Sitting in seat 56K of United flight 839 from Los Angeles to Sydney, I realize I don't know anything about Australia. For the last month I've been so busy making sure I purchase the essentials for my study abroad: book of crossword puzzles, travel pillow, a voltage adapter for my coveted Mac laptop. I've barely thought about what I'll do when I actually touch down after 21 hours of flying. Of course I've always wondered what makes Australia so different from everywhere else, that's the reason I applied to study there in the first place. But as the sharp white dot marking our plane's position inches along the royal blue screen in front of me, I can't help but wonder if wondering is going to be enough. I take out my new travel journal and flip to the first blank page. It is so pristine and untouched, I hardly want to write anything for fear it will somehow ruin the sanctity of its ecru page. Or perhaps I sit with the pencil tip against my palm instead of the page because the fact that I write, no matter what I write, will mean my journey has actually begun. After writing and erasing the first line three or four times, this is the result: _I can't commit to using a pen just yet as everything is supremely uncertain. In fact, I am the definition of uncertainty. I don't even know what day it is. Ok, it's a little early for that. I am, unfortunately, less than 10 minutes into my Boeing marathon. Once I am flying over thousands of miles of ocean trenches, however, I think it's safe to say I will have no idea where I am or even be able to tell you what time it is within six hours in any direction. I am feeling a little bit of everything right now- excitement, impatience, and, again, uncertainty. I am also feeling a little sugary sick in response to my other feelings. In all seriousness, I feel like I've been waiting to take this trip my entire life, The current Ali Lapinsky doesn't surf or jump out of planes, but the Australian Ali- she does everything. She does everything she wants to do and nothing she doesn't._

After having been in Australia for 3 weeks now, I can definitely say I didn't know anything before I came. But there's no shame in that- it just means there's more for me to learn about. I live in Coogee Beach, a sweet little suburb just southeast of Sydney, and as the name suggests, it is right on the Pacific coast. It is wintertime here, but hardly the brutal Nor'easter snowstorms that blanket Penn's campus every February. Most days are mild and sunny, a bit breezy the closer you get to the water. You can tell Aussies are used to it being much warmer- some of the girls at school are still wearing fur-trimmed parkas even though the high temperatures have been hovering upwards of 65 degrees. The town has all the usual beachy accoutrements: cafe, boutiques, and two pubs crawling with American students most nights of the week.

Getting settled was more difficult than I expected, simply because I arrived the morning before orientation and had only one day to enroll for classes, unpack my mammoth duffel bags, and purchase the necessities the 50 pound baggage weight limit would not allow me to bring from the States. But with time, just as everything else, the pieces seem to fall into place sooner or later. I can't wait to travel and see all that this amazing country has to offer. I will stay true to my vow of doing everything I want to do and nothing I don't- but I'll make sure I bring my map along just in case. Read More