Sydney morning, 07.56 AEST
It’s freezing down here in Campsie, a neighborhood I knew earlier when I was still in Indonesia. A friend wrap his body tight in sarong, trying to get rid of cold breezes away. The family (the one their house I took over) are talking outside, straighten things up coz they’re about to leave tonight. Yes, tonight I’d be left out with a flatmate living in a small unit in a 3-storeys building in a neighborhood about 20 km away from downtown Sydney. It looks warm as the sun shines so bright, but it doesn’t stop the wind from whirling, spreading the love of their coldness into every corner of Sydney.
I got here yesterday morning. But my plane got stuck at the
prone waiting to park. We (me and all the other passangers) were trapped in the
plane on the runway, waiting to finally be able to get down to the airport. I
stared out the window, looking afar to the silhouette of buildings, Sydney
Tower, the downtown Sydney. Mesmerized, that eventually I drop myself into a
situation I’ve always wanted to experience. A new place, new experience, a
dynamic of life. I feel… hypnotized by the amazing places God has created. A
foreign country.
I got out of the plane then took care of everything, when
things started to impress me. Immigration, baggage claim, new phone number and
data package, travel card, and done. Everything’s new for me. It’s the first
time that I experience so many people from many different cultures worldwide,
living, having business, studying, within the exact same city. It’s curious to
see Sikh people on the train, K-pop-styled girl standing by the platform,
short-skirt-ed blonde sitting right in front of me, elderly couple with their 2
grandsons and a stroll.
And the weather surprised me. It’s winter right now and
almost all of us are so conscious and aware about the weather. How could you
not. In the early morning as the sun is rising, you can see bright ray of sun
but at the same time, it’s wrapped by winding flow of cold I have no idea where
it comes from. I have to wear three layers of clothing, a t-shirt and a
sweater, longjohn and sweatpants, plus thic socks. You know what, the first
time I got here was in the airport and train, and they already conditioned the
air so that it’ll get warm inside both train and airport. I thought at first
that’s the normal temperature, and it will also be like that outside. I was
wrong, they set it warmer inside. And when I got outside the train station…
woooshh… it blows me out! LoL. I liked it very much, but then it constantly
goes inside my eyes, and it’s really dry. The longer I stay, the colder it
gets. Even right now…
Awareness of temperature is so high, unlike those times when
I was still in Indonesia. We never really care about how high the temperature,
how many degree it goes up when it gets hotter in Indonesia. Especially during
hot and longlasting dry season. Here, I ask all the time about how cold it is,
how low the temperature is. It’s 6 degrees this morning, yesterday afternoon
was 14 degrees.
