On the plane to Australia developing square eyes staring at the TV monitor on back of the seat in front of me dreaming about what awaits me down under, I am feeling an entire list of emotions: anxiety, excitement; optimism; happiness and nervousness.  After all, it was my first trip abroad and I had bought a one way ticket and wasn’t planning on returning for a year.  I had no idea what to expect but was excited at the prospect.

With no accommodation planned on arrival I had dreamt about jumping on the back of a kangaroo and riding into town and finding the nearest and safest hostel to Sydney city centre

With no accommodation planned on arrival I had dreamt about jumping on the back of a kangaroo and riding into town and finding the nearest and safest hostel to Sydney city centre. In reality, I jumped into the back of taxi and headed to a suburb north of Sydney.

After handing over the money to the taxi driver I suddenly felt out of my depth and comfort zone. Faced with a hoard of drunken Aussies and homeless aborigines I gulped at the prospect of walking past them to reach the little hostel that lay in wait a little beyond them.  I found this hostel online prior to departing but heard it wasn’t necessary to book.  I had hoped for a nice single room with a view of the city. No luck, all singles were taken, instead I got lumped with an 8 bedroom dorm which looked as if it had been ransacked and with pants and socks strewn about the place it looked like one giant sock drawer. And instead of a view overlooking the city I was faced with a window overlooking the drunken street people. Welcome to Australia!

It was fair to say I didn’t sleep a wink my first night, my expectations of how my first night would be were far from the reality I faced, but nevertheless, I was excited about the adventure and couldn’t wait to wake up the next morning to start exploring.