I’m finally here.
And it’s INCREDIBLE.
You know, when I first starting planning out my McGill application for a student exchange, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, or if I would really be lucky enough to be accepted and given the chance to travel so far. It always seemed like something I would have liked to do, but the reality of actually travelling to Australia by myself only fully hit me on the plane from Montreal.
Why am I doing this? Why would I want to travel halfway around the world to go to school in Melbourne? There’s too many reasons to list, but the three most important would be: my need to develop my independence, my desire to enrich my education to its fullest, and my longing to see one of the most beautiful countries in the world and envelop myself in its culture.
The plane ride here was pretty intense. It took 6 hours to fly from Montreal to LA, 14 hours from LA to Sydney, and 1 hour from Sydney to Melbourne. Considering I’ve spent over 24 hours in planes and airports, I still feel GREAT. Jet lag is overrated. :P
I really can't sleep well on planes though. I'd sleep for an hour or two at a time, and then a baby would start wailing or the guy next to me wants to go to the washroom or some lady hits me in the head with her purse or she walks by.
The people I’ve met so far in Melbourne are super friendly. I’ve met people from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Calgary, California, Toronto, Sydney, and Melbourne. I even shared a few beers with some Aussies on my first night (and tagged along with a pub crawl for a while!) My favourite ale so far: Fat Yak. Good stuff.
So far, so good. Melbourne is gorgeous, the weather is similar to late September in Montreal (even if we’re deep in the middle of winter), and my apartment is cozy. Unfortunately I don't have access to internet on campus, hopefully I'll get it soon.
Pics to come soon!
Cheers!
- Sean (July 10, 2010)
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