G'day Mate!

I have arrived!  Well, technically I arrived at 6am yesterday... but, I am finally sitting down to write about my first day.  Talk about a long one, too.  I didn't go to bed until midnight, after getting only 5 hours of sleep on the plane that night, and only 4.5 hours the night before!  I had planned on going to the local hostel bar and having one drink and then going to bed, but things didn't exactly turn out like that.  I was sitting at the bar sipping on my Bulmers (cider beer) and a canadian couple started chatting with me, and after a little while they offered me some of their beer.  I denied, but they kept insisting.  They bought four pitchers!  So, needless to say, I had a good night chatting and drinking Snakebites (a local specialty, apparently!).  They had so many questions about being an American, and I of course questioned their Canadian-ness.  :)  Haven't met any aussies really (besides the ones that have helped me at the bank, hostel, etc), but I've met scottish, irish, english, swiss, and german.  

I opened a bank account and have began applying for jobs.  I've hit the ground running!  It's a short update for now, as I have only been here a day and haven't even really seen the city.  I plan on doing that today!  I've only seen one small portion of it.  Although, it surprised me how asian it is in this area... there are A LOT of massage parlors!  I'm stayin' clear of those.  

I'm loving it so far.  The weather is GORGEOUS and the people are so nice.  Everyone is laid back and willing to help with anything.  Hope all is well back in the states and I will update very soon with more exciting details... once I've actually done something exciting!

WRITTEN WHILE ON THE PLANE TO LAX.

I hate flying.  Every time that I have to take a flight I wake up that morning with the worst stomach ache.  I cannot eat or drink without feeling nauseous.  The feeling usually goes away once I'm in the air, but it's the anxiety beforehand that gets to me.  The anxiety for this flight began two days before.  I think I lost two pounds in two days due to not being able to eat (although, I did do a pretty good job at putting away a hefty amount of food at Macaroni Grill last night!).  The thing is, I love to travel and I would never give it up; thus, I have to fly.  I'm not even sure why I hate flying so much, since I have been ever since I was a little kid.  I don't mind the packing, the waiting in line, sitting and waiting, or even the long hours you have to spend on the airplane.  What I do mind is how much everything is out of your hands.  I willingly put myself into perfect stranger's hands, trusting them to carry me, and 200 of my closest strangers, through nothing buy sky, thousands of miles and land safely on a short strip of asphalt.  I don't like it, not one bit.

That aside, my flight is going very smooth!  I'm currently over New Mexico (according to our lovely Pilot, who could very well moonlight as a tour guide).  There is some sort of gorge below me, and it's gorgeous.  Although, not as spectacular as seeing the Grand Canyon from the air!  I believe we have two more hours left (two have already flown by, pun intended!).

This whole moving to Sydney thing really hasn't hit me yet.  I said bye to family and friends, but it still hasn't hit me yet.  Perhaps when I land and am stranded in the middle of Sydney, alone, it will smack me right across the face.  More like a nice punch to the face than a smack.  It will definitely be forceful and rudely awakening.  I'm, in a really weird sense, looking forward to that.  Hello adventure!

Next time I update I will be in Australia!

Love, Michaela