Sculptures by the Sea

I met up with one of the girls (Nicole) I met my first week in Sydney at the hostel. We went and walked the Coogee to Bondi Coastal Walk, so that we could see the 'Sculpture by the Sea' exhibit. 'Sculpture by the Sea' is a 3 week art event that happens once a year. There was 80+ pieces along the coastal walk, with the great views of the ocean and unique landscape, I can understand why so many people come to see this exhibit each year. Here are some of the pictures from my visit. 

Bye for now <3

One month in.....

I have officially been in Australia for over a month now. I have already done more in the past month, than in the past year. I have tried several new food, and for those of you that know me well, know that's a big deal in its self. I have been more active and social. I have met heaps of new people, and I have been saying yes to everything that friends have suggested. I am willing to go outside my comfort zone to do or try new things. I have made some good friends along the way, and have enjoyed the hospitality and genuineness from all of the people I have met so far here.  I am learning new words and phrases daily and it's becoming easier to understand and even use some of the Australian dialect. I can get around the city without needing a map or feeling like a traveler. I have moved in with a wonderful family, and am looking after their 20 month old little girl. I can now drive on the opposite side of the car/road, and only get anxious if I have to parallel park. Since I've been here, each weekend has been filled with fun and exciting things; parties, bars, shopping, concerts, and next week I get to go to the Spring Carnival a.k.a. the fancy horse races.  I am enjoying building new friendships, and having people around me that are so caring. I am defiantly looking forward to the next 11 months, and all the adventures to come.

Bye for now <3

I got a job!

After many interviews, and a few almost positions. I finally have found the right family and am starting my job as a live in Au-pair on Thursday! I have been a nanny and babysitter before, but never an Au-pair. I am nervous and excited about living with a family for the next 6 months. The lovely family I will be living with has a wonderful house in Woollahra, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Mom Mum is English and Dad is Australian. Mum is a horse vet, and has a Thoroughbred at the near by Centennial Park! I'm hopeful that maybe down the line I can ride her horse a bit! The family has a almost 2 year old who I will be looking after 2 days a week alone, and then the rest of my job is to be an extra set of hands to help out the family; making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning up after myself/the family. Mum is also pregnant, and due in mid-February.

The family was SO nice when I met with them, and I'm looking forward to spending the next 6 months with them. This is their first time having an Au-pair, so we get to navigate my role together. Since Mum is due in February, and a lot of her family will be coming out from England, I will also be taking a month off to travel and come back and continue on with the family until May.  I am excited that I now have a job and will be able to start saving for my travels next year.

Bye for now <3

Assimilation

I have been in Australia a little under a month now, and I am trying my hardest to assimilate to the language and culture of Australia. In my short time here I have learned a lot heaps of new words, and am constantly learning more Australian words/slang.

I do not have to think about what side of the sidewalk footpath to walk on (it's the left), and it doesn't seem strange to get into the left side of the car as a passenger and be in a car on the left side of the road.  I have driven a few times, and find it to be easy besides the fact that I keep trying to use the windshield windscreen wipers as the blinker indicator.

I now understand when people say "Ta" that they are saying thank you, and that "how ya going" is the same greeting as "how are you". Earlier this week, I bought a bottle of water, when the man handed it to me I said "cheers" without giving it a second thought. As soon as I heard the word, I felt strange and was a bit shocked that so quickly I am using Australian speak without thinking about it.

For the most part, I understand when someone says "today it's going to be 38". I am able to convert that to Fahrenheit so that I know the temperature. FYI, 38C is 100F, 30C is 86F, 22C is 72F, and 16C is 61F.   

I am enjoying the small differences in Australian living and culture, and learning new things on a daily basis.

Bye for now <3

1st week in review.....

So I have officially been in Sydney for 12 days now. I have some great friends that live about an hour away from the city center and they picked me up from airport and spent the day with me. We went to the famous Bondi Beach. My first hostel was in Kings Cross, which is known for being the party area of town, with lots of bars, clubs, and strip clubs. I did not end up taking advantage of the "party area" while living there. The hostel was sufficient, with free breakfast and free wifi. I met some wonderful people from all the over the world in the week that I stayed in the hostel. I defiantly enjoyed the Free Wine Friday that they offered. I spent several days wandering the city, seeing the sights. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, and the wonderful malls. The girls came out and we did a beautiful coastal walk and saw a bunch of the different beaches near Sydney. Saturday night my friends and I went to the International Fleet Review event in Sydney, where Australia celebrated and saluted the sailors across the world. They had a wonderful fireworks celebration, followed by an evening out on the town. The girls are showing me a great time and I am enjoying meeting all of their friends and family. Everyone has been so nice, caring, and supportive.

I've been applying to jobs like crazy, and have had several interviews over the past week for live in au pair positions. I'm hoping that I will have good news in the next few days about a position, and will update you all at that time.

I'm currently staying with my friends out in suburbia, and am enjoying seeing how Australian life is different than the American life. The biggest difference that I have noticed is that they seem to be more active, and watch less TV tele than us. I have been enjoying comparing things, such as words,  slang, language, and emphasis on different syllables. Also realizing that America super sizes EVERYTHING, not just food.   All of there stores shops are smaller, and they have separate shops, such as a butcher, a fruit/veg shop, bakery, pharmacy chemist. I am trying my hardest to assimilate, but find that I am constantly asking what does that mean, or huh. Some of the hardest things is that I feel they use a lot of slang/shortened terms, and the emphasis. For example, "this afternoon" would be savro (said savo), aluminum here is, al-u-min-i-um instead of al-lum-i-num; oregano here is or-e-gan-o instead of oreg-e-no.  Some of our words, such as bell peppers are not the same, it would be a capsicum here, and they do not say their "r's", so it would be wata, winta, summa, etc. The unfair part is that Australia gets A LOT of our tele shows, but we do not hear many Australians on our media, so they all understand me, but I struggle sometimes. Between the words and the accent, they also use the metric system, so I never know the temperature, distance, or usage of anything. Thank you Google for converting everything!

I will try and update on a regular basis with information, once I get onto a regular schedule. Here are some pictures from my first week.

Bye for now <3