Upon Arrival

It’s been just a little under a week since I’ve arrived in Sydney and it feels like I’ve already been here forever. Though I guess if one has been somewhere forever, they would know how to get around on their own. The good part about having contacts here is that I can rely on people for help. The bad part is that I don’t really have to force myself to figure out how to do things or get places for myself, so if I were really eventually to find myself on my own, I could really be in a pickle.

The past 6 days have been full of ups and downs. I’ll try to recap simply:

THINGS I HAVE ENJOYED:

1.Sightseeing.
I did plenty of this last time I was here, but I’m trying to branch out a little and see things that are a little more obscure. I’ve been back to Circular Quay, but only at night after visiting a place called Argyle, an upscale-ish bar located in an area of the city called the Rocks which I went to during the day last time to visit a street market. Tom also took me on a short hike through his neighborhood of Northbridge, and also to Lavender Bay/Blue Point, which is near a creepy looking amusement park called Luna Park and directly across the harbor from the Opera House. We were able to visit this very quiet and rather secretish site called Wendy Whiteley’s Garden. Wendy Whiteley is an artist, and the wife of a deceased artist and mother to a deceased actress, who built up this garden and surrounding neighborhood, and apparently the ashes of her family are located somewhere within it. It was a really beautiful and strangely hidden place.
I’ve also gone back to see the university – not really to sightsee, but because I had to set some things straight at the international office with my loans. Still, it was nice to walk around; the campus doesn’t seem super daunting, possibly because its mostly enclosed and I’m used to having to navigate through downtown NYC to find my classrooms. I have some welcome and orientation events to attend in the coming weeks so hopefully I’ll have all my bearings by then.

2. Eating.
Who doesn’t love this? Last time, I was finagled into eating something called a “meat pie” at a rugby game, which is arguably the most Australian scenario you could rustle up. I never got to eat kangaroo, which is probably for the best because the fact that it is the world’s only edible national emblem is not really the selling point I somehow feel its meant to be. I’ve eaten Indian food twice and something called sushi train…and I do NOT understand why this phenomenon doesn’t exist in New York. In a city where you can eat raw fish off a naked person, one would assume you could just as easily sit in front of a conveyor belt offering a neverending selection of raw fish and tempura-ed delights and not have anyone tell you that you can’t stack up any more plates. As Australian dining goes, its also one of the cheaper options. I actually intend to go back tonight.
I’ve also had barbecue, and this passion fruit yogurt, which I had last time and can’t really describe except to say that I really don’t like American yogurt but have been craving this stuff since I left. I’ve also continued my daily coffee ritual, only here there are no Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, only smaller espresso cafes that serve expensive and delicately designed foamed cappuccinos in glass cups. You can’t order brewed coffee in any of these places – apparently no one would buy it – and I haven’t seen decaf listed anywhere either. “Coffee” really means espresso, and is basically listed as cappuccino, latte, mocha, and something called a flat white. The Australians think a cappuccino has something to do with whether or not chocolate is shaved on the foam, and a flat white either has more or less milk than a latte (I can never really remember which). It all tastes the same really. As far as I can tell, the only reason you’d need a course to become a barista is to make those fancy little designs in the foam.

3. The Beach
On Saturday, Tom took me to Dee Why, a beach about 30 minutes away from his house in Northbridge. It was different than any American beach I had been to – there were lots of small shops and nice cafes nearby, but nothing cheesy or chintzy. No surf shops and no boardwalk. There were no bars really or casino type places. Everything seemed really small-town. It was pretty crowded because it had been the first hot, sunny day in a while, but no more crowded than a typical day at any other beach town I’ve visited. The water was near the same bright blue I remember from the Pacific, but a LOT colder than I thought it would be! The waves were breaking a lot further from shore, and there was a pretty strong current, so I didn’t swim out that far. Mostly tried to get some color but ended up getting a splotchy burn.
I asked about the name – Tom said it might correspond to map coordinates, but no one is really sure.

THINGS I HAVE NOT ENJOYED AS MUCH:

1. The Weather.
It’s been downright weird since I arrived. Mostly overcast and rainy with only two days of uninterrupted sunshine. It can’t decide whether or not to be hot or cold, so it’s settled on just plain muggy which makes me sweat and my hair frizz out. It’s making me a little cranky for sure especially when we have outdoor things planned, and when I anticipated a sunny beach environment. I’m expecting March to be beautiful – after I’ve started my course.

2. The Traffic.
I think getting around Sydney is more a pain in the ass than New York despite the size difference. Disregarding the fact that the road rules are different, what with driving on opposite sides and such, people drive very aggressively and rushed and the traffic during certain “peak” hours is horrible. Peak hours, by the way, are not just typical rush hours like 9 am and 5pm, but 9 am, whenever kids might be going to school, whenever kids might have a lunch hour, whenever kids are getting out of school, 5pm, and whenever it’s raining. In addition, while cars are good about yielding to cross walks, pedestrians basically never have the right of way at any other point in time. Makes both driving and walking a harried experience. Better to catch the bus.

3. Renting an Apartment.
Possibly the most difficult experience yet. Prospective tenants have to search for open places (there aren’t many) online and make themselves available for the 15 minute span of time the apartments will be open for and inspection. Many inspections take place on Saturday afternoons. Last weekend, Tom and I shuttled all over the city trying to make it to six different inspections – we only succeeded in making three. The apartments in our price range our tiny and many of them have shared bathrooms, shared kitchens, half-kitchens, no laundry, etc. Renting doesn’t seem as popular here as it does back home especially for students, and when we went to drop off an application for a place, we were reamed out for not bringing enough proof that we could pay for it (i.e. my bank statements from the US listing my savings balance). It seems a very invasive process, but I’ve never rented before, so it’s hard to tell what’s typical. One would think my loan documentation would be sufficient, particularly since I can’t imagine many international students looking to rent off campus have employment 5 days after landing… but what do I know about real estate?

All in all, my days have mostly been filled with errands interspersed with the occasional fun runs about town. I haven’t yet seen a koala OR a kangaroo, or been to a museum or the Sydney aquarium. I think I’ve been to a good portion of the local cafes, and all the shopping centers this side of the harbor bridge...but not for any retail therapy (Sydney is unbelievably expensive), for stuff like a hair dryer with a proper plug and a sim card for my phone. Here’s hoping that in a few weeks we’ll have an apartment and be settled before school… but one thing I’ve noticed is despite the city living, attitudes are a lot more laid back here than in New York. Inexplicable since everyone is always drinking full-on espressos.