Commonwealth Bank

Today I did something that I'm not proud off. But first let me give you a little bit of background.

Yesterday, after many days of deliberation, we decided on an internet company and plan to go with. This is incredibly hard because here you pay per GB instead of buffet internet like at home where you can just get as much as you want... bless our north american culture...So Colin and I decided to do a whopping 6GB a month which will cost us $40/month. But we signed up for a 2 month contract which gives us the wireless modem ($250 value) for free, and the first 6 months of our contract are only $19.97. We were excited to get it since we haven't had internet in several days and wanted to be connected. To our disappointment though, the guy at the counter said we needed our passports so they could run a credit check, so we hung our heads and said we'd try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow came. We went to a different mall and brought our trusty passports with us. This was happening! I went up to the counter, threw our ID down and asked for our internet please! Nope, we needed something with our address on it. DAMMIT! Why didn't we think of that. "That's okay," I said, "We'll just run to the bank and get them to print something out for us to verify our address, nooooo problem."

The banks here on Saturdays are INSANE. We waited 20 minutes in line to get to a teller who told us that there is no way that she could give that to us because we haven't actually put any money in our account yet (oops). We offered to put some money in and she said it wouldn't make a difference because the system wouldn't process the money until Tuesday. Crap. Well, since I was there, I decided to sign up for a superannuation account because I'll need a % of any future job money go into that account anyways. She tells me, "Nooo problem, I'll just take you to this line up over here."

Several minutes later, Emily is helping me set up my very own superannuation account. I had already filled out the forms the day before and I was rearing to go. I also asked again about getting a piece of paper with my address on it, she tells me that they can do it for me but it would cost $15. Ouch. I wouldn't spend $15 on 100 pieces of paper! Emily continues to set up my account. It wasn't supposed to take very long but 20 minutes later I'm still standing there because she can't quite figure out why the paper I need to sign isn't printing. She finally turns to her coworker and asks: "Can you set up a superannuation account on the weekend?"

I am shocked. I have just wasted 45 minutes at this bank. I can't get my stupid paper that'll let me get my sweet sweet internet and I can't get my stupidannuation account set up. I wait for Emily to apologize for her error and she stares back at me blankly. I felt my pulse quicken. I needed some remorse. The last two hours of my life flashed before my eyes: the hot bus and train ride to the mall, the "no" guy from the internet store, the fact that Colin would have to spend an hour going home to get a piece of paper with our address, the bank line up, and Emily. I had one more option and I knew I would get my way but it wasn't going to be dignified. I asked for her manager. A lovely woman came over after being prepped with the history. My eyes welled up, my lip quivered, I told her about my hour at the bank, my superannuation account, I gave Emily undeserved props for her helpfulness, and then I told her that all I wanted was that little piece of paper with my address on it.

AND I GOT IT! Colin returned from his 15 minute trip to the bathroom and I stood there victorious with our address on a piece of paper. Then we went and got us some internet!

The moral of the story is, Australia sucks and customer service caters to the whiners.

The End.

Manly Beach and Ferry ride across the harbor

Can you believe people pay $200 to walk across the top?



Toughest seagull ever. Look closely.


Manly Beach


Manly man

Riding the train

Dear fellow passenger, we don't know each other but I feel like we do. I know that you like to wear a lot of perfume/cologne, and I know that you like it a lot! You like your perfume as much as I don't like it. Did you know it gives me headaches and makes me pukey? Now you know a little more about me! This is fun. What else. Ummm I know that you love music. You love music so much that you listen to it without headphones so I too can enjoy it. Thanks for sharing Lady Gaga with me for 12 stops.

I secretly do love riding the train though, its just those two things that damper the ride. But after today we get to ride the train a little less (hopefully) 'cause we got BIKES! Things are looking up for the Kroegers! We have been looking for bikes for a while....well, two weeks. Everytime we pass a bike shop we go in and browse and take test spins. And we found a sweet auction house with loads of crappy bikes. We've also been following "gumtree" which is the Australian equivalent to Craigslist. Unfortunately many other people follow craigslist so you have to reply to a decent bike within the hour of it being posted. Anyhoot, we went bike shopping with our bike savey friend Dave today, who is in Colin's program, and he took us to the store where he bought his bike. Colin and I bought kick-butt and reasonably priced bikes there and then rode them around with Dave all late afternoon and evening. Our mistake was riding them in rush hour. Several times we almost got hit by buses and then later in the evening - car doors. I think one guy actually swore at me as I cried out in panic dodging the heavy wall he had flung in front of me. Oh ya, and I fingered a cab driver for cutting Colin off. We decided that we would ride in rush hour never again if possible. It was scary.

Tomorrow we are going to Manly beach and we are pretty excited. We will try to remember the camera cause Colin wants to rent a surfboard! Its going to be an early day though, so I should sign off.

-E

We’re on our way!

Evelyn and I just enjoyed a nice breakfast and are now on the train travelling almost the length of Sydney to what is probably going to be our new home for at least the next 6 months!

We’re going to live……. Wait for it …………………………………..in Guilford.

Surrey WHAT

This is two stops past Granville, 8.5 km from my school, across the street from the train station, half a block from Coles (Grocery store), about three houses away from a coffee shop, butcher shop, and a bakery. Hopefully it’s everything we need.

It’s a two bedroom apartment on the ground floor. It’s fully furnished including a nice queen size bed, couches, TV, a closet (wardrobe), washing machine, and a kitchen which comes with a fridge! Most people take their fridges and other appliances. Our bedroom has a sliding glass door that leads out onto a large patio. The place is very clean, we didn’t see a single cockroach! We are very happy with it so far. There is a catch though we are sharing the place with another couple who are from the USA. It should be interesting getting to know them, so far they’re very nice and extremely quiet.

This place is a step or two up from everything we’ve seen so far and at a reasonable price. The only problem is it’s far, far, far, away from the city. Evelyn might have a long commute for the first 6 months if she finds work down town.

It feels right though and will hopefully be good for my studies. The first semester is apparently the worst in terms of course work. So I’ll be in the boonies studying my life away.

Our lease is for 6 months, after that we’re planning on moving closer to the city with some people from my program. Everyone’s stuck in 6 month leases right now but once we’re all free again we can find a larger place and all live harmoniously together down town for a good price. It’s a long time off so things might change but that’s the plan for now.

C.

Finding a place to live

Evelyn and I have moved out of the temporary accommodations at the university. We’re currently living in a pool house complete with two single beds pushed together and a nice washroom which has a shower. It’s strange showering here. When you first get in you’ll have the hot water on a bit just to ease into it but over the course of showering you slowly turn that knob off. Most things are just opposite here. We’re living in Killara right now in the back yard of Kristina’s parents place. Kristina is Rowan’s girlfriend. In the house lives Peter, Louise, their three kids Kristina, Stef, and Nick and Rowan so it’s a full dinner table. Peter asked us to cook two meals a week for the house in turn we get to eat someone else’s cooking the other nights of the week. So far so good, last night Eve and I made a lasagne accompanied with a nice salad and bread. Beautiful.

Killara is a magnificent area. The houses are old, large and set in greenery. Large trees tower above you and shrubbery filled with flowers line the sidewalks. Peter’s house is over 100 years old but the place is immaculate and everything appears to be brand new. The only problem is Killara is about an hour and a half away from my school.

We can’t wait to find a place and finally unpack our suit cases. Everything we go to inspect though has filled us with regret for leaving our beautiful basement suit at home. Mom, Dad I hope you’re ready to live with us for the rest of your lives!
We walked into a place today which looked promising. It was only $250 per week so times that by 4.33 and you get $1082.5 per month. It took us 25 minutes to find it from the train station the guy even had to come out on the street to help us. We didn’t eat breakfast and it took an hour and a half to get there so we were exhausted hot and sweaty. When he opened the door we were greeted with air conditioning! It was amazing so cool and refreshing I couldn’t wait to get into the place. The entrance was a hall way and we walked down it turned a corner and in front of us was a couch facing a TV, a kitchen that spaned one wall and then behind the couch about 1 meter away from the kitchen and 2 feet from the back bedroom door were two single mattresses on the ground. Hmmm, so this guy wanted us to share a one bedroom apartment with not only him but another guy who would sleep in the living area while we had the small bedroom at the back of the place. When we walked into the bedroom we saw again two single mattresses on the floor and a closet built into one wall. I stood in the room trying to hide my shocked face at the entire situation when BAM! The shock was revealed for on one mattress was a dude sleeping it caught me off guard. So not only were we supposed to live in a one bedroom apartment with two other guys but his friend worked a night shift and had to sleep in the day! We left, I was kind while Evelyn stood at the door. Sydney…?

The next week however, has a lot in store and a lot to look forward to. A place to live and unpack our suitcases, school, work, more fun at the beach, bicycles and many more train rides where I can write out my thoughts. First up finding a home!
Pray for us.
C.

Bondi Beach

Today I learned how to enjoy your skin and the Australian sun at the same time. Before you leave for the beach, COMPLETELY cover your body head to toe in a high SPF, preferably more than 30. When you arrive at your destination, slap on a second coat of sunscreen and let it soak up. You may then proceed into the water to play in the ocean. When you exit the ocean, immediately and liberally reapply.

Today I only completed step 1 and paid the crimson price. But I will be better next time. Bondi beach was beautiful though and I'm told that there are even better ones! I don't want to get too remote because then you meet sharks. Today someone was attacked 35km north of where we were! He's okay because he grabbed onto a rock and held on while it tried to drag him out. How scary is that!

-E

P.s- some girls here don't wear tops on the beaches and its a little weird. Hope they didn't burn their nips!

The Lizard...

is gone! Colin caught him in a paper bag and set him free back into the wild. He probably didn't last long. Everyday we wake up and find dead cockroaches on the hallways or tiny dead frogs...I don't know where they come from but as long as they stay out of our room then that is just wonderful.

Colin's first day of orientation is tomorrow so its my first day on my own. I think I'm going to spend it on the internet mostly, looking up different real estate agents to contact. And bikes. I'm also going to look for used bikes. Then at 4 I have a meeting with a lady from the dental assisting association down here and she's going to tell me about any prospective employers and wages etc... so that'll be fun. I'd rather have a place to live before I get a job though because traveling by train here is very slow if you live on a non-express line, and I want to know where the highest paid jobs are before we commit. I think it varies quite a bit.

On Saturday night we hung out with Anita's cousin Rowan who invited us to a bbq about an hour west (by train) in an area called Penrith. This is where we had our first taste of kangaroo! It was cooked medium rare and its a very lean meat but as soon as it entered my mouth I wanted to spit it out. I felt so guilty. I packed my mouth with salad so I could swallow it and then snuck the rest of it onto Colin's plate who LOVED IT! After we finished eating it we were informed that people usually just feed kangaroo to their pets. Ewwwww. I ate dog food. We had a fun night hanging out with Rowan's friends who were all very nice and Australian. It was hard following their conversation though, especially when several of them were telling a story together. I felt like an idiot leaning in and squinting in concentration.

Its still raining here a lot and super humid. We're told that all of you vancouver folk are enjoying a balmy 15 degrees. We're really happy for you guys.
-E

p.s- We had BLT's today. I don't know why they call it bacon here, its just ham. I miss my Canadian bacon.

First Experiences

We made it! We are now officially Australian residents who live in a dorm room, which consists of a bed the size of our last shower, a desk with an old school phone on it, and a dresser. We are currently organizing our small room at 9:03 pm our time. This translates to 2:03 am for our bodies.

We arrived with 240 lbs of luggage, sweaty bodies (it’s muggy here), swelled feet, literally my feet still feel and sort of look like stubs attached to calves, and a friendly face who snagged up a 50 pound bag and guided us to his sweet right hand drive Subaru. Rowan picked us up from the airport and drove us to this small, quaint sub-sect university of Sydney aka U – Syd. The abbreviations are wild for instance a truck is called a ulli (you-lee), for utility vehicle. The accents aren’t bad though and the people have proved to be very kind and somewhat helpful. We did a lot on our first day here. We made it to Woolworths which is the closest ok grocery store. It took about 44 minutes. First we had to catch a bus then a train then we got off that one and got on another and a short walk got us to a store. The way home was similar.

The first lizard I saw scared me so much I keep looking for it whenever I enter a room or hear a noise, which is very often. I was walking down a dark hall relaxed and relishing a calm moment when surprise! A lizard half crawling half slithering races away from my feet to the dark corner of the hall. My heart was pounding when I jumped and held in a scream. Evelyn saw her first spider when picking up her coat, it was on it. I think I jumped as high as her because I thought it was the lizard.

So far we’re enjoying our stay, it’s been pleasant and exciting. The housing market is supposedly very competitive- we talked to a guy who gave us some good information on getting a place. Apparently you need references from people who live here so we’ll be working on that today.

C

The eve of...

We are down to the wire here. Our plane leaves in 17 hours and I still sit among a chaotic semi-organized mess. I am pretty tired so it doesn't feel like anything exciting is happening yet. All I've been able to focus on is that I'm unemployed, homeless and have all belongings condensed. I hope I didn't forget anything really important.

We've had a really fun week of goodbye parties and nightly get togethers which gave our departure a jovial pizazz.

I should get to bed though because today is an early day. Our plan is stay up as long as we can on the flight from San Francisco to Sydney and then sleep the last 8-10 hours of the flight. That would mean when we wake up it will be 8:10am in Sydney. I hope that whoever occupies the 3rd seat in our row doesn't snore. Do your ear drums explode if you wear ear plugs in a plane?

-E