So now for my first real update!!!

Hi all! So this is really the first time that I have been able to sit down and write in any significant detail about our experiences here in Australia so far! I guess I should start from the top.

The first leg of my flight from LAX to Sydney was perfect. I was seated in an emergency exit with lots of extra room, took a Lunesta and slept for 9 of the 14 hours. From there, things got a little rough. My flight landed in Sydney at 6:15 a.m. (Monday morning) with my continuation to Melbourne leaving at 8 a.m. Not being sleepy in the least bit, I walked around, got a coffee and accidentally went to the bathroom in the men’s restroom. Oops. After our connection flight being slightly delayed, we boarded around 8:30 only to sit there for 30 minutes before they told us our flight was canceled due to an imperfection in the planes windshield. Another 20 minutes later (still sitting on the plane) we were informed that we were all scheduled on a Qantas flight later that afternoon but that we would have to gather our luggage, go through customs and immigration and re-check in. Well that process took a few stressful hours. Once we got to our new flight, they informed us that it was delayed as well. Ugh….at this point I wanted to just come home; I was exhausted and dreading getting to the hostel with my 130 lbs of luggage on my own. Once we finally landed, it was pouring (I was in a tank top and flip flops); I managed to pick up my ridiculously full suitcases and make my way to the bus which dropped me off about two city blocks from the hostel. From there, I trudged my way down the street (still pouring and still in flip flops and a tank top) to my hostel, only to be greeted by my friends handing me a bottle of wine. It was definitely what the doctor ordered. After all was said and done, I was in transit for somewhere a little over 24 hours.

Our first order of business was to find a place….we all hated living in our hostel. If you could imagine, put 5 American girls with about 150 pounds of luggage each (two big rolling suitcases and a backpack) in a small, shared room with one very nice yet smelly German boy). Our first night we looked at a place in South Yarra, got some food and went to bed by 8:30. The next few days were spent much like our first one: waking up around 6:30 due to our screwed up internal clocks, running from one property showing to another, setting up bank accounts, going to orientations, running around to more property showings, getting lost, getting frustrated, spending too much money, and going to bed by 8:30 p.m. Eventually, on Thursday, we had been approved for both apartments and Friday we moved in.

So now we have officially been here a week and have successfully gotten ourselves out of the hostel and into a small townhouse in the suburb of South Yarra. It’s a two bedroom, two bathroom place….a bit on the smaller side but nice. Noreen has her own room and then Shayna and I are sharing. Since Kelley and Lauren are still looking for a place to live, they are staying with us too. It was quite a struggle to get approved for an apartment; since we don’t have jobs, any Australian references or rental history, and want a 6 month lease; people were not too stoked to rent to us. Apparently we batted our eyes enough and eventually fooled them into it. ☺ The place we did not accept was significantly older, had an odd musty Indian/curry smell to it, was a bit dirty, and in an area that was mainly business offices. Needless to say, we are much happier at the place we are at now.

South Yarra is apparently the place to be these days (which reflects on how much we are paying in rent…ouch!); as Lonely Planet calls it, “a hedonists’ paradise.” The two main streets near us are Chapel Street and Toorak Road…they are quite trendy and full of designer boutiques, cafes, restaurants and bars; the job opportunities around here are endless. We are about a 2 minute walk from a tram station and about a 5 minute walk from the intersection of Toorak Rd. and Chapel St…we really are in a prime location. It reminds me of a bigger and trendier downtown SLO.

Overall, Melbourne is a beautiful city. Its clean, the people are friendly, the transportation system is incredibly efficient and the architecture is beautiful. I think I said this before but it has a very European feel to it although the people are MUCH nicer; as Lauren said the other day “these nice people are just so nice!” We met a friend of a friend of Shayna’s the other day along with a bunch of his “mates.” They were quite charming and invited us to a BBQ this past weekend for the Aussie Football League final (think Super Bowl without the halftime show). It was all lots of fun and in the end I think we are starting to make friends! It’s weird to be in a huge country where you only know 4 other people…there is definitely a sense of excitement but it’s kind of lonely too... we just need to get jobs and meet people and make them love us. That’s the next order of business: jobs! We have to get jobs, we are going broke. This city is ridiculously expensive. Everything is significantly more expensive here than at home….Ikea, Kmart, food, public transportation, alcohol (it’s insanely expensive!!!), clothes, makeup, EVERYTHING!!!

Anyways, overall life is good here. I am excited to see what adventures come our way and to start planning trips around Australia and its neighboring countries. While I was in Spain, I spent more weekends out of Barcelona than I did in- that’s not what I want to do here. I want to live here and work here and really be immersed in the culture and the city, although I do want to spend a month or so in New Zealand as well as travel around the South East Asian countries and other parts of Australia. Shayna and I are thinking of planning a trip up to the Whitsunday Islands off the northeastern coast for Christmas (its looking like it might just be the two of us around) and I think we are all going to go to Tasmania around Thanksgiving on an outdoorsy, 4 or 5 day tour.

I miss all of you so much. I was telling my parents the other day, a year sure seems like a long time at this point, so please keep me updated on your lives, I don’t want to miss out too much on what’s going on at home. Also, you should travel to Australia! We would LOVE to have visitors. Anywhere you want to go- I’ll come meet you there. Until then, email me, Skype me, call me (I still need to get an Australian number, but my American phone works here) and keep checking the blog…I promise I will be better and update it every few days. Also, I will be posting pictures soon so be prepared for those. I will put up the information on how and where to find them soon. Ok that’s all for now. All my love…

Cheers!
April