Landing Down Under, Pt. 1

G’day 😉

WOW, this week has been busy!! Besides my little outburst on discovering I had reached 1,000 views, I have had very little time to myself to write. In fact, this might just be the first time I have managed to sit down since I arrived in Sydney. OKAY, let me catch you up:

I arrived in Sydney last Friday (1/11/13), having gotten only 4 hours of sleep on the plane. Those of you who know me at home know that I am not completely functional on so little sleep – although you MIGHT be surprised that, after being met by my transfer (where the FIRST song I heard playing on the radio was Kylie Minogue. Yes, really), I set straight out to job hunt. In my defense, I desperately needed something to help keep me awake and figured keeping busy was the best way to do so. Having booked a week of activities and assistance with Australian Backpackers back home, my evening was filled by a free BBQ on the roof of my hostel – giving me an opportunity to meet other totally jetlagged backpackers (and finally eat something substantial!).

The second day was spent on a cruise of the Harbour – walking from our hostel through the gorgeous Botanical Gardens and past the Sydney Opera House (stopping for a quick photo op, naturally!) to the Wharf – where we travelled past Shark Island and Taronga Zoo to Watson Bay, home of the “Best Fish and Chips in Sydney”. Sadly, I missed out on the gorgeous food (and the rest of the trip) as I was feeling unwell, and headed back to my hostel to recover – though not before catching fantastic views of the Harbour Bridge as we passed it on the way back. I awoke from my nap feeling totally refreshed – lucky, because not even fifteen minutes had passed when I was called for my first work trial. Yes, 30 hours since landing Down Under and I’d landed my first interview. CRAZY! Excitement soon turned to horror when I realised I had nothing to wear, and only had a mere two hours to find something – prompting a panicked sprint to the train station and around a mall at Bondi Junction. I actually arrived at my interview early, and managed to work for over an hour before it transpired that I needed an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) Certificate to stay any longer. Earning $25 (!!!!!) in an hour was a fantastic feeling though, and motivated me to spend the rest of the evening not only paying for the RSA course, but staying up to complete it. I know it sounds like a total epic failure but I got a work outfit, a qualification, and a job offer out of that day, and STILL managed to see some local attractions. Not bad for 36 hours in!

TTFN!! Will upload Pt. 2 – with flat-hunting and a day at the Blue Mountains – very, very soon!!

xo.