Jaws of Great White Shark

Parilament building in Melbourne

Adieu OZ ....

As some of you may already know, I am back in the States! Right now, I am experiencing some disappointment, relief, and excitement for new opportunities. Before I start explaining my OZ experience, please do not be turned off by Australia!!! I would never want anyone to have negative thoughts towards a place they haven't yet visited! It's so important to experience a place firsthand. As I found out, everyone has different experiences while traveling, whether it be good or bad. Even so, it doesn't really matter if the experience was good or bad as long as you actually made the adventure happen! Personally, I learn so much by embracing life fully. I feel free when I take the plunge and break down any boundaries surrounding me.

The beginning of my trip was very exciting and of course gave me a huge adrenaline rush (as most travel junkies know, it's hard to resist new experiences). I loved seeing the Opera House, meeting people from all over the globe, and having the freedom to do what I wanted. I enjoyed my stay in Sydney, but I didn't think I could live there. Sydney is a wonderful place to visit, but I had a gut feeling that I couldn't live there! Mostly, I wanted to experience Aussie culture and I didn't feel that vibe in Sydney. And so, I planned a trip to Melbourne, a city ten hours south of Sydney.

I arrived in Melbourne, by plane, on August 2nd, but I was cold and coughing. Immediately, I recognized that Melbourne was truly different from Sydney. The architecture and vibe of the city screams Europe. However, I didn't enjoy Melbourne. I had a gut feeling it wasn't the best place for me to settle and I was sick. Moreover, it was extremely difficult to motivate myself and find work within the city because of my illness. I was devastated, but decided the best decision was to go home and move on to my other dreams (Europe for example). I decided it's better to go home with money in "my pocket" then to come home empty handed. And traveling, of course, is very expensive, no matter how much you budget yourself!

My trip home was not exactly a smooth one. I had more issues with United Airlines to last me a lifetime! I will not explain the long story on my blog. But... Let me sum it up for you: DO NOT TAKE UNITED. Avoid it at all costs.

Overall, I am so happy I took advantage of this opportunity and experienced Australia. I don't have regrets at all. In fact, it makes me more sure of myself. This experience made me realize how much MORE necessary it is for me to live in Europe. Australia was too much like the USA for me. To be reasonable, it did not make sense, at least for me, to spend money on a country that was so much like home. For me, it is more feasible for me to live in Boston. I enjoy Boston more than Sydney and Melbourne!

One of my hostel roommates in Melbourne was quite puzzled by my desperation and disappointment with OZ. This roommate was from Hong Kong actually, and she was absolutely loving her experience in Australia (kudos to her of course!). I asked her if she visited Chinatown while she was in Melbourne. My Chinese friend looked at me like I was crazy (yet again)! And then I smiled and said "That's exactly my point! Why would you want to visit a place that is exactly like home?" The realization dawned on her; my OZ experience was very much like visiting a little America-town.

Not only that, Australia was very expensive. For those planning to visit OZ, make sure you prepare yourself for an expensive trip. It will be worthwhile to go, don't get me wrong, but it is very expensive! Before any of you visit OZ, let me know! I will give you advice on where to go and how to budget yourself! It is truly a lovely place and I wouldn't want anyone to be discouraged not to experience OZ!

On the other hand, for me, the purpose of traveling abroad is to experience places which are outside of my comfort zone. I want to feel a culture shock! This is one of the reasons why I fell in love with Paris. Immediately, France gives you that culture shock. In fact, the culture shock encourages you to re-think your stero-types and prejudice about culture and people. Therefore, my next goal is to find work in Paris. All of us, who are lovers of Europe, understand how hard it is to live and find work there as an non-EU citizen. And so, I hope to become an Parisian Au Pair. When I was in Paris, I realized the best way to learn French is to surround yourself with the language on a daily basis. Living with a French family is absolutely the right way to master French!

I have to thank all of you for reading! I love having readers and followers! It makes me feel like my experiences are more real when I have others to share them with! I will continue to write on my blog and of course when I am living in Europe. I will keep you all posted!

Cheers and till next time...

Sarah :-)

Oh the wonders of OZ

After a very long journey from the US, I am here in OZ!!!! I am so excited to describe all of my experiences so far…

First of all, I don't like United Airlines. Don't get me wrong though, I love to fly! It doesn't bother me (apparently I was destined to be a world traveler!) Even so, I can't stand United. Why, you may ask?? I took a plane from Logan and I was sitting at the gate for about an hour. Mind you, there was NO air conditioning on this airplane. According to the captain, we had to wait because of "weather conditions". At this point, I was extremely restless due to the heat and wanting to start my long journey to OZ. Not only that, I had a connecting flight. Once I arrived in San Fran from Boston, I had an hour and ten minutes to jump on the next plane to Sydney. Prior to this whole episode, my mum and I had asked a United Rep if an hour and ten minutes would be enough time to make my next flight to OZ. Of course the United Rep told us it would be fine! So…. As you can probably guess, I missed my connecting flight. I stayed in a Best Western Hotel for the night close to the San Fran airport. The next day, my flight wasn't until 10:52 pm. So I had some time to kill. I explored San Fran a little bit, but only for an hour around the Civic center. I didn't like their public transportation, but I am a snob when it comes to public transportation. I have yet to visit a city that has better public transportation than Paris ;-)

As I was starting to become wary due to my bad luck at this point, my circumstances began to change. At this point, mind you, the nerves were starting to set in. I hadn't really been that nervous, but at this point it was creeping up on me. 'What if my luggage doesn't follow me?' 'What if Australian customs gives me a hard time?' 'What if this plane just sits at the gate?' However, once I got on the plane and shuffled down the aisle towards my seat, 50 D, a man was already sitting in my seat with his family. Of course, you can only imagine what I was thinking: 'What the hell? Was there a mistake? Do I not have a seat on this plane?' But NO WORRIES! This lovely man who was sitting in my seat gave me his ticket with a seat in Economy Plus (economy plus gives you more leg room).Finally God shined a light on me! Praise the lord! I was not destined to be cursed this whole trip! So I made my way to Economy Plus, a bit more cheerful than I had been. I ended up sitting next to a woman from Seattle and an Australian man! I enjoyed talking to them and explained my plans in Australia. The Seattle lady was fascinated with my decision to stay in OZ for 12 months (as are most people when I tell them about my OZ plans). She was also very generous and talkative. At the end of the flight she showed me a book of Australian slang. It was absolutely perfect she had this, because of course we talked to the Australian man about all the different slang. We kept on asking and giggling "Is this really what Australian people say?" Aussies call telephones "blowers" and red heads are occasionally called "blood nuts" or "Gingers" (although some Americans use the term "ginger"). Therefore, my 14 hour plane ride was not so brutal and I slept for almost half of the plane ride to OZ. Dramamine helped JUST A LITTLE BIT ;-) (Thanks mum!).

Just when I thought my nerves were settled down, they spiked a bit when at Customs. I wasn't sure what type of questions they would ask me. To my surprise, the customs official simply scanned my passport number through the machine without much of a glance at my customs questionnaire (the UK also requires you to fill out a questionnaire about your whereabouts and intentions in their country). The customs official gave me a big smile, and I was on my way the baggage claim. I had absolutely no problems at the baggage claim, even though I had to wait approximately 30 + minutes.

I proceeded through the airport and took the City rail so that I would reach my destination: the Central Sydney YHA. I had no clue what to expect from this place and I didn't know how close it would be to the train station. I had a lot to carry, so I prayed that it would go smoothly. It so happened that my hostel was two minutes away from the train stop.

For those of you who are wary of hostels (perhaps because of the movie Hostel?), FEAR NOT! My hostel is pretty decent so far. Regardless, I have been paranoid about my belongings. Flying solo puts additional pressure on oneself, but it makes you more awake and alert (I have been on an adrenaline high for the past 72 hours).

When I approached the desk at the Hostel, there was an Australian with dreg locks. He asked me some questions about Boston (I told him where I was from, because I don't much of a Bostonian accent). I am always impressed by how much foreigners know about us, but how little all of us Americans know about them. This Aussie knew all about the Celtics, Pats, and Red Sox. He put me to shame… I know nothing about Australian sports (this will change I hope!). I went up to my room, and I met a Japanese girl (who unfortunately was leaving). She told me a Scottish girl was staying in the room (I did not meet her until the following morning). So I proceeded downstairs and sat with my free breakfast in a café attached to the hostel. I stood out immediately because I spilled my OJ all over my tray (awkward new girl stands out haha). And so, a British man came up to me and introduced himself (spilling OJ apparently can help you meet people in case you didn't know wink wink). I told him I was from Boston and he said "OH! I know someone who is here from Boston!" The British man told me that some people (one of which was the Bostonian) were traveling up the east coast. Interested, I sat close to the British man and met the Bostonian. The Bostonian told me he was from the North Shore. He had been at the hostel for three or four days and needed a change of scenery. I was asked to join the journey up the east coast, but it was only my first day! I have things to do, I reminded myself, and I had to resist the temptation!

Later on, I rushed out of the hostel to see the famous Sydney Harbor and bridge. The bridge was spectacular, and once I saw the Opera House….. I really felt like I was in Sydney. It is the same feeling you get when look at the Eiffel tower or Big Ben for the first time…. you realize how real your adventure has become. I posted the pics above! They speak for themselves ;-)

I think the most fascinating person I have met thus far is a British lady who has been working in Sudan…. Yes… in Africa!! I couldn't believe it! As most everyone knows, Sudan has been experiencing quite a bit of turmoil. This British lady is a director of a program which teaches Sudanese people English. It's funny because we met in the ladies bathroom! Both of us are staying on the same floor and we have bumped into each other a couple of times.

Today, I saw Darling Harbor and from there I walked to the Opera house. I had a Corona and fish & chips…. Listened to some Aussies play Bob Marley. It was heaven ;-) It will be a good spot to take my visitors when they come to Sydney.

I have to phase out now… I am exhausted and need to take a break from typing. Feel free to write comments and thanks for reading ;-) CHEERS!!

My Bucket List

IT IS FINALLY HAPPENING! I am just about to start my adventure and depart for the other side of the world. I will finally become an Aussie as of this time next week (I am leaving the 21st). After months of planning and years of waiting to travel abroad again, I deserve this opportunity! For those who do not know, I lived in Paris for four months in '08. I loved Europe so much that I made a goal for myself. I have placed on my bucket list to live in Paris again :-)

I hope to be surprised by the culture in Australia. There were so many things about Paris that surprised me. That's what really makes an experience abroad worthwhile. I am an open-minded person, but I did have some stereotypes on French people before I left the States. I don't think I was aware of them until I lived in Paris. However, I found that Parisians were passionate and honest people. And so, I realized I had a lot more in common with the Parisians. They are very funny people as well. Funny in quirky ways. Some of their TV commercials, particularly for the orange soda Orangina, were hysterical. I know this is strange, but things like this made me fall in love with the French people. I hope the same happens with the Aussies!

Here is my bucket list as of 2010:

1. Learn to surf
   
2. Play the piano
   
3. Speak French fluently
   
4. Live in Paris
   
5. Become a European citizen
   
6. Create/write/host a travel show
   

   
    

I will probably post again and add to the list before I leave for Australia. I am having writer's block, but I am sure this will rarely happen in Australia! Please write comments. I will let you know when I am updating my blog via facebook. Thanks for reading ;-)