Sydney... Love at first flight

I landed in Sydney for the first time on Monday, January 15, 2007. Now this may sound weird but "we" connected instantly from Day 1. Sydney had this amazing positive vibe going for me. The airport terminal felt familiar, I bought a phone card and walked out towards the cab stop like it was a routine.

One week in, armed with 2 job interviews and the Sydney map book, I scouted through the city looking for a job. Two weeks in, I moved into a hostel from my uncle's home so I could be closer to the city and on my own. The picture above was taken from an overbridge on Victoria Road close to Sydney city.

The hostel was my first chapter view of Sydney: picturisque, cosmopolitan, friendly and buzzing yet aloof, mysterious and secretive. Arrivals and departures were constant. It had a good bunch of people from across the world: two Spanish journalists on an assignment, 1 Korean and two Italians learning English, Canadian, German, Indian and Mauritian studying. Some locals, too. An Australian guy had a room in the hostel for 8 years and was protective of his rice cooker, called it his 'wife'. Then, this mysterious French guy who wore a mysterious black hat to hide his face, spoke to no-one; we called him the French murder mystery.

A month in, I had four interviews but no job. Thankfully, cinemas in Sydney had some cheap deals and I spent my days watching movies. But the $1900 cash I had arrived with was fast dwindling despite my otherwise frugal existence. Just when I thought I was watching my last movie before the flight back home, I got lucky. A phone call dragged me out of the ending of 'Little Children'; I had landed a temporary role in my area of work, this time without any interview, one of the interviewers had called back with another opportunity. I had to join in 3 days! The adventure was over...

It was time to find a house two months on, I was missing my own space. I zeroed in on 3 places, viewed two and chose one. My new flatmate had a fully furnished home, I just had move in with my suitcases, the perfect place to be in.

I was home.

Four