Well I've made it here - at least in the sense that me, my bags, my jacket are all here. I've got my visa, without a great deal of whooha, except for huge waits at the airport. Plus I've checked in the hostel where I'm staying this week.
The only thing is, I only have one other backpackers/hostel to compare it to - the USA Hostels San Francisco site. That place was great. Well, it was basic - the beds were metal frames with metal springs under the mattresses. Let me recall some good things. It had an ensuite (ie. each room had a toilet & bath/shower in it). It had power points (this room may too, but I can't tell yet). Except for one occasion (the day I arrived) I was always the first to get to bed, which meant I could have the lights on while I read. It had wifi. In the room. Yeah. Free too.
So this place doesn't have an ensuite (the showers have good pressure - and the toilets don't fill as weirdly), wifi seems to be only in the lobby (and paid, though I can cope with that). Plus I arrived at 9:30 in the evening, and the room was dark with at least two people sleeping. Now I really need to pull open my suitcase and rat around in it for something (I did find shower gel though). I would also like to force some of the things from my WWDC backpack out of it so I can carry it around.
Anyway, so I was feeling really home sick, probably a lot to do with being tired, in a new place, and not 100% happy with my surroundings (though I'm sure I'll recover that tomorrow). I tried ringing mum (at ridiculous roaming rates) when she offered to let me collect call, which I did, which made me feel a whole lot better.
Tomorrow I'll fetch a new sim card, and apply for a social insurance number. Then I'll start looking for somewhere to live. For now I'm tired, I've taken a sleeping pill which isn't working, so I'm watching simpsons episodes with headphones on at minimal brightness. Stay tuned.
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