Unlike in Micronesia where I had wide, vast expanses of time with which to do nothing, being in Australia has been a whirlwind even before school has started so I haven’t had much of a chance to write blogs. It’s partly a shame, because I like to write things as they happen and look back later and be able to tell chronologically exactly when events occurred and when things took place, but it feels as though since I’ve arrived I’ve just been gun rushed with sensations and experiences and newness. Writing also helped me cope with the strangeness of Micronesia, but Australia isn’t so strange, and even though I do get a little homesick from time to time, the staying busy part really helps.
Since I’ve last written, Tom took me on a cursory but efficient tour of the city of Sydney. Describing Sydney to someone from New York is really difficult, because as a New Yorker (from the city I mean), you would never really say that someone from an outside suburb – except someone from Brooklyn or Queens – was from New York City. But it seems here that no matter how far outside the “city” city we drive, whether it’s a few miles out across the harbor bridge to Tom’s suburb of Northbridge, or a half hour away to a beach town like Dee Why, we’re still somehow “in” Sydney. I guess in some senses in might be akin to the boroughs of New York, or the outward neighborhoods of Boston, but when I think of Sydney I really only picture the urban areas I guess because I am trying so hard to match it and map it out with what I know of New York.
Anyway, the bus we take goes to a stop called Wynard, which I remember from last time, and is directly across from a Starbucks! The drinks are not really the same as back home, though. The sizes are similar, but they’re still trying to push that strange little guy, flat white, and everything seemed really sweet. It was way more crowded than I expected it to be though, for something that is apparently not very popular here.
I really wanted to return to the Rocks, an area that I really liked last time, but we only walked through a small part before coming to an upscale shopping area called St. James, and then retreating into a David Jones (these department stores are everywhere) down to something called the Pete Street Market (I think?) It reminded me a little of the Fish Market from last time I was here; vendors selling things like a marketplace, but also cafes, bakeries, sushi train, etc. We were there a little too early for anything to be open, but we did find a baguette place for lunch.
We traveled to the Sydney barracks, and then to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It’s a free museum with the exception of special exhibits, including one happening now featuring Picasso. There’s a lot of Byzantine and Victorian art, and a bunch of contemporary Australian artists. There was only a very, very small amount of Aboriginal art. Not surprisingly, more indigenous art was featured on postcards for purchase.
We also took a trip to the botanical gardens, which is pretty sizeable and situated right in the center of the city. Afterwards we walked the circumference of the opera house and ended up right where we had started. I’m still trying to work out how large Sydney is, at least the central urban piece. It’s difficult because it’s not laid out very logically. Hopefully I will be able to orient myself sooner or later.
Yesterday we went to another beach a little north of Dee Why called Narrabeen. There were less shops and cafes than at Dee Why, but as a result it looked a little more natural and there were less people even though the day was very bright and warm (unusual since its been so rainy). There were lots of people surfing and some fishing, and the water was a bit rougher than the last time we were at the beach. The waves break really far from shore, and come very quickly, so unless you are prepared to swim out far from land, you basically have to stand right where they’re breaking and dive into the crash. It was a little unnerving at first since my last few years at the beach have been so calm – the waveless beach vacations at Rehoboth and living in lagoon waters. I definitely have to get into it though. I love the ocean and it seems like everyone here is fearless of the waves.
One thing people are afraid of here is the sun. Tanning salons, or “solariums,” have been banned here… at least in New South Wales – though I did see one in a neighborhood called Leichhardt the other day. There are lots of campaigns against tanning and how there’s nothing healthy about wanting to be tan. Public schools here are issued uniforms, and hats seem to frequently be part of them. Skin cancer is evidently a very big issue here, probably because Australia has some sort of ozone issue, and is also a big beach culture. Still, there are young people, both girls and boys, with very deep and defined tans, just like there are a surprising amount of young people here who smoke, despite the insanely high price and general inaccessibility of cigarettes, and the very in-your-face anti smoking campaigns. Regardless, I don’t see much difference in the amount of people who tan or smoke versus the US. If anything, I think I see more young people here smoking, and not having anti smoking rules enforced (such as on the beach which really grosses me out for some reason).
We are still looking for apartments. It’s been the most frustrating part of my stay so far because it’s so much different and so much more of a process than finding one back home. I feel like real estate agents are conspiring against us not to let us rent. In the mean time, I’m fortunate to have a place to stay, but would really love to be settled before school.
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