[-4] Happy 4th!

I returned last night from Florida, which was a nice getaway before heading to Australia. Which, in and of itself, I suppose is more or less a getaway also. It occurs to me that it hasn't really struck me yet that I'll be taking classes and otherwise being scholarly once I'm there, and I suppose it won't until I (at least) have finalized my schedule. It's more or less been confirmed that I'll be taking Music History I and II concurrently this semester, but other than that, I'll supposedly be taking two Political Science courses that haven't yet been confirmed.

However, aside from that, the majority of the logistical issues have been straightened out. My visa came through with no problem, and I received the scholarship I applied for ($1,372, which is a somewhat random number -- but money is money). It's not that huge, but since my Denison scholarship doesn't go with me to Australia ($15,000/year), anything helps. It'll certainly at least help me cover groceries and such.

My housing has also been confirmed: I will be living for the semester in an apartment (presumably alone) at RMIT Village, which is a lovely apartment complex, complete with pool and workout facilities, not too far from the University. They're hosting an Orientation Week filled with events designed to help residents get to know each other, but I haven't decided yet if I want to participate. It costs $30AUD, which includes the cost of a t-shirt. It's not that $30AUD (approximately $24USD) is that much of an expense, I just don't know that I'm going to be interested in the activities they've planned. There's a "nightlife tour" which I assume will involve barhopping/clubs, which I genuinely am interested in, but the chances that the cost of drinks, etc is included in the Orientation fee are slim to none. There are also a few parties (including a theme party) that might be fun, but the movie night, the trivia night, and the sports day (no-one could ever claim that I was an athletic person) don't really interest me that much. I do want to get to know my fellow residents and make friends, but that week is probably going to be my main week for jobhunting, too. They also want the payment now, which is a little annoying because it's not like I can hop over there and hand them cash or swipe my credit card; I would have to send them credit card information via e-mail, and I'm not 100% positive I'm comfortable with that.

At any rate, here's what my schedule looks like so far for the next few weeks (all times local to where I am):

4/7 - 9/7: packing, work, etc
9/7: last day stateside; early dinner in the city; 19:10-22:10 flight JFK to LAX; 23:20 depart LAX for BNE
11/7: 06:10 arrive BNE
11/7 - 14/7: orientation in Caloundra
14/7: 11:55-14:20 flight BNE to MEL
14/7 - 18/7: Melbourne Welcome (University of Melbourne)
20/7 - 25/7: Orientation (RMIT Village)
27/7: first day of term (University of Melbourne)

So, the next few days will be extremely busy for sure, and then I'll be leaving! I'm extremely, extremely excited, but at the same time, I'm having that "I'm basically moving to another country for five months" freak-out right about now, and packing certainly doesn't help; anyone who knows me knows I'm a terrible overpacker. It's okay though, I will get everything condensed down to two suitcases in the end. I always do. And I'm determined to leave some space for the stuff I will inevitably accumulate in Australia, of course. (Whether or not this will actually happen is a different story entirely, but I'm hopeful.)

So. Hurray for amazing experiences that are about to begin -- and happy 4th to anyone in the US!