I made it!

After spending almost an entire day in the air and losing out completely on May 27th while crossing the International Date Line, I finally made it to Adelaide!  My first time leaving the East Coast, and I just had to go almost as far as I possibly could.  The flights weren't as bad as I had feared they might be, though.  After an initial doubt halfway through my flight from Boston to LA (worrying that there was no way I could possibly stay on a plane for 6 hours, let alone 15), I made it through just fine.  The flight across the Pacific was definitely disorienting, but the fact that we got free food and drink and I got to watch Lord of the Rings made it much more bearable.  Other than getting delayed in Sydney because of an overly large custom line and my water bottle dripping down from the overhead all over some woman's shoulder, there were no real problems. 

                                         My first view of Adelaide, coming out of the clouds

It feels almost unreal actually being in Adelaide now.  I spent so much time looking at it on Google Earth that it's hard to believe I'm actually here now.  I met up with Fr Mannes and got to know a bit about him and the area, and now I'm at Brett and Reagan's house, where I'll be staying for at least the next two weeks.  I have a really nice room to stay in, with a huge window and my own bathroom.  Although as I sit on my bed, I can feel my head spinning as if I were still on a plane -- maybe that's a sign I should get some sleep and recover.  It is nice to know that I finally have firm ground underneath me!