Melbourne at last

   It is amazing to me to realise that I am actually here in Melbourne.  After a lovely dinner at Matt and Joi's on Wednesday evening, Matt drove me to the airport and very kindly waited with me while I checked in and dropped off my bag.  The plane was meant to take off at 11:30pm and we were all aboard and ready; however, there was a fuel truck that broke down right by the plane that somehow took far too long to remove, so we were late in getting started.  We were on an Airbus, which is unbelievably huge.  Fortunately I was not too far back, just by the wing, and I had gotten an aisle seat in a set of three.  My seatmates were a mum and her 12 or 13 year old son, who were traveling back from visiting her husband, who works in Chicago, so they make the trip more than once a year.  She was such a nice person - originally from South Africa but moved to Australia when she married and is very happy there.  They have also lived in Singapore, so we had some talks about ex-pat life.  She lives in Melbourne and was so sweet - she gave me her name, address and e-mail in case I should need anything or want to ask about something.  
    I'm not going to lie - the flight was 15 hours and 20 minutes, which would be long by anyone's estimation - but it actually wasn't as bad or difficult as I thought it might be.  I was able to sleep a bit throughout and didn't feel awful when we finally landed.  I was able to make it through customs and get my bag and was the first one out to find our leader, Roxanne Garner.  She seems really nice and has been doing this for some time so she has thought of all the details.  It really is amazing to think that I am actually here, and actually in the same time zone as Ethan.
     We got to our hotel, which is called a "serviced residence" -  it reminds me of a Residence Inn kind of place, though not as fancy.  My single room is quite large, with a kitchenette (with microwave, kettle and complimentary tea/coffee), living room area with dining table, and bedroom.  There is even a combination washing machine/dryer in the bathroom, though Roxy warned us not to do laundry there as it often takes hours and there is no guarantee your clothes will make it through.  We will be here tomorrow and then leave Sunday for Adelaide.  
      After getting settled in our rooms, we all walked from the hotel to the Queen Victoria markets, which are HUGE markets in town that offer just about everything from souvenirs, clothing, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, breads, etc etc etc - it covers quite a bit of ground and is only open a couple of days a week.  We had a bit of free time after that and I went with two other women for a walk to the city tram, a free ride that takes you all around the city.  You can get off and on again at any stop and it gives you a nice overview of the area.  We got off in an interesting area with a lovely old train station, beautiful churches and theatres, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, a very interesting modern building.   At around 3pm the bells of the church started ringing - there had just been a wedding there and all the people were standing outside and the sound was so beautiful.  We walked back to the hotel and rested a bit until 5pm when we met Roxanne to talk about the trip.  We got to introduce ourselves (always a treat!) and she gave us information about how things will go.  She is very organised and each evening will give us a handout telling what will be happening the next day, when we have to be ready, etc, information about what we will be doing, and interesting suggestions for places to go/eat during our free time.  Then we walked to a nearby restaurant in one of the laneways - these are alleyways that are filled with restaurants, clubs, etc, rather like in Europe, and the hosts/hostesses try to get you to come to their place.  Because there are so many competing for business, they will offer you a free drink or entree (appetiser) or whatever else you can wangle out of them.  We all sat upstairs and many people ordered their first kangaroo, which Roxy said they do especially well there.  I cannot verify that but everyone seemed pleased.
     There are 16 people in the group.  There are five married couples, two women friends who travel together a lot, and 4 single women.  Everyone seems nice enough, and the two women I went with today seem to be especially friendly.  Most people have done trips with OAT before, and one couple has done 8 trips with them.  Everyone is from California except for the two women traveling together, who are from Philadelphia, and me.  I seem to be the youngest person by quite a few years, and I had to hide a smile at dinner, listening to some conversation that included discussion of medication, physical therapy, etc.......  I know I will have a good time, but I am also very glad to have a room all to myself at the end of the day.
     I think all the travel has finally started to catch up with me, and I have to be up and ready to be on the bus at 8:30 tomorrow, so it's bedtime for me.  I am very happy to finally be here, and look forward to some interesting adventures.  Thanks for being here with me.
     I have to say congratulations and well done to Celia and the Senior Gift Program for breaking their amazing record from last year and also breaking the record for leadership donations!  I am so proud of all her hard work.
     That's really it - good night and lots of love.