Finally here!
Hey guys! Wow… I don’t even know where to start. The trip over here went fine… actually, it seemed to go pretty fast. I slept through most of the longest flight (LA to Sydney) so I haven’t experienced any jet lag… yet. But anyways, I can’t even describle the feeling I got when I got off the plane in Sydney. I just kept thinking “Omg, I’m here. I’m in Australia!” I just love listening to everyone talk, and I smile everytime I here someone say “g’day mate.” I bet it will get old soon, though. I was glad to finally board the plane to Cairns (pronouned ‘cans’) because Sydney (at least the airport) smelled kind of bad. The view of the reef from the sky was breathtaking. I tried taking some pictures, but I was sitting over the wing so it was hard. When I got off the plane, the heat hit me immediately. I’m not complaining though, because even though the humidity is tragic for my hair, it feels so nice. (It was about 80 degrees today.)
Cairns is the most tropical place I have ever been. It is absolutely gorgeous! There are palm trees and tropical flowers everywhere. I took pictures, but they don’t do justice. When I walked off the plane, the Scovilles were standing there smiling with a big sign that said something like “Welcome to Cairns, Jessica!” Tricia, (mum) Gordon, (dad) and Lana came, as well as their cousins Vicki, Emily, and Mark. They also brought one of the day care children, Soraya, and Mark’s friend Evan. (Mark & Evan are both 17… Jen & Tiff: *wink*)
We drove staight from the airport to my new home in Yorkey’s Knob. My bedroom is adorable! I took pics that I will show you as soon as I get thme onto a computer. Luckily, I have enough shelves for all of my picture frames. (I brought about 15.) I also have a huge window over my bed that looks out at palm trees. The rest of the house is quite big too. I’m going to have to get used to the toilet and the “bath room” being two seperate rooms. The backyard is really cool. Actually… it’s kind of like part of the house. This is hard to explain, but you walk out to the backyard through the kitchen door (which is always left open) and then there is like an outdoor hallway to 3 other rooms. You can’t get to those rooms without going outside. It’s actually really neat. Of course, there’s a cover over the sidewalk that goes to the rooms in case of rain. They have a nice set-up back there too. They have their main dinner table outside by the garden. (Once again, I have pictures.) There’s also a small above-ground pool that the day care kids were swimming in this afternoon. Lana told me that they sometimes see kangaroos in their backyard, but I have yet to see one. You’d have to walk through this house to really understand it, but it’s neat. There are windows everywhere and are always left open so that the breeze can come through.
Lana and I walked to the beach this afternoon and also walked by the little shopping center of Yorkey’s Knob. It’s very cute and Australian looking, as is everything else. I met a few of Lana’s “mates” there and everyone is very friendly and loves to hear me talk. (haha!) The beach was very breezy, but it’s nice. It was a longer walk than I thought though, but that’s probably because of all the stops we made along the way. I’ve been told that there are several nicer beaches that I will get to see in the next few days, too. There were people flying kites and a lot of people walking the beach. I didn’t see anyone swimming, though, because the water was rougher than usual.
Oh, and since I had a lot of people wondering about this… I tried vegimite! (Ya know, from the Olsen Twins movie.) And the verdict is… it is the most disquiting thing I’ve ever tasted! I could hardly get myself to swallow it and Lana was laughing at me the entire time. She loves it, and so does the rest of her family with the exception of her dad. (He’s originally from Canada, so that’s probably why.)
Well, since the next few days probably won’t be as eventful, I’ll save some of my news for then. I love it here, though! It’s gorgeous, the weather is great, everyone is so friendly, and the atmosphere seems to be very relaxed. I can’t wait to show you the pictures I’ve taken. I’ll upload them just as soon as we can figure it out. Have a great day everyone, and thanks for thinking of me during my trip.
