So now I've officially settled into Sydney. I've got a full-time job. I'm registered for classes next semester. I've figured out (and grown to hate) the public transportation system. I think I'm fitting in pretty well.
Work-wise I'm waitressing. I'm working full-time at a place called Jamie's Italian. It's Jamie Oliver's restaurant. No I haven't met him. But yes I get free food. People keep asking if I make tips here. I do. It's about $150 a week in tips and I make $17.23 an hour. Not too shabby. The people I work with are really nice and I like it. Obviously I don't want to wait tables forever but for now it's just fine.
I've officially registered for school. I'm a grad school student now. I'm studying International Law and International Relations. Should be interesting. I'm hoping the hybrid program will give me a one up on other people.
Sorry this time around with the blog isn't as interesting as last time. In London, I was traveling a whole lot. Here, it's basically the same life that I had in Chicago. (I didn't blog in Chicago because I'm not interesting enough). But, I promised people I would try to keep up with it so this is my best effort.
For those of you who remember, I have to leave the county to apply for my student visa. So Matt and I are going to New Zealand for 2 weeks in February. We're going to hire a car and road trip around the north island. It's going to be amazing. That should make for some more interesting blog posts.
Basically that's all I got going on now. I just work a lot. It's not very interesting. If anyone has anything they want to do vicariously through me, let me know and I'll give it a try.
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
First Week Here
So people keep asking me what I've been doing. And the reason I haven't been keeping everyone posted is because what I've been doing is a lot of really boring things. Basically, since I've been here I've unpacked, looked for jobs, opened a bank account, gotten a phone, and taken a class on the responsible service of alcohol so that I can wait tables. Nothing super interesting. Since I'm not here on vacation this time everything is much slower paced and average. But I guess I can tell you about a few of the average things I've been up to.
I'll start with saying how lucky I am when it comes to flights. I'm not sure how far Australian news travels but this past week their national carrier Quantas grounded their entire fleet. Literally ALL of their flights were canceled. There's this big labor dispute and strikes and all sorts of messy stuff. They say over 10,000 passengers were effected. Now the reason I'm lucky is because I flew Quantas to get here. I flew out 5 days before the CEO grounded all the flights. First I manage to get out of Heathrow last year and now I squeak past the grounding of an entire fleet. The travel gods must really like me.
I got a job, sort of. I was hired by this company that supplies wait and bar staff for events. So essentially I'm a temp waitress for them. I've worked one event so far. But I only made around $85 for the shift. That may seem like a good start but I had to buy a uniform for $43 and take a certification course for $120 before I could even get started. So as of right now, I've made -$78 with this job. They said November is their busiest time so hopefully they give me a lot more shifts.
I do have a couple of interviews lined up. I have one on Friday and one on Tuesday. They're both for clothing stores though. I really didn't want to have to work retail but a job is a job. Also, they're in the city center which is really good location. Hopefully that means the people aren't quite as destructive as they were at Wet Seal.
Other than that, nothing much has been going on with my life. I went to a Halloween party. We were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. And we went to this really nice Indian restaurant for my birthday. Sorry I don't have as many stories as I did in London but I'm still working on getting friends and money so I can start entertaining you lot.
I'll start with saying how lucky I am when it comes to flights. I'm not sure how far Australian news travels but this past week their national carrier Quantas grounded their entire fleet. Literally ALL of their flights were canceled. There's this big labor dispute and strikes and all sorts of messy stuff. They say over 10,000 passengers were effected. Now the reason I'm lucky is because I flew Quantas to get here. I flew out 5 days before the CEO grounded all the flights. First I manage to get out of Heathrow last year and now I squeak past the grounding of an entire fleet. The travel gods must really like me.
I got a job, sort of. I was hired by this company that supplies wait and bar staff for events. So essentially I'm a temp waitress for them. I've worked one event so far. But I only made around $85 for the shift. That may seem like a good start but I had to buy a uniform for $43 and take a certification course for $120 before I could even get started. So as of right now, I've made -$78 with this job. They said November is their busiest time so hopefully they give me a lot more shifts.
I do have a couple of interviews lined up. I have one on Friday and one on Tuesday. They're both for clothing stores though. I really didn't want to have to work retail but a job is a job. Also, they're in the city center which is really good location. Hopefully that means the people aren't quite as destructive as they were at Wet Seal.
Other than that, nothing much has been going on with my life. I went to a Halloween party. We were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. And we went to this really nice Indian restaurant for my birthday. Sorry I don't have as many stories as I did in London but I'm still working on getting friends and money so I can start entertaining you lot.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Blue Mountains
Before I got here there were a few things that Matt told me that we were doing and there were a few things he left as a surprise. I knew that we were going to go hiking in the Blue Mountains because he had to warn me so I could pack for it. What he didn't tell me ahead of time was that he booked us a room at the Katoomba Mountain Lodge in this ADORABLE little mountain town to stay the night up there.
The drive up to the mountains was of course beautiful. They call them the Blue Mountains because they look blue on the horizon. Must be something to do with the sky or the water or something. Either way, it was so pretty driving up. They reminded me of the Smokey Mountains. Once we got into the town (Katoomba) we went straight to the place where we were going to hike. We went down the entire mountain on stairs and into the valley. It was really cool and I got to see a lot of plants I'd never seen before. The valley was really pretty and it had been raining the previous days so the waterfalls were really big. The only problem is that what goes down must come up. And so we did. We trekked up the stairs back to the top of the mountain. We ran out of water once we hit the valley so coming back up was a bit rough. I get cranky when I'm thirsty. Matt handled it pretty well though and once I got some water in me I was just fine.
After the hike we were able to check into our room. The place was adorble. Our room was entirely pink. Pink walls, pink curtains, pink bedspread. It was amazingly tacky and wonderful. Once we got settled in the room we went out for dinner. The town was a really cute little town with a hilly mainstreet that we walked up and down. We ended up at this little pizza place for dinner. The pizza was really good. It was so cute at the restaurant. They had a woodburning stove and couchs. Very quaint. After dinner we were so full and tired from our hike that we just went back to our room. We hung out for a bit enjoying the no phone service, computer, or tv. We just ate TimTams and talked. It was a great little vacation from my vacation.
The next morning we walked around the little town again to find breakfast. As we were walking we came across this cafe that seem to have half the town inside so we bypassed that one. The next cafe that was literally next door was completely empty. We picked that one. Not sure why it was empty though because the food was great and so was the service. Also had a woodburning stove so...
We walked around the town for a bit more after that. They had a couple of thrift stores (which they call op shops). I found a very cute pair of sunglasses which was great because mine had just broken. Once we finished with that we drove further into the mountains. It was so pretty and the weather was wonderful. On the way home Matt let me drive back down the mountains. I don't want to toot my own horn (get it...?) but I think I did pretty well at picking it back up. No crashes or anything! All in all, it was a pretty good non-weekend get away weekend.
The drive up to the mountains was of course beautiful. They call them the Blue Mountains because they look blue on the horizon. Must be something to do with the sky or the water or something. Either way, it was so pretty driving up. They reminded me of the Smokey Mountains. Once we got into the town (Katoomba) we went straight to the place where we were going to hike. We went down the entire mountain on stairs and into the valley. It was really cool and I got to see a lot of plants I'd never seen before. The valley was really pretty and it had been raining the previous days so the waterfalls were really big. The only problem is that what goes down must come up. And so we did. We trekked up the stairs back to the top of the mountain. We ran out of water once we hit the valley so coming back up was a bit rough. I get cranky when I'm thirsty. Matt handled it pretty well though and once I got some water in me I was just fine.
After the hike we were able to check into our room. The place was adorble. Our room was entirely pink. Pink walls, pink curtains, pink bedspread. It was amazingly tacky and wonderful. Once we got settled in the room we went out for dinner. The town was a really cute little town with a hilly mainstreet that we walked up and down. We ended up at this little pizza place for dinner. The pizza was really good. It was so cute at the restaurant. They had a woodburning stove and couchs. Very quaint. After dinner we were so full and tired from our hike that we just went back to our room. We hung out for a bit enjoying the no phone service, computer, or tv. We just ate TimTams and talked. It was a great little vacation from my vacation.
The next morning we walked around the little town again to find breakfast. As we were walking we came across this cafe that seem to have half the town inside so we bypassed that one. The next cafe that was literally next door was completely empty. We picked that one. Not sure why it was empty though because the food was great and so was the service. Also had a woodburning stove so...
We walked around the town for a bit more after that. They had a couple of thrift stores (which they call op shops). I found a very cute pair of sunglasses which was great because mine had just broken. Once we finished with that we drove further into the mountains. It was so pretty and the weather was wonderful. On the way home Matt let me drive back down the mountains. I don't want to toot my own horn (get it...?) but I think I did pretty well at picking it back up. No crashes or anything! All in all, it was a pretty good non-weekend get away weekend.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Wildlife!
On Monday, Matt took me to the Koala Park. It was basically a mini-zoo where they take care of only Australian wildlife. Most of the animals were either injured at one point or they were orphaned as babies. Basically, this park is the cutest place on Earth. I got to see kangaroos, wallabees, wallaroos (yes they exist), wombats, kaolas, cockatoos, and sheep! I got to actually snuggle up to a koala. They're REALLY soft and adorable. Apparently the leaves they eat make them a bit high though so the one I was snuggling up to (named Sean) was visibly "relaxed". He was SO cute though. I really need one as a pet.
After chilling with some Koalas we went to see the birds. There was one pretty cockatoo and I asked Matt to take a picture of me with it. What Matt failed to tell me is that they talk so when the bird said hello and whistled at me it scared me half to death. We then had a little chat with the bird about crakers. It had an English accent. It was the funniest thing.
Once we finished with the birds we went to feed the kangaroos. Basically you just buy a little paper bag of hay and walk right into the enclosure. They're really friendly. I got to see a little Joey crawl back into the its mother's pouch. Only he went in the wrong way so he was all folded in half and it was quite possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen. One kangaroo decided that the hay in our hands wasn't enough so it puts its face right into the bag that Matt was holding. Matt informed the kangaroo that that was very bad manners but all that resulted in was a small tug of war. Matt won.
After chilling with some Koalas we went to see the birds. There was one pretty cockatoo and I asked Matt to take a picture of me with it. What Matt failed to tell me is that they talk so when the bird said hello and whistled at me it scared me half to death. We then had a little chat with the bird about crakers. It had an English accent. It was the funniest thing.
Once we finished with the birds we went to feed the kangaroos. Basically you just buy a little paper bag of hay and walk right into the enclosure. They're really friendly. I got to see a little Joey crawl back into the its mother's pouch. Only he went in the wrong way so he was all folded in half and it was quite possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen. One kangaroo decided that the hay in our hands wasn't enough so it puts its face right into the bag that Matt was holding. Matt informed the kangaroo that that was very bad manners but all that resulted in was a small tug of war. Matt won.
Life Down Under
I left my apartment in Chicago at 12:15 pm on Friday the 18th and got into Sydney airport at 8:30 am on Sunday the 20th. 4 and a half hours from Chicago to San Francisco, 12 and a half hours from San Fran to Auckland New Zealand, and another 3 and a half hours from Auckland to Sydney. While I hit a few bumps on the way (like not realizing I needed a visa until I tried to check in but having my amazing sister figure out that I could get one electronically)the trip went pretty smoothly. The best part was that the other person who was supposed to be sitting in my row never showed. I had three seats to myself. I literally laid down and slept. I was quite refreshed by the time I landed in Auckland. So step one of proving I'm immune to jet lag went very well. Matt was more tired than I was. I managed to stay awake until ten o'clock or so. Once I got into sydney I was just very anxious to get out of the airport. I had to go through customs though. The drug dogs went over my bags twice. Now this is not because I was trying to smuggle anything in or had any sort of residue. No. This was because my sixty year old down stairs neighbors smoke SO MUCH weed that everything close to our carpet smells like weed including my suitcase I keep under my bed. But I made it through eventually to find my wonderful boyfriend waiting for me with a hand picked bouquet of Australian wildflowers. I will put pictures of the bouquet up because they were flowers I had never seen before.
After getting all settled in we decided to go to the beach. We couldn't actually swim because it was all rainy the day I got in. So instead we got some fish and chips on the shops near the beach. We met up with Matt's friend Rohan who was one of the other guys he backpacked with in Europe. After our fish and chips we went down to the beach to looks at the waves. They were quite big. I walked around a little in the water. It was my first time in the Pacific ocean and it was cold as hell. But it was still fun.
When we got got home we mostly just chilled out. Matt's mom made dinner. It was very good. I really like his parents. They're very nice. We had an early night. We were both worn out. But all in all my first day in Australia was really great.
After getting all settled in we decided to go to the beach. We couldn't actually swim because it was all rainy the day I got in. So instead we got some fish and chips on the shops near the beach. We met up with Matt's friend Rohan who was one of the other guys he backpacked with in Europe. After our fish and chips we went down to the beach to looks at the waves. They were quite big. I walked around a little in the water. It was my first time in the Pacific ocean and it was cold as hell. But it was still fun.
When we got got home we mostly just chilled out. Matt's mom made dinner. It was very good. I really like his parents. They're very nice. We had an early night. We were both worn out. But all in all my first day in Australia was really great.
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