My last goodbyes said to Oscar and Freddy!
My last day in the USA was spent in typical Tierney fashion as I scrambled around Uncle Fred’s house collecting laundry and making sure that all my piles made it into my suitcase. This was all after I had spent the morning watching Spain beat Germany in the semifinals of the World Cup. Vamoooooooos España! I waved goodbye to Oscar and then to Uncle Fred, and officially began my journey to the land down under. It was mostly bumpy, but I endured with little true disasters. I waited for an hour plus on the San Diego tarmac, crossing my fingers I wouldn’t miss my international connection. Making it to my gate as they boarding for Brisbane, I found that I was seated next to a man who proceeded to drink 7 mini bottles of wine and curse in a drunken sleep for the next 4 hours of the 14 hour flight.
I was through Customs in record time, but only had an hour and a half to make my connection to Melbourne. I barely made it to the domestic terminal in time, hastily checked my bags, and yanked off my shoes mid-run to security. Luckily I again made it to the gate just as they were boarding, and I flopped down into my cramped window seat dripping with sweat despite the “wintery” weather (it was 25 degrees Celsius…). From there it was smooth sailing as we cruised over the East coast of Australia at 40,000 ft. From the airplane, Australia’s landscape looked fairly similar to the States. Once leaving the city, I got a bird’s eye view of the rural countryside which is home to millions of cattle, sheep, and vineyards.
I got to Melbourne safe and sound, thankfully. I met my IES group at the airport, and had every intention of enjoying my first night out in Oz. However, my nap turned quickly into a coma, and when I woke up, it was light outside and time to head to out for my IES orientation trip.
