Ahh sweet Perth... in mid-winter??

That's right, fellow Midwesterns at home, in the dead of Australian winter this city Perth can barely survive a sunny sky, lows of 30 degrees (Fahrenheit), and not a drop of precipitation. Excuse me? I'm used to that sort of weather report appearing in pleasant fall and spring, not winter. Where are the 5-foot snow banks? The frostbite? The black ice? Oh well. I guess it's something I could get used to, hey?

Just like, say, a metropolis loaded with, not skyscrapers and a high crime rate, but equal parts green space and one- or two-story homes along sprawling bike paths and rivers being fully taken advantage of. I could get used to every stranger I come across stunning me with his or her raw kindness and genuity. As soon as I was seated on my plane from L.A. into Brisbane, I was startled to hear laughy chitchat amongst the passengers... something pure-bred Americans dare not do. I was easily caught up into conversation with those seated nearby, asking about my studies, their travels, the potential of our mid-flight meals. I loved these people already.

I was fortunate enough to be seated next to Sharon, a 24-year-old wine marketer and one of my newfound friends. Upon arrival in Brisbane she helped me find my way off the plane and through customs (by the way, despite Australian security bypass checking any shoes, jackets, liquids or gels, I still managed to get stopped and interrogated about food items that needed to be quarantined), to the baggage claim, through check-in, back through security, to a bathroom to wash our faces/brush our teeth, and via bus to the domestic terminal. A thousand, thousand thanks!! :)

Five hours later I landed in Perth, destination of destinations. I scooped up my bags (after they were again sniffed by interrogating security dog) and was escorted by Charlie, my charming, elderly limo/van-driver, the remaining 15 miles to the Murdoch Student Village.

And here I am now, in my cozy five-bedroom flat, temporarily holed up in my room to sneak in a nap. I've met two of my roommates- Lisa, still-shy in just her second semester of college, and Sally, the self-designated "old duck" at 27, a teacher finishing up some sort of Australian education that I think I understand but really don't feel like attempting to explain outside my head.

So, 18,000 miles from home, slightly unsettled at the complete unfamiliarity around me yet still somehow quite comfortable, I am going to see what sort of dreams and Australian nap will bring me. Cheers!