I'm Here and I'm Ready to Rock & Roll!

Greetings from Australia everyone! I woke up before my alarm so I thought I would post a little "I made it here and love it even more!" post.

I am here and have instantly fell in love with the place. My host family is in a word, incredible. I have 3 new brothers that are so much fun and so silly! They love calling me sister and reminding their parents that they have a new daughter now.

Rewinding- we landed in Brisbane yesterday at 4:50am. Customs was a breeze and we jumped on our bus to QUT (the university) at 6:20. We made it to QUT by 7am and had a mini meet and greet with some staff that will be with us for this next week during orientation and our whole experience. Our families arrived one by one at 9:30, mine was third and I spotted them right away! I ran up to them and we connected right away with hugs and smiles. After showing them my embarrassing large suitcase we were off to Morayfield to the house!

After driving around a little bit we ended up at "Pigs Hallow" their self-named estate. There is a cute story that I would probably butcher if I tried to retell it about how Brad and Lynda met and their pig collection, so they named their house Pigs Hallow. They have cute signs and Pigs Hallow engraved on the gate that opens to the driveway.

The house is absolutely gorgeous and I have my own room with a bed, couch, tv (although I do not need a tv in Aus....lol), table, closet, mini kitchen....etc. Needless to say, I've got it made here. Maybe I will never leave??  I cannot wait to post pictures of outside and the pool! They have had a ten-year on-going landscaping project and it is paradise outside. The landscaping and garden are amazing and they have a garden that has everything you can imagine- corn, pea, tomatoes, avacado, strawberries, lemons, everything! YUM YUM YUM.

They also have 2 pet ducks and Quacka and Quackess, so fun, and a Boarder Collie named Max that is such a good outside dog.

 During the day we have "tea" a lot along with crackers and Brie cheese (shout out to my girl if you are reading this! :) ) or we might have some fancy/DELICIOUS bread. I LOVE TEA BREAKS :)) For dinner Lynda and Brad made a delicious roast and potatoes with veggies. It was so nice to have a family sit down dinner.

I tried my first Tim-Tam cookies! My family welcomed me with a gift of Aus things and Tim-Tams were in there and America, you are MISSING OUT! YUM!!!

This post is crazy crazy but I wanted to get something out to those of you that were wondering what I was up to! Today I am bringing my brothers to school with Lynda then I will be on campus at 9:45 for orientaion. Tomorrow we are observing a "Farm School" and the more orientation and we will also go to some QUT classes! Friday will be our first official day in our classrooms! Very exciting! I promise to post again soon (especially for you Meg, hehe)

Love always,
Mel xoxo