Welcome to Sydney!

So I've moved from the land of the long white cloud to a bustling metropolis of over 4 million people (that's 1 million more than New Zealand's entire population). Julie was kind enough to drop me off at the airport. Jean and Jayceen came too :). They were super patient as it took some time to get my baggage checked in since Air New Zealand has strict rules as to how much your carry on and baggage can weigh. All in all I made it through baggage and security (my least favorite part of flying). At least I didn't have to take of my shoes, sweatshirt, belt, and everything else like in the states just to get through.  They did stop me for one of their "random" checks though but thankfully I was bomb and firearm free. They updated their safety video from Hobbit themed to Bear Grylls and boy is it awesome! Anna- you're going to love this! Here's the link- Bear Gryll's Safety.

The flight over was relatively uneventful. The weirdest part- looking down and only seeing blue water and looking up and only seeing blue sky. Funny- we were flying over only ocean and yet they didn't even mention what would happen if we had to emergency land in the water... Three hours later, we flew in over looking the entire city and harbors. Although I'd seen the opera house from the air on my way to NZ it was still a breathtaking view.

Here's the fun part- getting through customs. It actually wasn't too bad especially because the airport wasn't too busy seeing it was a Wednesday afternoon and all. It was just a bit of an adventure because I flew in by myself and had fun managing my luggage :). So I passed inspection and headed off to get a transportation pass before heading off to meet a high school friend I'd be staying the night with. For those future travelers in the audience Sydney has an awesome transportation system! I bought a pass for  $60 that covers buses, trains, and ferries for a whole week! It's so nice!

Final step- leaving the airport. I decided to just get a cab because it was the easiest and fastest way to get where I needed to go. I'll be the first one to admit it was weird getting in a cab by myself but then again it was just like the movies where they flag down the cab driver so it was kind of fun. He dropped me off about 20 minutes outside of the city at the apartment of a friend from high school. It was purely by chance that this all happened. My flight came in a day earlier than the rest of my group and I was looking for a place to stay when she contacted me and said that I should come visit if I have a chance. So it all worked out!

She took me to a cafe just across the street from her apartment building. We had a lot to catch up on because we hadn't really seen each other since high school (and that was a few years ago). It was so much fun!! After dinner she dropped me back at her place and then she headed over to a meeting for a bit. I got to meet all of her roommates- one from Toronto, one from Quebec, and ne from Bolivia. My friend is currently at a Christian university in Sydney studying pastoral responsibilities. She graduated from university already but is here gaining experience. There are students from literally all over the world here! I got to practice my Spanish skills for a bit :).

It was a quiet evening which was super nice. Nicole lives in a beautiful apartment that overlooks the city and a really cool golfing park. I walked out on her balcony just to enjoy the view. There is a time difference here of 2 hours from NZ and even though it's not that much I'm definitely feeling it. By 10 I was ready for bed and fell asleep on her couch. All in all it was a great first day in Sydney!

Welcome to Sydney!! 

Watermelon Juice