Arrival!!!

So, we left Sunday, January 29th and flew FOREVER.  I flew out of Indy to Chicago where we had to haul ass to our next flight to San Francisco.  When we got there we had a 3 hour layover where we grabbed dinner and a beer and enjoyed our last little bit in the US.  We caught a red-eye from there to Auckland NZ . . . It was a 12 hour flight, but the BEST flight I've ever been on.  First, there was TONS of space compared to every other flight.  Next, you have to look up the New Zealand Air safety video (Richard Simmons is even in it . . . hilarious)  Also, we had personal screens where we had movies, TV, games, music or whatever we wanted. Finally . . . FREE DRINKS!!!  So, then we had a 4 hour layover in NZ which we watched the sun come up over the mountains and ocean.  It is beautiful there and I cannot wait to go back at the end of my trip!

So on Tuesday, January 31st, after a 3 and a half hour flight we finally arrived in Australia.  After customs and baggage claim we FINALLY were outside for the first time in 3 days (it was HOT, nice change from Muncie lol).  It took a total of 44 hours of flying to get here but I could tell just from the outer area of the airport it was already going to be an amazing trip.  We then jumped on our bus and headed 2 and a half hours down from Brisbane to Lennox Head NSW where we are staying.

This place is AWESOME!!!  As soon as the bus came to a stop, my roommate Zach and I found our cabin (newest here lol) and just literally dropped our things, found the path to the beach and RAN there.  We came out on what was literally the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in person.  It was just like you would see in a movie: gorgeous white beach, great waves crashing all around, completely empty except for Zach and I (until the rest of our group began to show too), a lookout point (the "head" of Lennox), everything you could ever imagine.  Though it was a LONG flight, that moment alone made everything worth it.

We played around on the beach for multiple hours until we had to go to a barbecue with the group and meet our professors.  Got a little burnt on my face, but nothing too bad.  The barbecue was located on Lake Ainsworth on the other side of the camp, which was cool to look out and see all the sailors and kayakers over the lake as we ate our steak dinners :-).

All the profs seemed pretty cool and think that it's really going to be an awesome semester.  After that, we went back to the cabins and got cleaned up and relaxed for a few hours.  We found a HUGE spider behind our cabin.  The wildlife here is unreal.  I've only been here two days and I have already seen SO many cool things!

Then we walked the 1.5 miles to the only local bar in town.  It was a blast because by this point we were all really relaxing and loosening up around each other.  Finally, we all (as a GIANT group) walked back from the bars along the beach, cracking jokes, catching crabs, looking at the stars, and having fun till we got back to our cabins and passed out for the night.  THIS PLACE IS FREAKING AMAZING!!!