Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Goodbye States...Hello Aussies!

As I sit at the Quantis Airline terminal waiting for my flight to be called for Brisbane, I look to my left only to see a small group of Asian businessmen all dressed in black suits wearing black glasses and I can’t help but smile at their cuteness and style.  How can I describe Australia so far?  I say, refreshing friendly. I don’t know about you, but I have flown a lot over the course of my life and never have I had such a friendly welcome as I did when I arrived in Sydney. “No worries” was a common phrase whenever I said “Thank you” to someone’s kindness. Surprisingly there are a lot of American brands here, such as Nine West, Krispy Kreme, and Hungry Jack (which is really a Burger King). When I ordered my chicken sandwich from Hungry Jack, I asked for BBQ sauce and was given “plum BBQ sauce” instead. Not as delicious as regular BBQ sauce, but it got the job done. There are a variety of nationalities here in the airport, from Spaniards to Frenchmen. The largest being Asians, due to the fact that Asia and Hong Kong are right above the country and many conduct business in Australia. I search the airport for even the slightest person that I can identify with, so far I have only seen two and I’m assuming they were African. Funny story, while I waited for my flight from LAX to Australia, an African woman came up to me and proceeded to ask me a question in her language. I stared blankly at the woman for 3 minutes until I realized that she assumed I understood her (probably from my braids). Finally I told her I didn't understand and she smacked her lips and walked away, it was pretty awkward I must say. My flight wasn't too bad, if you like being squished between random people with bad breath and disgusting airplane food. The flight from Chicago to LA was a breeze; it was only four hours so surprisingly I was able to sleep. I also had an aisle seat, which always makes a difference. The flight from LA to Sydney however--not so glamorous. I sat next to an Australian boy, who was really friendly and an elder woman from America. Me and the Australian guy (never caught his name) instantly began to hit it off. We began talking about school, snowboarding and of course Australia.  He was cute and though he had bad breath, I was able to look past that and see him for what he was, a friendly Aussie. Maybe they all would be like this, I began to hopefully think. So eight hours later, finally we arrive to Sydney and as I began to leave the plane, my Australian friend didn't even say goodbye. Hmm. Stepping off the plane and into immigration I had a great chat with the gentleman working. He told me that in the past weeks Sydney had temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit! My jaw dropped because he said this so nonchalantly as if being cooked alive was normal. After leaving immigration, my bags proceeded to get checked, or shall I say "sniffed" by this little cute hound dog. I was so busy “ooing” and “awing” at the dog that I didn't realize that the matter was serious business, so I fought my urge to bend down and pet him. Plus, by the look on his puppy face he meant business. I finally got to the baggage check-in and this very friendly Australian woman working there asked me if my nails were painted green for the Green Bay Packers. I laughed because I was surprised she knew about the Superbowl, seeing as it's not as big of a deal in other countries. From there, I went through security where the man asked me if I was from North Carolina, due to my so called Southern accent I unknowingly acquired while attending The University of Tennessee. I laughed and informed him no. He then asked why I had such a common Australian last name, which is Smith. I laughed again and told him maybe I’m a 5th Australian. So now I sit here, at 9:34 a.m. Aussie time (4:34 p.m. American time) and I realize that I’m not at the right gate. I could possibly miss my flight! I'll come back to you when I arrive in Brisbane! 

4 comments:

  1. This is sooo nice...keep it coming...I want to do a blog! You have to teach me.

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  2. I love it Camille! This is great!! Very entertaining and a reminder of your wonderful presence! :)

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  3. This is so nice Camille. Your travels sound fun and I can't wait to hear more. Love you

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  4. Hi Camille! Your aunt Anna is so proud of you and she told me about your blog. It sounds like you are having alot of fun! ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! I will be keeping up with your travels!

    Heidi

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