The first few days of Oz

The next chapter in my year away has begun, I’m finally in Newcastle. The hostel I’ve been staying in offers plenty of free or low cost activities for its residents (like free food on some nights, 2 for 1 drink specials at local bars ect) which has been wonderful as everything here seems to be twice the price it would be in the states.

I met the realtor I’ve been hassling online for the last month or two, everything is in order (for those familiar with the subject, my wire finally went through!) and I’ll be moving into my own room tomorrow. The property is a boarding house with about 45 residents sharing bathrooms, a kitchen, a large dining/study room, and common room. The rooms are on the small side but I brought next to nothing so that works out just fine. It’s a 7-10 minute walk from my doorstep to Bar Beach, an excellent stretch of coast flanked by towering cliffs, and containing (from what I’ve read) the best surfing in Newcastle. I walked along the coast for about 30 minutes today, this is going to be a wonderful year.

I met a few other international students who were checking out the boarding house, they said there are loads of tours/activities that the international department is putting on for the new arrivals, I’ll hopefully find my way into some more free food tomorrow.