Chrissi's First Days

I left Cincinnati at 4:50pm on Monday night. From there I flew to LA, then to Auckland and finally to Brisbane. The flights were not bad at all. Cin to LA was REALLY bumpy and I was the middle seat on a full plan next to a lady that leaned on me to sleep. I honestly have never had a stranger try to sleep on me, its rather strange. LA to Auckland was good flight. I had reserved the exit row window seat. When Nat reserved his tickets, exit row wasnt available so he opted to upgrade to business for $300. Must have been one helluva deal that day because when I tried it was only a mere $900 (mind you I only paid $950 round trip to AU). I didnt have anyone next to me. I am sorta surprized, it would seem to me that those seats would go fast. New Zealand Airport is beautiful...couches and big comfy chairs...brillant! Up to this point I had only took about a 4 hour nap on plane from LA to NZ but for some reason I wasnt all that tired. Finally I got on my last flight, seat was the same, window exit row with no neighbors.
I landed in Brisbane about ten minutes early at 10:45AM on Wednesday. It didnt take too long to get through customs. I had to get name fixed on visa and got caught with Cadbury Eggs in my suitcase. If the lady wasnt so nice, those would have been $1000 Cadbury Eggs!! When they ask you if you have any food, chocolate counts!! I wasn't thinking about my checked luggage. I finally got through in about 10 minutes and saw Nat. He was so cute. I am not sure at this point if I could really express my thrill, being that I think I was half braindead.
First in car...
riding in the "drivers seat" but being a passenger is not that bad, but definately takes some getting used to. nat hugs the left side of the lane, so I always feel like I am going to go straight into the car next to us. He is a good driver though. I guess I will be ok driving, but I think it will be a while until I get the chance because I cant drive the company car, and honestly I am excited about taking the bus! They have 500 brand new buses and everyday business people populate them, so it does not have that US taboo.
Nat drive me to the same scenic point he initially went to. It is crazy to really see the way the city is laid out. It like no other city I know. It looks flat from above, but its rather hilly. It is literally like looking at a map in 3D (without the labels of course). Things seem farther away then they actually are. Driving through the city reminds me of LA. There are tons of mom and pop shops, cafes, and boutique stores. There are not very many places that have those big open strip malls like Northwoods (IL) or Tri-County (OH). I imagine its more like Clifton or a MUCH LARGER Tremont. After the scenic route we made our way back to hotel/villa. I dropped off my stuff and then we were off to run some errands.
Basically we went to the mall. Opened up new account at bank, change all my USD to AUD. (I am going to need a change purse!! -- $1, $2 and .50, .20, .10, .05 are all coins...) After that we got some food at the mall, some ok pasta, then went to VodaFone to get me a phone. Unfortunately they said he had to wait 3 months before he can add anyone to his plan. Dont fret though, they called this morning and got approved to add me on. Today I get to go pick up my phone. While at the mall, Nat got a call from agent about a house he really likes. We have appointment to see it today with the owners (which i guess is a good sign).
After the mall, we drove to the house Nat really likes. It is in Parkinson and seems like forever away from anything. It is beautiful though. Nestled deep inside of a quiet more upscale neighborhood. It is a little walk from bus station, but after research we found it was about hour commute (which I am prepared for). Its not that bad, only 15 minutes longer than other locations we have looked into. It is not walking distance from anything, but is surrounded by parks and walking trails. We will see what happens. Today we are going to go see about 3 other locations. Pray we find something soon that is within our budget and that we can move into asap.
It gets dark in AU around 5:00pm (that is also when EVERYTHING, even the mall, closes)...so around 6pm I was exhausted. Nat forced me to stay up until 8pm, and I barely made it. I woke up around 7am. I think I am good with the jetlag.
Now today...there are more adventures,but I am not sure I have time to write about them, so I will have to write in a bit. Funny stories to come...so stay tuned!!

Mrs. P