Shaawppin'

Having to pack my life into 30kg of luggage which I then had to cram into just one suitcase meant that I actually didn't bring many clothes out here at all. And all of the clothes I did bring I don't actually like very much, and/or are wholly unsuitable for the weather out here at the moment. It's the Australian Winter out here at the moment and although it's not freezing, it's still a little chilly, even if it is sunny.

Cue SHOPPING TRIP(S)!

It's really difficult shopping out here at first, as you think "Oh, I just need to go grab some more shampoo and conditioner, I'll pop into Boots"... and then there is no Boots and so you panic and make a rogue decision of buying shampoo and conditioner from the nearest newsagents-type-place which has been sat on that same shelf since the 90s and turns out the be all congealed and brown inside. 

It gets easier though, and 10 days in I am beginning to know where to go for what kinda stuff and am learning all the names of places so that I can ask someone where the nearest one is.

Also, once you're past the panicked culture-shock 'baffled Brit down-under' stage, you start to notice all the amazing clothes shops out here. They even have Topshop and Zara here, so I feel right at home. All the Aussie makes are far more interesting though so I'll list a few of my favourites here (just click on the logos and it'll take you to the site) so that you can do some fun online browsing. This is also a record for me, so that I can remember which ones I liked!

Goose's Blog

This is Goose...

And this is her blog, which you should also follow....

http://goosegoestoinfinityandbeyond.blogspot.com.au

Reggae Mondays

Last night we headed out to a night called 'Reggae Mondays' at the Civic Underground in town. Tally's friend Sam is involved with and actually MCs for the reggae band and so she's down there every Monday and suggested we came down. Goose, Isabelle and I headed there early for when the music started at 11pm, and then some of the others joined us later.

The club is underneath un Civic Hotel and is quite small but really nice and means that seeing a live act is nice and intimate, rather than not really being able to hear them The band were amazing and it was so nice to get out and see some decent live music. Reggae Mondays is the oldest reggae night in Sydney and the lead singer Errol Renaud is a soul singer from Trinidad. Also, their drummer, a girl called Lisa, has drummed for Damien Marley too, so they're not just any old reggae band! I loved their mix of ska, reggae and dancehall and the band worked really well together as their set was obviously second nature to them.

We had such a good night with everyone and met all of the band and stayed out until the music stopped. If anyone in Sydney is reading this then I definitely recommend heading down next Monday - I'll see you there!

B

Leg Day

I have just had the most ridiculous day... we went out last night to Cargo Bar and I was woken this morning by a fire alarm which evacuated our whole block. Two fire engines rolled up, and all the firemen ran into the building to sus it out, and all it turned our to be was that the Asian (married!) couple who live a few apartments down on my floor had burnt their breakfast. We get fined a hefty sum if the fire brigade turn up, so that was a hell of an expensive breakfast for them...!

I was feeling a little fragile for most of the morning, so just chilled in the flat by myself as Isabelle went out to Coogee Beach with some friends. Once I was feeling a little bit fresher, I went to go see if Shomo and his flatmate Shaun were around. Turns out that the power in their apartment had gone so they came over to mine to charge their laptops and stuff. Then, Shomo suddenly remembered that I'd 'pinky-promised' to go to the gym with him today, and so, true to my promise, I donned my outrageous new trainers and followed the boys to the gym.

I dont have a membership yet, so Shomo snuck me in when the reception desk guys weren't looking, and then there I was. Hungover, standing in the weight section in my shiny new kicks with a famous bodybuilder... 

Shomo announced that it was 'Leg Day' and taught me how to squat and leg press etc. and told me that these exercises were the only way to get 'dat ass'... erm, right. Despite being openly laughed at by all the other guys in the gym, I was feeling pretty good afterwards and I also spent some time on the cross-trainer too as I can't run because of my shin splints and the cross-trainer involves no impact. I enjoyed having someone teach me how to do stuff properly, and even though it was a painful display of how weak I am, I didn't mind being in their weights section with Shomo as he could lift more that anyone by miles! At one point, Shaun and him loaded up with leg press with a RIDICULOUS amount of weight (genuinely the approximate weight of your average baby elephant) and then he did reps with it! I was in such disbelief that I had to document the moment....

HE LIFTED THAT WITH HIS LEGS!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Anyway, I am already feeling my legs seize up and highly doubt I will be able to walk tomorrow, but this is hopefully the beginning of a healthy new hobby. We'll see how long this lasts...

B

Darling Harbour

Goose, Tally and I have had the best day! Every Friday, Tally comes down from Manly to do a photography course in the city, and we've agreed that every week once her class finishes at 1pm, we'll meet and explore the city a bit more. Today I brought Goose along with me and we met Tally for lunch in Hyde Park (it's so bizarre, Sydney has so many London names...!) and then headed down to Darling Harbour with the intention of going to some of the good markets in The Rocks. 

In the end, we got totally distracted by the harbour's charm and just wandered around, staring at all the boats and dodging being papped by Tally. 

We eventually settled down for a celebratory 'It's good to be finally here' cocktail at Nick's Bar & Grill right on the water. One cocktail slowly escalated into several cocktails and we ended up staying there for several hours, enjoying seeing the harbour sink into dusk and then all the twinkly lights shine across the water. The atmosphere down in Darling is so nice, I love it down there. It was also great that Tally and Goose got on so well, I mean I knew they would, but it was so much fun to just sit and chat and laugh together.

I'm tired now after so much walking, cocktails, and laughing, so am going to settle down as Goose and I have a big day of shopping planned tomorrow.

B

Orientation Day

At 9.30am this morning, all 900 of us international students gathered together in one huge auditorium for our Orientation Day. First off, we had a welcome performance from some Aboriginal dancers....

They got some girls up on stage to do the 'Ostrich Dance', and then got some guys up to learn to play the didgeridoo. Bit odd, and they got white paint all over the stage... I dunno... it was weird.

The lectures that followed were all about how to access all the online databases for our timetables and emails, and other stuff like signing up for the doctor, getting a bank account, travelling opportunities etc. This somehow managed to drag on for over 3hrs! Goose and I had a seriously numb bum by the end, though they redeemed themselves by sending us to a free bbq afterwards. After lunch, Goose and I headed out to do even more admin, like registering with the doctor, and managed to get thoroughly lost on campus again. 

I've also just been for my first run! I whapped on my snazzy new Nikes and headed out to Centennial Park with my iPod. I ran through a small suburban area and suddenly popped out by the edge of the park. It was so nice to get out and about and the park had a lake in and is apparently 300 acres!? I ran for about 45mins and then had to stop and head back because my shins were killing me. Apparently I now have shin splints!? After one run!? My friend Shomo who lives a few apartments down (and get this, he's a bodybuilder! If you don't believe me check out his fan page.... shocked!? I was! He doesn't quite look like that at the moment as he's 'bulking up' at the moment, but when he enters competitions he goes back to shiny mahogany man) said that it might just have something to do with the way I walk and that I may need to go see a Physio about it. Damn.

Heading off to watch a film in a friend's flat now, ciao!

B

Tally's Birthday

This morning I met my flatmate, Isabelle. She's from South Korea but goes to Cornell University in the states and is lovely! She was only there for a bit to drop off some of her stuff but we agreed to meet later at the 'Afternoon Tea' that UNSW is hosting for all the international students.

The tea was held at 3.30pm in the sports pavilion overlooking the sports ground called 'The Oval'. We all chatted and grabbed some more free food and drink and I managed to find Dan who's a guy also doing Music at Newcastle who's done the exchange too. We all met loads more people, some great, some not so great... I had to teach this one 6ft American guy called Dylan how to make instant coffee because he filled his cup half full of the granules and then was about to add only milk. Bizarre...

It feels like freshers all over again, which I guess it kind of is because we're all new, but it seems weird because we're two years older now and it should be really easy to just all get along, but some people are just so... awkward!? I have met some really nice people though, and I'm sure I'll meet loads of Aussies when I start lectures on Monday. There are hardly any Aussies in halls because in Australia, most of them live at home and then go to their local uni.

After the tea I grabbed some stuff from my room and then hopped on a bus to Circular Quay and caught the 6pm ferry to Manly to go see Tally, a friend from home, who's birthday it was. Tally's come out here to stay with some family friends in the Northern Beaches to work and travel round Australia for a few months. The ferry ride was incredible as it was already dark and we left the harbour between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera house and the city was all lit up - it looked amazing. I sat outside for the whole journey and happily snapped away.

Tally met me off the ferry at the other end and we were taken out for dinner by Sam and Helen, the people she is living with. Sam is a musician, a hip hop artist, and Helen is his mum and they live in Belrose just above Manly. Helen took us to Hugos, an amazing pizzeria by the water, and treated us to some amazing pizzas and wine. After dinner, Helen took all of Tally's presents and balloons home and we went to go meet Sam's friend Nick in a nearby bar. A few drinks later, we headed home to chill at Sam's house and celebrate Tally's birthday late into the night.

The next day, Sam and Nick had to work, but Tally had the day off and so we headed into the city to go exploring. We spent most of the day shopping and I invested in a new pair of trainers as I have vowed to myself to get fit. I chose the offensive purple and orange colour so that I can't accidentally-on-purpose lose them in my room and actually, I quite like them! They're super comfortable too and should earn me kudos with all the sporty Aussie's.

Tally and I headed to roam round Darling Harbour and we stopped for a drink at the Cargo Lounge, where I also bought her a chocolate fondant as a birthday treat. I really liked the atmosphere down on the waterfront so I asked at the bar if they were hiring, but the girl said to come back in a few weeks when the summer season starts to kick in and they up their staff numbers.

Once we were tired of walking around, Tally came back with me on the bus to see where I lived and I showed her around the campus a bit. Whilst we were in my room, we remembered that we'd heard that Fat Freddy's Drop were playing in a month and a bit, and so we booked our tickets together. If you don't know who Fat Freddy's Drop are, they're an amazing reggae/ska band who we saw at Outlook Festival last summer.

Tally soon had to head back to Manly as she was working early next morning and I went to go find the others to tell them to book their tickets too.

We have an induction day tomorrow with all the other international students... doesn't sound like it's going to be much fun, but it'll be useful I guess.

B

Admin

I managed to get in touch with my cousin's friend Goose this morning and she messaged me back to tell me to meet her at the bank on campus as she was with a group of girls who were all doing the same thing. I arrived just as they were sitting down for their appointment and she pulled up a chair for me so I could do it with them. It was relatively easy to sort out getting a student account and he told us our card would arrive in the post in a few days.

After that, we went to go and get my student ID card sorted out... my picture is HORRENDOUS because I didn't really realise that I was having my picture taken when she told me to sit down on the little seat (I genuinely thought she was just asking me to have a seat whilst I waited) and then suddenly she was telling me to smile and Goose yelled "DON'T LAUGH!"and the result was this....

Haha! I could have killed her...

She is lovely though, thanks to Belle for getting us in touch! She's sorted me out and got me organised which I badly needed as I kinda felt I was just wondering around, not really achieving anything. One issue though, Goose doesn't do lifts, which means any time we go up to her or my room (6 or 7 floors!), we have to take the stairs...

We busied ourselves all day with all our admin tasks and then someone mentioned that there was free food for residents of The Village (the accommodation where Goose and the others live) in their common area, so I snuck in with them to their 'club house' type-thing and we sat down to some (questionable) curry. After that, one of Goose's friends, Ailsa, invited us all over to her flat for a few drinks with her Aussie flatmates. Chris, one of the Aussies, then took the opportunity to take us to our first 'Bottle-o'.

For those of you who don't know what a Bottle-o is, it's basically like a glorified off-licence, as Australian's don't sell booze in normal supermarkets. Most people invested in some 'Goon', which is 4 litres of wine for $5 or something ridiculous, which seems like a total bargain, until you wake up the next morning... Goose and I opted for gin and tonic though, we'll try Goon another day...!

I'm about to skype home and then I'm off to meet the others in Ailsa's flat, so had better go.

B

Bondi Junction

This afternoon I took some time to have a little walk round my accommodation, locating the laundry, the IT lounge, the internal quad etc. and bumped into a group of Italian exchange students who gave me directions to the nearest shopping centre, Bondi Junction. I headed off and after a brief temporary misplacement in the deepest depths of the UNSW campus (everything looks the same, and without a map it's like some kind of bizarre uni brochure maze....) I hopped on the 400 bus.

The journey took about 20 mins and I got off when I saw the huge 'Westfield' signs of the shopping centre. Every single shopping centre they have here is a Westfield... it's so confusing! I then set off in hunt for hangers, lightbulbs, toiletries, pins to stick up my photos, and a little heater. I found the majority of stuff in 'Target', which is like what Woolworths used to be (they also have a Woolworths here, but the sign is green and they're not like the Woolworths from home, they're more like a Tesco), and with the advice from a very helpful security guard, I managed to navigate my way around the shopping centre pretty easily and got everything I needed.

Also, I'm just going to put a little thing in here about Travel Money Cards. You can get them from the Post Office, and they're basically like a card that doesn't have a bank attached to it, so you don't have to set up an account for it. This is particularly useful for your first week in a country when you'll be wanting the buy loads of stuff, but won't want to be carrying around huge wads of cash and don't have a bank account set up yet. Mum can top it up online back in the UK, and I can withdraw cash here free of charge. Also, if you lose it you can cancel it really easily to reduce fraud - particularly useful for scatty travellers, like myself. If you're going travelling and think you might want one, follow this link here. 

Another thing, is that the money here is so goddam confusing. First of all, all the notes are plastic, because they need to be waterproof in case they end up in the sea (inevitable, apparently!?), and so not only do they feel like toy money, but they actually have a see-through bit! 

The $1 coins look like 20c Euro coins... the $2 coins are smaller than the $1s, and look a bit like £1 coins. Then, the 50c coins are just bigger and chunkier 50ps, the 20c are like giant 10ps and the 10c look like round 20ps. Thankfully, the 5c look pretty similar to our 5ps, and they don't even do 2c and 1c! All quite hard to get my head around though, and I thought that the $2 coins were 2c for ages, until some kind shop man explained it to me, and then I suddenly had way more money than I thought! 

Everything is way more expensive here though, I went to buy a pot of coffee, some cereal, a litre of milk and 3 bananas and it cost me $17! The conversion rate is roughly 62p to $1, so if you half the amount in dollars and add on a little bit more, it gives you a rough estimate in £s. A $10 lunch here is a cheap one though, back in Newcastle I would never buy anything that cost over £3! Budgeting is going to be tricky...

Anyway, I still don't have any internet, (so this actually won't be posted for a few days) so I'm going to settle down and watch a crappy film on my laptop to try and see off this jet-lag, and will hopefully feel a little more with-it tomorrow after going to sleep and then waking at a normal time. Tomorrow I'm going to go meet a friend of my cousin's, who apparently is lovely, and we're going to tackle all the admin we have to do together.

Until next time,

B

The Maidens

Amber scooped me up from outside of my accommodation and whisked me off into the city. We stopped on the way for a coffee by Bondi Beach and got to know each other. I told her all about my family and myself and she did the same. She's just like my own mum but just a little older and we had such a nice morning together.

We then made our way up over the Harbour Bridge to the northern beaches where the Maidens live. We stopped off at some lovely little shops to buy me some towels and a 'dooner' cover for my room - I'm going to have to get used to all this Australian jargon! I had no idea what a 'docket' was when the shop assistant asked me if I'd like my 'docket in the bag?'. 

Amber's house is in Avalon and they live up on the hill in the Bush, so it feels like you're living in a tree house. The whole house is made out of wood and recycled materials and feels so homely because it's covered in art and photographs. I met her husband, John, who sat me down whilst he was prepping supper and bombarded me with questions. Amber soon locked into 'Mummy Mode' and started rootling around to find me more things for my room, things that I can give back to her when I leave, meaning that I wont have to buy anything that I'll just have to go through the hassle of selling again. She gave me a mirror, two lamps, a rug and loads more towels and sheets. Amazing!

It got dark at 6pm (weird, I'm so adjusted to it being light until at least 9.30pm...!) and we settled down with a hefty glass of wine to watch the rugby in front of the fire - it felt just like home! We had an early supper of roast beef (strange for me again, I'm used to summery salads!) and then I stumbled into bed at around 8.30pm, hoping to conquer my jet lag but not being able to last any longer!

Amber woke me up the next morning and I was introduced to their 23 year old son, Angus, who shoved a cappuccino into my hands and plonked me down at the breakfast table. We all chatted together over fresh fruit and coffee and I found out that Angus works as a waiter and bar tender at events around the place locally and should hopefully be able to get me work soon. I'll have to do something called an RSA which is basically the equivalent as my Personal Licence qualification from the UK which enables me to do bar work out here. I also found out that his brother does a lot of work in the music industry (he's worked for Rolling Stone magazine etc.) and I may be able to get some work experience with him in the future too. What a useful family to know!

Angus headed off to work and Amber and I headed for a little drive around the beaches. She took me to Palm Beach, where they film Home and Away, and showed me a nice cafe there called The Boathouse which I may be able to get some work at, and then we headed to the event where Angus was working. 

This event was a wedding fair, where photographers, florists, cake bakers etc. can come and pitch a stall to advertise what they do, whilst the venue also gets some publicity for holding events such as corporate business meals and wedding receptions. Amber decided she thought it would be hilarious to pretend that I was her niece and that I was getting married soon (!) and we wandered around, drinking champagne and eating canapés, and picking out what garlands I wanted my bridesmaids to have, and what my invites were going to look like etc.! People kept asking me when the 'big day' was and we both couldn't keep a straight face so I think people sussed us out pretty quick...!

After saying goodbye to Angus, Amber whizzed me back into the city and dropped me back at my accommodationm helping me lug all my new stuff to my room. She's such a lovely person and Gus and John have also been so welcoming and said that they'd let me come and stay any time I wanted. Feels like I have a holiday home now!

I'm about to unpack all my new stuff and then head out to Bondi Junction to do some shopping. Navigating buses has never been my strong point... watch this space for a new post about getting hideously lost....

B

24 Hours Later...

…and I’ve finally arrived in Sydney! 

The journey was long but not too bad, being in Business Class probably helped a bit (thanks Mum!). Check-in at Heathrow was quick and easy, and the goodbyes came around pretty quick as I had to move on to go through security. Both my parents and my sister Ella came with me to the airport (Hannah was at a festival...) and they handed me over a goodbye card with some lovely well-wishings and a bit of money to spend in Duty Free! After a few tears and much talk of how exciting it will be to see them all again when they come out for Christmas, I headed off to begin my adventure alone. They hung about a bit to watch me er… well… queue for security (!?) and then finally waved for one last time and headed home again.

Security was also quick, though I did get frisked (as usual – I need to learn to take my jewellery off), and then I followed my nose into Duty Free where I found my favourite perfume on sale. Rather than being content with saving a bit of money, I decided this was money I had to spend in here, and I spent the next half an hour hunting around, trying out all the new ones, to pick a new scent to mark the beginning of the new Australian me!

I wondered around a bit, window shopping and contemplating what to eat, and suddenly stumbled across the Star Alliance Lounge. As I got closer, I saw the sign saying ‘First Class and Business Class Passengers Only’ and a whole list of airlines – including Asiana Airlines. Of course! How could I have forgotten!? I signed in at the desk and wandered into a peaceful low-lit room where tired business men were drinking red wine and furiously typing on their laptops, and a few families were trying to stop their toddlers from screaming. People were coming and going with various combinations of food and drink and settled themselves in one of the hundreds of comfy armchairs and sofas. I suddenly felt very out of place and sheepishly snuck over to a table at the corner. I walked over to the food service area and asked a waitress in a quiet whisper if all the food and drink was free. She laughed loudly and told me that EVERYTHING was free, and so, embarassed and with half the lounge now fully aware of my presence, I helped myself to some mini sandwiches and a gin and tonic.

The lounge was perfect, it had wireless internet, cosy sofas, departure boards on every wall so that you didn’t have to even move to check your flight, and nobody gave you a second look if you went up to get your *ahem* fourth drink. I browsed through some emails and chatted briefly to a mum about how my mum used to feed us drowsy Calpol when we were little to keep us quiet on aeroplanes (she said she’s keep it in mind for next time!).

Sunset at Terminal 1

Finally my flight was called and I made my way to my gate, zooming through the Business Class queue and was ushered to my seat by a smiley hostess. The plane was one of the newest that Asiana Airlines had and the Business Class seats were like little mini cubicles all to themselves. We each had a personal tv, slippers (!?), headphones, a little toiletries bag with L’Occitane (!) goodies inside, a pillow and a blanket. I made myself comfortable, playing with all the adjustable seat controls and was soon offered a glass of champagne. Don't mind if I do!

The plane filled up quickly and we took off on time. Once the seatbelt signs were off, the hostesses came round and offered us each a menu with a Western or Korean choice for supper. Then next unfolded our tables for us, and placed down a white table cloth, placing on top our own personal little salt and pepper shakers, a napkin with silver cutlery inside (apart from the knives which have to be plastic) and poured us a drink of our choice (another gin and tonic please!). The supper they served was six courses long: bread, salad, starter, main, cheese, pudding, and then tea and coffee afterwards. The food wasn’t incredible, but was a hell of a lot better than normal plane food...

The amazing view as we left Heathrow

I slowly felt myself slipping into a food coma and used the seat controls to make it into a bed, falling into a deep sleep quickly and easily. I slept for a good seven hours - which is so unusual for me on a plane! – and woke up just before they started serving a ‘snack’ (which was hardly a snack at all seeing as it was another three courses!). 

We landed at Seoul in South Korea at 6.30am English time, 3.30pm Korean time. Incheon airport was amazing, huge high ceilings and everything was glass and marble. I made my way to the Asiana transfer lounge and here I booked myself in to have a shower (YUP!) and grabbed some more free food. Four hours of wireless internet, food, drink, and a shower later, I hopped on to my second plane.

The plane was delayed 10 minutes but this didn't seem to be a problem as we still landed on time once we reached Sydney. We landed at 7.30am Australian time and I made my way through customs. This queue took a little longer as you have to declare all food and medication etc., but finally I got through and followed the signs to the 'Meeting Point' in the arrivals hall, where I was to meet my UNSW transfer.

Sat in the Asiana Lounge

View from plane as we left Seoul

I met up with a whole bunch of New York students and one guy who was at Birmingham Uni and we were herded into a shuttle bus by two UNSW students who handed us each our welcome pack and drove us to our relevant accommodation. We arrived at my accommodation, The University Terraces, at about 9.30am and one of the guys helped me with my suitcase to the lift, showed me how to activate my access card and wished me luck for the semester ahead. My apartment is in the East Tower on the 7th floor and is very modern and clean. I am sharing with a Korean girl called Isabelle who goes to Cornell University in the USA and we each have our own bedroom but share a bathroom, kitchen, and living are. I haven't met her yet but she will arrive in the next few days.

I've just unpacked all my clothes into my little room (pretty basic but nice; a single bed, a desk, a bedside table and some storage shelving for my clothes and books etc) which took me all of 10 minutes - 30kg of luggage is not a lot! - and have had a quick shower. A family friend of my Step-Gran, Julie, called Amber is coming to pick me up at 11am and I'm going to stay at hers tonight so that she can help me get my bearings and take me shopping to get me some sheets and towels, and stuff to kit out my room.

So far, so good! And hopefully I will stay awake long enough today to make sure that I have a good night's sleep tonight and conquer any jet-lag. My body has no real ideal what time it is and so I am hoping to use tonight to reset my body clock. I don't have any internet in my apartment yet, so this has been typed up but won't be posted until I sort everything out, but next update will come soon!

Lots and love from Sydney,

B.