Blurr

So the Internet is not too reliable here at the hostel hence the delay of this post, but also these past few days have been a blur.  Every day pretty much planned with new activities and festivities with meeting new friends and saying goodbye as soon as I meet them.  So here goes nothing…

DAY 4, THU AUG 12 – After an evening of shenanigans, it was time to leave.  Showed the boys up by out dancing them and beating them in pool. Some of the boys wanted me to jump in their pockets cuz I was so tiny and they lifted me high in the air as bench press weight...it was a good night!  Some wanted to go to other bars while a few wanted to go home.  I was a bit tired from walking around the city all day and decided that I’d go ahead and walk home with my new UK buddy Mike.  In the wee hours of the morning…it was freezing and although I would have jumped at the chance of riding the metro…they close at 12am.  So we decided to walk home instead of taking a taxi.  Bad idea!  It took forever to walk home…by the time we got there we didn’t realize that both of us forgot our swipe cards to get through the gates.  Brilliant!  But wait there was a bell to ring…we rang it several times.  No answer, which was no surprise as it was past 2am in the morning.  I thought…wait, there’s a number we can call if we get stuck outside.  Well good thought…if only one of us had it. Lol.  So we waited outside for the other half of the group to arrive, pushing the button several times more every half hour or so but two hours later from arriving at the hostel, still not a soul!  I began to worry because most of the bars in Sydney closed at 2am or 3am.  After 3:30 hit we thought they probably took a taxi home and beat us to the punch.  Oh Crap!  Well we waited some more and this stranger on the street, Travis from the UK, began to have a conversation with us.  He had to deal with his good mate fighting with his girlfriend and decided he couldn’t take it anymore and left the place he was staying.  He was wandering through the streets with his luggage, hoping he’d find another hostel or hotel to stay at, but was having no luck.  After speaking with him we thought we go to another bar down the street and have another round, but Mike and I were too anxious and did not want to miss coming across one of the pack.  So we all chatted some more and Travis was kind enough to lend me his sweatshirt b/c I was so cold.  Then around 4am we thought we would never see them, but low and behold Dan the Man would come waltzing down the street a few moments later to let us in.  I gave him the biggest hug and said thank you…you’re me hero!  Come to find out the next morning, the other boys were just hanging out in the kitchen and if we shouted loud enough could have gotten in.  I tried to give Travis his sweatshirt back but he said I ought to keep it bc I looked better in it.  I laughed thinking, this thing is half the size of me, but it was comfortable so I kept it as souvenir from the crazy night.  We all said our goodbyes and good nights and went to our separate rooms.

Crazy Boys...Terry and Brad

The boys (Mike, Dan, Terry) making fun of my shoe size

DAY 5, FRI AUG 13 - Through this whole ordeal you’d think I’d just pass out and wake up late in the afternoon but no, I had to deal with loud snoring and women farting after each other.  I was like, REALLY?  Did I just hear that!?  The other nights I had put on my earplugs so I wouldn’t have to deal with any of these crazy sounds from the first night but I was too tired from the night before to even think of it.  Well I finally passed out and woke up at 9am!  If you guys couldn’t do the math that is barely 5 hours of sleep.  I tried to go back to sleep but of course once I wake up I can’t really ever go back to sleep.  I was going to go running that morning but decided that it wasn’t the greatest idea…it was cold and chilly which was not an appetizing recipe after only 5 hours of sleep.  So I made breakfast and slowly the rest of the crew walked through the kitchen to tell stories from the night before.  Crazy I tell ya, but good times for sure.

It was a sad morning bc Dan the Man, aka Aussie rugby player, was leaving to travel overseas with his UK buddy Terry, to play rugby in England.  Bye to another set of cuties.  Hehehehe.  Well no one was up so I hogged the TV in the common room and plopped down to see if I could fall asleep watching Devil Wears Prada.  No luck ☹ But after a few hours of lazing around I met a new girl Vanessa from Canada and we decided to go shoe shopping.  She wanted UGGS and I apparently needed cute flats or heels.  I was a bit surprised that Sydney or Australia as a whole are very particular about shoes when you go out to bars and clubs.  Traveling here I tried to pack as light as possible and pack the essentials, so I only brought a pair of tennis shoes for running/hiking, my converses cuz they were small, light and matched anything, my warm tan moccasin looking shoes/slippers and my favorite pair of flip flops…the black reefs with yellow and pink details.   I thought its Australia, surferville, very chill and laid back.  The girls would probably wear cute sundresses, shorts/cute tank, and a cute pair of sandals.  Wrong!  The girls get all jazzed up in snazzy short dresses (some of them slutty if you ask me, but whatever) and many in the tallest heels I’ve ever seen or at least the most painful looking ones.  The guys also get dressed to kill in collared shirts/jackets with loafers or dress shoes.  I mean these people really get all dressed up.  It’s also quite chilly here, getting down to the 40s or cooler in the evening and the women wear these small outfits like it’s 70 degrees.  I’ll be in search for a city or town that is more laid back.

DAY 6, SAT AUG 14 – It was supposed to be a warmer day here in Sydney so I thought…time to surf.  I convinced a few of my new friends to join me in a day of surf at Manly Beach.  Everyone was pretty much a beginner so I thought this should be an interesting session to say the least.  Getting there was almost a whole day ordeal…taking the metro, walking a few blocks and finally catching a half hour ride of the ferry to Manly Beach.  Man was the ferry ride amazing.  Seeing much of the coast of Australia, the little coves, sail boats docked and also sailing their own courses, seaside cliff homes, and the beautiful water…all was gorgeous and worth the ferry ride.  Although the temperatures were warmer…it certainly didn’t feel like it.  It’s crazy how it’s a little warm in the sun but soo freezing in the shadows…feels like a 10 degree difference if you ask me.  Anyway after arriving in Manly we walked for a block or so and went to rent our gear.  Pretty reasonably priced if you ask me.  $5 = suit and $10/hr, $15 for 2 or $40/day.  After everyone geared up it was time to give the beginners a quick surf lesson.  1.  Waves come in sets of 3, 3rd usually the best, 2.  Position yourself on the board so 6” of the board is at least above the surface of the water, 3.  Practice the “The Pop”, 4.  Wait until the set is over and then 5.  Get in the water and paddle your heart out!  Surf was about knee to waist high so perfect for a beginner’s day…or so for a while.  Once the wind and the tide got on it, it was pretty rough to try to paddle back out again, but by then the sun was going down, the chill of the winds creeping through the tiniest hole of our suits, and exhaustion beginning to hit.  Time to get out and go home for the day.  We all took a much needed nap and had Thai for dinner.  Surprisingly we had the energy to go out.  A whole group was going out to some bar that was supposedly “walking distance.”   Yea right!  Well with my better judgment, my new friend Stephany n I decided to head back to the hostel.   We really didn’t feel like walking to a gay club anymore or chance a $15 cover.  So the long walk home was interesting to say the least.  We saw a man dressed in a red and white bright glittery get up, two of our hostel acquaintances make out, beautiful pointillism art in a window, slutty dressed women stumbling down the street, listened to loud music blasting from all the bars, but finally we reached the hostel.  Thank God bc we were ready for bed.  Tomorrow would be another day for a group activity with my new friends and I was excited.

The Paddle out to sea

My students for the day :)