As a side note, I made some additions notes in blue in the last blog post based on some new information as well as some things my feeble mind forgot the first time:)
On Thursday I said goodbye to the first non-Australian friend I made here. Monika (from Poland) left this past Sunday to go on a Thailand adventure and then back to Poland. Although we didn't spend that much time together I will really miss her. We could relate on so many things. We met at Starbucks to say our goodbyes and as usual talked for hours. She was an unexpected but great friend. We will for sure meet again. What was also special about Thursday is that the internet was finally restored! One week was too long but they had estimated May 21st so I will be thankful for the one week.
On Saturday, I went apartment shopping with Rani. She had a list of 7 places. I was running a wee bit late so we skipped the first one. The second one we never made it to either as apparently the street numbers didn't follow any order. The third one looked a bit shady from the outside so she didn't want to wait to go in. In between the third and fourth one we got distracted by a used book store. No, I didn't buy anything as Monika seemed to think I had enough books already:D After waiting outside the fourth one for awhile we were informed it had already been leased. The fifth one was BAD! I wont go into detail but a total gut job was needed there.
We had a long time between #5 and #6 so we sat and read "Catholicism for Dummies" which Rani had bought at the earlier used bookstore. The sixth one was really nice. It was listed for $420 per week just to give an idea. Then we went to lunch at a café near the ferry wharf. I had seen it before but never stopped. It was really good. I had ice cream and pancakes and Rani had some cod dish I think. We split the best potato wedges of my life...yes I am going to be one BIG potato when I return home. Then we went back across the Parramatta River (nearly flooding again) to look at the last place. Rani liked it but I wasn't too keen on it. Then we took the free Parramatta shuttle to the train station for the night markets in Liverpool.
Just to give you some additional information, apartment hunting here is very competitive. There is a major housing shortage which of course has spiked prices. In addition to paying out the nose, you also need to give a lot of information. Rani's information consisted of pages and pages of citizenship papers, photo id, character references, employer references, renter references, paystubs, bank account statements, etc! That of course is in addition to the four page application. After all that even if you are willing to pay the price listed, you probably wont get the place. From what I can tell they go by who they want and not even necessarily how much you are offering (of course that doesn't hurt). They also take notice of couple/single, kids, and ethnicity according to Rani. The ethnicity card goes both ways though as when I was looking a lot of the places would say "Asian only" or "Indian only". I knew from Wendy that it was one crazy housing market here (I think Stan had to pay like a years rent in advance or something like that) but (again) seeing it firsthand is crazy! Oh and as an additional factoid they rent some apartments here by the square meter so there are several people "living" in the living room...
The night markets were nice. We filled out a survey and received a bag full of goodies upon entering. Then I spent about 45 minutes chatting with the Living Locket vendors:) I found the original Chips on a Stick food truck....which also sold waffle dogs (yes hotdogs wrapped in waffles). Rani got some African curry stuff and we listened to the live music for awhile. She walked me to the bus stop and waited which was nice. Liverpool isn't the safest area so I have heard so it was nice to have a local there.
On Sunday, I didn't go into the city because I was tired of the rain. Yes, it was raining that whole day on Saturday so when I arrived home I was pretty soggy. Bad news is my "rain" coat isn't waterproof. the good news is that the last time I was wringing out my backpack I realized the cloud came complete with a rain cover! It looks like an oversized hair net but it does work well. So far this week the weather has been PERFECT. Sunny but cool just the way I like it.
Now that time is starting to tick down, I need to make sure that I start crossing some things off of my travel list. I still have a lot to go so fingers crossed I finish it all.
I hope everyone is well!
