Day 1

Alright, so Day 1 was technically yesterday, call this the first FULL day then.

Went wandering around Sydney after my last post yesterday. Brought back some great memories from wandering around Europe. Even found a nice kebab stand for lunch (more memories, yummy).

Sydney seems like a fusion of London, Europe and America. They drive on the wrong side of the road, at absolute breakneck speeds, and yet everything seems completely under control. The architecture looks European...mostly Victorian buildings around, and squeezed together. As I said yesterday, everything is a little dingy in the downtown area, but that's to be expected with any city I guess.

Accidentally found Circular Quay ferry terminal yesterday which is a good thing because it's where all ferry transport originates from. Oh...and here you go, snapped a few pics while I was down there:









So there you have it, the worlds most photographed building (Sydney Opera House) and the Sydney harbour bridge.

I'll have a few more pictures today, as I"m heading out to Taronga Zoo to try and get kicked by a kangaroo. Cheers!

Here at last

It's 12:06pm on May 30th, 2008, and I'm sitting on my bed at the hostel in Sydney Australia.

The drive from the airport was interesting....From what I say this place is a little dingy looking and a bunch of the places in the CBD look dodgy at best. But then again, Toronto looks mostly the same so you can't really judge a book by it's cover I guess.

My feelings are still up in the air about all this. The reality that I'm all on my own is starting to sink in. I just got here, and I feel lonely already. Hopefully when I talk with Penny and move in with her things will get better. And who knows, maybe I'll meet my roomates and we'll hit it off and I won't feel so bad anymore.

I've vowed to myself that I am going to last as long as my trip to Europe. If I don't like the way things are going here I may quit whatever work I'm doing and travel to see what I wanted to see when I planned this trip. Then call it and head home.

I don't like not knowing anyone and being completely alone in everything I do. Perhaps that's something to remember the next time I get a crazy idea like this.

What Almost Wasn't...

So here I am in lovely LA. The crew here just announed that my flight wouldn't be leaving until about 2am, PST. For those of you keeping score, that's 2 hours later than expected, huzzah!

The scary part is, this almost didn't happen. I was walking towards my gate in Toronto, and I was overcome with the want to just turn around and run back to my family. I didn't want to go through with it, I wanted to throw it all away and stay home where I knew everything would be alright.

I had actually come to a complete stop in the terminal, considering making a U-turn. I don't know what compelled me forward, but I went, and know I'm sitting on a floor in the terminal at LAX.

Everybody asked me how I felt before I left, are you excited? Nervous? Scared? Anxious? To be honest, it was getting old and frustrating to hear the same question over and over again, and honestly, I didn't know how I felt. Even with such a wave of emotion coming over me walking towards the gate, I wasn't sure how I felt about all this.

I still don't think the reality of all this will hit me until I step outside in Sydney, but I think I've made the right choice. While walking onboard the plane in Toronto - I felt excited. And happy.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but I'm getting through it. 4 more hours until my flight takes off, I think I'll go and get a bite to eat.

Welcome!

Well, here it is. My blog. To those that know me, welcome. To those that don't, what the hell are you doing here?

Anyhow, whoever you are, let me give you a bit about myself. I was born in Toronto, Canada and have lived there ever since. I enjoy it here, and don't really think I could call myself something other than a Canadian. I had your typical life growing up, school, play, sports, etc. I worked at a fish and chip restaurant through high school and college. I graduated in December of 2006 with honours in Computer Engineering. To celebrate my graduation, I decided to take a Contiki tour with a good friend of mine.

This is where my life and priorities changed a bit. I did the 39-day European Adventurer. What a blast! I had the most amazing time with 40 complete strangers on a bus through 16 countries in Europe. We drank, we got lost in cities, we went paragliding, we wandered the red light district in Amsterdam. Needless to say every single one of them is now one of my best friends and we still keep in touch. I was pretty depressed when I got back from Europe. I knew nothing could possibly top what I had just experienced in 6 weeks. And then I found SWAP.

SWAP introduced me to a phrase I had never heard before. Working Holiday. Basically, you're on vacation in another country, but you're allowed to stay for an extended period of time and work to support your travel funds. What an ingenious idea! I was hooked, and now here you are, reading about my impending adventures in the land down under.

I am leaving in two days, on Wednesday May 28th. I will arrive in Australia on Friday morning (AUS Time). I'm excited, I'm nervous, I have no idea what's going to happen, and that's the best part. So, check back often, leave a comment or two, send me an email, whatever you like! This blog is all about culture differences, and learning about a new place.