Paul Georges . Alterego Construction

Hey folks,

I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time now. A blog post that is worth posting. My theory about being abroad was right after all… blogging from home is just boring and no fun whatsoever. Being away definitely brings out the need for me to kinda brainstorm about what’s been going on and eventually spew it out onto this virtual canvas. Can’t help but admit that this feels nice; I really missed blogging.

So yeah. I’ve landed Down Under in Sydney a couple of days ago. I’ve hardly had time to take anything in unfortunately because the arrival has been quite hectic for a bunch of reasons, notably, because of health concerns (see post below). For the non-frenchies, basically I had a weird incident with a rare cardiac disease called Myocarditis a few months back. A day before my departure for Oz I was having some strange pains in my chest… nothing like last time. I just thought it was just anxiety and that it was completely normal so I kinda of let it slide (bravisimo Paul). Just so happens that the pains were still hanging around on the plane and are still going on at this very moment. Now…

So this is where the story continues for those who are up to date. I went into the hospital today at Royal Prince Alfred here in Darlington which is where I’m staying (at an AIESECer called Jonothan’s place) (who is totally awesome) (thank you Jono)! I’ve never been so well received at a hospital before in my entire life. I didn’t know efficient hospitals like this one ever existed except in theoretical left-winged fairy-tales. The lowdown: you arrive, you fill out a form, do triage with a nurse. BAM, you’re being monitored, tests are being done, you see the doc. The results are back. They let you go (thankfully). All the staff were absolutely amazing and just so friendly. I couldn’t help but thank everyone personally afterwards, especially given that the results of my tests came back fine on every level: ECG was fine, chest x-rays were fine, all the blood tests were fine (cardiac enzymes, sedimentation, blah blah blah). So I’m heading back tomorrow for a few other tests, most importantly, an echo cardiogram (which is the most enjoyable test ever, in a strange gooey kind of way). I swear it’s a wicked awesome test. You get to see your heart come up on a super techno screen in all kinds of flashy colors. Just great. hehe Well… that being said, things are really looking up. I’m looking forward to totally getting rid of this condition whatever it be, as soon as possible in order to start taking fully advantage of my time in Sydney. Hooray for staying a year and not 3 months or something.

Now that the health topic has been taken care of, I can talk about the rest. First of all: AIESEC! AIESEC, AIESEC, AIESEC! I’ve never met so many awesome, talented, sweet, friendly and helpful individuals in so little time. Lucy, who is in charge of ICX here at Sydney and who raised the TN I’m taking part in, came to get me first thing in the morning at the airport alongside Florencia. Wonderful people. They showed me around the U of Sydney area which is just amazing. The campus is simply beautiful… makes Université Laval’s campus look like such a farce (once again… does this sound familiar? Linköping?). The vegetation here is so different from what I’ve seen before and is really a sight for sore eyes. Parks are everywhere. Two thumbs up.

I also got to go around a district nearby called Newtown. All I can say is “wow” and I’m sure that the folks that have been to Sydney before agree. Tonnes of cafés, hip shops, cheap restaurants; the kind of place you can walk around all day just window shopping armed with only a latté. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the neighborhood more.

The girls then dropped me off at Jonathan’s place who has been taking me in for the last two nights: THANK YOU JONO. Jono’s been so hospitable in all respects… I owe him a lot. Sames goes out to Anastasia, possibly AIESEC Sydney’s new LCP, who has been just incredible. On top of it all, they make quite an explosive duo.

I’m looking forward to getting the hang of the city as a whole. I’ve haven’t been out much for reasons mentioned beforehand. Things will start getting interesting soon enough once the health issues are settled and the other misc. stuff is taken care of: cell phone, bank account, place to stay, etc. I start work straight off the bat on Tuesday so I don’t have much time to waste. Looking very forward to that as well.

I got to meet some work colleagues, interns and other fellow AIESECers on the night I arrived. Once again, everyone I met was just amazing; each had so much to say and their own different story to tell which just so happened to be as interesting as the next. We all went out to a really sketchy place called Jackson’s on George which is downtown. Lots of drunken Aussies getting really naughty on a small dance floor playing outdated pop music (horribly mixed too), lots of drunken Aussies hailing cabs (or at least trying to) and almost getting run over in the process, lots of drunken Aussies screaming and yelling and going fuckin’ nuts. Supposedly it’s not at all the norm thankfully. Alouette.

Otherwise, the city is beautiful. The old terrace houses of Redfern are just so my thing. Try visualizing a colonial English version of St-Jean Baptiste in Québec City. You can imagine that I’m pretty much in heaven. Most terraces have leafy backyards with tonnes of Christmas lights and junk hanging around. The place where I’m staying at the moment is pretty much the perfect place for me. I’ve been no where else yet but it’s just ideal… amazing flatmates with social conscience, artwork everywhere, polished hard-wood floors, lots of “cachet,” close to the station that I need to take to get to work, close to parks, close to cafés, close the everything. Can I ask for more?

So there you have it. It’s 6AM in the morning at the moment. I’m pretty much sleepless, jetlagged and attempting to relate to every word spoken by Nada Surf to my ear. It’s going to be a rough day hehe.

More news to come! Check back often. Really looking forward to reading comments but no worries, I expect none! hehe I’ve learned a lot from my last trip abroad!

Cheers!