I am in Australia

I am writing this post from "Global Gossip," an internet cafe in Sydney. Not the same as my laptop at home, but it'll do.

Everything went as planned on the 26-hour trip over here. Pretty uneventful overall, but there were a few highlights:

• Meeting another backpacker, who was also traveling to Australia, while waiting in line at the LA airport--looks like they're not lying when they say other people do this!
• Celebrating with a glass of champagne on the flight to New Zealand
• Landing in New Zealand: an amazing view of the sunrise over the lush greenery of the North Island as the waves crashed against the shore. Breathtaking. I can't believe that I will actually be living there.
• The nice ladies on the flight to Australia who gave me the name and phone number for their friend who runs a jackaroo/jillaroo school in Tamworth.

I made it from the plane to my hostel very easily. As an American, it looks like it will take some time to get used to how nice everyone is. At the airport, some man approached me and I immediately got nervous, but he was just trying to help me find my shuttle. On the shuttle, some guy was giving his business card to a couple he had just met and told them to call him up if they were ever in the area. I am still very much in the American mode of ignoring anyone who tries to talk to me. But being friendly to strangers seems like a good change to undertake.

After I got settled at the hostel, I walked around downtown Sydney for a bit. Did some window shopping, sat in Hyde Park, and visited the ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) memorial. The signs around the memorial said "Let silent contemplation be your offering." I like a country that encourages introspection. I also like a country where most of the people wear flip flops, as seems to be the case here.

I have my orientation tomorrow, and I will get to start all the fun stuff like buying a phone, opening a bank account, and finding a job and a place to live. Pretty exciting, no?