Welcome to Aussie Land

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I’ve successfully arrived down under!! Sorry it took so long to get an update posted - between getting settled in, working, and trying to figure out the best way to get internet at home, I’ve actually been pretty busy. Anyway, on to the update…

My flight arrived with only a slight delay on Sunday morning, both suitcases arrived with me, and I had no troubles at customs (I had been a little worried because there was initially some confusion about what type of visa I needed - but they didn’t even ask any questions!) I’m staying with the logistics manager from the office (so when I refer to Clara, that’s who I’m talking about) and Clara’s chocolate lab, Baci (pronounced “bah-chee”). Clara is taking GREAT care of me - she made what everyone has told me is a true Australian dinner for my first night Sunday. We had a lamb roast, roasted veggies, and pavlova (an Australian white meringue dessert that you should definitely try if you can find it in the States) - YUMMY!! Clara’s also told me that all of her friends knew I was coming and that I am welcome to join them for dinners, nights out, etc. The area where Clara lives is called Beaumaris and is a beach suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne. She actually lives across the street from the bay (on Beach Road!), there are tons of cyclists around, the supermarket and a few churches are within walking distance, and she runs into people she knows while walking around the block or to the local strip of shops. It’s a very quiet and relaxing place, and her house is very cute (I plan to get some photos of the house and neighborhood some time this weekend to post on the website)

Work is going well too - everyone at the office is very nice, and it’s a very small office, so it should be easy to get to know people pretty quickly. There are only about 15 people in the whole office (there were about 10 people in the marketing department alone in the NY office!) I’ll be writing a marketing plan all by myself, so it’s a GREAT opportunity to learn a lot and get some really good hands-on experience for my resume - I’m very excited!!! The first day in the office was mostly spent doing introduction stuff - I met with Dean (the marketing manager) first to discuss what I would be doing and then had induction meetings for most of the day. There is another new girl in customer service who started a few days before me, so we did induction together and got to go around the office to talk to everyone about their role in the office and their day-to-day responsibilities and activities. David, the managing director in the office, and the person I had been in contact with before I came, was not in the office until Wednesday because he had left for a trip to Singapore on Sunday afternoon. David is SUPER nice and so easy to talk to - just what I need in a manager (even though I can’t help but think of a cross between Yul Brynner and Daddy Warbucks when I look at him - hahaha!) I also managed to score nicely by taking in Reese’s Peanut Butter cups that I had brought with me from home. One of the ladies in the NY office had just been over here and tipped me off that the Reese’s cups went over well (they only sell them here in specialized “American” shops). I took in two bags, and they managed to eat almost a whole bag in one day!

I seem to have arrived at a good time - it’s only my first weekend, and I’ve got lots of plans already! Clara is going to visit some friends in Inverloch Saturday and Sunday (about a 2 hour drive from Beaumaris), and they invited me along. She has never been there, so neither one of us knows anything about it, but it’s supposed to be a good area to walk around in and is supposed to have some local markets on Sundays. I’ll DEFINITELY be taking a camera, so check back for photos! Also, one of the girls from the office and her husband (Lina and Frank) invited me to the “footy” Friday night! For all you non-Aussies, that’s Australian Football League (AFL) - which, by the way, is different than rugby (unbeknownst to me before my arrival down under!) And as if all that weren’t enough, we have Monday off of work!! It’s a national holiday to celebrate the queen’s birthday (Queen Victoria - not Queen Elizabeth - I think I overheard someone say). So, there you have it - plenty to keep me busy and help me get adjusted! More to come after the weekend…

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