The Journey Begins

Australia is a long way away. There really is no way to dispute that. It was approx 36 hours door to door. To be honest, this was the only part of the experience that I was not looking forward to, however, it truly was not that bad.

After driving to Detroit and having a minor moment where it looked possible that I had left my wallet at home (it had fallen out of my pocket and under the seat) things went well. I saw a former high school teacher at the airport (apparently he was playing hookey from the last day before President's Day break), and I really didn't have too much down time after eating before boarding the plane to LAX. The plane for this long a trip was surprisingly small, only 24 rows, and was pretty tightly packed. It was not like any other plane I have traveled on while heading to the west coast, and had no ammenities. What worked out well was that I was seated next to an officer of the United States Army, and a die-hard MSU alumn, who had just gotten home from a trip to Iraq. He also works a civilian job for the state regarding prisions, and between Iraq and that we had a fascinating conversation that made the five hour flight go by very quickly. I absolutely loved hearing about the war from somewhat who has actually been fighting and will be going back sometime, rather than from slanted news organization (one way or the other).

The landing into LA was cool for me. I have technically been there before (under the age of one), but obviously do not remember any of it. I did not realize how close the mountains and hills are surrounding the city. I sat on the window and was on the correct side as we flew directly over the city which was very cool. I got excited because I could see the Hollywood sign up on the hill, as well as the Staples Center standing out below me. On a less positive note I could see the that house of horrors for ND football, the Coliseum where USC plays football. ND Stadium is obviously better.

Upon arriving at LAX, I had no troubles getting my bags, but had to take a long winding sidewalk outside around the airport to get to the international terminal two buildings away. At LAX there are throngs of people inside and out that are asking you for money, which was a different sight for me at an airport, but there were also many people working there who could tell you exactly where to go. As soon as I got to the Qantas desk, I ran into two girls I recognized, and a dad of a third girl saw me whering ND clothing and pointed me out to a third. We had a quick bite to eat together before we headed down towards the international wing. This wing in LAX is horrible. There are no shops or eateries past security, it is under heavy construction, and is dark and damp. It really is not an air terminal at all, rather a bus station. To board the plane they get you by row, but then put you on a bus to a remote launching facility out on the other side of the airport where they built a ramp with a cover to walk up and on the plane. Before we boarded though, all 14 of us got together for about three hours and really got to know eachother pretty well.

The flight itself was not what I first imagined. I flew Lufthansa when traveling to Europe, and really enjoyed it. Qantas Economy class is exactly like Northwest domestic economy class. I did not have very much room. I made a rookie mistake and when asked took the aisle rather than the window. It made it very hard to sleep later on because there was not much to lean your head on and position your body against. The flight was very smooth, food actually very good, drinks all completely free, movies decent, etc. I slept for about 7 hours of the 15 hour flight, and watched three movies. A quick aside, noise canceling headphones are absolutely necessary for flights like this and were a great help. I did not sit with the main group of students, but did get to talk to them for a while during the flight.

When we arrived in Sydney, I was quite surprised by the airport. In the states, it is very common for the large airports to have many, many runways at their disposal. I was informed by the captain that Sydney has two, and only one large enough to handle our 747. By a quick comparison, South Bend Regional has two runways and is lucky to get 10 flights a day.
The customs was pretty easy for me, and was not delayed too long. This is where our group hit a problem. Our only student without a US passport did not make it through customs. He holds a Mexican one, and declared an asthma inhaler, which was enough for the authorities to hold him for a complete search and put him on a flight later in the day.

We did not have much time in between flights, and after getting our bags, clearing customs, and getting over to the domestic transfer area to recheck our bags, barely made it to the new terminal by bus in time to board the flight to Perth. Sydney was very cloudy when we landed and took off, so unfortunately I could not see any of the landmarks while I was there. The one thing that I could see was the Olympic area that hosted the 2000 games. I could clearly see the stadium and the torch- but this is outside the city limits.

The flight to Perth was great! It was five hours, and we were all already a little tired, but we were all sitting in the right section of the plane behind eachother and stood in a huge mob and talked and had a great time the entire flight. I'm sure that the rest of the people on the flight probably were not that pleased, but the attendants did not care because it was an all male crew, and our entire group included them the whole time. People asked where we should go, what beer we should drink, what clubs to visit, etc. It was really a great five hours, even though we were stuck on a plane.

Even despite the good time, we were all ready to get off planes for awhile by the time that we landed. Perth is a small airport on the domestic side of it, and we easily got our bags. They were waiting for us with a shuttle, and we were on our way. We got a quick tour of Perth on the way from the bus driver, and the drive was about 20-30 minutes.

Our dorm is not great. We have singles, but they are about the size of my closet at home, and without air conditioning. The boys are all together downstairs, and the girls all together upstairs. There are also a few Sacred Heart College girls from Connecticut upstairs as well. We got a tour of the campus and the surrounding area (the campus is very small - maybe about the size of north quad and part of mod quad back in South Bend). The beach is very close and there is a great park right across the street from us. The only problem I encountered was that I could not get my internet to work in my room, but that has since been fixed. A few guys went down to the grocery store to get some stuff so we can eat, and the whole dorm had a group meal. Afterwards we had a few meetings, and then cleaned up to head out.

In Australia, guys wear pants and closed shoes to go out at night, even though it is summer here and there usually is no A/C in the bars. We were all pretty tired heading out, but rallied and had a great time. Of our group of 15, only one person did not come out- and it was due to illness. We even had the Sacred Heart girls come out and we met up with other American students from other dorms in the bar. Before leaving, I had heard that Australians do not drink ice cold beer. I dont know where that came from, but I can put that idea to rest. The beer was ice cold, and it was flowing, and we had a great time, staying out much later than we thought we would be able to handle when we left. The first bar had a band that started playing late 90s and early 2000s American music, and we were absolutely in our element. It was great. We later left and went to a dancing club, and that too was a good time. We got back around 1 AM, and by that time with the jet-lag, lack of quality sleep, and alcohol we were ready for bed.

Overall, I feel that I am completely adjusted to the time and have had no effects. It never was a problem at all. I am ready to go, and excited about what lays ahead. I really like the group that I am with, and I think that we are going to have a really good time.

If you have any questions right them in a comment to this or any other post and I will try to answer them. Hope all is well.