Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Let's just forget about that last post, yeah?
So, I'm returning to this blog for a post/update. That other stuff about recap of Australia/Indonesia/Vietnam... let's just pretend that didn't happen. I could erase the post, but that seems like too much work for something that doesn't matter so much...
I'm currently living in Heidelberg, Germany (as I'm sure the majority of people who will bother to read this blog already know), and I have been here almost 5 months (Wow!). It's been a pretty enlightening experience, trying to live successfully in a foreign country, and I both understand and thoroughly dislike the reasons countries make it so hard on immigrants (and even people who just want to live for a bit somewhere else).
I came here with the idea that I would find a job, and be able to get a work permit/residence visa because of it, since that's what all the official pages say. I should have read stuff from people who had actually tried.
In certain parts of Germany, it's not very difficult to do this path. I have met a few people who frankly amaze me at their ability to have any sort of job, especially one taking care of other people's children, but who have nevertheless been able to attain work allowing them to stay in the country. In Heidelberg, it's not that simple. There is a large international community here, due to the university in the middle of the old part of the city (the second oldest university in the world!!), and there is some structure to support that community (international schools/kindergartens, tons of stores/businesses from all over the world, etc...). However, there's also a big old American Army base right in the middle of Heidelberg as well, meaning there is a surplus of Americans looking for things to do (family members of military, for example). Also, because of the university, there is a surplus of students looking for work as well, to be able to pay their 500 euro semester fees.
Ok, I still have a shot, at least...
I applied. First I applied at kindergartens, just to find something a bit more normal and possibly better paying than restaurant work. Those were huge failures from the beginning. Just like America, people don't return calls, you have to keep following up, and the average person isn't worth the time for a simple rejection email/letter. The interviews I had were over as soon as the teachers asked "where did you get your education degree from?" People in other parts of Germany could get jobs with children just by speaking English. Here, I needed a degree.
During one of the "interviews," I went to talk to the kids, because I thought that would be a better measure of my ability than a piece of paper. While I was doing the rounds, watching kids dance around the floor, read books, and pretend to be flying dragons, I asked one of the other teachers: "Oh, is this the unstructured play time part of the day?" Her response:
"It may look unstructured, but actually, the children are learning very important lessons about interpersonal communication and how to react in social situations. This is a very important part of the learning cycle for any developing child, and we try to foster that growth in every child. So, no, this isn't 'unstructured' play"
(I will add that the tone of this response was somewhere around "Why would you bother me with this type of question? Don't you know anything about children and child development?")
Well, that's not too bad, I thought. I don't want to be around those types of people anyways. I've worked at some really nice restaurants. I have a pretty good cooking resume. I should be able to find something more specialized than everyone else looking for jobs...
I applied. Fabienne helped me translate my resume into German, and I went all over the place, by foot and by email, and applied to about 15 restaurants/catering companies. Most of which I got no response back. The catering companies wanted an interview, but couldn't provide me with a working visa. The one michelin starred restaurant said that my experience wasn't at a high enough level (Clio has no michelin stars because there is no michelin guide to Boston yet...). A French Bistro had me try out, and then the owner told me that he couldn't help me until March, and walked away without even saying goodbye or shaking my hand. The politeness and courtesy that seems normal to me was completely lacking. (Full Disclosure: He wasn't German. He was Turkish. And there was only one French person working at the bistro. All of their food was heavily oversalted and cooked with one of three sauces - tomato, white, or brown)
I sent an application to the only 5 star hotel in Heidelberg, Hotel Europa (name translated for easier typing), and within an hour received a reply from the Chef, asking to schedule an interview. So, I did. All in German (with Fabienne's help for the email correspondence, of course). I went in for an interview, and then a second one, and then a trial (where I made sushi with risotto rice and spinach instead of sushi rice and seaweed). They offered me a job, and they told me they would sponsor me for a work permit. Awesome. Problems solved, all on time (You are allowed to stay 3 months without a visa in European countries, and I had gotten a job about 2.8 months in). I got the paperwork filled out, and turned it in to the proper office.
Here's how it works: You give the work permit sponsorship form (filled out by the job) to the Foreigner's office. They forward it to the Worker's office, who puts a posting on their job board for a few weeks to see if any EU citizens can take the job. If nobody takes it, then I get the job/work permit. That's how it's supposed to go. This process is affected by: Specialization required of the job, how much the job pays, where the job is, what color tie the person delivering the papers has on, whether or not the person in charge of the paperwork had coffee in the morning, the nationality of the applicant, and many other very critical factors any fair and just democratic country would take into account.
I waited 3 weeks for this process, asking the foreigner's office weekly for updates, and trying to stay in the head of the hotel (they wouldn't let me just hang out and work for free, insurance is annoying). After three weeks, I emailed my contact at the Foreigner's office, asking for an update. I got a response saying that my application was rejected, and I'll be getting a letter soon. This was Monday. I went the same day to the hotel to figure out what is happening and what I needed to do. They could do nothing until the letter came. The letter came Friday, dated on Monday, saying my application was rejected and I had 2 weeks to figure something out or I had to leave Germany. Not the most friendly correspondence. The Human Resources woman for the hotel had my back, and did all she could to work things out with the offices concerned, but:
As long as there was a jobless cook within 200 km of the hotel, I couldn't have the job/work permit. The work office had "found" an applicant for the hotel.
Nobody has applied to the hotel. They had been looking for 4 months before I came along, and they couldn't hire me. This hurt them and me. I recognize that governments have to look out for their own people, but 200 km is a huge range. If the work office has no problems finding people for these jobs, why don't they do it always through that office? Not the best situation.
So now, I'm back in a German course, and figuring out the next step. I have applied for the Masters program in Biology, but I won't hear anything until August. I can't work here, and the only way for me to get a work permit is: to be sponsored by an American company (which is annoying for them), or to get married. I have met a few people in my German classes that have taken this way, and heard many stories about how that process was undertaken just to enable one of the couple to work/live in the country. What a way to uphold a tradition like that, huh?
Now, to be fair, I've looked into America, and it's no better. Nobody can just come in and look for work to obtain a visa (that doesn't mean people don't do it, but it's easier to swim across the gulf of mexico and get in than to go through JFK border control). You have to come in with a visa, the paperwork is mindnumbing and the process can take up to 2 years. There is no temporary work permit/residence permit, if you want to move and look for work, you need to apply for a green card, which is the first step towards citizenship (it's not called permanent residency for nothing..). Every country has their own individual way of being a huge pain in the ass for people looking to come in.
I'm not saying this because I'm unhappy here. Heidelberg is beautiful, the majority of the people are very nice, I'm really having a great time. But the structure of being able to live anywhere aside from where you were born is upheld in such a way to create the absolute minimum amount of people moving from one place to another. The idea of nationalism and isolationism is not dying, as it continuously is upheld by governments around the world. The only way to get around it is to go through a quasi-religious route (Marriage, which has been usurped by religion) or through corporations (another evil, but seemingly the only way to get nations to work together - aside from science/scholarship, but there's no political power there)
Ok, end of my rant. I'll post something about cats and happiness, or the beauty of this place soon (maybe). I have more photos too...
I'm currently living in Heidelberg, Germany (as I'm sure the majority of people who will bother to read this blog already know), and I have been here almost 5 months (Wow!). It's been a pretty enlightening experience, trying to live successfully in a foreign country, and I both understand and thoroughly dislike the reasons countries make it so hard on immigrants (and even people who just want to live for a bit somewhere else).
I came here with the idea that I would find a job, and be able to get a work permit/residence visa because of it, since that's what all the official pages say. I should have read stuff from people who had actually tried.
In certain parts of Germany, it's not very difficult to do this path. I have met a few people who frankly amaze me at their ability to have any sort of job, especially one taking care of other people's children, but who have nevertheless been able to attain work allowing them to stay in the country. In Heidelberg, it's not that simple. There is a large international community here, due to the university in the middle of the old part of the city (the second oldest university in the world!!), and there is some structure to support that community (international schools/kindergartens, tons of stores/businesses from all over the world, etc...). However, there's also a big old American Army base right in the middle of Heidelberg as well, meaning there is a surplus of Americans looking for things to do (family members of military, for example). Also, because of the university, there is a surplus of students looking for work as well, to be able to pay their 500 euro semester fees.
Ok, I still have a shot, at least...
I applied. First I applied at kindergartens, just to find something a bit more normal and possibly better paying than restaurant work. Those were huge failures from the beginning. Just like America, people don't return calls, you have to keep following up, and the average person isn't worth the time for a simple rejection email/letter. The interviews I had were over as soon as the teachers asked "where did you get your education degree from?" People in other parts of Germany could get jobs with children just by speaking English. Here, I needed a degree.
During one of the "interviews," I went to talk to the kids, because I thought that would be a better measure of my ability than a piece of paper. While I was doing the rounds, watching kids dance around the floor, read books, and pretend to be flying dragons, I asked one of the other teachers: "Oh, is this the unstructured play time part of the day?" Her response:
"It may look unstructured, but actually, the children are learning very important lessons about interpersonal communication and how to react in social situations. This is a very important part of the learning cycle for any developing child, and we try to foster that growth in every child. So, no, this isn't 'unstructured' play"
(I will add that the tone of this response was somewhere around "Why would you bother me with this type of question? Don't you know anything about children and child development?")
Well, that's not too bad, I thought. I don't want to be around those types of people anyways. I've worked at some really nice restaurants. I have a pretty good cooking resume. I should be able to find something more specialized than everyone else looking for jobs...
I applied. Fabienne helped me translate my resume into German, and I went all over the place, by foot and by email, and applied to about 15 restaurants/catering companies. Most of which I got no response back. The catering companies wanted an interview, but couldn't provide me with a working visa. The one michelin starred restaurant said that my experience wasn't at a high enough level (Clio has no michelin stars because there is no michelin guide to Boston yet...). A French Bistro had me try out, and then the owner told me that he couldn't help me until March, and walked away without even saying goodbye or shaking my hand. The politeness and courtesy that seems normal to me was completely lacking. (Full Disclosure: He wasn't German. He was Turkish. And there was only one French person working at the bistro. All of their food was heavily oversalted and cooked with one of three sauces - tomato, white, or brown)
I sent an application to the only 5 star hotel in Heidelberg, Hotel Europa (name translated for easier typing), and within an hour received a reply from the Chef, asking to schedule an interview. So, I did. All in German (with Fabienne's help for the email correspondence, of course). I went in for an interview, and then a second one, and then a trial (where I made sushi with risotto rice and spinach instead of sushi rice and seaweed). They offered me a job, and they told me they would sponsor me for a work permit. Awesome. Problems solved, all on time (You are allowed to stay 3 months without a visa in European countries, and I had gotten a job about 2.8 months in). I got the paperwork filled out, and turned it in to the proper office.
Here's how it works: You give the work permit sponsorship form (filled out by the job) to the Foreigner's office. They forward it to the Worker's office, who puts a posting on their job board for a few weeks to see if any EU citizens can take the job. If nobody takes it, then I get the job/work permit. That's how it's supposed to go. This process is affected by: Specialization required of the job, how much the job pays, where the job is, what color tie the person delivering the papers has on, whether or not the person in charge of the paperwork had coffee in the morning, the nationality of the applicant, and many other very critical factors any fair and just democratic country would take into account.
I waited 3 weeks for this process, asking the foreigner's office weekly for updates, and trying to stay in the head of the hotel (they wouldn't let me just hang out and work for free, insurance is annoying). After three weeks, I emailed my contact at the Foreigner's office, asking for an update. I got a response saying that my application was rejected, and I'll be getting a letter soon. This was Monday. I went the same day to the hotel to figure out what is happening and what I needed to do. They could do nothing until the letter came. The letter came Friday, dated on Monday, saying my application was rejected and I had 2 weeks to figure something out or I had to leave Germany. Not the most friendly correspondence. The Human Resources woman for the hotel had my back, and did all she could to work things out with the offices concerned, but:
As long as there was a jobless cook within 200 km of the hotel, I couldn't have the job/work permit. The work office had "found" an applicant for the hotel.
Nobody has applied to the hotel. They had been looking for 4 months before I came along, and they couldn't hire me. This hurt them and me. I recognize that governments have to look out for their own people, but 200 km is a huge range. If the work office has no problems finding people for these jobs, why don't they do it always through that office? Not the best situation.
So now, I'm back in a German course, and figuring out the next step. I have applied for the Masters program in Biology, but I won't hear anything until August. I can't work here, and the only way for me to get a work permit is: to be sponsored by an American company (which is annoying for them), or to get married. I have met a few people in my German classes that have taken this way, and heard many stories about how that process was undertaken just to enable one of the couple to work/live in the country. What a way to uphold a tradition like that, huh?
Now, to be fair, I've looked into America, and it's no better. Nobody can just come in and look for work to obtain a visa (that doesn't mean people don't do it, but it's easier to swim across the gulf of mexico and get in than to go through JFK border control). You have to come in with a visa, the paperwork is mindnumbing and the process can take up to 2 years. There is no temporary work permit/residence permit, if you want to move and look for work, you need to apply for a green card, which is the first step towards citizenship (it's not called permanent residency for nothing..). Every country has their own individual way of being a huge pain in the ass for people looking to come in.
I'm not saying this because I'm unhappy here. Heidelberg is beautiful, the majority of the people are very nice, I'm really having a great time. But the structure of being able to live anywhere aside from where you were born is upheld in such a way to create the absolute minimum amount of people moving from one place to another. The idea of nationalism and isolationism is not dying, as it continuously is upheld by governments around the world. The only way to get around it is to go through a quasi-religious route (Marriage, which has been usurped by religion) or through corporations (another evil, but seemingly the only way to get nations to work together - aside from science/scholarship, but there's no political power there)
Ok, end of my rant. I'll post something about cats and happiness, or the beauty of this place soon (maybe). I have more photos too...
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Thanks for waiting patiently...
An update is coming, I swear.
I got back from the trip 2 weeks ago, and I'm now settling back into living at home, and working as a sous-chef in a restaurant not yet opened.
I've started a food/cooking blog at http://8707sous.blogspot.com, and if you wait patiently, an update or a few updates will be here as well...
It was fun though. I have lots of good stories and 5500 pictures from the whole trip. Going through them is like another full time job...
I got back from the trip 2 weeks ago, and I'm now settling back into living at home, and working as a sous-chef in a restaurant not yet opened.
I've started a food/cooking blog at http://8707sous.blogspot.com, and if you wait patiently, an update or a few updates will be here as well...
It was fun though. I have lots of good stories and 5500 pictures from the whole trip. Going through them is like another full time job...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Hitchin' a ride...
Who would have thunk it.. I feel like an avid hitchhiker now. Going from Sydney to Melbourne was easy... We went out of town a bit by train, held up a sign for about 10 minutes, and got picked up by a guy in an 22 year old truck that kept overheating... We had to stop every 20 minutes to pour water all over (and in) the radiator... twas very interesting.
He was a cool dude, huge into politics, and we chatted for a good many hours about Australia, world politics, and such stuff... And, right before he had to drop us off, he started driving around to trucks at a truck stop to try and get us a ride down to Melbourne! He saw a truck he recognized, drove us over to it, and got out, met the driver, saying: "Do you know Peter?"
The driver was thoroughly confused, and said... "No. Is he a driver?" "No! He's the name on your truck! I went to school with him!"
The driver (named John), had no idea what this lunatic was talkilng about, but did offer to give us a ride to Melbourne. He was a bit quiet/reserved, but when I bought him some energy drinks and started eating a pie with chopsticks (it was hot..), he warmed up... Dude had internet in his truck (where my last post was from), and was a wealth of information about trucks and such stuff around Australia. Interesting. And there was a bed in the back! Fabienne had it that ride, but I got to ride there on the next trip (which I will touch on later...)
We got to Melbourne, caught the last train into the city and went back to the squat. Just like returning home! It was good to see everyone, and we spent the next few days chilling, catching up with people, showing Fabienne the city (I was like a freaking local), and a full on swing dance night in a park! Summer in Melbourne is pretty freaking cool...
Then we hitched to Adelaide... It was a bloody hot day, and I think that's why we got picked up from the highway. A nice dude who just got in from a diving trip, but a very weird guy. Kept talking about how all the women outside of cities were fat and ugly, and Australians were stupid, and generally just very anti-Australian...
Then again, he dropped us in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Victoria, where we tried to hitch for 9 hours before getting picked up by a truckie at 1:30AM... We went back and forth a billion times between the city center and the truck stop, and were really unmotivated to keep going when we got to Adelaide in the rain at 8AM, with a serious lack of sleep (It's hard to sleep in a bouncing truck, even if the bed is comfy)... We tried until about 2PM, and every single truck was going east (towards Melbourne/Brisbane). So we figured we'd try taking a bus to another city and keep trying...
And then we saw a hostel with internet, and just said screw it, booked a room/flight to Perth, and relaxed...
Adelaide isn't really that exciting a place.. it's either for business or for shopping... all of the restaurants closed early, there were a few clubs/bars, but the most exciting thing was the market two blocks away from our hostel... which was awesome. We went there pretty much every day to get food for breakfast/lunch/dinner... good cheese, good bread, good produce... mmm... it was good.
The beach was nice as well, but nothing too exciting. I burnt the backs of my knees, but oh well...
Waking up at 4AM was a bit tough though to catch the flight to Perth, but here we are. Fremantle is where we are exactly. We got a random ride from the airport to freo, as it's known, through the botanical gardens and the really nice area outside of Perth... Tour guides and a hitchhiking without having to stick out our thumbs... beautiful.
Now we're watiting to see if there is a room for us at the Old Firestation backpackers, an awesome hostel in Fremantle, which is a pretty cool old harbor town style place anyways...
I won't be on again probably until after Indonesia, so don't expect much here.. we're going into the jungle! All the best to you guys, and pray that the diarrea isn't too bad... =)
Oh, and if you want to follow Fabienne's blog, which has much nicer pictures (and some of me, for those that like that sort of thing), here's the link:
fabienne-becker.blogspot.com
He was a cool dude, huge into politics, and we chatted for a good many hours about Australia, world politics, and such stuff... And, right before he had to drop us off, he started driving around to trucks at a truck stop to try and get us a ride down to Melbourne! He saw a truck he recognized, drove us over to it, and got out, met the driver, saying: "Do you know Peter?"
The driver was thoroughly confused, and said... "No. Is he a driver?" "No! He's the name on your truck! I went to school with him!"
The driver (named John), had no idea what this lunatic was talkilng about, but did offer to give us a ride to Melbourne. He was a bit quiet/reserved, but when I bought him some energy drinks and started eating a pie with chopsticks (it was hot..), he warmed up... Dude had internet in his truck (where my last post was from), and was a wealth of information about trucks and such stuff around Australia. Interesting. And there was a bed in the back! Fabienne had it that ride, but I got to ride there on the next trip (which I will touch on later...)
We got to Melbourne, caught the last train into the city and went back to the squat. Just like returning home! It was good to see everyone, and we spent the next few days chilling, catching up with people, showing Fabienne the city (I was like a freaking local), and a full on swing dance night in a park! Summer in Melbourne is pretty freaking cool...
Then we hitched to Adelaide... It was a bloody hot day, and I think that's why we got picked up from the highway. A nice dude who just got in from a diving trip, but a very weird guy. Kept talking about how all the women outside of cities were fat and ugly, and Australians were stupid, and generally just very anti-Australian...
Then again, he dropped us in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Victoria, where we tried to hitch for 9 hours before getting picked up by a truckie at 1:30AM... We went back and forth a billion times between the city center and the truck stop, and were really unmotivated to keep going when we got to Adelaide in the rain at 8AM, with a serious lack of sleep (It's hard to sleep in a bouncing truck, even if the bed is comfy)... We tried until about 2PM, and every single truck was going east (towards Melbourne/Brisbane). So we figured we'd try taking a bus to another city and keep trying...
And then we saw a hostel with internet, and just said screw it, booked a room/flight to Perth, and relaxed...
Adelaide isn't really that exciting a place.. it's either for business or for shopping... all of the restaurants closed early, there were a few clubs/bars, but the most exciting thing was the market two blocks away from our hostel... which was awesome. We went there pretty much every day to get food for breakfast/lunch/dinner... good cheese, good bread, good produce... mmm... it was good.
The beach was nice as well, but nothing too exciting. I burnt the backs of my knees, but oh well...
Waking up at 4AM was a bit tough though to catch the flight to Perth, but here we are. Fremantle is where we are exactly. We got a random ride from the airport to freo, as it's known, through the botanical gardens and the really nice area outside of Perth... Tour guides and a hitchhiking without having to stick out our thumbs... beautiful.
Now we're watiting to see if there is a room for us at the Old Firestation backpackers, an awesome hostel in Fremantle, which is a pretty cool old harbor town style place anyways...
I won't be on again probably until after Indonesia, so don't expect much here.. we're going into the jungle! All the best to you guys, and pray that the diarrea isn't too bad... =)
Oh, and if you want to follow Fabienne's blog, which has much nicer pictures (and some of me, for those that like that sort of thing), here's the link:
fabienne-becker.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 07, 2010
10-4 good buddy..
Hello from the cab of a truck driving from Sydney to Melbourne!
I'm hitchhiking with Fabienne, and we got passed from a guy with a red pickup who had to pull over every few minutes to cool down his radiator to a truck carrying 20 tonnes of watermelons. Apparantly, the driver has all sorts of internet and not enough useage to warrant 5 gigs a month, so I can check my email..
This is freaking awesome. There's a huge bed in the back, everything is plush leather, and we're hitchhiking to Melbourne.
Crazy times indeed....
More to come later!
I'm hitchhiking with Fabienne, and we got passed from a guy with a red pickup who had to pull over every few minutes to cool down his radiator to a truck carrying 20 tonnes of watermelons. Apparantly, the driver has all sorts of internet and not enough useage to warrant 5 gigs a month, so I can check my email..
This is freaking awesome. There's a huge bed in the back, everything is plush leather, and we're hitchhiking to Melbourne.
Crazy times indeed....
More to come later!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Happy happy New Year!
1.5 (Million!) people descend on Sydney every year for the New Years Eve fireworks show on Sydney Harbor. There are spots all over both sides of the harbor, and people push and shove, wait in lines, and pay outrageous ticket prices to attempt to get the best view of the fireworks.
Or, you spend all morning at the US consulate, waltz over to the Opera House at 3PM, and get great views of the evening's fireworks with little hassle (and a lot of waiting).
We showed up at the Opera House around 3PM, and while there were throngs of people there, it wasn't as crazy as expected. The day was spent waiting, playing with a crowd passed beach ball, playing games with my companions (and a random Canadian that we met), watching the first "Family" fireworks at 9 (a nice show, but kinda like any normal fireworks show), and finally, seeing the spectacular amazing display at midnight.
You stand there, and the entire bridge lights up with fireworks, corresponding to a cool LED display in the center of the bridge, which moves/changes with the fireworks. Then, all of a sudden, fireworks are behind you, on the other side of the Opera House. While trying to decide where to look, fireworks spout out of the tops of the buildings in Sydney (!), and everything is just going nuts. You think it can't get any better, and the finale involves more fireworks coming from every side of the opera house, and vast amounts of combustible powder being shot off of every angle of the Harbor Bridge....
And to add to all of it is the spirit of the people who see it. Every cool display, every boom is accompanied by an "ah!" from the crowd. Everybody gets into it starting early in the day, when people try to get cheers going, the wave, and any sort of crowd activity is greeted with exuberance. People just want to get into the spirit!
So 2010 started off with a bang, and has been going good so far. The more astute readers will notice that I said I spent 3 hours at the US Consulate. My passport expires in April, and you're not supposed to travel with less than 6 months until expiration. But wait, you say, why do you need that when you're coming home in a few days?
Um. About that. I'm kinda extending my trip and going to Indonesia from the 18th of January through the 15th of February. I've been meaning to do something random like that for a while, and I finally broke down when invited by Fabienne, the anthropologist I met at Christmas. I can't resist the option of going to a developing country and spending a large amount of time traveling among indigenous peoples, learning about new cultures.
Yeah, so not gonna be very accessible, but the pictures will be great, I promise.
Have a happy new year, and see you on the flip side..
Sean
Or, you spend all morning at the US consulate, waltz over to the Opera House at 3PM, and get great views of the evening's fireworks with little hassle (and a lot of waiting).
We showed up at the Opera House around 3PM, and while there were throngs of people there, it wasn't as crazy as expected. The day was spent waiting, playing with a crowd passed beach ball, playing games with my companions (and a random Canadian that we met), watching the first "Family" fireworks at 9 (a nice show, but kinda like any normal fireworks show), and finally, seeing the spectacular amazing display at midnight.
You stand there, and the entire bridge lights up with fireworks, corresponding to a cool LED display in the center of the bridge, which moves/changes with the fireworks. Then, all of a sudden, fireworks are behind you, on the other side of the Opera House. While trying to decide where to look, fireworks spout out of the tops of the buildings in Sydney (!), and everything is just going nuts. You think it can't get any better, and the finale involves more fireworks coming from every side of the opera house, and vast amounts of combustible powder being shot off of every angle of the Harbor Bridge....
And to add to all of it is the spirit of the people who see it. Every cool display, every boom is accompanied by an "ah!" from the crowd. Everybody gets into it starting early in the day, when people try to get cheers going, the wave, and any sort of crowd activity is greeted with exuberance. People just want to get into the spirit!
So 2010 started off with a bang, and has been going good so far. The more astute readers will notice that I said I spent 3 hours at the US Consulate. My passport expires in April, and you're not supposed to travel with less than 6 months until expiration. But wait, you say, why do you need that when you're coming home in a few days?
Um. About that. I'm kinda extending my trip and going to Indonesia from the 18th of January through the 15th of February. I've been meaning to do something random like that for a while, and I finally broke down when invited by Fabienne, the anthropologist I met at Christmas. I can't resist the option of going to a developing country and spending a large amount of time traveling among indigenous peoples, learning about new cultures.
Yeah, so not gonna be very accessible, but the pictures will be great, I promise.
Have a happy new year, and see you on the flip side..
Sean
Saturday, December 26, 2009
How Jewish Christmas is ruined in Australia
So the usual Chinese food and a movie doesn't work here in Australia. I'm not saying that it's impossible, only that it's much more convienent in the States.
Back home, all the new movies come out on Christmas Day, so it's exciting to go to the movies, and be non-Christian. However, in Australia, all the new movies come out on Boxing day (the day after Christmas), because Aussies celebrate Christmas on the 25th. Therefore, there's no point in going to see movies the day before all the big Christmastime releases come out.
Oy.
I had fun anyways, going to Bondi Beach with all of the Couchsufers in Sydney and around the world. I met some Americans (from Boston!), a girl from Luxembourg that speaks 6 languages (wow.), and a bunch of awesome people that I drank with. What else are you going to do on the beach when it's raining?
Go in the ocean, of course. Bloody cold, surrounded by jellyfish, a state of soberness was achieved instantly. Pretty fun though. And then 40 of us go to some random house and party until 3AM. Good times.
And that's the beautiful thing about Couchsurfing. In the span of 5 hours, you go from being with a bunch of strangers to an instant group, where nobody is excluded, and everyone has a good time. I've met over 50 couchsurfers so far, and every single one is interesting and ridiculously kind and giving. Something I have to get more into back in the states (Mom... volunteering the house...) =)
Anyways, time to get beaten in chess. Housesitting tomorrow for a German couple going to Canberra for a few days. I have to take care of the cat, a lazy creature that spends more time on his back than any cat I've ever seen. Should be fun to torture...
Back home, all the new movies come out on Christmas Day, so it's exciting to go to the movies, and be non-Christian. However, in Australia, all the new movies come out on Boxing day (the day after Christmas), because Aussies celebrate Christmas on the 25th. Therefore, there's no point in going to see movies the day before all the big Christmastime releases come out.
Oy.
I had fun anyways, going to Bondi Beach with all of the Couchsufers in Sydney and around the world. I met some Americans (from Boston!), a girl from Luxembourg that speaks 6 languages (wow.), and a bunch of awesome people that I drank with. What else are you going to do on the beach when it's raining?
Go in the ocean, of course. Bloody cold, surrounded by jellyfish, a state of soberness was achieved instantly. Pretty fun though. And then 40 of us go to some random house and party until 3AM. Good times.
And that's the beautiful thing about Couchsurfing. In the span of 5 hours, you go from being with a bunch of strangers to an instant group, where nobody is excluded, and everyone has a good time. I've met over 50 couchsurfers so far, and every single one is interesting and ridiculously kind and giving. Something I have to get more into back in the states (Mom... volunteering the house...) =)
Anyways, time to get beaten in chess. Housesitting tomorrow for a German couple going to Canberra for a few days. I have to take care of the cat, a lazy creature that spends more time on his back than any cat I've ever seen. Should be fun to torture...
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