G'day Mate!

I can't believe I've been in Australia for over a week now!  In a way, it feels like I've been here for much longer; maybe because I'm settling in to my new home and surroundings.  In another sense, it feels like I was just seeing all my friends back home a few hours ago- part of me still thinks I can just leave my house and drive down the street to see someone I know, though that isn't true.

A lot has definitely happened since the last time I updated!  When I last left off, it was the morning that my plane left for Sydney.  I spent my last day in Reno with my good friend, Joseph.  We went for a drive, which we often did on Sundays and then he took me for my "final meal" in Reno, which I got to choose.

If you're from Reno, you've heard all about the Awful, Awful.  It's a huge hamburger and fry basket, served at one of the casinos downtown and pretty notorious- most people get an Awful, Awful after a long night of drinking.  Since it's pretty iconic, I chose for it to be my last meal in town.

The Awful Awful burger.

Afterwards, Joe and I had Rootbeer Floats at A&W Burger (since that's an American staple), and then it was about time to head for the airport.

I hadn't been feeling nervous or anything up until the moment we drove to the airport.  Suddenly, all the emotions I had about leaving- nerves, worry, trepidation, excitement, fear, joy, sadness, etc...all came bubbling up in my chest and I started crying in the parking lot.  I think the weight of leaving everything and everyone I know behind hit me really hard at that moment and it all felt real sitting there in the airport parking lot.

Thankfully, a group of my closest friends came with me to the airport to see me off.  That made leaving a bit easier, and a bit harder, too, admittedly; it seemed as though each time another friend arrived at the airport, I started crying again.  

I stayed in the terminal for about an hour, saying goodbye to everyone and hearing everyone's well wishes.  My heart felt both full and deflated as I said a final goodbye to all my friends and to the city I love- I couldn't help looking back at everyone one last time as I headed towards the gate.

My friends who came to see me off :) From left to right: Annie, Chris, Kristin, Corazon, Joseph, and Emily :)

I definitely cried a lot as my plane took off from Reno.  Seeing the last bit of the downtown area and all the casinos was sad, and knowing I was leaving behind a lot of loved ones was hard, as well.  Thankfully, I had an hour and a half flight to reflect on everything and cry in peace.  I did feel bad for the woman next to me- I was in no mood to chat, whatsoever, but I think she understood.

Finally, my plane arrived in LA for my layover and connecting flight.  When we landed, however, another plane was apparently at our gate still, and we had to stay on the runway while the gate emptied.  It took much longer than anyone expected, and we ended up sitting there for a full hour!  The flight was already late when it came into Reno, so I was quite worried when we actually got up to the gate, as I knew I had very little time to make it to my connecting flight.   On top of that, I was in the domestic airport and I had to find the international airport in order to get my plane.

I asked around a bit and eventually found my way over to the Air Pacific desk in the international airport.  As I was walking up, I had a dreadful feeling that something was wrong as there was absolutely no one in line at the counter.  When I approached the desk, the woman there asked me if I was boarding the flight to Fiji, and I said yes, and then she said the words no one ever wants to hear: "That flight is closed."

My heart dropped.  I stuttered that it couldn't be- I just got off my connecting flight and it was late, and I needed to make the flight to Fiji.  The woman was quite rude, but she said she'd call ahead and see if they could get me in.  She started tapping on her keyboard and the whole time I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest as I waited.

Finally, she handed me a boarding pass and told me where to go.  The only advice she had for me at that point was to run.

So, I did.  I ran all the way through the international airport, up the stairs, up another set of escalators and to the security gate. Then, of course, because my heart was already pounding out of my chest and I was on the verge of having a panic attack, I kept getting stopped at the security gate.  First, I had forgotten my sunglasses and they beeped on the way through.  Then, my earrings (which went through Reno security with no problem) beeped.  Then, when I went through the last time, I was told that I got chosen for a "random" security hand swipe.  I do think the guys there felt sorry for me, because I was near tears by the time I finally finished up with all the security drama.

I continued to run through to my gate, just as I heard they were boarding my seat section.  I had made it just in time!  It was a bit upsetting, still, because I planned to spend my layover calling my family one last time, but they had to settle for text messages instead.   I texted my cousin, Ann, about the run through the airport and she compared it to a scene out of a romantic comedy film.  I had to laugh, because it kind of was- except I enjoy watching scenes like that much more than I actually enjoyed living it out.

After that, the rest of my flight from LA to Fiji was pretty uneventful.  It was a 10 hour flight, but Air Pacific had nice, spacious seats with lots of refreshments, snacks and even pillows and blankets.  I slept most of the way, which was my method to avoid being jetlagged once I arrived in Sydney.  I did end up being a better flight partner that time around, though; I made friends with a lovely woman from Barbados, named Nerys, who was heading to Fiji on a business trip.  

10 hours and a whole day later (once the timezones are factored in), I landed in Fiji!  It was definitely cool to say that I've been in Fiji, though I admittedly only visited within the airport.  Fiji's airport was nice, though.  There was a Polynesian band playing off to the side and everyone there was so kind and friendly.  I got a sausage roll for lunch and used an internet terminal to check in with Phil and say hi to my friends on Facebook.

Fiji sure knows how to welcome their travellers! :)

By the time I'd reached Fiji, I was definitely feeling more and more excited to arrive in Sydney, and see Phil, of course.  Knowing I was only four hours away was almost excruciating, but the time passed and I was on my last plane to Sydney before I knew it.

My flight to Sydney was also uneventful-I slept a bit and had a small breakfast and then the plane was landing.  There was a minor problem on the plane - apparently one of the children had a fever and the airport medics wanted to check him out before letting us off.  All I could think of was that movie, "Contagion" and I just hoped the kid didn't have swine flu or something crazy and had infected us all.  It turned out okay, and we were let off the plane at last.

Prior to my trip, I was really nervous about going through Australia's customs- for some reason, I had this irrational fear that they'd take my passport and rip it up and then say, "Brittany Brown?!  We don't want you in our country!  Get out!"

It was the exact opposite, thankfully.  The woman at customs ran my passport and gave me a friendly smile as she asked how long I'd be in the country.  I told her I had a one year Visa and she nodded and then asked what I was most excited about doing in Australia, to which I truthfully replied, "Everything!"  Then she said, "Welcome to Australia!" and that was it.  What a relief ;)

There was one last leg of the airport to walk through and then I was out in the waiting area and I spotted Phil waiting for me!  It was such a wonderful feeling to be able to finally hug him after 8 months of being separated!  I wasn't sure how I'd feel at that exact moment- but it felt as it has every time we've seen each other again...all nerves or worries just melted away and as soon as I was in his arms I felt like I was at home.  There's no better way to describe it than that ♥

From the airport we went to a hotel Phil had gotten us in the city, which was lovely.  We had a suite in a room which overlooked Hyde Park and I could see most of downtown Sydney from our windows!  We spent the first day relaxing in our room, then, later that night, we went for a walk down to Circular Quay, where we saw the Opera House all lit up at night.  Then we walked across the Harbour Bridge. 

The view from our hotel window!  You can see a bit of Hyde Park down below.  The skyscrapers are what make up downtown Sydney :)

The next morning, Phil surprised me with an hour-long ferry ride through the river and back up to Circular Quay, then we had lunch in the Harbour and went for a walk up to the Opera House, where I could see it up close.  It definitely felt surreal to be at such a world-famous landmark.  Even later that day, when I was looking at the pictures, I still couldn't believe I had actually been there!

After our days in the city, we took the train home to Phil's house.  It was a bit hard transitioning to a new place so soon, I think; I admittedly felt homesick a lot faster than I thought I would.  Friday was the hardest, as that was the first day Phil went back to work, and even though I spent most of the day with Phil's mum, Robyn, I still started to feel very homesick and lonely as the day went on.

I got to meet Phil's two-year old son during the weekend, though, which was awesome since I've yet to meet him in person.  It's been great getting to meet the people in Phil's life in person now after hearing about them and e-mailing them (as I have with Phil's mum and sister, Julie) for the past year.

Phil and I ended the weekend with a nice dinner out and ice cream afterwards and it made for a nice end to my first week in Australia :)  

Phil and I- together at last! :)

Now that this new week has begun, I've been getting things settled, like verifying my identification at my bank, getting a mobile phone (as the Aussie's call it), and getting a tax file number so I can start working.  I am pretty eager to start the job hunt soon...even though it's been nice being on vacation and relaxing, I'm also looking forward to having an income again and just having something to do every day, other than waiting for Phil to come home from work ;)

I've been finding it easier to adjust the past few days as well.  Though I still miss my family and friends at home, I'm starting to feel more at home here, too.  I think a big test for me was when I was out somewhere and I thought, "I can't wait to get home..." and when I imagined home in my head, I pictured the bedroom I share with Phil, instead of my old apartment in Reno.

So, that's sort of what I've been up to this past week!  There's obviously a lot more, but I feel like this update is long enough, so I'll post a separate one later this week talking more about the culture of Sydney- the sights, sounds, and tastes (and yes, I've had my first Vegemite sandwich!).  I'll continue to post regularly, or at least as interesting things happen to me.

G'day!