having a good ol' time. I just sat back and watched, trying to figure out the new culture and how well I could blend in. The concerted ended just before 11 pm so we headed a short ways to a small, fun pub/bar on the river. We didn't hang there for long because we had to catch the tram back to Burwood at 12:30.

Our small group was led by a a student from Poland who has been here for a month. He helped my roommate and I find our way back to our house because we didn't know how to find it due to the fact that we'd been driven to the tram the first time and couldn't remember our way. So after about a half hour of wandering, we found our house and my roommate got her first night's sleep here.

I just got back from a 3 day orientation trip to Lorne on the beach. Those stories coming soon!