Family

The fam have arrived!

Sadly, even though I was 45mins early to the airport, I managed to wait in the wrong arrivals hall and so our reunion was a little disjointed, but eventually we all found each other. Arrivals was packed as everyone was coming to meet their friends and family who were flying out to Australia and there were lots of smiling faces and tearful reunions going on around me. 

Once we were finally together again we hopped in a cab to get away from the thronging masses as quickly as possible and arrived shortly at the hotel. They were all very pale and jetlagged and just, well... squishy! You forget how much you body changes throughout the seasons, and comparing their pale English winter skin to my Australia summer skin was absolutely hilarious, no offence guys. 

After they had showered and unpacked I took them down to Coogee to let them thaw out a bit. It was a boiling hot day and they just kind of melted onto the beach in the heat. This was Moo's reaction to this sun...

Squinty mole rat

As per my usual routine, I made them do the Coogee to Bondi walk that afternoon too. Sadly, after only about 20mins, this was the state of them... I felt a bit mean.

Ella was dying of heat exhaustion, my Mum was simply just really over tired, my Dad had blisters already, and we'd totally lost Hannah. Brilliant. However, we eventually found some water and some plasters (and Hannah) and finally made it to Bondi where we had an early supper at Lush. Needless to say, they pretty much went straight to bed after that!

The next few days were a little more successful as they slowly acclimatised and got over their jetlag. We explored Sydney and did very touristy things like visit Circular Quay and the Opera House and stuff as my Dad and sisters have never been to Australia before and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

We beached, and shopped, and visited some family friends and desperately tried to feel Christmassy in the heat! Sadly the weather wasn't all that great for them as it's was quite overcast and muggy some days, but still a hell of a lot better than the English winter.

Finding it very hard to get it into my head that it's the 23rd December....!

B

Back On The Radar

So, today, I finally managed to go and get my phone sorted and have got myself an Australian number! It only took Orange about A MONTH AND A BLOODY HALF to unlock it for me, and because of them being so unbearably slow my phone bill is now over £100 due to having to use my phone for emergencies out here. But, everything is fine and dandy now because I can actually use my phone!

This is going to make my life a hell of a lot easier. I was just using my iphone to hook up to any wifi that I could get hold of and contacting people over Facebook, which was all great on campus, but left me totally stranded if I went into the city! Nightmare. All sorted now though.

For anyone that's had to unlock an iPhone recently too, you'll know what a palaver it is. Basically, the main issue is, is that your network at home (in my case Orange) have no interest in unlocking your phone, as it usually just means you're going to start using another network, and so it's not a priority for them and they enjoy taking their sweet ass time about it. Also, EE have now decided that they will only charge £20 to do it, but it'll take them a month, and they'll make sure that all other phone people, i.e: those funny little Indian men in phone shops who're whizzes with technology, have to charge £90. My suggestion for anyone going abroad who still wants to use their iPhone is to get it unlocked well in advance, or just buy a crappy little phone over here to tide you over. Otherwise you end up with a huge phone bill like me!

The only problem now is, is that I have to go and tell the bank, my job, the doctors etc. that my number has now changed, and actually learn my new number! 

For all those Brits reading this, you'll be pleased to know I'm still using the same Snapchat as before so you're not getting rid of me! Whatsapp is different though.... go onto my Facebook and my new number is there.

B

One Month Milestone

So, as of about 7am this morning, I have officially been in Sydney for one whole month! 

Time has flown and so much has happened since I first got here. Its so funny to think back to my first shopping trip I made and all the muddles I got myself into trying to navigate myself around the city, and first meeting Goose! Although I am still learning stuff about this place every day, I feel pretty well settled and almost bordering on becoming a proper Sydney-Sider! But don't worry, I haven't picked up any Aussie-twang and my accent is, to quote my friend John, still "so very English".
Here's a little list of stuff I've had to get used to out here....

1. They don't do 1c and 2c, they just round everything up to the nearest 5c, and it's actually really common to see $100 notes!
2. $2 coins are smaller than $1, which is just annoying and backwards.
3. Both Americans and Australians have no idea what you mean when you say "Ah, I just couldn't be arsed/fucked" and "She was taking the piss", they just stare at you blankly like you have a mild case of tourettes.
4. EVERYONE says "How ya going?" instead of "How are you?".
5. There are no such things as pints here, everything is served in 'scunas', which is just a little bit smaller than a pint.
6. The green man noise when you're crossing the road is unnecessarily aggressive and gives me a heart attack every time.
7. Shoe sizes are all different, so a UK size 6 is an AU size 8.
8. I have to pay 20c/MG for my internet in halls. Say whaaaa!?
9. A swimming pool in a club is, like, totally normal.
10. Buses run all through the night.
11. Their Burger King is called Hungry Jack's.
12. I live on High Street, Kensington, and there are loads of other places named after placed in London, including a Hyde Park!
13. Everyone wears sports kit, all the time.
14. If you go down to Bondi, everyone is actually surfing and there are hundred of people in wetsuits  either in the sea, running around on the beach, or skateboarding along the shop fronts - every single one of them carrying a surfboard.
15. Everything is easier/quicker/cheaper/free/more funny/on the house if you tell someone that you're British.
16. All wildlife out here is four times bigger, more poisonous and scarier than anything in the UK.
17. Australian's don't tip, unless you're British...! *wink*
18. The price of make-up make it actually physically painful to buy it.

I have some fantastic friends here, who have now come to be know ironically-but-not-so-ironically-anymore as the "Goon Squad". The group is ever expanding and we are a very cosmopolitan group, as we have Brits, Scots, Asians, Americans and even some real Aussies. I love them all dearly and we have a lot of fun together - mainly the Aussies teaching us completely made up Australian slang and convincing us it is commonly used in everyday life. Their recent favourites have been 'turbo' and 'cash' (which apparently mean 'good') and that 'jimmies' and 'jiblets' are two different things (they're not, and yes, they are referring to their balls). We do get out own back though, as one of them, *cough* Josh *cough*, thought that 'ASOS' stood for 'Australian Shirts and Other Stuff' haha! He will never live that one down....

It's also great to have Tally and Harry out here, as it's nice to see a familiar face from home now and then. At the moment, Tally is off travelling up the East Coast and Harry is working in the Hunter Valley, but I should see both of them in about 3 weeks though when they'll both head back into the city. The Maiden's have also been my saviours, Gus and Amber are honestly like my guardian angels! Anything I need and they will be right there to help me, and have said that I can come and escape and stay at theirs whenever I want. It's so nice to have the little back up out here, like a second family.

The weather out here is ridiculous. Every day is blissfully sunny and above 20 degrees, and the most we have to deal with is a bit of wind. If this is what the deepest darkest depths of Winter is like, I can't wait for summer! 

All of my courses are going well and I am not behind on my work... yet. Spanish is making me work hard but I'm definitely picking up everything more easily now. I've joined the gym (one of the personal trainer guys in there yesterday even said hi to me like I was a regular! Score!) and I have a well paid job which is helping me cash in some pennies so that I can save up to go travelling over the summer break. I also have just been offered an Internship with an independent music and arts magazine in Sydney called BRAG. I'll be starting on September the 10th doing 8hrs every Tuesday writing for their website and for their magazine. Exciting! I don't know too much about it all yet, but will update you once I start.

So, to sum this all up, life is going swimmingly and I am loving it out here. Not to say that I don't miss y'all back home, but, y'know... Australia's kinda fun, ok!?

B

Harbour Bridge Walk

Today a few of us decided to head out and explore a little. Jack, Stan, Kellie, Meaghan, Adam and I caught a ferry across from Circular Quay to Milson's Point, and planned to walk back across the Harbour Bridge.

The views from the ferry were amazing. I've done it once before at night, but it was great to see it all again in the day.

The journey was really quick as Milson's Point is just across the harbour. When we arrived, we had a quick wander around the famous Luna Park, which is all a bit weird and very dated. Felt like the set from a strange thriller or something.... Apparently, even though the rides aren't very good, it's quite fun at night, so we may come back.

Next we headed off to walk up over the bridge. The views from there were amazing too, and we could see people above us who were doing the Harbour Bridge Climb - I would love to do it, but it costs $200!

Once we were over the other side we took a stroll through The Rocks Markets, where lots of amazing jewellery and trinkets are sold from tiny little boutique stalls. There was one man selling pendants and bracelets made from the inner parts from old watches. There were so beautiful, I may have to invest in one at some point....

We spotted some food stalls and I bought a butternut squash, feta, spinach and pesto wrap for lunch which was delicious. A $10 lunch out here is pretty cheap... I still can't get used to the prices out here though.

The markets were really nice, and thankfully not too busy. None of that awful hassling going on either, where people grab you and drag you into their stall. I bought a small silver ring and a birthday present for Hannah (Moo, if you're reading this, I hope you're impressed with my planning ahead!)

Once we were back down in the harbour again, we got distracted by this crazy contortionist woman...

She was very weird.... her big finale was climbing into this tiny little glass box which was up on stilts. She calls herself "Bendy Em" and well yeah... she was pretty bendy! She's apparently the only contortionist who does it live on the street. Pretty impressive... but still, very strange.

After that, we headed over to the Opera Bar on the east of the harbour to enjoy a drink in the sun before it set. Kellie lives in New York and obviously she still can't drink because their drinking age is 21 out there, so she still finds it a total novelty to order a drink at a bar! She doesn't even know what her favourite drink is... crazy!

Despite it still being Winter, and far from peak season, the bar was still buzzing and full of people enjoying the weather. I think I'm going to apply for a job down here on the waterfront as I really like the atmosphere and they pay well! $20 an hour during the week, and more at the weekend. So good!

Tonight we're heading out to Chinese Laundry, which is a famous electronic dance club in Darling Harbour, so I'll post about that tomorrow.

Here's a little snap of me being a tourist...

Tada!

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

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.