i keep standing on the wrong side of the escalators, or whatever they call them here. and i jaywalk funnily, which is conducive to me getting into an accident of sorts.
oh well. when in rome, eh.
and for the record, the water does drain anticlockwise.
i like these little quirks.
the weather has been beautiful here. but i've just stayed within the city, so there's not too too much to take pictures of. i'm also trying not to look like a tourist so much.
i got a cell phone today. virgin mobile did a really good job recruiting their hires. i want to work there. or constantly buy cell phones there.
the dude that helped me, hudson, was very attractive and very helpful. as was his co-worker on giving me advice on where to get a piercing in sydney. both of them have lip rings, which i have become quite fond of. apparently any mouth one is like upwards of $75 AUD. that's a little steep for me. in korea it cost like 20ish USD. i shoulda done it there, but i dunno how clean it was. and i suppose that's a pretty important factor in this department. also, they recommended that i didnt drink for at least 3 days, and that's all there really is to do there. so i think i made a good choice.
for future reference, around central station is a good place. this will be good to remember for when lynn comes here and we get some sorta inking done.
hudson liked my tattoo. his was alright. just a tribal half sleeve, if you could even call it a sleeve. it was hot, irregardless.
that has been my most satisfying human contact since i've been here. and i'm glad anjuli's likely gonna get a virgin phone too, which means i get to see them again :)
i love it here.
i love summer. i can enjoy solitude here. and being surrounded by all sorts of people.
there are lots of foreigners here.
but yeah, i keep noticing many cultural differences between toronto, sydney, socal, and seoul.
alcohol:
toronto: no drinking in public. drinking age is 19. you purchase drinks at lcbo or beer store.
australia: no drinking in public. there are also no alcohol zones. drinking age is 18. get drinks at liquor store.
u.s.: no public drinking. drinking age is 21. drinks are available at grocery stores too.
korea: drinking age is 18/19 (you age at new year's apparently). you can drink anywhere. even byob to restaurants. you can get alcohol anywhere like a convenience store to the grocery to whatever. i miss that.
night life:
t.o., usa, syd: last call is 2am. streets are pretty dead around this time cept for drunks stumbling out of the bars.
there are select districts that house clubs, pubs/bars.
seoul: bars close around 7am. everyone runs around the street till late. everywhere are buildings with 3 different floors of bars. they make good use of vertical space.
language:
t.o.: downtown, everyone speaks different languages, primarily english. but in many different neighbourhoods, you here different foreign languages.
cali: mostly english and spanish. with some random asian languages.
syd: i've been hearing lotsa english in many different accents. and also lots of foreign languages everywhere. i cringe when i hear asian languages.
seoul: korean. no englishe. not even konglish. they're alright at charades.
food:
to: lotsa different ethnic foods. mostly western fast foods. then italian and americanized asian cuisine. gotta tip.
cali: fastfood burger and taco joints. some american asian. coastally, lotsa seafood. gotta tip.
syd: a lot more variety than the others. portuguese for example. malaysian. etc. no tipping nec.
korean: bbq (very delicious). rice mixed with a lot of random suff (also pretty good. probably the best kind of asian rice). questionable seafood (ie penis fish and slithering octopi). all of these with tons of side dishes included. their soup sucks. and bastardized western food (bulgogi, shrimp, fish burgers). no gratuities.
money
canada: canadian dollar. 1, 5, 10, 25 cent, 1, 2 dollar coins. 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 etc bills in different colours, with holograms.
us: us dollar. 1, 5, 10, 25 cent coins. 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 etc dollar bills. all the same colours. but in different sizes. hard to tell them apart and requires lotsa time at the cashier to get shit in order.
aus: australian dollar. 5, 10, 20, 50 cent, 1, 2 dollar coin. 50 cent is massive. 2 dollars probably as big as 5 cent piece. 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 etc dollar bills. very bright colours. larger denominations are partially transparent.
korea: korean won. 50, 100, 500 coins. 1000, 5000, 10000 bills. that is all. blandly coloured. you end up carrying a huge wad cuz the highest is a 10000, which is about $10.
getting around. transportation.
tdot: ttc is king. buses, streetcars, trains. easily accessible but expensive. but worth it. you win some you lose some. it's easy to walk places and not get lost. try driving in rush hour and you're screwed. taxis are expensive. but best bet for getting home after a late night. vomit comet is wayyy too busy and smelly.
socal: in orange county everyone drives. the only people that take the busses are those whose cars are in repair. or the hispanics. it's a rare occurrence to see someone walking. like sasquatch. in l.a. public transit is alright. busses are cheap. train fares are based on distance travelled, and they dont really check your tickets. viva la honour system. a weird bunch on the train though.
seoul: the train system is overwhelming, but very useful once one becomes familiarized with it. distance-based fares. on the street, signs and maps are everywhere so it's very helpful in the not getting lost department but to walk from one district to another is a looooong walk. busses are confusing. i didnt even bother. im sure they're useful and cheap though. cabs are pretty convenient. cheap and readily available. just dont speak much englishe though. you'll probably get lost if you try to do charades. like they'll take you to the city gymnasium instead of the city stadium for a womans basketball game instead of the men's.
sydney: walking around the city is very pleasurable to the senses. it's easy to get lost because it's not the typical grid system that im familiar with in toronto, montreal and l.a. it's more like san fran in a way. but it's easy to get unlost with all the landmarks. not as many maps as id like. havent tried public transit yet. train looks confusing but i'll lose my virginity tomorrow going to meet anjuli. hopefully it's quick and unawkward. busses havent been necessary. cabbies are nice and charming.
that's about it for my short lesson in cultural studies. i have observed more. but i'm tired.
the end for now.
