Finally in Australia

3 flights and 2 days later, I’ve finally arrived in beautiful Australia (Cairns where we will be having our group orientation). I obviously haven’t dressed for the weather, wearing a jacket, sweater, pants, and boots blanket in hand because when I step off the plane I feel like I’m walking into a sauna – the humidity here is crazy. I get over my initial annoyance when I realize that I have finally arrived, about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. I’ve spent months and months planning this trip and I’m finally here, it’s still somewhat surreal. After being greeted by our group leaders and rushing into the air-conditioned baggage claim area, we are told that the majority of the groups luggage didn’t make it to Cairns after our stop over in Brisbane – just the news you want to hear after a long day of traveling. Good news though, the airline is going to deliver it to out hotel within a few hours which means that I won’t have to carry it myself. You would understand my appreciation if you saw how much stuff I actually brought, and yet I’m sure I have forgotten a hundred things as well. I hate packing, and this time was no different! We all pack onto the bus, eager, excited, tired, sweaty, and a little overwhelmed by the whole situation and wait to hear what they have planned for the next couple of days. They have seemed to pack a lot into it considering we are only here for 3 days, but it sounds amazing. My first Australian observation is driving on the wrong side of the road. It really freaks me out; I keep thinking we’re about to crash head on with an oncoming vehicle. I know they drove on the other side of the road when I went to Ireland, but that was so long ago and I barely remember it. I secretly ant to try driving a car while I’m here but Jenna convinces me that this might not be the best idea. I guess we’ll just have to see how things go. Apparently you can rent a car though ever if you’re under 25. It would be cool to go on some sort of a road trip along the coast, but maybe a little a bus would be easier. We arrive at Gilligan’s backpackers resort, a hostile located in Cairns. It wasn’t too impressive, but it wasn’t horrible. I was put in a room with one other girl and 6 bunk beds, so we had plenty of room to unpack and get ready – not like we had much to unpack at the moment since we only had our carry on luggage though. At least I packed some important stuff in there otherwise I would have been way more frustrated. I am in dire need of a shower at this point but am slightly annoyed when I realize that the stupid adaptors I brought for my hairdryer do not work – I find out the hard way when it sparks in my hand. But all the other girls are in the same situation, so I guess we’ll rough it out together. We meet up for some orientation activities with the group. There are about 30 of us in total – 12 of us going to Sydney and the rest going to Perth on the other side of Australia. The people I have met so far are really cool. Jenna and me are the only one’s from California going to UTS. In our meeting we learn some Australian lingo and different cultural thins that might affect us and our transition into this new culture. While all this information is helpful, I am way too exhausted to actually appreciate their advice. We head back to our hostile and all plan to take “naps” and then go out and explore Cairns nightlife. Problem was no one woke from their nap, slept all the way until we had to get up the next morning at 7 for our rain forest adventure. It was probably for the best though; there will be plenty of time for partying and more exploring in the days to come.