A few simple rules...

(Note: This was written waaay back on February 3rd. I partly forgot about it, and partly didn't think I would actually need to post it. As a few things have come to light, like two friends planning weddings while I'm in Sydney, I thought I best post it now before anyone else gets any crazy ideas.)


2/3/10


As I sit at the airport waiting to board my flight to Chicago, I thought I would take this opportunity to write down a few rules I have for everybody. These are for all my friends and family to abide by while I'm in Australia...

1. No marriages.
2. No kids.
3. No serious illness or death.


That's it, they are simple.


Don't get married because I love weddings and I go to all weddings I'm invited to. But if you invite me while I'm in Sydney, I will not be able to go. And I may never forgive you for it.

No kids cuz, well...I love kids...duh.

No serious illness or death. I don't want these things ever, but it will be especially gruesome for me if I am stuck in Sydney when it happens. Selfish? Perhaps.

Favorite Sydney Sights

I walked pretty much all of Sydney CBD today (read as downtown Sydney)  and took some toursity pictures to share. 

 

Harbour Bridge.  Fun Fact: the concrete pylons on both sides of the bridge are purely for aesthetic purposes.  Sydneysiders didn't trust that the bridge was going to hold up, so builders put the pylons up to placate them but they don't actually bare any weight.  You can walk up one of them for $9 and get a pretty awesome view though.

This is Luna Park.  I have yet to go, but I find the face you have to walk through fairly creepy.

 

The Sydney Opera House.  Unfortunately the Opera House loses quite a bit of glory the closer I get to it.  Its a great site to be seen from afar, but up close all I can think about is how I wish they didn't use that weird 60's brown glass that makes it look so dirty.

 

Royal Botanical Gardens.  I think I could go here everyday and not get sick of it.

 

Just an awesome giant tree.

 

Sydney Hospital.  For some reason they received a statue of a warthog from Italy to symbolize friendship.  Its supposed to be good luck if you run its nose (as with any statue...i.e. John Harvard) which is why it looks bronze.  The penis is also bronze colored.  The plaque doesn't say anything about that...

 

St. Mary's Cathedral (with the ever present Asian tourist in front of it).  Cuz you know, churches are important and what not.

 

View of Harbour from another part of the Harbour.

 

Sitting at Circular Quay (key) sippin a latte.  

 

This is not the beach that literally made my jaw drop, but it'll do.  Manly Beach.

I have lots of pictures, that I will post on Google or Facebook, but these are my favorites so far :)

Sydney Uni

 

The Great Hall

First week of Uni complete.  Only 12 more for semester 1.  I'm pretty happy to be a student again, though I forgot how many undergrad students there are.  One major difference between Oz grad school and US undergrad is that my schedule is different every week.  I'm not sure if its a grad school thing, or an Oz thing, or a Sydney Uni thing.  I have three classes that meet weekly for lectures and tutorials, though one of those classes didn't meet last week.  I also have 3 classes that meet only 1 week, have a few online discussions, write a paper, and be done with it.  I had one of those this week.  It met friday 9-530 and saturday 9-330, I have to participate on online discussion, write a 1500 word essay, and thats it.  Its strange, though I may like it once I get used to it.  it does eat a lot of my Saturdays (week 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8) and might make it difficult to hold a job (though I only just started looking today, and not very intently). 

So this week I had:

• Epidemiology- I still don't really know what it is, lol
• Bio-stats- This class will most likely make me cry
• Public Health Achievements and Challenges- This was one of those meet once, write a paper and be done with it classes.  It met Friday and Saturday all day, but I don't have this class again.

Another difference is that every class has an online component.  I think most schools are going this route, I just don't prefer it.  I get overwhelmed dealing with one class online, let alone 6.  There are online discussions, assignments, emails (yet another email to check), announcements, etc.  It just gets overwhelming.  But I'll adjust. 

I get all giddy and excited when they are lecturing on something I care about (like health disparities, or comparing the US to AU) and have a hard time staying awake when they lecture on things I don't care about (chronic disease, health promotion).  So I guess its a good thing that I'm back in school then.  I can hone in on things I care about, and narrow my field a bit. 

Home Sweet Home

Pictures!  PICTURES!!  Oh internet, how I love thee.  I have a infinite respect for people who moved out of country for any amount of time before the internet was invented.  Lord knows I couldn't do it.  (On a side note, I also have a new found respect for people who live in cities without cars.  I hate carrying groceries and crap on a bus that I had to wait 30 minutes for.  F that.)

Anyways, what you call came to see....pictures of my new home <3

 

My floor bed (as Ellie would call it).  I tried not to get red sheets again, but I just couldn't help myself.  You can also see my wall that is all window....love it!  And through the trees you can just barely see the Harbour Bridge and the Anzac Bridge :)

 I LOVE IKEA.  Yesterday I put together my mini desk and the filing cabinet on the bottom of the picture (the bed side table came with the room).

 

 This is where I'll be stationed for the next 9 months. Though I have yet to find a chair, lol.

 I also put together this closet from ikea.  The coat rack also came with the room, a very common piece of furniture in Sydney for some reason.  Don't mind me in the mirror leaning as far back as possible to get it all in.  You'll also notice that multi-colored Thing on the left side of the closet.  That would by me cape.  My Super K Cape.  That's right...I snuck it in my bags and brought it all the way to Australia with me.

Onto the living room.  It should be known that my roommate is a professional photographer, which is why her pictures are sooooo much better than mine!

 Speaking of Sarah-this is her.  She's framing some of her giant photos of rock stars for an exhibition coming up.  She's totally cool.

Living Room

Tiny any cozy kitchen.

Even the bathroom has a wall window.

 

And...my awesome view from the veranda!  It is gorgeous and I've already found myself standing out there wondering how the hell I got to this point, lol.

 This is the day view and night view from the veranda.  There's a horse racetrack near by as well and at night on the weekends we can hear and see the races :)

There you have it.  My new home <3

A proper blog post

Ok,  I'm feeling more stable now that I have secured a place to live.  I also am realizing that life is going to implode again when classes start, because grad school in Australia is vastly different than undergrad in the US.  So I should give you all a proper update now, while I have the time and sanity :)

During my 26 hours of traveling from Chicago to Sydney:

• It FINALLY felt real, like it was actually happening to me when my lovely sister Jessica dropped me at the train station to get back to Wonder Lake after partying in Chicago all weekend.  And in classic Kassi-Jessica-style we almost missed the train and did not even get the luxury of a proper goodbye.  Which was probably for the best because I was blubbering like a baby and trying not to worry the other passengers.
• I'm sick to my stomach with worry, anxiety, sadness, excitement, every other possible emotion until the moment I get through security at O'Hare, then it all dissipates away.  I'm ready for my adventure.
• I spent almost the entire 4 hour layover in LA on the phone with friends for one last time getting in every minute I can until I board for New Zealand and won't be able to freely talk to them for some time.
• Waiting to take off to NZ, all the worry and anxiety come flooding back, and I find myself crying but trying not to sob on the airplane.  All because I had to turn my phone off.  It seemed very final.
• Sleepaides apparently have NO effect on me, though they do make my eyelids soo heavy I can't open my eyes, even though Im awake.  I doze, but never really sleep on the 12hr leg to Auckland. 
• Probably tmi, but the undergarments I chose to wear that day were a very bad choice for being stuck sitting down for 26 hours...note to self, lol.

I finally arrive in Sydney 8am local time.  The airport is chaotic, customs lets me through without even checking my checked baggage...sweeet!  And I was able to buy a phone straight away at the airport, saving me some hassle later on, I think.

My hostel was ready early, thankfully.  But I forced myself awake until 7pm to stave off jet lag.  I've never been so tired...my eye sockets hurt.  The heat is unbearable as well and I walked around thinking "Who the hell did I think I was?  Why in the world did I think I could move to Australia?"  I'm validated later on when talking to other travellers who had the same thoughts.  Its not regret, its worry.

It took me a few days to acclimate to the heat.  The first day was more hot than most days here.  It rains more than I expected, about the whole first week, buts its been gorgeous since.  Pictures to come, I promise. I just haven't taken them yet, lol.

Hostel life is interesting. I both love it and hate it at the same time.  I love that everyone is in the same boat, no one knows anyone and everyone wants to make friends.  Everyone is friendly, everyone.  They usually want to go out or hang out, or drink Goon in the room together.  (Goon is Australian box wine.  It is the definition of awful.  Literally on the box says it contains fish, milk, and eggs.)  I hate that theres no privacy and when I want to waste a day or night away doing nothing and taking a "mental health day" theres always someone there to judge and say that I should go out.  I hate that I can't sleep in cuz inevitably theres someone leaving at 6am to catch a bus to go up the east coast.  And I dont like that all the friends Ive made have all now left.  I'm thankful that I only have two days left in the hostel. 

Then I get to move into my awesome new apartment with an awesome new flatmate.  I. am. so. excited.  I'm moving in Friday. I won't have internet there yet.  I have to buy a usb internet thing...the internet is very strange here, they have limits.  You get like 6GB a day. I dont even know what that means, lol. But I can't get the usb thing until I have a proof of address, so I have to mail myself something first.  Though Im not exactly sure about my mailing address.  Im pretty sure Im in the city limits of Sydney, but anything here that asks for address asks for what 'suburb' Im in.  Which is Annandale.  So I dont know if I should list Sydney or Annandale as my address...and I dont want to pester my new roommate before I even move in, lol.

Once again, my blog is cut short by running out of internet time.  I may get anoter one in tonight...we'll see.

Hope everyone is well....leave me comments!! :)

Open letter to the City of Sydney...

Dear Sydney,

Your housing situation sucks.  But after seeing one of your beaches yesterday, I forgive you.  I understand why so many people are willing to live in over priced shit-holes just to be near the beaches.  Even though it took an hour on a very slow, also over priced bus to get to the beach, it was worth it. The fact that you don't have an ozone is unfortunate, though I have been careful not to scorch my skin so far.

On more positive notes, I have a place to live. I have beaten you at your own game!  I found a very lovely, friendly Sydney-sider who thinks Im cool enough to live with :)  Her name is Sarah (with an H) and lives in a suburb (that the rest of the world would call a neighborhood because it is in the city) called Annandale.  I was kind of hoping to tell everyone I lived in a neighborhood called Chippendale, solely for its name, but the neighborhood itself is not that lovely.  I will move in on Friday, so take that crappy-housing-market-Sydney!

Sincerely,
Kassi

updates Updates UPDATES....

OK, I hear you loud and clear....you all want an update!  I apologize for lacking in the update department...I will get better.  There are a few reasons why the updates haven't been happening....

1.  Internet is expensive.
2.  While on the internet I feel like I should be doing something more productive...like apartment hunting.
3.  I have no pictures to share as I dont have my computer set up.
4.  A lot of my updates sound whiney.

Regardless, there are a lot things that I want to share with everyone.  Many times I day I see something or something happens that I want to tell everyone about.  Like today, while walking to the Harbour Bridge a parrot shit on my shoulder.  Thats good luck right?  Also, its raining, since Friday, through tomorrow.  Its not the rainy season, but apparently this is the wettest summer Sydney has had.  I like it and hate it at the same time.  I dont have a tan, so I want sun, but the sun here is oppressively hot.  Or at least it feels oppressive compared to the cold climate I just left.  Also...it ruins my hair!  I still haven't bought a hair straightener (gasp!)  but the humidity would ruin it anyway, so I just walk around with crappy hair.  Last night I borrowed my neighbors straightener and everyone was impressed with how awesome my hair really is (thank you again Erica!)

Speaking of neighbors...apparently I had to move to Sydney to pick up a British accent.  All my roommates (theres 10 beds in my room) are English, save for one Canadian dude.  I find myself speaking with a British accent.  I don't think they notice it because they never heard me talk before, but seriously...I sound freakin English.

There is a disproportionate number of money lenders, sex stores, and open air Asian food shops near my hostel.  But once you get past the money lenders and sex stores, there is an AWESOME mall/market.  Through the week its just a mall with a food court of all asian food. But Wednesday through Sunday it is also Paddy's Market (why it has an irish name I dont know).  Paddy's market is AMAZING.  Its like a giant flea market...giant.  And it has everything you could wish for.  There is also a produce area, like Super H Mart in Evanston if you know what that is.  I've been there about 5 times since arriving 5 days ago. 

Though while at Paddy's Market today, I discovered that Chase Bank has blocked my debit card.  Pissed.  One, its embarrassing when I have no other way to pay for things (left my cash stash in my room).  I told them I was traveling so I don't know why they blocked it.  I used it yesterday at an ATM just fine and there is plenty of money in it.  The kicker is...Its Sunday here.  Which means its Saturday in the states.  So I wont even be able to get a hold of customer service until Tuesday.  And if I find a place between now and then I am going to need to put down a bond, which is about a grand.  I don't have a grand in cash on me.  And if they take the money I have, I wont have any money to use until this gets taken care of.  Annoying.

Anyways, Im about to run out of internet.  When I have more internet money, or my Uni Key at University is fixed I will post more updates.  And pictures.  I have plenty of pictures of my new hostel friends.  They are all pretty awesome.  Today was the first day I did anything toursity, I have pics of that too.

One last point...something I never thought I would be able to say:  Today I bought a mini-dress.  A mini-skirt dress.  Crazy.