Yesterday evening in Sydney
0 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 11:14 PM.
It has been one week and 2 days as I'm in Australia... Getting into the flow of things here.
Take a minute and follow - this is what I see on some evenings :)
Sydney CBD (downtown)
(Sydney Harbour Bridge)
More updates are coming soon!
The Great Move has happened
4 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 11:04 PM.
Yes, I'm in Sydney!!!
14.500 km away from home, half of the world down here :)
Still taking time to believe that's happened, too good…
Typing these words, sitting in my room in a bay district, with palm trees just outside of my window, flowers everywhere, and night ocean breeze flowing into my room…
Australia? Australia! My country for the next year...
Yoho what a ride ahead :)
So how I'm doing:
In short, everything is great!!! (well, money is a bit of an issue, but it seems to be an eternal issue :) My company is wonderful, people here are great, Sydney is amazing. What else is needed to be happy? So I'm very happy!! hehe
A bit more in detail:
Well, sit comfortable and get ready for a long story :) Here's everything
My flight
I was flying through Tokyo, with Russian airlines Aeroflot (never-ever do this if you can! I finally got disappointed with them after they charged me 200 euros for overweight, cause total limit was 20 kg including hand luggage - hello, I'm flying to Australia!?) Anyways, farewell with Russia was good, I left on Maslenitsa day (when everyone makes pancakes and celebrates winter time). And then - 9 hrs flight to Tokyo. Obviously, I slept most of time on the plane :) A passenger next to me appeared to be nanotechnology engineer flying to deliver a presentation at a conference in Japan, his hobby was - guess what - heritage research, he published several books on the history of his family and the region he comes from. Very cool discussions!.. Travel time is a wonderful time, you can meet so many interesting people!
Japan - Tokyo. More precise, Tokyo airport
When we were flying above Japan (in the morning), first thing that struck me - how many mountains they have for such a small country! How they manage to be one of leading economies in the world in those conditions of limited land resources, is a miracle and lots of great management.
Second interesting thing - their fields are even smaller and carefully lined that those in Germany and Netherlands! (if that's possible…) I was amazed, land from above looks like a blanket of perfect small squares and rectangles. So interesting and different from vast chaotic Russian lands hehe :)
Airport actually appeared much smaller than I expected. May be that wasn't the main one? Transit area is very small (now I love Schiphol even more that I did before!), so I spent most of my time in a café, trying rolls (yay finally real Japaneese ones!) and reading, until I had to go to catch my flight to Sydney. Even being dead tired, I felt my heart beating faster and faster, as I approached the gate. I saw so many Australians at once, and all seemed to be very nice looking and smiling people… Quantas airlines are very nice (well, at least comparing to Russian airlines), and the first time in my travel life I met such friendly personnel, making jokes with passengers etc. My induction into Aussie culture began on the flight :)
Arriving to Sydney
Lucky me - there was sunny weather on my arrival, and I was with my head in a plane window, trying to catch every detail of approaching Australia. Lots of mountains, interesting stone seaside - and of course, shining waters of Pacific ocean…
Sydney Opera house, skyscrapers of the downtown, residential areas, boats in bays - and there I was, landing in Sydney airport. Yoho I did it!!! Ura-ura-ura!
Endless queues on the custom and quarantine (Australia is an isolated land, therefore very strict on incoming items), I was worried that could forget something and would be fined - but everything went smoothly, people were friendly (even at customs!). I went out - and there they were, several @-ers, waiting for 2 hrs for my arrival :) I was positively surprised, that there were more than a couple, as it usually happens, they even presented me with a sim card so I could let my parents immediately that I'm fine. And then I was taken to a place I'm living in, by car, through the city center, facing Harbor Bridge and a hint of Opera House… Great reception :)
First day
I was taken to a place where one of trainees (Russian girl from Ekaterinburg by the way :) lives, a nice old colonial house in a Neutral Bay area, which a posh area in the center of the city. The location is perfect, but I'd be moving out to a flat with some @-ers (current place, this house, is a private hotel, most tenants are talkative old ladies etc, so… in search of a more private space I want to change the place).
Some logistics on arrival, short sleep, short walk in the city - and by the evening there I was, riding a ferry through a bay, passing by Sydney Opera House. Imagine how happy I was, standing on the deck of a ferry, sun shining, breeze, smell of ocean… I couldn't stop smiling - I AM IN SYDNEY!!!
Apparently the same evening the biggest ship in the world (Queen Mary) was leaving Sydney Harbour, and there thousands of people everywhere, on boats and hills around the bay. I thought, what a reception for my first evening here hehe
Actually why the first day was as great as it was - in the evening I met up with Pita and Anya, the Santos couple :) oh I was SO HAPPY to see guys here in Sydney!!! They made up my first day as great :) was so cool to sit and chat, see smiles on dear familiar faces, talking everything… I guess this is the best part of globalization - you can meet with friends everywhere! I think I have to pay off and visit Singapore some time during this year :)
Work
I started actually the next day I arrived, a bit jetlagged, especially by the end of the day - but things are great, it deserves a separate post coming later on.
And yes, I have had my welcome party! Saturday evening, Spanish tapas bar, and then off for drinks - for a change! - to… an Irish pub! Hehe some things never change :) AIESEC guys are so nice and welcoming, and trainees are cool people - 3 Brazilians (yes, Gabi is one of them :), girl from Bulgaria, Romanian girl - Salma (it seems there will be always something that keeps me connected to Romanians :) cheers to all of you I know :)
Something more about first images of Australia?
Of course I had to go to the beach!!! No comments, just look at my happy face :)
I'm mega-glad to finally live, as I dreamed, in a seaside city. Now I can come and sit, watching the water, at any time, which I successfully do, even in the evening like this:
Well, that was long way, good if you read till these lines :) That was it, my travel in detail. Lots of text, but that will work for the memoirs :)
To be continued - keep looking at Australia through my eyes!
14.500 km away from home, half of the world down here :)
Still taking time to believe that's happened, too good…
Typing these words, sitting in my room in a bay district, with palm trees just outside of my window, flowers everywhere, and night ocean breeze flowing into my room…
Australia? Australia! My country for the next year...
Yoho what a ride ahead :)
So how I'm doing:
In short, everything is great!!! (well, money is a bit of an issue, but it seems to be an eternal issue :) My company is wonderful, people here are great, Sydney is amazing. What else is needed to be happy? So I'm very happy!! hehe
A bit more in detail:
Well, sit comfortable and get ready for a long story :) Here's everything
My flight
I was flying through Tokyo, with Russian airlines Aeroflot (never-ever do this if you can! I finally got disappointed with them after they charged me 200 euros for overweight, cause total limit was 20 kg including hand luggage - hello, I'm flying to Australia!?) Anyways, farewell with Russia was good, I left on Maslenitsa day (when everyone makes pancakes and celebrates winter time). And then - 9 hrs flight to Tokyo. Obviously, I slept most of time on the plane :) A passenger next to me appeared to be nanotechnology engineer flying to deliver a presentation at a conference in Japan, his hobby was - guess what - heritage research, he published several books on the history of his family and the region he comes from. Very cool discussions!.. Travel time is a wonderful time, you can meet so many interesting people!
Japan - Tokyo. More precise, Tokyo airport
When we were flying above Japan (in the morning), first thing that struck me - how many mountains they have for such a small country! How they manage to be one of leading economies in the world in those conditions of limited land resources, is a miracle and lots of great management.
Second interesting thing - their fields are even smaller and carefully lined that those in Germany and Netherlands! (if that's possible…) I was amazed, land from above looks like a blanket of perfect small squares and rectangles. So interesting and different from vast chaotic Russian lands hehe :)
Airport actually appeared much smaller than I expected. May be that wasn't the main one? Transit area is very small (now I love Schiphol even more that I did before!), so I spent most of my time in a café, trying rolls (yay finally real Japaneese ones!) and reading, until I had to go to catch my flight to Sydney. Even being dead tired, I felt my heart beating faster and faster, as I approached the gate. I saw so many Australians at once, and all seemed to be very nice looking and smiling people… Quantas airlines are very nice (well, at least comparing to Russian airlines), and the first time in my travel life I met such friendly personnel, making jokes with passengers etc. My induction into Aussie culture began on the flight :)
Arriving to Sydney
Lucky me - there was sunny weather on my arrival, and I was with my head in a plane window, trying to catch every detail of approaching Australia. Lots of mountains, interesting stone seaside - and of course, shining waters of Pacific ocean…
Sydney Opera house, skyscrapers of the downtown, residential areas, boats in bays - and there I was, landing in Sydney airport. Yoho I did it!!! Ura-ura-ura!
Endless queues on the custom and quarantine (Australia is an isolated land, therefore very strict on incoming items), I was worried that could forget something and would be fined - but everything went smoothly, people were friendly (even at customs!). I went out - and there they were, several @-ers, waiting for 2 hrs for my arrival :) I was positively surprised, that there were more than a couple, as it usually happens, they even presented me with a sim card so I could let my parents immediately that I'm fine. And then I was taken to a place I'm living in, by car, through the city center, facing Harbor Bridge and a hint of Opera House… Great reception :)
First day
I was taken to a place where one of trainees (Russian girl from Ekaterinburg by the way :) lives, a nice old colonial house in a Neutral Bay area, which a posh area in the center of the city. The location is perfect, but I'd be moving out to a flat with some @-ers (current place, this house, is a private hotel, most tenants are talkative old ladies etc, so… in search of a more private space I want to change the place).
Some logistics on arrival, short sleep, short walk in the city - and by the evening there I was, riding a ferry through a bay, passing by Sydney Opera House. Imagine how happy I was, standing on the deck of a ferry, sun shining, breeze, smell of ocean… I couldn't stop smiling - I AM IN SYDNEY!!!
Apparently the same evening the biggest ship in the world (Queen Mary) was leaving Sydney Harbour, and there thousands of people everywhere, on boats and hills around the bay. I thought, what a reception for my first evening here hehe
Actually why the first day was as great as it was - in the evening I met up with Pita and Anya, the Santos couple :) oh I was SO HAPPY to see guys here in Sydney!!! They made up my first day as great :) was so cool to sit and chat, see smiles on dear familiar faces, talking everything… I guess this is the best part of globalization - you can meet with friends everywhere! I think I have to pay off and visit Singapore some time during this year :)
Work
I started actually the next day I arrived, a bit jetlagged, especially by the end of the day - but things are great, it deserves a separate post coming later on.
And yes, I have had my welcome party! Saturday evening, Spanish tapas bar, and then off for drinks - for a change! - to… an Irish pub! Hehe some things never change :) AIESEC guys are so nice and welcoming, and trainees are cool people - 3 Brazilians (yes, Gabi is one of them :), girl from Bulgaria, Romanian girl - Salma (it seems there will be always something that keeps me connected to Romanians :) cheers to all of you I know :)
Something more about first images of Australia?
Of course I had to go to the beach!!! No comments, just look at my happy face :)
I'm mega-glad to finally live, as I dreamed, in a seaside city. Now I can come and sit, watching the water, at any time, which I successfully do, even in the evening like this:
Well, that was long way, good if you read till these lines :) That was it, my travel in detail. Lots of text, but that will work for the memoirs :)
To be continued - keep looking at Australia through my eyes!
Labels: australia, internship, sydney
Tomorrow I'm flying to Sydney. Through Tokyo with several hours break, this flight will finally bring me to my new life destination - Australia...
I still can't believe it's happening :)
Me - flying 30 hours - to Australia - to start an internship... So good to be true, and the most wonderful part that it IS true! :)
However as much excited as I am, there is a room for you-know-that-about-starting-new-things syndrome. For those 2 months that I've been waiting for visa etc, I already dreamed so much about my next year, I imagined every detail of my living there :) I even made a self-picture of who is that Sveta that I want to be in Sydney (I believe an internship in a place where nobody knows you much is a perfect opportunity to finally take all feedback on improving yourself, start doing new things, from gym to dancing to volunteering, and change to a better person you always wanted to be but usual environment made you lazy)
So now, when all the preparation is done, ticket is in the pocket, things are packed - there comes a moment of thinking - will it be all that good as I imagine? Aren't there too many expectations?
What will you really be, my Australia?..
Well
I do have an answer to my own doubts :)
There is a great phrase one of my wise friends told years ago - "Don't have expectations, just go and live it"
Oh yes, this is what I'm gonna do! Live, LIVE at my fullest and enjoy every moment that comes, whatever it brings. Because this new stage of life is the challenge and the opportunity I wanted. Grow personally and professionally, create my own new environment, and see if I am as good as I think :)
Sydney, here I come! Flying half of the world, and I promise this will be a great experience for all involved :)
60 hours to go!..
I still can't believe it's happening :)
Me - flying 30 hours - to Australia - to start an internship... So good to be true, and the most wonderful part that it IS true! :)
However as much excited as I am, there is a room for you-know-that-about-starting-new-things syndrome. For those 2 months that I've been waiting for visa etc, I already dreamed so much about my next year, I imagined every detail of my living there :) I even made a self-picture of who is that Sveta that I want to be in Sydney (I believe an internship in a place where nobody knows you much is a perfect opportunity to finally take all feedback on improving yourself, start doing new things, from gym to dancing to volunteering, and change to a better person you always wanted to be but usual environment made you lazy)
So now, when all the preparation is done, ticket is in the pocket, things are packed - there comes a moment of thinking - will it be all that good as I imagine? Aren't there too many expectations?
What will you really be, my Australia?..
Well
I do have an answer to my own doubts :)
There is a great phrase one of my wise friends told years ago - "Don't have expectations, just go and live it"
Oh yes, this is what I'm gonna do! Live, LIVE at my fullest and enjoy every moment that comes, whatever it brings. Because this new stage of life is the challenge and the opportunity I wanted. Grow personally and professionally, create my own new environment, and see if I am as good as I think :)
Sydney, here I come! Flying half of the world, and I promise this will be a great experience for all involved :)
60 hours to go!..
These days in Moscow
2 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at 9:44 AM.
So to give you an idea, I'm now in Moscow, waiting for my Australian visa to be done. Fingers crossed I get it on time to be in Sydney this week.
What I'm doing? Reading marketing books, calling to the embassy, watching movies, meeting friends. Enjoying last days before starting working :)
Do you know this feeling, when you meet old friends - but things are different. People changed, you changed, and suddenly those ways are not as similar as you thought. Some people remained the same, and you feel that just the common past unites you. Some people grew and changed, and you find them even more interesting. Oh, those emotions, the greatest blessing of human beings! :)
I have more time now, and I talk to friends a bit more often. One guy went to the North Cap, it's one of most northern points, if not the most, in Europe. This is what he saw:
What I'm doing? Reading marketing books, calling to the embassy, watching movies, meeting friends. Enjoying last days before starting working :)
Do you know this feeling, when you meet old friends - but things are different. People changed, you changed, and suddenly those ways are not as similar as you thought. Some people remained the same, and you feel that just the common past unites you. Some people grew and changed, and you find them even more interesting. Oh, those emotions, the greatest blessing of human beings! :)
I have more time now, and I talk to friends a bit more often. One guy went to the North Cap, it's one of most northern points, if not the most, in Europe. This is what he saw:
Aurora aka nordic lights
Great, isn't it? I have some constant inspiration from him for travelling :)
Another close friend of mine became a great leader, I believe better than I was, and I'm so proud for her.
One more guy pursues his entrepreneurship career with Web 2.0, it's great to see people developing new ideas. We could talk in one language (me! talking IT stuff! he he I can do that after my AI term!) and we shared thoughts on web 2.0 and sustainability. Dream big is our everything :)
Another close friend of mine became a great leader, I believe better than I was, and I'm so proud for her.
One more guy pursues his entrepreneurship career with Web 2.0, it's great to see people developing new ideas. We could talk in one language (me! talking IT stuff! he he I can do that after my AI term!) and we shared thoughts on web 2.0 and sustainability. Dream big is our everything :)
Actually - I have great people around!!! Lucky me
Some picture story of recent days:
Some picture story of recent days:
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I went to Mitino, to MC flat. Great team, awesome guys, AIESEC rocks :)
If you didn't know, it's real winter in Moscow too.
This is something about our winter games :)
Don't you think life is just wonderful?!
P.S. one good quote I was told these days: "If you choose something - choose it, if you don't choose something - don't choose it" Think about it :)
