First of many entries to come...

Hello there, all!
For those of your who do not know me, my name is Courtney. The purpose of this blog is to share my upcoming adventure in Perth, Australia. The first question I had when I heard of Perth is, where the heck is that? Well to enlighten you, it's the main city on the West coast of Australia, the opposite side of Sydney. Another question you may be asking is why some random city no one knows about? Well here goes! On Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, I was fortunate enough to have the last open seat next to me on a flight to Reno. A young Australian man, by the name of Jamie, happened to be in need of this last seat and so our relationship began: first through Facebook as just friends, then video chatting, and eventually we found ourselves in love and travelling to one another's home countries. Recently I hit a road block in my education, and after much grief, I realized it was a blessing in disguise. I was now faced with the opportunity to visit Perth on a more permanent basis than just a quick tourist trip like I had done last summer. So that's what I'm doing; I'm taking the leap with my year-long Working Holiday visa to test things out and broaden my horizons. I've had the dream of travelling and living outside of the US, or even living outside of California, for as long as I can remember, and I am more than thrilled to make this dream come true!! But don't let the excitement fool you completely. I'm freaking out inside. From driving on the Left side of the road to learning the metric system, I may be in over my head! On top of that, my relationship with Jamie will be going from zero face to face contact, to 24/7 contact within seconds. I'm interested to see how everything pans out but for now I must focus on the details you wouldn't really think of for going on an extended vacation; things such as driving permits, health insurance, communication device, car insurance, shipping rates for items that don't fit in my luggage, etc. I still have quite a bit of research to do but plenty of time to do it. D-day is booked for August 16, 2012 at 10:30 pm. My amazing boyfriend is flying out here so that I won't have to make the long journey away from my homeland alone. I couldn't ask for more :) Up until the true Australian adventure begins, I'll be updating you on the trials and tribulations of planning a move abroad.  Enjoy the rest of your weekends!!

 Perth

Jamie & Me