Life Is A Rollercoaster, Just Got To Ride It

Oh god I can’t believe I just quoted a Ronan Keating song. I apologise. Let’s pretend I actually came up with a much cooler title and move swiftly on…

This morning I sat down to write a proper update about relocating but instead this was on the brain and felt far more relevant: The one overriding thing I have experienced since relocating is that the perception of my current situation can completely change from second to second. One moment I’ve lost focus and just want to be stuffing my face with nachos and cocktails with my best friend, then the next moment the sun is shining, I’ve met someone who restores my faith in humanity and I don’t want to be anywhere else. Days later they leave, I’m back to wanting the nachos then, as I give my reflection a pep talk about staying positive, I get a phone call offering me a job interview and I’m back to loving being here again… only I have no one to share the joy with!

Fortunately, the majority of my time in Sydney so far has been pretty good (touch wood!). I’ve had so much positive feedback from recruiters and potential employers that it’s completely restored my faith in my professional ability - I actually feel like I might not be the waste of space the London recruitment world led me to believe I was! Over here I have people who are genuinely helping me and I am being encouraged to aim for jobs I want and apparently deserve rather than things that are below my ability. I’ve had more feedback in the last two weeks than I had over the whole two years I was job searching in London and it’s the most incredible breath of fresh air.

The only thing I’m really struggling with is being completely alone. Not that I am actually alone, just in the sense that I have no one familiar around me. There are moments when you just want to call your parents and when you want to tell a friend about an encounter with a cute guy but you simply can’t because they’re asleep on the other side of the world and won’t get your message for another eight hours! I’ve found this leaves you feeling a bit empty, but you just have to get on with it and process those emotions yourself. I can only assume that this is what they call a “character building” experience. It’s also massively crap.

Don’t get me wrong though, I love being over here alone and figuring everything out for myself. I feel like this is mine and mine alone. Everything I achieve (and fail at) is completely down to me - which I’ve come to realise was the main attraction of me coming out here. If I’d come out here with someone I knew, the experience would be completely different, and the thought of anyone I know from home coming out to join me at this point would completely rain all over my koala bear themed parade (although I encourage visitors once I’m sorted!).

So basically what I’m saying is that this transitional stage is a bit hard-going given that it’s constantly changing, but it’s also opening my eyes to new things and giving me the confidence to push myself. I’ve met people across the last week or so who, although I have only spent a few days with them, have made me look at things completely differently, and I genuinely hope that our paths cross again in the not too distant future.

And now, as the sun is shining and it’s like a good British summer day outside (even though it’s early spring), I’m off to the beach. Just because I can!

Oh and I didn't have a relevant picture to post, so I thought I'd share this with you instead. Because it makes me smile...

Australia vs The UK -The Random Differences They Don’t Tell You About

Right, I know I haven’t done a proper update about life Down Under, but that’s because there’s been so much going on that I have no idea where to start! Plus I’ve been writing in my travel diary every day so I’ve simply not had the time to update everything.

So instead, while I’m gathering my thoughts together into an easy-to-decipher post, I thought it’d be fun to point out a few little differences I’ve noticed in between Australia and the UK. Here goes:

• Burger King is called Hungry Jacks – This baffles me. Anyone know why it is? Who is Jack and why is he hungry?

• The seagulls are exactly like they are on Finding Nemo – If you’re down by the water and stay sitting in one position for more than 30 seconds, you will suddenly find yourself surrounded – it doesn’t even matter if you have food or not! And I’m 99% sure they squawk ‘MINE’ rather than a normal seagull squawk.

• In the city it will take you about five minutes just to cross one road – This drove me completely MENTAL for the first week or so of being here. If you’re from a big city you will find yourself teetering on the edge of the curb desperately wanting to get to the other side but being forced to wait by the unfazed people surrounding you and absence of that stupid little green man! Also, the lights beep even when you can’t cross. I haven’t figured out why this is yet.

• You stand on the left hand side of escalators – I’ve worked in London since I was 18 so it’s been drummed into me to stand on the right for years. I spent the first week of being here generally getting in the way and being confused as to why people were glaring at me… oops.

• It takes ages for you to order a coffee, smoothie or anything else that needs to be made for you there and then – It seems Aussie’s really do work at a much slower pace. I waited for over ten minutes for a couple of slices of toast the other day…

• Ugg boots are not worn as casual wear – They originated as something surfers could slip on after emerging from the waves, so some Aussies find it a bit weird when they’re worn for just strolling around the shops or going about your daily routine. Oh and it’s normal for guys to wear them too apparently.

• The coffee is GOOD – There is a massive coffee and cake culture over here and it’s all about independents. Unlike in the UK and the States where you’re never more than 10 metres away from a Starbucks, there are hardly any to be seen here! It’s very refreshing.

• It’s expensive – I’ve been told that this is because there are less people, so less consumer businesses and therefore less competition between pricing. Which means that a pre-made sandwich will cost you $6-8, a bottle of water will cost you $3 and a tube of toothpaste will be about $7. 

• People run and work out anywhere and everywhere – I reckon this must be because of the cakes and massive portions. Hotspots I’ve found include the Royal Botanical Gardens, Bondi and the Eastern Beaches walk. You can find people walking, running, working out, stretching, rollerblading… you name it, they’re doing it. And they all have beautiful (and tanned) bodies to show for it.

• Pre-pay buses – With a lot of the buses you have to buy a ticket before you board. If you get on a pre-pay bus without a ticket because you’re new and confused, the bus driver will get angry. Luckily when I did it the guy let me off and just let me pay, but I’ve seen people being shouted at and thrown off…

• The trains have three levels and the seats are AWESOME – I’d go as far as saying it’s my favourite thing about being here! On my first train journey I was just about getting over the brilliance of having three levels (we need this in London) when I witnessed the magicalness of the seats. I don’t want to say what it is because I want newbies to the city to discover it for themselves. It’s an experience. The first time I saw it, it BLEW MY MIND!

• You can crumple up a note and it just flips back to its original shape – Ever played Monopoly and wished the money was real? Well wish no longer! Aussie notes have see-through bits on them and feel plasticy (maybe because everyone lives by the sea and sweats a lot in the summer?!). So when you scrunch one up it doesn’t really crease like British notes do. Hours of fun.

• They don’t have one or two cents coins – I find this a bit weird because they still price things at in-between numbers, then just round up. Crafty!

• It’s like being in a time warp when it comes to music – I’ve heard songs here that I haven’t heard for YEARS! We’re talking Billie Piper, various Eurovision songs and 90s club anthems. And of course there’s loads of Savage Garden, Delta Goodrem and Kylie.

• They put bucket loads of salt and pepper in everything – Which means you’re constantly thirsty and sometimes things like pie and sandwich fillings simply taste of just pepper. Blarg.

• Credit, cheque or savings – When you use your card you’re asked what type of account you want to withdraw from. I didn’t have a clue what mine was first time round. After trying the other two options and failing, I pressed ‘credit’ and it worked (even though it’s not a credit card!), so that’s what I roll with each time I withdraw money.

• They don’t seem to care about swearing in songs or on TV – Which makes hearing the unedited version of Cee-Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’ a bit awkward when you’re in a shop and there are kids around.

• Some places still freak out when you pay by card – With some things it feels like Australia has only just discovered technology. They don’t do ‘chip-and-pin’ (which they refer to as EPTFOS) the way we do in the UK and in most places you still sign on the dotted line if you pay with a card. Bizarrely though, my card has that ‘wave’ technology where you just perform a jedi-like hand gesture with your card against a machine and it automatically debits your account. Bit of a massive contradiction in security! They also seem to be mortally allergic to splitting the bill in restaurants.

• There’s loads of FREE services – The best one being the completely free shuttle bus that runs up and down George Street (the main street) from Central station to Circular Quay. There are also free city walks, free tours of the Botanical Gardens and free places to charge your phone in bars and pubs. This would never happen in London – Boris, mate, you need to sort it out for us!
  
  
• Their chocolate is RUBBISH - Like... seriously bad. I can't physically eat it. Luckily though, you can scout out places that import the proper English stuff. Thank god!
  

So there we have it, the first few things I’ve noticed. I’m sure there’ll be more to come…