Post-Date, Sydney: Not as nice as Melbourne

I'm way way behind on blogging, I'm not sure I even remember the volume requirement set by Northeastern (I'm sure I'm under it) but things have been so hectic between my trip to Sydney and trying to settle into a new university! So much has happened that I feel like I'm behind on cataloging it. I'll talk about my week in Sydney, catch up on everything else later.

Before coming to Australia I thought it would be a grand idea to arrange some means of constant travel before arriving. Since buying a car is out, hey, why not take a train? Because Australia is MASSIVE that's why dummy! As you can tell, I bought the train ticket. 16 Days of travel on Aussie rail within 6 months. The problem being that it takes 12 hours just to get from Melbourne to Sydney! Not as fun as it sounds. I made it there anyways, and it seemed like it didn't stop raining once! Not a lot of rain, I didn't really get soaked, but it was gloomy and muggy the whole time. Also about 10 degrees (F) warmer than Melbourne.

About two days in all I could do was compare Melbourne v. Sydney to my feelings of Boston v. New York. Sydney was too big, too corporate, and too distant. The atmosphere just wasn't right. I met some really fun people from all over the world at the hostel, and hung out with a friend from Northeastern who's doing a semester there. So not all was bad. But on returning to Melbourne, I did feel more at home.

On the two sunny days that I did take full advantage of, I walked all around the Royal Botanical Gardens, and sunned on the famous Bondi Beach. There's definitely something to be said about Australian public gardens. Sydney's are simply astonishing.

At the end of two weeks of Hostels, and mobile friends, I was beginning to feel a bit lonely. Probably a combination of mild culture shock and homesickness, neither of which I was feeling explicitly. But you start realizing that all these people you're enjoying the company of will soon be gone, and you really aren't at "home." Some of these people had been backpacking for years, I don't know how they do it! I need some semblance of home base. A place to put my things where I don't have to worry about their security. A place where I can feel comfortable, and escape strange people and ideas when they all become overwhelming. Not easily found in a hostel, perhaps I just don't have the right personality for it. At least I can appreciate it as an exploratory experience, which is after all what this trip is about.