A Year in the Land of Oz

The Martians Are Coming

2009-01-07T03:09:00.001+11:00

It's not uncommon to encounter aliens in Australia. I came across this one the other day at Flinders Station in Melbourne, but he wasn't from Germany.

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Merry Christmas from Down Under

2008-12-26T01:01:00.007+11:00

This Christmas tree captures the peaceful spirit of Byron Bay, a laid-back town about 12 hours north of Sydney.

It's Christmas morning in the States, but here in Australia the day has already come and gone. I know I haven't been faithful with this blog lately, but I just wanted to post a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Quick update: Earlier this month I left my job at the casino and have been traveling down the east coast of Australia for the past few weeks. I finally made it back to Sydney on Christmas Eve and spent the holiday on Bondi Beach with some of my travel friends. Even though I wish I could have been home, the weather was perfect (it's summer here, but it wasn't too hot), and I had a fabulous time. I'm used to warm Florida Christmases, but somehow it still doesn't feel like Christmas here.

Tonight (Boxing Day) I'm headed to Melbourne, my final stop on this trip. My tentative plan is to stay put and work there for a few months.

Even though I haven't been updating this blog lately, I've kept up with my personal travel journal so I don't forget all of my crazy adventures. I'll edit some of those entries into something coherent and share them here when I get a chance.

I miss you all and hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Castle Hill

2008-10-24T16:12:00.006+11:00

I am fascinated with Townsville's landmark, Castle Hill. The red, rocky mountain looks like something you might see out in the desert in Arizona, but it seems so out of place here in the middle of a tropical climate with the beach only about half a mile away. Even though it doesn't seem to match its surroundings, I think that makes it all the more beautiful.

When I first saw Castle Hill, I thought there was something oddly familiar about it, but since Townsville isn't exactly a major tourist destination, I was sure I had never seen a picture of it. I hadn't even heard of Townsville until I inadvertently ended up here. But after more than two months of observing it every day in the background, I finally figured it out--it reminds me of Big Thunder Mountain at Disney World. All that's missing is the roller coaster.

October in Queensland

2008-10-20T17:08:00.005+11:00

I love these little statues that sit outside of the guest house where I'm staying. The seventh dwarf isn't pictured. :(

At home, no matter where I've lived in the States, October brings crisp weather that is always a relief after the summer's unrelenting heat. I love the breezes that hint of the winter ahead. I get giddy when I start digging sweaters out of my storage bin (and buying some new ones) and putting my summer clothes away until spring.

I love how the trees begin to show their colorful displays and the way the fallen leaves crunch beneath my feet.

And even if nature isn't cooperating, the stores let you know it's October by featuring orange and black displays full of candy, ghoulish laughs and pre-made costumes. At most restaurants and cafes, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin and sweet potato are featured on the menus. I'd be in heaven if I could have a fried sweet potato pie (a la mode, of course) or pumpkin spiced latte right now.

But there are no signs of October here. I haven't seen any tacky, plastic costumes for sale, Halloween candy or any real attempts to market this holiday. I haven't been able to find any homes decorated with jack-o'-lanterns, black and orange lights, cobwebs, spiders, witches or black cats. I asked a few of my co-workers, and apparently Halloween isn't really celebrated here in Australia. One of my friends told me that some of the kids try to trick-or-treat in the suburbs, but it hasn't really caught on. Maybe we Americans are just a bunch of heathens? (As a side note, it appears to be perfectly acceptable to say "Christmas" here instead of the generic "holidays.")

There are no cool breezes (I take that back, we had a lovely wind gust today that made the walk to work much more enjoyable). Instead of replacing my tank tops with wool sweaters, I'm buying more tanks (they call them singlets here) and shorts in an effort to stay cool. We've had the air conditioning on for the past month as the temperature has been hovering around 30 degrees (86 Fahrenheit--I'm finally getting this Celsius thing down).

For some reason, I'm also attracted to this poor, disabled pig, who also lives outside of the guest house.

It's funny how little things can make you homesick. OK, I've admitted it--I'm slightly homesick. I'm not going to be ashamed of it or deny it. I think it's natural for most people go through this when they live in a foreign country for an extended period of time. Besides, fall is my favorite season, and it's spring here, though it's starting to feel like July.

I never thought I'd miss the land where toilets have only one button and one cent is still used as currency (no pennies here--5 cents is the lowest denomination)..

But this, too, will pass.

Just so you know, I still love Australia. I'm happy here and glad I decided to take a year off in the land down under. I could do an entire post on things I love and hate about this country (most of them involve the lack of free wireless Internet and edible Mexican food*!), as well as the US. I'm still enjoying my job and actually look forward to going to work most days. I think I'm learning more in my year living abroad than I ever did in a semester of college.

I'm here to experience a different culture, not live in the one I've been immersed in for the past 30 (almost!!) years. So, take any complaints or comments with a grain of salt.

* I talk about food a lot because that's one of the things I miss the most about home. The food, especially the vegetarian food, is rather bland here. In fact, the best meals I've had haven't been at restaurants, but the ones I've taken hours to cook from scratch.

I Am Not a Waitress*

2008-10-01T16:27:00.012+10:00

photo by angelanoel

Or maybe I am. I can carry three plates without my wrist buckling. The drink tray no longer seems unwieldy, and I can balance it on one hand without fear that it will topple into a customer's lap.** I can make a mean cappuccino and finally understand exactly how it differs from a latte or flat white. Maybe these skills don't require a degree, but they are underrated.

One reason I haven't been faithful about updating this blog lately is because I've been so busy working at a North Queensland hotel and casino. The hours I can go to the library are limited, so I only check my e-mail about once or twice a week now. I have a feeling my employer would not approve of me sharing my stories on the job, so I will not disclose the name of the hotel for now.

I started working there last month as a server in a different department. I can safely say that was the worst job I've ever had. I thought it would be easy enough, but serving is only a small portion of the position. Most of the job involves setting up and breaking down everything for special events, so if you're not doing heavy lifting--moving tables, chairs and buffets across fields--you're stuck with mundane tasks, like counting cutlery (we needed 1,300 knives one night).

My first day I worked 16 hours with only two half-hour breaks. I didn't even leave work until 2:30 a.m. My entire body ached--my neck, back, shoulders, feet--and I could barely walk when I got out of bed the next day. Needless to say, two days and 28 hours of work later, I decided to call it quits. It was just too physically demanding. On the bright side, I had a great pay check!

After my first two days, I was pretty much turned off by the whole hospitality industry and resigned myself to getting another boring office job, something I wanted to avoid doing while I was here. But when I told my supervisor I was leaving, she generously offered to transfer me to the restaurants department. I was skeptical, but decided to give it a try.

And I'm glad I did. I felt a little bit out of my element when I started, but after seven years of working in journalism, it's refreshing to try something completely different. It's funny because the reason I like this job is the same thing that frustrates me so much about it--it's challenging. I don't know everything, make lots of mistakes and have to ask questions. I learn something new every day. Although some days I have my Bridget Jones' moments, I'm at the point now where I feel confident in what I'm doing most of the time.

photo by voxphoto

If only my coffees were this pretty. I'm still working on it.

I'm usually too busy to chat much, but I enjoy interacting with the customers. Most of them are Australians who are on holiday or locals who are out to have a nice meal, so they tend to be in a good mood and more forgiving if they have a long wait.

As a bonus, it pays well. In fact, I'm making twice as much as I did at my first journalism job. I'm thankful Australia requires employers to pay a decent, living wage.

I wouldn't want to make a career out of this, but it's fine for a temporary job. It's better than being stuck in cubeland, sitting under florescent lights and being bored out of my mind.

* The name of one of my favorite OPI colors makes perfect sense now. A waitress doesn't bother painting her nails because they'll chip within a few hours of work. My nails are a wreck now, but I really don't care.

** Since I wrote this a few weeks ago, I have had a few issues with the drink tray. I knew it was bound to happen. The worst one involved spilling Corona down a bridesmaid's back. Ooops! But it's reassuring to talk to others and find that everyone has these stories. It's all part of the experience.

It's My Kind of Town

2008-09-05T14:59:00.005+10:00

The most I ever intended to see of Townsville was the bus/ferry stop, but I've been living here for more than a month and am now happily employed. It's a charming town. I wouldn't want to stay here more than a few months, but I think it's a nice place to work and take a break from the crowded, fast-paced city.

And since Townsville isn't a popular stop on the backpacker circuit, it's also the perfect place to escape the backpacker scene and meet real Aussies. The town is small compared to what I'm used to, but it has enough to keep me occupied. It's only a few blocks from the CBD (Central Business District, basically what Australians call downtown), complete with a Woolworth's (popular grocery store in Oz) and a bunch of other shops. It's also about a 10-minute walk from the beach, which is never crowded. The town also has this great saltwater pool that borders the ocean, but is sealed off to keep the stingers out (stinger season doesn't start until November though). A few weeks ago, they had a huge screen out by the pool showing Olympic coverage.

The climate here is similar to what I'm used to in Florida, which is perfect now during the winter--we've had plenty of great beach days, and I haven't had to wear more than a light sweater on some nights--but it won't be so pleasant when summer arrives. My tentative plan is to move south before the holidays, so I hope to avoid most of the unrelenting heat and humidity.

And while there isn't as much culture compared to Sydney, DC or other cities I've lived in, I think the town does its best considering its size. A few weekends ago Townsville hosted a jazz festival, and we had a wonderful time listening to everything from ragtime to fusion jazz. Just last weekend there was a cultural festival here, which featured, dance, music and food from around the world.

On Sunday mornings, I love walking to the weekly market. I rarely buy anything--though it isn't always possible to resist the baked goods--but I love to look at all of the handmade jewelry, art and other crafts and knickknacks. I'm so impressed with people's creativity.

Townsville also is a bizarre place. Most of the shops in town close at 5 (at least the grocery is open a few hours later), so it turns into a ghost town at night. Sometimes it feels like a ghost town in the middle of the day. It only wakes up on weekend evenings and Sunday mornings.

I am happy here for right now, but I miss so many things about city life--24-hour shops, museums, shopping, big parks to escape to in the middle of the city, decent public transportation, a variety of cheap ethnic food--so I'll need to return at some point.

Small town headlines

2008-08-04T13:36:00.001+10:00

I love small town papers. After working at one for a few years, I have a special appreciation for them. The stories usually tend to be more entertaining than the ones you find in the larger newspapers. Judging from the Townsville Bulletin, even stranger things happen in Australian small towns (I use the word small town loosely. Townsville actually is the largest city in North Queensland with a population of more than 140,000).

I purchased the paper yesterday just for the employment section, but after I finished circling ads, I turned the paper around to see a headline in the largest point size that I've seen used since September 11: "370 pets in one home." How did I miss this when I was purchasing the paper?

The headline is a little misleading though because when you read the article you find out that 250 of those "pets" were rats and the rest were dogs. Maybe the definition of family pet is different in Australia, but I didn't know an infestation of rats could be considered your pets.

There were a number of other gems in this issue, including:

As you probably guessed, this mayor made the mistake of urinating in public.

This one is about a book full of photos of Australian roadkill. Perfect for the coffee table or a gift for someone who has everything.

A university student created new toad traps that contain black lights and loud speakers that blare mating calls to lure them in.

The Pug Olympics are coming to town. I couldn't wait to see this one in person, but unfortunately, the article didn't tell us what time the event took place so I missed out.

Awww. They sure love their animals in Townsville. I counted at least eight stories or photos about pets in just this one issue.

Other interesting items include:

Town sounds like F-word--This one is about a New Zealand town called Whakatane was censored in cyberspace.
Man taken to hospital after fork stabbing
Clown doll pulled from showbags--Apparently it contained more than 30 times above the acceptable level of lead

It was a well-spent $1.80. I can't wait to read the headlines tomorrow.

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What the World Needs Now, Are More Talking Toilets

2008-08-04T02:18:00.002+10:00

The video says it all.

It drives me nuts that this video is on its side. I'm still trying to figure out how or if I can flip it around. This was one of the first few videos I made using my digital camera, so I didn't realize I needed to keep the camera upright!

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Mr. Toad's Wild Race

2008-08-04T02:07:00.001+10:00

As promised, here are the photos and videos of the toad races, the most happening thing in town every Wednesday night on on Magnetic Island. It looks like half the town shows up for this event, as well as most of the tourists and backpackers on the island.

Before the race began, the toads were auctioned off to the highest bidder. I know the video and sound quality isn't the best (I'm working with a camera, not a video camera), but this is a sight to be seen. And again, I apologize for the shakiness and all of the rotating. I don't know what I was thinking when I rotated the camera around.)

Here's another auction. At one point the man kissed the toad on the lips and even put the toad's head in his mouth. I'm not sure if this is considered animal cruelty.

And they're off.

And last, but not least, another race with a surprise finish.

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Make a new plan, Stan

2008-08-04T01:26:00.001+10:00

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Life is not a plan.

I remember always telling my mom that in high school when she quizzed me about what I was doing. "Where are you going? What movie are you going to see? What restaurant? Who's going? Who's driving? What time are you going to be home?"

I never could give her satisfactory answers because we always decided these things at the last minute. No matter how many times she asked, I would always respond with, "I don't know. Life is not a plan."

So if you ask me what I'm doing right now in Australia, I'll probably give you a similar response.

Each day is new surprise. I rarely book more than one day in advance at a hostel because I never know if I'm going or staying. I know it would be unsettling for many of you to live this way, but it's been a bit of an adventure for me. I'll need stability at some point, but for the time being, this is exactly what I need.

(Note, this photo was taken in Sydney, not in Townsville.)

I'm a city gal at heart, so I naturally assumed I'd spend most of my time in OZ in one of the major cities. But things work out funny sometimes. Since I've been in North Queensland, I've been enjoying the slower pace of life and Australian hospitality.

Since I haven't been keeping up with this blog, let me rewind for a few minutes to get you up to date. Two weeks ago I decided to leave Sydney to follow the warm weather and sunshine. I love Sydney, but after I moved out of the hostel there, I had a less than ideal living situation--an overpriced, cramped flat that housed eight other people. I'm not complaining, that's just the way it was. And I had the opportunity to get to know a great group of people in my flat. But the crazy flat is another post altogether.

I was happy, making new friends and enjoying all the city had to offer, but I still hadn't found a house sitting gig (my original plan to save money on accommodation) or a job. I didn't feel like I was moving forward there, so I figured it was a good time to move on and travel north for the time being. Apparently the summers are quite nasty where I am right now--even more hot and humid than Central Florida in August--so winter is the perfect time to be in Queensland.

Just a few days before my lease was up on the flat in Sydney, I booked a ticket to Cairns. And I made the decision on a whim--I purchased my ticket only a few hours after the idea to fly up there popped into my head. I've been making a lot of rash decisions lately--including coming out to Australia in the first place--but I've learned that if I go my gut, everything always works out.

When I arrived in Cairns, I missed Sydney terribly and the comfort zone I was in there, so I wondered if I had made a mistake by leaving. But that's just because Cairns isn't a very nice place. Most people I've met love it up there, so maybe I didn't give it a fair shake. But I'll go into more detail about each of my stops in separate posts to come.

My original plan was to live up in Cairns for a little bit and find work up there, but that wasn't going to happen. So I took a few days to do a little sightseeing, then hopped on a Greyhound bus, which took me a few hours south to Mission Beach.

Once I hit Mission Beach, I was confident I made the right decision. The first night I was there we went to the beach and built a fire (or I watched others build it. I still don't know how to build a fire, as those of you who have been camping with me know). I was in awe because I had never seen so many stars in my entire life.

It was that night as I stared at the sky, saw the Southern Cross for the first time and counted shooting stars (I think I saw seven), that I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Not necessarily Mission Beach, but I knew I was on the right path.

The Southern Cross looks like the kite in the top center of the photo.

Photo by rplzz

Since then, I haven't really missed Sydney. I feel certain I'll be back there at some point though. Now I'm staying in Townsville, a place that wasn't even on my east coast itinerary. If it wasn't for a late Greyhound bus, I never would have discovered this interesting town.

Hop on the bus, Gus

When I was in Mission Beach, the plan was to take the bus (I bought a pass that will let me hop on and off as many times as I like all the way back to Sydney) to the Townsville stop, then take the ferry over to Magnetic Island. My bus was supposed to leave at 10, but I waited for about an hour and it never showed. When the Greyhound headed the other direction stopped, I asked the driver what the deal was, and he said he passed my bus way back on the road. I couldn't figure out how that was possible because I was sitting at the stop about 45 minutes early.

I was engrossed in a book while I was waiting, but surely I would have noticed if a big bus stopped in front of me. It turns out the bus came and went while I was sitting there, but I ignored it because it said McGafferty's, which I assumed was another bus company. Greyhound wasn't written anywhere on the bus, so how would I be expected to know that was the Greyhound bus? I wanted to point this out to my fellow travelers so you don't make the same mistake.

The next bus wasn't until 3 p.m., but I was fine, because if you have to get stuck somewhere, Mission Beach is a great place to get stuck in. And the stop was only a short walk to the beach. Besides, since I've been traveling, I've learned that it's inevitable that things are going to go wrong, and you can't get worked up over everything.

Of course, the bus was late, and we were delayed even further because something (I couldn't see that far ahead, but it might have been a tractor) stopped traffic on the road. Again, I wasn't stressing about it because there was nothing I could do. I was more frustrated by the fact that we reached our stop about five minutes before the end of Cinderella Man, which they were showing on the bus.

When when we finally reached the Townsville bus stop, which is located right at the ferry terminal, I learned that I missed the ferry by about five minutes and would have to wait an hour and a half for the next one. It was already after 9 p.m. and no one else was waiting for the ferry that early, so I didn't think it was the best idea to sit there by myself.

A view of Townsville from the Magnetic Island ferry.

So I ended up staying a night in Townsville, at the nicest hostel I've been to since I've been in Australia. I spent nearly a week in Magnetic Island, and now I'm back in Townsville. I feel like this is a good place to stop right now, so my tentative plan is to stay in the area and work for a while before continuing my travels down the east coast. But none of my plans are set in stone. Anything could happen.

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Wallabys and possums and koalas, oh my!

2008-08-03T18:12:00.002+10:00

When I was on Magnetic Island, I felt like I was living in a David Attenborough nature documentary. Everywhere I looked, I saw strange birds, scary insects and other foreign critters wandering around.

My favorite animal on the island by far was the wallaby, which looks like a miniature kangaroo. I saw a few at a wildlife preserve a few weeks ago, but it was amazing to see them up close in the wild. Every day around 5 p.m., the rock wallabies hop down from the rocks at Geoffrey Bay for a huge dinner, thanks to the humans.

I was walking down to the bay to see them the other day, when an older man driving down the dirt road stopped his car, popped open his trunk, and yelled, "Get over here." I looked around, wondering if he was talking to someone else, but there was no one in sight. Trusting that he wasn't about to throw me in his trunk, I walked over, and he pulled out a jar of birdseed. He poured about half of it in a plastic bag, and handed it to me. "They won't come over to you if you don't have food." That was really sweet of him.

I was walking away when he yelled, "What are you doing tonight?" I was half afraid this old man was going to invite me to a family dinner or something. I thought his next words might be something like, "Have you tried kangaroo before? The wife's cooking up some right now and we can't eat all of it ourselves." You never know with people around here. A woman who worked at the Sydney airport actually offered to put me up at her place for a few days. I think she felt sorry for me since my luggage was missing.

"You've got to come to the toad races tonight. It's loads of fun. See ya tonight!" Whew! He just wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on the fun. I can't believe how friendly people are on the island. It turns out he runs the show there, and he's quite a character. The videos are coming soon.

When I reached the end of the road, I saw at least 30 wallabies feasting on watermelon, corn on the cob and other human food. People were feeding them every fruit and vegetable under the sun. The highlight of my day was when one hopped right up to me and ate the birdseed out of my hand. See the video below (I apologize for the poor quality of the video and the fact that half of it is on its side. I hope your necks don't hurt from turning your head sideways to view these videos. I'll remember to keep the camera straight next time).

They're so adorable. I wish I could take one home with me.

I also was thrilled to see a koala in the wild, but they're much trickier to spot. My last day on the island I went on a 4-kilometer hike called the Forts Walk, which is supposedly the best place to find koalas. At the entrance of the trail, I saw a sign alerting visitors to all of the wildlife they might see--koalas, kookaburras and the death adder snake. As you can guess from the name, this is something you don't want to run into--the death adder is one of the most venomous snakes in Australia. I try not to think about the fact that this country contains some of the most deadly wildlife in the world, so I didn't appreciate the reminder.

For the first part of the hike, I was so busy staring up into the eucalyptus trees to find a koala, I kept tripping on the path below. Great. If I don't die from a deadly snake bite, I could fall off the cliff while searching for koalas. Fortunately, I ran into two guys from Israel on the trail and ended up walking with the the rest of the time, which made me feel safer. At least they could call the authorities to come get my body.

I was about halfway through the hike when I had given up hope of seeing one. Every 10 minutes one of the guys I was walking with would shout, "Koala!"

"Where?" I said.

"Right up there. Don't you see it?" They thought it was funny to watch me get all excited and stare up into the trees, desperately trying to spot a nonexistent koala.

Of course when the boy who cried koala finally did see a real one, I rolled my eyes and kept walking. It wasn't until I turned around and saw an Asian guy taking photos that I realized they were serious.

Koalas seem to lead an uneventful existence. Their activities exist of sleeping, eating eucalyptus leaves--which makes them high--and then sleeping some more. They sleep 18 hours a day.

The first one we spotted was sound asleep, curled up with her baby, when we saw her. But that was boring. We wanted some action. I didn't come all the way to Australia to see a sleeping koala. We yelled, whistled and threw sticks at the tree (not the koala), in an effort to wake them up. Mother and child didn't budge. They're sound little sleepers.

This video shows them when they finally woke up. They stretched, grabbed some leaves and climbed about a meter (I'm trying to learn to think in the metric system now) down the tree--not the most thrilling stuff, but I was satisfied just to see them open their eyes and move.

Toward the end of the hike, we saw one more koala with the help of a hiker who blazed the trail before us. In the sand, this thoughtful hiker had written, "koala," with an arrow pointing up. Even the tourists are considerate here.

There also are a ton of possums on the island. I had always thought they were dirty little things, but then I figured out that Australian possums are completely different from the opossums in North America. The Australian ones are much cuter. The other night I was eating dinner and a possum was hanging from a hole in the ceiling. A family who was eating next to me was feeding the possum chips (our fries, but again, I'm trying to use the correct lingo when I'm over here) and lettuce.

He looks like he's attacking this chip.

The same people were trying to feed him lettuce, and as he reached out to grab it, he almost fell out of the hole.

The other day this possum wandered into our room. He sat there quietly for a good five or 10 minutes (the last time someone opened the door), before we noticed him in the corner.

I also saw a ton of strange birds there. I don't know the names of most of them. But someone pointed this famous bird out to me.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, eating all the gum drops he can see...

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Technology issues

2008-08-01T15:37:00.006+10:00

This, folks, is the reason I haven't been keeping up with my blog. I just want you to see what kind of technology I'm dealing with here in Australia.

This computer looks like it's about a decade old. In fact, it looks like the first computer our family purchased back in the mid-'90s. And the Internet speeds also remind me of that era. It's about the same as 56k dial-up using AOL. It took me 15 minutes just to upload these two photos.

I'm typing on this antique at Fat Possum Cafe, located on the lovely Magnetic Island, where I've been for about a week. It's one of the few places where there is public Internet on the island. And it's cheap here, at least by Australian standards, at $3 per hour. Most places around here charge $6 an hour.

And wireless? Forget about it. I asked someone the other day where I could find Wi-Fi and they just gave me a puzzled look. "What's that? You mean you don't have a cord to connect your computer to the world wide interweb? I've never heard of that before." OK, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but it is almost that bad.

Aside from the technology issues, I'm having a great time here in Australia. I left Sydney about two weeks ago and followed the sunshine and warm weather to North Queensland. I have lots of news here, but my Internet time here is running out. I just wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned my blog and I'm doing well. I have a notebook full of notes and lots of great photos, so I'll try to write more tonight or tomorrow when I get to Townsville and find a better connection.

Under the weather

2008-07-06T22:18:00.004+10:00

It's been more than three weeks since my last post, and I don't even know where to start. I intended to post every few days, but I haven't been able to keep up with this blog since I've arrived, mainly because I haven't had a reliable Internet connection since I've been in Australia.

For some reason, free Wi-Fi hasn't caught on over here in Sydney, and you can't just walk into any coffee shop with your laptop and get on the Internet for free. I've been using Internet cafes for the past few weeks, but they're expensive and the connections are about as slow as dial-up in the US. So if I haven't replied to you in a timely manner, I have a good excuse. I just moved into a flat last week with free Internet (it's still slow and I have to share with my roommates because the wireless isn't set up, but it's something), so I'm hoping to be able to keep up with this a little better now.

Another reason I've been MIA is that I've been sick. I just had a horrible case of food poisoning (at least I'm pretty sure that's what it was) last weekend, and it was probably one of the top five most miserable experiences of my entire life. It's tough enough to be ill, but there's nothing like being sick when you're away from home, sharing a room and bathroom with other people, sleeping on the top bunk (quite inconvenient under those circumstances), and hiding under the covers in an attempt to muffle the neighbors' music (I like to call it auditory rape) and the odor of Indian curry (don't get me wrong, I love curry, but it's the last thing you want to smell when you are nauseous, believe me). Fortunately, my new roommates took great care of me (thanks, guys!) and I'm feeling much better now, aside from a cold I'm also recovering from.

I'm just living my life one day at a time for now. I've had a great first few weeks in Australia and can't even begin to recap it all here. I've seen all of the sights in Sydney and have made some new friends. Now I have to decide if I am going to stay here or move on. I know there are more questions than answers at this point, but I'll update this blog soon with more details.

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First day in Sydney

2008-06-14T11:27:00.005+10:00

I'm finally in Australia! It's all so surreal. I'm super tired, so I'm not sure how much I'm going to write right now, but I just wanted to let everyone know I'm here and doing well.

My flight wasn't as brutal as I thought it would be. I ended up sleeping a good bit on every leg of the flight and watched movies and read when I was awake. I was fortunate because there was an empty seat next to me on every leg of the flight so I was able to spread out a little bit. I was paranoid about blood clots, so I made sure to get up every few hours and walk around or stretch. People keep asking me how many hours my flight was, and I think it was about 20 hours, not including layovers. My ticket didn't say, and it's difficult to calculate with all of the time changes. My body is so confused right now. I left DC at 6 p.m. Wednesday, arrived in LA that night, then Fiji yesterday morning. I didn't get to Sydney until noonish yesterday (Friday).

Unfortunately, one of my suitcases didn't arrive with me. I was the last person from my flight waiting at the turnstile when I had to accept the fact that it wasn't coming. :( It's funny because I was talking to someone before I left about lost luggage and told her it had never happened to me before. I guess I jinxed myself.

When I went to check on it, I discovered that the bag never made its way out of LA! This doesn't surprise me as the international terminal was a huge bloody mess when I arrived Wednesday night. The good news is that my other suitcase made it, so I have plenty of clothes. The bad news is that pretty much all of my toiletry items that I didn't take on the plane with me--shampoo, soap, towel--were in the missing luggage. Oh, and my underwear also was in that bag. Needless to say, I'm going commando until my suitcase arrives (I'm crossing my fingers it will be here by tonight). Maybe that's TMI, but I thought it was worth noting.

I'm staying at a hostel recommended by a friend called Wake Up Sydney. It was rated the best large hostel in the world, and I can see why. It has a few restaurants, its own bar and other cool things. They also host lots of parties here and organize group outings. Tonight I'm going to a football game with the group and then a Mexican party at the hostel after that.

I've already made some new friends. I'm in a six-room dorm with people from England and Ireland. They're all super nice.

I'm going to explore a little bit today and try to find a watch. I haven't worn a watch in years because I always use the clock on my cell phone. But now that my cell doesn't work here, I have no clue what time it is unless I ask someone, and it's driving me nuts.

I'm trying to upload a few photos right now, but the Internet here is too slow so I'll try again later.

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My to-do list

2008-05-12T10:44:00.006+10:00

A few of you have asked me what I've been up to with my planning. Here's my to-do list that I've been working on for the past few weeks:

Find a place to store my stuff.
Reduce my possessions to 10 boxes or less. I think this is doable, especially since I got rid of most of my big things when I moved here from Atlanta, but I may have to up the amount later.
Find a place to live for my first few days/week in Sydney. I found a great hostile that was recommended by a friend, so I think I'm going to start there.
Make a list of all of the things I want to do and see while I'm in Australia. If you're serious about visiting and there's something you'd really like to do or somewhere you'd really like to go, let me know and I'll wait to do that.
Purchase a good travel guide. A friend has already loaned me a Sydney guide and I'm looking on Amazon used and half.com to find a cheap Lonely Planet or Let's Go book.
Finish reading Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, which the same friend let me borrow.
Buy a new digital camera. I broke mine in Central Park earlier this year. :(
Buy new luggage. I'm looking into getting one of those big rolling backpack/suitcases so I can put it on my back if I'm walking up steps or across uneven surfaces. Any recommendations?
Get health insurance in Australia. I've applied and have to send back more paperwork, but it looks like this is pretty much taken care of.
Go to the dentist.
Call my old doctor. I need to make sure I am up-to-date on my shots. I don't remember the last time I had a tetanus shot.
Figure out how to get my prescriptions in Australia. I talked to customs and they told me I can take a three-month supply with me and then have it shipped to me for the rest of the year. You have to have a prescription from an Australian doctor to have it filled at a pharmacy over there.
Cancel health insurance.
Cancel renter's insurance.
Cancel gym membership.
Cancel cell phone service.
Get all the numbers from my cell phone, since I won't be using it over there.
Figure out if I can use my current US Skype number in Australia and what the costs are. Good news--customer service just e-mailed me back yesterday and told me that if friends and family call me from a land line when I'm in Australia, they will only be charged the same as if they were making a phone call to DC. For those of you with local area codes or with cell phones, it shouldn't cost you anything. Skype-to-Skype calls are always free, so you should download it. The software is free.
Notify credit card companies and my bank I'll be moving to Australia. I also asked them to remove me from their mailing lists to stop those annoying checks and other special offers.
Open an Australian bank account. I may wait until I get there to do this.
Find a place to forward my mail while I'm gone and appoint someone to handle unexpected bills, checks, etc. I'm going to put my dad in charge of this.
Give dad all my credit card and other account numbers. I heard this was a good idea in case something gets lost or stolen.
Make copies of my passport, birth certificate and driver's license. Keep one copy with me, give another to a friend and send another to my dad.
Network with all of the friends and family members of my friends who live in Oz as well as others who have made the same trip. I already have a huge list of names and haven't gotten around to contacting everyone yet.
Update my resume.
Organize my music collection. My hard drive isn't big enough to store all of my music on my laptop, but I need to convert more of my CDs to mp3s so I can take them with me.
Organize all of my files on my laptop and transfer all files I may need from my desktop. Put password protection on sensitive files and remove the auto-fill password feature from all sensitive sites on my browser.
Make contacts at travel magazines and pitch story ideas. I plan on taking a break from my freelance work for the most part while I'm in Australia, but I am interested in writing articles related to my travels. I'm sure I could find some work if I send out enough pitches.
Find an accountant. I need to figure out how I'm going to file my taxes since I'm going to be overseas. Also, if I do freelance work in Australia for an American company, do I have to pay taxes on that? I assume the answer would be yes, but I'm not sure.
Finish eating all of my food in the pantry. It looks like green beans and soup will be featured on the menu for the next month.
Tell my grandmother I'm leaving. I'm procrastinating on this one. I called her yesterday to wish her a happy Mother's Day, but it didn't sound like a good time to break the news to her.
Meet up with old friends before leaving town.
Finish up all my freelance work before the end of the month and send out invoices. I would rather spend the first part of June making my final preparations and not worrying about working.

One month to go

2008-05-12T10:29:00.005+10:00

At this time next month I'll be on a plane on the way to Australia. I still can't believe how quickly things are moving and how much I have left to do.

The biggest task right now is trying to reduce my possessions to the bare minimum because I'm only taking a suitcase with me and don't want to store too much unnecessary stuff. I have been putting this off for weeks, but yesterday I finally made some real progress.

After hours of trying on ill-fitting and "WTF was I thinking?" apparel, I now have an almost-empty closet and 10 bags of clothes and shoes that I need to part with. Even though I no longer wear 80 percent of my wardrobe (I don't think I'm exaggerating here), it's still an emotional process to go through everything and decide whether or not I want to keep it. I can look at almost every item in my closet and remember where and why I bought it (of course, the label usually gives me a clue) or who gave it to me. I remember if I wore the outfit on a special occasion or a vacation and who I was with. They're not just clothes, they're memories. Even when these things no longer fit me or are out of style, I'm reluctant to let them go. But I have to remember that they are just things. They're only taking up space in my life.

Now that I'm looking at the bags of clothes in the corner of my room, I feel a little lighter. The next step in this cleansing process is to sort through my books, which will be a toughie. I love books!

Unfortunately, I have boxes and boxes of books I asked my dad to ship to me earlier this year. The funny thing is that I shipped him several boxes of books to store when I moved up here to DC. After he got remarried and moved (they have no storage space), he had to ship them back to me along with all of the other books and things I requested from the old house. It's a shame that they can't have basements in Florida.

On that note, I have a request: Does anyone who plans in staying in DC for the next year have extra storage space in their basement or attic? I won't be storing any furniture or major items, just some boxes of clothes, books, photos and things like that. Even if you have room for just a few boxes, I'd really appreciate it. If they're books or clothes, you're welcome to read them or wear them when I'm gone.

I'm moving to Australia!

2008-04-26T05:44:00.002+10:00

Photo by Thiru Murugan

While many of my friends are getting married, having kids, buying homes and climbing the corporate ladder, I'm moving to the other side of the globe.

You may be in shock, but I can't believe it either. Deciding to move to Australia is one of the most impulsive decisions I've ever made in my life. I can't even tell people the news without breaking into a laughing fit. What's really crazy is that this whole thing came about in less than a week!

I'm leaving for Sydney June 11, which is way too soon. As you can imagine, I have a million things I need to take care of before I leave, but I know I'll pull it all together and make it happen.

I'm sure you're wondering, why Australia?

I've always wanted to go Down Under, but it's a country I'd like to spend some time in because it's so far out of reach compared to somewhere in Europe. I know I'll go back to Europe at some point, but Australia is probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. If I spend more than a day on a plane flying over there and a fortune on a plane ticket, I want to stay for a while and see as much of the continent as possible. Everyone I know who has been over there loved it!

One of the biggest draws is the work and holiday visa, which I was approved for this weekend. The visa, which Australia recently opened up to U.S. citizens 30 and younger, allows me to live and work in the country for up to a year. The work is meant to help fund your travels, so most people on this visa get temporary, seasonal jobs--working at a hotel, restaurant, bar, temping in an office (not for me), picking fruit... Who knows what I will be doing? I also plan on doing a limited amount of freelance work if possible, but I'm going to have to evaluate how feasible this is when I get there. Besides, I want to get out and meet people and experience the culture, even if it's not a "real job." Strangely enough, one of the requirements for this visa is that you are a college graduate or current student.

I've been looking at living abroad for some time now, and most countries I'm interested in make it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to work and live if you're not a student or recent graduate. I missed out on the whole study abroad thing in college, and I have a burning desire to live in a different country for a while, opposed to just visiting. And I don't have the language barrier to worry about, though it may take me a while to pick up all of the Aussie slang.

Best of all, I don't have anything tying me down here--job, house, family, relationship--so why not do it now before I become a real adult and settle down? I still don't consider myself a real adult yet. Maybe that will happen when I stop playing kickball and turn 30, or 35, or 40...

I don't have a lot of specifics yet as far as my itinerary, what I'll be doing or where I'll be staying. There are definitely more questions than answers at this point. But I do have lots more to share with you and will keep you posted with my plans.

It's tough to keep up with everyone via e-mail, so I hope this blog will be a good way to stay in touch with family and friends and let you know what's going on in my life. So put this blog in your RSS feed or bookmark it and check it often. I intend on updating it on a regular basis.

And maybe it will help others who also are planning or thinking about a trip to Oz. If you've been there, live there, are thinking about going, or have friends or family in the country, I'd love to hear from you. Even if I don't know you, feel free to comment or e-mail me. Any advice would be appreciated.

I've been pretty stressed this past week because this is such a huge move, and there is so much in the air. But I have faith that it will all work out. And that's all that matters.