Qantas Ate My Friday

Greetings from Sydney, Australia!

So as you have already been able to deduce, I arrived in one piece. It was not easy, but I successfully made it from New York to the YHA Sydney Central Hostel in New South Wales in about 31 hours. For anyone out there who ever plans on following a similar route, I have two important words of advice you: Business Class.

First thing’s first. What on earth am I doing here? That’s a fabulous question, and one that I’ve been asking myself about every 30-45 seconds since the first flight took off headed for LAX. Everyone who I told in the weeks leading up to the June 30^th departure had the same question: Why Australia? Honestly, I don’t have a stellar answer to that one. I guess the most basic reply is well, why not? I’ve spent forever daydreaming about what going on a real adventure would be like. Plus the most recent phase of my life seemed to me to be nearing an end, and I suppose I felt sort of stuck. I wanted to make a change, so I made a big one. I decided to leave my job, family, friends, activities, and Jean-Pierre and head for Oz. Australia always seemed to me like one of those places that if you’re going to make the effort to schlep to it, you might as well stay a while. It’s big. And it’s far. 14 hours from Los Angeles far. So here I am, friendless, jobless, and essentially homeless (although this is one of the nicer hostels I’ve ever seen) thousands of miles away from anything and anyone that I know. Yay?

I arrived here at 6:30 am local time after what seemed like 6 years on airplane. Although I must give Qantas credit, their in-flight entertainment system is absolutely top-notch. I got on the first plane on a summer Thursday, and stepped off the second on a winter Saturday. Talk about utterly confusing. Not only did I lose Friday, but I lost 2 seasons. I’m now in a country filled with people who think it’s perfectly natural for July to be a winter month. I can deal with the whole Celsius and kilometer nonsense, but I just can’t ever see myself getting used to the fact that Christmastime is the summer. Winter is July. No. No I’m sorry, that’s just odd.

The advertisements in the airport as you walk towards the baggage claim and passport control area are all about Australia’s deadly wildlife. Before the nice Aussie man even stamped my passport, giant murals and advertisements warned me about the funnel web spider (who is quite deadly and lives in Sydney!), the box jellyfish, and my personal favorite, the great white shark. Apparently people here are quite psyched about how many different ways you can die here at the hands of the native wildlife.

I was lucky enough on the van ride to the hostel to have a little tour of the famous Bondi beach, as an elderly couple who were dropped off before me lived in the area. The man mentioned how nice it was to be back home, and to see good ol’ Australian currency. Their currency still seems like Monopoly money to me, but so did the Euro at first glance, so I’m sure I just need some time to adjust. The best part of the van ride though, was that I got my first glimpse of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. It’s always quite amazing to see such an iconic world landmark for the first time in person. That’s when it really knocks you in the head: Holy $#!% I’m actually here!

By 2:30 pm local time I was able to check into the room and get settled. I laid down for what I intended to be a 3 hour maximum nap. I got up 15 hours later, at 5:30 am the following day. Yes, I actually went to sleep at 2:30 in the afternoon. And voluntarily woke up before 6. It’s been a very strange past few days…

If I had to pick one word to summarize everything thus far, it would be overwhelming. Completely, totally, and utterly beyond anything I’ve ever experienced overwhelming. The city is huge, and I have to figure it out. I need a job, I need friends, and I need somewhere to live. The country is the size of the continental United States. There are ads everywhere around the hostel for trips, greyhound discounts, train travel packages, hostels all over the country, cars for sale, job postings, activities… my brain is swirling. There’s so much to figure out. My orientation is tomorrow, so that’s when I’ll buckle down and start on the job hunting and apartment/room searching. Hopefully I’ll have a phone in a few days, and perhaps someone to talk to other than Marbles (He is my stuffed dog. I got him when I was around 8ish? Yes, yes, I am essentially a large child. Giggle and move on.), who I fear might spring to life any moment and run away from me. If I make no friends then we might end up with a Wilson/Castaway situation, and that’s just sad.

Some initial thoughts:

Food is EXPENSIVE. Like mind-blowingly expensive. You need to promise a first born child for a chesseburger around here. A 2 liter coke goes for about $6. I had ramen noodles for dinner. I’ll need a job asap, or I may start to shrink from lack of sustenance. Luckily I discovered an amazing market in Chinatown today with reasonably priced fresh fruit and vegetables. Once I get settled I’ll take advantage.

I was curious to see what sort of restaurant chains would be down here that I’d recognize. McDonalds of course, KFC is here too, as is Subway. There is also a 7 eleven on every block. Literally. Every. Block. There were some odd ones too, that I never expected to run into. Tony Roma’s is here. So is Max Brenner’s Chocolate by the Bald Man. That was a random one.

Sydney is nice, from what I’ve seen so far. It’s sort of like if you took New York and popped it in Southern California and sprinkled it with a dash of European flair. The toilets and street signs are very European-ish. The buildings are huge like NY, but once you’re at the harbor it’s all palm trees and boats and gorgeous water.

So far the cheapest can of coke I’ve been able to find is $1.35. If you buy a sandwich at 7 eleven, you can get a can of coke for half price. So I might not have a job or a real place to live, but in a town where soda goes for 6 bucks a bottle, I’ve found a reasonably priced can.

I’m having issues crossing the street. Granted, I’m not so skilled at home, but here I just have absolutely no idea which way to look. Thus far I’ve just been either following everyone else or saying a small prayer and then darting. This whole opposite side of the road thing really is quite confusing.

I am completely, utterly, and mind-blowingly overwhelmed. Wish me luck for orientation tomorrow!