14 days and counting...

Well, the title just about covers it, but my departure date is exactly two weeks away.  I will be taking a 15 hour trip from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, and then a two hour "hop" over to Melbourne, arriving two calendar days from when I first left.  At this point, all of the major things are taken care of:  accommodation, plane tickets, passport, visa (that's a story for another day), confirmation of enrollment at the university, and the list goes on.  Now it's time to start worrying about the little things, like getting converters for the electrical outlets so that I don't blow up my computer, setting up banking, phone lines, and internet, and oh yes, packing.  As of right now, I am planning on checking two rather large bags, and stuffing my carry-ons to the brim.  The goal is to pack up as much of my life as possible without tipping the scales at the airport (I am not really in the mood to have to pay yet another fee to cover my overweight baggage).  The packing process will be left for a little bit later next week, as I always manage to put it off until it is absolutely necessary.
In case you were wondering why I am making such a big move, it is because I will be spending the next 10 months at the University of Melbourne, trying to get my masters degree in Biomedical Engineering.  I very recently graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Biomechanical Engineering, and sometimes I wonder how I made it through.  But I came out almost unscathed, with the help and entertainment of others who were also feeling my pain.  While I wouldn't necessarily want to go back and take my classes over, I would not alter the path I chose.  I am sure that I will have somewhat the same love/hate relationship with the next degree that I am trying to conquer, but when it is all said and done, I know that will be a better person for pursuing it.
At this point, the days are filled with my attempts at getting organized, but I've determined that a lot of things are going to come down to the wire.  I am doing what I can, with the help of my Americans' Survival Guide to Australia and Australian-American Dictionary, to prepare myself for the culture shock that is to come.  While I would like to think that I made a good life choice in deciding to go somewhere where I speak the language, I am learning that things are not that simple.  There are a lot of words that have different meanings, and I am sure that I will have my fair share of incidences where my friends (assuming that I make some) will laugh at me for a few minutes for "no apparent reason" before informing me that what I thought was just an innocent phrase was in fact offensive or inappropriate in some way.  My only saving grace will be my accent, which is apparently very highly thought of in Australia.
The next week will be a little more mellow compared to what lies ahead, but I am trying to make the most of my time with my friends and family.  It is going to be inexplicably hard to leave them, but I know that they will be here with open arms when I return back to California.
It is now time for me to resume my lessons on Australian culture.  Today's lesson?  Food  :)