The flight from LAX --> SYD was AMAZING!!!! When we boarded, there was rap music playing and multi-colored lights, and music videos. I sat next to a 25-year-old Australian guy named Pete. He was really fun and helpful. Each one of our seats had a TV on the back of it which had free games, movies, music, TV shows and a built in GPS that showed you our current location, the plane's speed, how much longer in time and miles we had and also our elevation. It was really awesome! They served chicken curry with rice for dinner (with a ton of other side dishes). Everyone got 2 free drinks, so after 2 Chardonnays and some NyQuil, I was out for the next few hours. When I woke up we had breakfast and landed in Sydney. A couple cool things about the plane were that the lights inside, matched the sky tone outside. (Example: When the sun was rising, the inside lights were pink and orange; when it was dark out, the interior was navy blue and gold). The bathrooms were spacious and had full-length body mirrors. In 15 hours, I only got up once to walk around. That probably wasn't the best idea... The rest of my time was spent on the seat's entertainment unit. I was REALLY impressed. Oh- and the flight attendants were not like anything I had seen before, they were fun, chatty and hilarious. If I ever come back to Australia, I definitely would fly with VAustralia again.
ANYWAY......
I boarded this train outside the Sydney Kingsford International Terminal right after I got into town. It was PACKED with people- none of which seemed to know English. Good thing I was only on it for about 20 minutes before I switched lines.
Once I arrived at Central Station, I switched trains to the Newcastle track. The ride from Sydney to Newcastle was just about 3 hours. This second train had barley any people on it, which was nice.
Here's a picture of my new, PRETTY, Australian money! I don't have all of the bills yet, but this is a good start. The gold coin is worth 2 dollars and the silver coin is worth 1 dollar.
These are some pictures I took on my journey from Sydney to Newcastle out the train window. There were lush trees and plants everywhere and colorful houses. Great views from every angle! 
Once I arrived in Newcastle, I had someone from the University come and pick me up and bring me to my dorm (where I am now). Haven't met anyone yet but there are definitely a lot of people living here. Tonight I plan to set up my room and check out campus...if I can manage to stay awake. My window overlooks this amazing view- you can see tree tops for miles! There are really noisy Australian birds outside of my window, I'll try and get a picture!
I'm so excited to be here, although EXTREMELY jet lagged! I'll post pictures of my dorm, campus and room once I get everything set up. I dont have a cell phone yet but hope to get one soon. I cant wait to see what this city has in store for me!
I love you all back home and I'll talk to you guys soon!
-LP
P.S. Why did no one tell my Australia was this humid? The humidity is almost unbearable!!! Ahhhh I'm dying!
My awesome friends! Alex, Katie, Veronica and Anthony!
