Here I am in Syd
ney…four days into my visit and we are settling in to our new reality. We are about to enter our third month of this adventure, so this is still a work in progress. I am still a big believer in the importance of change, but in my eagerness to embrace it before my trip, I decided to dye my hair for the first time in my life – not a serious colour change, just an effort to remove the grey hairs and brighten things up a bit. It seemed like just the thing before my big trip, I’d never done it before and shouldn’t I do it at least once?? Things went well, I didn’t mind my new, slightly darker look, but change isn’t always good, as we know. That night my head started to itch – convinced I must have picked up head lice instantly at my very high end hair salon, I think I made Marieke check over and over again over the next few days until I read that it’s likely no lice could even survive hair dye. Definitely I was having a reaction and that reaction would continue until my third day here in Australia. All over my body…the itch just moved around from my legs to my arms to my stomach to my back, all the while continuing on my head, of course. By the time I arrived in Sydney, I confess, I had taken benadryl, reactine, a xanax and a glass of wine (just one, honest). I thought I might lose my mind! Now keep in mind, this was over 24 hours of travel, I didn’t consume those all at once. Moral – not all change is good or necessary. Having said that, this change that Marco and I made is still good change,we both believe that.
The first three days have been an adjustment – we’ve had fun, but it’s just starting to feel normal now. For almost 28 years we’ve always had a shared space. Suddenly, we had our place in Winnipeg together, yet Marco’s place in Sydney was just his. I felt like a visitor and I’m not sure I liked that or expected it. I should have realized that would happen, of course. The first day, aside from the itching, was fun – we walked to Coogee Beach and had lunch 
outside, wandered around the University, then sat outside on the balcony of Marco’s teensy weensy over-priced Sydney apartment and drank wine while looking out over the city with the ocean view (which, by the way, makes this expensive city worthwhile, at least for 24 months). The next day was Saturday so we had two days before Marco would be at work again. Suddenly, we had to try to find a way to live in this little space – moving the coffee table every time someone needed to stand up; finding a spot for my things; figuring out how to fit both the milk AND the water in the little fridge…those minute details of sharing space. It was like camping, except we hadn’t set up the tent together and somebody else packed the food. On Saturday, we bused downtown and checked out Circular Quay, wandered around the Sydney Opera House (only the outside, it was a beautiful day), drank coffee and ate chocolate at a lovely Belgian cafe…by the end I was exhausted. I spent that evening sleeping and scratching and sleeping some more. Sunday, we took a ferry to the Taronga Zoo – it was hot, filled with screaming over-heated children and it’s up a hill. A huge 
zoo, uphill. While neither of us are ‘zoo’ people, we were excited to see a tasmanian devil, the tiny Australian penguins, kangaroos, wombats, a platypus and some lovely bird life. (I would have preferred to post a photo of the tasmanian devil or the wombat but they shy away from the camera, unlike the good old kangaroo).
I confess that when we arrived home I was a bit on the cranky side. I was feeling out of sorts, still itchy, hot and not really sensing my place in this super organized, sparse, tiny apartment. That would have to change but it was up to me, not Marco – he was happy to share his world, at least I think so 🙂 …
Monday morning, Marco went off the work and I set about to embrace this new world. How better to feel like this place is my home than a bit of retail therapy! Off I went, feeling a bit nervous, although I’ve traveled alone all over the place, lived in Europe for five years as well. I just haven’t done it for awhile, my brain is older now and I’m more likely to forget how to find my way home! I bought a few things we needed around the apartment, little things – some coasters, a colander, a small cheese grater, exciting stuff. Keep in mind, there was really only room for a lemon, some lettuce and maybe an apple in the fridge…once we squeezed in some cheese and olives. I organized a few things, and started to feel a bit better about it all. Over the first days, I got my computer set up so I could work in the mornings, I explored in the afternoons, then Marco and I would meet up for dinner and decide how we’d spend the next three weeks. Short term plans include going to Sheherazade at the Sydney Opera House on Friday night, and heading to the Blue Mountains the following weekend.
It’s pretty good, in fact, it’s starting to feel really good here. This tiny apartment is amazing in so many ways – a constant breeze from the ocean, the sound of so many different birds. I am starting to enjoy the simpler way of living – stuff can weigh you down. While almost everything in our home in Winnipeg has a story and is important to us, there is something to be said for a minimal lifestyle. We FaceTime with friends and family, make plans for our travel over the next two years, squabble a bit, just enough so it feels normal, and we laugh – a lot. That’s the best part and what I miss the most when we’re not together. We really are doing okay with our new reality.
Oh, and I spent a couple of hours at Coogee Beach yesterday – forgot that my arms are short and didn’t manage to cover my entire back, forgot that I should put sunscreen on my forehead even though I have bangs so am resembling a blotchy lobster a bit. That hole in the ozone over Australia is for real, everyone. We need to care for our climate or we WILL leave a huge mess that our children will pay for dearly. And no one wants that.
Well, I’m off to sleep to the sound of the wind off the ocean, the crazy call of the sulphur crested cockatoos and the Australian ravens. Life is really precious, I’d say, and my goal is to savour every moment. Our collective goal should be to work to preserve this world of ours, so that our children and grandchildren will have moments to savour as well.
cindy rublee - living without beethoven 