Travelling Across The Hemisphere

So I have survived my first week in a new country!  Well I guess survived isn't the right word because I'm not stuck in some third world country without milk or internet.  Australia has actually held some amazing experiences for me only being here such a short time.  I know that in the long run that I will be such a different person when I get home, that being able to see new places and try new things will influence the way that I see the world.  So I arrived last Sunday and am still getting used to the time difference - falling asleep at 11 and waking up at 8 is so not the way I want to spend my time here.  The first day I arrived, I went to Surfers Paradise where we stayed overnight.  While there, we went to main beach and went shopping for the necessities.  That night we went out and witnessed the night life, which was good for a Sunday night.  On Monday, we moved into Varsity Shores an apartment complex which is about a five minute walk from campus.  Monday also marked the beginning of  o-week on campus or orientation week for new and study abroad students.  It consists of registering for classes, getting our student IDs, and some pretty fun events, such as the jungle party and tight bright party as well as a beach day.  I've met some pretty cool people - two girls from school, who I never met before coming here and my roommate Camille along with her friend Marine, who are both French.  They've taught me a few French phrases, I can introduce myself, say my age and that I'm from America.  I told them that I want to be fluent in French by the time I get back to America.  I had my first pangs of homesickness on Friday, its difficult thinking that I will be on a different continent from my family for four months.  I'm so used to being able to talk to them everyday or at least once a week, but I mean skype definitely helps.  We have already started planning trips - we want to go to Fiji and Sydney - and things we want to try while were here - we found three surfing lessons for a hundred dollars.  We're terrified that we'll be eaten by sharks or fail massively at it, but when in Australia...