i got my information for where i'm living from july to november. if you can see the poor photoshop job i did on this map, i'm in the epworth house at the bottom, while the school is the wesley institute at the top. i'm living with three other girls (don't know who yet!), and a housing supervisor from fiji who loves students.

for a little reference, but not much, this arrow points to drummoyne, a suburb west of sydney where the institute lies. you all can google map sydney yourselves for perspective within the country. y'all are smart. for a good time, start looking at some of the names of different suburbs. "woolloomooloo" is my favorite, although "north manly" is up there too.




is this the story of the day? maybe. i'll be keeping my eyes open, but this one does it for me. i'm so excited.

less story more observation!

this afternoon, i hopped on my bus on state and madison. i was surprised to see that it was mostly empty--i've seen it full to the door at different times in the afternoon--but was pleased to see that my favorite area to sit, the back, was completely bare.

i like sitting in the back. i can't quite place why, although if you sit in the very back row in the corner you can put your feet up on the hardware that holds the seat ahead of you. not too shabby.
so i move to that seat, and make a move to claim it when i notice a newspaper sitting in my spot. without a second thought, i picked up the newspaper and moved it to another seat nearby. you know, leave it so that if someone really wanted something to read, he had the paper.
the bus kept moving on and kept filling up, the paper jumped from empty chair to empty chair. soon the only seat left near me was the one with the paper in it. the last fellow to come to the back of the bus saw the empty seat, made a move to take it, then noticed the paper. he turned back around, picked up the paper, folded it hot dog style (first grade art class, anyone?), sat down, and placed the paper by his feet.
looking back i don't know why, but i found this curious. why not just sit on the paper? certainly, one doesn't just sit on things. that's generally looked down upon, i'd say. but why is that? do we have such an aversion to foreign items coming into contact with the seat of our pants that we'll move one object to sit on the other? after a moment i conjectured that the newspaper was probably cleaner and had been sat upon by less people than the seat itself was likely to, but still the paper was moved. is it out of respect for the printed word, or just the general fact that if you sit on something, you run the risk of looking foolish and lazy?

in retrospect, this is a little lame. sitting on newspaper? really? here's a backup story: i discovered wicker park today (and claimed it for the gold coast).
ah well, there's always tomorrow.

consider this my letter of resignation (the pledge)

welcome to meredith's travel blog. i've been in some new places over the last couple of weeks, and the list will only grow over the next five months. join me, if you please, and i'll take you with me.
i like stories. a lot. i think stories say a lot not only about the events that make the story what it is, but the storyteller himself. or, herself, as it were. i'd like to tell you the stories i'd tell you in person if i could.
and oh, how i wish i could. i'd love to curl up on your couch, sit at a coffeeshop late into the afternoon with you over long-emptied uniform ceramic mugs, go on long walks to nowhere in particular and just pass stories. but alas! i can't. here's my solution:

i'm here to tell a story about my day, everyday, posted promptly as a wizard (neither early nor late), and invite feedback of all kinds. this is important. i die without feedback. tell your own story. ask a question. let me know you dropped by. suggest a story to be told (and i'll go out and do it. really*). critique me. tell me i should capitalize something. whatever.

the first few posts will be establishing shots, addressing frequently asked questions about where i am, what i'm doing, where i'm going and why. but from then on, it's storytime.

housekeeping: the site will be, if i can help it, constantly under contstruction. if anyone has links to other bloggers who have done something unique to the layout of their blog, let me know. i would love to add some of my own illustration or photography. just keep an eye out for me.

*pending state, federal, and international law and percieved danger to self and others.