Welcome to Sydney

Today has been really overwhelming. We got to the airport in Nadi at 6am to check-in. I went with the first group on the bus to the airport because I was nervous about my bags. It turns out that I had a definite right to be. Air Pacific decided to charge by the kilogram instead of by the amount of bags, so since I could only check 23kg for free, I ended up having to pay for 12 extra at the rate of $15FJD per bag. That’s $180FJD! I was so ready to get out of Fiji though that I just took it in stride and went off to spend the rest of my Fijian money in the airport. I was able to find a magnet, granted it’s a little chintzy, for the rest of my collection and grab a muffin for breakfast.

When I went back to join the group, I found out that two of the girls in our group – Audrey and Nicole – hadn’t made it on the plane. Apparently, the girls in the front of them got the last tickets on our overbooked plane and they were placed on standby. It was decided that flying to New Zealand and then catching a flight to Sydney would be a better option for them. But still, that had to suck. They spent the whole day in airports only to have to wait around to get picked up in Sydney because no one knew when they were getting in.

Anyways, back to my trip, the muffin didn’t do much for filling me up though, so it’s a good thing that they gave us yogurt, fruit, and another tiny muffin on the plane. I took the complimentary drink too. I needed it after the whole check-in ordeal. The flight was supposed to last 4 hours and 20 minutes, but when we got to Sydney we had to fly around in the air for a little bit because there wasn’t a spot for us to land. When we finally got down on the ground, I realized how truly excited I am to finally be in Australia. It’s sort of surreal. I’ve been wanting to step foot on this continent since I was twelve and now I’m finally here, for four whole months no less.

We hit the ground running and pulled a team effort to get through customs, grab our checked bags and make it out to the arrivals terminal. We actually beat the bus driver. Once all of our bags were finally loaded into the bus, we started the 40 minute journey into town. It was nice to drive through Sydney even though it was kind of rainy and dreary. Everyone got really excited when we drove over the actual Sydney bridge and saw the Sydney Opera House.

At Macquarie, we were welcomed into the recreation building of the Village and provided with Pizza Hut pizzas and the Australian version of a hotdog (we’re still not quite sure what was different – someone thought lamb and someone else sausage, regardless, I liked it). We were starving, so it was much appreciating. After all of the food had vanished into our stomachs, the resident advisors handed out packets with our room keys, house keys, and free internet vouchers. I’m living with four other people. None of which I have met. They’re most likely international students, but they seem to no t be home much. They don’t even have anything in our common rooms, just the provided furniture and some food in the kitchen.

Amanda, our AIFS coordinator on campus, also gave us a little speech about drugs and alcohol before handing over our debit cards from AIFS. It turns out that we’ll be getting a $240 monthly stipend for food and transportation, which doesn’t look like much at all in this country.

After signing all of the papers to check-in, we were guided to the very back of the part of the village furthest from campus, where they had found residence for us. Luckily, a van helped with some of our bags because it’s a fairly large hill that we have to walk up to get to our buildings. It’ll be nice training when I go for a run.

My room has some issues with it, like a leaky faucet and a very dirty desk chair, but I’m so glad to be in the same place for a few months that I was relieved when I walked in. It could definitely be worse anyways. I really only had time to set my bags down and put my sheets (also provided by AIFS, even though they said they wouldn’t be) on my bed before rushing off to the shopping mall across campus. It closed at 5:30, so we had to hurry there. I’m glad we did though because I was able to purchase an Australian mobile for $59 with a $30 monthly plan that gives me unlimited texting, 8 hours of talk, and a limited amount of data. It’s nice to have a phone that works again, even if I can’t call home with it.

While everyone else was picking out phones, I ran around the mall picking up the things I deemed most important and weren’t too heavy to carry all of the way back to the village (it’s about a 30 minute walk, or at least it is the way we went). I was able to find a fresh fruit store for apples and bananas as well as a bakery to pick up some bread. Then I stopped in a grocery store for detergent, pasta, olive oil, and toilet paper before running to Target (which carries quite a bit less here) for hangers and toiletries. I had five bags in total when I was done, but I managed to carry all of them back without breaking. I did have a little assistance though. Halfway back, we found an abandoned grocery cart and commandeered it for the remainder of the walk. It was a little too late though because one of the handles on Sarah’s bags ripped and her olive oil bottle broke and leaked all over her groceries.

I was so happy to unpack when I got home though. A few of the girls had talked about going out earlier, but I have no idea where they manage to get the energy from. I’m excited to pick out my classes tomorrow though. I hope I get what I want.