Off to North Carolina!

Flying from New York to catch the first glimpse of my new home, North Carolina, had my heart pounding. As we landed, the beautiful stretch of forests lay down below us, a green wonderland.

“Welcome to North Carolina, Raleigh – Durham”.

Following the usual struggle with luggage, and with acquiring the hire car, another Robertson, Rachel and her mum, Betsy, met us. They had kindly offered to help store some luggage whilst we travelled to the coast. Rachel and I had been talking on Facebook for a few months prior to this. After heaving bag after heaving bag after bag onto Betsy’s “pick-up truck” or as I’d say, ute, we chatted in the boiling carpark of our hotel. Bidding them goodbye, until we returned from the coast we set off to explore Durham and Duke.

Easier said than done.

The town sans-students was deathly quiet, no New York nor Sydney! Durham’s layout is very confusing, and the university is not a contained campus but rather a huge sprawling mass that blends with the town until you don’t know what’s what!

Finally coming to West Campus was a beautiful moment. West campus is basically in a forest, surrounded with scampering squirrels and featuring a magnificent Chapel and surrounding grounds. I felt overwhelmed and so incredibly blessed, picturing myself wandering past this gorgeous area for the next four years.

After a brief stint to Ninth Street (the restaurants and café’s off campus), and a peek at huge American houses, we left the exploration of Durham to the next morning and week.

Trying to locate my dorm the next day was a complete disaster, with road closures, a stressed GPS and a plethora of dorm-like buildings. Determined to succeed we eventually located G.A…in the midst of a construction zones. Renovations had evidently not yet finished.

The Sydney-siders were craving a little sun and surf after winter so off we headed to Wilmington, a coastal district in North Carolina.