First few days

I have been beyond busy ever since i arrived. I don't even know how i can include everything that has happened, but I will do my best to reveal some of the highlights.

I got in around 6:30 AM on Saturday morning only to find that i was randomly rooming with my only two friends i knew at Maryland. They had some orientation stuff going on, so I decided to go on a long walk around Sydney by myself. During the 3 hour walk, some highlights included seeing the Opera house, the royal botanical gardens, thousands of fruit bats in the rain forest, wild cockatoos, and eating my first Turkish Delight candy bar. Later that day, I met up with my friends and we took a bus to nearby Coogee beach. There is a 4 mile trail along the cliffs/ocean connecting Coogee to Bondi Beach, so we spent our rainy afternoon enjoying the sights of the beaches. Even though the rain sucked, it was a great day. We finished the night by going to a place on Darling Harbor called Club Cargo. Not only was this the best club I've ever been to, the DJ was absolutely amazing (not to mention that all the ladies were stunning).

The next day, my friends moved out to go to their respective schools, and I finally had the privilege of starting my orientation. I met my roommates later in the afternoon and we've all been together since. We've really gotten along great and I think the semester will be a blast. After yet another night on the Darling Harbor and a Kangaroo Steak later, we went to a cigar bar called Cohibar for a beer. We got there just in time to miss the down pouring rain, so we just had a beer and waited until the weather passed.

Since that night, the days have been filled with orientation at the University of Sydney. My new friends Danny, Chris, Cole, Megan, Caitlin and myself have all been pretty bored during the actual sessions, but the campus is absolutely gorgeous (even in this piss poor weather). In addition to learning about bus routes and scheduling classes, we have been taught that it can actually be friendly to call someone a bastard. I love this country.

Hopefully I will be able to have a few pictures up soon. I'll have an update soon enough.

- Charlie