Down[under] and Out[back]: Melbourne Nomads

As promised, I'm on the ground in Melbourne. It's also Thursday at 10:46 am whereas it's Wednesday at 8:46 pm for all you at home, which is so fun. We traveled, from take off in Dulles to landing in Melbourne, for about 23 hours total, which makes my brain a little sore.

The flight to LA was pretty in eventful but curious in how casual it was. Normally flying coast to coast would feel like a huge deal, but everything about it was so low key. No fancy accommodations on the plane, no displays of expert traveling, all the passengers just got on and endured for 5.5 hours as if we were driving to Walmart, not crossing the continent. That's because it was really a cute warm up for the trip that was to come.

LAX was not as glamorous as I had imagined. This is probably an unfair call since I saw so little of it, but it was just sorta dirty, very crowded, and cramped. This isn't to say I didn't have a blast. We were all SO EXCITED, and we met up with our remaining 2 group members so the adventure could really begin. I was ticketed to sit about 20 rows away from everyone else, which sounded like 17 hours of missing out on bonding. So I had he nice lady at the desk change it and ended up with the BEST SEAT. We got on the enormous airbus and I sat in the middle of the middle column of seats with Geyer, our super funny TA, and my friend Lucas who agrees to study scripture with me on the trip. It was such a good group to bond with.

This plane was so tricked out. We got an eye mask, toothbrush, tooth paste, blanket, pillow, snack bag, dinner & breakfast [both so tasty], and socks on request [i requested]. I watched movies [the kings speech was so excellent] and went for several strolls, snuck upstairs to first class to be stopped by cheerful Aussie flight attendants and a fancy gate to keep the plebeians out, and fell asleep to Downton Abbey. My row mates were so much fun, we met a spunky 9 year old Melbournian, and arrived safely in Melbourne. Customs, bag claim, and money exchange all went smoothly and now we're ready to take our first steps to the outdoors. I'm posting because I'm not sure when I'll have Internet again, so I hope you enjoyed the travel update! Tonight we'll meet koalas and penguins and hit the city!