So here it is, 9:08 pm on sunday night. I am exhausted and will probably call it a night as soon as I finish writing this. I have school tomorrow morning at 9 am which means I'll have to be at the train station no later than 7:40 am to get to Uni with plenty of time to find my class room. Lucky for me, the oldest of my two homestay "sisters" (Lou) will be waking up early along with me and the two other girls staying here (Alina and Amanda) to show us exactly how to get to Uni and where to find our classroom.
My 14 hour flight was bearable. Other than the fact I had to spend nearly the entire time confined to a small area with little to no room for a change of position I rather enjoyed the trip. I watched two movies, read my Kurt Vonnegut book, ate a surprisingly tasty salmon dinner, and slept a total of between 4 and 6 hours. I really don't know how I am still functioning at the moment; I've only had two cups of coffee today and the first was before 6 am. One would think I'd be sound asleep by now, but I've managed to keep my energy level up all day.
I met four other UC students in the terminal before take off and we stuck together after landing as we made our way through immigration, baggage claims, and customs to find the driver who would drop us off at our homestays. I was the last student of a group of eight UC students to be dropped off, which gave me the opportunity to explore the suburbs of Brisbane within the confines of a vehicle that knew exactly how to take me to my final destination without getting terribly lost. This town reminds me of a cross between suburbs back east and the Santa Barbara Zoo. I am reminded of the Zoo not because of any interesting animals i can see, but because of all the foliage which looks a great deal like what they've got going on in SB.
The family is great. Cate, the mother, took us shopping today for breakfast and lunch supplies. She also gave us a mini tour or the public transit stops so we would know ahead of time what to expect. The two daughters, Jo and Lou, are hilarious together. They bicker just like sisters, except for the fact that every last jest is done in fun and they seem to always retort with a response that makes them both laugh. We had roast lamb and vegetables for dinner tonight; it was delicious.
I spent much of the day and evening with all the girls; I am amazed at Tim's, the father, ability to cope with having a wife and five young women in the house all at once. That is a lot of women under one roof. The family has a dog named Ben. Alina and I decided to go for a short run and take ben with us in the late afternoon. We saw an Australian Bush Turkey on our way back to the house. It's fun to start seeing creatures that i've only ever seen at the zoo. My room was the hang out room today. It is the biggest and has a queen bed, so it is the most comfortable to have all five girls in at once. We compared musical tastes as well as made fun of each other's slang terms. I was sad to have to be without my guitar for three whole months, but Lou has a guitar that she rarely plays so I played it tonight. Maybe I'll actually have a little time to play regularly.
It's best I be off, I can hardly keep my eyes open anymore.
Cheers,
Jessie
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