Lost in Translation: Part 1

Holy crap. I'm in Tokyo. 


Yes, I know that's not a classy way to start a post but I've been saying this from the second I landed. I've been sort of obsessed with the idea of making a return visit to Japan after I fell in love with Kyoto about five years ago. I played around with the idea of coming to Tokyo to visit some friends when I'm done with my Sydney rotation at the end of September but tickets were so darn expensive. So I arrive in Sydney and a few days later my boss asks if I'd like to go train a new hire in our Japan office (the team is so swamped there that nobody has time for the poor girl). It's funny how things turn out (and yes, I keep pinching myself over my luck).


So here I am in Japan. I have now hit 6 of the 7 continents in 8 months. For those of you who don't know here's the list:


Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, & Zimbabwe): December
Europe (free stopover in Germany my way home from Africa but turned it into a cheap ticket to Paris for Xmas)
South America (Brazil & Argentina for work in February & March)
Australia 
...and now Asia


So with my home continent, I have now stepped foot everywhere but Antarctica in the last 8 months. I am so tempted to blow my entire savings to go down there just so I could contemplate writing a book about hitting every continent in one year. Though I heard the boat ride down there from South America is hellish...and I'm not a huge fan of the cold...so it's pretty unlikely.


I have to admit, I am growing really attached to Sydney again. I made some great new friends so quickly and my team and my manager are great. There are quite a few American expats in the office so it kind of feels like home. I was sad leaving my friends for an entire week when my job rotation is so short but I could not pass up this opportunity. Plus, as I mentioned before, I have a few friends in Tokyo already so was really happy to be able to reunite with them and meet my Japanese team at Google.


I had to wake up at 4am and though I had a fairly tame night out last night with a group of friends (only one gin & tonic and one martini), I had a really restless night sleep. I hate knowing that I have to wake up early and my flight this morning left at 8am so I set my alarm for 4:45. I ended up tossing and turning all night and after about two hours of sleep, I dragged myself out of bed around 4:15 knowing that going back to sleep for such a short amount of time would probably make me even more tired. 


So I get a taxi to the airport and was totally ripped off (I forgot to tell the driver to NOT go the long way) but the guy was adorable and would not stop talking to me about vitamins and his exercise regimen and moving from Lebanon and other random shit. Cab drivers in Sydney are pretty friendly for the most part, maybe because they are paid like $20 an hour...but yes, I still probably dumbly tip them when they are super nice because not tipping feels so weird to me (it isn't customary to tip in Australia or Japan). So yeah, I get to the airport way too early and then find out I don't have an aisle (I hate having to crawl over people). I'm told I can pay $350 to move to premium economy but obviously say no. Then when I ask at the gate the sweet Japan Airlines employee tells me that she thinks she can get me a window in the bulkhead. Five minutes later she comes up to me when I'm checking my email in one of those free kiosks and says it's a done deal. Score! I had so much leg room I felt like I was kind of in business class. Except for the shitty food.


OK, I take that back. Breakfast wasn't too bad. What was weird though was that at 9am, we were served our choice of poached chicken or Japanese pork curry. Not only was this strange so early in the morning but the curry (my choice, I figured I'd start being Japanese immediately) came with cheese, bread, a weird potato onion salad, and a Tim Tam (chocolate cookie). I picked at my food while watching Sucker Punch (strange but kind of cool), slept a little, ate lunch (this time an Aussie meat pie with Anzac cookies), watched half of Valentines Day (utterly ridiculous), slept a little more, and before I knew it 10 hours had passed and we were landing in rainy Tokyo. 

Side note...I can't get over how much nicer the service is on international (meaning not American) airlines is. The Japanese have service down better than any other culture I've experienced and every time I stood up to get something out of the overhead bin, they were there to help. They constantly walked by with green tea and coffee, bowed every time they took your tray or handed you a bottle of water, and just were so adorable. Every single person on the plane thanked me in English when I left (I was one of about five non Japanese on the plane...Sydney is either a really popular vacation spot in the sticky humind summer months or they do a lot of business there). 


Anyway, I get off the plane and quickly whiz my way to the front of Customs (while what I saw of the airport wasn't overly nice, Sao Paulo still wins the prize as the crappiest big city airport and Customs once took me over 2 hours). An American guy standing behind me started talking to me about recently being in Brazil and how crazy their visa system is (you have to get a visa in person at the consulate, even as a tourist). I was kind of surprised that you not only have to get finger printed in Tokyo, they also take your picture. Hardcore. It was pretty funny, apparently I wasn't pressing my two pointer fingers down hard enough and I kept getting rejected. I told the guy that I was pushing as hard as I could and was starting to get frustrated but it finally accepted my level of strength and I was able to pass through. 


I got my luggage pretty quickly and found the bus counter for the airport limousine bus that my Aussie coworker told me to take. The woman told me that there was a big accident because of the rain and that it would take over two hours. She suggested I go downstairs and get the train (like my American friend here suggested). I was a bit reluctant because the bus would drop me off at the front door of my hotel but figured I'd save some time taking the train. Man, was I wrong! So first I go to one counter and ask a woman who barely speaks English if it goes to Shibuya and it doesn't (mind you, all of the bazillion signs everywhere are in Japanese), then I go to another one that she tells me to go to and that's the wrong one. Finally, I find the Narita Express train office and purchase my tickets and go find my train. Again, all of the signs downstairs are all in Japanese. I'm sweating buckets (it is SO hot and humid in the summer in Japan, I remember having to stop and cool down every few minutes when I was in Kyoto in the summer). I finally go up to a worker and just show him my ticket (English is very limited here) and he walks me to the platform and points to the ground. I see that every few feet there is a number for what car you are assigned to. 


So I kill some time eating up all of my phone credits checking my email and answering some text messages (I think it ate like $20 in 15 minutes because of my roaming charges). The train finally comes and an Australian girl helps me find somewhere to put my suitcase and I find my seat. It was so nice to finally sit down and cool off but I was so worried that I was going to miss my stop and really had no clue that it was over an hour away  that I didn't really relax. It was so funny, the train was not only so clean and comfortable, a woman came by about a half hour in selling booze, juice, and snacks. I could have killed for a glass of wine or a stiff shot to take the edge off and relax my muscles but I'll save that for when I'm a more experienced rider. I got up like 20 minutes too early when I heard the loud speaker say Shibuya was coming up (she probably said in 20 minutes but since my knowledge of Japanese is "Thank you", "Goodbye" and "Excuse me", I had no clue).

I get off at Shibuya and am starting to get a little worried that getting a cab might be difficult. It's raining and everyone was getting off of work but I figured it was a big station so I wouldn't have a hard time. Holy crap, was I wrong. I stood out in the rain for about 30 minutes, watching every cab pass me by for a Japanese person. At first it was kind of funny, like I was invisible, but then I was starting to get tired and irritable and was soaking wet and soon I was full on pissed off. I finally see a cab and he goes forward to get me and this woman runs up and steals the cab from me! He was pointing at me and saying something in Japanese and she just ignored me while he stared at me with a, "Sorry but I'm too lazy to do anything about this situation" look on his face. I said to the woman, "Excuse me, this was my cab." She starts yelling at me, "NO! I was here FIRST!" in perfect English. I said, "No lady. I have been waiting for 30 mintues!" She just ignores me and gets in the cab. I'm now feeling so defeated, thinking I'm never going to get to my hotel and I'm starting to cry. I stopped myself immediately saying, this is going to be over soon. You are not going to be stuck on the street corner in the rain all night...night will turn into morning. No, just kidding. About 5 minutes later I finally got a cab.

The cab drives like a bat out of hell but by now, I'm just so happy to be dry and heading to my destination. We pull up and I swear, I think I heard angels sing. The lobby, gorgeous. The people in the lobby, rich and gorgeous. The decor, the people, everything was just so....Japanese. I suddenly got really giddy. I check-in and find out my office is literally right around the corner. Like, it will take me 5 minutes to get to work in the morning. The sweet bellman brings me up to my room. O.M.G. This room is amazing. It is absolutely gorgeous. Everything is so high tech. Huge sunken bathtub, rain shower, complimentary tea, coffee, water, toiletrees. No detail has been missed. Since I'm a Hyatt Gold member (not sure how that happened, I don't think I've stayed at that many Hyatts), I find out that I get to use the gym and spa and wireless for free. Even my American appliances work here! I'm so excited as the bellman is showing me everything. I think I amused him, he couldn't stop laughing and kept saying, "You're so funny!" (my new best friend)

I was planning on meeting up with my American friend Cass who booked a whole ramen dinner at this amazing sounding restaurant with some of her friends but I was feeling so tired and wet and gross from the plane so I decided to stay in and just order some food and shower. I ordered some $30 tempura soba dish from room service and it came in about 20 minutes with a pot of hot green tea. I actually had to be told how to eat it but the man found that pretty amusing. The noodles were in little clumps and you dip it in a broth that you can add seaweed, green onion, and wasabi too. I sat down to my meal and was soon in bliss. I still am as I sit in my bed that could sleep 4 people side by side comfortably. I can't wait to explore the city tomorrow. I can't wait to go to work on Monday, even. Everything lately has just been one big unknown adventure. I really feel like I might need to come back to this region of the world sooner rather than later. It might be time for a change.

Everything old is new again...

So here I am, a week later, settled into Sydney life. It took me quite a few days to feel normal but I finally feel comfortable in my apartment, at work, and in the city. My manager found me on my first day in the office (she is awesome, by the way) and took me over to meet my new team. They are all really friendly and made me feel so welcomed. I quickly became really close with a few of the girls who are so similar to me and so much fun, including a girl visiting from the Dublin office who is also here for a short while. It's been so nice having girls to hang out with and gossip with. It's like we've known each other for ages.

So yeah, work has been really good and I'm learning so much. A few days after I started, my manager asked me if I'd like to go to Tokyo to help train a new Media Manager (yes, please!) so I'll be heading to Tokyo this Friday and staying a bit over a week. It's going to be such an amazing experience and I've been dying to see the city since I first went to Kyoto about 5 years ago. My friends Cass (an American expat Googler) and Yuriko (a Googler who I become friends with during my admin days and who took me around Kyoto and then later came to visit me in the States) are there so it will be a lot of fun hanging out with them.

Some of the things I've been doing outside of work...a few of us went out for Japanese food one night after work where you order your food from a touch screen menu and I tried fried crocodile in chili sauce which was actually pretty darn tasty. After dinner we met up with a few other girls and went to go see Glee 3D. We were singing and dancing in our seats, it was such cheesy fun. The next night I had dinner with my friend Disha who I met when we were both on rotation in Sao Paulo in February but left soon after I arrived. We went for a nice Thai dinner and she sent me home with an amazing bottle of Australian Shiraz which I am finishing as I type.

The next night I met up with two friends that I knew back when I was an exchange student in Canberra in 1998, Nigel (aka Nasty but apparently nobody calls him that anymore) and Jim. Nigel actually works at Google so it's been nice having him there (though I never see him because he's on the engineer floor and apparently nobody ever sees the engineers). The three of us went out for Malaysian food at this new hip place called Mamak that specializes in roti and satays. It was amazing. We caught up and laughed like lunatics all night. We wanted to get a coffee after dinner but instead ended up on a restaurant boat docked in Darling Harbour and ordered a bottle of wine and laughed for a few more hours. It was so nice reuniting with the both of them and I'm so glad we've kept in touch all of these years.

This past weekend Zarina and I took the train after work to visit our friend Lisa and see her little apartment and eat pizza which was a ton of fun. Saturday our friend Robyn from work took us to the Blue Mountains where we had a great breakfast, then went to see the famous Three Sisters rock formation, went hiking, saw waterfalls (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvLrmYA_LAk), rode the steepest railroad in the world (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMhKe5lyhhE), and for high tea. It was so crazy, we were sitting in the dining room eating shoving scones into our faces when two guys and a girl from the UK asked if they could share the sofas with us. It turned out Zarina knew the guy from University back in Lancaster. Small world!

Today Zarina and I waked to Circular Quay to catch a bus to Bondi Beach, the area where I lived back in 2001 and for half of 2003. It was so crazy seeing my old apartment that I lived in back in 2001, ten years ago exactly. It brought back so many memories of my crazy days living with Ashley (another American) and all of the fun that we had. We walked down to the beach from my apartment and met up with Robyn, a coworker of Zarina's also from Dublin, and Jim and did the Bondi to Coogee walk, a famous cliff side walk that goes through about 7 gorgeous beach towns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EuUNNzMNho). I got a little bit emotional when we walked by the Waverly Cemetery because I was suddenly flooded with memories of being taken there by my friend James from Uni who passed away a few years ago. It really made me realize how life short is and to just enjoy every moment and not try to look so far ahead in the future. I think this trip is really teaching me that life is crazy and you never know who you might meet or where you might go.

It's going to be a busy week at work giving some trainings and preparing for my Japan trip so I'm going to go finish a bottle of wine and relax. G'day to those of you just waking up and G'night to the rest of you. Over and out.

Back in Sydney!

Yes it took me 8 years but I am finally back in Sydney. However, this time I'm all growns up and I'm actually here for a one month job rotation program for work. It's part of this Global Sales Leader program but I'm not in Sales so it doesn't really make sense. Anyway, the most important thing is that I'm back.

So where to begin? I'll start with the plane ride.

This is my 6th time flying to Australia believe it or not so I'm used to it. It's a total myth that it takes 20 hours to fly here (why does everyone say that?). It's only actually about 13 AND it leaves at 11pm so if you take a sleeping pill, you're golden. I don't understand why they throw a meal at you at around 12:30am (I picked at my lasagna but downed my glass of red) and half way through Water for Elephants my melatonin kicked in and I was out. This was the first time I brought a neck pillow and that was largely the reason why I slept so well. I woke up a few times but before I knew it, it was time for them to throw the most disgusting pancakes that I've ever tasted at us (as much as I love their frequent flier program, United sucks) and we were about to land.

It still didn't feel real that I was back in Australia for the 6th time. For those of you who don't know, I spent half of my junior year in college at the Australian National University in Canberra in 1998. I then went back to visit friends a couple of years later. After losing my first job in the film business, I then moved to Sydney on a work visa in 2001 and lived at the beach with another American that I met online. That year was probably one of the most life changing years of my life and really solidified my love of this country. I had so much fun working odd jobs with my roommate and traveling around visiting old friends, entertaining visitors, and discovering new parts of the country. I missed Australia so much that I decided to go back for my Masters at the University of Sydney in 2003 but first came back with my mom to check out the university on dirt cheap tickets that I got working as a travel agent for a year (one of my many careers).

So that brings us to the present, 2011. I'll be here from mid August until the end of September and was lucky enough to time it around my friend Lisa's wedding in the Blue Mountains (I just got asked to be a bridesmaid too and am so excited).

So yes, I got off the plane and quickly passed through immigration and customs (this ain't no Sao Paulo...the whole thing took me about 30 minutes). I got my bags and got a cab and was off to my apartment. The cab driver and I started talking and about 10 minutes into the ride he asked me to marry him or his son. His son works for IBM so I think I'll go for him. We pulled up to my apartment in Pyrmont, the Oaks Goldsborough, and my first impressions were good. Big building, clean lobby, nice looking guests. I didn't think I would be able to check in since it was only 7am but I was tired and was dying to shower. I was told that my room would not be ready until 2pm and was a little annoyed because I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do for the next 7 hours. The girl who checked me in seemed so confused by everything I asked (where can I store my bags, can I have a shower, etc). The best thing was when I asked for water she said, we don't have any and told me I could go into the bathroom and use my hands to scoop up water (she even mimicked what this would look like).

I was about to lose it but instead told her I'd go shower. She helped me with my luggage (I had 4 bags) and we walked through the gym into the women's sauna which also had a large changing room and showers. I asked her if I could leave my bags there while I went to go get coffee and some water. She said, "I wouldn't. They could get stolen". Thinking it was highly unlikely that someone who would have had to use a card key to get into the gym would want to steal my luggage, I said "Um, ok" and then left as soon as she disappeared and got coffee, juice, and a toasted cheese, tomato, and ham sandwich which I inhaled back in the changing room while I showered. There is nothing better than showering after traveling long distance on a disgusting airplane.

Fresh and clean, I stored my bags and set off to a) find my office and b) get re-acquainted with the city. It is really strange living right outside of Darling Harbour which is so touristy (kind of like a nicer Fisherman's Wharf) and overpriced. There's an Aquarium, an IMAX theater, some new wildlife sanctuary which is supposedly $55 and other things I didn't want to see or do. When I first walked out of my apartment I walked in the wrong direction and was stumbling around with a map when a truck with a father and his like, 16 year old daughter, pulled up to me asking for directions to the Exhibition Centre. I told them I was new in town and just as lost as they were but they just stared at me strangely. I walked up to them with a map but they didn't seem to understand how I could not know where the Centre was and kept asking me if they were going in the right direction, if it was behind us, in front of us, etc. I don't know if my accent was confusing them or they were just strange but I walked away so confused. I set off in the right direction this time but walked the extra super long and confusing way through Darling Harbour, dodging tourists, to my office (I later found out there is a more direct way that takes about 10 minutes). I tried to get in but my badge wasn't opening the front doors so I figured I'd just wait until Monday to check it out.

Leaving my office, I crossed the street to Star City Casino (yes, my office is next to a Casino) and then past a Cole's grocery store. It had been so long since I was in a Cole's and I have this unusual fascination with foreign grocery stores so I went in to stare at food products, plus I have a kitchen in my apartment so wanted to scope it out so I could come back and grocery shop later. I was so excited to see many of the same snacks that I loved so much when I was living here (Hello, sweet chili and sour cream gourmet potato chips!). I took some pictures (yes, of the food) and then set on my way to explore some of the city.

I walked back through the Harbour and down the water not really knowing where it would take me. That's one of the great things about Australia. It's such a relatively safe country and unlike my last stint in Brazil, I know that even if I get lost, some friendly Aussie will help me find my way (plus there are signs everywhere for tourists). Before I knew it, I could spot the Harbour Bridge in the distance and got the biggest smile on my face. Now it really felt like I was back in Sydney. I kept walking for about 20 more minutes and ended up at the Rocks, the oldest part of the city and home to a great weekend market. I was so excited by my unexpected discovery and was flooded with memories of my many visits with friends and family who came out when I was living down here. The Rocks is also right next to the famous Opera House so I walked a bit in that direction, took some photos, and then decided to head back to the apartment to see if I would be able to check in. I was too lazy to walk back so I hopped on a ferry back to Darling Harbour and got some Indian food for lunch and then crossed the street back to the Oaks.

When I got back my room was finally ready and I was excited to find out that while I wasn't going to get a harbour view room ( yes, Google friends, I know I should put this on go/firstworldproblems) I was going to be on the penthouse floor. I was so relieved when I walked in to my apartment to see a really nice, white, clean apartment with a view (I thought I was going to be looking at a brick wall or a parking lot, according to many of the reviews I read on Travel Adviser). I unpacked and went to the grocery store where I bought before mentioned chips, some dips, cheese, crackers, Cadburry drinking chocolate, a kiwi, and a couple of other things that won't make any meals but felt very Aussie (I did stop myself from buying frozen meat pies, instead deciding to wait until I can get one at Harry's Cafe de Wheels, my favorite pie shop). My hair straightener wasn't working for some reason (every other appliance is working fine with the converter) so I bought the tiniest little travel straightener that straightens like 10 hairs at a time and then was about to fall over with tiredness. The sun was also beginning to set (it's still winter here so the sun sets around 5pm) and I was trying so hard to keep my eyes open but after eating some of my delicious snacks my eyes started to close during Australia's Top Model so I went to bed.

I woke up nice and refreshed at 7am. It always feels so amazing to sleep lying down after sleeping sitting up on a plane. I talked to my mom online (it's 7 hours ahead but the day before in California so 7am my time on Sunday was 2pm on Saturday), then went to the gym for a nice long workout (the gym here is really nice and also has a lap pool, hot tub, and separate saunas for men and women). After showering I then headed off to Chinatown and Paddy's Markets, a huge bazaar type thing with hundreds of stalls selling everything from tacky souvineers to trashy lingerie to fresh fruit and vegetables. My old roommate and I used to go around singing their horrible commercial jingle "Brothers, Sisters, Mums and Daddies. You haven't been to market 'til you've been to Paddy's!" (get annoyed for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZBZINGxUBQ).

I took pictures of some of the strange fruit like avocados the size of a large grapefruits. I then walked around trying to find some good Asian food for lunch. That is one thing I love about the culinary scene in Sydney, the abundance of delicious Chinese, Thai, Singaporean, Indonesian, Malay, Indian, restaurants. I found the Sussex Centre food court where I used to love eating seafood laksa (a coconut based soup with noodles and scallops and other seafood) but decided instead to try something out of the little Lonely Planet guidebook I bought at the airport. I found Chinatown Noodles and sat down to a delicious meal of whole wheat noodles, ground pork, cucumbers, and chilis (it looked kind of like an Asian spaghetti bolognaise). Stuffed to the gills, I walked into a Chinese dessert shop and stared at all of the different sweet and savory buns and lotus cakes. I decided to get some to snack on later and happily went on my way.

I walked back through Darling Harbour and contemplated going to the Chinese Garden of Friendship but decided to go back for a meditation or yoga class some other time. I wasn't feeling like sitting and being zen when there was too much of the city I still wanted to rediscover. I walked into an Information Center and got some brochures on places I wanted to maybe check out during my week of vacation, my last week in Australia, when a friend will hopefully be visiting. I went back to my apartment, freshened up, then set off again. Before I knew it I was in the center of the Central Business District (aka CBD). I had completely forgotten how close Darling Harbour is to everything. I walked up to Town Hall and through the Queen Victoria Building (kind of like an indoor Rodeo Drive). I thought about taking the train to Newtown to see my alma matter, the University of Sydney, but didn't want to wait 30 minutes for the next train so I kept walking and before I knew it, I was passing by the Mint where I used to waitress the lunch shift when I was living here in 2001. I walked past the old Sydney Hospital and rubbed the boar statue's nose for good luck (a Sydney myth), and then crossed the street to the Botanical Gardens.

I found the restaurant where I used to work for a catering company and was flooded with memories of my old friends that I met while working late night events and weddings. I remembered sneaking delicious canapes into our mouths when our bosses weren't looking and getting to take home half drunk bottles of wine. I remembered Ashley and I getting yelled at by our boss for talking during a shift when we were really just trying to organize the toast. I remembered our debaucherous holiday party. I remembered walking home at 2am trying not to step on the thousands of cockroaches in the dark (Sydney is full of cockroaches). So many great memories...

Tearing up a bit, I bought an over priced drink at the cafe and went on my way. Suddenly, I remembered to look up into the trees to check out the flying foxes, a type of fruit bat that call the Gardens home (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaoYg7HYqVc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRXBZX7pZ68). I was shocked by the hundreds of furry creatures with black wings hanging upside down from all of the trees. I walked through the park smiling at everyone that passed feeling so lucky to be back in a place that brought me so much happiness so many years ago. I was soon at the edge of the gardens and followed the path down the water until suddenly the Opera House appeared gleaming in the distance. I sat down and ate my buns and drank my Lemon Lime & Bitters looking at the harbour and thinking about how strange and amazing life is. I never thought I'd be back in Sydney settled in a career all "growns up". See a bit of my time at the Opera House here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry-FJRJWAuQ.

I took the ferry home, bought a bottle of Aussie wine and am now getting ready for my first day of work tomorrow. I hope the kids like me. ;)

First Leg of New Zealand (July 9, 2003)

The following blog posts were written years ago while I was in living in Australia when I was studying for my Masters and previously, when I was in Sydney for work. These are emails I sent to my friends and family.

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry I am sending you this email instead of a nice personal one but I have gotten quite a few emails from friends concerned why they haven't heard from me for awhile (I like you all much more than the ones who haven't written at all).

This is the email my friend Ruth sent to her friends back in England about what we

have done so far. I've done everything she writes about EXCEPT skydiving and dancing on tables and staying out until 6:30am b/c I'm an old loser.

First off, NZ is the coolest country and all of you need to come here at some point. Since Ruth wrote we had a few days in Wellington but Ruth got the flu so we spent the first nite in the after hours emergency care. We arrived via ferry in the South Island today and are staying at a hostel equipped with a hot tub, sauna and I scored a double bed! Whopee!!! Some of our new English buddies are cooking a full on roast dinner right now too. Doesn't get much better huh? Will try

to write to all of you soon. Miss you guys!

L ;)

Okay I promised that I would send an update to everyone what I had been up to in the freezing cold weather of New Zealand and as this is the end of the first week I thought that I would fill you in on what has been happening so far.

For those of you that don't know we are travelling on Kiwi Experience which is basically a bus that goes through the North and South Island and you hop on and off, lots of backpackers, mostly english, which is cool as I was soooo homesick last week and rang home about 6 times. I am travelling with my ex american housemate Loz and Ronak her new american housemate and also Sue, my Thai housemate, though she dumped us today and left for another town, not a problem as she was just being soo miserable the whole time it was depressing the life out of us.

Wed 2 July - Syd to Auckland Day 1

Arrived late at night, Sue didn't have a visa and immigration nearly didn't let her in. Loz and I were drunk on the plane and we discovered that our hotel was in the worst seedy part of town with a v.sulbrious chinese karoke with blue lighting.

Thu 3 July - Auckland Day 2

Hung about in the "trendy" area of Auckland, Parnell for both brunch and dinner. Went over to Newmarket the next suburb for the tour of the Lion Breweries, v.educational and you get tasters and watched Charlies Angels 2!

Fri 4 July - Auckland Day 3

Met Laura's Kiwi buddy Randall. He took us up the Sky Tower, tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, went for loads of good food (as usual!) Had a tour of Aukland Uni where he is doing his PhD, had a drive out to the freezing west coast beaches, it is soo cold in this country in winter and went for beers in the Union Bar. Laura and I also managed a champagne dinner, our one extravagance, well who said backpackers had to eat baked beans!

Sat 5 July - Auckland to Whitianga Day 4

Jumped on the Kiwi Bus, met up with Ronak. Weather was poor kept p**sing it down so stayed on the bus a lot. Went to Cathedral Cove, a beautiful beach which is v.similar to the scenary of Thailand. Arrived at the hostel 10 in one room and one shower and toilet. Just ended up going to the one local and having dinner and beers. God some of these places are remote villages!!

Sun 6 July - Whitianga to Rotorua Day 5

Went to the Mauri Centre, saw the themal reserves, hot mud pools etc. The whole town smells of Sulphur. Saw the Kiwi Bird!! Hung out at the hostel in the outdoor naturally heated mineral pool - BEST! Went to a hangi that night a traditional mauri dinner cooked in the ground and saw a display of the Mauri culture, singing and dancing, chanting etc. Absolutely amazing and feel v.cultural. Ended up in the hostel bar for an hour drinking beer and mixing with the other dudes.

Mon 7 July - Rotorua to Waitomo Day 6

Went Black Water Rafting in the Caves, basically togged up in wetsuits in the freezing cold and darkness. Was amazing and v.exhilarating. Spent the night at the hostel, which was more like a ski lodge.

Tue 8 July - Waitomo to Taupo Day 7

Skydived at 12,000ft - AGAIN!!! Loved it very cool, such a buzz, turning into an extreme freak!!

Got stupidly drunk with everyone, danced on tables in the hostel bar and got to bed at 6.30am ;)

Wed 9 July - Taupo Day 8

Went to the Taupo Hot Springs and Health Spa, sat in the thermal heated mineral pools, went for a massage and got over the hangover... good girlie afternoon.

Sorry this is really short but impersonal but soo much has gone off and I have had no time to write an email as some of the places we atya in are really remote. The further south we go the colder it gets and I am already on three layers. Heading towards Wellington for the weekend. Tomorrow should be going white water rafting and horse treking, this is the most adventurous holiday ever and I am seriously turning into an extreme freak.

Love you all

Take Care and will write again soon

Ruthie

X

PS - please don't send joke emails, forwards etc until August as I can't access email that often and the email clogs up and fills up the limit.

PPS - sorry for spelling errors its 10pm and I have had 3 hours sleep ;-(

Hey party people (May 21, 2003)

 First to apoligize once again for being a slack arse emailer. I'm in paper and exam hell right but only have 4 more weeks to go until I'm half way done with my degree. Whopeeeeeeeeee.

Not too much excitement going on down here at the moment. Took a trip up the coast for the Easter break (kept calling it "spring break" and confusing the hell out of everyone b/c it is fall here) and got to drive 12 hours each way on the "wrong" side of the road. Ran us into a couple of ditches getting out of the city but I blame that on the fact that it was pissing down rain, not my bad driving. OK, a bit of both. Spent one nite in a place called Coffs Harbour and FINALLY got to see the infamous Big Banana which excited me beyond belief. Spent the next few days in Byron Bay on the coast, a really alternative hippy town (which has sadly become pretty trendy) but it pissed down rain the entire time and spent the day in pot-town Australia, Nimbin, where I heard a little local girl (probably around 8) in the pot museum asking an English tourist if she was going to the "Mardi Grass" festival the following week. Pretty trippy.

So weird though...I met these cousins from the States who were staying in our hostel room and turns out they are from Chicago, close to where I was born, and one now lives in Tiburon. Frickin weird huh? Really cool girls and they've already come to stay with me here in Sydney on their way to New Zealand. I might even end of shacking up with the Tiburon girl when I move back at the end of the year. You really can't escape home no matter where you go.

So our trip to Byron was good...I sprang for a 30 min massage from this weird German guy who smelled so bad and kissed me on the forehead when he was finished, then tried to sell me these vitamins which he claimed were great b/c they came all the way from San Diego! I also had the best haircut of my life which included a20 minute head massage, ahhhhhhh. The most fun I've had in months. While I was getting pampered, my flatmate Ruth decided to get tortured and got a tattoo where she almost broke all the bones in my hand when the guy first put the needle into her skin.

That's about all that's happened lately. I've decided to move back to Bondi Beach where I was living last time I was here, my actual old apartment building has a couple of vacant places, but I have to wait until the end of next month to get out of here. I know thatif I stay here any longer I'll go crazy...except the bar has opened and we can even use our "U-cards" to purchase alcohol for the next few weeks until exams are over. So that will help me get by. I'm going to be moving in with a really cool guy from LA who is now living in a catered dorm which he says is more like a glorified fraternity house with a bunch of 18 year olds first years. Still trying to talk another Yank friend into moving in with us but he's probably going to piss off home because he hates his course (well duh, it's agriculture science).

Anyway, now that I'm moving back to the beach you all have to come visit me. I'll be in New Zealand from July 2-23 but hell, you're all invited to come with ;)

Miss you guys, hope all is well and keep in touch.
L!

Aussie update (March 31, 2003)

Hey all,

I decided that it was about time I sent a little update on what's been going down down under. First I apologize for being slack with my emails. It sucks not having a computer and I can usually only tolerate about 10 minutes in the computer lab in the village without wanting to beat the shit out of the loud and obnoxious American exchange students who think a computer lab is for telling everyone within ear reach about how wasted you got the night before and how many guys (or girls or both) you picked up and how many times you spewed and whose bed you ended up in. I think I'm getting old...

So I'm about a month into my classes and I hate to say they are shit ass boring. It's all theory this semester and the classes that interest me don't start until August. It's been a bit of a shock to the system to be studying and writing papers again. I don't want to bore you to tears talking about my classes and how I've already had to give a class presentation on Waltz's neo-realist theory and how states exist in an anarchic society, but I do want you to feel sorry for me. Oh wait, it was my choice to go back to grad school. I often find myself spacing out in my classes only to stop and tell myself that I should pay attention, not because I want good grades but because I'm paying for this.

Enough about classes. My flatmates...I was really lucky and got put in a house with all post grad students. First, there is Ruth who has become my closest friend here. She's 24 and from the midlands of England. Then there is Sue, 23 from Thailand who learns all her English from Julia Roberts movies and is constantly cooking Thai food and stinking up my room which is right next to the kitchen. Just a little insight into Sue's personality. The other day she said to me, "Ruth is sweet, you are cool and I am pretty!" Um, ok. Then there is Patrick, a dental student who was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Sydney, a really cool guy. And lastly there is Alpha. I don't even know where to begin with this one. He's 31 from Hong Kong, looks like he's 15, speaks 8 languages, drinks vodka, has been to 80 countries including Antartica, is a lecturer here at the university, a closet homosexual, and an anal psychotic.

So that's my life for you. I'm still desperately searching for a job because I'm so broke but thanks to the magic of credit cards, I booked myself a ticket to New Zealand over the July break with Ruth. Also driving up to Byron Bay up the coast for a few days over Easter to learn how to surf and be a hippie for a few days. Oh! One more little story for y'all. Went out with some people the other nite for dinner and one had too much to drink and beat up a kid here at the village who was talking to his girlfriend. Broke his jaw, his nose, really f'd up his face, he had to have plastic surgery yesterday. I had just gone to bed when it happened but Ruth witnessed the whole thing (I only got to see the bloody afermath). I had to go with her to make a statement at the police station which took 3 frickin hours on Sunday. But I got to ride home in the cage in the back of the cop van which made it all worthwhile. The guy has been charged with "grievous bodily harm" and will probably end up behind bars. The fun never ends I tell you.

Miss you all, come visit me. xoxoL

Vegemite (February 27, 2002)

Once again I have been a slack arse about writing but here I am, alive and well (for the most part) . I have just returned to Sydney after a month away, feels good to be back home. So let me think real hard and let you know what's been going down in Lauraland the past couple of months...

Let's see...Xmas came and went and so did a guy from Perth who kind of neglected to mention to me that he had a little innocent 18 year old girlfriend that he was not only dating but um, living with. So then came New Years which went off big time. Started the nite at a party with an awesome view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge where we saw an unbelievable fireworks show at the stroke of midnite. Actually, more like 12:06 for me because I got locked out of the party helping out a sick friend. We then made our way back to Bondi with our sick friend, her boyfriend and their friend, put her to bed and made our way down to the beach to check out Mobile Home, this huge rave that was charging a shitload to get in. Knowing a rip off when I see one and being the classy chick that I am, I instead decided to join a group of about 20 mostly huge guys, ran past the security guards, got down the gates and got in for free. Mum would be so proud.

The next two weeks bit big time, I started my new job in the workers comp department of the largest insurance company in New South Wales. I never thought I'd actually look forward to pee breaks. I guess they must have liked my alphabatizing skills though because they asked me back for another 4 weeks. However, I was forced to refuse because daddy was coming into town. I spent the next few days with my dad and stepmom, wining and dining and showing them what Sydney had to offer. Sadly, I think my dad's favorite part was leching at the topless beach bunnies through his binoculars on Bondi Beach. I'm not the only classy one in the family.

Dad and Margo then left to continue their Aussie adventure up the coast and were replaced by another visitor, my friend and old LA roommate Cindy. I don't think there was one thing we didn't do. Some of the highlights were seeing a Charlie Parker tribute at the Opera House which I'm sure was produced by someone on acid, went for $20 cocktails at the swankiest bar in the city (worth every damn penny), took a tour up to the Blue Mountains, got stung by jellyfish boogie boarding in Bondi (Cindy managed to escape that one), pet kangaroos, got chased by emus...you know, the usual. It was a jam packed awesome week.

I then took off for South Australia to meet up with my dad and Margo to drive the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne. The last day of the trip was the most scenic, saw London Bridge, the 12 Apostiles and Bells Beach (yeah, the Point Break one), but it was hard to truly relax when my dad (not used to driving on the Aussie side) kept swerving off the road, turning the windshield wipers on every time he tried to put on the turn signal and coming way too close to oncoming traffic. But despite those near death experiences, we had a great time.

Said goodbye to dad and Margo and crashed for a few days with some friends in Melbourne. Went to a huge music festival called Big Day Out and saw Jurassic 5, one of the best shows I've ever seen. There were people dancing on phone booths, rooftops, light poles. Even the security guards who were sent to kick them off starting grooving before more security guards came to kick them off. I then spent the next 2 weeks in Ballarat visiting my friend Lisa who had just come back from Thailand after breaking her heel rock climbing. Despite being in a cast and on crutches, we took a trip up to the Grampians where I learned how to rock climb. So much fun, can't wait to do it again.

Another highlight of my trip to Ballarat (known for being a gold mining town in the 1800s) was going to Sovereign Hill, a sort of gold mining town themepark if that makes sense. Our goal was to pick up someone in period costume (or should I say my goal since Lise was in a wheelchair) but after awhile that seemed sick and wrong so I gave up and watched people make blocks of gold instead.

Spent last week in Canberra catching up with old uni friends. Not too much to do in Canberra, especially when one of you is on crutches, so we just smoked...um, I mean had intellectual conversations most of the time. Which brings us to today as I wait for another guest's arrival, Kyra "Hotpants" Kowasic. It's (gay) Mardi Gras weekend and the city is supposed to go off. Next week we're off to Byron Bay up the coast, a hippie town famous for being a hippie town. We'll be driving so keep your fingers crossed that we don't run over any wombats or small children. I am most excited about stopping at the Big Banana on the way...no explanation.

Hope everyone is healthy and happy. Talk soon, L