Heading to a Land Down Under

My adventure has begun! I have embarked on my own, on a journey to Australia for up to a year. It is a much-needed adventure and an opportunity to 'find myself' (so cliche, I know), to figure out a new path in my life. I am excited, curious, nervous, content and full of wonder.

I am writing this from Melbourne, Australia. SARS has become an epidemic, and unfortunately I headed straight into its epicenter on my way here, via Hong Kong. My parents were paranoid that I would catch something, so they convinced me to wear a mask on the plane until I arrived in Australia. Let me tell you that wearing a mask for 24 hours SUCKS! It is totally uncomfortable, and kind of pointless, since I had to take it off every time I ate something. I'd say about half of the people on the plane were wearing masks, including all the flight attendants. I had a brief stopover in Hong Kong, just enough time to catch a glimpse of 20 flight attendants walking towards me through the Hong Kong airport all wearing masks. It looked like something out of a strange sci-fi movie.

My first glimpse of Australia from the plane was exactly how I pictured, orange sandy plains with sparse vegetation. I am staying for the next two weeks with Tessa and Richard (Tessa is my mom's cousin) in Melbourne. After reassuring them that I didn't have SARS we headed back to their house, in the Melbourne suburbs. My first observations of Australia, besides the fact that people drive on the wrong side of the road, was the Eucalyptus trees everywhere and the incredible scent in the air. The houses are mostly made of brick and have tiled roofs and are raised from the ground, all ways to keep the house cool in this hot climate. The house I was staying in was pretty cold for my standards. It's funny that in Vancouver, having air conditioning in your house is pretty uncommon, and here, having 'central heating' as they call it, is pretty uncommon.

I have been slowly meeting the rest of the family. Kyrstie and her friend took me to my first 'footy' game (Australian rules football). It was tonnes of fun. It was the Essendon Bombers vs, the Carlton Blues. The fans are REALLY into it. I learned several Australian obscenities during the game. An obnoxious drunk slob is called a "yubbo". An Australian tradition while at a footy game is to eat a meat pie with tomato sauce (ketchup)and chips (fries). Simple, but yummy!

Tessa took me to the National Tennis Centre, where the Australian Open is held every January. It is located in a really pretty area along the Yarra River. Next, was a trip to the Melbourne Aquarium. It was cool to see some of the marine life that I would be seeing first hand when I go to the Great Barrier Reef (Manta Rays, Silver Travalees, sea snakes and sea stars, different types of coral... The shark tunnel/tank was very impressive. It was massive! Tomorrow I begin my driving adventure along the Great Ocean Road.