4 days in.
So I’ve been in Australia for 4 days now. It’s going pretty well - the weather hasn’t been that great - lots of rain (but at least it’s been warm). Aside from sorting out bank accounts and tax file numbers, I haven’t done a lot. I went shopping in Newcastle on Wednesday (and got sunburnt) and on Friday I went shopping (again) to Charlestown. I realised that all the clothes I bought with me are for the height of summer so wasn’t prepared for cold nights and wet weather. I still need to buy a hoody and a pair of high heels (I had to leave 3 pairs at home as I was over the luggage weight limit).
New South Wales is a very picturesque part of Australia - lots of trees, green fields, winding dirt roads…spiders. It’s a nice place to live, but everything is so far away! It takes 20 minutes to walk to the front gate and pick up the post!Everyone seems pretty friendly - although I do hate talking to people around here as most of them either don’t understand what I say or think I’m really posh because I speak “properly”. I’ve also noticed that there are a lot of fat people in Australia which I wasn’t expecting and maybe it’s just in NSW, but people here really DO NOT know how to dress!
Today I went to the Bitter and Twisted Beer Festival in Maitland. It’s set in a former jail (Maitland Gaol) and holds about 2000 people. There were a dozen or so beer and wine stands, a tour of the jail and then a small stage where a few local bands and a couple of more famous Australian artists played. I did enjoy it, however I’m not a fan of beer and everyone was pretty wasted by lunchtime. It also pissed down with rain and some bright spark of an organiser had decided it was a good idea to lay fresh turf and wood chips in the main arena - which promptly turned into a bog, and by the time I left I had developed trench foot.
I’m moving to Sydney this week - not sure of the exact day as I’m still waiting for my bank account cards to arrive. I’m either going to attempt to conquer my fear of sleeping in public again by staying in a hostel for a few days - or I’ll go straight to my Cousin Julie’s house in Oatley. I’ve applied for 5 Marketing jobs so far - one for Jim Beam, which I really hope I get. Once I’m in Sydney, I’m hoping I’ll make a few friends and finally buy a pair of shoes (and probably do all the touristy things like walk the Sydney Harbour bridge and visit the Opera House).
I am missing a few home comforts - especially Sky Sports News! I can’t stand either Cricket or Rugby, which are unfortunately Australia’s national sports so I’m really missing football! Thankfully I have the BBC website at my disposal and the regular text updates from my very own Jeff Stelling (thanks Jamie!) I’m also really missing Innocent Smoothies and my Ugg boots.
Anyway, I hope everyone at home is happy and safe. Missing the fam’ and my babies Pepper and Millie and of course my wuvly friends! Xxx
