I'm no longer homeless!

Yay!!! We found an apartment!!

It's been awhile since I last updated - it's been hard finding time to get on the Internet. Plus, this week is the start of Orientation Week and so we're pretty booked. Classes start on Monday! I switched around my classes so I think I only have class on Thursdays. Pretty sweet.

I'm on campus right now, so I can't put up pictures of our apartment. But, my new address is:

Jennifer Straub
489 Hunter Street Apartment 402
Newcastle West, NSW Australia 2300

I will post pictures and a video as soon as I can. I can't wait to show it off! It's absolutely gorgeous. I never thought we would actually get this one! When we went to go view it, there were about 45 other people interested in it, too. We must have made a good impression, or just got REALLY lucky. There are three bedrooms, all with double beds. The floor plan is very open and we've got a corner apartment so it has a HUGE wrap-around balcony where we can look at the harbor and look behind us at the city, too!! It's got stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, our own laundry facility, comfy suede furniture and surround sound in the living room. Literally, I'm in love. We wake up every morning and have breakfast on our balcony. We have three guy neighbors right next door and last night they had us over for a BBQ. They invited some of their Australian friends and we chatted the entire night about the differences between America and Australia. Let me tell you - there are a lot.

Otherwise, we've been busy familiarizing ourself with the city. Since school hasn't started yet, we spend most nights familiarizing ourselves with the bars. With all the students coming back into town, the nightlife is great. And, so is the weather. I think I may have got a little too much sun at the beach yesterday. Oh well, I just chalk it up as experience. The fact that they don't sell any sort of sunscreen below SPF 30 might be a good thing after all.

We're on our own now, so we have to learn how to cook for ourselves. We had a craving for Sloppy Joes the other night so we went to the supermarket to get the ingredients. Well, none of us knew how to make them and every time we asked a local to help us out, they looked at us like we were crazy. Note to self: Sloppy Joes must be an American dish. If anyone out there knows how to make them, could you please leave the recipe as a comment? Or, e-mail it to me? Mom, you'd be so ashamed of me if you saw me walking around the store like a wandering idiot wanting nothing more than the recipe for Sloppy Joes. Haha, it was great.

I'm loving this city a little more every day. With all the college kids coming back into town, it's been booming! I wake up in the morning, go to the beach and go out at night. I've said it before, but ... this is the life! Our next big activity is booked for next weekend. We're taking a dolphin tour in Nelson Bay. Hopefully, if the dolphins are feeling up to it, we'll be able to swim with them.

My parents are officially booked and I can't wait for them to come visit! That, and I'm getting very anxious to take Andy around Newcastle. Until that day arrives, I'm quite content making new friends every night and having a blast. It's definitely going to be hard to leave. But, our lease isn't up until September so I won't be getting back to America until mid-August. Seems like a long ways away, but I have a feeling it'll go by fast.

There is one slight problem with Newcastle, though. When walking home at night, you've got to be careful where you step because cockroaches are abundant. It's disgusting and you should have seen my reaction when I saw my very first one. Oh my, they are nasty little things.

Other than that, it's been great! I'll post a video of our apartment as soon as I can :) That, and I hope to post some Australian photos on facebook soon!

No worries, mate :)
XOXO, Jennifer Lynn