It’s so crazy that I am finally here! All these months of
planning and anticipation have paid off and I am in Brisbane, Australia for the
next 5 months. It took a lot to get here though. So many miles, airports,
cities, and oceans, all had to be crossed. I’m so exited to finally tell about
my journey here and all the experiences that I’ve already had in these past few
days.
My family and I drove to Charlotte where I would be flying
out of. We ate at the Olive Garden, where I got sweet tea, I guess trying to
savor some of the good southern hospitality. It was another lunch full of
laughs and jokes with my family, something that I will miss. We had a hard time
finding the parking at the airport. There was so much construction and stuff
going on. We finally found the parking lot and rode the shuttle to the terminal
for American Airlines. I checked my bags, where the not so nice man helped me
check in and stuff. We sat around for a little bit just talking and I was
getting a little nervous. Mostly it was because they were making me nervous. I
just had to say, its time to leave to practically make them let me go. I hugged
them and told them I loved them We took pictures and I got in the line to go
through security. After going through security, I could still see my family and
I waved
my last goodbye to them. I walked to the gate I was to be leaving for
Dallas from. I sat there and texted my sister, who said that my mom was already
crying on the shuttle bus back to the car. I got a little more excited when we
boarded the plane and departed for Dallas. I didn’t even have anyone sitting
next to me, as the guy who was there was able to move to a vacant row. As we
ascended into the clouds I smiled and began to think about the journey that I
was about to embark on. I thought about how lucky and blessed I was to have
this opportunity. I’m also pretty sure I saw the Indian Land water tower, which
made me think of Haley and Allison. Haha. We passed over mountains that had
snow on them that made me think of my family in Tennessee. It was pretty cool
to see the folds in the mountains and the snow on the tops. We passed over
rural areas and were above the clouds.
When we got in Dallas, I could see that
the airport was a lot bigger than Charlotte. I asked someone where my flight for
LAX would be departing from and they told me the gate and terminal. I had to
ride the shuttle thing that was in the air on a track. It was in a big circle
around the whole entire airport, which was separated into different terminals.
I found my gate and sat there for a little bit. It was a lot hotter than at
home. I was practically sweating, which could have been from the change in
temperature, or just the fact that I was walking around a lot and moving long
distances. Either way, I had to change into my gym shorts, which were still
comfortable, but not hot. I asked the lady at the desk where a money exchange
place would be and she told me that it was in another terminal. I had a pretty
long layover in Dallas, so I left my gate and got back on the shuttle thing to
go to the money exchange place. There I exchanged $300 USD for $250 AUD. This
is how
much out US dollar is devalued in other countries. It’s crazy. Plus
things are more expensive in Australia, so it’s kind of like a double
whammy. I
took it anyway and rode the shuttle back to my terminal where it was almost
time for my plane to depart for LAX.
The flight from Dallas to LAX wasn’t long
either. It Both from Charlotte to Dallas, and Dallas to LAX were about 2 hours.
I got a drink on both the flights too. I listened to my IPod on this flight to
make time pass by a little more. This was because outside it was dark so there
wasn’t as much to look at on the outside as there was from Charlotte to Dallas.
It was also pretty cloudy below us. As we got a little lower to the ground, I
could start seeing lights. I kept wondering, is this Los Angeles?
It’s crazy
that my first time on the West Coast was just a stop going even farther around
the world. When I got into LAX, I knew that Emily, a girl going on the same
exchange as me, was there waiting. She is from Chicago and had been sitting in
the airport for like 6 hours after her flight from Chicago got in. It wasn’t
hard to find her. She was sitting at our gate beside a perfume/alcohol store.
What a combination! But it was the only place with an open outlet for her to
use, so we just sat there. When it got closer for us to be leaving we moved
over into the waiting area at our gate. We sat down at
an outlet on a pillar.
When she tried to plug in her charger, it wouldn’t go in. I looked at the plug
and it was already changed to an Australian outlet. Good thing I put an adapter
in my carry on. Sure enough, that was the case and her charger worked once she
put the adapter in. We had already been talking before hand and at the airport
about seeing a famous person in the airport. Emily told Kyron, our friend who
is also on the same exchange and already in Australia, that we say Morgan
Freeman and Brad Pitt.
It was super funny, because there was a picture of Brad
Pitt in the perfume store. But, anyways, we actually did end up seeing a famous
person! I was just standing there and looking around as we waited to board the
plane and thought a face looked familiar. I studied a little longer and knew
instantly who it was. If you have ever watch “The Hills” then you will know
that that was Audrina Patridge! It was so crazy seeing her in real life. We
didn’t take a picture or go up to her or anything, because doing that makes me
feel uncomfortable, like I am a crazy fan. And plus, I don’t really want anyone
doing that to me when I get famous. So, yeah. I do wonder what she was doing
going to Australia though. I will have to Google that and try to find out.
In
the gate there was a big window where we could see the plane that we were getting
on. This plane was huge! It was run by Qantas Airlines. They are a major
Australian flying service. When it was finally time to board the plane, we had
to wait until our rows were called. Emily wasn’t sitting near me, but we got on
together. We had to show our passports and all, which was very exciting to do
for the first time. When we got on the plane, I put my stuff in the compartment
and sat down in my seat. Emily was back a little bit farther in the middle of
the plane. She came over to me before we left and said that there was an empty
seat near her. That is good because we got to sit beside each other! A familiar
face was great! As we left, it started to finally hit me, because the
stewardesses were Australian and a bunch of people getting on the plane were
Australian. The accents began to flow in. The airline provided us with a
blanket, pillow, headphones, and a sleep mask. Their service was great. The
food was really good.
We got dinner shortly after getting on the plane. I had
chicken for the first time since November. It’s okay though, I think I am just
going to not eat red meat. That is healthier for you too. There was a lot of
food. They gave us a snack bag too, with chips and stuff in it. On the back of
the headrest in front of us was a television screen! It was a touch screen and
had movies, games, our flight path, and T.V shows on it. While on the plane I
watched Argo, The Social Network, The Big Bang Theory, and some stuff about
Australia and Brisbane. Although there was a lot to do and everything, getting
rest was a little hard. I did sleep some. I slept like 4 and a half hours. The
space was a little cramped. I’m a big guy, so when the lady in front of me
decided to put her seat all the way back, it made me a little angry and
uncomfortable. I tried to even ask her if he could put her seat up a little bit
and she did, but then she just put it back all the way again. I tried to be a
little more considerate with the person behind me. When I woke up, I could see
that we were getting a little more close to Australia. We had breakfast, which
was pretty good too. Finally, everyone began to open his or her window shades
and we started to see land. It was a little overcast and rainy, but it was
Australia! Emily and I were freaking out. Haha.
When we got off the plane we
had to walk to go through customs. That was a little bit intimidating. They
asked a bunch of questions and we had to tell them if we had food or anything
like that. There were even dogs that sniffed the bags in the line. The airport
was also really hot on the inside. We saw Audrina again in the line. I kind of
wish we had taken a picture now looking back on it. It was really easy to find
my bags and get everything on my cart. When I left the terminal, I looked
around for the QUT guy that was supposed to be picking me up. Emily’s friend
who lives in Australia was picking her up. That was who she was going to be
staying with until she found a place. It took me a little bit, but I finally
found the guy who was picking me up. We had a couple of other students as well
that would be riding with us. We had to wait a little bit for this one kid to
exchange his money and stuff. Then we left. I the van, I got my first glimpses
of the city, as we dropped off a Canadian girl and another international
student at the places that they would be staying.
I was the last to be dropped
off. I was dropped off at Urbanest, where Kyron is staying. It is like
an
apartment complex where a lot of students stay. I told the lady that I would be
staying with my friend and I needed to call him or something and she called
Kyron. She said something like “There’s some happy chap down here for you.” She
was a little mean, because when I told her I would be staying with him for a
couple of days, she said, “Well it will have to be only for a couple of days.”
But that doesn’t matter, because Kyron finally got down there and I got to see
another familiar face. I felt so gross from flying all those hours. It was like
10 am, Brisbane time, when I got to Urbanest. That would be like 7 pm EST. I
traveled for a long time. Haha. I got to take a shower, which felt like heaven.
I got dressed and got to meet Kyron’s apartment-mate, Josh. He is Australian
and studying law, or as they
say it here, “lawr”. After a little bit, we met
our other friend Mandy downstairs. She stays in Urbanest too and is on the same
program we are from USC.
We walked across the bridge and to QUT, where Emily
and her friend Sophia, who she is staying with, met us. Sophia lives here in
Australia, but had travelled all over and even lived in the US for a while. We
waited in line, which was pretty long, and got our ID cards for QUT. After that
they took me to get a metro card. This allows me to ride the busses and ferries
around. The card was $5 and I put $20 on it. We walked a little bit more into
this place called Queens Street Mall. It has shops everywhere and so many
places to go. I set up a bank account with a bank called ANZ. It stands for
Australia New Zealand Bank. It is pronounced “A-N-Zed”. Not too sure why. Haha.
Opening up
an account was actually really easy. There weren’t any fees or
minimum balance for a student account. I just need to transfer my funds from my
US account into it. This is so I can bypass all the international charges and
fees that come with using my debit card internationally and stuff. I looked at
phones at the Virgin Mobile store, and they didn’t really have any cheap. The
guy said that we should go to this other place. We went there and I bought an unlocked
phone for $59. It isn’t much, just something to text and call on. I believe I
can call internationally, but it costs a little more. Back at Virgin Mobile I
got a SIM card and a $29 prepaid plan. It gives me $450 worth of minutes and I
can renew it before 28 days is up and get an upgrade of $500 extra worth of
minutes. And the minute I didn’t use in the past month roll over. After getting
all of that set up, we ate at this place called Mos Burger. I had a teriyaki
chicken burger and it was pretty good. But, for the price I paid, I didn’t get
very much. I just got the burger and a PowerAde for like $12. I guess I better
start getting used to it. Sophia showed us this store called The Reject Store
where they have cheaper stuff. I didn’t get anything because I don’t really
need anything yet because I’m not really settled in.
Sophia was a really big
help. She helped us ride the bus to get to her house. It is in an area called
West End. We got to her house and sat on her back porch. I could actually feel
the sun’s rays and they felt good. They said that it had been an unusually cool
time and that it gets a lot hotter! We saw these different kind of birds on the
tops of houses. They were weird looking, but really big. Not too sure what kind
they are. They might be the magpies. From Sophia’s house, we walked back to
Urbanest. We stopped at a few places and the prices were sooooo expensive!
Later we walked back to West End, where we met Sophia and I think it was her
husband, at this Greek place. I had already felt like I had eaten a lot those
days of traveling and getting there, so I didn’t eat anything. We got to talk
about some of the differences from the US and Australia, like with our
education systems. They can graduate early and start “Uni” early. A college is
somewhere where you live like on campus, I found out. Kyron’s apartment-mate
Josh met us at the restaurant. He had gone to another restaurant and gotten
food, apparently cheaper than the place where we ate. When everyone was done
eating we left and Kyron, Mandy, and I went back to Urbanest. While walking
back, a woman asked us if we knew directions to where a place was. We said we
didn’t know really, but we could try and help. Kyron pulled it up on his smart
phone and
helped her. I of course couldn’t be of any help, because I didn’t
know the area, nor do I have a smart phone to look things up on. That’s one
really bad draw back of having this cheap phone. I can use the internet or look
on Facebook or anything. When we got back to Urbanest, I found the couch and
crashed. Felt like the longest, most coolest day of my life.
Until next time,
QueensLandon
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