As I write this, it is 8 PM in Brisbane, which means that it's the middle of the night for you folks. I'm trying to stay awake until at least 9 PM, 10 if I'm feeling up to it, by reading (American Gods, which you should all read) and typing this post.
About fifteen minutes ago, there was a firework show. Just, you know, because. And I happen to be lucky enough that my room at the hostel faces front, toward downtown Brisbane, so I could see the show against the backdrop of the city lights, and it was pretty awesome. It reminded me of the 4th of July, of course, and I had great fun explaining to the night watchman who wandered into my room that fireworks are only legal in the states on two days out of the year without special permits, and that you can only buy the really good ones on Indian reservations. He got a real kick out of that. Apparently, they happen here every few days—there's a festival or something going on currently, which explains tonight's show. He says he barely notices them anymore. I hope I'm never that jaded about fireworks.
My forward-facing window/balcony was also a boon this morning. I woke up around 7 AM and spent about an hour out there, reading and writing and watching the sun rise. It was warm enough that I had to take my sweatshirt off about half an hour in, around 7.30 AM. Call that winter???
In other news, I made a friend. Sort of. His name is John, and he's from Montreal, Canada, and he's been in Australia just sort of bumming around for five months now. We met in the common room where I went to read, and overheard him talking to his friend Martin about a racist dog he'd once met. It seemed like a good topic of conversation to jump in on, so I did, and then ended up watching Monsters, Inc. with him, then going to the grocery store (in the hostel van, which he explained how to use) where he helped me figure out the whole kilograms thing in the deli and we swapped some items to get better discounts.
Then on the way back I made a point of mentioning that I had a boyfriend, and he suddenly became a lot less interested, and therein lies the “sort of” mentioned above. Funny how that happens. But, it was fun nonetheless, and now I have all the makings for sandwiches and a few apples, so I have food-like substances that'll last me a little while. I was going to head out to campus today, but didn't make it because just as I was about to set out (on foot) it started raining, so I went on the previously mentioned adventure instead. I'm going to try to get to campus tomorrow and hopefully find housing, or at least a student library with wifi or something like that. There's a library near here that I've been using, but today I got the distinct feeling that the librarian was getting a little annoyed with my presence. Oops.
I've just realized that I neglected to say much about the flight over here, perhaps because my Internet time has been so limited and I've been reserving it mostly for skype conversations with Drew and my parents. The flight was relatively uneventful—a lot of sleeping and watching in-flight movies—but I sat next to a nice couple from South Africa, who now live in Brisbane. The woman was named Helen, and she gave me her business card and told me to call her up so she could feed me dinner some night. Her husband, Liz, looked so much like my Uncle Dusty it was uncanny. If he had told me that his name was, in fact, Dusty, I would have believed him.
Customs was super easy, because I just declared everything that I had. I got sniffed out by a beagle, but I'd already told them that I had an orange, so they confiscated that and I didn't get into any trouble. Then the customs lady had to take my hiking boots into a back room to clean them because I went hiking right before flying down here, which means that even though I've since laid them out to dry properly, they still sort of smell. Ew.
I also met a girl named Leslie at Brisbane International Airport, while we were waiting for our respective transportation. She was headed out to Perth to work at a wildlife rehabilitation center for a few months. Of course, I immediately demanded that she give me her full name so that I could find her on facebook and hook her up with Russell (who, for those of you who don't know, is going to be in Perth in just a few days and is intensely interested in all things animal-related). She was delighted with the suggestion, and I have since talked to her briefly over facebook to seal the deal. Perhaps when I head out to Perth for the mid-semester break, she will still be there and we can all go out for a drink.
The room next to mine is playing “Because I Got High” really loudly. It's nice to know that some things transcend cultural differences. Until next time, I bid you adieu.
Much love,
Morgan
P.S. I am also happy to report that my cell phone is now in working condition again, and the man at the phone store, who still remembered me from Thursday, had a hearty laugh at my expense. I guess utter fail is also culturally transcendent. :P
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