Sydney Harbour Cruise

Yesterday I kind of just layed low. I wasn't feeling very well in the morning and it was absolutely freezing cold and raining outside. I spent most of the day reading a book snuggled up in bed with the heater and all my clothes on. When I finally got up, I went to the supermarket in Newmarket and bought another couple cheap sweaters on the way back.



This morning I woke up early--because everyone else did too--and made myself some breakfast. As I was eating, the good-looking guy that I helped yesterday started talking to me. He's from Israel and he's going to be in New Zealand for 3 months just traveling around. His name is Ollie or Ulie or something like that. I gave him directions on how to get around the city. Then I made a phone call to a guy that e-mailed me about one of the winery jobs I applied for! He said that they wanted someone more permanent for the Cellar Hand job, but he thought that they had some part time work available if I wanted it. So he said he would check with the events manager (they have concerts, parties, etc.) and see if they might need some help too! He'll let me know in the next couple of days and hopefully set up an appointment to meet them next week!!! That could be a really awesome way to get my foot in the door and start making some money. I could always get a bartending/waitressing job on the side or something.

So after this wonderful news I decided to go downtown and look around for awhile and then take the Sydney Harbour Cruise on one of the ferries! I can't wait to load my pictures (I'm having difficulty hooking my own computer up to the free internet at the cafe) and post them up here! We passed a marina that literally could moor 1800 boats/yachts!!! It's the largest marina in the Southern hemisphere! Apparently there is a statistic saying that something like 1 in 5 people that live in Auckland own or have access to a sailboat. WOW! Also, Auckland (the largest city in New Zealand) apparently houses about 1/3 of New Zealand's total population!!! It just doesn't feel that big to me. But the best news so far was that I (anyone) can go to one of the yacht clubs by the marina and put my name down on a list if I want to go out on a sailboat, and it's especially good if I want to learn how to sail!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my God! That piece of information was so worth the price of the cruise! I'm going down there tomorrow and putting my name on at least one list.

I finally returned to the hostel to try and warm up since the sun faded behind the clouds and I swear it dropped 10 degrees. I think I'm on my 4th cup of tea, I had soup for dinner and finished the red wine!

I keep forgetting to tell you all about the little things I've noticed that are different here:

- Makeup is absolutely ridiculously expensive! Revlon mascara (is like average of $9 at home right?) is about $25 here!!! They sell it at department stores!

- At busy intersections they wait until all the cars have gone and then they let you cross all at the same time...either way or diagonally!

- You don't tip unless it's REALLY good service. I think they might include some sort of gratuity in the cost of the food.

- There are a lot of hills here in Auckland...like Seattle.

- The price of new CDs is about $25.

- They pay rent by the week. But the rent can be really cheap considering how large the city is!

- There are a ton of Germans at my hostel! As soon as a couple leave, more come! It takes them about 24 hours by plane to get to New Zealand!!!! They always stop somewhere like Thailand or Hong Kong.

Okay, hope everything's well with all of you!

-Lisa