A good friend once told me that if I could conquer the self-checkout at Wal-Mart, I could conquer the world. Well, I may not have conquered it quite yet, but I have safely made it to the other side of it. I'd love to tell you that the journey was pleasant and uneventful and smooth sailing all around--an excellent start to this new undertaking. But, life is not easy, and getting from A to B never is and so there was a bit of trouble from the get-go. I won't bore you with all the details, so here's a quick summary of how it all went down.
First, my flight out of Ohio was delayed by two hours because the plane hadn't been upgraded to meet FAA regulations (or something, the pilot went on and on about whatever the issue was and I couldn't quite follow). Because of this delay, I didn't reach LA until 10:40pm to meet my connecting flight which was to depart at 10:35. By the time I raced over to the gate, my carefully chosen aisle seat had already been given away and I was stuck with a seat smack in the middle. Then, the automated "luggage loader" system, which loads the baggage onto the plane, broke down and the flight crew had to manually load the luggage for all of the passengers on the massive Boeing 777 which pushed our arrival time in Sydney back a half hour. I survived the flight and made it to Customs only to be pulled aside by a Customs officer because my middle name had not been put into their system by the airline and so my passport had to be copied and verified. And then was pulled aside in Quarantine because the officers thought I was attempting to sneak a wooden picture frame into the country. (Yes, they have VERY strict rules about what can be brought into the country since they are a massive island and a wooden picture frame could, of course, bring death and destruction to the entire population). Finally, I made it to the meeting area where after several moments of confusion and sheer panic a kindly old man from the university found me and took me to my driver.
I was surprised to discover that I wasn't the only Macquarie student arriving yesterday. There were quite a number of international students there to be picked up and while waiting I met William from France (pronounced "Gilliam), Matt from England, Leeann from New Jersey and a quiet couple from Germany. Since we were all assigned the same driver we had the opportunity to get to know each other a bit and then were unceremoniously deposited at our various accomodations around Sydney. I, of course, was droppped off at Abbotsleigh where I and my three suitcases half-walked, half-tumbled down the massive hill to Mcredie House where I'll be staying.
Mcredie House is a huge dormitory/house that houses about 60 9th & 10th grade girls most of whom I met yesterday. The dorm has its own kitchen, laundry room, two entertainment areas, and a computer lab and the suite I share with another resident assistant, Michelle, has its own bathroom and kitchen, as well. (Check out the video to see what it looks like!*) The girls were all quite taken with my "accent" and attempted to mimic me as I introduced myself. It was all very funny because I don't think I have an accent and was attempting to copy theirs. They're definitely a very energetic bunch, but sweet (so far) and I'm hoping that we all get along. If we don't, then the next 12 months are going to be VERY long!
So, I'm here, alive, healthy, and a bit chilly. I think I overestimated how warm 60 degrees is and my fingers have gone quite numb as I sit here typing this. Thankfully, my room has heat (it's heated through the floor which is odd but my feet appreciate it) even if the computer lab doesn't. Once IT hooks up my laptop, though, I'll be able to do this from the comfort of my room.
I realize this entry has gotten a bit lengthy so to make for easier reading I'll make a separate entry to briefly tell you about my experience at Macquarie.
*Videos probably won't be posted until Monday when IT has created an account for me, but they are coming!
No comments:
Post a Comment