Home Sweet Sydney

I arrived to Sydney around 10:40am (16 hours ahead of you east coasters) and to my astonishment I got my bags without any problems. I took a shuttle to my hostel and heaved my bags up the stairs to my tiny little 5 bunk beds bedroom. This hostel is pretty much one step above camping and it's not where I plan on spending most of my time this week besides when I'm sleeping. But the shower was AWESOME! I hadn't had a shower since the morning I left San Fran, so it felt nice to get clean. Here are some sad pictures of my room:

Once I was fresh and clean, clean, I took a walk down to Hyde Park-it was close by and I'd wanted to check it out anyway. It was really pretty and I got to experience a little of Australia's wildlife too. I'm not sure it it was a rat that ran by my foot or what....

And if you're wondering how I got that picture of myself, it was taken by one of two Mormans who were trying to convert me in the park. I told them no thank you but could they please take my picture. Haha

After the park I got some dinner and then went to BED! As uncomfortable as those little bunk beds look, it was like heaven when my head hit that pillow.

Taipei, Taiwan

Well, I'm sure you guys were all worried about me and my 16 hour layover in Taiwan (thank God I didn't wander off too far. If I got stuck there I don't think I'd ever learn the language! Although I did pick up on this one: "nee-how"=hello). But I managed just fine!

I had to get some lunch (breakfast? dinner?) in the airport and I decided to try some local cuisine and this is how that turned out:

I altogether avoided the floating testicles and the egg, but the rest really wasn't half bad!

After visiting the Information booth, I found out that the government sponsors a free city tour from the airport and back (apparently I'm not the only one with an ENTIRE DAY layover) and it hits some interesting spots. Our itinerary was this:

1)The Longshan Temple- This is the oldest and most famous temple in Taiwan. It was really neat to see everyone praying and burning incense and offering gifts to the gods.

2) Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall- Chaing Kai-Shek is a very well-respected late president. Our tour guide said that if wasn't for him, they'd all be Japanese and probably communists. This was a really pretty building. In the first picture below is the outside of the building and the man there was our tour guide; in the second picture is a model of Kai-Shek's office. All of the furniture was authentic.....Kia-Shek was not.

3) Martyr's Shrine- A shrine to the fallen heroes of China's wars. I'll be honest, I didn't pay much attention here. There were guards standing outside-you know, the kind that can't talk or move-and one of the girls in our group was dancing around in front of them and both of them started cracking up! It was hilarious. Their supervisor had to come and cover their faces up with his hands.

Giggling Guard:

4) Building 101- The tallest building in the world. It's mostly private office buildings and shopping/restaurants on floors 1-5.

After my tour was finished and I was back at the airport, I still had 3 hours to kill. I bought a few souvenirs and took advantage of the free wireless internet, then boarded my plane for SYDNEY!!!!!

San Fran Part 2- Best day ever!

So, I love San Francisco! That may be my next big move after Sydney.

On Saturday (the 12th), Adam and I went to breakfast at one of his favorite little spots in Alameda called Tillies. It was a cute little diner and the breakfast was pretty delicious. We stayed there eating and talking for a long time and then went back to his apartment and changed into the clothes we were going to wear for dinner.

We set out driving around 3pm and explored some of the mountainous areas that were really beautiful. We wound up at a place called Muir Point which had a little lookout point over Muir Beach. It was pretty and we used a little self-timer action and got some cool pictures from up there:

So, after we made our way back down the mountain we did a little coastal walking. The Pacific is really gorgeous...I've gotten so used to the Atlantic that I forgot there was any other ocean. The walk along the beach was nice besides the one spot where the vultures were feeding on deal seal. Ew.

After that it was getting close to sunset time and Adam had a spot he knew of where we could get some good pictures. I'm not sure where exactly we were, but it was absolutely gorgeous. These pictures speak for themselves:

It was such a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the city, the water, and the sunset.

After we left there we went to Sausalito for our dinner reservations at a place called Horizons where everything on the menu sounded amazing. We ate in a little V-shaped booth looking out a huge window over the water. Again....beautiful.

When we finished dinner Adam drove me around through the Marine (or Marina) district and all of the housing through there was really cute. We drove through and around the Golden Gate Park which is where the Tanner Family is having their picnic at the beginning of Full House. Haha.

So, after that we went back and on Sunday I spent most of the day unloading some of my clothes to leave at Adam's. I got my bags organized and read up a little bit on Taiwan and Sydney and then we were off to the airport at 10pm for my midnight flight!

Hailey Ann in San Fran

The journey begins!!!!!!!!!! After some sad goodbyes and a few fun nights with my Charleston friends, I'm finally beginning the long haul across the world. I stayed up pretty much all night packing last night, then got to the Charleston airport around 5am with my entire life packed up in my enormous bags. Even my carry on bags are outrageous! The strap on one of them broke as I was walking through the Houston airport....so that's great. I'm seriously thinking about unloading some stuff here in Cali and letting Lulay (the friend I'm staying with) ship it to me later. I can't maneuver all of this stuff by myself!

Anyway, San Francisco is nice. I haven't seen much of it yet but I like it so far. It's chillier here than I thought it would be. Adam and I are going to get some sushi tonight so I can see what it's like on the east coast.

I'm hoping to sleep in tomorrow...I could use a good night's sleep.

Keep in Touch! SKYPE

I recently discovered what I think is the worlds best invention ever.....EVER! It's called Skype and it's a free download that allows you talk to anyone in the world (as long as they too have Skype) for FREE! All you have to have is a microphone and speakers/headphones. You can also chat online and do lots of other things that I haven't learned yet. But just go to www.skype.com and download it, then add me as a contact.

The only problem once I'm in Australia will be finding a time to talk! Probably not the easiest thing to do with the time difference.

'Tis the season.....mate!

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm trying desperately to finish up my shopping before heading home for the holidays. I have a busy weekend ahead with the Daughtry concert on Friday (thanks Rob!!!!), the Panthers game on Sunday (again!), and then the 2 day drive home-from Charleston to Arkansas-with Nana and Tucker on Monday. I'm so excited to see everyone in the 'dale!

I'm wrapping up The Chucktown News and trying to do all of the final collections. Not my favorite part of this job. I've got only 4 accounts with unpaid balances now though. I tried to put a copy of the December issue of the newsletter here in the blog but I guess I can't do it.

I officially have 3 tenants for my house in Charleston! Yay! We're in the process of switching all of the bills over from my name to Erin's name right now which is way more of a headache than it should be. I have to pick up a special form for the water bill, we have to BOTH go into the office for the cable bill, we have to show a copy of the lease for the waste bill.....etc.

My car never sold, so I'm driving it home to Arkansas on Monday with Nana (don't worry, she'll keep my narcoleptic tendencies at bay). Maybe the family can sell it while I'm gone????

I've got my gym membership canceled, my work phone shut off, my furniture (most of it) stored away, Tucker's plans arranged (thanks, Mom! He'll love the doggy door), and my iPod updated for the flight. I'm still working on the little, less important things like a job and a permanent apartment. :) Don't worry, family! I'm kidding! I'm making progress on these things but can't work them out fully until I get there.

Ok, back to collections! See you Arkansans in a few days!

One Month, 10 days!

It's December!!! January 14th is getting closer!!!!!!! Here is my agenda before I leave:

December 17th-27th(ish): Arkansas/Las Vegas for Christmas. Take Tucker home :(
January 11th: Leave from Charleston to San Francisco
January 14th: Leave from California to Sydney
January 16th: Arrive in Sydney (14 hour time change!!!!)

Last weekend I got to see some of my best friends one last time before I leave. Kristen and her boyfriend and Kaley drove in from Athens, Forrest flew in from Arkansas, then Mary surprised me and flew in from St. Louis! We had a great time in Charleston and got to say our goodbyes in person.

Hannah might be visiting me this weekend!!!! YAY! She's only coming because she wants to collect all of my stuff that I'm not taking with me. I keep getting texts from her like, "So, what size shoe do you wear?" And she's driving so she'll have plenty of room to pack it all in the car! Haha, that's ok though! I'm glad she might FINALLY get to see Charleston. I've only been here for a year and a half.

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In case anyone is wondering (family), here is my Christmas list for Santa this year:

• Video Camera
• 2 New LARGE, LIGHTWEIGHT, suitcases
• New swimsuit (more challenging to find in December than anticipated)
• Electronic address book
• Garage door (I may or may not have run my car through mine)
• Money!!!!!

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Oh, I just looked more closely at my airline ticket and I realized that on January 15th I am spending an ENTIRE DAY in Taiwan! I get there at 6am and leave for Sydney at 10:40pm! WOW!

Also, officially booked my hostel today. I'll be residing at the Boomerang Backpackers Hostel for one week.