What were you grateful for this week?My host family made me feel welcome in a few different ways. Their daughter made me a welcome sign that I saw first thing when arriving to their house. The dad took work off to help me practice driving and to get familiar with the area. Both parents made delicious food for us all and were open to trying new vegan dishes.

What was the most challenging part of this week?Learning the slang words was interesting and learning to drive on the opposite side of the road in the opposite side of the car was also a challenge.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. I helped make dinner and took [my host sister] to the neighborhood park.

Tell us about your week! This was my first week in Australia! I’m excited to put my experiences down in words to create a long lasting memory of my time here and stay connected with all of you back home. I am with an awesome family! My host parents are N and L and they have a 4 1/2 year old daughter. I help get [her] ready in the mornings and take her to and from pre prep daycare on the weekdays. The first two days of my stay, [my host dad] took work off to help me get settled in. He let me practice driving (since the driver’s side is on the right and you drive on the left side of the road here…not to mention the signs are different and the area was unfamiliar).

We went to lunch both days and the food was amazing! We went to The Flying Nun Cafe and Little Tree Bake & Brew house. At the second place we met up with one of my host dad’s friends from the army, Mark and his wife Beth. They are from Canberra, Australia’s capital city. It was great talking with them. Beth works in ecology and helps with the conservation and development of land. This lunch spot is also where Landyn picks up sourdough bread throughout the week. While [my host sister] was at daycare and [my host parents] were at work, I spent some time exploring the neighborhood, setting up a bank account, and talking with my family via videochat.

On Saturday there was an open house day at [my host sister’s] school-to-be. We went to see the classrooms, meet with teachers, and get her school uniform. She will start there in January. Next, [my host family] took me to the Westfield Chermside shopping center to walk around and have lunch at an Italian restaurant called Casa Cibo. We also got some shakes and sorbet at Gelatissimo. Sunday, we went down to South Bank in Brisbane. [My host dad] took [my host sister] to the free water park there while I walked around the waterway. I saw an iguana, various birds, a Nepalese Peace Pagoda (one of only three in the world outside of Nepal), and tents full of trinkets and clothes. This week I tried Turkish and Lebanese food for the first time. I also learned some Aussie lingo: chickens are “chooks”, “ta” is thank you, “arvo” is the afternoon, and flip-flops are “thongs”. Overall, I’d say this was a pretty great first week and I’m looking forward to meeting more locals, traveling around and outside of town, and getting closer with my host family.