Rough Day at the Beach

It's been a few days since I've been able to write, since I haven't stopped moving since I've been here. This experience has already been an amazing won hard to describe to anyone who isn't here. I'm basically in a random place, in a random continent with thousands of random people. The kicker is we're all in the same situation so everyone is friendly, open to meeting people, and very down to earth. From Andreas the German to Aaren the Australian, I have met them all. You know your situation is amazing when you have a two hour conversation about world politics with a white kid from Zimbabwe. As a sit with a Mexican yesterday, we agreed that 50 years ago a Mexican and American wouldn't be sitting together in Australia. This kind of globalization we are all able to experience due to events like this, and modern day technology will drastically change (and I hope improve) our world.

Speaking of technology, the internet in Australia is United States internet circa 1985. I am doing my best to accomplish everything I need to do on the internet but it takes forever. I can't describe the situation I am in. Already it has been some of the most amazing times of my life, and will only get better. Today was a tough day at the office, heading to the beach at noon and chilling there all day with friends.

When I was coming from Sydney to Newcastle, I met some very cool American students in the same boat as me. One girl, from New York, was down here alone and moving into a hostel while she was going to find a place to live. We exchanged information and tried to get a hold of each other, which proves impossible down here. A day or so later we saw each other while she was getting on the bus, and me getting off, so again no real contact. Low and behold after days of struggling to find a place to live, the University (which EVERYONE calls the Uni here), contacts her that they have a place to live. Of course, she ends up moving across the hall for me. Crazy how the world tends to work itself out. Today I had no contact with either of my groups of guy friends down here, and somehow we all gravitated towards the same beach. Interesting how I now know the world DID exist before cell phones.

My roommates are great. My Korean one is the man and has been awesome since he cleaned up his stuff! We are our only little family with two Koreans, a girl from an island off the cost of Sri Lanka, a New Yorker and a Chicagoan. The other two girls have not yet moved in, they will sometime this weekend. Our dorm (The International House, obviously) has has numerous events. Trivia night, icebreaker games, "Back to School" themed party and tonite speed dating on Valentine's Day. But my tank is close to empty so I may not be participating. More to come.