It was so crazy. It just felt so wrong to me. It doesn't feel like something that ought to ever change. It seems inconceivable to me that the big dipper wouldn't have looked anciently familiar to you. I guess it would be winter for you also, since it's winter for us, too.
Hemispheres are weird.
The thing I noticed most as a difference was the lack of the Southern Cross, and the Milky Way being different. Most nights it's very difficult if not impossible to discern. Yes, the Milky Way here is the dominant feature of the sky. It's very, very obvious. It's like a big wide stripe across the whole sky.