29 January 2012

My First Almost Week in Sydney

     Some mornings I wake up and have to pinch myself as a reminder that I am actually here in Sydney. It's still pretty unreal to me, and generally it's moments when I am looking at the Opera House or listening to all the Australian accents around me that I remember where I am. But here I am. And while it's been a week since I left (and a little less than 7 days of actually being in Sydney) things are less and less overwhelming each day.
     This past week has been a whirlwind of sight-seeing, walking around the city, meeting people and remembering what hostel life was like. Aside from the now-and-then homesickness that creeps up on me every once in awhile, I have been keeping busy and having a lot of fun.
     On my first full day in Sydney I had my orientation with the Work and Travel Company. This program has a really nice facility in the center of the city with free wi-fi, a travel desk which provides help with planning any trips around Australia I may want to take and a job resource center that is responsible for helping to place me with any temporary work that may come up. I have kind of put the job hunt on hold for the first few weeks while I'm here and trying to embrace the holiday part of my adventure and let myself be on vacation. After working for so long saving up for this trip. I think I deserve a little vacation before I jump back into the working world! Aside from the logistical help, the Work and Travel Company also serves as a resource for any help I may need with setting up a life here in Sydney--from finding a place to live to dealing with being homesick and so far away from home. It's actually very reassuring to know that at the end of the day, if I needed somebody to help me with any obstacle I feel like I can't handle on my own, they could help me out.
     The rest of my days here in Sydney have been spent purely exploring the city and meeting people. I took a tour of the city, I lounged around the beach for a couple days (sunbathing and playing in the ocean in January? Amazing!) and I may or may not have shopped just a little bit. :) The hostel I am staying at has so far been a pretty solid resource for meeting people. There's a cafe out front where there are always people from the hostel hanging out at, there's a few common tv/internet hang out rooms, and there's a bar in the basement that gets pretty wild later at night. I am in the "backpacker's ghetto" of Sydney, so pretty much wherever I go within a 1 mile radius I am destined to meet other backpackers who are doing the same thing I am.
    Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you are reading this post) I am going to a 5-day Surf Camp. This camp takes me and a group of 60 people two hours outside of Sydney to a private beach where we surf all day and really get a good grasp on the sport. Everyone stays together in beach cabins that are only a few hundred feet from the beach, and every morning and every afternoon we are split into smaller groups of 8 and we are taught to surf. Who knows, maybe by the end of this camp I will be a pro surfer! However, if that doesn't happen, the best part about this camp will be that it is the same group of people for 5 days straight (not like a hostel where people are always coming and going) and I will be put into a situation where meeting people is almost forced on you.
   Anyways, this has been a kind of broad overview of what has been going on with me here in Sydney. I hope that those who have been wondering, especially after my last less-positive post, have had their curiosity filled for the time being. The next post will probably be after surf camp, so I will be sure to give some more updates then! Hopefully I'll have some pictures uploaded next week as well, so for those who just want to skim my ramblings, there will be a visual to go along with! G'day!

24 January 2012

Reporting from Sydney

    G'day mates! For all those who don't know, or didn't guess, I have made it to Australia. 14 grueling hours later and I'm officially hanging out with the Aussies. Despite my anticipations about the miserable plane ride, it wasn't all that bad. Luckily I was able to half sleep/half doze for about the first 8-10 hours and after that the time flew by fairly quickly. Needless to say, I wasn't as miserable as I figured I would be. So that's the good news :)
    So after experiencing my first full day of Sydney, and the best word to describe it would be overwhelming. I am staying at what looks like a pretty fun hostel. It is located in what seems like the center of the city--although I haven't really gotten a good lay of the land yet, so I may be wrong. The hostel is pretty large (7 stories of rooms of bunk beds in all) and is full of people all traveling and/or looking for jobs and pretty much doing what I'm doing. But arriving by myself, with no wing man or friends already waiting for me, I have to say it's pretty intimidating. And although I am sure plenty of people probably know exactly how I am feeling, from the outside it seems like everyone is settling in with ease and I just feel like a deer in the headlights. I definitely find myself feeling very alone. Which is ironic given how many people I'm surrounded by. I've met a few people so far, and hopefully that list will begin to grow, but after just the first day I find it hard to be optimistic. In reality, I am far more homesick then I anticipated I would be. I know this is just something I have to give time and let things fall into place, but it's definitely hard to find the calm in knowing things will work out when everything feels so big and over my head.
    Today, I have my orientation with the program I came here with. I am hoping that this will help clear things up for me. I was jet-lagged and exhausted yesterday so I kind of holed up, so hopefully today I can explore and wander around and keep my mind off of the homesickness and the overwhelming feeling that felt like a gray cloud over my shoulder yesterday. Hopefully the next post will entail a little more excitement. G'day for now!

04 January 2012

Airline Rant

     So as today was my last day of work at Peet's, it really hit me that my trip is just around the corner. While I am ecstatic that my barista days under horrible management are finally behind me (with a good chunk of hard earned money to speak for it all), there is no more time to be too tired from those early 6am shifts to procrastinate any longer. It feels like there is still so much left for me to do to get ready to leave, but in just 18 days (ready or not) I will be flying across the Pacific Ocean. Emphasis on the flying situation.
     As some may know, as a graduation present my parents gave me a round trip ticket to Australia. It was great to know that they actually supported my trip (regardless of their sly comments about how I should just stay and hang out with them in California) and this gift meant one less cost for my dream trip that I've been working so hard to save for. And while I do very much appreciate this gift, it meant that if dad is paying he's choosing how I get there. And unfortunately that means using miles and flying on what I consider the jankiest airline ever--United.
     This is a flight of 14 hours and 37 minutes. I can't even comprehend what one person is supposed to do on a metal tube in the air for 15 hours. It would be nice if the airline provided some sort of entertainment help to assist the passengers in maintaining their sanity on such a long flight. But no, not United. As an economy passenger (including economy PLUS), that would just be asking way too much. So what do they give you for the almost 15 hours you're flying with them in economy? Some booze, some dinner, and FOUR MOVIES. Four movies?! Seriously?! And what do they plan to do for the 6 or 7 additional hours once the four movies run out?? Do they make a bowling alley down the aisles? Or should I just twiddle my thumbs once my laptop battery dies? Because, oh, did I mention, plugs for your laptop are only available in business and first class. Apparently, as United was "updating" their airplanes, they couldn't be bothered to move behind business class to install some extra plugs. Did they think us economy folk just happen to have these magical laptops that stay charged for 15 hours? Or maybe, they thought, that if you're flying in economy you just don't get bored. I beg to differ. I'm lucky they're even giving me some free wine to help me try to get an hour or two of sleep.
     Oh Qantas Airlines, how I wish I could fly with you. Qantas has over 500 movies and 250 television shows to choose from in the on-demand entertainment that is provided to the entire plane--including economy! Did I mention that Qantas even has a self service snack bar?  I guess it's official. Australia must really be better then America, all the way down to their airlines. I expect this to probably be one of the most painful 15 hours of my life thus far. And while I know a year in Australia will immensely outweigh the horrendous flight I must suffer through, those 15 hours are still required of me to even begin my adventure.
     And so ends my rant; everything will be positive from here on out, I promise! (And Dad/Mom, if you're reading this, I promise I do totally appreciate the plane ticket, even if I am flying on disgusting United).