The Journey Begins...

I've arrived.  Finally.  I'm exhausted, I'm slightly delirious, but I'm here.

Mum's and my trip to Los Angeles was pretty fantastic.  We went on a sightseeing tour of a bunch of LA hotspots, stars' homes, and the Hollywood sign, and then went for a tour of the Warner Brother's studio.  The whole time, we were looking for any celebrities, but the only time we got anywhere close to that was when one of the members of our tour group said he saw Daniel Radcliffe (who was on the property to be a guest on Ellen).  The following day, we wandered up and down the Santa Monica pier, and then drove down to Sony Pictures studio...and visited the sets for Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Two Broke Girls.

Leaving Mum at the airport on Thursday night was rough.  We got to the airport, and got me checked in, but faced with the reality of me leaving through security reduced both of us to tears.  She stayed as close as she could as I went through all the required hoops, but then I had to turn the corner, and start the next chapter of my life.

The plane flight was totally uneventful.  I ate gross airplane food, slept, watched part of a movie, fell asleep, and then ate some gross airplane breakfast...and then I was in Sydney!  All the sleeping meant that the 14.5 hour flight didn't actually feel that long, but my sore behind when I got up certainly belied the amount of time I spent in that tiny chair.

I cleared customs, found my bags (luggage trolleys at the Sydney Airport are free, FYI), and made it to the driver who was taking me and one other student to the university.  Along the drive, the driver pointed out a number of sights along the road, and even stopped at a gorgeous lookout point, and a spot by the beach, before dropping me off at Campus East.

I checked in, got my bags to my room, and started my running around to get the internet hooked up, and whatnot.  On one of my trips to the reception desk to ask another of my umpteen questions, I met a person who turned out to be one of the Residence Advisors for my area of the building.  She offered, since she had a car, to drive me to a cheap store to get dishes and pots and pans and stuff, since my roommate won't be checking in until February 20th.  She also showed me a few of the usual bars and clubs in town that students like to go to, and talked a bit about the sorts of events that happen around the residence campus and the university.  She also roped me into doing one of the booths at an International Food festival...not sure when exactly that is, but I'll be making poutine!

Oh, and just to maybe make you a little bit jealous, this is where I live now: