One thing I forgot about my first day here. Before I got on the airplane I was sitting in my terminal and an incredibly well dressed elderly couple came and sat down beside me. They were on their way to Portland but the airport kept sending them to different terminals and gates. We started talking, and the man said that he had fought in WWII and had been to Australia. He had been in the air force, but spent a huge amount of his time during the war on a boat. More than most Navy men he said. He was describing to me the incredible rout that he took to get to Australia which took him all around the world when I was called to board my plane. I was sorry to have to leave in the middle of his story, but his wife said that it was alright and they he loved to tell it to anyone who would listen. I enjoyed it and was happy to have some company while I waited. As I headed over to my plane I heard someone yell and when I looked back it was the elderly man running towards me. I had left my iPod on my seat... he was comig over to give it to me. He was one of the nicest men I've met, and sadly, I didn't even get to know his name. Just thought that event was worth documenting. When I first got here it was interesting to see everyone go crazy at the pub. It's a different kind of culture and a very new experience for me. I had never been to a pub before or even really an event where there is dancing. The whole drinking thing is still not a big deal to me. I prefer to just enjoy myself while being sober. The dancing part however.... I still can't decide on. I'll just say it's growing on me. When the people here get drunk and crazy, they often times end up making out with each other. I find this action a little strange, but others apparently do not. For O-Week (Orientation Week) everyone here has been split up onto teams of about seven people, and we compete with each other in different challenges each day. When you win, you get points. There are other ways to get points by doing random tasks that the O-Week leaders ask. One of these tasks is by being the person who hooked up with the most people in a day... The leaders also pass out things like a condom necklace (for the person who hooked up the most), flourescent orange and yellow vests (the people who get the most drunk), a pacifier necklace (for person who whines and complains the most), and a helmet (for a person who does dumb stuff). These are passed out each night at our meetings. There are very random things as well. Whenever a leader blow a whistle one time we have to fall on the ground and do a commando roll, two times, you fall on your back and kick your arms and legs like a dying ant, and three times, you have to cling to a person that is near you. These can all be quite awkward when you're just getting to know all the people around you. All in all I'm happy to be here and am making some good friends that I hope will last a lifetime.
I've got my room set up now, my bed made, my laptop running, a working alarm clock, an area fan, but still no internet in my room. I have been using the computers in the lab that is in my dorm. The computers are a little old and they only have internet explorer, but they get the job done. I've been taking a picture each day of what has been going on, but mind you, some of them will be WWWWAAAAAAAAAYYY less interesting than others. One day I was here I woke up went to a trivia game we had here, came into the computer lab, walked to the mall, bought nothing, and came back here for another event. Not a lot of action, or interesting photo material. All well. You guys will live.
I have been able to pick up the things I need to survive, and I've met a few more people from the US and Australia, and I've learned a couple cool new words. Last night I went out with a group of people from here in Australia and Ashley (Wisconson). There was Becca, Emma, James, Kieren and Matthew. All of them are from Australia. There were a few other there as well but I don't remember their names...
Today I went on a trip with the people from ciee. We went up to the North end of town and went across the Sea Cliff Bridge. It's pretty sweet. We went up to a look out point and could see all the way down the coast line. It was pretty cool. The others from ciee (that I can remember) are Laura Bologna (Penn State), Victoria something [North Carolina (she says Y'all!)], Alex Meyer (Don't remember), a girl from Glendora, a girl from Portland (I think), and I think there were others, but I'm not too good at this name learning thing. I am enjoying my time here, and I'm excited about the events to come. Skydiving?????
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