FINALLY! A NEW POST!

To all of my loyal fans, I am VERY sorry it's taken me so long to update this thing. But what matters is, I'M HERE! And have been here for about 2 weeks now already. I've been very very busy non-stop just trying to get adjusted, talking to my advisors, going to class, studying (yes, I actually studied because my first quiz was yesterday), going to the beach, down to the harbor, exploring, so yeah...I'm keeping busy. So here's my adventure so far:

So the plane ride sucked, obviously. But it wasn't AS BAD as I was expecting...basically because I was expecting to never be able to get off the plane since it was about 16 hours. I met a few people at the airport, trying to slowly find my way into a group that felt right. Unfortunately, I noticed that ALOT of them had already known each other from Boston University, so it felt like it was going to be a little more of a challenge to fit in than I thought so previously. However, I just met random people here and there at the airports and on the plane and eventually I found a group that I'm comfortable with. My roommates cool and is the only other guy from Fordham so we get along fine and then we have a few other friends that we've been going to the beach with and going out with at night.

The people here are extremely nice. For example, if you kinda bump into someone on the street, even if theyre already 5 feet in front or behind you, they'll make sure they turn around and say sorry real quick...not like in NYC where if you bump into someone you'll just be completely ignored. Now a main question has been....do the toilets flush the opposite way? Well, unfortunately all of the toilets seem to just go straight down, but if I find out more about that I'll keep you posted. Another interesting thing that I noticed is this. Say you're walking down the street of NYC or anywhere in America and a person is walking towards you straight on, your instinct is to go to the right and theyll go to THEIR right. Well, since they drive on the opposite side of the road, they always go their left (and this happens alot considering how much you walk in the city). And it's REALLY confusing considering I'll go to my right and they'll go to their left and then it just gets really confusing when you both are right in front of each other...but I've adjusted now and know to go to the left (I almost typed right). Also, crossing the street SUCKS. You always look to your left when you should be looking right and then all of a sudden cars are coming right at you. My roommate almost got hit twice...so I'm being extra careful about that.

My classes are sweet. Australian Culture and Society is easy and it's cool learning about how Australia was originally a convict island and eventually they just started their own culture. They also had to intergrate themselves with the natives (the Aboriginals) who have been here for almost 50,000 years! Crazy right? Then I have my Film Production class which is awesome because we get to make our own films in groups of 2, but then I found out that on the last day of the first session, we're not gonna be showing the films to just our class, but ALL 125 kids that are in the program....so that's a little nerve-racking, but I'm excited!

I've seen the Harbor Bridge, the Opera House (MUCH LARGER THAN I EXPECTED), walked through the city, gone to Kings Cross (kinda like the Amsterdam of Sydney and full of prositutes....which is legal which is kinda weird), taken a Booze Cruise through the bay, celebrated AUSTRALIA DAY (which is like our 4th of july), and then Australian Open is going on too and their almost at the finals so that should be fun to watch. We booked our spring break trip so we're going to Cairns (supposedly one of the best places in the world for spring break), and then sailing for 2 days in Whitsunday around the Great Barrier Reef. And then for easter break we're planning on going to the Outback which is exciting.

Alright this is getting a little long and you may be getting bored (or just jealous), so I'm gonna head out. I'm going to SURF CAMP this weekend and am SO excited to learn!!! I leave in a few hours so I'll let you know how well I can surf (if at all). Please let me know if you have any specific questions via facebook, e-mail, or however. I hope everyone is doing well at home! I heard you guys have gotten a ton of snow since I've left so I honestly am upset you have to deal with that. But hey, it's almost February, which means a little bit closer to spring and ALSO closer to my return home. I miss you all and will try to get the next update posted a little sooner than last time.

Cheers, Skippy