This is my life as of late...

So far I am enjoying Melbourne very much. My flatmate Anne and I get along amazingly and have become good friends. Although her english is quite good, there are some things that she pronounces incorrectly and it's the cutest! For instance instead of saying "clothes" she pronounces every letter inlcuding the "e" so it sounds like "cloath-ez" and instead of "sweater" she says "sweeter" and instead of "Coles" (which is the major grocery store here) she says "coolez". Recently we went to a fancy bar walking distance from our flat and they had a $500 cocktail on the menu. $500! For one cockail! Needless to say, we went with other choices. Here is Anne enjoying her Mojito.


A few days later I met up with a girl that I had emailed on the Couchsurfing website who I had a lot in common with and we went to a rooftop cinema to watch The Breakfast Club (Sarah is the 2nd girl in).

They had these comfortable (although slightly hard to get in and out of) deck chairs to sit in.

It was so cool watching a movie and then looking up and seeing stars and sky and the tops of city buildings...

Then Anne and I went to a BBQ with the gang of Germans we have been hanging out with including our new friend Conrad...

and the girls who we have come to refer to as "the nannies" (because they are all working as nannies while they are here. Duh!)

Anne and I ate BBQ'd Kangaroo! It actually tasted pretty good.

This week in Melbourne there is a festival for everyone who is part of the Couchsurfing community http://www.couchsurfing.com/ (which I am), with different events going on every night.

One of the events was to take part in the Free Hugs Campaign: http://www.freehugscampaign.org/. So about 20 of us met up at Federation Square (like Dundas Square in Toronto) and gave away free hugs to strangers for an hour. You would be surprised how many passers by will hug a stranger.

These guys were all dressed up and coming from watching the Australia Open Tennis and they had plenty of love to give. They were crazy. Crazy awesome!

Another Couchsurfing event was a picnic in the Botanic Gardens on Australia Day. If you were to ask a high school teacher what Australia Day is, they might say something like this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day. However, if you ask a member of the general public who is an Australian citizen what Australia day is (which I did) they might say something like "Australia Day is a day when you don't have to go to work and everyone get's wasted". Here's a few pics from the picnic...

So I have only been doing casual work in Melbourne so far. I had an interview for a 4 month contract with an inbound calling center for the Red Cross taking phone calls from people who want to donate money on Tuesday. It went very well and I would be very surprised if I don't get it but I have to wait until Tuesday to find out AND it won't start until February 16th. There is also a massive heat wave in Melbourne right now (the hottest since 1908) and the temperatures have been in the mid-40's for the past few days with only a slight dip expected in the coming week. This, coupled with the fact that I have a lot of free time at the moment means that this is my life as of late...

Although my bank account continues to drain, I am not yet needing to panic and try to keep in mind that a) this visa is called a working/HOLIDAY makers Visa for a reason and b) I worked my ass off for a year to get here so I deserve a little R&R. It's amazing how that North American mentality of working hard and making as much money as you can creeps up on me, even though I am so far away (and believe me, the mentality is not the same over here, and it's lovely!)

Also, my sublet where I am now is up Feb. 10th. Tomorrow I am going to see a flat in Fitzroy which is close to Brunswick Street where my friend Thomas and I went bar hopping a few weeks ago (see last blog post) and the CBD. I would be sharing it with another Canadian girl the same age as me and could stay there as long as I am in Melbourne. I'll keep you posted on how that goes...

Goodbye Sydney...Hello Melbourne

Before I get started into this post, take a look at this crazy awesome used book store that was in Newtown, where I lived for the last 5 weeks before I left Sydney. Every possible free space is taken up with piles of books. It's insane. So crazy!












Now...onto my updates... My last few days in Sydney were filled with mixed emotions. I definitely felt like it was time to move on and was excited to see a new city and meet new people. I also felt sad about leaving the people and familiarity of Sydney and anxious about going to a city where I knew no one. On the Friday before leaving I had some people over to my flat in Newtown and Tom made a deadly punch consisting of vodka, passion pop (cheap champagne) and juice. We had initially intended to go to a bar after having a few drinks but ended up just staying in and making our own dance party. It was super fun times.








My last official day in Sydney started with brunch with my friend Yvette who is Australian. We only saw eachother on a few occasions during my time in Sydney but we always had fun when we did.


Then I went on a 2 hour coastal walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach with this German girl named Nicole, this Icelandic girl named Bee and Tom. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect.

On the way we saw these pools that were right beside the ocean and were filled with salt water. Maybe for people who are scared of unknown sea creatures!?

It was a great ending to a lovely first part of this journey. When I landed in Melbourne I was initially overcome with sadness and felt very alone. I am starting to get used to the extreme ups and downs that come with being a lone traveller. At times I feel like I am on top of the world. I can do whatever I want, I am experiencing so many new things, feeling so independent, meeting so many great people and learning a lot about myself. Then at other times I feel so alone and it's so hard to meet great people who just leave and move onto their next destination a few days later. I miss my friends and bro. My heart actually hurts. Oh god how I miss you guys. I have the most amazing friends at home. A lot of travellers I have met stop communicating as much with their friends back home after they have been travelling for a while. This will never be the case with me. I am often calling/texting/emailing people at home every few days. and even if I am not calling/texting/emailing you, I am thinking about you for sure. You guys give me strength and inspire me to take this leap of faith. I MISS YOU and can't wait to see you! Ok...end of sappy interlude.

So before I got to Melbourne I had set up interviews with a restaurant called The Boathouse and a bar called The Red Violin. I worked at the restaurant for 2 days but then when I called a few days later to see what my hours were for the week, the Assistant Manager was very rude to me so I decided not to go back. The interview at The Red Violin was awesome. I clicked immediately with the two ladies who interviewed me. So much so that they didn't even ask me any of the interview questions they had on their list. We just chatted for 30 minutes and they hired me. Originally I felt really good about it but when I went in for the training I left feeling mixed. The people who work there are great but the bar is open until 6am and I would have to learn how to make so many fancy cocktails with a million ingredients and measurements. I know this would be a great thing to have on my resume but I just felt so overwhelmed with all the things I had to remember. Plus, the hours didn't seem like they would be consistent since I was new, the pay was $15 cash in hand (usually the standard is about $20/hour and when it's not cash in hand I am taxed at 30% and then I get that all back when I leave which is helpful) and I would have to work Fri and Sat nights. Anyway, long story short I have decided to look for office work (like inbound call center or office admin). Even though it's not my ideal job, I have a lot of experience with this kind of stuff, it will be consistent, I will get to sit on my ass all day and get regular breaks (as apposed to running around for 6-8 hours at the bar without food) and I will have weekends off. With any luck I will have something this week.

The first week I was here I stayed at a hostel called Cooee and it was a 10 minute walk from St. Kilda Beach...
I had some really great room mates (all of which have since left Melbourne except for Andrea from Chile who is right next to me). This pic was taken when we went dancing one night at this place called Big Mouth on the beach.

Even though hostels are great when you first get to a city where you don't know anyone, for me they quickly become annoying because you are never alone and you are constantly being woken up by people coming in and out of the room. So I promptly found myself a one month sublet and so far it's been so great. I live with Ann from Germany who is here doing an internship with a radio station... and Coco who is the most affectionate cat I have ever met...
and Elizabeth who is the Mother of the women whos room I am renting. It's a really nice house about 6 train stations from the CBD (Central Business District) and I feel very comfortable here. Ann and I spend a lot of time together and even cook together which is always nice.

Here is a pic of Flinders Train station which is the one right in the heart of the city. Much nicer then a Toronto Subway station eh?

Melbourne transportation is made up of trains and trams (like streetcars). Here's a pic of one of the older trams. I love them!

The weather is Melbourne is all over the place. One day it is 40 degrees and the next 18. One night 2 English girls, Claire and Gemma from my hostel invited me to go to a bbq with 2 other German guys down near the river. They have bbq's all lining the river for the public to use for free and everyone just has a bbq and eats and drinks after work. But then the temperature dropped and we were cold so we had to huddle under a blanket...

The next night my friend Thomas from Germany (did I mention there are a TON of Germans travelling in Australia?) and I went bar hopping on Brunkswick Street which is full of funky bars and cafes and $4 pizza.

Melbourne has a lot more character than Sydney. I think I will stay here and try and save some money (assuming I get a job soon) until it starts to get cold (maybe May or June). I'm not sure about my next destination yet. I might just head up the east coast which will likely mean I will stay warm the whole year but I also want to experience the outback and maybe go to Perth on the West Coast. Sydney and Melbourne are a lot like Toronto and I think it will be great to live somewhere unlike anywhere I have lived before (like on a farm or something).

Last week I sent home a box of stuff. I consistently have the biggest bag where ever I go and when I came on the plane to Melbourne it was over by 4kg and rather then paying the $50 they wanted to charge me, I had to take a whole bunch of crap out of my bag and put it in my carry on luggage. Part of the problem is that my bag itself is very heavy even without anything in it because it has wheels and there is no way I can ever get it on my back. People even had to help me get it on and off the tram. I've decided to sell it and buy a new bag while I am in Melbourne. As a traveller you really start to realize how little you need and it's refreshing.

P.S. Read so far:

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

About to start: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

xo

Christmas and New Years Eve and...Cricket!?

Despite my homesickness and feelings of sadness, X-Mas wasn't all that bad afterall (partly because it didn't really feel like X-Mas at all...how can it when it's 30 degrees outside???). On Christmas Eve I went to a Couchsurfing potluck event at this girl Amy's house. This would be one of those times as a traveller when you have to step outside of your comfort zone and just walk into a party where you know absolutely no one and hope that it's not going to be terrible. Well...it was anything but. There was tons of food and I met lot's of new people. Some of which I've hung out with since. Like these folks for instance! This is Steve (far left), Michael (in the middle) and Vallicity. Val is from B.C. Canada and she is awesome. She's been working here as a nanny. She's really down to earth and funny. A sraight to the point kinda gal.

We opened those cracker things and there was a crown inside so I put mine on. Here's a pic of me looking super cute;)

It was hard to get a group pic but this is the best we could do. There was probably about 40 of us all together.

On Christmas day I worked at a very expensive restaurant for 5 hours, went home and took a nap and then went to a house party with my friend Laura where I made more new friends and stayed up until 9:30am. Good times! A few days after Christmas some friends and I went to Manly Beach because it was Henna's last day in Sydney:( Saying goodbye is something I am going to have to get very used to as a traveller. It's not fun. Here's a pic of Alexander and Henna.

Then Tom really wanted to play Cricket (not "Croquet" which is what I pictured when Tom first told me about it. He had a lovely time taking the piss out of me for that one) Side note: "Taking the piss is another saying you hear often here meaning "make fun of". Anyway, we indulged him for a while.

Then we indulged him even more by going to a real Cricket match. Usually these games go on for like 5 days (snore) but this was a 20/20 game so it only lasted about 3 hours. I was happy to have been able to experiece it. It's a little more exciting to watch then baseball but no comparison to hockey or my personal favourite, basketball.

Here we are (James, Tom, Thomas and I) at the game trying to look enthused.

New Years Eve here is an all-day event since it's warm enough to be outside. At about 2pm I went to a Couchsurfing picnic event (sorry didn't take any pics). Then at about 6pm we went to this place called Ballshead so that we could have a view of the firesworks over the Harbour. If you want to watch right from the Harbour you need to get a spot at like 8am so we were a little further away but the view was still lovely. Here's a pic of the cityline from where we were...

At 9pm they have the first fireworks display (mostly for the kid's). My friend Laura and I decided that would be a good time to open our bubbly...

Here's a pic of Laura and I after we've had a few glasses of bubbly. Laura is great by the way. She is from the U.S. but she has been in Sydney for a while and keeps finding new and innovative ways to stay. She is currently on the look-out for a) a sugar-daddy, b) an Aussie to marry or c) a business to sponsor her. If you know of anyone, let me know. She loves this city so much. She should be the poster girl for Sydney.

After the 9pm firesoworks we walked for about 30mins to North Sydney and met up with some other friends who had an apartment there. At midnight the fireworks were INSANE!!! I have never seen anything like it in my life. I recorded it on my camera but it would take forever to upload a 12 minuute video using wireless so instead I invite you to take a look at this youtube video of them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgBAZXpVl-E

The second half if there as well if you feel so inclined.


Then at about 4am I made my way home and ran into this cute cat who lives in the hostel down the road from where I live. She or He is so affectionate. I miss Reggie!

On Monday I move to Melbourne. Sydney, you have been wonderful but it is time to move on. I will miss you. xo

Happy New Year everyone!