Aussie Land

I made it! I finally arrived in Australia after my 12 hour wait in LA on Friday morning. Surprisingly, the wait/ my flight really wasn't that bad. In the airport I met an Australian girl named Elly, so I was able to have dinner w her and chat in between my farewell phone calls and texts. Once I got on the plane I was in the same row as 3 other girls who were on my program and I really hit it off with them, which made the flight go by a lot quicker.

Once we got into the Melbourne airport, things got crazy. We were only staying in Melbourne for about 3 days, so we had to organize a different bag from our huge suitcases that we brought. Once everything was situated, we hopped on a bus and drove to a little suburb of Melbourne called Sorrento. At this point I was so exhausted it was hard to be excited about anything, but on the way there we stopped at an amazing wildlife sanctuary...where i saw my first Kangarro!!! They were in a huge "mob" (what aussies call a pack of kangies) and we got pretty close to them. After that we headed to the hostel-type place where we stayed. Sorrento was really a blur, but the area was beautiful and we went on some really amazing walks on cliffs that over looked the ocean. It was definitely a pretty cool place.

After 2 days in Sorrento we went back into the city for our final night of orientation. We walked around the city, popped into some shops and ate some really good asian food (there is lots of it here). Finally the next morning we were headed to Bond! I was so excited, as was everyone else, that we were making our way up to the Gold Coast. When we got here it was raining, but the campus is absolutely ridiculous. The buildings, pool, beach, trees, everything here is amazing. Another thing that is pretty cool is that all the double rooms (where i am living) have their own bathrooms attached, this is definitely the best place i have ever lived on a college campus.

The first night here was pretty crazy. Not only does my dorm have a bar right across from it, but my friend Jackie's appt also has a bar in it.. needless to say everyone was going crazy. We were at Jackies and then made it to the Toga party that was happening at the bar near me. After that we somehow made our way to Surfer's Paradise, which is the big city near us. It was a lot of fun. I really thought I was going to be a lot more homesick when I got here, but I am finding that I really don't even have time to think about home (sorry guys). There is always something to do or someone to meet, I am having the time of my life and it is only the first week! My friends and I are starting to plan our trips tonight, which is really exciting. Here are some pictures of the kangies and some other things, Enjoy!