Registration… and the beach.

The last couple days have been pretty excellent.  On Friday, I had my first real orientation meetings.  We had a short lecture regarding registration for classes and then were allowed to actually enroll.  It was very quick and painless.  I got all the classes that I wanted and have an excellent “timetable” as they call it… “schedule” for all you back home J.   I’m only in class 10 hours a week and don’t have any class Friday!  I am taking Australia: New World Nation (Australian history), Middle East Politics, Sex and Gender in History, and American Foreign Politics.  I’m really excited to take an American foreign policy course from an Australian perspective.  I think it’ll be really interesting.  I’m looking forward to the start of school… I know it’s strange, but my brain is ready to be academically stimulated J.  I realized that I haven’t been in school since the middle of December and I’m ready for a challenge again.  After registration, I went to the gym – excellent again – and then home to eat dinner and get ready before going out for one of my friends’ birthday.  It was a pretty fun night.  We took the tram downtown and went to a club to dance and hangout.  Melbourne is alive at night!  It was crazy.  The club was pretty fun and it was a really big group that went, so that was good… lots of new friends!  I decided that it’s not really my scene, but it was fun and another good experience to have.  My goal is to try a little bit of everything – I tried it and now, whether or not I want to go again, I know what it’s all about and I’ve experienced it.  Check J.  This morning (Saturday), I woke up, got ready, and headed to the beach.  It takes a LONG time to get there by public transportation (close to two hours)… not my favorite.  But it was really nice lying in the sun!  I put on sunscreen this time, so there are only a couple spots I missed that got burned.  I went with my roommate Camille (pronounced Cami) from Britain.  It was nice to get to know her better and we had a good day together.  When we got to St. Kilda (a little south of downtown Melbourne), we laid on the beach for a couple hours, then got some lunch, and finished the day by wandering through the streets of St. Kilda and looking at all the fun shops.  It was very low key and very fun.  We caught the train and then tram back to our house and called it a day.  It was fun.  Everyday I seem to find myself creating new potential plans for free days.  It’s so fun knowing that I’ll have the opportunity to see as much of Melbourne and the surrounding areas as I want.  Everyday is an adventure and everyday is a gift.  I found a card today that I couldn’t not get… it says, “LIVE.  Don’t save anything for a special occasion.  Being alive is a special occasion.”  I’m alive.  I’m I’m loving life.  I’m set J.