we made it!

So, I happen to be in Australia right now! After over 30 hours of traveling, I am at the SFS (school for field studies) place in the rainforest. We moved into the cabins, got a safety talk about snakes, leeches, etc (crazy crazy), got some yummy dinner, & now we have some relaxing time before bed. The computer connection is relatively slow, but it works. The flights over went pretty well! I ended up seeing a fellow SFS student in Logan airport, & that was nice to have a travel partner. We got to Los Angeles & then met up with many more SFS students. It was pretty funny b/c there were so many of us taking over the airport very late at night. Nice long flight to Australia- movies, naps, yummy food, Australian ginger beer! It was nice and relaxing. Customs was incredibly easy, too. I do love that this is a peaceful, happy, exotic country. Then a flight up to Cairns from Brisbane and a van ride on twisty roads through mountains and forest took us here. There were some gorgeous views while driving. We got to the end of the driveway, & they told us to get out of the vans & walk up to the cabins. We were literally walking through the rainforest (well... a dirt road in the rainforest). I have yet to see a wallaby, but I have heard plenty of crazy birds and seen some exotic plants. Like.. plants that can sting you. pretty insane. This program is a lot like a camp. 30 of us participants (with 22 girls and only 8 guys... oh well) all living together, learning together, eating together, etc. The professors introduced themselves tonight and they seem good. We won't be starting the real classes for a bit, since we still have to learn how everything works around here. It's going really well! I am pretty exhausted, but things are good. It is nice to be meeting so many new fun people who also want to study the crazy nature of Australia.