A FEW MORE DAYS IN SYDNEY (NOT AS CRAZY)

DAY 2

My first real full day in Sydney. I woke up at 4:30AM. (Thanks, jet lag.) And then again at 6:30AM. And then again at 7:30AM. And then I just accepted my fate to be awake and spent the first half of my day alone with my thoughts and quietly crying in my hostel bunk. I finally decided I could wallow NO MORE and took my puffy eyes out into the world. I google-mapped my way to a Starbucks and before you judge me for being in a country known for its coffee and going to a Starbucks let me say this: there is something so deeply comforting to me about Starbucks’ global presence. They are everywhere. They have reliable wifi and delicious seasonal offerings. And they are familiar, which is so insanely comforting in my current mental state. This particular Starbucks has some cool-for-school street youths skateboarding on the street outside. They set up a wooden ramp on the sidewalk. Australian culture is so beautiful.

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I wandered around the Royal Botanic Gardens for a while. There was a Red Bull Flugtag event going on so it wasn’t super peaceful. I have a lot of questions about Flugtag. For example, has anyone heard of it? What is it? Did Red Bull just make it up for guerrilla marketing purposes? Why does it involve blasting EDM music throughout the park? 

I went to a grocery store to see what aussies are eating these days. I think grocery stores in the US are really big compared to the rest of the world. I don’t know how accurate that actually is but I believe it to be true based on my personal experience, and that’s always a reliable way to judge things! I love seeing which American brands make it to the worldwide market. Like why are Doritos and Pringles everywhere? Pringles I guess I understand more than Doritos. I can’t remember the last time I had a Dorito. Why didn’t Cheetos make it big? Sun Chips? Tostitos? In the cereal aisle I found a lot of original Special K, but not a single box of the Red Berries kind. Who eats plain Special K when the iconic Red Berries flavor exists? 

I got Subway for dinner. What else is new? I’m honestly just waiting for that Subway sponsorship. I’ve gotta be their most enthusiastic international patron. I had to ask the sandwich artist about their cheese selection because it dawned on me that they wouldn’t have American cheese in an Australian Subway. No American, but they did have cheddar. Why can’t American Subways have cheddar cheese in their regular offerings? Can you imagine a type of cheese better fit for a sandwich, any type of sandwich, than cheddar? It’s the most universally delicious cheese. So why do I have to fly across the world to get cheddar on my turkey sandwich? Riddle me that, Subway executives. 

Anyway, I ate my Subway in a random park by my hostel. There’s something objectively sad about eating alone on a park bench. There’s something objectively extra sad about eating dinner alone on a park bench at 5PM and that dinner is a 6-inch sandwich from Subway.

You guys really aren’t going to believe what I did later, though. I’m the one who did it and it already happened and I can barely believe it. I was lying in my bunk on my phone while everyone else was getting ready to go out. I was resigned to staying in because I’m jet-lagged as hell and also have barely talked to anyone in my room. (I figure silence and the briefest chit chat is probably better than bursting into tears in everyone’s face.) But at the last minute I actually asked this girl if I could tag along on her night out. She of course said yes because she’s a decent human, so I got ready in literally 5 minutes and crashed her night out with her friends from her orientation program. I! Did! That! 

I don’t know if the music played at these bars/clubs is indicative of aussie culture or what, but it was really something. I heard a lot of Justin Bieber. Avril Lavigne. Macklemore. A human DJ made the conscious decision to play The Lonely Island’s I Just Had Sex. Amazing.

DAY 3

I started day 3 with another breakdown in my bunk, but this one was much smaller! Progress! I went to McDonald’s for breakfast because I wanted pancakes but I didn’t want to go to a real restaurant and sit at a real table all alone. It’s hard enough being alone at places that are designed for parties of one. 

I made my way over to Bondi Beach. Did the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. Very scenic. Very recommend. I listened to podcasts while I walked so I didn’t feel so alone. Is that really sad or kind of genius or maybe a little of both? Spent some time just sitting by the Opera House, soaking up some rays and watching some tourists. Went to Vapiano for dinner. (If you don’t know what it is you have to look it up I swear to god it changed my life when I first had it abroad in 2017.) I walk most everywhere. There’s not much else to do to consume my days. I decided to give myself some time to get acclimated before I aggressively hunt for a job but it turns out getting acclimated is pretty ‘spensive, as they say. If I’m not lying in my hostel bed (alone with my thoughts, panicking) then I’m out in the city… paying to be on a bus, paying to get food, paying to sit in a café, paying to see an attraction. Walking is usually free, though. So I walk. And when sitting is free, I sit. And walking tires me out so when I come home to my lively 10-person dorm I can fall asleep. 

DAY 4

Today was a big day- I went to a cool café in a cool neighborhood. No more Starbucks for me! Immersing myself in local culture! I went to the Fine Food Store in the Rocks, an old neighborhood by the Harbour Bridge. Very cool. Very vibey. Hippo Campus’ song Sophie So started playing in the café as I was getting ready to leave and that felt like a good omen. One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands AND it has my name in it AND it happened to be playing right after I took my headphones out??? The universe is sending me the prayer hands emoji 🙏🏻. Hang in there, lil buddy 🙏🏻. It’s all gonna be okay 🙏🏻. Bless up 🙏🏻.

I talked to my mom for the first time since I got here. Sat on a bench looking out over the Opera House. Only cried a little in broad daylight. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the time difference. She was snuggled in bed on Sunday night and I was out and about on a sunny Monday afternoon. That’s weird.

Made plans to go to the Taronga Zoo tomorrow. With myself. So I guess I should just say I decided to go to the zoo tomorrow. My ticket was $42.50. I’ve spent less on concert tickets. $42.50. Unreal. To all of my loyal fans wondering when I’m getting my picture with a koala: it won’t be for a while. There are only three states where you’re allowed to snuggle a koala (Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia), and I’m sure as hell not going to waste my precious dollars on some half-assed koala experience. I don’t want a picture next to a koala; I want a picture with a koala. And that’s that on that. So I’ll have my koala moment in a few months, when I’m done in Sydney. Also though I would love to see the legislation in the states that forbid snuggling. How does the law tackle an adorable act such as koala snuggling?

Ok bye 🙂