I arrived safely in Brisbane this morning, after 16 hours in flight and several hours of waiting in airports. Getting through customs in Sydney took the entire 2 hours I had before my next flight (because I had to collect my baggage, and transfer to a distant terminal for my domestic flight). The trip was mostly uneventful, overall. I ate pretty good vegetarian meals on the airplane, didn't have anyone in the middle seat in my row, my solitary rowmate slept for about 12 hours straight, I slept for 6 hours, read my book, and watched two movies ("The King's Speech" - good, and "Red" - meh).
The folks at the University here picked us up at the airport, dropped us off in a hostel, and left us with no instructions, food, or rooms available (the rooms became available several hours after we got there, so we had to wander around with backpacks, etc. in tow). We finally did get to meet all the other students in the program, and eventually we got to check in to our dorm-style rooms. We went out as a group for the evening, to a lovely pizza-and-beer bistro/bar on the Brisbane riverfront, which had Sunday specials (very good, because food here is incredibly expensive). We got to watch the sunset, spend time talking with each other, and admire the HUGE bats that were flying overhead.
So far, Brisbane reminds me of a strange cross between San Francisco and London, with a touch of Florida weather thrown in for good measure.
Orientation starts tomorrow, so I will have more news soon! For now, it is 7 pm here, but it feels like bedtime to me!
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