Initial Sydney Observations

Depsite embracing the “newness” of places, it’s common to find the “familiar” about a new city, town, school, home, restaurant to feel comfortable and know where you might fit in.

So, upon alighting on my first adventure out the door in Sydney, I assessed the city in comparison to what I already knew. Here are a few things I noticed…

– it’s very multicultural; but more along the lines of Vancouver’s multiculturalism than Calgary’s

– the business professionals (men & women alike) know how to dress! The 4 – 6 pm walking traffic was a delight to watch.

– men are not afraid to wear pink and purple. In fact, the most popular shirt I saw was vertically pink and white striped. EVERYWHERE.

– sidewalks, crosswalks, monorail, buses, bike lines, bike traffic lights, etc – well designed for traffic other than just cars

– they have a “Canada Goose” equivalent with a long, skinny black beak. They’re everywhere!

– young kids with Australian accents are darn cute!

– Australians know how to walk!!!! And by that, I mean that they walk on the right side of the sidewalk, well, left. It was honestly the hardest part of the first few days. After crossing each road, I’d find myself back on the right side of the sidewalk only to face a crowd of people coming at me, so I had to force myself to move over to the left side of the sidewalk. I’ve got it mostly figured out by now, and that, along with being a passenger for three days of driving on the “wrong” side of the road, I’m feeling marginally better about attempting to drive on the “wrong” side myself!

Alright, that’s all for today!