Traveling

          I am told I am flying at an altitude of 11,582 meters above the ocean. Obviously, this measurement system is foolish and I have no idea how high that is. The first of many challenging cultural/language barriers, I'm sure. I have been propelled forward in the space time continuum. One minute it is 2:30pm Thursday and then a few minutes later, I have lost the rest of Thursday afternoon and it is 4:30 Friday morning. For a few hours I tried to struggle with this concept, then I decided just to give up and switch my clock to Melbourne time (which I found out is pronounced "Melbin" or "Melburn") and just move on with life.
        The flights have gone really well so far. After departing from my mom, brother, and Trey (seriously, if you ever want to know how you feel about someone, move to a different continent as them- what a tearful goodbye that was!) I boarded my flight to Dallas. Throughout my trip, I met many different people. For the first flight, I sat next to a middle aged businessman who had slept in four different states this week so far. For my 16 hr flight with Qantas Airway, I had the good fortune of having an empty seat next to me, so I had plenty of room. I sat near a friendly girl about my age who decided to travel to Australia on a whim for the weekend to attend a sci/fi convention. She was really nice and I was happy for the company. The flight went surprisingly well, each person on the plane had their own screen ahead of them with hundreds of movies to choose from. I watched a few and read my book. I also slept for about eight hours. That sleep mask my mother was laughing at me for buying really paid off! Overall a great trip so far, and looking forward to finishing it up and meeting my host family!