September 11 - September 16
Blog. This is mine. Not necessarily a “travel” blog, per se, more of a rambling-about-things-Australian-and-not-so-Australian-for-those-who-care blog.
Plane. I rode one to Los Angeles. I met Aaron Meyer there and proceeded to Venice Beach where my mind was blown 12 times over. Botox on the beach, hippies on rollerskates, freak shows, concerts behind fences through a peep hole, gangster ballerinas on roller skates, and 5 dollar t-shirts. It’s like if New York, Tokyo, and L.A had a love child, that’s Venice Beach. Cheese ball to the max and so much fun. I ate delicious soft serve ice cream with butterscotch flavouring and a veggie burger. I was surprised just how American America is, being the last time I was there was when I was 10. People are loud, dirty, fat, unintelligent-sounding, and crass - I fucking love it. Americans don’t let you use their washroom, even if you ask politely (twice). I held it because the bathrooms at Venice Beach are the grossest things ever. Barf. The ocean was a wonderful juxtaposition to Venice Beach - the sand was so clean and clear and the sun was starting to set behind the boats on the water, so beautiful and calm.
From Venice Beach I met up with Jordan and the rest of the Easton’s and prepared for the longest plane ride of my life. I downloaded loads of movies but ended up sleeping most of the way to Auckland. Air New Zealand rules, by the way. Super friendly and they let you mix sparkling wine with your orange juice in the morning. Yum. We got to Auckland at 5:30 am local time - my brain hurts too much to think about what time in Calgary that would be. It was a 12 hour plane ride, regardless. I hung around Auckland airport for a few hours, grabbed a 5 dollar muffin and a 5 dollar mocha and and bought 20 dollar internet, yep. My first taste of what’s to come.
I arrived in Brisbane around noon local time, with little trouble on my part. All the trouble I’ve encountered on my trip has been because of the Easton’s. Jordan forgot he had a knife with him, so at LAX he was searched and questioned a bit. Then when we get to Auckland Airport security finds ANOTHER knife on Jordan that he forgot about. His dad said it was his and they questioned him for awhile. So, Jordan (somehow) got a knife through security at LAX on 9/11. I have no idea how. There was another slight problem with the food they were bringing over but nothing too crazy. I was worried that I would be sent back because I’m not entering the country with enough money to live ($4000), but they asked me 5 questions and none were about money. Sweet.
Erin met me at the airport (eee!) and we went back to her place, had a beer, and then took transit (on a boat!) over the river to a sweet bar called Archive - it’s made out of books! Perfect. Brisbane is very beautiful and the people are friendly, maybe it’s because their accents make them sound cheerful, I dunno. Everyone thinks I’m American and then are embarrassed when I correct them, haha. Everything seems to be just a tiny bit more expensive here, but everyone makes more as well. I think it evens out about the same. I’ve drank lots of yummy beer and have eaten loads of delicious food. The weather has been perfect, except fucking cold in the morning, my god. My house is great, my room big, my roommates are sweet, but my heart’s heavy and I miss my friends and lovers.
That’s all for now - get Skype and add me, plz: rainydaysunshinegirl or alexsuthern@gmail.com. I’m going to go make some rice and beans and drink beer, woo!
