From Alaska to Australia...

---

So far sooo good! I just spent a great 10 days in Alaska visiting friends from this summer and seeing what it is like without 24 hours of sunshine. I thought it would be mostly dark but actually the sun came out at about 9:30 and set around 5:00 so not too much different from home. I saw 5 moose which I absolutely love. It was WICKED WICKED cold so I didn't really spend too much time outdoors but did get out some and even though it is cold Alaska is still extremely beautiful in the winter. However Carrie told me it was literally the coldest two weeks they've had this winter with even some record lows. The mountains look even more huge covered in snow, and when the sun sets on them... just unbelievably gorgeous. It was really nice to see the friends I called family for four months this summer. So it was mostly just hanging out and catching up but it was great!
And then came the 24 hours of flying with other amount of layovers and such but I have finally made it to Australia! I flew over Sydney which looks like a very big city, maybe I will get to spend more time there in the coming months but my host mother, Tam, said its very expensive to fly there.
Perth is about a 4 hour flight from Sydney and I arrived early this afternoon. I was picked up by a shuttle from my new school which was nice because I already got to meet a few people, all from the States and Canada but I think there are international students from all over.
The house I am staying at is really cute, 1 mile from a gorgeous beach- Mullaloo Beach- which we went down to and swam at for a little while this evening. It was 37' C which I think is somewhere around the high 90's (I need to work on this whole metric and conversion thing). I took a shower but already feel like I could take another one! Maybe I will begin to know how my sister has been feeling! I live with a woman Tam who is an assistant nurse at a nursing home and her 13 yo son Drew. Drew can't believe I would live anywhere without an ocean but has already decided he is coming to Vermont to visit me and go skiing. He is 16th in the state at squash. There is a really nice patio out back where grapes are growing! I ate some before and they are great! Tam took me for a drive around the town and through my campus, but I am going back tomorrow for a tour and to sign up for classes. There are caution signs for Kangaroo crossing everywhere and I can't wait to see one of those!
OKay enough for now. I'll post AK pics when I get my computer hooked up to the net and Aussie pics once I take some! Email me lots! So much love to you all ~Calandra

---