Each One is Different, But it’s Always the Same

So our hostel is a hole. That’s not a huge deal because – like I told Sara to calm her down when we first came into the dump – we’re not ever really in the building. Outside of sleeping and doing random e-mailing and such in the mornings and late nights, we only sleep at the hostel – though that’s not particularly easy either, considering the place doesn’t have heat.

In fact, when I asked the man at the front desk if they had heat in the rooms, he replied, “Well, didn’t you bring a blanket??” Looking back, I would have asked that question just as much as I should have called Taco John’s to ask if they delivered. It’s on that level.

When I talked with people about studying in Australia for 5 months, probably the two responses I received most (excluding “G’day mate!! Throw another shrimp on the barbie!!”) were, “You have to do it while you’re young, ‘cause you’ll never be able to some day,” and “It’ll be great to see a new culture and live in it for that period of time.”

Those probably couldn’t be truer as I’ve figured out in the past week. Two former Senecas and future Bobcats, my brother (Brian) and sister (Sarah) officially ended their high school years with a graduation party at our house a week ago today. I can’t even count the number of times I heard the phrases, “They grow up so fast” or “Gosh, the time really flies” in conversations between my mom and other adults who have kids. I’m going to be a senior in college, which is scary in itself – in about a year, I’m socially-expected to know what I’m going to do with my life. No pressure.

As for the latter statement – again, couldn’t be truer. When I signed up to study in Australia, it was mainly due to my inefficiency to learn another language. Little did I know that I could stand in the middle of different landmarks in Sydney and hear what seems like 5 different languages all around me. So much for that.

And it’s the little things about culture that really throw you off. Driving on the other side of the road seems simple enough, but what about crossing the street?? Luckily in Sydney there is “Look Left” or “Look Right” painted on the street right beside the crosswalks so pedestrians know where to check for the stray crazy taxi driver. But the other thing about walking is that I have to consciously think about walking on the left side of the sidewalk as people go the other way on the right side (similar to traffic patterns on roads). If you think it’s easy, try going opposite sometime, it’s ridiculously tough to remember – especially with a number of people walking through a large city like Sydney (about 4 million people).

A positive experience, however, comes from the general happiness/friendliness of Australians. While Sara and I dragged our suitcases through the streets of downtown Sydney, we had a few people ask us if we wanted help or actually stop to help with the luggage. I have complete confidence – and accompanying disappointment – that in the U.S. we wouldn’t have received even a glance or a thought.

Sara and I purchased a “See Sydney” card that allows us free or extremely-reduced admission into various tourist attractions. Today we took a tour of the famous Sydney Opera House and it was pretty amazing. And it’s on the other side of the world from the home country, so I’m fairly confident if I hadn’t taken this trip, I would have never seen it. Check out the pictures on my facebook profile album when they’re posted (I don’t have consistent internet access right now, so it may be a bit). If you have a chance to travel, my experience thus far, though limited, says take that chance. If nothing else, it proves that you can adapt.

Love you all back in the states, check back for more updates.

From the other side of the globe, this is Kevin Hunt.

If you want to see me soon, start digging.

I Don't Like Wednesdays

This was supposed to be a blog that contained some video clips of my better stories and Newswatch sports segments. Well, things got busy at the end of the year, I stayed in Athens for an extra week and I had to pack for a 5-month trip to Australia. So those things won't be making it up here until I return in December (and even then, don't hold your breath).

So here we go, everything leading up to where I am now...

First, if you don't have a passport, but think you're going to get one, do so about 4 months in advance of your trip. It'll save you tons of time and tons of headaches. I did not have mine in hand when I left for Los Angeles on Sunday. Sure enough, I was in line for my appointment at the Los Angeles Passport Agency (where the passports can be issued basically on-the-spot) and I received a call from Mom saying my ORIGINALLY-applied for passport was coming in the mail. I went through the process in LA anyway because with my luck the overnight delivery from FedEx or UPS would end up being "over three nights" or something similar.

Sara, her aunt , Judy, and I got to the passport agency at about 7 a.m. -- after my 8 a.m. appointment, I left the building at about 9 with a slip of paper in my hand. "Come back between 1 and 3 to pick up your passport at the will call windows," my agent told me during the appointment. So we did... and found out I had to wait in a HUGE line for the WILL CALL windows. And contrary to popular belief, handing the attendants the slip of paper with one's ID is NOT the only thing people are in line for at the Will Call window.

I told Sara and Judy leave - a lucky thing, considering I spent the next 4 hours watching a guy chip golf balls while random children ran around - all on the LA Federal Building lawn. When I finally got to the front of the line, I was a little worried. "How long will this process take me," I asked, "considering it took everyone before me in line a long time to get through."

I was out in a minute-and-a-half... tops.

I think there were various points during that time when only one of the two Will Call windows was open -- the other person was on a break (which is funny, considering it doesn't take a whole lot for ANYONE to take a slip of paper, look at the ID and pick out the corresponding passport from a box). Whatev. I put the blame on the fact that some people in line actually had to have their passports made while they waited at the window, which would have slowed the whole process pretty well.

Getting to the plane was just fine. (The following was copied and pasted, so it may appear weird in your browser... don't worry, it's all there).

There was some dude in our seats, so we traded him and it was pretty much just the same.
The flight was pretty long (15 hours), but didn't seem quite like that amount of time,
probably because of the sleep and stuff. And we lost Wednesday, June 27, forever. Crossing
the International Date Line took care of that. But that's ok, I don't like Wednesdays anyway -
Hump Day just doesn't do it for me I guess. Luke thought this might help me see into the
future -- it technically didn't, but it might as well have. For the record, I told Luke to take the
Royals to beat the Angels in Anaheim.

Final score: KC 1, LAA 0.

There was a decently long string of turbulence which came at a terrible time.
There were less than 3 hours remaining in the trip and we just received
breakfast (cereal, fruit, muffin - nothing fancy). I already had to go to the
bathroom before this point, but Sara had the aisle seat and was sleeping, so I
didn't wanna make her move. After we ate, I decided I REALLY needed to go, so I
went back there... and the turbulence came. I hit my head 3 times while I was on
the toilet. So that made me feel sick as well. But I just went to sleep and the
ride smoothed out and I didn't feel as BLEH.

We had to go through Customs upon our arrival and it took so long that we missed
our connecting flight from Melbourne to Sydney. That turned out fine - we got
put on the next flight out and were only put back about 20 minutes.

Leaving the airport was ridiculous. We finally found a phone where we could call
our hostel (accommodations) and have them pick us up. I was told the "Sydney
City Shuttle" would get us. We stood outside and a guy comes up and asks if
we're waiting on a shuttle. I say "Yes... the Sydney City Shuttle??" and he
replies "Yes." Great, we're on our way. Sara and I weren't the only two in the
shuttle van, and at one point in the ride he turned around and asked us if we
were headed to the "City Central" hostel... we weren't, we wanted the "City
Resort" hostel. Apparently he mistook "Sydney City Shuttle" for his ACTUAL
employer, "Sydney Super Shuttle." The driver dropped us at the wrong hostel and
we didn't know what else to do but walk.

We knew the street names and recognized them from a map in the brochure from our
hostel. So off we went -- 2 Americans in a new country, walking through a huge
city with all of our bags toted behind us. We took multiple breaks and
eventually (with the help of random City Maps posted in town) made it to our
final destination.

As we walked into the room, Sara just kinda stopped and the room looked
basically how I expected it to look (considering we're only spending like $20 in
Australian money each night). In short, it sucks. Gross motel-like comforters
and no heat (it's chilly and raining now). When I asked, the dude at the desk
asked if we had blankets. So THAT is what we have to look forward to tonight
when we lay down to sleep.

Sara started crying and got homesick really quick. I guess a room like that
makes anyone second-guess living there. And we had to put in a deposit and paid
for it already, so we're stuck here for the remainder of our time in Sydney.
Luckily, we bought a tourist card and will be seeing the sights for most of the
time during the day and evening while we're here.

The only thing is that we have more bookings at hostels for our future
adventures, so we have to decide if we want to cancel those or hope that they're
better than the HOLE we're at now (I'm thinking they will be better). But to anyone
who is looking to study abroad in the future: the culture shock is real, no matter how
"American" your destination seems to be.

We're just sitting here trying to collect ourselves and just finished eating
Subway. By the way, don't go to another country and ask for "American" cheese...
"cheddar" works better, haha -- already made that mistake.

Won't be the last I'm sure... just like this blog post.

From the other side of the globe, this is Kevin Hunt.
If you want to see me soon, start digging.