10 a.m. — After 3 flights and 28 hours of traveling I finally land in Sydney! I surprisingly feel okay — probably because I was extremely lucky and got a whole row to myself on the longest flight, so I was able to lay down and sleep. I get through customs and text my friend, J., but she’s still on her way as she didn’t expect me to get off the plane and through customs so quickly. I wait inside the airport near the exit for trains because J. told me she had gotten an Opal card for me already (which I need to exit the airport onto the train platform and is used for all the trains throughout the country). I see her and she rushes through the turnstile to give me a ginormous hug. We lived together all through college so being apart the last 10 months has been super weird and I’m ecstatic to see her!