Finally here!

Hi everybody! So at this point I have already finished one orientation (Arcadia), and am moving on to the freshman orientation at James Cook which will be caled JCU from this point forward. So during my first orientation, after being picked up at the airport we immediately went to get lunch at this adorable seaside village called St. Kilda, discovered that we don't tip in Australia, and swam in the west side of the Pacific for the first time. We then got on the bus and drove to a state park to look at kangaroos. We were cornering three when they hopped off, and were momentarily dismayed until we walked 15 feet and saw at least 30 more. They were so cute, and I got such good pictures of them! We then drove to our villa by the sea where we stayed for the next couple of days. While we were there, we went for a couple of hikes, went swimming again, and explored Sorrento, the town we were in. We also had the necessary lectures regarding Australian culture and what to expect. It was quite enlightening. I also registered to go on the mini Reef and Rainforest Excursion in Cairns which should be an awesome time. We also went on a cruise where we saw birds, seals, and more kangaroos!

After spending a couple of days in Sorrento, we returned to Melbourne (where we flew in), and had a mostly free day. I bought a phone, and that night some of us went out for a couple of beers which were ridiculuously expensive at A$6 a glass! It was fun though, and I liked the city. Yesterday, we finally made it to Townsville, and I'm now at least slightly settled in University Hall, Uni Hall for short. I have a single with communal bathrooms, and I'm in a townhouse. This means that there's 11 that share 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, and a common room. We don't have air conditioning, but after Mississippi for so long, I can honestly say this isn't too bad. We have amazingly efficient fans.

This morning we had an orientation session that was a bit boring but still informative, and tonight I'm supposed to be going out with some friends. However, we were supposed to leave an hour ago... Hopefully we'll leave soon!