Arriving in Australia

After a week of preparation, shopping, and stuffing 9 weeks of clothes into 2 suitcases, my trip to Australia finally came. Leaving the United States gave me mixed emotions. I was so excited to start the research in Melbourne, but at the same time I was sad to leave my family behind. Those emotions slowly faded as I boarded Qantas Flight 26 to Melbourne. We were so happy to see each other and start our adventure. Having never flown internationally before, I did not know what was in store for me aboard this 18 hour flight to the down under. However, they equipped us with movies, music, games, TV shows, dinner, blankets, and even a mini-tooth brush! We were awake for about 3 hours before we curled up in our seats and feel asleep.

The flight picked up some more travelers in Auckland, and then finally landed in Melbourne at 8:20am Australian time. The four of us went through customs easily and got a cart to retrieve our bags. Then Tom, from Monash University, picked us up and we stuffed our giant luggage in his car. As I was going to get in the passenger's seat, to my surprise I opened the door to the driver's seat! I forgot that unlike the United States, they drive on the opposite side of the road and have the driver's seat on the opposite side as well. Once everyone got in the right seat, Tom drove us into the South Yarra, to our hotel called the Clairmonte Hotel. We got at tour of our closet sized rooms, "toilets", laundry, and the kitchen. We exchanged some money and headed out to the "uni" or Monash University. We met David Abramson, and many graduate students that work in the lab. After a coffee and seeing our work space, we headed over to get some lunch. Then we found out a special tradition that occurs each lunch time.

Tom grabbed the newspaper and we started to play the Cryptic Cross-ward. Unlike a regular cross-ward puzzle, the answer is hidden in the clue. It seemed that we could not return to work unless this was finished. Because it was our first time, we ended early and got our train ticket for the month. Then, we tried to figure out wireless connections for us, but once 5:00 hit Tom gave us a ride home.

Tired from our long day of traveling, we resisted our warm beds and instead explored the streets around our hotel. We saw tons of shops, shoe stores, nice restaurants, and a movie theater. Looking for a restaurant a little more for our budget, we returned closer to the hotel and ate at a great Mexican restaurant called "Fiesta". From there we escaped the rain and ran back to shelter.

Exhausted, I reached the room, tried to read information about Melbourne but failed. The tiredness won and I feel right to sleep.

Although the weather is not like summertime in the US, I can tell that my time here will be filled with great times and plenty of adventures. I'm excited to see what the next week brings!