Sydney

I've been living in Sydney for about two weeks now. Unfortunately, the beautiful weather that'd been advertised hasn't entirely shown up. The first few days were great but for the past week, rain every day. It's not completely bad obviously. It's like being on a great vacation and not having a clear sky. Just today, our small group all got our boarding shorts and swim suits on, lathered up in what I would previously have thought to be an unnecessary amount of sun block, and prepared to depart for one of the amazing beaches in the area. Once we'd accomplished all of this, the pouring rain started again. So instead, I'm up on the Gumal dormitory roof typing up this post.  

You all want to see pictures of the Sydney Opera House by this point I'd imagine. Luckily I did have a chance to stroll on down there the other day. We had this brilliant plan of walking down to the opera house and getting ice cream. I scream, you scream, etc. It was hot out that day so everything was pretty much perfect (we ended up eating our ice cream in the rain but, yeah, it was a great day). Pretty long walk I have to say. I'm starting to regret bringing the most pathetic pair of sneakers the world has ever known. These things are bad. I seriously wouldn't even donate them and put an already underprivileged person through this type of pain. The insole isn't there anymore and walking for miles has given me the most sore back of my entire life. I'm not joking, right now I'm in excruciating pain (luckily the hot tub downstairs is working just fine). Today I'm going to go spend 100 Aussie bucks on a new pair of kicks. 

Oh yeah so the opera house was sweet. We went in and purchased tickets to a show on March 2nd. A Midsummer Night's Dream. It'll be awesome no doubt. The strange thing is that people go to the famous opera house and come back saying that the best part about it was the toilets. They had some funky sinks and everything but I can't overlook that architecture. 

 To other parts of the city I've taken bus, taxi, and train. The taxi rides come with a gourmet meal, a flat screen television, and a back massage. Or they charge you like it anyways. It would make it a little better if the cab drivers even knew where they were going. Sometimes I'd rather have Stevie Wonder drive me around the city. I tell the driver where we're headed and he looks at me like I'm the stupid one. We had to tell one of them to just follow the taxi in front of us that our friends had just piled into. 

You know how sometimes you'll be walking along a city street and pass by a foul smelling human? I've experienced that a few times in Boston and it's never good. Take the number of body odored people there and multiply it by five and you have Sydney. I'm not trying to say anything, but I did notice the deodorant shelf at the store was pretty full. In a way it's a good thing though, because in some cultures, there is much less importance placed on the way people smell. The fact that so many people reek here tells me that I'm in the most culturally diverse environment I've ever been in. 

The other good thing is that there's an amazing view from pretty much everywhere. It's definitely one of the best looking cities I've ever been to. Downtown is a short walk away and the entire skyline can be seen from my apartment building's roof. There's also a great view from nearby Victoria Park where the birds are beautiful, but sound like they're all gagging on razor blades. Here are some shots from my roof:

There is no such thing as a casual "thankyou" here. Instead, you'll hear "cheers". You'll never hear a casual "you're welcome" either. They, instead, have embedded the phrase "no worries" into their collective vocabulary. Fair enough. At least they're polite. 

The bad thing is that it's apparently acceptable to dress the same way when you're going to the beach or the mall. And did I mention speedos are big here? The huge shopping centre across the street is not only a great place to buy a speedo, you can see them on display. Either people came right from the beach or they couldn't wait until they got home to try on their new tiny bathing suit. I saw someone wearing one in the mall the very first time i stepped in it. After wiping the vomit residue from my face, I realized I probably shouldn't say anything. I'll end up in my underwear in public soon enough. I severely underpacked in the clothing department (really the everything department) and you're aware of my shoe situation. I'd better get over to the speedo store. 

I haven't been to a bathroom since I've been in Australia. 

If that seems like a bold statement, it isn't. I've been to the toilet plenty of times. Bathroom = toilet here. Everyone says "I'm going to the toilet" Even the signs don't say bathroom or restroom, just straight up toilet. It makes me wonder about a few phrases we use in the states that could sound really odd here: "I'm gonna go freshen up in the toilet." or "Luke's in the toilet brushing his teeth." People even refill their nalgene bottles in the toilet.

I'm shocked by how American the music is here. the other night I was in a bar that featured a live musician. He wasn't bad except he played all the songs about twice as fast as they're intended to be played. Song after song he played American hits. What really got me the most was his selection for his last song. The grand finale of his entire (pretty decent) performance. Picture an entire bar full of tipsy Aussies singing in their best country voices: "Country roads, take me home. To the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma. Take me home, country roads". Great. 

Now, I had never heard this song. I had to look up the lyrics on the world wide web. Apparently it's John Denver but I knew not a single word of it. But every single Aussie in the place was belting it out as if they were cowboys and girls. These are people who would never even consider it worthwhile stepping foot in West Virginia (and I can't say I disagree), yet here they were passionately singing about it, raising their glasses, and calling it home. But it was actually a pretty cool moment. I'm glad I remember it. 

The time is going by so fast. I guess that's what happens.

WOW I'm in Sydney.