First Week Down Under

My blogs wouldn't post in Australia so I am hoping that they will post in the US :)

First Week in Australia:

Hello everyone or should I say g'day! I miss you all, especially my Mom and Dad and Suiteys <3 Don’t take it personally if I don’t respond to your messages, internet costs $1.50 for 15 minutes! Though the time difference makes keeping in contact with loved ones hard, I love being in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I can finally cross this one off of the bucket list! Every morning I have to pinch myself remembering that I am waking up in Australia, most people’s dream. I am so thankful to be able to have the opportunity to travel half way across the world.

I am going to try and sum up my past few days in a paragraph which will be a struggle. I mean come on it’s Australia! So the plane ride was actually not too bad! Most people think that a 14 hour flight would be horrible when in reality it was actually fun. Going into the trip I only knew two freshmen, my roommates for the trip, Hannah and Liz, and I didn’t know not know them very well. On the plane I had a middle seat, which I was not looking forward to. However, the two seniors I was sitting next to were really nice and made me feel more comfortable going into the trip. When we arrived on the first day in Sydney it felt like I had been up for 24 hours due to the old man snoring loudly behind me on the flight. I honestly do not remember at all what we did that day but it was helpful to get adjusted at the time change by staying awake during the daytime in Sydney. However the next day was much better. After a great night sleep we headed to the zoo and aquarium to see the exotic Australian animals such as kangaroos, emus, manta rays and great white sharks. This day was by far the highlight of the trip so far. After a grueling hike up and down the Blue Mountains all day everyone was sore and tired. But the benefit was having toned legs J Yesterday we arrived in Canberra by bus and today we toured Mt. Anslie, Parliament, the US Embassy and the ANZAC war memorial. It was a really exhausting day but it was also really interesting. The time change has hit me hard so I am trying to stay up later tonight and keep myself busy to keep myself on a normal schedule. In the morning it is really easy to get up but I get REALLY tired at about 8 o’clock. I think I will be adjusted soon (at least I sure hope so!)

I love you all very much and I can’t wait to talk to you soon! Hopefully I will be able to put my 400+ pictures up on facebook from the past week. I think I will need a new memory card soon. I will do my best to try to keep this updated at least once a week to let everyone know what is going on.

Peace. Love. Aussie.

Amanda