Manly Beach

First things first: I scored a date! Woo! Alas, my dear readers, it is not with an Australian but rather the Belgian guy from the aforementioned trivia night. I guess he liked what he saw and asked my American colleague for my number. We're supposed to go out tomorrow night for some food so I will let you know all about it when I get back!

Today's trip was to Manly Beach. Apparently the name comes from when Captain Phillip of the Royal Navy discovered the place when trying to create a colony in New South Wales. There he noted in his dear diary the behavior of the local aborigines: "Their confidence and manly behaviour made me give the name of Manly Cove to this place." And thus, dear friends, is why Manly Beach is called Manly Beach. Don't say I never taught you anything.

To get to Manly Beach, I had to take two ferries which ended up taking about an hour and a half. The awesome thing about it, however, was that I was able to see the Sydney Opera House in all its glory. Here is the mandatory picture of it... I promise that I will get one with me in later on, but stop complaining and take what I give you and like it.

The beach itself was pretty touristy. I don't think I heard any actual Australian accents -- definitely a lot of pasty white British people though. I didn't really explore it very much since I was mostly trying to tan, but I think it definitely deserves a closer, second look. My Canadian friend said it was a good place to get some surfing lessons so I might do that, but knowing my fear of sharks I'm not so sure... The water was slightly cold but you easily got used to it (it was about 24C, or around 75F) and definitely much more surfable than Pensacola Beach. Enjoy this picture of me and the three Americans that I will never see again, since they leave tomorrow!

After the Americans left, my Canadian friend joined me... but just as she was arriving, the weather turned stormy so we ended up going back to Circular Quay (pronounced "Key") which is where the opera house is. She's been here for a month already so she took me to Lord Nelson Brewery, which is apparently one of the oldest pubs in the city of Sydney. It's also a microbrewery. I tried their pale ale... I don't know how much I liked it but I managed to drink the pint of it anyway. From there I took the ferry home and ate the dinner my host family left me. I have to say that they have been really great, and seem to treat me like family. It might be because I'm all by myself so they feel more protective of me, but either way I enjoy getting their insights and help.

Useful links:
The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel: http://www.lordnelsonbrewery.com/index.html

Karaoke!

DAY 2

Overall boring day of clinic. I didn't really see any patients since it was mostly a clinical learning day. I met "Prof", as well call him here, or otherwise known to my American med students as "The Attending". I guess Australians/my Grenadian vet school friend call their attendings "Prof" because I thought it was weird. Anyway, he's a Chinese guy who likes to make slightly insulting jokes about Americans that honestly don't always make sense. It may have been his sense of humor but I don't know... (humour if you're Australian/British).

I also met my first Australian med students! And... they were boring. One guy was the friendliest and also cutest but he has hardware (i.e. a ring, cuz he's married). Everyone else was a girl. And none were overly concerned with talking with us except the married one. Sigh. I'm striking the Aussie med students off my list because they are either married or female and more interested in studying than showing foreign students the sites. It's like American med students but with an accent!! Zing!! I'm just going to say it: medical students are a terrible dating pool to draw from. The End.

I did, however, get closer to the other American and Canadian girls so that was good. Sad that they are leaving this week, though. I am supposed to go to a Rugby game with the Canadian on Friday so I am definitely planning on having a good time then. I think the Germans and I are going out Saturday night so hopefully things will keep up.

The evening was more fun, however. I braved the bus/train system to get to a part of the actual city to meet up with US/Canadian students for trivia night at a local bar (that apparently hosts the hostel students). To get a multi-pass (an unlimited amount of trips on the ferry, buses and trains) cost me $129 for a month. I think it's worth it though, because a one-way bus ticket alone was $3.50!!!! Predictably, we lost at trivia and I'm sad to say that the two Belgian students on our team were the ones who mostly kept us afloat. The one guy was a master at flags! We had to name each flag on this one piece of paper and honestly I had no idea except Israel's. Also a trivia question was, "What is the state of California." You can bet I got that one right -- America all the way! Haha! The winning team got a $100 beer tab. Also, I drank too much of another Australian beer called Tooheys.  I liked this one all right; it tasted slightly sweeter than VB.

The funny thing about Sydney is that there is a VERY strong Asian influence. Almost 50% of our patients are Chinese or Indian. At any rate, we all ended up moving to a karaoke bar, which I think are pretty popular in Japan. It was interesting because we all got ushered into this little room with a TV and were just left to our devices for an hour to sing as many songs as we wanted. Best part was that it was just to ourselves. Sadly I had to leave early because the trains end around midnight or so and I didn't want to get stranded.

Also I have been perfecting the Australian accent. I think I'm doing much better already but it's difficult because the way they pronounce some of the words is surprising. Also I have to be diligent to not slip into my English accent. The ultimate goal to this is to get back to Florida and see if I can trick some locals. Mwuahahaha!

Tomorrow is Manly Beach, though, so I will fill you in on the exciting stories to be created! I also plan on bringing my camera so there will finally be a few pictures...

Useful links:
Tooheys Beer: http://www.tooheysnew.com.au
Manly Beach: http://www.manlyaustralia.com.au/

First Aussie Beer

I forgot to say this but Colin reminded me -- I actually had my first Aussie beer called VB when i first got here. It wasn't particularly remarkable, haha.

I also tried Bundaberg rum on the plane because the guy from Perth recommended it. It's a dark rum so not exactly what I like best but doable.

Links:
Bundaberg Rum: http://www.bundabergrum.com.au
VB: http://www.vb.com.au/

No worries!

DAY 1

The day began with me foolishly trying to do my hair and look presentable. By the time my 20 minute bike ride was over, my hair had flipped out and I was sweating profusely. Needless to say, my plan to seduce unwary Australian male medical students was already off to a bad start. The final nail in the coffin, however, was the simple fact that I don’t work with any Australian medical students! Wtf mate?! That was one of the main draws – easy prey to fall victim to my charming American accent and sultry looks! Alas it is not to be, my friends.

Instead I met a bunch of German students (two guys, four girls) who were all very friendly. We exchanged phone numbers so that if any of us are doing anything, we can call each other. They are not working with me, however, so I’m praying that they remember to contact me… I may have to be proactive and call them.

As for the actual Dermatology service, I work with a registrar (which is apparently the Australian name for a resident who is working in their specialty) who is Lebanese and a resident (I guess what they call doctors who haven’t specialized – guess it lasts 2 years?) who is Chinese. Both speak with Australian accents and I’m pretty sure the Lebanese guy is actually from Australia. Not sure about the resident, though. I’m going to have to ask more about the training stuff tomorrow. There are also apparently two female medical students working there (a Canadian and an American) but I only met the American. I’m sad to report that they both leave at the end of this week and that means I will be the ONLY medical student on the service! My plan to make easy friends is getting foiled before I even get started!

The hours aren’t too bad… I work clinic only, and that is Monday and Friday afternoons and full days on Thursdays and Tuesdays (9:30am – 5pm). I get Wednesdays off. I also am basically a shadow of the registrar and don’t actually see patients on my own.

A few major differences I’ve already seen comparing American v Australian:

1.  They don’t wear white coats here (I guess they are considered unsanitary because doctors don’t wash them enough). This means it is difficult to tell the status of everyone (maybe not a bad thing)
2.  The Aussies seem to depend a lot more their GPs (general practitioner – or your family doctor) than they do in the States. Also they are not allowed to directly refer themselves to a specialist, their GP does that
3.  Z’s apparently don’t exist (e.g. organisation)
4. Australians seem to love this stuff called Weet-Bix. I got fooled by the title “biscuit” and thought it would be delicious and sweet. It’s not.  Basically it’s a bar of wheat stuff that you break up and eat as cereal. I’m not sure what the appeal is but I bought some anyway.
5. Tea >> Coffee. In the break room there is a ton of tea you can make but no coffee. That’s cool because I like tea. 
6. They don't have paper towels in the bathrooms. Instead there is this endless roll of cloth that you pull down when you need a dry spot. It's a little weird but I guess more sanitary. I'll try to take a picture of it tomorrow so you can see what I'm talking about.
7. They have American TV shows here like House and Dexter.
8. They really do say "no worries" a lot here
9. I paid $3.50 for a coke. :(

The other funny thing is the conversation I have with Australians about where I’m from. It usually goes like this:

Aussie: “Where are you from?”

Me: “America.”

Aussie: “Where in America?”

Me: “Florida.”

Aussie: “Where in Florida?”

Me: contemplating how to answer this because I’m damn sure they don’t know where Pensacola is “Uhh…do you know where Tallahassee is?”

Aussie: “… No.”

Me: “Orlando?”

Aussie: “Yeah!”

Me: “I’m like 6 hours away from there.”

I’m not really sure why they want to get into the nitty gritty of where I’m from exactly, since I’m pretty sure that they don’t know where that is and probably only have a vague idea of what Florida even looks like (at least, the blank expressions on their face when I say, “Panhandle” suggest that). Still I suppose it’s nice that they try.

When I was biking home, I got lost and started to freak out that I would never find where I was supposed to go. Luckily I made it home alive, or I guess you wouldn’t be reading this right now. /Cool story bro.

  

Useful links:

Weet-Bix in all its glory: http://www.weetbix.com.au/

Arrival

I FINALLY MADE IT! I have to say, I’m exhausted (not that it should be surprising to you)… a 14 hour plane ride will do that to people. It was weird because as soon as I got on the flight in LA, I began to be surrounded by Australian accents. I sat next to a group of guys from Perth who were all pretty friendly but we all tried to sleep most of the way there so we didn’t talk too much (I was unsuccessful – it’s pretty challenging to sleep when you can’t really stretch out your legs or lay flat down).

Once I landed and was able to get all situated, I met my new Australian family. They are an older couple who are originally from England; you can hear the English accent mixed with Australian when they speak. I’ll give them pseudonyms since this is the internet and all – Sandy for the lady and Richard for the husband. Apparently they have lived in Australia longer than they lived in England. At any rate, they are really nice so far and took me out to breakfast (she called it “brecky” or probably spelled “breaky”) when I arrived.

The internet situation is weird here, though. I was hoping they would have wireless or cable but instead I was forced to buy “prepaid mobile broadband”, which is essentially a USB-type thing that creates internet. I get 2GB total before I have to recharge it – not sure how much that will end up being as I love using the internet. I also bought a prepaid phone since I am worried that my current phone will somehow rack up international charges (I was also not able to get it unlocked before leaving America).

I also apparently overpacked (shocker!). I brought too many shirts, mostly – otherwise I think I did okay for 4 weeks (It was a large suitcase, one backpack and a computer case). It’s everyone else who seems to think I packed a lot but I’m the only one who doesn’t think so! I guess they are used to backpacker-types… I was mostly trying to look stylish and chic (Richard commented on my heels). The only bad thing is that I can’t use my hairdryer or straightener because they don’t have a built in voltage converter like my computer, and that’s a lot of dead weight that I’m stuck with. Apparently the voltage converter costs more than just getting another straightener. Sigh. A part of me just wants to dump them both (especially the hairdryer since it’s heavy) but I know that I need to be careful in wasting money.

As for the culture – so far I haven’t noticed much, but I have only been to a little shopping mall to get some of the electronic stuff. The major thing is that they drive on the wrong side of the road! How ego-centric of me, eh? It’s the most disconcerting when they are turning into another street, as my immediate thought is: “You’re going to crash into someone because you’re not turning into the right lane!” As difficult as it is, I manage to refrain from being my usual bossy self, haha. Otherwise, I actually got my straightner and other toiletries at good old Target!

The hospital is about a 15 minute bike ride away. Richard and Sandy have lent me a bike so I can use that. I hope that there is some sort of locker or something I can keep the helmet and stuff in when I get there, though. Not sure how that will work its way out but I guess I will find out tomorrow!

Well, that’s it for now. It’s about 8:37PM here and it’s 5:37AM in Florida so that basically means I have been up all night. Not too unusual for a Saturday night, eh? ;)

'Ronas!

Sitting in the Los Angeles International Airport and I saw a sign for a restaurant's menu. Apparently, in Australia, Coronas are called 'Ronas.

That's your first slang lesson of the day. And I still haven't left the US!

Starting off well...

It didn't take long -- My first bad omen occurred before I even left Pensacola. A fire in Miami's airport led to my original flight getting canceled (I had a layover in Miami) and then rescheduled. I'm supposed to leave about 4 hours later than I was originally scheduled to but I somehow arrive in Sydney approximately 1 hour later. I guess it must be less layover time. Either way, I thought I would record this momentous occasion in Kelli's Trip to Sydney while waiting in the airport.

It also saves me from thinking about what things I probably forgot to pack.

I also took a picture of the Australian money I ordered. Enjoy!