Welcome to the Land Down Under

Quick side note/recap: last week I came down with a pretty unenjoyable case of malaria. All of the fun symptoms: vomiting, joint and muscle pain, splitting headaches, fever, loss of appetite, and just general feeling of pain and discomfort. Thankfully I had a great doctor, got shots and medications, and was feeling better after about a week (so just a few days ago). On to Australia!

After a solid two days of travel, a little more malaria, and a little less sleep than I was hoping for, I arrived in Sydney! I saw the sun rise over the harbor from the plane on Sunday morning and it was gorgeous. Before I knew it I was through customs and getting out of a cab being welcomed in to my new home, Sydney University Village. I was greeted by very friendly receptionist and taken to my apartment full of four sleeping (you would be asleep too on a Sunday morning at 8am) USyd students who are going to be my roommates for the next four months. I unpacked was just feeling settled (except for the whole lack of sheets, bedding, towels, cell phone, or money) when a friendly roommate named Victoria invited me to a free barbeque.

My room pre-bedding/anything

I’m always a fan of free food, and real hamburgers with lettuce and tomatoes after two months of ugali was nothing short of amazing. I met a bunch of friendly strangers from everywhere from London to Sydney to Davidson (less than an hour from my home in Charlotte). It was the largest gathering of white people (I’m tempted to call them mzungus) I had seen in one place in months which was quite a shock on my system. From lunch a group of friends decided to take off into the city and I said, “why not?” and joined them.

We walked right out of the Village onto Kings street, a Franklin Street-equivalent, but filled with Thai, Chinese, and Indian restaurants. Next thing I knew I was getting off a bus and walking right up to the Sydney Opera House, which was quite a site to see. I’m sure you know what it looks like from the harbor where all of the famous photos are taken from but head on from the land it reminded me of the pope’s hat/mitre. I’m looking forward to going back to be able to explore the inside of the building and hopefully even see an opera performed.

From the Opera House, still coming to terms with the fact that I was in the eastern hemisphere for the first time in my life, and in Australia for that matter, I was led on by new friendly guides through the Royal Botanic Gardens. We meandered through and into the heart of the city. Parts of the city make me feel like I’m in Manhattan because of the ginormous department stores, and other parts feel like San Francisco because of the urban rolling hills. 

Where the garden meets the city

After joining a couple of newlyweds for their wedding photo in the streets, we made our way to Chinatown for the food court with the “cheapest food in town.” Unfortunately that meant dinner for $8-10 as opposed to the normal $10-15. Sydney is expensive.

After a “cheap” but filling bowl of noodles we started walking back home when I realized that I still didn’t have any bedding and the thought of sleeping on the couch after sleeping on a plane for the previous two nights didn’t sound incredibly appealing. So, I stopped by the local K Mart and grabbed the essentials before it closed (read: bedding, towel, 5 boxes of cereal, and ice cream). I made it home at 10:30 and passed out after a successful day in Sydney.

Yesterday (Monday) was my first day of class, starting just about 24 hours after I stepped foot on Australian soil. The few classes I’ve had have gone well but I’m still doing a lot of drop/add, I’ll let you know about them when I get my schedule all finalized. Between classes I’ve been meeting new people, trying not to have a heart attack every time I see the price of an item (you know those bottles of Cokes your parents told you were a nickel growing up? Yeah, they’re $3.50 AUD here), getting a cell phone, and all of the general paperwork and chores normal people do during orientation week that I missed.

I like it here. I’ve got great roommates, a great location, I know I’ll be happy with my classes when I get them sorted out, a great city, amazingly nice people, and travel opportunities galore. It’s going to be a great semester.