I knew I must be going to Australia when on the plane they informed the passengers that they have the right to refuse alcohol, and to ask you to abstain from drinking your own alcohol. I laughed. hard. Out of all of the flights I have taken in my entire life, I have never had the safety spiel involve responsible drinking!!!
I don't think I have ever seen so many people sitting in the bar drinking during the day... although, to be fair, where I am is full of backpackers, so it's not necessarily the Australians. It livens up (even more) at night, there will be FULL night clubs on a Tuesday night... like, Tuesday?? really? Don't you people take a day off? Seriously, the drinking may kill me.
Other than the amusing spectacle of watching people fight on the street (you know, girls crying uncontrollably while two guys are fighting... or police outside the bar mid day breaking something up) Darwin is actually a sleepy city. Well, compared to where I have been, anywhere outside of Asia would seem sleepy... the streets are so big and there is barely any traffic, people aren't all over the sidewalks in street stalls, eating, or just hanging out. It just seems so quiet... almost unnerving... There really is nothing to do here but go to the beach and drink (which I am clearly taking advantage of)
I am enjoying living among numerous other travelers from countless countries. I find it super interesting to learn the slang and talk with people. Did anyone else know that "bees and honey" means money? And "going for a Brad Pitt" is taking a shit? That's the English... they have the most interesting way of saying things (and then insist that I bastardize their language). I cant, for the life of me, understand Scottish people... the language they use is NOT the same as mine! It takes all of my attention to try and decipher what they may be getting at... and I still need to ask a couple of times (which gets funnier the more you drink). I get made fun of for some of the things I say... when I say about, it's apparently aboot (but not as bad as some eastern Canadians I am told), if I have two drinks I say I'm "double fisting" (don't say that abroad, just don't), oh and I also made the mistake of asking someone if he was "fingering me" (you know, giving me the finger) evidently that is something that elicits a comical response. I also find it amusing to constantly be giving conversational English lessons (but only when people ask me to correct their word usage and grammar) and it can be tiring to always be choosing your words carefully, to ensure I don't use words like... well, ensure for starters. And it's a constant effort to speak slowly (yes, I swear I a capable of speaking slowly... it just takes a lot of effort). But it's still easier than trying to communicate with Vietnamese people...
Life here is very different for other reasons... first of all I am staying in a hostel for the first time in my life... sharing a co ed dorm, sharing a bathroom with an entire floor... I have to do my own laundry (and pay $6 to both wash and dry) I have to go to the grocery store and buy food, then use the common kitchen to cook myself food (which has, thus far consisted of cereal, toast and peanut butter, and pasta with sauce... I am not ready to cook any gourmet meals as of yet). Oh, and I have to figure out all of the technical crap to working and purchasing a vehicle. (opening a bank account, getting a tax file number, figuring out Aussy vehicle registration)
I am sure between drinking and sleeping I will find the time to accomplish these... It's actually ridiculously easy to find work, I already have two days of special event serving lined up (at $23 an hour for 12 hour shifts... woot) and there is need for some mango pickers (it's supposed to be six weeks... we shall see how long I last). I even have a van already (once I move into it I will go into more detail).
So, life really isn't that had... drink, eat, sleep, find temp work, sleep, drink, eat, and so on.
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