#176: Move to Australia

    I have been here for four months now and I still feel like I haven't seen any of the country. It is so huge and there is too much to see! I am currently living in the Northern Beaches of Sydney where I can walk to the beach for a swim and watch the endless hours of surfing. I was expecting everyone here to have the laid back beach vibe that I became so used to in South East Asia. But here, everyone is always dressed up and looking perfect walking around with their protein shakes and acai bowls. The Northern Beaches is filled with stay at home moms in their active wear and daily brunch dates. So naturally I feel extremely out of place.

   

    I came to Australia for the sole purpose of making buckets of money before making my next move where ever that may be. The only problem with that is how expensive it is to live here and how much I love food. The whole country seems to be on some sort of diet which leaves me feeling like a baked potato while I eat my daily ice cream sundae. 

    

   So far I have made trips to Alice Springs (Uluru Tour), Melbourne and Byron Bay. The next two places I want to get to are Darwin and then of course the Great Barrier Reef before it is too late and the entire reef is bleached. Curse you global warning for ruining everything that is good in the world.  Living in Sydney means lots of beach activities and endless trips to the store to buy more sunscreen and Bundaberg lemonade. I have explored most of the city and the surrounding area. Of course everyone has to go the Opera House, Manly and Luna Park even if it is only for the Insta. 

#114: Learn to Surf

In a way, saying I have accomplished this isn't really accurate as I haven't really mastered surfing in any capacity. In reality, I am terrible. I am not a naturally gifted surfer that can just pop up and read the water and find the perfect wave. But that is alright, because I am sure that I have some other talent that I will discover someday that will make up for my lack of surf skills.

I first tried surfing when in Hawaii with my family when I was 12. Of course when you are so young it is a lot easier to do those sort of things because you are so light you can just pop up and you are good to go. This time was a little most difficult as the waves were much bigger and less forgiving than they are in Hawaii. I went to Byron Bay for a quick get away from Sydney last weekend. It was a short flight and yet seemed to be a different world. I was surrounded by hand painted vans, dreadlocks, barefoot feet and ukulele's. It was a beautifully perfect little town that I felt right at home in.

My hostel provided us with bikes, body boards and surf boards and was right next to a perfect white sand beach. The sand was so bright and squeaked beneath our feet.  I still am not sure what makes the sand squeak, but it is wildly entertaining. We tried surfing for a few hours but spent most of the time trying to paddle out and avoid some of the monster waves. But overall it was really relaxing and it was nice to be outside in the cool water. The sunburn at the end of the day wasn't as nice though but it seems no matter how many layers I put on I still get burned.

Being that I am now living in Australia it makes sense that I should keep learning in order to truly fit into the Australian stereotype. The area I live in, the Northern Beaches is known for having amazing surfing. It is such a beautiful and peaceful sport that it would be amazing to be able to do.