Settlin' down in Brissie

Newbie blogger here - let's see what I can come up with. I'm one of the lucky ones that flew out a little earlier so has had a bit of time to explore and adapt to the Aussie lifestyle. I have a good friend and past co-counselor who lives by the beach just north of Sydney. I spent the first 4 days or so of my trip with her and her family, exploring Sydney a little bit (including the gorgeous Taronga Zoo) but mostly just enjoying the surfer lifestyle of the Northern Beaches...and spending some time getting over jetlag after my 22 hour journey from London (home when I'm not at Stanford). Already I've noticed so many little nuances of every day life that remind me of growing up back in England - driving on the left, A4 size paper, Cadbury's chocolate, tea, the metric system, the 'loo'... Random things like that, but it's funny being on the other side of the world and feeling a little taste of home. But while there are some subtle hints of Britishness, the friendliness of the people and the sunny climate so far definitely remind me a bit more of my home back on The Farm.

After 4 days of hearing nothing but Australian accents, flying up to Brisbane and being surrounded by Americans once again was slightly surreal, but it was great to be reunited with some familiar faces after summers apart. By about 6pm on Sunday, everyone had safely arrived at the Benson Court Motel in Toowong and after grabbing a bite to eat, we eventually headed out to the pub around the corner for some Sunday night entertainment.

This week is our orientation week so these first couple days have been spent getting to know our University of Queensland faculty, familiarizing ourselves with the (huge!) campus and our crazy schedule for the next 12 weeks. We've had intro lectures (including one on 'Venomous and Poisonous' creatures this afternoon) and done some new things like taking the ferry to class and getting morning tea breaks. Most of all, I think these first couple days have made us realize how incredibly lucky we are to be here. I can speak for everyone when I say we cannot wait for the adventures to come in the next 12 weeks. :) Pretty good vibes right about now.

This evening we parted ways to go to our respective homestays for the next couple weeks. Some people are alone, some in groups up to 4, but for everyone this should give us a nice sense of Australian life. And I'm sure there will be some funny stories to come...Nicole and I have already been warned that the cat has a habit of chasing possums across the tin roof in the middle of the night and that we'll probably wake up to the sound of Kookaburras. But hey, we came here to appreciate nature so that's just what we'll do.

Till next time.

-Katie