First of all, the place where I lived. I had rented an apartment in Marrickville (in the Inner West), which almost every Sydneysider knows as a hip and happening suburb. This was no reason for my choice: the only affordable place that I could find for a short period of two months happened to be there. Rents in Sydney are insanely high, and this is also felt at Airbnb. It turned out to be a nice and spacious apartment with a great view of the CDB; the only discomfort was the continuous noise from the junction nearby and the planes who were approaching Sydney airport. You could easily discern the airline logos and guess where they come from.
Notwithstanding the hip and happening, after 23h, everything is closed---even music bars with live gigs. Australians habitually go to bed early. Even “Victoria’s Yeeros”, the meeting place for night owls just in front of my place, would shut their doors then, unless it was a Saturday night. Then it would be open until midnight, or one o' clock, if it was really busy.
However, I greatly enjoyed Marrickville. The combination of Greek and Vietnamese culture was genuinely exciting: excellent pho and Vietnamese buns, fresh seafood, and many cafe’s and kafenions where older Greek men would spend all the day talking to each other.
In Australia, coffee is very decent, but not always more than that. A really excellent one is served at Freepour’s, though. Their piccolo with its tangible espresso push soon becomes my favorite. Freepour's is also the cheapest place (espresso 2,50$, piccolo/macchiato 3$, rest 3,50$), confirming my old thesis that quality coffee is often cheaper than crappy one. If you have ever taken an airplane from the Netherlands or Germany to Italy or Croatia, you know what I mean.
The squad at Freepour’s works hard: I have seen the manager (the guy to the left) on every single day I was there. And I was there often. At some point, we got into conversation and he explained that he had to make it via the price/quality relationship: other cafés could rely on their regular Greek patrons, or they had lofty spaces with nice furniture which would attract managers for talking business. To Freepour’s, people come for the coffee. A nice example for the thesis that true devotion delivers the best results---although I have to say that this probably means a very hard life. They are always very friendly, though, up to the point that they anticipate my habitual orders.
Second, my workplace. This is the Sydney university campus
and this is the interior of the Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), where I performed my daily research duties on the sixth floor.
The name “The Australian Guggenheim” may sound presumptuous, but it is at least a good first order approximation! An inspiring place with a large pantry and a small terrace on each floor, and a place where you like to work.
Third, leisure. The best thing about the Sydney campus is the outdoor swimming pool Victoria Park Pool close to the CPC! 50-meter-lanes!!! I signed up for a 20-visits package in the very first days after my arrival, and it was a great investme nt. Often, I completed my working days with a 45-minute swim, and directed by patient swimming coach Andrew, I even learned to crawl!
Directly in front of the CPC are also several sports grounds, even with their own stands. Once, we had a reading group there when the building was evacuated due to a small fire in a lab. Often, these grounds were used for rugby and Aussie rules footballs trainings, but on one evening, returning from my swim, I stopped there to watch a soccer match of a girls juniors side against a team of 14-16 year old boys. I took a seat in the stands. There were about twenty specators: 15 parents, 3 random university people including myself, and 2 retirees with their dogs. It was interesting to see the altogether differnt playing styles. The boys were faster, their movements were more fluid, and individually more gifted. As a consequence, they controlled most of the game, and it was hard for the girls to develop danger when they were to initiate an attack. This was not to say that they were without chance: their defense was focused and well organized, and when they conquered the ball, they ran intelligently, opening up spaces for counterattacks and on some occasions, becoming really dangerous. Also, the defense of the boys’ team was somewhat sloppy (the one and other half-hearted duel and catastrophic pass), confirming the old saying that the worst players are always found as left and right backs… In the end, the only goal that was scored during my watching time (by the boys) was canceled due to offside, but also as a 0-0, it was an enjoyable encounter.
In the end, all this became sort of home and I had a hard time saying goodbye. But I am confident that it will not have been the last time.
No comments:
Post a Comment