Hello all, greetings from down under!
Things have been moving right along here and we have settled into our apartments, which are quite nicer than expected! We have two full baths, laundry, a kitchen, dishwasher, and pretty much everything a fully furnished two bedroom apartment would have back in the states.
As much fun, relaxation and exploring we’ve done here, there have been a few minor hang ups. For starters I got my brand new camera stolen in Melbourne the day before we moved into our new home. Although this is a tough thing to deal with, I have come to terms with my loss and am happy that it happened at the beginning rather than at the end when I had all my pictures.
The jet lag and time difference also threw me off, but, I have adjusted quite nicely and naps have been quite abundant given that we have a week before we start classes at Griffith Uni…
There have been noticeable differences between the United States culture and Australian culture. Here’s a brief list:
-people are paid hourly and tipping at restaurants is not required because most restaurant employees make a decent $15 minimum wage and up, the service is definitely affected by this. (Some places even make you pour your own water!)
-humor varies but for the most part is dry, for example going through customs I was asked where I was from and when I replied New Hampshire the custom’s employee jokingly asked “Is there an Old Hampshire?”
-prices of items whether they be leisurely or food, can be pretty costly…the money is also different with there being $2, $1, $0.50 coins and very colorful bills. Five dollar bills are purple, ten dollar bills are blue, twenty dollar bills are red, fifty dollar bills are yellow and hundred dollar bills are turquoise.
Of course the weather is significantly different as well with highs in the 80s. For the most part its humid and extremely hot in the sun, spending 15 minutes in the sun will cause extreme sunburn without the protection of sun block.
It is truly so hard to put into words the beauty of this country, it’s very difficult to take a bad picture here when everything is so scenic.
Surfers Paradise is just exactly that, paradise, I may never come home!
As the Aussie’s say, Ta for now! Much more to come as my amazing adventure continues with the start of classes next week!
Sincerely,
Jocelyn
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