Advertisement
Published: February 1st 2007
somebody was a little shy
this is actually a wallaby - not a roo, but they look very similar (if not the same)well, here i find myself again - on the flip side of the equator, enjoying life and travel in the southern hemisphere. except this time, instead of spanish, the locals are speaking austrailian, the tango has been replaced by afternoon barbeques on the beach, and red wine eclipsed by crisp victoria bitter or a freshly poured toohey's new.
i haven't been in austrailia (affectionately know as 'oz' ) long enough to acquire the salty, tangy, and very 'acquired' taste of vegimite, but three months has been plenty long enough to absorb and appreciate the laid-back, easy going and fun loving aussie character and lifestyle.
sydney, the capital of new south wales, and probably the most well known austrailian city due to its iconic opera house and visually stimulating postcard views of the harbor, is a vibrant, coastal city with plenty of sun, green spaces, and ocean vistas. its 4 million or so residents make up a cosmopolitan crowd, representing the best mixture of austrailian culture. they know how to dress up and have fun, but don't forget the joy of everyday living and spend just as much quality time outdoors, at the beach and in the pool. trendy, rehabbed
city neighborhoods are home to the posh and up and coming, the rich and established, the working classes, the young professionals, and the student and alternative crowds. first world environmental, political, social and moral issues populate the morning papers and nightly news. ethnic restaurants and cafes line the streets, creating a western european atmosphere of clinking glasses and undulating waves of conversation. the working weeks wrap up with light-hearted happy hours with smart dressed working spiffs in the central business district and sun kissed surfers and beach dwellers in board shorts and bikinis spilling out of open air cafes all along the beach towns.
without meaning to offend any sensitive aussies with too close of a comparison, sydney's landscape, environment, and mix of culture and activities is very reminiscent of a west coast LA-san francisco blend. tweak the accent a bit and adjust a few minor rules and regulations and it would fit right into the mid-coastline of california.
except for the things that are a bit different. for example:
all bars are called hotels (hotels are called hotels too, but the distinction isn't usually made in the formal name). the coffee options are a handful of
creative ways to drink milk, foam, and espresso. all descriptively and proportionally named: long black, short black, flat white. seemingly everything gets a sporty shortened nickname: woolworths = 'wollies', breakfast = breakie, environmentalist = enviro, pysical therapist = physio, austrailia="aussie"= from "oz".
cars drive on and from the left. all cars bizarrely stop for pedestrians at the zebra crossings (pronounced ZEB-bra crossing, ie. crosswalks). you use your mobiles to ring your mates. or if u want to 'book' an appointment or 'hire' a car. memorable occasions with friends are hopefully either 'full on' or described as 'going off'. these occasions most likely leave you waking up the next morning feeling like you got 'leathered' and are in need of a 'massive breakie' with multiple flat whites. time to pop a few berroca tablets, have a proper lie-in, and then start all over again. you only live once!
its kind of like the states with a british veneer.
there are also an unending supply of surprisingly little daily pleasures, such as: gorgeous public swimming pools, scattered around the city and adjoining the millions of stunning beaches along the coast; chocolate covered licorice sold individually in basically every convenience
store. avocados, beet root, and pumpkin used with culinary abandon. unending coastlines and seductive beaches.
recycling and environmental obedience is the highest that i've seen in a first world country, although they claim to not be doing enough and the global warming woes are at a heightened state right now due to the draught and massive bush fires throughout new south wales. the victoria terriroty (melborne) is on level I water restriction. Tim Flannery, a well known environmentalist and political figure was just named Austrailian of the Year. the government, lead by PM John Howard are in denial and dragging their feet and trying to build very expensive destructive nuclear power plants. (sound familiar?)
on a lighter note, sydney is full on in the summer with festivals, music concerts, outdoor movie theatres, and dance performances. the Big Day Out musical festival, similar to a lollapaloza, just swung through sydney, boasting sets by artists such as Jet, My Chemical Romance, Lily Allen, Muse, and the killers. Austrailia Day was January 26th, and celebrated with the day off work, bbq's and music festivals all across the country.
austrailians have a vast and healthy interest in a wide range of
sports and extracurriculars. arguably, the home of rugby and the bone jarring austrailian rules football, they also indulge in; bowling (think botchy ball vs. ten pin), biking, hiking, running, bushwalking (anything remotely off concrete), "the" tennis ;-) - and of course, cricket. this last one i gave some modest thought to trying to get interested in (when in rome type logic), but after finding out some of the basics, such as week long (or longer!) games, tea breaks, and endless down time - it sounded more like a baseball game on sedatives. truthfully, i just couldn't be bothered. the heralded ashes tournament, staged every four years between austrailia and england was recently played out. this is "the" international bragging rights tournament between the former colonial rulers and convict descendants turned cosmopolitan, first world competitors. egos rule. case in point: austrailia had clearly won the recent tournament by the third "test" (five weeks of "test" games - each lasting a WHOLE week). but they still played out the remaining two weeks of games for "the record". i don't know about you all, but this to me, is like playing out the remaining 3 games in the world series after one team
bondi icebergs
one of the many picturesque public swimming pools in sydney has taken the first four in a landslide. i guess they did already sell the tickets.
since arriving, i have been working a few days a week at a cute little cafe in the neighborhood of darlinghurst, securing my current role as a "working holiday maker". the first few weeks were a whirlwind of training and taking the first mental step back into the job and responsibility category. after a healthy amount of broken bottles, a few mischarged meals, and minor customer misunderstandings (hold the capsicum?, can i have another serviette?, and i have no cutlery) - i now feel i have gotten the hang of it and am embracing the service industry with as much gusto as i can muster. i am also confident that the thrill of being an international waitress will just about wear off on or about march 13th as i am flying back to the bay area. (it will also most likely take me another six months to heel the blisters and calisis i am acquiring in mock speed on my feet) but all in all, its been a fun, pretty carefree way to support my OZ lifestyle.
other things to note -
infamous bondi beach
with a very buff local crowd and a fair share of tourism activity, bondi is as beautiful as its worked up to be. the surrounding coastal walk and more secluded beaches add a special charm and make for a gorgeous day of walking and suntanning. if the past few summer olympics haven't given it away, swimming is definitely an austrailian pasttime and fabulous public pools are sprinkled all throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. from the flashy and new, to the wonderfully old and quiant, you can take in your laps while looking out over cascading rocks and harbor terraces, not to mention the overabundance of very toned and athletic genre of fellow swimmers, which makes for good people watching in between laps as you catch your breath (although i go mostly for the excercise, of course)
although he announced his retirement at the end of 2006, ian thorpes new aquatic wonderland is also planned to open sometime later this year.
new years in sydney was all that its hyped up to be, with a potporiu of fireworks and razzle dazzle light show off the harbor bridge and surrounding skyline at the stroke of midnight. the atmosphere is very much like the 4th of july. the whole city seems to pour into all available nooks, parks, crannies and outlooks along port jackson - any of the zillion that give spectacular views of the evenings performance. 2007 is the 75th anniversary of the harbor
rushcutters bay
my neighborhood bay and one of the sailing hubs along the harbor. they love their boats! the sydney to hobart 5-6 day race is world famous and gruelling (as in people die) and kicked off the sailing season in early january. bridge (affectionately known as "the coathanger") and in tribute the "emblem" of choice for this new years was a larger than life diamond in lites as the centerpiece.
bananas are the caviar of fruits since i've been here due to tropical cyclone larry, who wreaked havoc on the queensland coast in early 2006. they are starting to come down in price, but individual yellow delights still run about $3 a pop and in the range of $12-$13 a pound. as one of my favorite fruits, i still induldge - but only buy one at a time and make sure to savor every bite!
nobody (i mean NOBODY) here drinks fosters. its not even on par with milwaukee's best. i've never actually even seen it and the mere mention of it is greeted with much disdain and some sort of belched "huh" or "ugh". total "overseas" advertising coup.
same goes for "shrimp on the barbie". they are referred to as prawns in this part of the world. "shrimp" was simply used for the US ad campaign. (suckers!)
so, that's the latest from the land down under! i will be in sydney through the end of February, then
bringing in 2007
kyle and i joined with the 4+million other sydneysiders to kick off 2007 with midnight fireworks off the harbor bridge and sydney skyline. an impressive display of technotronics! "happy new year to ya!" have a bit of travel planned for the queensland coast, and then will be making the final trek back into san francisco on march 13th.
i'll sign off with one final blog next month, but i did want to briefly thank everyone again for all of the great emails and encouragement this past year - its always wonderful hearing from you all and i can't wait to catch up properly later this year!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.087s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0575s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Steph
non-member comment
HELLLLLOOOOOO
Amy!!!! I've missed hearing from you - I can't believe you are heading back home - so soon? (jk) My entire family loves to read your blog, can't wait to catch up - love and kisses, Steph