I found it quite funny that the folks who allowed me entry to Australia were significantly more concerned about the two cans of pumpkin I’d hauled over for pumpkin pie than they were about the controlled substances I’d been carrying. Ah, well. I suppose everyone has their priorities.

The corridor from Quarantine was blissfully quiet, and I hauled all my luggage down it and towards the four doors that led out. When I stepped towards the metal doors and they opened, I found myself facing a nightmarishly large group of people waiting to greet newcomers. It was quite disconcerting at best. From the confusion I heard, “Michelle!” It took me a second to find her, but then there was Jen! Woot!

We chattered a mile a minute while I finally had my first cigarette in 24 hours. Then, groggy and a little freaked out, we started our trek. The first thing my poor jetlagged brain had to deal with was the business of driving on the wrong side of the road. This is the biggest mind-f’ you’ll ever see. I love to drive - it’s second nature to me, and I miss it when I can’t drive around wherever I want. But here, forget it. I kept wanting to cover my eyes and scream. Of course, I’d look like a bit of a ninny if I did, but I wanted to.

Due to a severe lack of caffeine coupled with a need to stay awake another 12 hours, we stopped at a McDonalds for a Coke. I indulged myself in a sausage mcmuffin with egg, and then wished I hadn’t, because the sausage had a strange taste and bugged me. Luckily, the Coke tastes more like regular Coke and less like Diet than it had in the Dominican Republic. Overall, it was freaky.

I don’t have much of a recollection of what we talked about then; I think it was planning the trip. Apparently Jen was just about as tired as me, since she’d gotten to bed at 1a and had to get up at 6a. We were quite a pair.

Her apartment is cute! I have no idea what I expected, actually, but this wasn’t it. It’s a mish-mosh of whatever strikes her fancy, and the entire place is just charming. She has posters and postcards on the wall (like a good college student), and books everywhere. A television competes for space with plants, and her CD collection is displayed in the “lounge” like I’d like to display mine.

I had a mattress already prepared for me on the floor of the lounge, and that’s all I wanted to do. Jen kicked me into her room and let me take a nap, which I’ve heard is the cardinal sin of jet-lag, but at that point I couldn’t care less. I’d discovered that I do not sleep sitting up while on the flight, and I’d pulled off about four hours sleep while scrunched horizontally onto my seat and the empty seat next to mine, with my feet on the floor. It was a nightmare.

After the nap, we traipsed down to the grocery store for some food, which took a lot longer than it should have. I was astounded to see the prices of everything. It’s mindlessly expensive to live in Melbourne. Even after the US-Australian exchange rate was calculated, the prices hurt my eyes. Curious about a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, I found one for $90. Yes, a $90 turkey. All the ten-pound turkeys were nearly $30. It was hard to bear.

I managed to procure some Coke and this unbelievable sort of cookie called Tim Tams. That made for an excellent snack while watching television prior to passing out. It was lovely. We hung out in Jen’s apartment for the evening, chatting with her roommate Chris and just taking it easy. Lights were out at 9p, and I was in heaven.

Sleepy,

michelle