First (Full) Day Down Under

Well I've made it through my first full day in Australia!  After getting 12 1/2 hours of sleep, I feel almost recovered from the long journey here -- although as soon as 7:00 rolled around, I felt about ready for bed (which is where I'll be headed shortly).  I went out with Brett today to buy a few things and had my first Aussie mall experience.  Not too different from America, except for the fact that I'm surrounded by accents!  There are some "normal" things around here, like McDonald's and KFC, but there's also plenty of Australian businesses that I've never heard of.  I've been amazed by the simplest things, which makes everything all the more exciting.  I'm still having a bit of trouble getting into the right side of the car, and then not panicking every time I see a car heading towards us on the left side of the road, but I'm sure I'll be used to it soon enough...just so long as I can make an easy transition back to America -- it might be a little disastrous otherwise.

One of the things that really confused me was the coffee down here.  Not only does it cost $4.00 (I miss Dunkin already...although food is generally much more expensive here anyways), but espresso with frothed milk is the norm.  I tried explaining to Brett what coffee for us is like, but I'm not sure he got it.  I'll have to be on the lookout for normal, non-frothy coffee.  

Once we got back to the house, I got a chance to explore the neighborhood a bit.  It's really nice -- it's a somewhat new neighborhood in Sheidow Park, just south of Adelaide.  The houses are all beautiful, and definitely different than American houses.  I could see some hills and the sea off in the distance, which makes me all the more excited to explore South Australia in the coming days and weeks.  When I got back to the house, I played with 3-year old Cooper in his toy room.  He has a John Deere tractor toy, which gives him high points in my book!  He treated me to toast and tea at his little table, and shortly thereafter he wanted to "bang the table" and proceeded to smash it all with his hammer (plastic, thankfully).

                               Some of the hills around the neighborhood -- I can't wait to check them out some more!

Tomorrow is my first day at the school, so I'm really excited to go there and will be sure to let you all know how it goes!