The Summary of Sarah

Highlights of Australia:

• Meeting and learning a ton from Ruth in Melbourne and having dinner at her family vineyard.
• Scuba Diving in Cairns and meeting my friend, Sayaka.
• Sailing the Whitsunday Islands and Whitehaven Beach, and making new friends from England and   S. Korea.
• Getting to hold a Koala at the Australian Zoo.
• Finally meeting up with Amber in Sydney.
• Bondi Beach, which is also at the top of my list so far on where to move. Cute beach town, tons to do in surrounding areas, 40 minute bus to Sydney, and the best mall ever! Enough said. ;)

Observations I made in Australia:

• Things move much sloooower in Australia which can sometimes be a good thing and sometimes not so much.
• There are few stop signs and people stop for nothing.
• No one really honks their horns, and it’s actually quite nice and peaceful.
• They don’t really use napkins anywhere and I have yet to figure out where people are wiping their hands.
• With regards to the above, I’m assuming it is b/c everyone in Australia is much more environmentally friendly. They have half flushes (you do the math) and recycling everywhere. It’s really nice to see.
• Shoes and Shirts are optional pretty much everywhere in Australia, including in restaurants, convenience stores, and even kids running across busy intersections.
• Dogs (or children for that matter) are not required to be on a leash, or at least most people could care less that their children are running around like wild animals and stepping on toes or their dogs might bite someone or get hit by a car. I think it may be due to the laid back, peaceful attitude everyone has here.
• The jury is still out whether I think Australians are some of the nicest people in the world – especially in Sydney. We got a lot of blank stares and smart ass replies when we weren’t using “proper” terms. (Nonfat is skim, Garbage is Rubbish, Restroom is Toilet). I have yet to get comfortable saying the word Toilet and only use it when I absolutely have to (basically after I’ve attempted 2 or 3 times to say restroom or bathroom).

Things I’ve learned or am learning along the way:

• I could definitely get used to living a simpler life. Don’t get me wrong, I still need a lot of “stuff”, but it’s so funny how I have no desire to get dressed up, put on heals, etc.
• I’m slowly learning a system for all the stuff I’m schlepping. I’m getting to be a better packer and not having to dig through every pocket of every bag every time I need something.
• Hostels are way easier to stay in than I thought. Shared rooms, mixed rooms, rooms w/o my own private bathroom. Nothing fazes me now.
• I'm still learning to walk on the left side of the sidewalk.  Hard habit to break!
• I’ve learned that we Americans are not envied as much as we think we are. There is a lot of disrespect for our government and especially George W. Bush and they think we are all hillbillies or at least sound like hillbillies.
• What I heard was confirmed. When I asked what comes to mind when you think of “American Girls”, I pretty much received the same answer every time. Spring Break and Cancun. Lovely to know that having fun for one week when we are seniors in college pretty much defines us. Oh, and I’m sure those Girls Gone Wild videos don’t help us either. We have got to get it together, ladies!!
• I’m a lot messier than I thought. When I have the opportunity to spread my things out, I do.
• I sort of wish I didn’t have so much on my agenda or that I was staying put in one place for a longer period of time. I’m sort of tired of picking up and moving every day or two. I’m looking forward to S. Africa, where I will be for a solid month.

Terms used*:
• "How you going?" = How are you doing?

• "No worries" = You're welcome.
• "Cheers" = Thanks!
• "What are you after?" = What are you looking for?
• "Pub" = Bar ; "Pint" = Beer ; "Rubbish" = Garbage ; "Toilet" = Bathroom ; "Mate" = Friend
*I could go on and on for days...

Sarah's items that are now Australian property:
• Camera – Slipped off the boat on my sailing trip and is now somewhere at the bottom of the ocean in the Whitsunday Islands
• One sock – Must have lost it when I did laundry at Ruth’s
• A pair of pajamas – I’m thinking I left these at my hostel in Brisbane when I got up extremely early to catch my flight
• Makeup bag – After multiple intercontinental flights and barely getting checked at security, it completely slipped my mind to take out my liquids on my flight from Sydney to NZ. I was frantically doing it in the security line and am pretty sure I left it in one of those darn gray bins.

I cannot believe a month in Australia went by so quickly. I was so sad to leave, but Amber and I have a day and a half in Melbourne after NZ, before we head to Thailand, so it will be great to have one last hurrah in Oz. Plus, there is so still so much to see and do in Australia, I just know I will be back. For a country with only 20mm people, it still is the size of the US. I thought a month would be plenty, but I met so many travelers who were there for months and still hadn’t seen it all. So much to see, so little time…