My First Day

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After an extremely long journey I am finally in Australia. Unfortunately, I have no place to stay yet and pretty much the entire University seems to be on Holiday, but at least I’m done travelling. The flights here were both very interesting: the first, because I sat next to a 22 year old girl from LA while we both took advantage of the free alcohol, and the second because of all the cool things I encountered in Business Class. (On demand movies/tv shows, reclining chairs, and seemingly endless food, to name a few). I was able to get a lot of sleep, despite a baby who liked to cry just as my sleep was getting most fulfilling.

Once I got out of the plane, getting through customs and immigration was a breeze because we were one of the first flights in the morning and I was one of the first people to get off of the plane. I was under the impression that I was to be picked up at the airport by someone at the University, however after looking for a reasonable time, I couldn’t find anyone. So I got a taxi (and sat in the front seat with the driver!) and was driven to my hotel by an Aussie whom I could hardly understand because of the combination of his accent and his use of words I didn’t understand. The hotel, of course, was locked due to my early arrival and I was stuck out in the rain sitting under a narrow overhang that sheltered me sufficiently enough to read one of the many books I had brought with me. Finally the doors opened and I was able to leave my luggage behind the desk while I trotted through the rain to check in at the University (Uni, in Australian speak).

After winding through the maze that I have recently discovered one must find his way around at UNSW, I found the building I was looking for. The office I needed was locked. And so I wait.

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When looking at the map of UNSW you see that the Uni is divided into the “Upper” and “lower” universities. With only a map in hand, this distinction is meaningless: The upper is to the North East and the Lower is the whole rest of the campus. No indication is given as to why. However, when you step foot onto the Uni campus, you realize why the distinction is made. Between the two sides of campus are sets of sprawling staircases and severe inclines. After making contact with the Exchange Office, I had the task of traveling all about both sides of campus in search of course approvals that for some reason never arrived for me. Now I’m sitting and cooling off before getting my ID Photo taken and getting access to the ever-important campus WiFi. Next, off to the “Tea” with some other exchange students.

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Back to the hotel before the tea. After turning on my TV in my room what should I find but the Michael Jackson tribute…and the discovery channel…and a whole host of other US programs simply re-dubbed with an Australian announcer. And the first commercial? The Wiggles. It seems that I didn’t lie to Nick when I told him I’d be seeing the wiggles.

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Just got back from the “Tea” and met a bunch of awesome people. Afterward, a huge group or exchange students went to a restaurant on Coogee Beach (my future home) and had $2 steaks. Really, it turned out to be an $8 steak and beer combo, and was of much better quality that I feared on the walk there. I found that it will be very possible for me to walk to Uni every day if I want to—it’s about a 20 min walk straight uphill. Now it’s about 8pm…and it’s time for bed! Tomorrow off to the Zoo (my mother would be so proud) at 1pm with some people whom I met today.

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