So where were we?  I believe I got as far as the last night in Sydney in my last post, so we'll start there.  The trip over to the west coast was nothing noteworthy (we're becoming flying experts at this point).  I did watch the movie "Real Steel" with Hugh Jackman, and that was pretty good.  The only thing that really stands out about this day is how ridiculously long it was.  We were up by 4:45 Sydney time, which is equivalent to 1:45 Perth time, so that we could catch our shuttle to the airport by 5:30.  Our flight left the airport in Sydney at 8:15 Sydney time, so our five hour flight landed us in Perth just after 10:00 local time.  What this all means is that when we landed in Perth (at 10:00), we had already been awake for over eight hours, with the entire rest of the day ahead of us.  Our shuttle to take us from the airport in Perth to school in Fremantle was late (which made me look bad because I booked it), but we eventually got here safe and sound.  The rest of the day was just unpacking (finally), getting to know our surroundings, and catching up with other Bennies and Johnnies. 

Day two at the P&O Hotel (our home for the semester) was pretty low key.  The first thing we had to be at was a talk from some of the administrative staff at 1:00.  Immediately afterwards, we went to the Student Administration Office to pay for our residential bond, community dinners, and student I.D. cards.  Basically, they just took all of our money.  The good news is that we get the residential bond money back at the end of the semester if our room is intact, so that's something to look forward to.

Day three was the scare tactic day.  Following an extremely brief morning tea, we sat through an academic meeting at which we were basically informed that school in Australia is going to be SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult than what we are used to, and that we should not expect to come in and do well.  I'm not sure yet if I believe them, I just think they want to get some of the slackers in gear.  After this lovely meeting, we got a free lunch at a place called "Sweet Lips", which is an amazing fish and chips place right on the local beach.  The two hours following lunch included a number of presentations, including one about maximizing your time, and three relatively unhelpful ones about our insurance coverage, law enforcement in Australia, and public transportation.  In the evening, all of the study abroad students got together for a welcome dinner, at which we were able to meet some people from Saint Mary's and the University of Portland.  It was a good time.

Thursday was the big day around here.  The call it O-Day (short for Orientation Day), and they take it EXTREMELY seriously.  We started the day with a socializing session at our respective schools (most of us went to the school of arts and sciences because we are taking a bunch of random classes).  This was followed by a couple of speakers, and a parade throughout the streets of Freo.  After the parade, we were essentially on our own (but we were expected to continue participating).  There were club booths and information desks everywhere you went, and it was a really good way to see what types of things are offered here at UNDA.  The noteworthy things we did after the parade included a guided library tour (I expect to be spending some time there this semester), and walking around town to find our respective classrooms so that we didn't look like lost puppies once classes actually started.  All in all, it was a good day.

Friday was (in my opinion) the most fun day of orientation week.  All the study abroad students participated in a knock-off of "The Amazing Race" tv show.  In teams, we had a to find and take pictures of a number of things both in Freo, as well as Perth.  The idea of this game was to help us get more comfortable with both the public transportation in the area, as well as the area itself.  It definitely worked.  The only downfall was that we were in such a hurry to find things that we didn't have the chance to stop and appreciate some of the amazing things that Perth had to offer while we were there.  Needless to say, I'll definitely be going back on my own time very soon.

Saturday was a really fun day around here, and I am going to (as humbly as possible) accept some of the credit for it.  During our crazy scavenger hunt the day before, I had come across a local woman who told me about a place called Cottesloe Beach that was supposed to be a great place to hang out.  I told one or two people about it once the scavenger hunt was over, and before you know it, almost our entire 30 person group was planning on going there the next day.  So we caught the train to Cottesloe for the afternoon, and everyone seemed to have a great time.  Saturday evening, a bunch of us went to a place called "Little Creatures" for dinner, and had a really great time there as well.  Many of us tried kangaroo for the first time, and I personally thought it was very good (it tastes like our steak).

Sunday was a pretty low-key day again, as people were just trying to get prepared for classes to start.  I went out and found some cheap board shorts (which I had been searching for ever since I realized my only beachwear was my swimsuit).  I also found an affordable watch (because my phone is out of commission for the semester, and I was quickly realizing that it was my only mode of telling time).

That should just about catch us up to the present.  It's now the third day of classes, and nothing too exciting has happened so far.  Classes only meet twice a week around here, once for lecture and once for what they call "tutorials", which are basically smaller divisions of the class that are meant to stimulate some good discussion.  I can already tell it's going to be a little different trying to follow the professors thoughts and ideas, as they are obviously speaking mostly to students who have lived in Australia their whole life.  But isn't that what study abroad is all about, being different?