Monday March 30, 2009

I woke up and started my day by watching Tiger pull out another victory on the 72nd hole at Bay Hill. I’d say Tiger is back and looking to be in fine form for the Master’s in a couple weeks. Today I kind of lazed about, watched tv for most of the day.
I was able to skype both my parents and my cousin Richard (Tom’s brother) and his wife and son, so that was nice to talk to and see people.
I did however put a call into the immigration department to inquire about my visa situation. I told the woman, what was on my visa, what I was told at the airport and I asked what was going on. She got my passport number and visa type and put my hold to go check my file. She comes back and tells me that in here system, she has me as having to enter before April 9th, so she has no idea why the people in LA were having a problem because according to her everything should have been fine. I told her the flight and day I came in on and she said I was fine. So I can work?, I asked her and she said yup. So basically I have no idea why I was held up and almost missed my flight in LA, everything is in order according to my conversation with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. It makes me a bit frustrated that I went through all that drama at the airport and got so stressed and now I’m being told that everything is as I thought it should be? The lady at immigration said maybe the woman in LA got confused or didn’t know what she was looking at? At any rate, I am OK to work. Now I just need to apply for my tax ID number.
I took a nice long walk along the walkway and beach today, down to Vincentia. I think I may have gotten a bit of sun, my forehead is a little red. I took some nice pictures of the beaches and the bay to pass along showing where I am and what it looks like. I hope to one day head down to Hyam’s Beach in Vincentia, apparently it is listed in the Guinness book of world records as having the whitest sand in the world. Monday evening we made chili for dinner and watched a bit of tv before heading to bed early again.

Sunday March 29th, 2009

On Sunday we headed back into Nowra (the nearest “bigger” town) to go back to the K-mart to pick up a few things we needed. After returning Tom took me out back off his complex, that backs up to the creek and we walked out onto the rocks that are only exposed during low tide. We then went to the marshland 2 seconds away from his house where there is a wooden walkway over the marsh. Since it was during low tide, we saw all the mud and there were little crabs scattering all over the place and into their burrows in the mud. We then walked into the main drag of Huskisson (which is a couple blocks away) and I saw the cute stores and restaurants on mainstreet. There’s also a little one screen cinema here that shows a couple movies per week. This week is Slumdog Millionaire, Vicky Christina Barcelona, He’s Just Not That’s Into You and something else. We swung by the grocery store which is in the next town over, Vincentia, so pick up some things. That afternoon Dave swung by and we played poker (Dave and Tom play at the local lawn bowling club together on Tuesday nights). Since I am being taken to the club to play on Tuesday, they decided I needed to practice since I haven’t ever played put a couple times. We played 2 games and I won both of them, they decided I had enough practice and was OK to go on Tuesday night. Tom cooked up some steak and potatoes on the grill with some veggies and it was quite good! Dave came back after dinner and we all watched AFL (Australian Football League) which we Americans know as Aussie Rules football. Dave explained the rules to me and I kind of get it, at least the basic jist of what’s going on. I also learned that there are two different types of rugby, Rugby Union and Rugby League. They’re different and have some different rules and ways of playing. Who knew huh? I once again was exhausted by about 9 and headed up to bed.

Saturday March 28th

Well I’ve been here a couple days so I thought I’d let you know how I’ve been doing since I arrived. I arrived at about noon on Saturday and after de-planeing and going through customs, Tom was right there waiting for me. We hopped in the car to head the 2.5-3 hours back to his place. So even as of now all I have seen of Sydney is the airport and some of the streets heading out of town. The drive down to his place is actually a quite nice drive. He doesn’t live that far mileage-wise. All the roads leading out of Sydney though are that, roads, not highways. The road we took south was called Princes Highway, but a lot of the time it was just 2 lanes and the speed limit was lower than what we would travel on a highway in the US. It’s just that with Australia having such a small population (about 20 million compared with 300 million in the US, and Australia is about the size of the lower 48) so there’s a hell of a lot less people paying taxes to go towards building and upkeep of roads, especially not ones in the major cities. Anyway, the drive was nice. Everything is so green! It really is beautiful. The drive does go down the coast so part of the time we could see the ocean. We passed several wineries and Tom mentioned about hitting up a few later on. We made a couple quick stops in Berry and Nowra (at the Kmart to pick up some hangers for my room) and finally arrived in Huskisson mid to late afternoon. Tom lives in a little complex that backs up to a river (technically it’s called Currambene Creek) that empties into Jervis Bay. He gave me the tour of the house. It’s nice, it’s got 3 bedrooms, a patio, a balcony, nice kitchen and garage. I get a room with a double bed and 2 bathrooms to myself. One is a powder room with a toilet and sink and the other has a shower, bath and sink. We headed down to the local pub to grab dinner and a beer and sat outside overlooking the bay. We were able to walk there because everything is just so close. Huskisson is a holiday town. Tom says in the summer it is always packed. And it should be crazy in a couple weeks, come the Easter holiday. I’ve never been to the Outer Banks, but it’s somewhat how I would imagine an Outer Banks town. Small, beaches, where people holiday, but you tend to forget people live there. It’s nice though, apparently there’s a lot to do. Whale and dolphin watching trips, dive center, you can rent motor boats and kayaks, bikes, there’s a nice walking path that goes like 15 km down the coast of the bay. I will have to explore more in the days ahead while Tom is at work. I also met Tom’s next door neighbor, Dave, whom he hangs out with a bit. Dave is in the navy and lives here, while his family lives in Adelaide. I headed to bed around 9, I am after all pretty tired and still kind of on East Coast US time.





Look for Jervis Bay, the 4th listed along the coast south of Sydney



Huskisson is where I am!

I've Can Now Say I've Been to 6 Continents!

I’m in Australia!
Well kids, I’m here, I finally made it! During my layover in Nadi, Fiji I was sitting near a group of three people who were starting on a round the world trip and they were chatting with a gentleman who was from LA but had lived in Sydney 2 times previously and was coming back a third time. So since I was already eavesdropping, I decided to be sociable and go over and say hello. They were all very nice and we chatted and it made the layover fly by. Now I have a contact in Sydney, because the one guy, Levert, gave us all his contact information in case we were ever in Sydney and wanted to grab a drink or something. I am also waiting to receive a facebook invite from my other new friends on their round the world trek. The Fiji airport although, I don’t think it was air-conditioned. It was humid. Luckily on my flight from Fiji to Sydney, there was only me and one other woman in our row of 4, so we each got to spread out a bit.

So here are the final totals:
2 hours flight from DC to St. Louis
3 hour layover in St. Louis
4 hour flight St. Louis to Los Angeles
2 hour layover in Los Angeles 10.5 hour flight LAX to Nadi, Fiji
4 hour layover in Nadi, Fiji
4.5 hour flight Nadi to Sydney
Total flight hours: 21 hours
Total travel time including layovers: 30 hours
Time zones crossed through: ???
Crossed equator and International Date Line

Then we had to drive the 2 hours back to my cousin’s place in Huskisson. It was a really nice drive though. You drive down the coast and see the ocean at certain points. There are also quite a few wineries that are passed and I have every intention of stopping at some later and doing some tastings. Everything is so green here! And the sky so blue! It is all so beautiful! We have plans to go into Sydney maybe in 2 weekends to do the touristy stuff. Tom’s town of Huskisson is on Jervis Bay. It’s a cute little beach town with a nice little downtown area. We had burgers and beer at the local pub and sat outside, overlooking the water. Tom said it gets crazy during school and summer holidays, the locals flock here for sun and sand and boating. There are whale and dolphin watching cruises, scuba diving, etc. I’ll go out tomorrow and take some pictures of the city and Tom’s place. I feel like I’ve upgraded. I get my own shower and bath and powder room right outside my door (not on another floor) and I’ve upgraded from a twin bed to a double! Yay! Got all my clothes hung in the closet, it looks like so very little! We I may have to do some shopping ;)
Well it’s 8 pm Saturday night here (5 am Saturday morning) and I am exhausted, so I am going to go catch some sleep and hopefully not be too out of it tomorrow!
Cheers,
Cathy

"Bad Omens"

“Bad Omens”
I get off the plane in LAX and first I have to go outside, walk down the sidewalk to the International terminal and find the right area to check in, which was a bit of a hassle, because do you think the Air Pacific check in is where the entrance sign is? No of course not. But I finally find it and get in line for the in-transit passengers, with no luggage to check. I get to the front, walk up to the clerk and hand her my passport. She glances at it then starts typing on the computer. She seems puzzled and continues to punch buttons for a good 10-15 minutes while I wait there patiently, then she leans to me and says, “Do you have a visa?” Which of course I did. I had obtained my 1 year work visa on January 9, 2009 from the embassy in Washington DC. The visa in my passport clearly states that I have 3 months from issue to enter the country, i.e., April 9, 2009. I show the clerk my visa in the passport and point out the dates. She does some more stuff in the computer and says that it is not showing up in the system and she has to go call Sydney. So I wait for another 15-20 minutes. Then she comes back and says that my visa expired April 9, 2009, which means some joe blow messed up putting something into the computer when I was issued my visa. The clerk explained to the person on the phone that the visa clearly stated I had 3 months from Jan 9, 2009, but unfortunately the Air Pacific clerk in LAX couldn’t do anything about it. Here I am, FREAKING out thinking, they’re not gonna let me board and I’m gonna be stuck in LA,while my luggage goes to Sydney (because it had been checked all the through when I checked in at Dulles). She tells me I can do an electronic visitor visa, that will cost $25 dollars and be good for 3 months and when I get there I will have to reapply for my work visa. One problem, I can’t be in Australia when I apply for this visa, I would have to leave the country, get the visa, then return. I wouldn’t have to go to the US, I think New Zealand or something would work. But point is, someone messed up, so I say fine, give me the new visa, just get me on that plane. So then I wait another 10-15 while they do this other visa application and all the while I’m thinking, my plane is starting to board now, and I am still at the check in, haven’t even gone through security yet! Finally they get the new visa so my boarding pass can print out. Then I wait for a printout to verify the new visa. I never did end up getting charged the $25 dollars, and when the woman came back with the printout of the electronic visa, which has an expiration date of March, 2010. So I guess I could stay 12 months with this? I’m not really sure, at any rate, I can’t work with it. So when I get to Australia, I guess I have to call the US consulate/embassy and try and get this straightened out. I mean, I did nothing wrong, someone in DC messed up, IMAGINE THAT! Someone is going to get yelled at, heads are going to roll and I am not going to pay again for this damn visa! Needless to say I am pissed and hope this isn’t a bad omen to start off this trip. Oh and by the time I got through security, I barely made my flight to Fiji, but I did make it, thank goodness!

Well, I’m off to wait my 3 hours in the non-air-conditioned airport in Nadi. Two words, sweltering and humid.
Cheers,
Cathy

Layover #3

Layover #3
Nadi, Fiji (Let’s just say I am lucky to even be here)
6:01 am Saturday morning local time (Fijian Time) 2:00 pm EST (Friday afternoon)
Hours spent in transit so far:
2 hours flight from DC to St. Louis
3 hour layover in St. Louis
4 hour flight St. Louis to Los Angeles
2 hour layover in Los Angeles (although this went by much quicker than expected, see above)
10.5 hour flight LAX to Nadi, Fiji
4 hour layover in Nadi, Fiji

So let’s start with my flight from St. Louis to LAX. It was pleasant enough. I sat next to a cute little 2nd grader named AnnElise. Man, she could definitely talk an ear off. Very smart though and quite charming. She even drew me a picture! The movie to watch on the overhead televisions was, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. It was eh, I didn’t much care for it. It didn’t seem to make too much sense to me. Perhaps because I was on a plane and tired and somewhat out of it. Plus Keanu Reeves, I’m sorry, but he is just a bad actor. He plays the same character, same emotions (a lack thereof) in all the movies he’s in. So anyway, we land in LAX and here’s where the real fun begins… I’m going to do this in a separate blog post and entitle it…”Bad Omens”

Layover #1

March 26, 2009 4:40 CST
St. Louis Airport
Well Here I am sitting in the St. Louis airport. I have about a 3 hour layover here in St. Louis. I toyed with the idea of jumping on the subway (which connects directly the airport) and going to see the Millenium Arch. It’s one of those iconic American symbols so I thought maybe I could go see it while I am here. I did however decide against that idea. It’s not that far, only about a 20 minute subway ride each way. So say 50-60 minutes total for travel, get to the gate 30 minutes before time, that there is about 1 hour 30 minutes. With a 3 hour layover that should give me plenty of time to walk around the park at the arch, take a few pictures and get back. I however, have horrendous luck, so knowing me, the train would break down or there would be some ridiculously long line getting back through security. Also I don’t think there is a luggage check here (which is weird, I mean, there were luggage checks at the airports and train stations in Ukraine!) so I would have to lug my carry-on rolly bag as well as my laptop with me and I really didn’t want to do that. So alas, the arch I will have to save for another trip. On a related note, do you think I can claim having been to the state of Missouri if all I have seen is the inside of the St. Louis airport? I want to make it to all 50 states in my life and Missouri is not one I have been to yet, nor really have all that much desire to get to, sorry Missourians.

I really can’t believe my journey has begun. I have to say, I am really freaking proud of myself. Most people state their dreams and desires but never do a damn thing about them, then feel regret later in life. I said I wanted to live overseas and now here I am taking a huge risk by quitting my job in a crappy economy, flying to a foreign country with no distinct plans, but to live life as it comes and make the most of this opportunity. I know this may sound bad to admit, but I really like being the person other people admire and are jealous of. It’s a good feeling. We spend so much of our lives being jealous of other people, it feels good to be the one people look at and go, wow, I wish I had or could do that. Whatever happens at least I won’t feel regret for what could have been. Mark Twain once said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do..” So true Mr. Twain, so true.

Well, I am now going to pass the time by taking advantage of having my laptop and watching “Twilight.” Don’t judge.
Cheers, Cathy

Leaving TOMORROW!

Oh my goodness, so I leave tomorrow! I can't believe the time is already here! It seems like I just made the reservations and that was 2 months ago! I am pretty much all packed and ready to go, save for a few last minute things to throw in my bag tomorrow morning. Today will be busy though, I have to vacuum my room, vacuum out my car, do laundry (I don't want to leave dirty clothes sitting around for a year!), return something to Walmart, meet Ryan for lunch, stop by the bank, clean up all my scrapbook stuff in the family room, and a couple other odds and ends. Which I think it probably good, it'll keep me busy so I'm not sitting around all day in anticipation.

Tom is all ready to pick me up when I arrive on Saturday. I still have no plans about work or long term living, luckily I am in the position where I can stay with Tom as long as I like, rent-free, so there's no real urgency there.

It's been a busy week though. Friday we went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for Dad's birthday and that was really good. Saturday night Keith and Becky had us all (my parents and brother, my cousin and his wife and baby and my other cousin) and Keith cooked on the grill and we had a mini going away party. Keith even made a cake in the shape of Australia, it was so cute! The one thing that happened that has been pretty much the only emotional moment I've had getting ready to leave was saying bye to my niece and nephew. Liam's 4 1/2 and I was saying bye and that I wouldn't see them for a long time but of course at the at age he doesn't know what's going on, so he was being all squirmy and wanting to go to bed. Caitlin's almost 2, so I was able to hold her and say bye and give her a kiss. I must admit though, if I stay the whole year I have fears of coming back and them both being like, who are you again? That's when it hit me that I won't get to see them for so long and miss them growing up over the next year. I haven't gotten too emotional about leaving people for a while, because I know we can e-mail, video chat, use Facebook to communicate, but missing the kids lives is really gonna be hard. Liam starts soccer this week so I'm gonna miss going to his games and Caitlin's birthday is next month so I'm gonna miss that, so those things really make me sad.

Unfortunately I think I am getting sick. I woke up on Monday with a sore throat and it has only gotten worse. Went to the doctor yesterday and she said it was an upper respiratory infection, which I think is code for, you have a cold. Anyway, she says it's viral, which means no antibiotics, just gotta ride it out and wait till it get better. I can take some OTC cold medication though to try and relieve symptoms. This morning I woke up a bit congested. I really don't want to do all that traveling while sick but it appears as though I have no choice. I don't mind being congested, but I really don't want to travel with my throat feeling like it does. Fortunately when I usually get sick, first comes the sore throat then when the congestion starts, the sore throat fades away, so I'm hoping when I wake up tomorrow my throat will feel better.

Well I gotta go, run around doing all my last minute things! Perhaps I'll check back before I leave, or maybe while in transit or maybe the next time you'll hear from me, I'll be in Australia!

Cheers Mates,
Cathy