sosyaussie

Hi Darren, Bye Darren!

When I came to Sydney I think Darren was the first person I met and then we didn’t meet up during the whole time I was in Sydney except the 8^th of April. We had a great time watching a movie at IMAX that has the biggest screen in the whole world. We saw a documentary about Titanic, it was really good and amazing to see how they could manage to explore such a big ship so deep down in the ocean. Then we went to the Lindt Chocolate café. The chocolate drink we drank was so good. It was too bad that I didn’t meet Darren more often because he is such a nice person.

Bye Christian!

The last person I said good bye to was of course Christian, the 3 year old I was babysitting. It was sad because he was like a little brother to me. Miss u Christian!!

The 9^th of April all the girls met up to a last dinner together, it was sad but still so beautiful. The girls that was gathering were Jeanette Hulden, Emelie Johansson, Amy Löfström, Alisha Wheeler, Cecilia Champi, Josephine Cadier. Rachel Coffey, u were in my heart this evening, she left Sydney before us. These girls made my time in Sydney wonderful; I couldn’t have met better people. We ate on a restaurant in the Rocks and we had a nice view over the Opera House and the harbour. I miss all of the girls, (I am writing this post sitting in my room in Gothenburg), but they are always in my heart and I know I am going to meet them all again. (Actually, Jeanette and Emelie were just visiting me in Gothenburg for four days and we also met up with Josephine and Amy, we had a really nice time together and now Emelie lives here in Gothenburg.:))

During the night me, Jeanette and Alisha went out in Kings Cross to the club World Bar. World Bar is famous for putting the drinks in a teapot. We had a great time and it was the last time meeting Alisha in Sydney. She is such a lovely person, always with a smile on her face, a typical American gal.

Halloj Hanoi!

I always told myself that I was going to cry when I left Sydney but I didn’t and I couldn’t understand why, my life there was great and Sydney made me happy. I think that I didn’t cry because I was so prepared that I was going to cry, so I just didn’t. But then, when I sat on the bus in Vietnam, on our way to Halong Bay, with my three Sydney girls I started to cry and I couldn’t stop. I just got so emotional but I didn’t just cry because it was over, I cried because god had given me such a great life in Sydney. You know when you cry because you’re sad and laughing because you’re happy at the same time, that´s what I did and that’s a special feeling.

The trip to Hanoi was looong. First I flew to Singapore and then I was waiting there for about 11 hours and then I flew to Hanoi. I was sleeping on two chairs at Singapore’s airport and it took a long time before I found those chairs. It was not comfortable at all and I was freezing to death. It was space between the two chairs so you can imagine how uncomfortable it was but it was a fun experience though or at least now, when I am thinking back on it.

Finally I was in Hanoi and I met my girls, so happy to see them. Then the next funny thing happened. Jeanette´s suitcase was broken. The thing that you roll the bag with was totally destroyed so we had to speak with the people in the information desk for a long time before they wanted to help us. It didn’t make it easier when their English was terrible. It was frustrating but at the same time funny, didn’t know if I wanted to cry or laugh, again;) We wanted of course that they should give her a new suitcase strait away because we couldn’t move that suitcase at all; it was way to heavy just carrying in your hands. What they wanted to do was to send the bag to a workshop and put on a new grip. We were too tired to argue anymore so we said, “Fine!”. Look at a picture at the bag later, it’s funny because it’s not matching at all, looks ridiculous.

Crazy traffic!

When we took our first taxi into the city of Hanoi we were all a bit chocked, the traffic was crazy, almost no rules, the mopeds were coming from everywhere. Yeah, mopeds! Mostly it was mopeds because they can’t afford cars and it was not just one person at a moped, it was sometimes 5, a whole family. First time you were crossing the street you just had to pray for not get run over. There were rarely any traffic lights and if there were, people usually didn´t care about them. There were almost no files and often they didn’t wear helmets. I have never experienced a more crazy traffic!

Rich girls!

In Vietnam you really feel like you are rich. 100 Swedish kronor, (15 Australian dollar), is 329 600 dong, crazy much and everything is so cheap.

Security box or broken money!?...

At the hotel in Hanoi I asked the receptionist about putting my money in a safety box. It was funny, because he took my money and put them in newspapers and wrapped them in with tape. Later, when I wanted some of my money he took a scissor and cut the wrapping up and when he opened it one of my notes was cut off. He was looking so confused and didn´t know what to do, I said I needed my money so he gave me a new one, poor man. That was probably a lot of his salary. Today I feel sad for him.

Fruits – I´m in heaven!

During our time in Vietnam we tried so many new fruits and it was amazing how good they tasted. I ate perhaps three fruits every day, it tasted so delicious, it was so healthy and cheap. It is too bad we don´t have those fruits at home and if we do, they don´t taste good and are really expensive. My new favorite fruit is Dragoon fruit and OMG, I miss it! The inside is white with small black seeds.

Then we had the dried fruit and, GOD!!, what the other girls loved them, I can´t remember how many times they bought it, I didn´t fancy them so much though.

The typical Vietnamese rice hat.

The first thing we commented when we entered Hanoi with a taxi was the rice hats that the Vietnamese people had on their heads while working at the rice fields. It´s hard to explain the feeling you get when you see this when you never been in Vietnam before. It´s nostalgic, beautiful and for me it was peaceful. Anyway, some Vietnamese stopped us and tried to sell these hats to us when we were going to the markets. They put the hats on our heads and gave us a shoulder basket, (what´s the real name!?), and said we could take pictures, we had a good laugh and some funny pictures.

Man starts to fix my shoe, whaaat!?

In Sydney I was famous for always having sore feet and putting sun cream on me all the time and in Vietnam it was the same. After shopping a whole day I just wanted to sit down and take a rest so I sat down on one of those small chairs that they had here and there at the streets. Suddenly, a man started to fix my shoe and I said; “no, no, no!!, you don´t have to fix my shoe!!”, but he really insisted. It was a canvas shoe and it was actually pretty broken but I was going to throw it away anyway so I didn´t really want him to fix it but he insisted. Well, well, I thought! When he had fixed my shoe he wanted money of course but I was totally broke so couldn´t give him anything. Poor man, got so mad! I gave money to a lot of beggars and others a lot after that.

Time for rickshaw, (cykeltaxi)!

Seeing all the tourists taking rickshaws just made me laugh, so typical tourists. Later on, Amy and Emelie suggested that we should take rickshaw and they convinced me. It was cheap, we could relax after a day of shopping and we could see a big part of Hanoi. Who would have said no to that? Apparently not me….

The temple we never went to

We always talked about going to a temple and I really wanted to because I had never been in one but you know, sometimes you talked about things you want to do but you never do it, funny, isn´t it. I think it´s because you have to act and not just talk but at least I will definitely do it the next time I am going to Asia. (Yeah, we never went into that temple.)

Street massage!

When we were taking a walk after dinner we saw some Vietnamese people standing in a line and giving each other massage. It looked so funny and they even did buttocks massage. I thought to myself; “We should introduce this to Sweden:)!”

The local food

You should always try the local food if you are in a foreign country, it always tastes the best. It can be a bit scary in countries in Asia though because you can get food sick easily but as long it´s overheated it should be okay. This dish tasted wonderful!

Halong Bay – Beautiful as shi**

The day before I was going to Halong Bay I read my e-mails and in the one from my mother it said; What ever you do, don´t go to Halong Bay, you know it´s dangerous!!”. It had occured an accident in Halong Bay recently before I went there were 12 people had died, hence two Swedish people. They had slept on a boat over there and a storm had outbreak and the boat sank. So sad! I decided that I would definitely not sleep on a boat but it didn´t stop me from going on a day trip. It is listed as one of the most amazing things in the world that you need to see before you die, I loved it, it was so beautiful, I can´t even explain it in words and the best pictures are not even fair. It was so peaceful and powerful at the same time. We ate seafood on the boat, really good, and canoed into caves that I can´t describe either, you have to go there and experience it to know how it feels and believe in what you see. I have been to Grand Canyon in United States and that was so powerful and amazing as well. I really understand why these two places are something you need to see before you die.

Hoi An

Night train – is this the war of extermination?

From Hanoi we took a night train to Hoi An and it wasn´t really what we had expected. When we paid for the night train we got a brochure where it was pictures on the train we were going with and it didn´t really look as the real one. It didn´t at all actually, I didn´t know if I was going to laugh or cry, it was horrible, so disgusting but it was pretty funny that it wasn´t at all as we expected. I called the train for the war of extermination. Under me and Emelie a Vietnamese couple was sleeping and I was talking a bit with the man, he had very good English for being so old. I learned a bit about Vietnam and his family and so on, it was really interesting talking with someone so “different” and when you do, you understand that they are the same but different.

Burn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we came to Hoi An later on we understood that the hotels in Hanoi had tricked us. We should have paid for one room but instead we paid the price per person. Well, well, well, if you are a tourist, you are a tourist! You learn something new every day!

Tailor

We were going to a tailor because we wanted to sew up some dresses. It started good but it didn´t really turn out the way we wanted. They didn´t sew the dresses as we told them to but we complained and in the end it turned out pretty good. It´s not easy when you are in a foreign country and you are trying to communicate with each other.

Amy playing

Before we were going to eat dinner and party Amy saw some Vietnamese people who were selling some kind of toy that you throw up in the air and rotated. She looked so amazed, it was really cute, and she wanted to try it badly. So, she did!

Going out in Hoi An – Tiger Balm

After the dinner we decided to go to a pub and there we took a drink and I played pool, as usual:). I met a Canadian guy called Kevin, I liked him. In this pub you could also write things on the walls so I wrote; “Sophia rules this place!!!”, haha. When we stood outside chatting, some Vietnamese people started to talk about the Tiger Balm and said; “want some??”. I didn´t understand why it was such a big deal, it was just tiger balm, haha. So I took some and put on my lips and they said; “nono”. You should put it on your nipples. Everybody put it on their nipples. “Why?”, I said! “They get rigid and it feels nice!”. So, I tried some, haha, they just got itchy. Then we got a ride on bikes to another club close to the beach, it was nice. I talked a lot with Kevin. His friend Greg were also really nice, he was a policeman and talked about scary things that had happened in his life as a policeman.

Raw meat lying outside in the sun – that’s grose!

When we went to different kinds of markets it was laying raw meat outside in the sun, it was disgusting. Their hygiene is so different compared to ours; our stomach would never keep up with that. It´s sad they don´t know more about having good hygiene.

Going to Nha-Trang and eating crocodile

From Hoi-An to Nha Trang we took a night bus. The bus driver was honking the whole bus drive and I have never experienced a bumpier ride. God! One evening in Nha-Thrang we went for dinner and I decided to try crocodile. It was pretty tasty, tasted like a combination between pork and chicken. I also ordered a Bloody Mary which is one of my favorite drinks but this one was horrible, not like it should taste. It was watery; too much ice and didn´t taste good. So don´t buy a Bloody Mary in Vietnam is my tip.

We decided to eat breakfast at a hotel because we wanted a real breakfast buffet. It was really nice to eat as much as you wanted and whatever you wanted, kind of! I decided to try out the Vietnamese coffee and OMG, it was amazing, I loooved it. It tasted a little bit like chocolate and I love chocolate so it wasn´t strange that I liked it but I love coffee as well so the mix was great. The coffee´s name is Me Trang and I bought some to bring home. The thing with this coffee is that you can´t make it with an ordinary coffee machine so I had to buy a special coffee filter and a can that the coffee drips down on. Speaking of beverages, Saigon beer is a typical Vietnamese beer that I tried down there. I don´t know much about beers but as far as I know, I think it tasted good.

Boat trip– Loved Obama

One early morning we had decided to take a boat trip and it was the funniest boat trip I´ve been to. It was the guide who was so funny, I think he must have been gay. He dressed up as a woman, he sang and compared himself with Obama, they looked very similar actually. Another funny thing was that they threw bathing rings into the water and a woman jumped down serving wine. I started to jump down and then the rest of the girls followed me. It was really nice laying in a bath ring drinking wine in clear water and the sun blazing on you. I had such a nice time at this boat trip.

Me and Emelie decided to go and take a massage. We had to walk pretty far to get to the place we wanted. We got one room each and it was really nice. It was white walls, they were playing calm and exotic music and the air-condition was on so it was a perfect temperature in there. It was a really good massage, whole body massage. They also used stones that they put on the back. The stones were hot and I liked it because it was different, usually you just feel someone else’s hands. Suddenly when I sat up and she was giving me a massage at the back she broke my neck and I was not prepared so I did some kind of sound and she said; “are you okay?”, “Ehm, yeah, sure!”, I said, not really meaning what I said and then suddenly again she broke my neck to the other side. Like I said before, you never know what happens in Vietnam.

Disliked the animal show

At one of the Islands that we visited they had an animal show with monkeys, elephants, dogs and so on. They didn´t treat them that nice and they all looked really sad and had chains around their necks. When the animals were behind the scene you could see they were sitting in tiny cages and I really disliked it. I also felt a bit of guilt for even sitting there and being a part of the audience. These animals should be out in the wild life and not being forced to something they haven’t chosen by themselves. It was cruel!

Monkey Island – never turning back! + Go Kart and taking part in Vietnamese TV

It was a rainy day but we had already bought ticket to another boat trip. They said that if it was going to rain they would cancel the trip but as usual it didn´t turn out the way we thought. They gave us ponchos instead and we looked really geeky. One of the islands that we visited was called Monkey Island and OMG, I will never go to a monkey Island again. The monkeys were insane and I was so scared of them. They were crazy and tried to attack you. The funny thing is that they were kind of small but it didn´t change the fact that they were TOTALLY INSANE!! Now I know what I am afraid of though, monkeys!!:)

At this Island they had go kart and I love it so I just had to try it out. Again, it wasn´t really what I had expected. First of all, my legs barely fitted and it was very tight with space overall. Second of all, you could barely steer the wheel so you couldn´t go as fast as you wanted and third, I didn´t see a big filthy puddle was coming so I got very muddy. I can´t really say that I liked that island. It was terrible actually but we laughed about it. One funny thing though was that I took part in Vietnamese TV. After the go kart ride they interviewed me, asking how I liked the ride and the island and so on. I wanted to laugh and of course I had to lie about it all. "I looove it!" Well, maybe I´m not loving it but almost;).

Ho Chi Min – busy city!

Arriving at Ho Chi Min you could see that it was the biggest town in Vietnam. Crazy much traffic and people everywhere. It was a really fun experience. When we were going at a guided tour that was about the Vietnamese war, both, Kevin and Greg were going on the same tour, so we decided to go for some drinks later. You are going to see a really funny picture from the tour;) The tour was really interesting, for example they showed us a special shoe that the Vietnamese people were wearing. They could put on the shoe back and forth so it looked like they were going straight but in fact they were going the other way, smart! One thing that I was really upset about was that they showed us some traps that didn´t have any fence around them and if a child was running there without notice she/he could die. And you didn´t even have to be with the group all the time, I was really upset and told them but they just didn´t care really, it was just me who cared about it, seriously, not even my friends understood really why I took it so serious.

Kuala Lumpur – The crystal city

Staying at my childhood friend´s parents apartment

When I and Jeanette arrived to Kuala Lumpur, Irene, picked us up at the airport. Irene is one of my best friend´s mother. She and her husband Hans is living in Kuala Lumpur. It wasn´t Irene who drove the car, it was their private chauffeur:) In the flat that they lived in they had a beautiful view of the Twin Tours. They had security guards, a receptionist, a gym, a pool….and the flat looked amazing and was really big. It was so nice going up in the morning, eating a nice breakfast and then taking a swim in the pool. We had the big pool only to ourselves. We really enjoyed our staying there; it was like a five star hotel. Thank you so much Irene and Hans!

Shopping, shopping and shopping

Kuala Lumpur is famous for their big shopping malls and for us Westerners it is quite cheap. I bought a lot of shoes and I love them. I also bought some clothes but I am pretty tall so many of the dresses were too short for me and I love dresses so that was too bad. Anyway, we spend a lot of hours in the shopping malls. It was fun because it was so different compared to home. It´s bigger, it´s another type of fashion and it´s cheaper. Maybe we spend a little bit too much time shopping though.

Finally, I cut a fringe

I had thought about cutting a fringe for a long time but I never had the courage to do it. What if I wouldn´t like it, maybe I don´t suit in it? My brother and my friends have told me I should cut a fringe and that I should really suit in it. I had it when I was little and I was really cute then so maybe I should try!? I am not very good at changing haircut and doing things with my hair either so I felt it was time for a change. I did it, I cut the fringe. In the beginning I liked it and then I didn´t and then I did and so on but today I like it. I rather stay with it than not having it.

The massage chairs

When Jeanette and I were at a shopping mall we sat down in some massage chairs and I really enjoyed it because I was so tired. In a few minutes almost every guy who worked in that shopping mall was standing in front of us, looking or talking. It was so funny, at least in the beginning. It was like they never had seen blonde girls before and we both had a fringe and leopard dresses so for them, we probably looked like twins. Then it was a bit annoying and Jeanette left me because she wanted to look at some clothes and it felt a bit awkward sitting there will all those men staring at me. “ Jeanette, help me, I said in Swedish and I started to laugh.” “I won´t help you she said;).”

Going up in the Twin Tours

I and Jeanette went up really early in the morning because we were going to stand in line for being able to go up in the Twin Tours. Seeing the Twin Tours in night is one of the most fantastic things I´ve ever seen. It is such a beautiful building! Glittering and that it is two tours assembled as one is extraordinary. We had been standing in line for a long time and suddenly they said that the tickets to go all the way up were sold out. When we were first in line they told us there was no tickets left but I said; “We have been standing here since 5 o´clock this morning and this is the last day my friend can go up here, she´s going home today, please.” “Ok, I am going to see what I can do about it.” He fixed it and even if we couldn´t go all the way up we could at least go half way up.

Jeanette leaving me:(

Early the next morning Jeanette was packing her things because she was going home to Helsinki. It was really sad, we had been hanging out almost all the time for half a year. We both dropped a few tears and said, “I am going to miss you so much!” Jeanette has visiting me in Gothenburg and now it´s my turn to go and visit her. It´s sad when you meet someone you want to hang out with all the time but it doesn´t work because you are living in different countries. Now I have a reason to go to Helsinki, at least.

In January 2012 I am going to visit Rachel in Ireland for one week! Gonna be crazy!

Across the world just for her

On the bus tour from Kuala Lumpurs airport a funny guy started to talk to me and we really talked much about boys and girls and relationships. He wanted my advice, he said he was going all the way to (don´t remember the country), because of a girl but he had told her that he was going there to visit his parents, so, he asked me if it was romantic telling her that he did it because of her or not. I told him that she might be discouraged because they hadn´t known each other for so long time. I thought it was very cute though and if they were going to get together he should tell her about it after a year or so….and I was on my way home…

The 24 of March my parents arrived home, it felt a bit empty. I have had a great time with them and being away from them a long time and then meet them again reminds you how important they are to you. I really love them and even if you can’t stand them sometimes they are always there for you and they mean so much. I felt really calm and safe being with them. Being “alone” on the other side of the world you must be self confident and “out there” all the time. I really like that but it was really nice feeling you were a part of a family again.

Surprise for Josefine

At the 25 of March, Josefine’s birthday, me, amy and emelie went to Josefine’s place in the morning to celebrate her with cake and balloons, she got really happy.

Josefine turning 20 – Surprise for us

At the 26 of March it was time to celebrate Josephine’s birthday. We were first at her place where we ate really good food, drank nice cold wine and sang happy birthday. After this we were going in to the city for a surprise that Josefine had planned and the surprise was really good, we all got a dance lesson in pool dance and we were all wearing cute outfits. So much fun! After this we went to an apartment in the city and then it was time for the nightclub Home but we ended up at cargo bar instead, funny! A great night! Thanks Jossan!

Australia Square – the rotating restaurant/bar.

At the 29 of March, me and some Swedish girls went to Australia Square, a rotating restaurant/bar with an amazing view all over Sydney. It was rotating 365 degrees and you could see so much. Me and Emelie went all the way around and one way around takes 1, 75 hours. We ordered the Cheese tasting plate, yummy!

Summarized time in Sydney with Emelie

Me and Emelie went to a Brazilian restaurant and we were talking about different things and suddenly we caught ourselves summarizing our time in Sydney which means it’s not much time left. We talked about how we met, on a bus:) and how we didn’t know that we were going to become so close friends. We talked about all the crazy things we done together and how a new city can make you change and think differently about life.

Saw Jersey Boys with Jack

Jack took me to the theatre where we saw Jersey Boys, a story about how they became big stars. Not a story on only roses. It was fun hearing songs from the 60’s.

Saw a rugby game for the first time in my life

The 1 of April I saw a rugby game for the first time in my life. Hah, that’s the day when you should fool people but because I’m in Australia I didn’t think about that at all, not even my Swedish friends did, not what I know at least:0. The rugby game was alright but it went so fast and it felt like we didn’t really watched the game, we were busy chatting about other things, but it was fun.

Cocktails in the afternoon

Me, Emelie and Alisha met in the city to get a coffee together. I knew where we were going, I had been there before, the place have good service, good prices and the place is nice. We ended up drinking a few Cocktails, starting at 5 pm, at 12am it was my birthday. We went to a place called Establishment , cool place but not my kind of music, and then we went to 333 bar as well. Another funny thing we did was that we took a “bike taxi”, so funny!

Apparently I thought this guy had way to many keys! Needed to be documented!!

Turning 20 – I should be at Systembolaget but instead I am watching the AFL!!

I started the day by meeting Jack, we had a coffee at a café in Bail Main and then I was going to the Olympic Park with the girls to see an AFL game. It was so much fun, I really loved it, much better than the rugby game. When I came home my host mum and Christian had presents and a cake for me, really cute!

Extra photos, check them out!

At Friday evening, (11 of March), me, Emelie, Jeanette and Sussie, (Sussie is another Swedish girl that I met through Maria, a girl I know back from home), were going out sailing with some Aussie folks. We were a really nice crowd and met a lot of fun people. We sailed to Watsons Bay where we ordered lobster, prawns, octopus and so on, it was sooooo good. We had such a lovely evening listing to great music and seeing the Harbour Bridge and opera house from our boat, couldn’t be better. Some of us also slept on the boat and ate good breakfast at a restaurant the day after.

Three drinks I really like at the moment

Raspberry caipirinha, passionfruit caipirinha and mixed berry caipirinha. Caipirinha it is! Yum!

Dinner with moi girls

Me and moi girls met in Bondi to have a “last dinner” all together because Jeanette is now traveling in Australia. We were going to a really nice restaurant named Max but they were renovating so we went to a thai restaurant instead, thai food is one of my favourite. After the dinner it was only me, Jeanette and Rachel left and we got all emotional because it was the last time that Jeanette and Rachel were meeting each other in Australia, it S*CK*!, and it’s just four days left and then Rach is going back to Ireland, it S*CK*. I will meet Jeanette again though because we are going to travel in Asia together.

Say whaaaaat!!?

Going back to Australia!

I am really going to come back to Australia and Sydney. I feel a little bit sad that I will leave Aussie without traveling around but I will definitely come back and “when you are waiting for something good you are never waiting to long”.

Parents involved in three incidents

My parents have been having a bit bad luck with their traveling but we just laugh about it, it’s pretty funny in one way. First, they missed their flight because Lufthansa were delayed so they had to stay one night in Frankfurt. Then when they were in Frankfurt it was bomb treat and last incident was in Melbourne where the fire alarm at their hotel started to sound and a voice were saying “evacuate immediately”. So, they were running outside in pyjamas and the fireman came immediately. It was a man who had smoked inside and it would start to burn if the fireman didn’t arrive in time. He had to pay 3000 dollars, (21 000 kr). I wonder what is happening next:0

St Patricks Day

St Patricks Day is the “Irish” day and of course I had to celebrate it with my Irish friend Rachel. We had so much fun! We went to Cock and Bull, a famous Irish pub in Bondi, it was crowded. In the beginning it wasn’t that fun because we had to wait for sooooo long to get something to drink but after that I met so many fun people. Actually I couldn’t find Rachel and everyone I was coming there with but I met guys from Brazil, France and Ireland and Australia of course. Fabulous night!

Alisha turning 21

At Saturday I was at Bungalow 8, bar/night club in Darling Harbour to celebrate Alisha, the girl from United States. The funny thing was that I was going to meet a guy from the night we were sailing before Alisha’s birthday party and he said: “Do u wanna meet at Bungalow 8?” and I was like yeah sure, that’s were my friends birthday party are going to be tonight. So I was there from about 6pm to 2am. What a fun night!

Saying goodbye to Rachel, SOOOOOOOO sad!!

I was meeting Rachel at Gloria Jeans close to Town Hall for a last coffee time. We had such a good time, as usual. She is such an amazing girl. Rachel, u already know this because I’ve told you many times but you are an inspiring, humorous, giving, understandable, crazy, fun, alive and wonderful person. We can talk about so many things and I have never had a boring moment with you. I love u! I didn’t cry when I left you because I can’t be sad around you, you just make me feel happy and alive and it still feels like you are here with me and that I can meet you soon. When I saw your bus leaving I started to cry though but then I thought about you again and got happy again and it felt like you were close to me. Oh god, haha, sounds like I’m in love with you Rach;) haha! But as we say, we need the…..;)

Emelie not coming home after playdate

Emelie and Kilian came over to our house for a playdate but when she was going to go home it was pouring down so she couldn’t leave. When she was talking with here host family they decided that she had to take a taxi but it didn’t came so Lynda, my hostmum, said she could drive her home. So much drama for being a ordinary day, haha.

Some Fun Extra photos!

In my yard, were I live, we have a tennis court but I havn’t used it because the grass is to long so the ball doesn’t bounce. But then I got a good idea, I could play squash, or not really, but kind of, and it was really fun so I am going to do that from now on.

Breakfast at Harrys and iceberg with Jeanette

At Friday morning I went and ate breakfast with a German guy at Harrys café, a really nice café. Usually I don’t like Germans, haha, but he is very nice. My friend Charlotta from Sweden was there on a trial. After that I met Jeanette at iceberg and took a swim in the pool.

Wine, cheese and chocolate tasting at Hunter Valley with the girls

At Friday night me, Emelie, Amy and Josefine took a roadtrip to Hunter Valley. We stayed at a hostel that had a pool and bbq. It was a really good hostel and one night we made a bbq. At Saturday we went on wine, cheese and chocolate tasting and OMG, it was a lot of wine, I got more than tipsy, I couldn’t even drink the last tastings, so funny. I thought you would learn a bit more about wine though, typical Australians, being lazy with the information, but get very drunk;). At the evening we went to a pub and sang karaoke.

Poetiskt!?

Modellen Josefine

SKAAALLL!!!

Playdates with Emelie and Kirsty

Emelie has started to come over with Killian, the baby she is babysitting, and we are having playdates. We feel so stupid that we havn’t thought about that before, it makes the working day much more fun. I have also visited Kirstys place now, a german girl, and the mother in her family just got one more baby, so cute and really tiny, never seen that tiny baby.

Jeanette, me and the Frenchman

The plan were that all of the girls were going out in Bondi but then it ended up with only me and Jeanette. We were planning to go to White Revolver but we had to pay to come in, which we never do;), so we went to another place and then to another one and then we ended up at Bondi Beach Road hotel, which we always do. I met a guy in the stairs at that place that I really recognized so we started to talk and he was friend with a French guy I met before. So, we ended up going to a after party with almost just French people.

I got really sad that night as well because I got a message from my host  mum saying I couldn’t celebrate my 20 birthday at our place anymore but the French guy said, no worries, we can be in my apartment, really cute.

Jack celebrating my birthday

At my birthday party we were just going to be girls first but then meet up guys out. Jack couldn’t come because he works so much so he wanted to celebrate me at Thursday, the day before. We went to Sydney’s best thai restaurant, the food was amazing. I also got earrings with swallows. He said that it was because I’ve been flying here and are going to fly home, so cute. Then we went to the operabar for a while. Thank you Jack for a really good birthday present:)

Celebrating my 20 birthday- One of my best nights in Sydney!

I am actually turning 20 the 3 of April but because I wanted all my close friends here in Sydney to be able to join my birtday party, friday night was the only day I could have it before I go home. I will be here at my birthday but many of my friends will be traveling through Australia that day.

Anyway, we were first at the Frenchman apartment with all the girls I had invited and a few other people. We were a really nice crew and it was the best pre-party. I was serving some camembert cheese, grapes, strawberries and so on.

After this we were going in to the city to go to the nightclub Ivy. Some of my friends hitchhiked on the other side the road but they didn’t jump in so I crossed over, went in the car, said it was my birthday and then all the other girls jumped in and we had so much fun in to the city. A little bit dangerous and crazy but I was celebrating my 20 birthday, so;)

When we came to Ivy we had to pay 20 dollars each but we didn’t want to do that so we didn’t know what to do but then we found another way in, were you took an elevator up, and all the girls that went with me in to the city came in. We met all the other ones upstairs and had so much fun.

Then the French guy, his name is Nicolas, haha, wanted to bring me to the pool area but we had tried to come in their before and I said that it didn’t work but he said he would fix it so I didn’t know what to do but decided to go with him. So when we came there we just went in and he said to the guard that he had forgot his jacket in the wardrobe and we just ran and took the elevator up to the pool area. Up there I met Brendan, a guy that also were there to celebrate my birthday. They both asked me at exactly the same time if they could buy me a drink, pretty funny. I just started to talk about something else. Then we lost Nicolas and the girls were texting that they were going to a after party and that I had to hurry up. I couldn’t reach Nicolas, said bye to Brendan and then went out to a taxi were the girls were sitting and we were on our way to the after party.

The house was amazing, like being in a castle almost. I had so much fun there and we slept there that night. The day after the guy who lived there made breakfast to all of us, very cute, and we watched friends, me like. When we were going from the house almost everybody of us had the high heels in our hands. That’s how a night should end!!

Mardis grass – gay parad

At Saturday we, the girls, went to the gay parade, Mardis Grass, a very big and famous gay parade but we couldn’t see anything so we stood and looked at a big screen. It was so crowded and even if you stood on a stool you couldn’t see anything. We should had been there earlier to get good spots but because we were at the after party till the afternoon we didn't have time;) and the after party was awesome so it didn't matter. It was fun to see all the gay people been dressed out and feeling happy though.

My parents coming, so much fun!

My parents were planning to come to Sydney at Saturday morning but because Lufthansa was delayed to Frankfurt they missed their flight and had to stay there for one night so they came here Sunday morning instead.

Anyway, now they are here and mum loves Sydney already, typical her though. They love where I live, it’s impossible not loving it though, and we have been to Bondi Beach, the Rocks, Circualar Quay and Taronga Zoo so far. When I was in Hunter Valley I told people at the bus that it was the first time I had seen a kangaroo from the bus since I came here, which is four months ago and one woman was so chock. HAVE U BEEN IN AUSTRALIA FOR FOUR MONTHS AND NOT SEEN A KANGAROO, U MOST BE KIDDING!!! Haha. Anyway, now I have seen one for the second time, in a zoo and finally I’ve been to a zoo, that’s what everybody do when they come here. I am not very interested though but it was fun to see the kangaroo and koalas and so on.

BIG mistunderstanding! REALLY funny!

My dad got a message to his phone from a woman named Karin. In the message it said that she was in Sydney and that Maja would love to meet me. He didn’t know who this Karin was so I thought that Maja had to be my half brothers, wife’s daughter. So I checked her Facebook and it said that she was in Sydney so we thought, it most be her but who is this Karin? Then I saw that Maja’s friend Karin had commented that she was going to Sydney so I thought it must be her but dad doesn’t know her so we didn’t understand anything. Dad called the number anyway and it was his client Karin and they had talked about that they both were going to Sydney but he didn’t remember. But then dad didn’t understand how Karin could know Maja but Karins daughters name was Maja so it was not the same Maja at all. So weird that the Maja I thought it was were in Sydney as well. So funny!!!

Today, wednesday, we met Karin and Maja, really nice people and we had a funny time togheter:)

OMG, I have gained 10 kg!

Believe it or not but I have gained about 10 kg on 4.5 months. It was at the after party I weighed myself because I havn't done it the whole time that I have been here. SHIT!! I still look kind of the same though. My host mum says to me: "where is your food going, to the feets?".

LOVE / Sosyaussie

Me and Jeanette were at opera bar and we had just bought cocktails and were standing by a bar table. On the bar table there was two drinks nobody had touched and wedges and there was also a box with a congratulations cake. It looked really good and we had been standing there for a long time and nobody came back to eat the cake. So, we were thinking. It’s a vaised to just let it stand there. So, I tasted the cake and it was really good. “Maybe I should take some more”, I thought. After standing there and giggling and feeling like living on the edge, haha, a security guard came up to us and said with a dark voice. “Girls, you can’t eat that cake”. AND THEN HE THREW IT IN A BIN. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! Couldn't he just let to innocent girls eat the f* cake. We were so chocked and didn’t understand anything. So weird and funny!

Meeting Alisha, an American girl.

At Saturday, me, Jeanette and Rach met up with Alisha, an American girl. At the opera bar the day before a guy told me I had an Australian accent and that he thought I was from here. That really made me happy because I love Sydney and I felt like home but after meeting Alisha my American accent definitely came back. I felt like an American young girl all of a sudden. Alisha is a really sweet girl with a lot of energy and very outgoing, just like America, love it.

Moving in Party in Bondi and first time swimming in Bondi Beach by night

My friend Maria from Sweden and her flatmates moved to Bondi at Saturday so they were having a moving in party. Emelie also knows one of the girls, Anna, from home. It’s so weird that me and Emelie know each other and I know Maria and she knows Anna and Anna and Maria are living together, funny. I had a really good time and met really nice people. Some of us decided to take a swim during the night, it was crazy, so much fun.

Valentines Day

At Valentines Day we were thinking about seeing an outside cinema but the tickets were of course sold out so we sat outside for a while but it was a French movie so we didn’t understand anything, we couldn’t see the translate, funny. So instead, we met up with some other friends at Bondi Beach Bar. After that we went to Bondi Beach Road Hotel where some of us played pool. We ended up playing with a German guy, a Japanese girl and an Australian guy, really nice people. So, this Saturday we are going at a party at their house with free bbq and booze. I found one of the guys really handsome as well:)

Aquarium with Emelie

At Thursday I joined Emelie and Killian, the boy she is babysitting, at the aquarium. We didn’t have to pay because Emelies hostfamily had cards to get in. If I would have to pay it would absolutely not be worth the money. Universeum in Gothenburg is way more better. But we had a great time anyway and Killian is so cute.

Can Killian look more cute/funny!? How does he do that with his mouth?

Skydiving / Fallskarmshoppning

So, what am I going to do today, (Saturday), hm, maybe jump out from a plane. Yes, that’s exactly what I did. Me and Jeanette got picked up by bus from the city and we had to sign a lot of papers. The most scary part was that we had to sign this: Read the first one!!

But when you think about it. It is more people who die or get injuries in car accidents.

I jumped with a 75 year old guy and Jeanette with a woman, no young god looking guys, nono:). The one I jumped with had done skydiving for 45 years, that is crazy! The thing I was most afraid of was to get a heart attack. The most scary part was the moment you were standing on the edge, waiting to jump, and the moment when you took the step out but otherwise it wasn’t that scary. I had really high expectations that I would get a high kick and rush but besides that scary moments it wasn’t that big of a deal.

First you were just falling, the free fall. 200 km/h. It was so fast and so much pressure that it was a little bit hard to enjoy it but it was a really cool feeling though. I like the part when the parachute came out, it was like a relief, and it was really relaxing. You were floating in the air, a great feeling. Many people would maybe think it’s weird that it’s relaxing but the last part is. The free fall and the last part is very different. I have a video and a lots of photos as well. Even if it is kind of expensive I really recommend it. It’s one in a life time thing and it is awesome, crazy, fun, cool, a little bit scary, relaxing and amazing. JUST DO IT!!

At the evening I celebrated a bit by going to a house party in Bondi with bbq and wine;)

Mimmi, I saw u had a photo with this picture at FB. This is for u!!<3 (took this photo at the house party)

Scold a woman at the skydiving

At the skydiving place I did something I never really done before. I scold a woman. Me and Jeanette were going to buy food at this skydiving place. It was really disorganized and there was one woman that made the food and one that was taking charge but she was walking around and it was almost impossible to get contact with her. Jeanette asked if they had some kind of menu because it was just food laying on a table and you didn’t really know what kind of food they were making. The one who took charge was really unpleasant and didn’t wanted to help. She said something back like: “no, we don’t and just waved like, get away from here”. And then I asked what you could eat and used my body language, as you do when you speak, and she commented it, and said something like, omg, relax and rolled her eyes. Me and Jeanette didn’t understand anything, what was this woman problem?

Then I said what I wanted and asked how much it would cost me but she didn’t wanted to help me so me and Jeanette just walked away, we didn’t care anymore. But then when she was gone I went to her colleague instead and it went fine. But then she came back and said things like, are you back know, rolling with her eyes again and you are so annoying and stuff. First I just tried to avoid her but then I felt like that was enough. There are limits to how you can behave. So, I started to scold her. “How can you treat your costumers like this. You are here to help them and not to scare them away. YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH!" And it felt really good saying it, because she really was. She got a little bit chocked and said something quietly like, “you are so annoying”.

When me and Jeanette been sitting and eating our food for a while she came to be and APOLOGIZED to me. “I am so sorry, I was very stressed and I really don’t want to ruin your holiday, so sorry”. She was a complete different person and getting that apologize made me feel like there is hope for humans after all;) Even if I don’t know if she did it because someone asked her to, or were afraid I would get her fired or if she really meant it, she still did it and that made me realize that being true and say what you feel about others can make them change, or at least make them think, or you don’t get shit from people at least. So, please, when someone is crossing the line, tell them. If nobody will, they will stay the same, for sure.

Coogee with Rach

After meeting Jack at Bondi Junction for a while I went to Coogee to meet Rachel. She had been at some meditation/dancing/singing/open your soul kind of workshop, it sounded really cool. We were swimming and laying at Coogee Beach and then we went to a fancy restaurant, like we always do;) We found a really lovely place. One of those places were it feels like you are really overseas. Me and Rach have always so much to talk about which I really like.

Extra photos:

Why do Australians always do this? Heard it's some gay thing!?

Love / Sophia

After taking a coffee with Jeanette in the city I met Rachel and we walked around in Hyde Park just talking about life. I was thinking that I wanted to see a movie and the second I was going to ask Rachel she said: “You wanna see a movie?”. It must be faith, haha.

We didn’t know what movie we should see but we decided to see How do you know with Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, four really good actors/actresses. We were late and had to go inside the cinema when everyone already had sat down and enjoying the beginning of the movie. Of course Rachel went from the “wrong” side where we had to ask everyone to stand up. One old man wasn’t so happy. Oh, come on, you Australians are never on time. The movie was really good. I laughed almost all the time, so funny but also romantic. You gotta see it!

Planning going out but ended up in a cosy backyard

Me and the girls went to Josefin, another Swedish Au-Pair that lives with a Swedish family. We were planning to go out but we got so interested in hearing about Josefins host mum and her best friend, (who were visiting from Sweden), lives that we ended up sitting there till 5 o’clock. Or at least I went home that time. It was so cosy. We ate Swedish Marang Swish and cardamom cake and drank wine. Josefins host mum and her friend were so funny. They talked about their relationships and about their life, so nice talking with elder woman, they have much experience.

Toprecord- 45 degrees

At Saturday it was top record heat with 45 degrees. It felt like a joke when I went out that morning. IT WAS SO HOT! It was dripping sweat from you, so unpleasant. The funny thing is that the day after it was sometimes just 17 degress, so weird. The temperature just drops 28 degrees. Global warming I call it! Crazy!

Blue mountains- Roadtrip in a cab

Me, Jeanette, Amy and Josefin were going to Blue Mountains early at Sunday morning. We borrowed Josefin families cab. First we went to some caves and then to the mountains. It was really beautiful and it is something I really recommend people to see when they are going to Sydney. I’ve been to Grand Canyon in America so for me it was lovely but Grand Canyon is just a bit better and extraordinary. Something you need to see before you die.

Walking on the Harbour Bridge

Finally, after being here almost 4 months I decided that I just had to walk on the Harbour Bridge, the whole bridge, back and forth. It was an amazing view from there, really gorgeous.

Skydiving

Believe it or not but I am going to skydive with the girls. It is going to be crazy! OMG!

First time surfing

Today, I surfed for the first time in my life at Bondi Beach. It was so much fun!! Funnier than I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be like the first time you skii or something like that, like really hard at the beginning and that you just get pissed of because you can't do it right away. But with surfing you just lay on the board and catch the waves when you are a beginner, or stand on your knees. You have to try it!!

Love / Sophia

Back home in Sweden I almost never go to the doctor, I’m a very healthy girl, haha. I been having a little bad luck here in Aussie though because at home I get all for free but not here. That’s why it’s so important having an insurance, it can cost a lot not having one. When I took out my tooth it cost me about 500 euros and going to the doctor for about 2 minutes cost 425 kr, like 43 euros. I mean, what if you got really sick and need to visit a doctor very often!? You need insurance! There is a card here you can get for free I think, it’s called Medicare, it doesn’t cover going to the dentist though so it’s always good having another one. Check it up before you go to another country. I have Lansforsakringar!

Havn’t been that homesick until I skyped with my friends!

The reasons why I havn’t been homesick is probably because this is something I really wanted to do, were excited and positive about it, have met great Swedish people and love Sydney but when my friend started to cry on skype, saying I MISS U I, really felt like going home and meet my closest friends and family that I care so much about and love. Oh, MISS U GUYS!

Meeting a Swedish friend from home, funny!

When I say Maria across the road, haha, sounds like a romantic story. No, but seriously it felt like I was back in Gothenburg. Or it felt very surreal because she was there but not Gothenburg. We were going to see a outside cinema in the Botanical Gardens but when we went there we couldn’t come in, first time I couldn’t come in anywhere in Sydney;) It was closed. We walked around the Botanical Gardens more than once. Then somebody told us we had to be there at 8 to get in. There were no signs, nothing. So, we went to Gloria Jeans café of course;)

Australia Day

In the morning we watched Amy when she broke the world record by floating on a big thong in the water with 2067 other people.

Then we were a bunch of girls going to the Spanish Chocolate café just sitting there all afternoon, it was lovely. Met two more Swedish girls, one from Blekinge and one from Karlstad.

Black Swan and the three musketeers

At Friday night me, Jeanette and Rachel saw Black Swan at the cinema at George Street with Natalie Portman as the leading roll. Natalie, (Nina), is a ballet dancer who gets the part in the Ballet show, Black Swan. She has a mother that also wanted to be a great ballet dancer but had to give it up because of Nina so now Nina feels she has to make it up for her mother. It’s an amazing movie, it was never boring, full on all the time.

Afterwards we went to Scary Canarian, a backpacking dance/pub place that are really fun, they have great music and you meet people from all over the world. I met three Swedish guys and we went to Oxford street. They didn’t know anything about Sydney so I felt like a guide for the first time in Sydney. We were supposed to go somewhere but we ended up just standing on the street laughing and talking. One of the guys was soo funny, he should really be a comedian. You were all funny and great guys though;) I promised to write about them in my blog and now I have, congratz guys.

Rach was going to taste the new frosen Coke with some strawberry flavour. This is how it turned out to be, so funny!

At Scary Canaryan

Bumping in to Rachel

At Saturday I first had to go to the Doctor because I have some kind of allergic reaction, which sucks. I been to the doctor before and got a cream but it didn’t work but now I got a new one so I really hope it will disappear. Anyway, after being there I went to Bondi Beach to check out a bikini and I knew that Rachel would be there so I were just about to call her and she walk infront of me. I said Rachel and she could see me calling her on her phone, so funny. I was like, what the fuck, didn’t you see me and she was like no what the fuck, no, then I would have stopped you. So we ended up going to a café, a great backyard garden restaurant eating dinner and drinking wine and then moving on to my place. And today, Sunday, we just been laying in the sun and swimming in the pool.

Cutie

Jeanette is moving to Bellevue Hill

One thing that is great is that Jeanette is moving really close to me so we can meet much more often. She is not an au-pair anymore so she will live here and work somewhere in Bondi Beach probably.

Different photos around Sydney

Jack swimming in Bondi Beach

A man playing Spanish music in Hyde Park

Before going out in New Town

Time passing is something I really hate, who wants the countdown to year 2012!? DISLIKE!!

Cute!

//Sosyaussie<3

You have to work three months at a farm for getting a Second Working Holiday Visa, STUPID!!

I really want to be able to come back to Australia and work here but then I have to work three months at a farm out in the bush somewhere, (and you have to do it before your first Working Holiday Visa expires, the first one is on one year), and then the Second Working Holiday Visa is only one year as well.

I think this rule is ridicules because I think there should be more than one option. I would actually think it would be a bit scary to work like that by myself. One of my Swedish friends are at a farm right now and he lives with 7 Indians and one Turkish guy, very funny, but I mean, a 19 year old girl living with them, not very fun. I don’t say it couldn’t be but my prejudices say so. But maybe you live separately girls and boys but even if you do that, a bit scary.

I also think it’s stupid because maybe you have to go home to a job you have in Sweden and don’t have the time to do it exactly that year or maybe you didn’t know about this, go home, and then you can’t come back because they say that you had to do it before your first Visa expires. The most reactions when I tell people about this think it’s weird. Thank you EU that it’s easier to work in those countries but I think US and especially Australia is the best parts and then you kind of have to get married, stupid!!

So, should I do this or not, I don’t know yet.

Well, I am maybe not this happy about the Second Working Holiday Visa

Ice berg

For the first time in my life I sat by myself in a bar, the Ice Berg bar, a little bit proud actually. It has a view over whole Bondi Beach, it’s amazing. A girl from US started to talk to me, a very kind and sweet girl. She was here at holiday and work with politics back home. Later came Amy but I didn’t know if she could come until I had been sitting there for a while. We had many things to catch up on and talk about, girls, you know.

Paddington market

I have never been at a better market! It was so cosy, calm, organized, well done, great atmosphere and you just wanted to buy everything. A little bit expensive but it was worth it.

Photos from new friends 67 Edward Street and a night out in Coogee

Going out means taking your brought bike indoor

Were at a spanish chocolate cafe with Rachel, soo good.

Love / Sosyaussie

Day in Bail Main

I met Jack, (the guy who loves Sweden), in Bail Main. We went to a pub and Jack bought us wedges with sour cream and dip sauce, it was so good, have to try it again. We also played billiards which I really like, it’s so much fun. We had also eaten sushi, sushi is great, it’s like a drug to me.

Talking about drugs, I saw a movie with Rachel, (the irish girl), called Love and other drugs, a romantic comedy with Jake Gyllehaal and Anne Hathaway, it was really good, you have to see it. They both played really good. Usually I don’t think Anne is such a good actor but she was really good in this one and you guys who don’t want to see a romantic movie, it’s a lot of sex in it so you will like it as well;)

Oysters and David Guetta

On New Years Eve I tried oysters with lemon for the first time. Well, I have eaten them cooked before but not raw. I thought it was pretty good, it didn’t taste that much. I don’t think I could eat it that often but sometimes. Everybody says it tastes like saltwater but I didn’t think so, hm.

Me and the girls were at a pre-party at some Australians apartment in Bondi. Then we went to Sure Thing, a house festival we had bought ticket to, Armand Van Helden and David Guetta played. It was really fun when you sang to the songs you  recognized. I love techno but a whole evening with just techno can be too much. I didn’t really think it was worth the money but I am not the typical festival girl either. I went to bed 7 o’clock in the morning, saw the sunrise.

Gotta love lips

Can u tell it's New Years Eve!? I sure can!

Some photos I took at around 7 am New Years Day, Bellevue Hill

Clovelly beach

Me, Emelie and Rachel were at Clovelly Beach last Sunday. We were snorkeling in the water. Wasn’t as good as in Thailand though but much better than in Sweden, haha. Of course it depends on where you are snorkeling though.

Me and Emelie doing the city - A gay and lesbian arraignment

Love this belief, something I also believe in

Can this man be more gorgeous?

Addicted to Chocolate, addicted to Coffee= Addicted to Cafe Moccha

Me and Rachel at an Italian restaurant

Me and Rach met at Bondi Beach and decided to go and have dinner together. We ended up at a lovely Italian restaurant. Rach ordered lasagne, garlic bread and coke zero. I never understand people who order coke and take the coke zero or diet coke, if you gonna drink coke, drink the original one. I ordered some kind of Bolognese with tagliatelle, my favourite pasta., and wine. We also ate a delicious dessert, don’t remember the name but it was some kind of white mousse in a crispy bread thing, amasing.

We talked a lot about sex, really fun actually, we were afraid someone would say: seriously, we are eating here, haha. I read this book called Why men don’t have a clue and why women always need more shoes. It’s about differences between men and women, how we think differently and why, it’s very interesting actually. Girls, here is a joke from the book: What should you say to a guy that just had sex? Nothing, he’s asleep. So funny!!

Rach is also very interested in psychology as me so I really enjoy talking to her, she has studied it as well and are very clever. Rach is a great irish girl! We also talk a lot about the differences between different cultures, mostly differences between Sweden, Irland and Australia of course and I agree with what Rachel said that you are suppose to travel for stop having prejudices but instead you get to really discover them and many are so true. Like aussie guys don’t like having a shirt on and are very laid back and Irish people drink a lot and are very funny and Swedish people are beautiful, hahaha. Fucking beautiful as an Irish person would say;)

Two parties in the same house

Last Friday, me and Rachel went to a party with some guys I played pool with at tea garden, a pub. Most of the guys were from Irland. We played king, a drinking game, very funny, or maybe not for everyone;) Later that night some guys that lived on the second floor came over and I liked them much better, haha. So the next day we were at a party at their place instead, pretty funny.

Scissor as an antenn, so backpacking style

My favourite café

I have never really liked reading books, probably because my mum always nagged about reading them, but now I really enjoy it and there is this café in Bondi that is so great. They have great food, coffee and a good crowd but the big thing with this café is that it is like a library, they have all different kinds of books, right now I am into self help, psychology and spiritual books. I am addicted to this café, to sushi and moccha. So, you can just choose a book and read when you are drinking your coffee and even by it cheap if you want to.

Addicted to Sushi

Love this Cafe

Our Christmas eve

At the 24 of December me, Emelie, Amy and two of Amys friends from Sweden went to the Operahouse and ate a Christmas lunch and took some funny photos with Christmas hats with the operahouse and the harbourbridge as backgrounds. In the evening we went to the beach and ate Swedish Christmas food. Meatballs, herring, eggs, potato, sausages and so on. We had a very cosy evening.

The aussie Christmas day

At the 25 of December I went up seven o’clock to open the Christmas presents with my hostfamily and their relatives who are staying here for Christmas and New years. I had slept for about 4 hours. I got two dresses, some make-up, nail-polish, different kinds of creams and money to download music to my ipod, really girly and good presents;) thank u everyone. In Australia the Santa isn't coming and knocking at the door as he do in Sweden. The Santa has only been there the night before and put the presents under the Christmas tree, I most say I miss Santa, my dad;)

Then we cooked food, a lot of food – turkey, ham, sweet potato, pork, pumpkin and so on. It was really good! I actually have to say that I like the Australian Christmas food more than the Swedish but of course the Swedish Christmas food is something extraordinary. We also ate plumpudding with custard, (vaniljkram), and cream for dessert. One thing I found funny is The crackers party hats that they put on their heads, shaped as a king. Well, we do similar at Midsummer but still. I had a great Christmas day and I could for the first time in Sydney really feel some Christmas spirit.

In the evening I went to the Beach and sat and drank some beers with a few friends, yes, Sophia has learned how to drink beer, haha. I think Rachel, the irish girl, has inspired me a bit;) Then me and Jeanette went to an aussie afterparty.

Jeanette at the baech

Stupid girl lost her bike

At Christmas Day I took my bike to the beach and I did lock it, but not around something. I’ve left it like that before but only for a little while. I thought about getting it back home put after a few beers I thought it would be alright leaving it their and then we went to this afterparty and I remembered it the day after. So I went to the beach to get it back but it was gone:( leaving a bike at Christmas day at Bondi beach is probably not the best thing to do. It was crowded with people all day.

When not planning going out

The best nights can sometimes be when you are not planning to go out. I had been shopping during the day and then me and Emelie decided to meet in town. I had either met the other girls or had contact with them during the day and then everybody decided to come to the city and also a guy called Jack that loves Sweden, he lived there for one year and he can almost speak fluent, so weird but very impressive. Either I meet Swedish people or people who loves Sweden, isn’t it strange? We went to the three monkeys, a pub with many floors, and then we went to a place called Scubar. First we thought it was to crowded and you got beer all over you all the time but then when it was later there was more older people and not that crowded so we met people from California, Scotland, France and of course Sweden. Then we went to a after party and played billiards, I love that game.

U2

A concert that I give 7 out of 10 stars. They started with It’s a beautiful day, which is one of my favourite songs.

Kayak and Kangaroo, KK?

Well, that was our plan but actually we, (me and Jeanette) took a tandem bicycle in crazy rain and thunder and we looked for kangaroo in almost every restaurant in Manly, we find it on one, but it cost 30 dollars, (210 kr) so we went to Burger Me that should have it. We ordered it and then she said it was only one left, so we had to split that one. Australia, where are all the kangaroo meat? When I came here I thought it was common, that everyone ate it all the time but now I know that’s not the case.

We got a chance to take some pics at the kayaks at least

Fight for it or maybe give up!?

The international college of Manly, pretty powerful building

Can I look more like a dork!?

Beatiful view at Manly. Maybe it was worth the heavy rain and the thunder after all!?

Kangaroo, doesn't look that good huh? I liked it though

After cycled in pouring rain

A nordic shop. Abba fishballs, Marabou (swedish chocolate) - best chocolate ever. Julmust, (root beer) and so on.

After rain there is sunshine, isn't that what they say!? It sure was:)

Ivy

The plan was to go to a restaurant close to Sydney tour and take a drink but then we met some guys that were dressed up as the cartoons in South Park and a Police, they had been at a work party. They were going to the Ivy so we reconsidered and went there, to the pool area of course. And this time, some of the girls actually danced in the pool.

Ikea

Me and Jeanette went to Ikea last Saturday. When we went off the train two different people said how we should walk and that we couldn’t miss it. We didn’t either but we could definitely. They said, just walk straight and you will see it but we didn’t see it. Then I wanted to check out a store in a shopping centre and inside there we could see signs to Ikea but non outside. So weird, Ikea was inside a shopping centre, it should be by itself, HELLO!? I bought some Christmas presents to the family and Swedish herring and glogg, (mulled wine) – a Christmas drink with a lot of spices.

Vietnam

Next April I am going to Vietnam with Jeanette, Emelie and Amy. We are going to Hanoi first and then Ho Chi Min. Then we are going to either Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok. Looking forward to it.

One more house, thanks Lachlan!

Lachlan Murdoch, the man that owns the house I live in, has bought a little white summerhouse beside our house. So this week a will be able to go there to if I want to. Crazy!

Some information about the man that owns the houses:

Lachlan Keith Murdoch (born September 8, 1971), is the elder son of media mogul, Rupert Murdoch and the former Anna Torv. He resigned from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005. However, Lachlan is still on the Board of Directors at NewsCorp and is a company consultant. Subsequently, younger brother James Murdoch is now viewed as his father's heir-apparent by the press. Their sister Elisabeth Murdoch, an able businesswoman in her own right, is married to publicity wizard Matthew Freud. Lachlan is married to Sarah Murdoch. (Wikipedia)

He bought the house I am living in for 23 million dollars, ( 156 miljoner kronor). Crazy!!

Some extra photos. Funny ones!

Yeah, my towel went into the pool. That what is happining when u leave the pool in Bellevue Hill, very windy!!

Wish u were a girl sometimes, haha

Da har man dragit ut en tand!

Har varit hos tandlakaren och tagit ut en visdomstand. Jag tyckte det var sa roligt nar de satte in bedovning, kandes sa himla konstigt/speciellt sa jag kunde inte sluta skratta. Tandlakaren sa att jag nog var den gladaste patienten han haft, haha. Fast sen var det inte sa roligt, de tog nog upp till 40 min att ta ut den vilket ar valdigt lange, for vissa tar de liksom 5 min. Han trodde aldrig den ville lossna. Sen har de gjort ganska ont. De gjorde stygn ocksa som jag far ta ut nasta vecka. De bloder himla mkt ocksa. Skulle ova med tjejerna pa luciataget men det blev det ju inget med for min del.

Kollade istallet pa tva filmer. Breakfast at Tiffanys och Simple Plan. Bada tva filmer att rekommendera. Valdigt olika dock. Breakfast at Tiffanys ar en film som fortfarande ar bra trots att den ar fran 1961. En film om en elegant vilsen dam (Audrey Hepburn) som moter en man som far henne att kanna sig mindre vilsen och finna karleken.

A simple plan handlar om hur tre vanliga manniskor hittar 4 miljoner dollar I ett stortat plan och hur langt manniskan kan ga nar det kommer till pengar, dar den som verkar mest mansklig och god turns out to be the most bad guy.

The hours is an other movie that I saw in Melbourne with Henry. It’s a movie that I really want to recommend. It’s a quite complex movie, it takes a time until you understand how it all fits together. This is how IMDB explains the movie: The story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.

I think there is so much more to ad to that though. See it!! Great actors as well. Such as Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore.

U2

Ok, I am going to start writing on English because I want to improve it and I want that people from Australia will be able to read my blog and everyone else who wants to. Google Translate is going to be my best friend from now on. So, tomorrow I am going to see U2. A guy that I met had an extra ticket and asked me if I wanted to join him. U2!? Yes, please! It will probably be awesome. I got inside information from Lynda that have talked to Bonos manager, pretty cool, that Jay-Z is going to play before U2.

Christians Birthday Party

Last Saturday we celebrated Christian turning 3. I have never seen so many presents in my whole life and they had hired a jumping castle that we had in the garden, I did jump on it as well. There were mostly adults at the party though, we drank champagne and ate buffe. There were also a lot of cupcakes, of course. A very American like party.

The jumping castle

Christian loves ballons

Lucia

Now we girls have singing Christmas songs in the Martin Luther church, the tradition is called Lucia. My host family were there and saw me singing, Christian thought it was funny.

Lite bilder fran forra helgens uteliv

Christmas tree made by bicycles

Jag, Emelie och Amy akte in till Darling Harbour for att vi skulle ga till en klubb som heter Home. Amy trodde hon hade glomt sitt leg, (de ar oftast harda med det har), men sa visade det sig att det var Emelie som hade glomt det istallet. Hon kom inte in men vakten var sjukt hjalpsam, fick fribiljetter, och foljde dem till Polisstationen for att forsoka identifiera at thon ar over 18 men det funkade inte. Jag gick in till Home for att mota upp Jeanette och Rachel men forst traffa jag Cecilia och Matt, tva franska kompisar, sa till dem att jag fick fribiljetter sa fixade det till dem ocksa. Sen forsokte jag hitta Rachel och Jeanette men forstod inte alls var de var ngnstans, de sa att de var pa en uteservering men de hade ju ingen dar. Sa efter att ringt och smsat I ungefar en halvtimme sa mottes vi utanfor och det visade sig att det fanns en annan del langre bort som hette likadant, oj, sa galet det kan bli. Dar motte jag ocksa upp Sebastian fran Brisbane. Sedan fixade jag in dem gratis ocksa, (kostade ca. 170 kr /st annars) Sedan kom tydligen Emelie och Amy in och vi traffade nagra skona australienare. Senare skulle jag ta buss hem, ar sa jobbigt och tar lang tid att ta sig hem pa kvallen, men sa stotte jag pa de australienska killarna igen och de betala en taxi hem, nice. Till en borjan en rorig kvall men som blev valdigt speciell och rolig. En kvall som vande helt enkelt.

Jeanette, the blue bear and me efter den svenska julmarknaden.

Gloggkvall med nagra svenskar

For att fa lite julkansla bestamde vi tjejer for att fixa en mysig gloggkvall. Emelie och Amy hade varit pa Ikea och kopt glogg. Vi ska nog tillbaka dit och kopa sill, mer glogg, prinskorvar, ja, allt for att fixa en svensk julafton. Saklart ska jag fira en aussi Christmas ocksa. Vi traffade tre andra svenska tjejer som kommer fran Kungsbacka, nara Goteborg, gulliga tjejer. Och tva andra killar fran Mariestad tror jag det var. Vi satt vid Bondi Beach och drack var glogg. Jag och Jeanette hade kopt en pepparkaksdeg pa en svensk julmarknad vi var pa men orkade inte gora nagra sa vi hade med oss pepparkaksdeg men gissa om hela blev uppaten, jepp:)

Muggjakt pa Bondi Beach

Glogg

Kopt en Mountainbike

Antligen har man kopt en cykel, bara cruisa ner till beachen eller junction. Forutom att de tar lite jobbigt uppfor sa underlattar det mkt. Jag kopte cykeln via Gumtree som ar en bra sida dar man kan hitta saker “second hand”. Min cykel ser som ny ut, anvand I en manad. Cykeln + hjalm fick jag for 80 dollar och fick kopa ett las for 23 dollar sa sammanlagt blir det 690 kr, ratt bra kopJ En australiensk dollar ar 6. 84 kr, sa jag brukar multiplicera med 7.

A weekend in Melbourne

Fran 1-5 december har jag varit och halsat pa Henry som bor i Melbourne. Melbourne ar en valdig mysig stad med mycket restauranger och caféer, vi at pa en Thairestaurang dar man satt pa golvet och en italiensk. De tar underbart att ata mat fran olika kulturer, Jag vill garna till Melbourne igen, min weekend var underbar.

De sota sparvagnarna som man bara gar pa mitt i gatan.

En svensk butik som heter Kikki K i Melbourne. Tycker detta ar sa komiskt, typiskt svenskt. Jag aker till Australien for att komma bort fran allt som ar sa organiserat och planerat. Henry gillar det dock.

Shit, typiskt ameriksanskt! fult!

Jag o Henry

Melbourne by night

Ska dra ut en tand, hjalp!!

Kande att jag hade ont I min visdomstand for ungefar tva veckor sedan. Var hos tandlakaren och de sade att jag maste dra ut en tanden. Det kommer kosta ca. 5000 kr och bara 3500 gar pa forsakring. Lite segt men de tar det val vart. Pa torsdag galler det.

Christian fyller 3, eller ar det 5 han fyller!?

Pa lordag ska vi ha birtdayparty for Christian. Han fyller 3 men han vill fylla 5 sa vi far val latsas det helt enkelt. Undrar vad jag ska kopa da han redan har tusentals dyra leksaker, haha.

Christian gillar att borsta tanderna:)

och att sitta pa koksbanken

o ata med HELA munnen

han ar dock inte alltid sa sot, haha

Amy och Emelie pa en utsiktsplats near Rose Bay

Knappisar

See ya buddies!!

De tar verkligen sjukt mycket svenskar har. De tar jattekul pa ett satt, mest for att jag traffat tre jatteskona svenska tjejer. Kallar Jeanette svensk aven om hon ar fran Finland, snackar ju svenska. Men alla ni andra, halla!!! Kan ni inte aka hem igen, ahaha. Pa bussen, pa klubbar, nar man shoppar, vid stranden, forfesta hos nagra svenskar fran Oland som hyr en lagenhet har. Till o med Emelie och Amy traffar folk fran Kalmar, deras hemstad, o halla?, men hur stort ar Kalmar pa en skala. Lite bitter!? Haha, ja, faktiskt.

Jag vet inte varfor men jag saknar verkligen inte hemma, de tar klart att jag tanker pa det och far stunder da jag saknar det men mestadels nej. Jag vet inte varfor, men jag far lite angest nar jag tanker pa hemma, vilket ar sa himla sjukt for jag har varldens basta vanner dar o en underbar familj men de ar sa mycket press och forvantningar pa en hemma. Kanner mig mycket mer avslappnad och fri har. Kanske ar det for att jag lagt pa mig stress och press sjalv eller sa ar det sa att Australien ar mer avslappnat och Sverige mer up-tight. Det skrammer mig att jag  kanner sa for jag alskar ju Sverige ocksa men kan inter a for det. Eller ar det sa att verkligheten alltid fangar dig till slut och da ar det val bara att forsoka halla lugnet. Jag kanner bara att jag inte vill fa tillbaka den kanslan nar jag kommer hem vilket ocksa gor mig radd for att aka hem. Jag akte ju med viljan att vilja utveklas och vaxa som manniska vilket jag redan kanner att jag gjort men vill inte att man hamnar tillbaka I det som kannts daligt och jobbigt hemma utan att man har kvar denna skona kansla och de tar ju nagot som jag inte vet foren jag val ar hemma. Nog darfor mkt jag inte saknar det.

STAY AUSSI:)

Emelie nara Bondi Beach innan besoket hos Olandganget

Pa ett utestalle efter "Olandganget"

Fick en privat guide av en Aussi kille. Detta kallas The Rocks och gissa hur det ar byggt? De forsta som kom till Sydney var tydligen prisoners och de har tydligen gropt ur detta fran att fran borjan varit ett helt berg. Gud vilket slavarbete!!

Bondi Beach HELA dagen

Jag o tjejerna, ja, ni vet ju vilka de tar vid detta laget var pa Bondi Beach fran ca 12-18, pa kvallen o ja, jag brande mig lite. Det  ar sa underbart att man bara kan traska ner till Bondi aven om vagen dit o hem ar en bit,  (se nasta rubrik). Vi hade en valdigt harlig dag vid stranden.

Jeanette och jag vid Bondi Beach

Maste skaffa cykel!!

Jag tror inte ni forstar hur mkt jag gar!! Det ar galet! Gar mkt till Bondi Beach vilket tar ca 1h o 20 min fram o tillbaka, samma sak om jag ska till Bondi Juntion. Bussarna gar bara en kort stracka och de tar otroligt dyrt att aka kollektivt har. Sa checkar pa Gumtree, en hemsida som saljer begagnade saker nu, men inte hittat nagon bra an, ah, vill verklien ha en NU.

Nu ska man ga lucia tag ocksa och jag som sa att jag inte sakna Sverige!?

Emelie och Amy var det som hade fatt upp ogonen for detta sa jag hangde pa. Vi ovade forsta gangen Igar och det kandes nastan som man var I Sverige nard et bara var svenska och sjong svenska jullatar. Kanns valdigt konstigt nar man insag att man hade solbrillorna pa huvudet nard et ar meningen att det ska vara jul. Sa den 12:e galler det! Nar jag o Emelie stod o vantade pa bussen hem stod vi och ovade pa latarna, folk runtomkring maste tyckt det lat underligt.

En knapp grej som har med detta o gora. En kille fran Brisbane som heter Sebastian har bjudit med mig pa en 18-ars fest pa sondag och det visade sig tydligen vara prasten I den kyrkan som vi ovade I dotter. Nu ar bara Sverige for litet. Pa lordag ar det aven en svensk julmarknad som vi ska ga pa. Ok, alla lasare, jag forstar att ni inte vill lasa om Sverige, lovar, ska ge er Aussi kansla ocksa.

Amy och jag pa Bondi Junction

Bondi Junction ar ett kopcentrum nara mig, tar ca 25 min att ga och det borjar bli farligt for vi gar dit ganska ofta for att shoppa. Idag kopte jag en ny sommarklanning, en solhatt, shimmer/tan lotion o bestallde ett par sandaler, snacka o matt det borjar bli sommar harJ Amy kopte tomteluvor, kan inte forklara varfor men lovar att skriva om det langre fram. Hon kopte aven en pilatesboll, hon ba: man maste ju halla sig I form, Australien gor ju inte en sa fitt. Haha, rolig tjej!!

Ikvall blir det att vi forst drar till lite backpacking stallen o dricker drinkar o sen till en klubb som heter Home, tror det kommer bli super kul.

sot!!

Amy och Pilatesbollen:)

Puss pa er!!

Jag, Pernilla, Emelie och Cim var pa Kings Cross en kvall, ett kant utestalle. Kant for strippor och droger, ja, sag inget av det, haha. De var kul att ha varit dar men gillar lite mer klass. Vi traffade tva gay killar som sa at tom ni gar till the club sa sag att ni ar pa Christians list o om ni drar till Soho sa sag att ni ar pa Steves list. Sa vi kom in gratis pa bada, nice!!

Innan utgang

Emelie pa subway efterat

Pernilla o Emelie pa the club

Pernilla och jag pa Argyle

Jag och Pernilla skulle ut. Vi motte forst upp Emelie och Cim vid operahuset och tog ett glas vid operabaren. Sen drog jag o Pernilla vidare, tanken var att vi skulle dra till Red Room heter det men sen traffa vi en skon kille som sa att Argyle var bra o det var det verkligen. Jattemysigt stalle samtidigt som det hade stil och var coolt. Utanfor fanns det en jattemysig uteservering och nar man kom in sa stod dj:n I en glasbur I taket, ratt haftigt. Vi hangde den kvallen med tva austrlienska killar, den ena var ganska skum I borjan. Han stod typ 5 m ifran oss hela tiden o gjorde lite danssteg, drog ivag o kom tillbaka. Knapp men skon. Nar vi hade varit dar lange sa skulle vi dra o ata eller nat men de bette sig som 3-aringar, jag hatar nar man maste vara mamma at killar. De kunde inte bestamma sig o gick bara runt o vela sa vi drog. Sen gick de efter oss jattelange men trottna o efter ett tag sa de drog. Jattekonstigt!!!

Hemma hos mig innan Argyle

Knappis

Manly med Jeanette

Jag och Jeanette tog farjan over till Manly. Ett stalle med fina strander. Vi at en god lunch dar jag sa att de var typiskt att tva snygga blonda tjejer jobbade dar, o slog vad om att de var svenska. O ja, de var demJ

Var mer snygg da!!

Fina Harbour Bridge fran farjan

Fina Jeanette pa farjan

Operahuset

Ostkvall och “utgang” med Jeanette

Jag o Jeanette var hemma hos Jeanette ,som bor I Bailman, vi hade kopt ost och drack rott vin. Oj vad det slog till, tror det ar for att jag inte brukar dricka rott vin. Sedan drog vi till en pub nara henne som vi kalla the depressed place for det fanns ingen musik o var mest aldre manniskor som inte hade nat annat for sig an att ga till denna puben for att dricka pa en vardag. Aja, vi hade valdigt roligt. Kom ihag nar vi skulle forsoka ga ut pa uteserveringen och vi kunde inte oppna dorren, det var tydligen bara att putta pa den sa oppnades den, komiskt. Sen blev det Bloody Marys!!

Ost och vin kvall:)

Basta utgangen i Sydney

Jag, Jeanette och Emelie var hemma hos mig o fora, sedan drog vi in till stan for att mota Rachel, en irlansk au-pair, as skon tjej, bestaller alltid en o loch en shot nar hon bestaller I baren o de tar inte bara en eller tva ggr under kvallen.

Vi drog sedan till Ivy, saklart;) det var mycket folk o bra drag. Vi traffade sedan de franska typerna och hade en galen kvall. Var sa kul nar vi skulle ga upp pa andra vaningen, sa orkade inte jag sta I hela kon utan gick under bandet dar Emelie stod, jag var sa nojd att jag hade smitit forbi hela kon, sen gjorde Cecilia, en fransk tjej précis likdant, det visade sig sen att  bandet slutade précis dar jag stod, sa hade inte behovt ga under det, bara runt det, oj, vad Emelie skratta. Jag traffade sedan en kille som heter Henry som jag gillade direkt, ah, vad go han ar. Jag, Jeanette, Emelie, Rachel, Henry och hans kompis drog sedan till en typisk australiensisk pub. Harligt stalle!!

Jag har traffat Henry igen och vad som da hande kan jag inte ta har, de ar inte som ni tror dock;) Ska aka och halsa pa honom i Melbourne den 1-5 dec, ska bli kul att se Melbourne och traffa honom. Just de, han ar inte fran Sydney, vilket ar valdigt synd.

Emelie innan Ivy

knappa

my girls

At Ivy. Rachel till vanster:)

Cecilia tog sig ett dopp

Party till the break of dawn

Mots pa andra sidan jorden

Jag var pa New Town festivalen heter det med Emelie och hennes kusin Cim. Fast hon har bytt namn till Amy men jag kallar henne Cim;) Dar sag jag en kille som min bror lekte med mycket nar vi var sma. Jag ba: Yuri, (det ar sa han heter), oj vad chockad han blev att ses pa andra sidan jorden. Lite komiskt!

Amy och Emelie pa New Town Festival!

Crowded

Ser fram emot nyar!

Nu har jag kopt biljett till Surething som ar en housefestival nere vid Bondi Beach. David Guetta ska spela bland annat, ah, det ska bli sa kulJ