Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Indianapolis here I come! - 76 days to go.

Hollywood will have the pleasure of my presence on August 5th and 6th.
I am then booked to fly to San Francisco on the 7th, where I will stay
in the Union Square area for 4 nights! San Francisco has always been
#2 on my list of places to visit in the States – this is probably the
most exciting stop on the way to Purdue. I will then fly back to LAX
and catch a night flight over to New York, New York – my favourite
city in the whole world. I will not be wasting a second of my 48 hours
there; I plan on walking the Brooklyn Bridge, doing the Staten Island
Ferry again, visiting Grand Central Terminal, perhaps seeing another
Broadway show and taking a stroll through Central Park if time
permits! There will be plenty of time to sleep in Indianapolis, where
I am having a night stop over before getting to Purdue on Sunday,
15th.

Reality Check. The dollar has taken a tumble, down to 82c, so I am
glad I have booked (and paid) for a fair bit of stuff already – but I
hope it will bounce back, I still have a lot of expenses to cover!
Residence Hall assignment is to be announced early June, so that
appears to be the next step (and naturally next post). Stay tuned
folks. Excitement, Excitement, Excitement!

VISA. Check. Flights. Check. - 86 days to go.

The American Consulate in Sydney is extremely institutional. You get a
ticket and take a seat; wait for an hour or so for your number to be
called. You go to different counters, all with solid glass between you
and the Government officer, and a microphone and speaker to
communicate through. Give this person that; answers another's
questions; a different window takes your fingerprints and another
takes your cash. As impersonal as it is, I have to admit all the staff
were very nice and damn, they are efficient – within 24 hours I
managed to get my passport back (they must have sent it within hours
of me giving it to them).

I have my J-1 VISA and I have booked my Qantas flights! I am going
Brisbane (BNE) to Los Angeles (LAX) on August 5th. LAX to New York
(JFK) on August 11th. I then plan to make my way to Indianapolis by a
domestic carrier on August 14th. I will be departing JFK to return to
BNE on December 22nd and arriving on Christmas Eve! 86 days to go –
but who's counting?

Welcome Pack

I finally got my welcome pack from Purdue! It is all starting to sink
in – I have a campus map, brochures about West Lafayette, Purdue and
most importantly, the document I need to go to Sydney for the VISA
interview. On another front, Qantas have decreased the price of the
flights I need - Brisbane to New York return is now only $AU1578.
Here's hoping I can get my VISA and book soon!

And so the housing application process begins!

Who would have thought choosing a dorm would be so difficult? I have
spent hours trawling the web looking for details on Purdue's fifteen
different residences. All though they are mostly the same tiny size, I
discovered amenities offered vary greatly! Through several phone calls
to various residences I have managed to list my top seven preferences
(pictured above). Hillenbrand Hall is my first preference. It boasts a
fitness centre, semi private bathrooms, a laundry room, dining hall
and slightly larger rooms than standard. However, it is around
$1500/semester more than the cheapest option, but by the looks of it,
well worth it! The last thing I want when it is snowing is to have to
leave the warmth of my building to get some dinner or do laundry!
Cross your fingers that I get my first housing preference!

It's official! I am in!

Early, early this morning (got to love the time difference) I received
my official acceptance email from Purdue! Very excited about it and am
now waiting to get my welcome pack via snail mail, which contains the
documentation that I need to get a VISA! Nothing can stop me now
(knock on wood!). USA HERE I COME!