Perthection

And now, settlement. I am in Perth, at last catching up with my thoughts of the last 10 months.

The transition to the Western Australian lifestyle was a bit more volatile than arrival in Sydney. This is perhaps due to the mindset of arrival in my new home away from home whereas Sydney was almost a vacation, a quick stop with no real future. I was a bit uneasy in moving in and associate this both with the aforementioned feeling of actually being here and the fact that as college life goes, I am not used to this. I have only studied in Boston, with easy access anywhere at any time and a serious sense of hustle and bustle. Murdoch is about twenty minutes outside of Perth city (I have not yet seen it) and ten from the harbor city of Fremantle (henceforth Freo). It is a very different lifestyle than I am used to as a student; in many ways, in fact, it is actually quite similar to Cape Cod I dare say. Probably a little bit more lively.

But it is a slow lifestyle, really laid back, quiet, and relaxed, and I've warmed to it quickly. The first night here, my IFSA friends, who are all terrific by the way and as a continuation to my most recent entry, and I took the bus into Freo and enjoyed a Saturday night in what is considered the "heart of Western Australia." It is indeed a neat little city with a lively pub and restaurant scene, nice beaches, and a wide open green park. It is also home to Perth's hippy population, which has made for some interesting people-watching and, hopefully soon, some interesting people-meeting.

The best thing to happen thus far in Perth was to befriend an Australian, a roommate of my friend Josh. She is a very entertaining first year student and has ridden me of fears of not getting to know many Aussies. I should get plenty of opportunity to get to know some of Murdoch's domestic students, which is terrific. In fact, I'm heading out shortly to spend some time with a few. I certainly don't mean to make Sonia sound like a tool by which I can access a new world - she is great and I am happy to have made her aquaintance genuinely, as a human being before an Australian.

Yesterday was spent grocery shopping in the early going before experiencing Cottesloe Beach. In terms of pure scenery, I don't think I've seen quite an excellent beach. Vast, bright white sand sits at the foot of the Indian Ocean. Calm and fairly waveless compared to my Sydney experience, the beach's water is nonetheless fantastic and makes for great floating and swimming water. Meanwhile, the beach, while extremely crowded, is very relaxing; I laid for quite some time just enjoying the sun and Perth's atmosphere (though perhaps not literally; ozone holes are unfortunate). Just past the beach across the street is a busy and exciting restaurant and pub scene that we chose not to experience just yet but will certainly enjoy in the coming months.

credit for image to perthwatours.com, as I forgot to bring my camera.

As a brief aside, the Perth public transportation system, aside from its early shutdown, is fantastic and has a thing or two it could teach the rest of the world, particularly with regards to cleanliness and keeping its riders informed about the chosen mode of transportation's whereabouts.

I have a massive financial decision ahead of me already, and think I will be making it to the affirmative, resulting in my spending ten days enjoying Australia's northwest, where I will have the opportunity to camp out under the stars in the outback and to swim with dolphins. It just seems extremely worth it and I will forever regret not taking advantage of such an opportunity if I don't. If it costs me a beer a day then so be it; experience is the priority.

I think that's about all for today. Oh, I danced traditionally with an Aboriginal group on the last night in Sydney, that was neat. I was a kangaroo evading the vicious dingo and eating while I could. Good times.