The Gabtrotter

I am contently sitting in my Lagos bachelorette pad. At 15 euros a night, this place is a great deal. For its supreme location, compared to other cities, this price is really unheard of – it’s even good for Lagos. Wow, what a great deal. I was telling Allan that I did the math and living in some of the hostels I’ve been in would equate to around 400-500 euros a month-, which is great considering that it includes everything. I think if I went to school in Europe I might be tempted to live in a hostel, I’m half joking.

Lagos, thus far, has proved itself to be much more to my liking than Lisbon. It has beautiful weather during the day, and then cools down at night. Also, there are all sorts of great food deals- for example tonight for dinner I had fish, soup, salad, a beer, a water, and a scoop of ice cream, all for 7.50 euros. It was the best deal I found, and it actually tasted good too. The other night I had sardines, boiled potatoes and salad for 7 euros. The restaurant food is a great deal, but wait, it gets better. I went to the grocery store, where, I was able to buy 6 1.5 liters of water for 25 cents – and 5 apples for 75 cents. Can you believe that? I’ve never seen such brilliant prices, even in Mexico.

In addition to all of the great deals, I am very happy about the beautiful scenery. After this Euro-trip, I think, although I appreciate human made beauty, I most enjoy the wonders of nature. What it comes down to is that I just really love the beach. I can spend all day there, and be totally content. I’ve been spending my time at Praia de Dona Ana. It’s very beautiful, but the water is pretty chilly. It is not unbearable, but the water at Cascais near Lisbon was unbearable. It is just so cold, I swear after laying out and then hoping in the water, I saw steam rise from me. I am not the only one that found the water quite chilly, otherwise I would have thought that maybe I had been spoiled from the 4 months of warm Pacific waters I had grown accustom to this past “winter.”

Here are a some pictures from my day-time adventures:

Traveling is not always easy. Right now I am having a weak moment. I am worried about the future, haunted by my past and thus having problems focusing on the present. A friend of mine had said some unsettling things to me the other day, and I have yet to be able to shake their sting from my soul. What is it they say, “sticks and stones…” such utter nonsense that is, I’d take the stones any day. Sometimes I find it difficult to realize all that I am, or try to be, while in a foreign country. It can get a little lonely on the road, and when these moments happen it can get difficult to remember that somewhere, not too far away, I belong to a community, a family, friends, a school; even though not many people know it here, but somewhere someone does know my name. When I feel lonely during a long train ride, I try to keep as many pictures as I can on my iPhone and I start paging through them. Seeing the smiling faces, the times that have passed, brings sunshine to the chill that loneliness can bring. I think about what my friend are doing now, and I think about the USA and how it is starting to become summer and how that always had meant something to me. It doesn’t really mean anything to me now, because I feel so far away from it all.

Quickly, quickly- for I really must be getting to bed. Sarah and I are so far so good. We enjoyed and accomplished a lot in Prague, saw mostly everything that I wanted to see (I would say everything but there was this memorial that sounds great in my Let’s Go book, but I’ll talk more about that when I have time).

Sarah and I are not backpacking in the most classic sense, which I prefer… We are suticasing through Europe, I guess in theory it seems easy to hike around with this huge bag on your back – but to me it sounds entirely unappealing. Especially when you can just stroll along the cobblestone, better than just adding unnecessary baggage (ha, pun). Also, not to judge, but just to set the bar: I have noticed an uncomfortably large amount of adult backpackers. I really hope to god that when I am an adult I am not so broke that I have to resort to traveling as a backpacker in Europe. Unless, that’s what I really wanted to do, I hope it doesn’t happen. But, famous last words I guess. *Sigh* I’m loving this whole suitcasing through Europe though. It’s fun. Packing is a crisis, every destination I’ve tried to eliminate unneccesary items —  but it still feels heavy. Oh well, Vienna tomorrow. I just keep thinking of that Billy Joel song…

“Slow down you crazy child, you’re so ambitious for a juvenile.”

One thing though Billy, shouldn’t you be ambitious when you’re a juvy? I mean, as an older adult it can get to be a little late — although it is important to hang onto that ambition. I’m going to stay ambitious, and I am a crazy child. C’est la vie Prahaha good times were had, more to come.

Oh yeah, PS

The people at the hostel thought we were French today. Compliment #3 of the joined Sarah and Gabby adventures

2 and 1 were people asking us for directions, which cracked us up because we like to look like we know what we’re doing…. well, we practice what we preach.

Defeated, and admitting to myself that I had gotten to the train station way too early, I decided to try and buy some stamps and send a couple of postcards. The lady in the little store in the train station said that she didn’t sell any stamps, but across the way there was a post office. I half-smiled at her, thinking, yeah right like a post office is going to be open now. I stroll outside, defeated… Looking around, seeing nothing. Then, I notice this building with a Polish flag swinging from it. I walk up to it, not only is it a post office, not only is it open (and open 24 hours!) it has wifi! FREE wifi! And there is a nice little table where I am able to fill out my postcards and update this here blog thingy.  It is a beautiful thing when the unexpected happens.

After being back in the United States for a solid 10 days, I’ve come to the conclusion that that chapter of my life went by too quickly. I guess because it is this faraway place, it has the ability to seem less real than other chapters. Whereas, with things I miss or think about around here, I am reminded of them much easier since I am surrounded by them or pass by them regularly.

The night of our goodbye party, I mentioned in conversation that it is a sad realization that “this is the closest we will all ever be again.” My friends and I from this trip will probably never be in such close proximity at the same time, and as close again emotionally. There are always exceptions to the rule, but it is unlikely and that is a sad realization. For, there are not many times in life where you grow close with people and know for a fact that this will be as close as you will ever be, I guess when certain friends are moving or you are leaving you always assume that you’ll have the chance to be close again because you’ve had them part of your life for so long. With study abroad it is a bit different than that.

I guess that is what makes studying abroad such a highly regarded experience: for a short while you experience what it is like to live and create a world in another country, with different friends, different foods and life-altering experiences. For the most part, all of these experiences and ways of life are temporary-, which in a sense romanticizes the whole thing. Already, I have a tendency with nostalgia only remembering the good and forgetting the bad—oh sweet memory. As I think about the times from Australia, I remember them with fondness and appreciation more and more.

My friends and I at our goodbye party

Sydney Opera House, taken by me, feb 28, 2010

Maybe it was the high expectations that I had for this trip, or maybe it was just because I didn’t research all of my options before I arrived – Sydney was not my cup of tea.

When did I go?

Thursday, February 25, 2010.  Through Monday, March 1, 2010.

Who did I go with?

Steph and My. They have been mentioned in previous posts. They stayed with me there from February 25 through the 29^th.

How did we get there?

We flew Tiger Airlines and we booked about 3 weeks in advance. It cost $75 roundtrip, without checking a bag. Unfortunately, I needed to pay $50 each way at the airport to check a bag and thus ruined the initial good deal. Well, this was a lesson for me for the rest of my travels.

I had found the good deal using, webjet.com.au but if you book through webjet they charge you a $20 fee. So it is best to take the deal and book on the airline website. An elderly couple recommended this site as the go-to place to find the best flight deals in Australia. It has worked to be the best place to check first, and then go accordingly to avoid the fee. I don’t understand why webjet does add in that extra $20, maybe not all travelers notice the extra fee!

Although I have heard a lot of complaints about Tiger, my experiences with them have always been great. Definitely the best cheap airline I have flown in Australia.

Where did we stay?

Base Backpackers Sydney.

I’ve only stayed at Base in Sydney and in Brisbane. I loved the hostel in Brisbane, but the one in Sydney did not live up to speed. Although it is not the worst hostel I have stayed at, the receptionists were not very friendly and a bit uptight.

We stayed in their highly regarded Sanctuary rooms.

I quoted Base earlier in the semester, for they described this is how they described their sanctuary rooms:

“The Female only SANCTUARY DORM is for ladies who like to be pampered! 4 to 8 bed dorm, clean, modern and comfortable non smoking room comprising a luggage security locker for each person, wireless internet access (surcharge applies), security swipe card access with a 24 hour reception, heating and air-conditioning. The beds have feather pillows and doona and made up with fresh linen. The rooms are featured with full-length mirrors. Hairdryers, hair strengtheners and beauty kits are available for your use on request at reception. Rate is for 1 person in a single bunk bed in the dorm. Fantastic price for that extra bit of luxury in a fantastic location, close to all the action in the heart of Sydney.”

Well, the sanctuary was not like that. They did have some random shampoos and conditioners, but it didn’t even appear to be ours because they were just stacked on the desk as if they belonged to one of the other backpackers in our room.

The room had a comfy bed and nice sheets, but the AC didn’t work that well. The floor looked like it could use a good vacuum. Their description really is a bit outrageous for what it is, but what can you expect for a hostel.

It WAS, however, in the best location possible. It is located right around the corner from St. George ST. where all of the action is.

Overall I’d give this hostel a C+. I did have one particularly bad incident with them while I was leaving, which knocked them from getting a B.

A day before my departure I decided to go ahead and book the shuttle to the airport for $15. When I booked it, the women at the counter wrote down my name and had a receipt of my purchase and a copy of my ticket number. When I checked out, I must have left the paper in the room and it got thrown out. I went back upstairs in an attempt to try and find it. I go back downstairs to explain to the receptionists about the dilemma and they replied coolly, “Oh yes, you’ll just have to buy another ticket.” I didn’t understand why that would be the case since they had written down my information, and asked, “Why would I have to do that if you have it written down in your book?” They told me that because the ticket is not tied to me, I could have sold it to somebody else. I told them that that wasn’t the case and that I didn’t understand their policy. Then they proceed to tell me that it is like buying a shirt a store, if you lose the shirt then it’s your own fault for losing the shirt. Well, really it isn’t the same as losing a shirt. This is a ticket for a seat on a bus. The bus fills up, they wrote down my name in regard to the ticket. They were very rude and handled the situation very poorly. I left the hostel with a very bad taste in my mouth.

Frustrated, I decided to go to a café nearby and call the people who actually drive the shuttle. They told me that it was not a problem, that they did have me down on their list and that I could get on the shuttle without the ticket. This just goes to show you that Base simply was being non-negotiable without a reason.

What did we do?

Thursday night:

It was late so we decided to check out the bar at the hostel. It was called The Scary Canary. A lively place, a lot of fellow backpackers were there

Friday:

My insisted upon going to a Vietnamese restaurant in Star City (the Sydney casino), but before we left she did not know exactly where it was so we spent a good 45 minutes wandering around for it. At the time it was not a lot of fun, but in hindsight it wasn’t that bad. We ended up getting to the restaurant, the name of which escapes me, and of course it was not open yet. So we just sat around the casino waiting for the place to open. It was a bit pricey but the meal I ordered was quiet delicious.

Afterward we met up with Stephanie and we made our way to the Opera House. We did not go for a tour, but just took pictures outside of it. They were too lazy to walk inside with me, but I went in and checked it out. It was beautiful. I wish I would have taken a tour, but I plan on being back someday.  Visiting the Opera House was one of my favorite parts of the trip; it was really cool to see such a monumental sight in real life.

We then took pictures in front of the Sydney Bridge.

Leigh and Kim traveled with the school to Sydney, and because they were on a guided tour they were not able to hang out with us at their leisure. I did meet up with them later in the night; we went to a bar called scubar.

Saturday:

We went shopping and I found a great shirt and pair of shoes for a total of $25. I also bought some souvenirs for my friends and myself. We each bought an Australia jacket for $13 each.

That night we made it our way to a place to indulge in our first experience with eating kangaroo. It was delicious, like steak but more tender.

After dinner it was time to go check out Sydney’s huge GLBT mardi gras celebration. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of Boston Pride. I could not believe how many people were there.

Sunday:

I made my way to Bondi Beach. I really was un-impressed by Australia’s most recognized beach. I guess the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast have spoiled me, for as far as looks were concerned, it was not very beautiful. There were a lot of cameras on the beach and a good amount of people, I could not figure out what was going on.

After I was done taking pictures, I decided to walk along the shore and finally settle to sit down for a bit under the overcast skies. I could not have been sitting for more than about 5 minutes when my day dreams were suddenly interrupted by the intercom, “Everybody please evacuate the beach, a tsunami will be hitting the shore in about 12 minutes.” I could not believe my ears, and my heart started to beat wildly as my mind was racing. As an American, tsunamis have never been much of a worry for me. Thus, when I heard the intercom I thought I was done for. People did start scurrying off, muttering to each other and looking around. I started to get nervous. I meandered through the crowds to what I decided would be a good altitude to watch and be safe. Along the way I met a woman who had been in the Thailand tsunami, and she summed up her experience as being pure hell. Well, I decided to get my video camera out and said a brief goodbye to mom and dad and my other relatives and friends. Then, I decided to go ahead and film it – I mean CNN would buy this tape afterwards… If I survived, right??   Well, I waited a good hour and nothing happened. So, I shrugged off my CNN debut and made my way through the various beach shops and restaurants. A personal favorite that I crossed was, “Gabby’s Café.” I didn’t remember opening a café in Sydney, but I guess other people do have my name.

Monday:

That was when I had my lovely argument with Base Backpackers. I decided to have breakfast at a café nearby. I spent the day working on the homework I had due on Tuesday and caught my flight at around 3:30 PM.

I don’t understand why Internet is so hard to come by in Australia. The only airport I’ve been to with free Internet was incidentally in Darwin. The rest try to charge you an insane amount like $25 for the hour. Crickey, let’s get a technology update mates!

Even though we flew into Brisbane, Bond University is actually in Gold Coast, Australia. My junior year of high school the lacrosse team went to a lacrosse camp in Florida. The school was Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Bond reminds me of Eckerd for it’s a small, warm and beautiful campus. There are a lot of beautiful looking people here too; in fact I think the only unattractive people I’ve seen or met have been Americans, which cracks me up.

We barely made our flight from Sydney to Brisbane, and because of that most of our bags didn’t make it. We arrived at Bond around 3PM and the total travel time took a about 36 hours. I was very tired when I arrived, but my excitement kept me alert and happy. The ladies checking me in remembered seeing my name on the list, and of course inquired about it. I just said, “my parents think they’re funny,” they laughed and I left it at that.

My room reminds me of a very simple hotel. There are two twin beds, separated by a nightstand, two desks, and a bathroom attached. I’m living right at the center of campus. I can walk up and down a flight of stairs, and I’m at the gym, where the beautiful outdoor pool is. My view is of the lake with a spouting fountain, which again, is in the middle of campus. It’s a very pretty view and it makes me feel like I’m on vacation. Actually the whole experience feels like I am on vacation and not about to start a semester of school.  My roommate’s name is Cait and she is from Massachusetts and goes to a small school called Western New England College, it’s close to where she grew up, near Six Flags New England. She seems like the ideal roommate, respectful, friendly, nice and doesn’t talk too much, but still enjoys a pleasant conversation.

Monday I spent the day trying to get organized by getting my student ID card and figuring out how my meal plan works. It’s definitely not like the NU dining hall, the Northeastern system is made for gratuitous eating. Where as here, you get a certain amount on your Bond Card and it’s up to you to make it last the whole semester.

I also spent the majority of Monday trying to get my iPhone unlocked for a pay as you go plan. Of course AT&T makes it impossible to unlock the phone, even if you are overseas. It’s a serious inconvenience. I tried calling them and they said they could unlock any phone except, the iPhone. I tried explaining that I am going to stay a faithful AT&T customer when I am in the US, but I need the phone while I’m in Australia. Well, it didn’t work. Fortunately, my friend Sarah Simon who had studied here last year, lent me her phone for the semester and that’s what I am now using as my Australian cell phone. For calls home, I am paying $12 a month for the skype global plan. I can make unlimited phone calls anywhere in the world. It’s a great deal. If you want to reach me, my phone number is 617-553-1033, and if I don’t answer just leave a voicemail and I can get back to you.

Monday evening, my friend Steph and I met a retired couple at a Chinese restaurant near campus. We started talking and next thing you know, we ended up sitting with them talking about Australia and the US and the differences and similarities. It was great fun; they even gave us a ride back to campus. The Australians are much friendlier than Americans.  Also, the restaurant we were at was BYO, which means bring your own. Any restaurant that says BYO underneath the name means that you can bring your own wine or beer. I thought that was a nice way of doing business. Also, gratuities are not expected here, which makes for a cheaper meal.

Monday night I went to a toga party. They give you a sheet to make into a toga, it’s possibly one of the most unflattering outfits I have ever worn. See for yourself:

Even though something like that isn’t typically my scene, I decided to bend my own comfort to try and have a goodtime. It was a complete unsuccess. I went with my friend Stephanie, but she’s not into that whole scene either.  I tried a Tooheys beer while at the party, it was a little bitterer than a Bud Light, and definitely not as good.

Tuesday I went to the pool and traveled to Robina Shopping Center. That was pretty cool; they had a Target there. I tried to get in, and to my dismay the store was closing; the stores close at 5PM there (except on Thursday where they have late night shopping until 9). I was disappointed by this news, and just bought some stuff at the grocery store.

Today is Wednesday and I’ve gone to the pool, listened to a local explanation of where to go to get what, and I am currently waiting for the mini-fridge we’ve rented to be delivered. Having a mini-fridge will definitely make life a bit easier.

Because Bank of America has high fees for making purchases abroad. I have decided to open an account here, with ANZ and wire money into my account. It’ll cost $35 each time I do it, but I am saving a lot of money by doing it this way. ANZ allows you to make purchases free around Australia. I still haven’t been able to figure out what my rates are for my BofA Amex card, but when I do know I’ll write about it.

Once the mini-fridge is delivered I hope to make a video tour of campus, so that way you can see what it is I am talking about.

Until then…

(4:17PM Eastern)

The excitement has really started to kick in. I just look around the airport and am overwhelmed with anticipation. LAX here I come.

Funny thing overheard at Boston Logan International Airport:

“What is a flee market like, is it indoors or outdoors?”