Sydney, Australia

G'day Mates!

This is the first installment of the adventures in Australia blog! I am working and living in the heart of Sydney, the CBD (central busines district), for the next 6 months. I never got around to studying abroad in college so I guess this sort of makes up for it!! Upon arriving, I could have kissed the ground. Why you might ask? Coming from chilly New York it was absolutely wonderful to step outside of the airport to be greeted by humid, warm temperatures and green lushness everywhere.

My accommodations are at Fraser Suites, http://sydney.frasershospitality.com/accommodation.php, a swanky hotel/corporate apt that's close to just about everything. While the complex is awesome, the clients have been across the board from corporate folks to tourists to borderline prostitutes (I think they were just some promiscuous looking women...hopefully). Jackie Chan also stayed at the hotel earlier this week per the bell boy.

The area is very convenient to lots of restaurants. The Spanish Quarters is right around the way and there are all types of Asian food nearby as well. The supermarket is a block away for when I get tired of eating out. The restaurant mix is quite varied. It's sort of like NY, though their mix of Asian food is of a greater variety. Can't say that I've had anything really 'Aussie' yet with the exception of Tim Tam's, a chocolate biscuit that is really popular here. It's sort of like a chocolate covered Oreo or wafer, but instead of lard they fill the cookie with a light chocolate ganache filling. I've never seen a product dominate the cookie isle like this one. Who ever did Tim Tam's marketing was a genius.

It hasn't all been fun and games. On my first day here, I went to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and was happily enjoying my first meal in Sydney until I looked down at the ground and saw a baby roach running around the feet of a couple eating next to me. I tried to block out the image and focused in on eating rice, well, because it's white. I had a couple more bites and stopped completely after a medium sized roach walked in a wall that was right behind me where I'm quite certain the rest of the family members could be found. Because the climate is on the humid side, I guess roaches are common like they are in the summers in NYC (yuck). If you know me well, you know that I have a slight phobia of cock roaches and dirty bathrooms. I walked out hungry searching for my next meal which was at McD's (I'm almost too embarrassed to admit). I have been here a week and have eaten out a total of four times, of those I've seen roaches for three :( My co-worker tells me that they follow me because they know how much I hate them.

The first week has been about acclimating to things like different brands and product names. For example, Rice Krispies is Rice Bubbles, Burger King is Hungry Jacks and there is a heap of lamb in every kind of cut possible! Also, they have a lot of discounted beef and meats at the grocery - sort of gross and something I don't recall seeing in the states all that often. Fruits and vegetables are god sent. It's like being back in California where produce is quite fresh and tasty. Also, the sun must be really intense here since some items are huge! Carrots in the supermarket are almost the same thickness of my wrist and the melons could do some damage if thrown.

Things are expensive! I never thought I'd say that after living in NY, but I'm saying it now! The Aussies include tax and tip in everything which results in a pricey menu. What's been more interesting is the people, they are absolutely hilarious. Everyone is super-laid back, yet a little edgy. Also, it's a very slang-like culture, I may try to compile a little list to share; there's so many things that people say here that just crack me up.

Other than that, the city is a great walking city and it reminds me a lot of SF with the rolling hills and bays. So far I've checked out Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Hyde Park - I work across the street from the park, the Opera House, the Royal Botanical Gardens and Bondi Beach. The beach was pretty awesome, it is like Venice Beach and Santa Cruz meeting in the middle. I went with a couple of co-workers and we even got to surf for a little bit! So far so good though I miss things at home a bit, mainly familiar faces. That's all for now, will be writing ad hoc when there's enough to write about so stay tuned....