Adventures in Australia: I'm in AUSTRALIA!

We made our way to Australia early on Sunday morning. Leaving New Zealand was sad ... but I'm FINALLY in Australia. After years of talking about it, I'm here!! We arrived into the Sydney airport around 10 a.m. and found our way to the train station. The airport is huge and we looked a little out of place hauling 600 pounds of luggage around.

Once we got into Newcastle, we walked one block to our hostel and checked in. The hostel we're staying at is the YHA Newcastle Beach hostel and it is really nice. The burning question on everyone's mind seems to be whether or not we've found an apartment. Well ... unfortuantely not yet. BUT there is hope. We've spent about three days here and every day we've been calling realtors and walking around the city in search of the best furnished three bedroom apartment close to the beach. Today we have an appointment with a realtor to view three really nice ones. Cross your fingers for us because I am SOOOO sick of living out of a suitcase. Unfortunately, the three guys we're traveling with are after the same apartments. So, call it a race and let the best (wo)man win.

Australia is amazing! We haven't had a lot of downtime to hit up the beach, but we've done our fair share of exploring the city. We've made some good friends at the hostel, so we've got plenty to do at night. A couple of nights ago, we found ourselves down on the beach after a night on the town. It was our first taste of the ocean. Ahhhhmazing. Under the moonlight, the waves looked even bigger! I can't wait to take surf lessons and attempt to learn. Everyone surfs down here!

Looks like we'll have to wait to hit up the beach, anyways. It's forecasted to rain for the next couple of days. Bummer. But, in a way, that should put us in the right mood to search for a place to live. And if you haven't been reading the news, you should familiarize yourself with what's happening in Australia right now. A couple of days ago there was a wild bushfire near Melbourne. It destroyed thousands of homes and the death toll just passed 280. Talk about a devastation. While the rain may dampen our spirits, the rest of Australia is extremely grateful for it. So, I'm grateful, too.

I haven't been 'homesick' yet, but I think it might be coming. We went grocery shopping the other day and I couldn't believe how expensive food is down here. Looks like I may be dropping a few pounds because I'm not sure I'll be able to afford food! This is what I found at the store:

Cereal is about $5 a box
Lean Cuisine meals are about $4 to $6 a box
Juice is about $4 for a litre
Apples are about $1 to $2 each
Granola bars are about $5 a box

Like I said ... I feel a diet coming on. Other than that, I can't say I'm surprised by the prices down here. Clothing stores are about the same as back home. There are a lot of sale racks and you can find things for a reasonable price. Beer isn't too bad either - it's about $5 a glass. And, when you factor in the exchange rate, that's about $3 or $4 American dollars. But, here's a shocker. Try not to gasp .... THEY DON'T SERVE SHOTS! Or, at least not in the bars we've been in yet. That, and they don't serve pitchers of beer. Crazy, I know. We do the college thing and buy our own alcohol before we head out at night.

We went into campus yesterday and walked around. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Besides the palm trees and abundance of green, I think I prefer Iowa State's campus better. It's extremely spread out here and walking from the train station to class could take about 45 minutes. We're told there is a shuttle that runs throughout campus, so I'm hoping that's true. But, I signed up for classes yesterday and got my student ID. As of now, I'm taking four classes, but I have the option of dropping one, since I really only need three. One is an online class, another is on Tuesday and the other two are on Thursday. So ... I won't be in class often :) Life is great.

For those of you who don't have access to Facebook, here is a small sampling of my New Zealand photos. I'm hoping to post some Australian photos soon!