Cheers mate

I've been in Sydney for a little bit more than a week but somehow it feels like I have been here forever. Things are so different here (mostly little things but it does make me feel far from home) and we are all just trying to get used to it. Australians are VERY sarcastic so we have to make sure not to take things personally. They don't say 'you're welcome' when I say thank you because I guess it is really formal. They use 'compulsory' for 'mandatory', goon is wine, and when you have a lot of something you actually have 'heaps' of it. People are much more friendly than they are in the states and it seems like you see a lot more smiling when walking down the street. The weather has been cloudy and rainy which has been a bummer but we still have had an awesome time. We went surfing in the pouring rain and I came to the conclusion that I am absolutely terrible at the sport. It is so much harder than it looks! I start school on Monday so I will let everyone know how my classes go (to think that I actually have to study while studying abroad). Hope y'all are doing well. Cheers!