Advance Australia

It's August 1st, and I've arrived safetly in Sydney, moved in, cleaned and rearranged the house where Raph, Nick, Margot and I are staying, and started classes for my Masters of Criminology. Today I have particularly happy news because I finally found an anti-trafficking NGO in Sydney! Of course, they can't pay anyone, so I'm still looking for a job, but I suppose those things take time, and I am quite bogged down with reading and setting up house anyway. Raph's grandparents have had us over a few times already, and have been really kind to me. I look forward to visiting Nana (my grandmother) this weekend, though-- and running on the beach! Foreign Film night, the disaster I instigated in an attempt to stay connected with the International Artistic community, is in its 3rd week now, changed to Sunday evenings, and still ironing out the wrinkles, but have watched two good Italian films "Pane e Tulipane" and "Malena" already. I had a too-short reunion with Davina before she flew off to Boston for her semester abroad, and more reunions are coming up. Raph has (of course) settled in more quickly, already has a job, and is unendingly supportive-- if a bit nervous that I might actually want to stay in Australia... Some things are still a bit harder to adjust to for both of us. Meanwhile, I met two wonderful girls at my Australian Law Bridging course: Yifat, from Israel, and Helena, from Poland, and they're helping make up for my cultural faux pas:-)