Arrival & Getting Settled

On some days I wake up and can barely believe that I am waking up in a bed in Australia. It took a great deal of time to get here, which puts all future traveling in a new light. The flight to LA was six hours long and the flight from LA to Melbourne took almost sixteen hours. I spent a majority of my time in flight asleep; however, Qantas airlines is absurdly accommodating: vegan food (vegetable curry and basmanti rice! yes!), socks to improve circulation, and hours of music, television, and films to choose from. The flight was rather smooth with only a tiny bit of turbulance that was slightly terrifying to me and my neighbors, but it passed quickly. Speaking of turbulance I would like to note the excessive amount of conversations about Lost and the Oceanic Flight 815 on a flight from the US to Australia. I can't wait for the return journey, which is actually from Australia to Los Angeles. I have to say, I was quite relieved to land. I never let my subtle fear of flying to affect my traveling; however, I do always assume the aircraft will crash or my appendix will burst mid-flight. When we land and everything is intact, I am pleasantly surprised and overjoyed.

Arriving in the airport was incredibly refreshing. I made my way through the duty-free section of the airport, which they make an awfully big deal about, headed through customs, and picked up my luggage. I was also pleased to find my life, in bags, all present and in order (I also assume that everything I own will be lost while crossing land and oceans).

I headed to the meeting point with a group of students from Marist and UMass to find our driver, who informed me that I would be staying at the South Yarra Hotel. This information was terrifying for a number of reasons the primary reason being that I had received confirmation of accomodation in the Cherry Tree Lane International House after enduring a series of stressful e-mails and monetary transactions. The driver agreed to take me to the International House with everyone else, regardless of what his document stated; however, for two hours I was a bundle of nerves because I could not figure out what had gone wrong and did not have a phone or remote understanding of how to navigate myself around the city. Everyone around me was filled with excitement and anticipation of getting settled and I was filled to the brim with worries. When I arrived, I gathered my bags and listened as the caretakers read off a list of the people that should be present. I resumed breathing upon hearing my name. The lack of housing could have been a blessing in disguise, which I will address later, or at the very least a lesson in flexibility, but I am grateful that I am here in the International House.

International House is located in Box Hill South Victoria, which is a relatively small suburb. The houses are rather unobtrusive and blend in with the trees. Everything seems a bit lower to the ground here. It doesn't look too unfamiliar and sometimes I feel like I could be anywhere, but it's comforting in some ways. I am located about forty-five minutes from the city center, but public transportation, including trams, trains, and buses is fairly easy to use (not very cheap though!) A daily pass costs $10.80 AUD, which is why I must investigate the concession cards available for students, which cuts the price almost in half. The public transportation services make you jump through a number of hoops to acquire the little card though. There are ways around paying full price: you can choose to risk it and not pay at all or purchase cards after 6PM for $5.80 AUD and stay in the city until 3AM. There are a number of packages you can purchase which ultimately save a bit of money as well. Trams stop running at 1AM, but there is a Night bus that runs when the trams and trains stop, which I have not yet taken. I'm not sure how reliable it is, but I am sure I'll find myself on it sooner or later. My impression, so far, is that public transportation is efficient and dependable. If I were a bit more brave, I may have opted to live in the city center in order to fully experience Melbourne and save a bit of money; however, I cannot alter my accommodation at this point and I do enjoy it here.

My room is quite cozy (yet rather bare, although I have decorated it now) and my housemates are wonderful. I am living with Lucy from Korea and Lauren from New York. We have a quiet house and we all get along in a way that extends beyond merely living together. The community, outside of our house, is comprised largely of American students, but there are also students from Denmark, Zimbabwe, Australia, Canada, Holland, Malaysia, Dubai, India, and England. For a lot of people, English is their second language and I am amazed by how well they can communicate (and then I realize that they essentially have very little choice regarding that matter). Lucy told me that she can only express about fifty-percent of what she wants to say here. I cannot imagine how frustrating that is, but I hope one day to find myself in a similar situation. Being surrounded by so many languages is filling me with the desire to not only travel to and look around new places, but to immerse myself in the culture and language.

Although I am in an English-speaking country, there are variations within the language. They generally do not interfere with my understanding, but they are interesting nonetheless. Sidewalks are "foot paths," gas stations are "petrol-stations," periods are "full stops," and a common greeting is "how are you going?" Then there are words such as "lift," "queue," etc. Often the sound of the letter "r" is missing in words that it is present in and present in words that it is absent in, such as: "know" and "no." Melbourne sounds like mel-ben, Brisbane - brisbin, Cairns - cans, and know or no - no-r. I am trying to figure out how to most effectively phoenetically spell the latter. Everyone sounds pleasant here and sometimes British, but there are clear differences.

Overall, I am primarily settled in my home and now at Deakin University, where I have enroled in my classes (after one of the most unorganized and stressful days of my academic life). I am taking Australian Culture, Philosophy and the Meaning of Life, and Writing for the Professional Practice (also, online Ethics at Marist). Classes here are called "units" and are divided into lectures and tutorials (often called "tutes," which is adorable). Lectures meet for one hour a week and tutorials for one-two hours. The work and assessments are reading and writing intensive, but I am completely interested and excited to learn after nearly three months of vacation. My schedule also allows for travelling from Thursday evening to Monday evening. Deakin University, as an educational institution, is amazing so far. The campus is so large, diverse, filled with energy, and the library is filled with so many books - so many.


Now that I have a home and I am enrolled in the university I am ready to fully embrace Australia and plan my travels.