Well it's been quite an adventure getting to this country! In a "quick" summary:

• Original flight was LAX to Sydney with a 4-hour layover in Fiji.
  
  
• LAX to Fiji flight was delayed to the next day, so I got put up in a great room at the Sheraton with overly-sufficient meal vouchers for the delicious hotel restaurant.
  
  
• Due to the late arrival in Fiji, no flights were departing for Sydney that night, so I got put up in a beautiful resort in Fiji, with yet again more meal vouchers than I could use.
  
  
• Finally got to Sydney, Neil and I had to sort out a place to stay (I guess most people sort this out ahead of time, but that's not our style). We found a house to stay in - $60 for a night, $175 for a week. Neil went with a week, since he needs time to sort out his permanent residence in Sydney.
  
  
• The place is an absolute dump! It's run down, about to fall over, mold growing on the walls, mushrooms growing out of the ceiling...It's actually quite amusing, but only because it's a temporary thing. We can put up with it with a laugh for a few days, but there's actually a woman that lives there permanently! I don't get it.

Neil has been sorting out his orientation stuff at Macquarie University, but yesterday we took a trip out to Manly Beach, a beautiful place at the gate of Sydney Harbor. We took a ferry out there instead of the bus, and it was awesome! Sydney Harbor is stunning.

View of the Opera House and the Sydney skyline from the ferry

It's about 80 degrees, sunny, beautiful... your standard perfect day everyday. Being that there's a distinct lack of ozone here, Neil and I sufficiently cooked ourselves yesterday, even with our SPF 30 (gotta re-apply consistently!).

All in all, Australia's incredibly beautiful. OH! And I almost forgot to mention, Australians are some of the friendliest people I've ever met! Across the board, everyone we run into is unbelievably accommodating, happy, and helpful. While it is refreshing to be surrounding by these people, it actually catches me off-guard more than I expected. How do I keep getting so lucky as to run into the most helpful people?? 180 degrees from my experience in London...

Tonight, I spend my evening in downtown, early tomorrow morning I catch my flight to Townsville. That's right, I keep forgetting I'm supposed to go to school while I'm here. I'll be back in Sydney someday to spend more time here. I still hafta do all the touristy stuff!