New Holland

It’s been a little while since I wrote something, mostly because there was not much to write about. It appears to be the worst winter in Sydney in years, meaning Dutch style rainy weather. The combination of early darkness, rain and not a lot to do, left me missing home and a bit depressed. All I did was sleep in, eat, do groceries, visit the internetcafé, play some cards and visit the pool and sauna in the hostel. That may not sound bad, but when you arrive in a new city you want to explore, not sit inside. Luckily now I’m feeling better, especially since the weather today was a lot better. We went for a stroll to Darling harbour, where we walked over the bridge crossing the harbour and visited the maritime museum. There we went to discover the magnetic South pole and figured out that the Dutch arrived long before Captain Cook and dubbed it New Holland. This made me compare my new experiences with home.

-First of all, being a vegetarian here is nearly impossible.
-We are blessed back home to be able to bike anywhere, meaning a bike ride of ten minutes takes thirty minutes by public transport here.
-The city is riddled with convenience stores, which sell overpriced noodle soup, snacks and drinks. Supermarkets are large, but require quite some walking to reach (on the positive side, they are open every day until midnight).
-People walk around with gloves and thick scarves while we walk around in a simple sweater or summer jackets.
- Asians walk right on the road, Australians walk left, you walk clueless in between.
-Corn is cheap, rice is expensive, is that logical in second Chinatown?
- Hardly anyone eats fresh, instant meals, especially noodles with a little flavour (beef, chicken etc.)

Hopefully tomorrow will be another bright day so we can explore the city more and watch the game without an umbrella.

Another bit of news is that Lisianne won’t be my roommate, but she will be my housemate, as she took a room in the same house in Surry Hills. This comforts me a bit, as I will still always have someone to share my stories with when back home people are sleeping. Naturally, it is also convenient for cooking and washing, but most importantly for the good company.