It’s hard to blog about Sydney when you’re falling asleep in your bed in Sydney but I’m gonna attempt it.
Today was… today was long. We travel writers had to come up with presentations overnight on bloody boring topics (see what I did there?) such as Captain Cook, the man who found Australia and claimed it for England, and… wow, I can’t think of something else. It was three hours of taking notes and attempting to muster up some energy – I wanted to mostly because our professor Marilla is so adorable. This week has definitely reminded me that I am not on vacation, although I’m treating myself like I am considering the amount of money I’m spending. Like an idiot.
For example, I signed up today for two trips: surf camp, which I’m attending this weekend (I’m super excited to look like a noob in a wet suit – it’s been too long) and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and surrounding rainforest. Let’s just say the amount of money I threw down for those trips is enough to instill a panic attack in a Buddhist monk. For the next few weeks, I’ll definitely be living modestly – less clubs and bars is key! It’s a good thing I didn’t buy that pair of leopard print heels I so desperately wanted.
(I’m getting really distracted right now by my roommate, who is making odd humming sounds as she writes music for her A cappella group. She doesn’t realize how hilarious it is. As hilarious as it was when she was shaking during yoga today.)
But yeah, back to how I’m poor. Traveling alone and with limited funds is very hard. I can deal with the homesickness, probably because I don’t feel it that much, and adjust to the culture (and accents!) far better than I can adapt to the ridiculous prices of food and drink. Because the Australian dollar is worth 1.0745x the American dollar, you’d think that prices would be relatively similar. Nope. Minimum wage is $15 here, there’s no sales tax as we understand it and you get fined $700 for setting off the fire alarm in the BU dorms. In other words, I don’t get it.
Yeah, so I should go to sleep. Update later!
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