Day One

                Though this is technically my second day here, I’m going to call it day 1.  Yesterday was such a hectic mess, so I want to get off on the right foot.  Yesterday can be like day 0 or something.

                Most of the day today was spend with my new bff Mayuko, learning to navigate the bus system and doing some shopping in the process.  Our goal was to get to Bondi Beach at first, which is about 5 miles away from campus.  We got on the bus right outside of campus, then got off too early.  Twice.  The second time, we decided we would just give up on the beach for today and hang out in Bondi Junction where we ended up.  (Bondi Beach is a mile away from Bondi Junction, which seems just wrong to me.)  Turns out, Bondi Junction was a destination all its own!  It’s a big “suburban” shopping district that feels nothing like the suburbs. 

                The streets are lined with all kinds of open-air restaurants and shops.  My favorite thing about them was that so many restaurants just had no doors or windows.  Everything was completely open air.  It gives the whole place such a nice, open vibe.  And I’m sure they save a ton of money on air conditioning, too.

                I wish we had nice enough weather in Illinois to have places like these!

                We ended up eating lunch at the Cosmopolitan Café, which had a ton of outdoor seating and was relatively cheap.  I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich for $6, which was scarily cheap for the area we were in.  I joked that the sandwich would just be some white bread with grilled chicken on it.

                Turns out, that’s exactly what it was.

                I thought longingly of $5 foot-longs at Subway while eating my cobbled-together sandwich.  Money doesn’t go very far in Australia, as I’m learning little by little.

                Mayuko and I also split a bowl of “chips,” which I called French fries, and Mayuko informed me that they’re called “potato” in Japan.  I laughed a disproportionate amount at this.  (Apparently potato chips are called “pota-chi,” which is also adorable.)

               

                The restaurant was situated on a pedestrian road, which is just adorable, and we don’t have nearly enough of them in the Midwest.

                After lunch we went to Westfield Mall to do our dorm and food shopping.  This mall is absolutely gargantuan, even by American standards.  On the ground floor alone, it housed two grocery stores, along with a sprawling maze of restaurants and stores that we couldn’t make it to the end of.

                We went through the grocery store to get all of our toiletries and snacks and school supplies, which were luckily pretty cheap by Australian standards.  However, buying all this also meant we had to take it all back.

                I’m actually amazed at how we managed to fit 10 bags of groceries into 6, but we did it.  They were heavy and I was sure they would rip at any time, but by some act of God they held up.  At this point we were exhausted, so we got back on the bus we took there, and rode it all the way back with our 6 huge bags.

                After that I took a really long rest, spent mostly on Facebook.  Then tonight was our first orientation event at International House!  It was more of a meet-and-greet than an orientation, but it was really fun!  Everyone met down in the central courtyard (which is beautiful; pictures will come later,) to eat weird spicy chips and drink handmade sangria and just hang out. 

                So far, I haven’t disliked anyone I met here, which is actually really amazing for me.  Everyone is very open and eager to learn about everyone else, not to mention very mature.  (The average age is probably 22 here, so I’m a little baby!)  Back at MSU, I could see this night turning very loud and weird, simply because alcohol was involved.  However, everyone just hung out and talked and we all had a really good time!  Once again, I’m really happy I ended up in International House. 

                I was literally just about to type that I was sad I didn’t hear any screaming cockatoos tonight, but I just heard a kookaburra’s laugh out my window.  This place sounds crazy at all hours of the day.

                In other news, my room is finally set up and clean enough to take pictures of!  My favorite part is the wall of fame, where all my friends’ goofy art and posters are hung up.  It’s really starting to feel like home, now.

                I’m going to bed now, but I wanted to include some last gems that I discovered on my camera, taken the day I was supposed to leave.  I’ll just leave these here.  Goodnight!