Coogee Beach, AUSTRALIAAA

I first arrived on Sunday afternoon and they picked me up from the Airport... I went to the Royal Hotel in Randewick for drinks and a little pre-orientation with all the study abroad students. There are nearly 550 from all over the U.S. and a ¼ of them are international. I’ve met soo many people. My roommate, Brooke Burgner, is in Kappa at CU Boulder and we barely know each other. We met before we left and decided that would be the best way to do it. She did a little pre-semester program on lady Elliot Island up in the Great Barrier reef…the group from the program seems to stick together! I would love to branch out and meet lots of people from other places besides CU—because there sure are a lot of us down here. It feels a little like freshman year of college. Anyways, the first couple of days I hit the beaches and got settled into my place. The two places to go out in Coogee Beach—my grounds---are The Palace and Coogee Bay Hotel. I’ve been out nearly every night and the bars don’t close until around 3:00-4:00 am here. It’s been crazy. Tuesday night we went into downtown Sydney for fireworks and dinner. The Queen Elizabeth cruise ship was docked in the Harbour and there were thousands of people. I went to a nice dinner in the city and we then we hit the bars---actually a dive bar called Scruffy Murphey’s that is huge Tuesday nights. I hope to go out into the city a lot..but Coogee is amazing. Wednesday we hit up Bondi Beach—a huge surfing beach here in Sydney. It was sooo big and the weather is amazing---80 degrees! I’m definitely working on my tan! We went to the Palace Wednesday night because that is the huge night there---it’s 3 stories and is one crazy club. Thursday was orientation and I got situated with my classes and the campus. It is a very large campus…I hope to venture there to meet Australian and locals.

The girls from CU and I booked a couple of trips already..we are heading to the famous wine region called Hunter Valley for a day trip on Friday. You ride bikes around and taste wines all day long…with a party bus that takes you to and from the region. We also plan on traveling to the Blue Mountains and doing an overnight Surfing Weekend. I would love to travel to New Zealand for Spring Break and some people are even talking about Thailand. The east coast of Australia has a lot to offer as well.

That’s all for now… I have to run. I am here safe and I miss you all!! Write me back too! I want to hear from some of you people! =)