Home away from home

Must admit that the past few days have probably been the best days here thus far. Can't lie, I was a tad home sick when I first got here, especially since a lot of the people already knew each other from the trip prior to our orientation. Lately, we have all bonded so well and we have our own little family. We decided last week to have a "family dinner" every Sunday and this past Sunday was the kickoff to the tradition. It just so happened to be our friend Stephanie's birthday so a bunch of us got together and had a BBQ for dinner. We all chipped in and got different things from the store and ended up making a fantastic dinner with chicken, burgers, sausage, veggies, chips (fries) and of course, boxed wine and beer! It was really nice to sit down with everyone and just talk about all of the fun stuff we have been doing and reflect on the crazy past few weeks we have had. It is nice having a family here of people you can trust and rely on to be there for you when you need them. Doesn't hurt that we all have a blast together and share MANY common interests. Aside from family dinner, got the chance to meet some more awesome Australians this past weekend. Went to a bar/club in Darling Harbor with some friends called Cargo Bar and ended up meeting a few guys from Sydney who love to have a good time...We ended up leaving Cargo and going to Kings Cross to a bar that I can't remember the name of but it was a blast. There was a lounge up on the roof where it was relatively quiet so we could all chat and get to know each other and it was a beautiful night which didn't hurt at all. Australians are so interesting to talk to and get their point of view on things and also, with my sense of humor (thanks mom and Tom), we have fun taking the piss out of each other and sharing a good laugh. It felt like we were only there for a little while but when I checked my phone, it was already almost 5am! Aussies can go on for days and days and days but we decided to call it a night and grab a cab. Of course we would get the cab driver from hell who was convinced he was in the Daytona 500 version of Death Race and was probably the worst driver of all time. Luckily we made it home in one piece. Today was the first day of classes which wasn't overly exciting...I can't really complain about my classes so far since they aren't anything too crazy but the commute to school takes a lot of out me. I live in Bondi Junction which is a beachy community right in the city of Sydney and my school, Macquarie University, is in the middle of nowhere in North Ryde. It takes me 2 trains and about 50 minutes to get to school and home each day. It isn't too bad so I can't really complain. The classes here are WAYYYY different than they are in the US of A. Back home we spend the first day or two talking about the class and what is to be expected and we sort of ease into the first topic. Not in Auss-land...We sat down, got our syllabus and BOOM! jumped right into how Australia was created and who discovered it and blah blah blah blah blahhhhhh...Thankfully our tutorial small environment class is perfect for asking questions and getting more in-depth info on the topics we discuss in the lecture. It might take some getting used to but no worries! The only weird thing to me is how they spell...Color is spelled Colour? Not what I am used to but I am trying to keep in mind that, "It's not wrong...It's just different". I still love Australia and it is starting to feel like my home away from home. I love the people I am with and I love the locals as well. I could not have been matched with a better group of guys and the friends we hangout with make me enjoy this trip more and more every day. Although there are certain aspects about home that I would KILLLLL to have here, I will just appreciate them that much more when I come home. Time to plan spring break and my upcoming Skydiving adventure! Stay tuned for more posts to come in the near future. Cheers!