First Week

I had to follow a sad fire post with a positive life post, because it really has been a fine first week of 2020! In spite of reading/worrying about the fires and feeling guilty about living a normal life while people are facing loss and disruption, I did some regular old fun things. I found a new yoga studio:

It’s in a neighborhood called Rosebery that is a little sleepy but sweet and reminds me a whole lot of California. There’s a market where you can order coffee and toasties and have yourself a pretty nice Saturday morning, if you so choose.

We had our first brewery and first beach day of 2020:

At the beach, there were announcements of rough currents and a SHARK SIGHTING so they kept closing the water to swimming. As someone who was not in the water at the time of the shark, I found this very exciting! And I’m glad to know they have a beach-wide announcement system to let you know about these important things.

My English friends introduced me to a game called beach cricket. I’m certain I didn’t follow all the rules, but I laughed a lot in the process of learning them.

And, wow, look at this view from the ferry on the ride back:

It was SO HOT on Saturday night, but it’s since turned into cooler weather and bits of drizzle here and there. Keep the rain coming please.

I went to my first show of the year on Sunday night! There will surely be more to come.

A New Year in Australia

Happy New Year friends and family. I’m just checking in to say that I’m not on fire, but much of Australia is. The beginnings of 2020 have been hectic and emotional around these parts, but I’m thankful to be alive and well.

There are a number of organizations accepting donations, including: Australian Red Cross Disaster Recovery & Relief.

Sydney has been hazy and smoke-filled for a lot of November and December, but life has been going on. There were beach days and New Year’s Eve celebrations, for better or for worse. This is the only picture I took of the fireworks:

The studio where I practice yoga held a four-day Urban Retreat. I spent mornings practicing and learning a lot with one of the best.

I’m attempting a vegan month in January (Veganuary, if you will) like I did last year. I find it helpful to constantly examine our habits and decide if there are any we’d like to adjust, whether it means eating less meat or whatever else feels right to you. I might not do it perfectly, mainly because my parents are coming this month and we may go out for sushi, but I’m going to try my best. And that’s really all we can ever do, isn’t it?

Daily Practice

Today I sat at the park in ideal weather, surrounded by some type (or many types) of dog and owner meetup. I’m happy to say I’ve been doing a bit what I came here to do already. The drastic time change has made it easy to wake up for six am yoga practice. From Mike’s couch, I walk about five or ten minutes to the bus or train, ride a few stops over to the west side of the city, and wind through a nature trail to the yoga studio. I unroll my mat and take a trip back inwards after a summer of what had probably been my most scattered sessions since I started practicing yoga.

Some nights I’ve woken up at 2 or 3, hitting my head on the hanging light above when I get up to use the bathroom. The light is well-placed for the couch when it is a couch, but not for when it’s acting as a bed. Oh well, I’m extremely grateful for a landing pad with a good friend. And thanks to a combination of good fortune and melatonin, I’ve been able to fall back asleep for a few more hours.

Mike has a great apartment in a quiet but happening part of Sydney. It’s close to the train, walking distance from a park with a pool, and seems like one of the best places to live. The bedroom is separate from the living room/kitchen (ie. my room for now!), so hopefully for him that makes it easier to have a guest. There’s a lovely patio and some good plants, too.

I’m a little homesick since I spent my last days having the best times with fun friends and family, and I feel like I was just getting used to having a job I loved and a social life at the beach when it was time to leave. But all the moving gives me hope that, with time, I can establish something good anywhere. However, it is a little disorienting that people walk, drive, ride escalators, and do everything on the left side here!

My first days have been spent walking, riding awesome modes of public transport to get to know the city, meditating and journaling in parks, drinking coffee at cafes, and writing cover letters. At night, Mike takes me out to eat and drink in different neighborhoods. We’ve had some delicious dinners— most notably at a vegan pay-what-you-can community hangout in one of the most hip locations—and some drinks at a quirky bar just down the road. Yoga and novelty are some of my favorite things, so life right now is looking pretty sweet from where I’m sitting.

Manly Beach

Ok, now that we’ve caught up on all the Mexican and wintry romps, it’s time to talk about Australia. Wow! Has it been over here this whole time? Why haven’t we been visiting yearly or monthly or daily? Actually, why don’t we live here?? I haven’t found an answer to that question yet and will continue seeking until I can come up with one, but if I don’t, you might have to come visit me here in a couple of years.

I came to visit a couple of friends and to participate in an Ashtanga/Mysore intensive workshop (which is currently kicking my butt). My family is having trouble keeping track of me, and I am too, because I only decided to come on this trip about a month ago. But when your bff from college is going to be living in Sydney for the next two years, you might as well check the prices of flights. And when some other college comrades are already planning to visit in March to train with a renowned instructor with whom all of your current instructors have studied, you’d better sign up and buy the tickets.

That’s how I got here, at least.

I spent the first weekend in a town called Balgowlah with my friend Amanda who you might remember from our impromptu travels together in Thailand. She’s living her best life with a quick and beautiful coastal walk to the beach from her apartment. If this is the view on your lunch break and you get to swim in the sea every day, I say you’re doing a lot of things right.

It was a truly lovely way to get over the jet-lag that I really didn’t have because I am remarkably able to sleep for ten hours of a fifteen hour flight and to adapt to Australia which isn’t really a major achievement because if there’s anything that’s not perfect here, I haven’t come across it yet.