So how are you liking Sydney? Asked Jack at the company’s 2018 Christmas party. The short answer, I said ‘so far so good’, ‘great’, ‘it’s been wonderful’. Later that evening, I sat back and thought about this question. Since mid-February 2018, every morning (excluding public or private holidays and weekends) I have been taking the Sydney NSW train from the St. Leonard’s train station to Wynyard and then walk through the Wynyard tunnel towards Barangaroo to reach my office in Tower 2 of the International Towers. St Leonards is a suburb in the lower north shore of Sydney. I understand, Wynyard is a train station in the Sydney CBD (Central Business District) but I guess it’s the area also and Barangaroo is the latest addition to the business district, as I have come to know. Taking the same route back every evening. The only difference, as in any other major city, being that in the morning everyone is in a hurry while in the evening people are slightly calmer. I realised it’s just coming up to be a year since we moved to Sydney.
As we normally say when any calendar year comes to an end, how fast has this year gone. Three hundred and sixty-five days or five hundred twenty-five thousand and six hundred minutes, turned into past.
The next day, while riding the train to and from I asked one day, I thought ‘have I seen similar views before?’ Jack’s question still lingering in my head, I remembered that on one of the train rides while holidaying in Europe, I had wished if only I could have such scenic rides to and from work, life would be so beautiful. Here I am crossing the world’s famous Sydney Harbour bridge, mostly twice a day with the Sydney Opera House on one side and the beautiful Sydney Harbour on the other. Every day, well almost, from North to South and back. Being exposed to the sun for all my life, in Pakistan and then in the United Arab Emirates, I love it when it’s grey and the icing on the cake are the light showers (Sydney has a plenty of hard ones too) but it’s an awesome view from the comfortable train. Reflection of the sky turning the water blue or grey, the greenery in the backdrop, with the planes reaching their destination or leaving for another, ferries going under the bridge and the trains, cars and the ever-active walkers, joggers and cyclists. How much more wonderful could it be.
And my thoughts continued in the late Friday evening and night.
‘So do I not like it when it’s sunny?’ the sunny days remind me about my childhood, my home, my friends, my mischief’s, my teens, my weekends with my father, family, cousins and friends. Weird! How can a sunny day make anyone reminisce about growing-up? Well, when I was a school going kid, there was plenty of greenery in Karachi. Parks were not closed because of security threats, families enjoyed when they came together (without having to measure what his son was doing and when her daughter is getting married). Things were simple. Picnics at the Hawke’s Bay Beach with my father were awesome where both us got the chance to get connected. In those days, weekends in Pakistan were on Fridays and Saturdays. On Fridays, all of us cousins or friends had a lot of cricket to play in the Frere Hall park or some other grounds. And then family picnics in the park or at the beach, full family get together’s at my uncle’s place where my mom’s six sisters, their husbands and their children descended, and the house became a big playground. That was the sunny childhood I had. The sun in Sydney brings that child out of me who is full of energy and joy.
Oh! Wait a sec! Am I really that fortunate that I am living my past? Hadn’t I wished for something similar earlier in life and I have it in front of me now! except the family!
I have a obsession with seasons, it’s not just summer and winter or wet and sunny, it’s spring and autumn too. Going back to my childhood, we experienced all four seasons. It just seems ages ago when I enjoyed this complete seasonal cycle.
What else besides the seasons and the moody sunny and wet weather? What have I seen so far and what is my view about this new city?
So, let’s keep the season as is for now until the next cycle.
How wonderful it is to have a public transport system which is clean, systematic and organised. Now this is one thing Karachi lacks or should i say ‘what public transport system is there in Karachi?’. On the other hand, I will be stupid to compare it to the almost perfect and well organised, managed system in Dubai. But let’s keep it to Sydney, busses are mostly on time, with convenient bus stops, nearly clean buses, drivers greet you and are helpful if you are lost. Ninety nine percent of commuters say thanks to the bus driver when getting off and greet when getting aboard and he or she responds, where in this crazy world does that happen!
Trains are almost timely and clean (if only some commuters could learn how to respect and use public property). I forgot to mention the Central link tram line. Another wonderful experience of convenience. I can almost be connected to any part of Sydney with a bit of healthy walking. When there is train repair work on weekends, train replacement buses run in between the stations and there is no additional charge. Another mode of transport here is the ferry. How wonderful it is to take a ferry from either Circular Quay or Barangaroo to the many islands or just across. And the designate staff is as good as the bus drivers or the train station staff. It is a consistent satisfactory service to all. Now what else would I want to be connected. Hmm ‘Do I really need a car here?’
The best part is that generally people have much more respect for elders, handicapped, special people, family or a parent with a child. Giving them space or making them first to enter or exit.
People in general are nice, welcoming and helpful, be it at work or elsewhere (with some exceptions). When we moved here, my colleagues became my primary mentors to guide and advise me about the city and they did that very well.
Immense opportunities of part-time and volunteer work, that’s how my better half has blended in the local social setup.
Common! This is not what I am used to!!!
That’s a very interesting observation, why then is it that many locals only find some reason to complain? Guess I could ponder on this later when I have lived here longer.
‘Was it a co-incidence that we ended up in the north of Sydney?’ Mostly South Asians prefer to move and live in the west where they find people from their countries of origin or region? Interestingly, people are almost same everywhere. Snobs are everywhere and this place is no different, likewise, we Asians have snobs too, so we can safely call ourselves ‘Desi snobs’ we prefer living amongst the Aussie locals rather than locals from our own geography of origin! Generally, people find it weird and call us stupid but why shouldn’t we try to learn and adapt to the country and people who have welcomed us. Nothing to offend anyone but what’s wrong in me trying to know different people and cultures. Even our relocation agent was confused with our choices of the suburbs! That explains how we ended up in the North but St. Leonards!?
This is another story altogether! We shortlisted the suburbs of Roseville, Chatswood, Waverton, Neutral Bay, Crows-Nest, Killara and Lane Cove. We had not the slightest of idea re: St. Leonards. While my better half (she definitely is the best half of me, if anyone knows me?) stumbled on an advert, got off at St. Leonards station and loved the calm outside, she went to see two apartments, shortlisted both (but her bias was towards the one where we live now) took pictures and video, showing it to me later in the evening. Next thing is that we went to the station and walked to the building. Only after watching the video of the apartment, I was after the agent to get us the place. And here we are!
Well we never planned to be in Australia, but here we are (that’s another story for some other time), but this is how we ended up in St. Leonards, without a plan but it happened, and we are ever so grateful.
That’s a story! Feeling so full of myself and self-admiration.
‘What do I like or not like about our suburb?’ I am sure there are a lot of good things, but since I have, with difficulty, conditioned myself to be an optimist, I am going to focus only on the positives.
I) Chatswood, Stanton and Lane Cove libraries within twenty minutes of a bus or a train ride. I cannot explain how long it had been that I had been a member of a local library since the British Council library was shut down after the American Consulate bomb blast in Karachi followed by the 9/11 bombing of the twin towers in New York. How life changes due to something which happened in a country which ninety-nine-point nine percent of Pakistanis have just seen in movies or on television (censored)!
II) Within ten minutes of walking distance I can get on a bus taking me to Manly, take a train to Circular Quay and another ten minutes of a nice walk to the Sydney Opera House or catch a ferry to reach the many islands or the other side.
III) Ten minutes walking distance to the Royal North Shore hospital. Hospital? It is important and is a comforting feeling that medical assistance is just minutes away!
IV) Fifteen minutes’ walk to Bunnings. When we discovered this convenient and pleasant walk, we were there every second week to check out the plants and pots and other items at affordable prices.
V) Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden in Lavender Bay was the biggest surprise for us which we stumbled upon on one of our exploration walks. That’s a ten minutes train ride and a nice walk. Now who has been there would know how peaceful and comfortable this place is with an amazing view of the Sydney Harbour. I like going there with a book to read and something to munch on, I find the solace within myself, while being there.
VI) The writer’s group at Stanton Library is one of my latest discoveries, which I would love to be part of for long, hence, my sheepish prompt to my wife, while our lease comes up for renewal, let’s stay in the North.
Like the above, there is a lot more which is within thirty minutes of walk, bus or a train ride like the Sydney Oval, the temples, the mosques, the religious churches and the church of scientology, south asian grocery store (I need to have my spices), numerous bush-walks and parks, quite local pubs and bars, coffee shops and restaurants, et cetera.
Sydney is one of the ten most expensive cities in the world to live but people still manage to enjoy life by adapting to the circumstances. Yes, we pay a high rental for the apartment we live in but it’s every cents worth with the many advantages. It’s a fine balance, do I value my commute time living afar or reaching home and having an extra thirty minutes for myself and if with a slightly tight budget we can have these intangible blessings then why not live a content life, which I have learnt late (too late) in life.
The time which was lost in the worldly demands from studying, getting good grades then moving on with higher studies then first job followed by second and third and fourth and fifth and running after success (without really understanding ‘what is success?’).
The small things which brought satisfaction and happiness back then were lost in the pursuit of obtaining material happiness and thrown away as these got outdated. Instead of living in the moment and enjoying nature and the company of physical people, it became the company of a static face (picture) on a social app called ‘Facebook’ and many such other apps. After so many years I have now enjoyed the shedding of leaves in autumn and barren trees in winter and then growth of new leaves welcoming the change in spring and the summer. Isn’t it awesome to relive one’s life?
I am sure I can keep on going on and on, but I need to end somewhere sometime, it’s bloody 4a.m. Time to get in bed before sunrise otherwise, it will really be a very early morning and an extremely long day with my sweet better half taking care of her worst half (me).
Copyright: Kirtan Varasia (2019)
as I view it 