My journey has been quite the journey so far! I landed in Sydney at 0615 on June 29th with no clue where to go or how to get there. So, I took my time to get through customs and let others who looked like they were running late ahead of me. I finally got through customs and saw so many people running around trying to find there ride. Me, I was trying to find a place to go. I saw that this phone company was giving away free sim cards and so I thought I would get one and have a phone to use if I get lost or something. The phone only cost $29 for a prepaid account. It came with $150 in credit and free internet. Too bad I didn't choose the phone that had internet connection on the phone:( At least I have a phone just in case. The customer service lady helped me find a concierge to get directions to a hostel. I arrived to the desk and the attendant helped me. I got directions and I bought my bus ticket to the hostel, $14!!!! I couldn't believe how much it was to just take a bus to a hostel. That was my first experience with the cost in Australia. I knew people told me it would cost a lot of money to live here, but I truly did not expect that much. So, I got lost to my bus stop and turns out the attendant had called the driver and asked him to look out for me. How sweet, but it gets better. The driver was like, "Are you the beautiful lady trying to get to the Wake Up! hostel?" I felt so flattered to have that as my description. I of course said yes and the gentleman took all of my bags and carried it over to the bus and loaded it all for me. I felt so happy to have the help after a very LONG flight.
I arrived to the hostel. It seemed pretty cool. They got my situated and then informed me of a free beach tour that was going to leave within the hour. I didn't want to get jet lagged so I went. It was the best decision I think I made because I was able to meet a young woman from Montana.
We had so much in common and shared our stories with one another. We walked for about 6 hours around to different beaches. One of the most famous beaches was Bondi Beach. It was beautiful and that is where I ate my first fish and chips. It costed $27, but they said that the price is about normal here in Australia! I almost had a heart attack. I, as you may know, do not like fish! The restaurant had fresh fish just laying on top of the ice. It was so gross and scary looking. It was like the fish were looking at me asking me to not eat them. I still did and it really wasn't that bad. It was too fishy for me, but I would eat it again if I had enough tarter and ketchup sauces. They even wrapped the fish in paper. Here is what it looked like:
After our tour, Natalie said she would like to go to the Hillsong Church with me. So we took a taxi to the church and had a great time. The ambiance and everything that went into it was amazing. I was still in shock that I was there I think. Natalie really liked it. I met a few people there who knew Caleb, and I had them give him my number to get a hold of me so we could meet up some time while I was there. We headed back to the hostel and Natalie and I figured where to meet for the next day. We decided to do breakfast and figure it out later. I had a hard time sleeping that night because the room was filled with 7 other people 4 of which were male. I tried to get an all girl room, but they said it would cost double to arrange that. I was trying to save money so I stayed. It turned out that 4 of them were from northern Ireland, 3 from the U.K. and the guy who slept below me was from Kentucky. Like I said it was okay nothing happened.
I finally went to meet Natalie for breakfast. During our breakfast time we tried to find a way for me to go with her to Manly Beach. I was able to get a great deal to go with her, almost 60% off. It was so much fun. By then, I felt like I knew Natalie from a long time ago. We connected so much. We saw so much and I was able to see a lot of the city from that tour. Here is us at Manly beach cleaning our feet from being in the ocean!
We headed back to the hostel after dinner and made plans again to meet up for breakfast. I slept better this night. Got up and met her and her roommates from Paris, France. It was amazing to see through their eyes about Paris. I tried to understand their french, but was unsuccessful. I tried some of my phrases and they said it was good. I left them to meet up with Caleb. He met me at the Darling Harbour on the bridge. We walked to the Opera House. Then we took the bus back to his place to charge his phone. I was able to meet his roommates from Hillsong school. They were all cool and they were all from the States. Caleb took me to an Australian coffee shop. It was soo good and smooth. Then I went back to his flat while he was at meetings and hung out with his roommates till it was time to go to the Hillsong's youth group called WyldLife. I arrived to the church and was amazed by the students. They were all really into hip hop and were very talented. After the service they did like a talent show and it was amazing. I was so amazed by all of it. I could see a lot of The Pursuit youth group dynamics in it as well. I said my goodbyes and headed back to the hostel for my last night there.
When I woke up I headed to the airport to fly out to Perth. I was super excited to start my school. Now, I am here and I will tell you more about my first week here next time after I have experienced and learn what I am going to be doing.
Hope you enjoyed reading it. I will update more later in the week.
Many blessings to you all,
Dannie
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