Just Say Yes

I made it. After a trip comparable to the bottomless chips at Chili's - they just kept on giving me more and more hours to travel - I arrived in Melbourne to be greeted by Maree and her 19 year old daughter, Erin. We had an hour long ride to Geelong and I was home! For the next 3 months at least.

Highlights from the flight:
- ATL-O'Hare I sat next to a mean, mean man who wouldn't talk to me :(
- I sprinted through O'Hare again only to find that I hadn't reset my watch and was actually early.
- I met a Chinese boy with red hair at LAX who owned his own trucking company and encouraged me to email him if I had any questions, so he gave me "his card"
- I had an open seat next to me on the 16 hr flight which made it a little more comfortable.
- I woke up on the 16 hr flight at the beginning of "Bride Wars" and was able to catch most of it. Definitely enjoyed it, but that could have been the sleep deprivation influencing me.
- Almost freezed to death because United decided to take all of their blankets off of the planes because of Swine Flu.
- I only saw 2 people total with a mask, so I didn't have to break out mine for protection from the H1N1 virus :)
- I was thermally scanned upon entering Australia and barely passed.

Besides Erin, there is Johanna who is 17 and Samuel who is 8. Samuel is away at school camp for a few days so I won't get to meet him until tomorrow. After I unpacked, Maree, Danny, Erin, and I went to lunch at Brewster's. All 3 of them raved about the Brewster's burger from there, so I decided to get the same. It wasn't a hamburger at all; it was actually a chicken fillet with sour cream, bacon, cheese, sweet chili sauce, and lettuce. I was a little messy with it while everyone managed keep their intact, but it was so good! I never would have thought to put those ingredients together, but it was amazing, especially after all of the airplane food I had consumed. I took a little siesta after a much needed shower and woke up to get ready for the evening.

My host family was celebrating their family name. It is a Serbian tradition that on one day every year, there is a large celebration with lots of food and the entire family. Maree's parents are Serbian Orthodox, so we went over to their house and I met ALOT of family! All of the food was homemade down to the noodles in the chicken noodle soup! There were 5 courses during the entire dinner, and everything was so good. There were cabbage rolls and roasted vegetables and a feta cheese concoction wrapped with a flaky pastry. When it came time for dessert, I was only able to have one delicious brownie. After all, it was about 5 am for me, and that's not when I am usually eating a feast.

Erin, Johanna, and I left early. Johanna had to finish some homework, and Erin and I were a little tired. We all sat in the living room and watched tv. They have alot of American shows here. "Hannah Montana" was on last night, so needless to say I feel right at home; a little Miley Cyrus always brightens a day.

I went to bed a little after 10 pm and woke up only once to go to the restroom. I was up a little before 7 am and tried to fall back asleep with not much success, but I think jetlag is going to be easy to get over! I am about to go to the grocery store with Maree. I need to exchange out my American money for Australian dollars soon as well.

All in all, the accents are a little hard to understand sometimes, the people are friendly, and the weather is getting colder. That's pretty much all I can say after 24 hours here! As inspired by Ms. Michelle Dowst, just say yes to lots of things, which I plan on doing so I can experience Geelong and Australia to the fullest extent.

Love and miss you all!