First post from Australia! We literally touched down in Cairns about an hour ago and after collecting our many bags and checking into our hostel, my abroad journey is finally beginning! We are staying at this really cute hostel called the Northern Greenhouse, located right in the middle of Cairns. I am staying in a room with four other girls from my program. We have our own kitchen set up, compete with fridge and sink, as well as our own bathroom. (super nice) And there's also a pool! :)
I have to admit, while it was very mentally and physically draining, I actually enjoyed my long 16 hour flight from Dallas to Brisbane. I managed to catch some zz's which shocked me since I usually don't sleep that great on a plane. I curled up and watched some episodes of the Big Bang Theory, created a couple of friendship bracelets (thanks for the great idea Katie R!) and watched a really cute movie called the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. (It's a great "feel-good" movie which i highly recommend. It also makes me want to move to India once I retire.) Slightly amusing story from the plane: as soon as we are all settled in, the captain gets on the intercom and announces that we need to wait for 15-20 minutes to allow the staff at the Brisbane airport to get to work and man the customs stations. We were going to be arriving so early (5:00am) that the airport wouldn't be up and running. (Made me tired just thinking about it).
My faith in airports is starting to be renewed since no one I was traveling with had their bags get lost and we made every single one of our connections on time. I was very impressed. On the flight from Brisbane to Cairns, I sat next to this really sweet older couple. Although we didn't talk a lot, the woman insisted on giving me the apples that were served with her breakfast since I had just missed them handing out food when I had gone to use the bathroom. I wasn't all that hungry but i was touched by her generosity so I took them. (She also proceeded to give me her muffin and her husband's apple.)
When we landed in Cairns airport we were met by Cheryl who organizes our home-stays. She gave us each a letter from the director and a map of the city. She put is in a taxi and sent us to our hostel with the instructions that we were going to meet around 1 with Tony, the director of the program. So we still at this point, have little knowledge of what we will be doing. But i figured that gives us enough time to grab a shower and maybe a swim, unpack a little, and maybe do a bit of exploring. Oh and of course, update the blog :)
I'll upload some pictures soon once I dig my camera out from the depths of my bags! Stay tuned!
Peace, love and sunshine.
Katie
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