On my way

I'm happy to report I feel much better, and things are in full swing now.  I've had my orientation and now I'm on full lookout for a job and a place to live.  I learned 2 interesting things at my orientation:  1) Over 80,000 people per year come here and do what I'm doing (called a working holiday), and 2) Australia is about the same size as the US.  The first thing means employers are used to people like me and there are many resources for people like me to find a job and a place to live.  The second thing means I won't be traveling across Australia as much as I hoped.  If you think of it like this, I'm in Florida.  If I want to go to the Great Barrier Reef, that would be like going to Maine.  If I wanted to go to Perth (Western Australia), that'd be like going to California.  The flights respectively would cost about the same.

Well, I'd like to write more, but unfortunately I have limited internet access.  I will write more later, but until then I hope all of you are doing well!

I'm here

I apologize for any of you who may have been worried about me. I made it to Sydney yesterday, but felt so sick that I ended up sleeping most of the day. I managed to make it to the supermarket, and I’m getting some food in my system finally, although my stomach still seems to protest it. I know it’s better to get something in my system to help me feel better. On the way to the market I passed by a Starbucks. It made me smile, and I felt like I got a warm hug from back home. I would have gotten something, but I figured it was probably too early to tempt Starbucks on an uneasy stomach.
From what I’ve seen so far, Sydney has a European feel. It reminds me a bit of England, but newer and with Asian intermingled rather than Indian. I suppose that makes sense, given Australia’s history. I’m going to see how I feel later today, and perhaps I’ll explore a bit more. Maybe I can take a few pictures and post them. Hopefully I’ll at least be able to report that I feel better.

Not a good travel day

So here I am at the Los Angeles airport on my 7 hour layover. This has been one of the worst travel days I have ever had. I felt a little sick this morning, but figured I could ride it out. As the day has progressed though, I've just felt worse. I felt really motion sick on my first flight, and now my stomach is at that phase where I don't know what it wants. I am not looking forward to my long flight, and although I remembered to pack Dramamine, I didn't look in the bottle. It only had 2 pills. I finally broke down and bought some medicine, and I really hope it helps. This morning I thought my long flight was going to be great as it wasn't very full, but even that has gone sour. The flight for Sydney that was supposed to leave before mine got cancelled. So all the people from that first flight are now on mine and now the plane is overbooked. Just to add icing to the cake, my flight has also been delayed. Trying to stay on the bright side, at least I've gotten internet access. I was able to talk to a couple people back home, and I may have a more permanent living situation worked out in Sydney. So while getting there has been horrible, once there it looks like things are set to work out well.

Off I go!

So here I am, the night before, and would you believe I only have 4 things left to pack?  For those of you who know me well, this is an unusual thing.  Normally, I stay up really late the night before I leave packing like mad.  Although, I also normally pack light, and this time I'm teetering on the edge of the weight limit.  Perhaps when I pack in a frenzy, I don't think as much about wether or not I really need something, but I do feel more prepared this way.  Yet, today has been such a mix of emotions for me.  I have been jumping up and down excited, freaking out scared, and almost in tears sad.  I'm really going to miss everyone.  This is probably the hardest part of this whole trip.  I will stay in touch, though.  This is not really goodbye, it's more have a great summer and I'll see you in the fall.  So that's how I'll leave it.

Time is flying!

It seems unreal that I only have about 2 1/2 weeks before I leave. It feels like the month of May has just flown by. I have a lot to do before I go, and it almost seems overwhelming now. Yet, I know it will all come together. If there's one thing I've learned from my travels it's that I'm queen of last minute packing. Well, I'll try to write at least one more time before I leave, and I look forward to seeing you all at my party.