Skull or Chug? Cheeky or Sassy? To Reckon or To Think?
It strikes me that I've started to fall into a sort of monotonous rhythm here in Sydney. There are no huge trips to look forward to anymore, no crazy skydiving adventures... it's all about the internship. We have to fall into the pattern of the 9 to 5. I'm not complaining, really, but I don't do very well with the 9 to 5 lifestyle. I'm exhausted during the week, and I want to spend the weekends laying out or relaxing and not doing anything. The beach is a proper weekend activity, I'd say.
That said, I haven't been thinking of writing because it doesn't feel like there's anything to write about. But I'd be wrong to say that. I can finally start to write about real life, not the vacation stuff. I can write about how lucky I am that I only have a ten minute walk to work. I can talk about how beautiful the little backstreets are, with its houses all crammed together like napkins in a drawer. Tidy, but slightly awry, decorated with terraces and other delicate trimmings. Old, but new... new to me. This city is so much better than NYC, from my perspective. The quality of living feels so much better. There's fresh air, less traffic, but just as much energy. I walk past bakeries and breathe in the hot baked air. It fills my lungs with warmth and soothes my cravings for baked goods. The lilac trees are amazing, shedding purple flowers all over the streets.
There are ugly parts of the city, as there is in every city, but there are such adorable little hideaways. Every city needs it, and New York City seems to have sold out all of its adorable sidestreets to the trendsetters. I won't be able to afford it for years. Then again, maybe I wouldn't be able to afford Sydney's, either.
And although I am exhausted a lot of the time lately, I still manage to push myself out the door, because I'm becoming increasingly aware that the time to go home is drawing nearer and nearer. We have to make the most of what we've got. I am loving exploring on my own, whether it's taking the bus down to Coogee beach, or going to outdoor markets, or meeting up with friends at little hole in the wall coffee shops up on Glebe Point Rd. I've found my favorite little hideouts, close to home but in neighborhoods that I've fallen in love with.. with bookshops and cafes and little homes littering the street. Glebe is a favorite place of mine.
I went to the Newtown Festival today, which was a huge outdoor market with live music. It was really great and there were so many overpriced but amazing crafts for sale. Its fun to look at, and there were so many dogs. I love how many dogs there were today. It's cute.
I only have about four weeks left here... and it's nervewrecking because I'm ready to see the people that I miss, but I'm not really ready to leave. If someone were to tell me that I was leaving tomorrow, I'd feel completely unprepared. There is still so much to see and do! But it seems that there is so little time to see and do it, because we work so often and so many of our days are packed... and I'm finding it difficult even to schedule in some trips to the beach. Next weekend my literature class heads off to the Blue Mountains, which is supposed to be a beautiful canyon-esque place outside of Sydney. A long train ride away. I'm hoping to do some riding there. The next weekend is completely booked for beaching, so the weather better be as amazing as it was this weekend. And then there are only two weekends left... so they had better be planned out very carefully. OH man it's really strange when it's all described like that. It feels like it's going to go by really quickly.
Regardless, I'm starting to get excited for Christmas. There are so many Christmas decorations up here in the malls and grocery stores and such. It's funny because it's not even Thanksgiving, so it feels heinous, but the Australians don't give two hoots for Thanksgiving, so they start Christmas decorations as far back as October. OCTOBER!!! Anyway. It's REALLY weird feeling like summer is just around the corner and seeing Christmas decorations going up. I'm actually getting a little bit excited to see some snow and put on a warm winter jacket. Then again, it's really reallllly nice to walk outside into the sunshine and feel totally comfortable. I'm sure in four weeks, I'll have had my fix and I'll be able to prepare myself for the frostbite. It feels so close and yet so far. haha. if i had a nickel for every time i've used that phrase.
I didn't even talk about the Melbourne Cup! It was last Tuesday, Nov 7... and it's this HUGE horse race that happens in Melbourne. The whole country stops to watch it. (and bet on it). Everyone dresses up and wears big hats and watches a horse race and makes a big day of it by spending all of their money and getting drunk at work. It's comparible to Marathon Monday in Boston. So I took part and we had so much fun at work! There was betting and champaigne and all sorts of good times. I bet on three horses, and one of them won first place!! He was a Japanese entry named Delta Blues and he didn't have the best odds but I knew the Japanese would never enter a race they couldn't win. The other Japanese entry, Pop Rock, also placed. Anyway, I put in 20 bucks all together for all of my bets, and just because of Delta's odds, I won 30 bucks for the 5 I put on him to place.. not even to win! So! I ended up winning 10 dollars that day and now I feel like I've really gone through the Aussie Melbourne Cup experience. Good fun. I've always liked watching horse races and it's even more fun when everyone dresses up and makes a big traditional thing of it. (I was bummed though because the Irish entry, Yeats, didn't place and I was really counting on him... sigh)
Well that's the thick of it. Tomorrow I'm headed to a cemetary for my lit class because it pertains to a book we're reading; Careful, He Might Hear You, by Sumner Locke Elliott. It's a really interesting book, a fictional autobiography. Reallllly quite good and well written.. and Elliott has had a really unique life story; ended up moving to the states and never going back to Australia. Anyway it's written through his eyes when he was a child. Pretty cool if you ever get the chance to read it. Speaking of good writers, my class also met up with Sue Williams, an Australian writer who also really impressed me. She's had some amazing travel experiences and wrote about them in a book that I THINK is called There and Back, but I'll double check on the title. So there's your learning for the day. I should get to my homework. I'm procrastinating.
Much love.
That said, I haven't been thinking of writing because it doesn't feel like there's anything to write about. But I'd be wrong to say that. I can finally start to write about real life, not the vacation stuff. I can write about how lucky I am that I only have a ten minute walk to work. I can talk about how beautiful the little backstreets are, with its houses all crammed together like napkins in a drawer. Tidy, but slightly awry, decorated with terraces and other delicate trimmings. Old, but new... new to me. This city is so much better than NYC, from my perspective. The quality of living feels so much better. There's fresh air, less traffic, but just as much energy. I walk past bakeries and breathe in the hot baked air. It fills my lungs with warmth and soothes my cravings for baked goods. The lilac trees are amazing, shedding purple flowers all over the streets.
There are ugly parts of the city, as there is in every city, but there are such adorable little hideaways. Every city needs it, and New York City seems to have sold out all of its adorable sidestreets to the trendsetters. I won't be able to afford it for years. Then again, maybe I wouldn't be able to afford Sydney's, either.
And although I am exhausted a lot of the time lately, I still manage to push myself out the door, because I'm becoming increasingly aware that the time to go home is drawing nearer and nearer. We have to make the most of what we've got. I am loving exploring on my own, whether it's taking the bus down to Coogee beach, or going to outdoor markets, or meeting up with friends at little hole in the wall coffee shops up on Glebe Point Rd. I've found my favorite little hideouts, close to home but in neighborhoods that I've fallen in love with.. with bookshops and cafes and little homes littering the street. Glebe is a favorite place of mine.
I went to the Newtown Festival today, which was a huge outdoor market with live music. It was really great and there were so many overpriced but amazing crafts for sale. Its fun to look at, and there were so many dogs. I love how many dogs there were today. It's cute.
I only have about four weeks left here... and it's nervewrecking because I'm ready to see the people that I miss, but I'm not really ready to leave. If someone were to tell me that I was leaving tomorrow, I'd feel completely unprepared. There is still so much to see and do! But it seems that there is so little time to see and do it, because we work so often and so many of our days are packed... and I'm finding it difficult even to schedule in some trips to the beach. Next weekend my literature class heads off to the Blue Mountains, which is supposed to be a beautiful canyon-esque place outside of Sydney. A long train ride away. I'm hoping to do some riding there. The next weekend is completely booked for beaching, so the weather better be as amazing as it was this weekend. And then there are only two weekends left... so they had better be planned out very carefully. OH man it's really strange when it's all described like that. It feels like it's going to go by really quickly.
Regardless, I'm starting to get excited for Christmas. There are so many Christmas decorations up here in the malls and grocery stores and such. It's funny because it's not even Thanksgiving, so it feels heinous, but the Australians don't give two hoots for Thanksgiving, so they start Christmas decorations as far back as October. OCTOBER!!! Anyway. It's REALLY weird feeling like summer is just around the corner and seeing Christmas decorations going up. I'm actually getting a little bit excited to see some snow and put on a warm winter jacket. Then again, it's really reallllly nice to walk outside into the sunshine and feel totally comfortable. I'm sure in four weeks, I'll have had my fix and I'll be able to prepare myself for the frostbite. It feels so close and yet so far. haha. if i had a nickel for every time i've used that phrase.
I didn't even talk about the Melbourne Cup! It was last Tuesday, Nov 7... and it's this HUGE horse race that happens in Melbourne. The whole country stops to watch it. (and bet on it). Everyone dresses up and wears big hats and watches a horse race and makes a big day of it by spending all of their money and getting drunk at work. It's comparible to Marathon Monday in Boston. So I took part and we had so much fun at work! There was betting and champaigne and all sorts of good times. I bet on three horses, and one of them won first place!! He was a Japanese entry named Delta Blues and he didn't have the best odds but I knew the Japanese would never enter a race they couldn't win. The other Japanese entry, Pop Rock, also placed. Anyway, I put in 20 bucks all together for all of my bets, and just because of Delta's odds, I won 30 bucks for the 5 I put on him to place.. not even to win! So! I ended up winning 10 dollars that day and now I feel like I've really gone through the Aussie Melbourne Cup experience. Good fun. I've always liked watching horse races and it's even more fun when everyone dresses up and makes a big traditional thing of it. (I was bummed though because the Irish entry, Yeats, didn't place and I was really counting on him... sigh)
Well that's the thick of it. Tomorrow I'm headed to a cemetary for my lit class because it pertains to a book we're reading; Careful, He Might Hear You, by Sumner Locke Elliott. It's a really interesting book, a fictional autobiography. Reallllly quite good and well written.. and Elliott has had a really unique life story; ended up moving to the states and never going back to Australia. Anyway it's written through his eyes when he was a child. Pretty cool if you ever get the chance to read it. Speaking of good writers, my class also met up with Sue Williams, an Australian writer who also really impressed me. She's had some amazing travel experiences and wrote about them in a book that I THINK is called There and Back, but I'll double check on the title. So there's your learning for the day. I should get to my homework. I'm procrastinating.
Much love.
posted by C Killian at 2:18 AM
1 Comments:
You better get used to the christmas decorations with warm weather if you're heading out to my neck of the woods. Way to take all the aussie's money with a racist bet!
Post a Comment
<< Home