i made it to sydney

Damn but jet lag sucks. I’ve never really experienced it properly, even though I’ve been all over the world. But this time I really struggled. Just after I had adapted to being home in South Africa after flying from South America, I decide to confuse my body even more and hop across to Australia (via Dubai). So far this year I’ve literally hopped across the whole Southern Hemisphere!! Needless to say, it took me a couple of days to adjust to the time differences.

Luckily, while I was backpacking in South America, I made many amazing friends that happen to reside in Australia. One of them being my friend Mike (he feels more like a brother than a friend though to be honest). He and his family welcomed me into their home in Sysney’s suburbia, where I spent a couple of days letting my body clock adjust. I did also venture outu into the city a few times, seeing and catching up with old school friends, family, etc…and well, obviously I went to the Sydney Opera House too.

A few highlights from my week in Sydney:

• Mike and I went to a rally in Hyde Park. The rally was against the new lockout laws that the government is trying to introduce in Sydney. Basically, there was a fight in the famed Kings Cross party area in the city, and a guy was sadly killed. Now the media has basically forced the hand of the government, to pass a new law that night clubs stop selling alcohol at 1:30am, and close all night clubs at 3:00pm. To me this seems acceptable because at home in South Africa, it is relatively similar, but I understand that it’s not what they are used to in this huge metropolitan city.
  

  Mike and I at the Rally in Hyde Park

• My cousin, Anton, and his wife and their gorgeous little 19 month old twins also live in Sydney, so I spent a night with them and got to meet my second cousins. I also got to catch up with Anton after not seeing him in about 8 years. So happy. Family is always family.
  

  My two little cousins Enzo and Nina

• The famous Bondi Beach is really quite beautiful, but also rather over saturated with people. On this particular Saturday afternoon, I met up with an old friend from High School, Natalie. It’s been about 6 year since we last saw each other. Well, whenever the last time I was in London was, that is when I last saw her. She lives here now. It was really interesting to chat to her about different visa options if I ever decide to settle down in Australia permanently, and obviously just to catch up in general.
  

  Catching up with Natalie, an old friend from High School

• The Sydney Opera House is of course a must see tourist attraction, and with my interest in Architecture, it was incredible to be standing next to this huge piece of art, carefully crafted against the skyline of Sydney and the harbour. There is a bar just next to the Opera House, called Opera Bar, and it’s a must see for anybody visiting the area. I went alone and had a beer, to the delights of an American family snickering next to me about how they feel so sorry for that girl sitting all by herself. My patience for American’s is still very very low, because every time I come across American’s, they prove to be the identical mould of the stereotype that they are perceived to be (bar a few special cases, where I have met and made amazing friends with).
  

  Sydney Harbour Bridge

  

  Sydney Opera House

  
• Back in the days when I grew up in Johannesburg (between my age of 0-11 years), we were good family friends with the Zock Family. One of their sons now lives in Sydney, so of course our mothers co-ordinated for us to meet up. Him and I went out for beers and dinner, and I spoke so much that instead of waking up with a hangover the next day, I woke up with an aching jaw from all the chatting I’d been doing. Poor guy, having to listen to me nonstop chatting for hours. It really was a great night though and I’m happy that I saw him.

And then off I went again, as I do, always moving, never staying still in one place for too long. The next flight out took me to Cairns to meet up with my friend Hayley (a girl I met in South America), and the two of us will be going out and searching for jobs on farms, fruit picking, for the next three months. More to come on that in the next post……