Stolen Stuff

This past weekend (March 7-9) definitely had it's ups and downs, but I'd say only about 20% ups and 80% downs. Most of Friday night was spent debating on whether or not to go out on the town. Then at about 10:00pm it started pouring down rain, so our decision was made. We stayed in and watched TV all night.

Saturday night I had plans to go out with a new friend of mine named Antony. He works at a bar in Darling Harbor called Wallaby Bar, so we planned on starting there and then he had some other spots picked out for us to go. Antony met me outside of my apartment and we headed to DH. Wallaby bar was pretty cool, but a younger crowd. After we'd been there for about 10min a guy approached me with the typical, "Where are you from?" and then, "How old are you?" When I said 23 he put his hands up and said, "Woah, you're too old for me!" Ouch.

So after we had a few (too many) drinks at Wallaby Bar we headed out for the next destination. Somewhere along the walk we got in an intense argument about where Croatia was located and which countries surrounded it (don't ask) and we sat down on some steps so he could look it up on his phone. For the record, I was right. Now, the theories differ here but I'm sticking with my story. When we sat down, I laid my purse (correction: Gracie's purse) on the step next to me. When we settled the Croatia debate and got up to leave: no purse. We immediately called my phone and it was shut off, so it was definitely in someone else's hands. I felt bad enough about losing Gracie's purse, but on top of that was my phone, camera, keys to my apartment, keys to the gym, my wallet with $70 and 5 credit/debit cards, and my South Carolina id, and my lip gloss. Bugger.

Antony was SO sweet and walked me back to my flat and looked up all of the phone numbers to my banks online. He kept dialing the number for a bank, putting the phone under my head on my ear as I was falling asleep on the couch, and trying to keep me awake enough to talk to the customer service agent. I kept waking up and complaining about how bad it sucked that my lip gloss was gone. HaHa

I got all of my cards canceled and now I've gotten all the new ones reissued, but it hasn't been the easiest task. I also filed a police report and paid Gracie back for the purse. Also, Antony had a spare phone that he is letting me borrow (much nicer than my old one too) and I got to keep my same phone number. That was really cool of him. I guess it's not the worst thing that could have happened, but it was inconvenient to say the least.


The End

Mardi Gras 2008

Before I publish any pictures from Mardi Gras let me clarify that in Sydney, Mardi Gras is not the same as in New Orleans. Mardi Gras in Sydney is a huge Gay and Lesbian pride festival and parade. It pretty much takes over the city, as it is one of the largest such events in the world.

On Mardi Gras, I headed out to the parade around 4pm with 4 German girls and my friend Glen who came down from Central Coast.

L to R: Melanie (will be moving in to apartment in a few weeks), Nora, Julia, me, Catarina

Somehow I lost the girls pretty soon after getting downtown (typical, I know), so I spent most of the night with Glen and his friend Brett.

Brett and Glen. Brett is tall

So after about an hour or 2 of the parade-which included the classy Dikes on Bikes and Gay Cops-we started seeing these pink Australian flags so we went on a hunt to find some for ourselves. I wanted one so bad at the time for some reason. We finally found the flags and tied them around us so we could look more festive during the parade.

After our journey to find the flags we came across a homeless man selling random merchandise and I picked up this sexy wig (below) for $2 and the guys got a couple of hats.

The night ended for me at about 11:30pm because it started at about 3pm. Haha, another fun filled night in Australia. Always an adventure....

Canberra

I'm a little behind on the updates, so let me backtrack a little:

2 weekends ago Katie, Gracie and I took a Greyhound bus down to Canberra. For everyone who thinks that Sydney is the capitol of Australia: guess again. The capitol is a lovely little place called Canberra and it's about as different from Sydney as it could be. It's a pleasant, pre-planned city that's nice and clean and everything looks so put together. Ask any Canberrian what they think about their home and they'll say the same thing: "Great place to live, but why would anyone visit?" Here are some scenic shots I got:

View from The Lookout

Parliament House

War Memorial

The real reason that we went to Canberra was for Gracie and Katie's friend (Joe)'s birthday party. The party wasn't until Saturday night and we arrived at his house on Friday night. We were welcomed by his family in typical Australian fashion. They were so nice and let us stay the weekend with them. Joe's mom fixed us some pasta when we got in and it was nice to have a real meal.

After we got dressed and ready we hit the town and went to a club called Academy in Civic (a part of Canberra). It was a really good time and Joe and his friend Geoff-later nicknamed "Josepheeny Weenie and Geoffy Poodle"-took good care of us.

Outside of Academy with some new friends

L to R: Gracie, Joe, Katie, Geoff, Me

The next night (Saturday night) was Joe's party and it was hilarious! It was a costume party, and everyone went ALL OUT. Gracie, Katie and I weren't prepared and didn't have anything to wear. Honestly, we thought Joe was lying to us when he told us we had to dress up. We thought he was trying to trick us into looking like stupid American/Canadians all dressed up for no reason. But Joe's mom helped us put together our costumes and I went as Cleapatra in a toga, Gracie was Pocahauntas, and Katie was....well...I don't really know. She threw on some uniform that was funny to all the Canberrians but we didn't get it. I think it was a high school rugby shirt or something.

Anyway, Joe's brother Mardo went as Duffman from the Simpsons and his costume was hysterical. Halfway through the party I was sitting and talking to him and he goes, "Wanna trade costumes?" and I was like, "HECK YEAH!" Haha, so I ended up as Duffman before the night was over. At one point I put on a Wiggles shirt of someone elses but I got the evil eye from Mardo so I took it off ASAP. Haha, overall a fun weekend!

Me, Katie, Geoffy Poodle

All of us with Mama Roos (Joe the birthday boy is in the back as Captain Jack Sparrow)

Jack Sparrow, Cleapatra, Pocahauntas, Duffman, and Tooth Fairy


The Switch

Geoff, Katie, and DuffWOman

The birthday boy and Katie

More Australian Slang

Good ON ya! = Good for you!

Fairdinkem = Still haven't figured out what this one means yet.

Have a Britney = Have a beer. Britney Spears; beer

Take a David = Take a shower. David Gower; shower. (I don't know who David Gower is)

How ya goin? = How ya doin?

Meant = supposed ("It wasn't meant to break")

Have a feed = Get some food

This arvo = This afternoon





I have picked up a few Aussie-isms myself. I end some of my sentences with, "hey?" now and I call my friends mates. It always sounds awkward when I hear myself say it, but I'm trying to fit in, hey? G'day, mates!

Kangaroo Sandwich, anyone???

Outside of the zoo I haven't seen a kangaroo yet....but I ate one! I had my first taste of kangaroo last week in the form of a burger. It wasn't too bad, either! It was a little chewy, but tasted similar to steak. I don't LOVE steak, so I didn't love the kangaroo. But it was alright.

The One Month Mark

I've been in Oz for a month now, and even though my awful sense of direction is still working against me I am getting around the city a little easier now. I'm learning the train schedules and how to use the bus. Gracie, Katie and I had to learn the hard (and embarrassing) way the other day when we got on a bus at Bondi Beach to head back home and the bus driver started to drive off then stopped and said to us, "What are you doing on here?" (Doors open) "You have to stay. Get off." Apparently, we were on the wrong bus. Ours pulled up about 20seconds later.

I picked up a part time job at a gym a couple of doors up from my apartment. It's called Bayswater Fitness and it's a lot of fun. I'm the only girl working there at the moment, and the only straight person. I work with a bunch of gay men and it's always entertaining with them; never a dull moment.

We've made friends with some of our neighbors in the apartment building so we've been having a lot of fun at home lately. We lost a roommate (Julia) and gained a roommate (JoHanna....still largely referred to as "new girl").

Next weekend some of us are planning a trip to Canberra. It will be nice to get out of the city for a little while!

I miss you all! More updates on the way. Please e-mail me and update me on your lives and any US news that I should know. HaileyHerdlinger@aol.com

Quick Update: Apartment Living

Sydney is still incredible. My apartment is actually a lot of fun now. Well, for the most part. It's almost like a sorority house at this point. My two Canadian friends Gracie and Katie moved in and two of the guys moved out, so it's me, 3 German girls and 2 Canadian girls. Gracie, Katie, Catarina, Nora, Julia, and me. Oh, and Tree. Don't forget Tree. Tree is the 39 year old Thai man that lives in our living room. That's right, our living room. He's set himself up a fort with sheets and shower curtains all around it. You can see it in the first picture below. That's our living room (some of the people live there, some were just visiting before we all went out) and that's Tree's house in the back corner with the flowers. Awkward? Yes, we all think so too. We're working on the situation at the moment. The rest of the girls are all really sweet and a lot of fun.

We've had a lot of rain over the past few days so I haven't gotten much beach time. :( It's hard to do anything when you don't have a car and it's pouring down rain outside. We have 2 dvds in the house: Dirty Dancing and The Notebook, so we've started wearing those out already.

If anyone feels the need to send a care package then I can give you my address! :) Just e-mail me: HaileyHerdlinger@aol.com

Miss everyone!