Week Five: A cup of tea is needed.

This morning I woke up with the distinct feeling that a team of very small-but very real-kangaroos, with very small-but very real-feet, were ruthlessly and determinedly jumping up and down inside my skull. It was fairly unpleasant, and most likely a consequence of my poor decision to drink classy wine - I should qualify that in Australia, all wine that comes in bottles rather than bags can be counted as classy - mixed with industrial strength Raspberry Cordial. I think all wine in Australia - whether sold in bags or bottles or boxes or buckets - should come with a warning: Caution - contains many tiny marsupials. May cause severe pain, embarrassment and regret. Enjoy.

POSSUM!

This week has not been my most productive. Monday was spent pretending to do work, with a quick break for a swim. I printed some CVs in order to begin searching for some method of supporting my extravagant lifestyle... Not that I do much that you could count as extravagant, but living in one of the most expensive countries in the world doesn't come cheap. Tuesday was spent at lectures, a boring but necessary part of a 'Study Abroad' year.


On Wednesday I decided to be Productive. I got up early, headed to the Forum for a quick swim, went home to dump my stuff and pick up my CVs, and headed to the train station. At the station, in plenty of time for the train, I paused - headphones in - to read a notice about train time changes. As I was reading, headphones in, my back to the platform, I did not notice the train pull in. As I turned around, the train doors closed, and my productive day was ended.


Rather than wait half an hour for the next train, I headed off for lunch with the girls, and a peruse of the campus secondhand book fair. It was impressive, if only in sheer volume of paper. The entire Great Hall (which, I was disappointed to note, bore little resemblance to it's Hogwartian namesake) was filled with rows and rows of tables, weighed down by endless volumes of travel books, self-help books, science books, sheet music, biographies, autobiographies.... All with one thing in common: Moustaches. All - bar, perhaps, the sheet music - seemed to contain beautifully outdated photos from the 60s, 70s, 80s - showing Scientists, Ramblers, Celebrities... Everyone, with a glorious moustache.



Yorkshire ♥



Wednesday night called for an impromptu night out at the Brewery - which is so, so much better than Fanny's that I can't quite believe anyone bothers going to the latter. I also found $2.50 on the floor. Boom. We stayed at Liz's, unable to face the train home at 3am, and made our way back in the morning, feeling decidedly worse for wear. 

On Thursday afternoon we headed into town to hand out CVs, until I realised that mine were safely tucked up in my room back on campus, so we went for brunch instead. Raisin toast with Fig jam and a Mango-Berry smoothie. Nom nom nom. In the afternoon, I turned hairdresser for the evening, trying my hand at dying both Liz and Roseanna's hair. It didn't come out green, and neither of them have tried to kill me, so I think it can be regarded a success.


On Friday we headed back into town and handed out CVs, with limited success. One Penny Black, a gorgeous little cafe filled with beautiful little cakes, had recently filled their vacancy (cry) and most other

places agreed to have a peruse of my CV, but offered little hope. One lovely little deli-cafe seemed interested and called me that evening, only to tell me that they required a full-time barista and my part-time coffee skills would be surplus to requirements. So the job hunt continues.... In the evening, Nathan was cooking, and I tried Gumbo for the first time! It's a sort of soup, with beans and vegetables (and meat in the non-veggie one), poured over rice. Yummy :) Afterwards, we headed out in search of chocolate and the aforementioned 'classy wine', before settling down for a screening of 'How to Train your Dragon' and an inevitable sugar coma.

 

Seagulls by the harbour

...More seagulls.

Saturday was spent attempting to work, before heading into town with the girls. We bought noodles in a box (A box! Like in AMERICA!) and ate dinner on the beach, watching the surfers, bodyboarders and DOLPHINS. Actual dolphins! You would catch glimpses of fins and tails, arching above the water, and occasionally surfing through the waves, amongst the surfers. It was incredible. I need to learn to surf NOW.
In the evening we decided to have some drinks at my flat, nothing too rowdy. Well, lets just say that it didn't go to plan. I have since discovered that wine in bottles is inherently evil, and I shall be sticking to goon. On the upside, I was in bed by 11pm...


Today will be salvaged by the addition of many, many cups of tea. I need to do work, even with my cerebral-marsupial problem. I am running low on teabags though, and donations of Yorkshire Tea would be very (very, very, very) gratefully recieved!


We've been planning our travels this week. In a few weekends time we are heading to Melbourne (tip #1 - Never call it Melbourne. The Aussies look at you strangely. It's pronounced 'Melburne', apparently). Everyone says that it's a gorgeous city. Cobbled streets, lined with coffee shops and art galleries, incredible food, beautiful sights, and the best coffee anywhere in this coffee-obsessed country. Lovely. The Surf Weekend with Mojosurf has been put off as we counted the costs and realised that $265 for two nights accommodation and food, and three surf lessons, really isn't that great value. Instead we're going to learn right here in Newcastle.


I'm definitely getting itchy feet. I've been in this huge, incredible country, with so much on my to-do list, for over a month now, and I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface! With Melbourne in a few weeks time, then Brisbane with Mumma Brown soon after, I know the travelling will start up soon. A year is a really long time, but Australia is so big, and diverse, and - with the addition of New Zealand as well - there is so much I want to see! I do not want to waste my time here, seeing only the typical tourist sights, although I really do want to head to Coffs Harbour to see the 'Big Banana'. I need to get a job soon, so I can start planning and booking my travels, making the most of my year on the other side of the planet.