Day 9: Real Live Science!

Morning started far too early for my liking. I woke up at 8am to get ready for the day, shower, and use my last breakfast coupon from BASE. Once I was ready I went back to my room, grabbed all my stuff and headed down to check out of my hostel. My lovely, happy, hostel. BUT, that also meant that I was headed toward my own happy apartment. The first obstacle was trudging through the city with my two very full very heavy suitcases. Normally walking from my hostel to my apt would take about 10 minutes. With the luggage it took about 30 and even that was only because I was going as fast as I could just to get it over with. By the time I got there I was drenched in sweat and my muscles and hands were not happy. But who cares, right?! I was there! I walked in and met two of the three male flatmates who I hadn't met yet, said hello to Yalin my roomie, dropped my bags, and rushed off to work. Work, however turned out worth rushing too! The morning started off a little slow running around the museum trying to get me my own online sign-in and grabbing some display cases. But, at about 11 we sat down and did some real science! Together Dr. Mitchell and I started a batch of 12 DNA extractions from moths. He did everything first, showing me the steps on about 3 of the specimen and then he would let me take over with the rest. First, we removed legs (for their DNA) from the moths (don't worry people, they've been dead and on display for about 5 years). Then, we mixed a solution of two compounds that I got to pipet into their individual test tubes. After, we put them in a warming machine and will be leaving them there overnight to break down the DNA. It was really really cool going through the process. I felt all science-y and happy that he trusted me working on his stuff. After, I grabbed lunch at a local sushi place where a lot of Museum employees eat and spent an hour or so enjoying the semi-rainy semi-warm weather. Because the specimen test tubes require overnight heating that's about all we were able to do on them for the day. So, after lunch we set up all the necessary equipment to photograph the various moths the next day and that was about it for the day. I headed back to my apartment, taking a slightly scenic route and even stopped to watch some lightning shoot off in the distance. I dropped in a convenience store on my way back to buy some ramen, bread, PB, and jelly so I would have some basic food in the apartment so I didn't have to eat out every night. When I got back I met the third male flatmate and he helped me figure out where everything was located. I successfully unpacked, and boy-o-boy did I have so much space unused. I was unable to fill even half the drawers and shelves I had in my room, but it was good to know I have space to expand ;) hahaa. The rest of the evening was spent being lazy, making myself some ramen, chattin' online, and reading some more books. I'm burning through them, and at this rate I will have read through 100 books by the time I'm back in the states! Thus far the apartment seems cool. The people are nice, the room is definitely fine, and Yalin and I share a good sized bathroom. It's a little strange living with 4 strangers that all know each other. I feel a little like and invader, or like I'm in people's way, but I keep reminding myself that I'm paying rent, so I shouldn't be meek. I also learned today why everything is so damn expensive in Syndey. Their minimum wage is like 16 dollars or something ridiculous. So no wonder the cheapest meal is like 10! I've been thinking maybe of getting a part time job in the evenings just for fun, so we'll see what happens with that.

Day 8: The First Repeat Day!

Woke up with my cold even more advanced, FAIL. But other than the slight sleeping in I was determined to not let it ruin my second Sunday in Sydney . I relaxed most of the morning, made some phone calls home, and walked over the Darling Harbor and Cockle Bay just to have a look around. I meant to wake up to walk over to a Pakistani restaurant for lunch, but I failed miserably in the waking up process. So instead I walked the harbor and all the various shops and souvenir carts. I stopped for lunch at 'Grill'd' where I ate probably the juiciest burger I've ever had and then pranced off to the Maritime Museum. I spent a solid hour in the museum checking out the cool boat exhibits and the shark exhibit. It was good stuff even though I refused to spend the money to buy a ticket to get on one of the old boats. Too much money, and not nearly worth it enough to me. They were showing Finding Nemo in their theater for free so I of coursed stopped for a while to enjoy the banter of Dorey and Nemo's Dad. The rest of the time I spent wandering (my new favorite past time I guess) and eventually decided to go see TRON at the IMAX in the Harbor. Now, I have never before seen a movie in IMAX and I generally refuse to see things in 3D, but I figured what better movie to see that way than TRON? Overall I thought the movie was good. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece or really anything wonderful in the storyline. I was expected a stunning visual 2 hours and that's exactly what I got. My first IMAX experience was a success and though I don't think I'll be shelling out the money to experience IMAX again anytime soon it was a pleasant way to spend my afternoon. By the time I got out it was evening and it was raining lightly. I wasn't exactly dressed for the rain so back to my hostel I went to pack for the move on Monday and to (surprise surprise) read! haha. One last night girl talking with the roomies and the night was called to a close. Thanks BASE Hostel, you made my week stay without an apartment very entertaining XD I will be sad to say goodbye to you!

Day 7: Wine, Chinatown, and Good News

Saturday morning I allowed myself to sleep in partially because of the previous day and partially because I woke up with a head cold. I had been waking up at 8 or 9 daily, which I have actually grown to really like, but I decided to allow for some lethargy. When I did wake up at about noon I headed off to the Sydney Wine Festival in Hyde Park, which is like a 10 minute walk from my Hostel. Now, pretty much any of my friends could tell you I'm really not a wine fiend. I'm not a big fan of any wine unless it has the name "Arbor Mist" on the label. LOL. But, I decided to go check it out and it turned out great. The wine tickets were 5 tastings for 20 dollars, so I decided that for someone who didn't like wine that was definitely not worth it. Instead I wandered around looking at the different vendors, and eventually just bought a meatball pita from a food vendor at the festival. They also had a live band which was great - the main singer had a voice like one of those old time singers, and it was nice listening to her. I ended up pulling out my handy kindle and reading for about an hour with them in the background. I figured I'd seen enough of the northern part of CBD so I ventured south down george street. After a while of walking I realized I was in Chinatown and meandered, looking around. I found this great indoor flee market called Paddy's which has everything you could ever want for cheap! They even had a produce section so I know where I'm going for fruit when I get in my apt. I walked for a while, bought some dried mangoes and a blended coffee, and eventually gave up on the maze to go outside to the main Chinatown street in Darling Harbor. It was pretty cool, though compared to LA's Chinatown it was really small. I bought some 'emperor's cream puffs' which were 4 for a dollar and fresh off the oven and continued walking. I was sad to see shark soup being advertised for $3. Yes, I understand that it's not that out of the ordinary for a chinatown to have it, but it makes me so sad that it's still sold. Shark soup does terrible things for the oceanic ecosystem and for the general shark population. Most of the time the sharks are caught, their fins are cut off and they're thrown back in the water to basically die. Not ok. After that I decided my venture into Chinatown had come to a close and I started heading back to the hostel to rest. On my way I stopped by a movie theater to see what was showing and what the cost was - and what I found was much like everything else in Sydney movies are EXPENSIVE. $20 for a ticket and there are no matinee or student prices. So it looks like movies won't be contributing the the use of my time in Sydney. I also stopped at McDonald's to score some free internet and found TWO important emails waiting for me. One was from Indiana University, Bloomington and one was from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I opened both and each were congratulating me for being accepted into their Master's Programs!! I will actually be a grad student after all, and what better way to kick it all off than with an acceptance from two schools I really didn't think I had much chance with. I was so excited that I basically ran out of McD's and back to my hostel to calm down and celebrate - and when I say celebrate, I basically mean chill in my room and read, but that's the way I do what I do ;) haha. The rest of the night was actually just spent in my bed listening to one of my roommates and her friend slowly get plastered on GOON. Now, GOON as I've learned is basically a 4 liter boxed wine in Sydney (SLAP THE BAG?!.... except not). There are many different brands, but the idea is the same: cheap wine to drink before going out so you don't spend a hundred bucks on an outing. The three of us talked for probably 4 hours before they finally decided it was time to head out at about 1am (when they tried very hard to force me out of my pjs to drink some goon and to go out with them... to which I responded 'no, no, no... i am siiick). The girls (Shawn and Suzi) were interesting and at times strange conversation but chattin' it up about Bavaria, Cannes, and what cool things to do around Sydney was a fun relaxing way to spend the night.

Day 6: TGIF!

Oh man, what a long day in Sydney. No work for me today, but I did have to change hostel rooms which was unfortunate since I had been having such a good time in my room and it had an ensuite bathroom attached. Unfortunately because they were so booked I had to change to a 'sanctuary room' which basically just means there are only girls. The plus was it was only 4 people rather than six in the room, the negative was having to move and only being around girls who I have found like to chat chat chat chat chat. After moving I and putting all my stuff back away I was told by the front desk that there were free drinks at the scary canary if you wore red because it was sailor's night. So, i went out in search of a red shirt (which OF COURSE I don't own... it's all about the BLUE AND GOLD). I wandered around a huge mall on George street and found that it was the most expensive and most designer-filled mall I had ever been to. Luckily I found a store called Supre which was really awesome. First, while looking through a rack a moth jumped off one of the shirts I was skimming through and scared me half to death. Funny because I will be working with them for the next 5 months, but they're not so fun when they pop out at you at a store. After finding a suitable red shirt for 10 bucks, which I have to say must be a rare find in Sydney I was very satisfied. I decided to continue walking on an adventure as that tends to be what I do these days, walk and see where my feet take me. Eventually I decided my goal was starbucks and I had remembered seeing one near the harbor a few days back. However, before I got there I was sidetracked by a cute little coffee shop called "Blend on George St." I decided to stop for a frappiato and a short reading break. My short reading break turned into quite a long one and I ended up buying a sausage roll for lunch. Now, I mentioned earlier that the meat pies are kind of the official food os Syndey, well, so are the sausage rolls. You can buy them pretty much anywhere, so I decided it was time for me to take a try. Mistake numero uno. Sausage rolls are not yummy. The pastry on the outside is great, very flaky, very good... but the sausage stuff inside is a huge no-go. I mean, it was aiight. I paid for it so I ate it, but I won't be having another one of those again. After the sausage disaster I decided it was time to start walking again to get my body going and walked straight toward the harbor. I ended up in an area called "The Rocks" which is a great place for shopping and seeing the harbor. I ended up stumbling upon the Discovery Museum (it's FREE) and went in for a look. It was very interesting and mostly about the aboriginal culture and history of Australia. It was in a smaller old brick building, so it didn't take me long at all to look at everything. I continued my trek to find a beautiful view of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. It was great to see them across the harbor. Lemme say, I have NEVER before seen so many brides in one place. Everywhere I looked I saw brides and their grooms all done up and taking pictures like mad. Some with professional photographers, some with just their families, but man, SOO MANY! I kept walking, in what was kind of a huge circle and went through "Miller's Point" and up into Observatory Park to see the Sydney Observatory. And when I say up, I mean UP. It was like 5 or 6 Saxon Steps worth of stairs that I had to climb to get up there. Exhausting. When I finally did I discovered it was closed, which was fine because there was a whole park around the observatory that I explored. Once I was satisfied I walked back over to The Rocks for the last friday night concert of the season. The series, called "Markets by Moonlight. Summer Markets... Live Music... Balmy Nights" was coming to and end and I was lucky enough to catch the last performance. The band that played was awesome and incredibly entertaining. They were more on the mellow side, but their melodies and harmonies were really great to listen to. I watched while eating some gellato and sipped on some free smirnoff vodka mixed drink they were handing out. Once the concert was over I walked around the tents a bit and perused the things they were selling. I ended up just buying dinner, a meat turkish gozleme which was absolutely delicious and started to walk back to the hostel. On the way back I saw some more singers set up on the street and quite a few street performers. I finally arrived back at Base at about 8pm and decided to shower and get ready for the evening at the Scary Canary. I was beat, but I figured I bought a shirt specifically for the occasion so I may as well not be lazy and go out. The night was a success and the place was SUPER full because it was actually also a fundraiser night for the people of Christ Church. They did raffles and had a few 'dance-off' type things to raise as much money possible, and from the looks of it I'd guess they made a ton of money for the cause. When I got back to my room as I expected the girls were all up chattin, so I talked with them for a while and then had to retire to bed. They funny girls, but my exhaustion for the day was too much. The moment I laid down I was out cold.

Day 5: Lazy Daze

Second day at the A.M. and I am officially official! I got my security card which allows me through all the locked doors and a key to Dr. Mitchell's office. We spent most of the day tracking down all the right people to get me officially registered and running me through all the boring safety and protocol information. We took a long lunch break and went to a local sushi place to grab some cheap grub and headed back to his office to chow down and, for me, read some more on my kindle. After, we arranged everything to start research on the Monday which will begin with me photographing a bunch of specimen and following him through the barcoding process. By 3pm we decided to call it a day and I headed back to the hostel. After a bit chillin' in the air conditioned wonderfulness of the hostel I ventured out once again to find some suitable and cheap dinner. I ended up going to Insomnia Kebabs and Pizza to grab a couple slices. Now, I don't know what was different about this pizza as compared to the usual American pizza, but it was so good. There was so much more flavor and I could really taste all the different ingredients. I stopped by Maccy's on the walk back to grab some free internet and then went to the hostel for a nice relaxing night in. I read till I fell asleep (though I probably should have been packing), and I think the total books read since arriving is officially 3 1/2. Ridiculous what you can get done when you don't have anything to do, or anything that is due. So much free time!

Day 4: The Australian Museum! and other random fun :D

I started off the day learning that the second apartment I looked at was no longer available (boo), but its okay because I figured out I will be able to move in with Yalin on Monday!! Once I got that I figured out I walked over to the Australian Museum and day one of work was really fun. When I got to the museum I went through security and got my first visitors pass. I got to meet Andrew Mitchell, the researcher I will be working under and he's just a really nice guy. I think he's in his 40s and he's married and has a 10 year old little girl who is adorable. He bought me a coffee which is a 'flat white' (Aussie coffee lingo is SO strange - a flat white is espresso with steamed milk) and we chatted a bit about my goals, his plans, and what out joint game plan should be. I also learned he was born in South Africa, moved to Maryland to get his masters, moved back to S. Africa for a while, and eventually moved to Sydney to get his PhD and work with the Australian Museum. After we got to know one another a bit he toured me around the research area of the museum. I got to see all the behind the scenes areas and he showed me around the Lepidoptera collection, which is SUPER COOL btw. Who would have thought i'd be excited about moths and butterflies, but they're so pretty! I got to meet a few of the staff, but he assured me I would meet more of them on Thursday when we'd have afternoon tea with everyone (afternoon tea!!). The tour made me so excited to work with him on the research. I couldn't stop smiling at the museum and the upcoming work. After the touring was done we decided that was about all we could do that day and he suggested I go explore the Museum itself. The collections are really cool. They have an aboriginal history, geology, skeletons, local fauna, and dinosaur exhibit. I spent a good two hours just looking around at all the exhibits and the small gift shop. I also spent a solid 2 hours reading in the atrium which is beautiful (kindle, FTW). On my walk home I found out that Maccy's (McDonald's) has free Wifi, WIN! I ate dinner at Bar 333 which had a really good 10 dollar dinner special on their Chicken Parm which was really yummy. By the time I got back to my hostel room (116) I got to meet my three new roomies: Losh (21), Staphan (24), and William (20) from Sweden. They all work together on farms and are in Sydney for a few days of vacation. I got to chat with them for like an hour and can I just say, Swedish people are very on top of american politics. I think like half the time we talked it was about current politics in America. It was really impressive that they new so much. After we chatted for a while the hall outside became really loud and we opened the door to see a bunch of hostel peeps yelling about free drinks at the Scary Canary (the bar next to our hostel). So we all got ready and headed down. The rest of the night was just chillin' in the Scary Canary with them and meeting a bunch of random people which was fun since I know absolutely no one.

Day 3: The day of the apartments

I woke up bright and early to go visit two apartments I had scheduled to go check out. Both apartments are in Pyrmont, which is really a great location for where I want to be. The first apartment was slightly disheveled, but only in the way that means its being lived in. It was clean at least and there is laundry inside the apartment :) I would be sharing the room with one other girl and the apartment with her and two other boys. It by far had the best location of all the apartments I was going to look at and it also has a small gym and pool inside the complex which is kind of a nice bonus. Basically this apartment was mine for the taking - if I wanted it then it was mine. My possible roomie, Yalin, is super nice and she works the night shift at a Bakery, so I'd basically have the room to myself daily from 5pm-2am which would be cool. After, I wandered to a local coffee shop right near her place and ordered a Chai Latte and a lemon chicken sandwich. Both were delish and right as I got there was when they began showing news coverage of the horrible 6.3 earthquake in Christ Church. I sat in the shop for almost an hour and a half watching the coverage. It's so terrible how much damage was caused and how many people were killed and are currently still missing. Australia and New Zealand have experienced so many natural disasters recently, its so sad. They need a break from disaster after disaster. After about an hour and a half it was time for me to find the second place I was touring. This place was gorgeous. It was basically a large row-house with 6-7 people living in it. The room I would be staying in I would share with 3 other people, one girl and two boys, but DENG the house was hella modern and clean and tidy. The owner, Phillipe showed me around and I met a few of the current house guests. They were all nice people and I really enjoyed the place. When I returned back to the hostel I was extremely tired so I took some time to just chill and read a bit on my kindle. That bit of rest turned into a nap which turned into sleeping for the night... but a bit of extra sleep was probably what I needed.

Day 2

Lets start with a couple of things I have already learned about Sydney
1. Burger King is actually Hungry Man - same logo, same food, different name
2. There is absolutely no way to find a small latte for under 5 bucks
3. "Large" = US small
4. Dryden's Books is BALLIN
5. The Mac store is amazing for free internet and no one will ever bother you
6. Everything at McDonalds is at least 3 bucks, minus the ice cream which is a .50 cone.
7. Starbucks doesn't give out free Wifi
8. 8 hours of walking makes your feet hurt and your back burnt
9. Pedicures cost a HELL of a lot more than they do in LA - I can pretty much guarantee I won't be getting one for the next five months
10. Don't believe apt ads - as pretty as the pictures may look the apt can STILL be in shambles.
11. Aussie rain is amazing!
12. Breakfast is Brekky and a medium is a middy
13. Pies (filled with like chicken/beef/ect) are the official food of Sydney, and they are DELICIOUS
14. Nothing is cheap, nothing is free, welcome to Sydney!

There, now I've written one new fun fact for every mile I walked today and yesterday combined!

So, this morning began with me walking to the first apartment I scheduled to look at. It was about an hour walk from my hostel so I took off at 9 with high hopes for what looked like a cute little house. On the way I stopped by an small bakery where I got what was literally the most delicious chocolate croissant I have ever tasted. Who knew croissants could taste so good? When I got to the place lets just say I was quite underwhelmed. Now, I know my means and I know that I won't be staying in the lap of luxury while I live in Sydney, but DAMN, seriously? The place was a hot mess. Dirty, messy, disheveled, I could keep going, but I think we all grasp the point. I am going to see two more places tomorrow and I think those will be good. Hopefully one of them works out because I really don't want to but stuck in House #1. After that failed (an hour walk for a 3 minute showing) I decided to wander around again. The apartment was in Surry Hills so I explored Surry some more and then I headed out toward Darlinghurst and Paddington. On my travels I found the Jewish History Museum, a random film crew shooting a movie, the local Hospital and the Supreme Court House. From there I traveled over to Potts Point and Kings Cross which were both nice places to walk through. I logged a few food place I want to try as well as a couple bars with fun/cheap happy hours that include POOL! From there I headed back toward Hyde Park, where the Australian Museum is and can I just say, I am SO EFFING excited to work there. It looks AMAZING. After drooling over the museum architecture I decided to walk through St. Mary's Cathedral (which is absolutely stunning) and then stumbled upon the Sydney Art Museum so I decided to take a few hours and visit. There were a TON of exhibits, some I liked more than others, but overall it was wonderful, Shantel would go CRAZY. After, I walked over to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Boy 'o boy, I could have easily spend hours and hours in there looking at all the plans and animals. I saw a TON of bats hanging upside-down, enjoying sleeping in the sun. There were some weird looking birds, and they had an entire area for endangered plants that was cool to look at. One thing easily noticeable though, SPIDERS. And I don't mean like little spiders, GIGANTIC spiders with black and yellow striped legs that spun yellow webbing. They were insane, and they were everywhere. I had to walk underneath one once and I was so sure it was going to pounce on me the moment I was under it. But luckily, I made it through unscathed and happy as a clam. From there I caught a glimpse of the Opera House and was determined to see it before I turned back to the hostel. So I walked, and walked, and walked a bit more and before I knew it there it was! Beautiful and shiny and MOBBED by tourists just like me. I walked around it, went inside for a bit and decided that I was required to see at least one show before I left. After, I had a nice view of the Harbor Bridge and saw a couple interesting street performances. Finally, I was ready to return to the hostel. I walked back and on the way got a dinner pie from the local pie shop. Delish. The rest of the evening was me reading and relaxing, setting up work for Wednesday, meeting my new and hilarious hostel mates (3 Melbourne boys, Rory, Jay, and K) who I really liked, and going out for my first night life experience in Sydney with those boys which was really really great. Day 2 and I'm already loving Sydney, enjoying the accents, and navigating the streets - I walked the whole day with no map and never got lost. Win.

Day One

Hooookay
Here goes. So I've never written a blog before, and I've pretty much failed at every journal I've ever tried to keep, so this is a new experiment to attempt to document my Sydney time. I couldn't figure out if I wanted this to be a kind of record of what I did or a chronicle of how I am slowly going insane so I figure it'll be a little of both. I'm sure it'll be boring sometimes and I'm sure there will ramblings of a crazy lady on here sometimes so bear with me and ignore what you don't want to read :)

So, day one in Sydney and its been hot, like the 'sticky humid I feel it all around me' hot. The plane ride over was seriously one of the best flights I've ever had. It was 15 hours long, but I really felt like it took 1, maybe 2. I watched 2 movies and slept the rest of the flight. We were served dinner and breakfast on the plane (both of which I had to be woken up for), and though it wasn't the greatest it was better than normal plane food. I also ended up sitting next to this really adorable couple who made sitting in the window seat very easy. Once I was at the airport I basically sat around for 5 hours. I wanted to kill some time because the hostel check-in wasn't till 2 and I couldn't really wander Sydney with two pieces of luggage and a huge UCLA backpack. So I bought some internet time to update peeps/fam and a sim card for the intl phone Omar generously lent me for the trip. So I am officially mobile - set and ready to go for when my social life shoots through the roof ;) haha. I finally headed to Base (my hostel) at about noon, checked in a bit early, stored my luggage and began my first wander around the city and also find my new place of work, The Australian Museum (the attached pic). My first impression? Sydney is very LA. The first thing I wandered upon was a huge shopping center with possibly the largest food court I'd ever seen. If it wasn't for the accents surrounding me I would think I took a very long trip back to LA. I like it though, it's a bit of a home away from home and I appreciate that. Second thing I noticed? The same 5 of 6 shops reoccur every couple of blocks. No matter where you are you can get a slurpee from 7-11, a coca cola from the 'city convenience store,' grab a book from Drydens, munch on a wing from KFC, or get a mobile contract from vonaphone. There are some cute little shops and a lot of small coffee shops scattered in there too though, so I'm going to have a lot of things to try out. End of day one and I am exhausted. Lots of walking around, a ton of heat and sun, and i'm off to grab a quick dinner and go watch some fireworks in the bay. Day one: Success :)