Kimberly Hetherington

August 6, 2015: First day in Sydney

I landed in Sydney | Art Therapy with Kimberly

I woke up this morning shivering. It’s a lot colder here than I thought. I wore my warmest clothes and went to a nearby cafe. I ordered a coffee and a piece of toast with peanut butter.

While I sat in the cafe eating my breakfast, I met a young blonde girl sitting across from me. She was Danish and just finished her year in Australia as an aupair. She told me she loved being an Aupair and recommended I do it. I told her I’m not good with children, she laughed and shrugged. We exchanged a few more words and then she left in a hurry to do the climb along the Sydney Harbor Bridge, her Aupair family bought it for her.

On her way out of the door she turned back to me and said, “you will love Australia, you won’t want to leave!” and walked out. I smiled, took a sip of my coffee and envisioned myself in 12 months. I then did a boat tour around Sydney harbor and the opera house. We had a BBQ on the boat in the middle of a small inlet and our guide blared the song “I can’t feel my face” by the Weekend and I smiled, taking it all in. It was great. On our way back to shore we saw dolphins everywhere. They swam under the boat and we all watched them as they made their way under.

I made friends with a 27 year old biochemistry grad who was passionate about rugby. She told me she wants to move to Brisbane next week. I made small talk with others who were far younger than me and they told me how they just graduated high school and didn’t know what they wanted to do with their lives. I nodded in agreement, even though I graduated high school almost 10 years ago.

Tomorrow the job hunt begins.

Wish me luck!

2 responses to “August 6, 2015: First day in Sydney”

  1. Australia anniversary!

    […] I took a transfer bus to the footstep of my hostel. I checked in and struggled up the stairs with my two massive suitcases. I found my room, fumbled with the key and beeped open to a 10 person dorm room. There were people everywhere. Suitcases were splayed open with clothes scattered on the floor and empty sacks of goon. Everyone appeared to be 19 years old. All of them were European, mostly German. I stood there trying to figure out which bed was empty so I could drop my things and immediately leave. A few of them wordlessly sat up to reveal an empty bed. I smiled and muttered “thanks” before dropping my bags and darting off to the only place that offered privacy: the toilet. It sort of felt like the first day of high school. I wrote about my first few days here. […]

    Reply
  2. August 5: Australian Anniversary – Art Therapy with Kimberly Avatar
    August 5: Australian Anniversary – Art Therapy with Kimberly

    […] After picking up my luggage, I took a transfer bus to the footstep of my hostel. I struggled up the stairs with my two massive suitcases while other lazy backpackers leaned against the wall casually smoking their cigarettes. No, I don’t need help, thank you. Don’t mind me! I checked in and was given a key and a wrapped up towel, “bring your sheets when you check out.” I found my room, fumbled with the key and beeped open to a 10 person dorm room. There were people everywhere. Music was playing and suitcases were splayed open with clothes scattered on the floor alongside empty sacks of goon. Everyone appeared to be 19 years old, and by the sound of their accents, they were mostly German. I stood there trying to figure out which bed was empty so I could drop my things and immediately run and hide. A few of them wordlessly sat up to reveal an empty bed. I smiled and muttered “thanks” before dropping my bags and darting off to the only place that offered privacy: the toilet. It reminded me of the scene in Mean Girls when Lindsay Lohan has lunch alone in a toilet stall, magnifying her sense of loneliness. I wrote about my first few days here. […]

    Reply

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