Monday, June 13, 2011

Sydney Blues

The third season of Masterchef Australia is on air right now and I'm hooked to it. The format is just as engaging as the second season that I saw in India. But unlike last season, I don't find myself rooting for any one contestant. Maybe it's b/c I don't find this year's contestants to be as culinarily capable as those from Season 2. Remember Marion, Adam, Callum & Jonathan? There's no one as good as them this time around. Instead there are people who make very basic home cook mistakes all the time, who crack under pressure and come up with disastrous, under-salted food, and who it seems are there just by fluke!


I clearly remember last year's contestants being able to rustle up French, Spanish, Russian, Indian, Asian dishes with equal elan. The furthest this year's contestants can stretch is Asian food, which is no achievement given that the Australian food scene is heavily dominated by Asian cuisine.


Having said that, it's quite comforting to be able to watch shows that I watched in India as well. That's the thing with Australian TV - most of the shows are American. Friends, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and other shows that are aired on Star World in India. I do miss the trashy reality shows of India though. I wish I could watch 'Khatron ke Khiladi', Indian Idol, Big Boss etc.


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This was a long weekend for us but the weather wrecked all my plans! I had plans to walk across the Harbour Bridge and take pictures of the harbour, to walk around Kirribilli Village (it's this cute little hilly neighbourhood near where I stay, with adorable houses and small shops & restaurants), and to go to Darling Harbour. But the cold, incessant rain made sure I was under house arrest for most of the weekend. I did brave the rains and go to The Rocks though....yay!!


You know, the thing is maybe I'm being too demanding of myself. I've been in Sydney only 2 weeks and I expect myself to be in love with the city already. Which I think is an unrealistic expectation given that I came here without any friends.


I think I need to give myself 5-6 months to fall in love with Sydney. That's the minimum amount of time it takes to find a set of consistent friends, get to know your way around, and generally feel "settled" in a city. What d'you think?


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The good news is that I move into my new house - which is in the heart of Sydney - in a couple of weeks. Yay!!


I'm staying in a service apartment right now, in a very upscale part of Sydney. Which means there are no supermarkets around, hardly any people walking the streets, and all the shops & restaurants shut by 4pm on weekdays and remain shut on weekends. This place is a ghost town after 5pm on weekdays and practically throughout the weekend...you can't even get a cup of coffee or a sandwich if you're dying of hunger and are out of food at home. Whereas I'm a city girl thru 'n' thru. So you can imagine how excited I am to be moving to a more lively part of Sydney. Heck, it doesn't get more lively than the City and soon my blues will go away...yay!!


Having said that, I so miss my mom and my dad and my sister and my friends in India. We usually don't know what we have until we don't have it anymore. The good thing is I now know exactly how blessed I am to have people who love me as much as my family & friends do, and I know never to take them for granted EVER again. Moonshine, Knife, Serendipity - I love you guys! :((

12 comments:

Moonshine said...

:( I am missing you too.. terribly!!! Watching all these random shows is no fun without having to chat about it with..

And on the settling down bit.. you are right.. You will take about 5-6 mths to settle down.. and actually start enjoying the place.. a new job + a new city.

Thats about the amount of time it took me to get used to Bombay and now Bangalore.

Dont worry.. it will happen!! So glad you found a place and are moving in. That itself is a big headache gone...

Scarlett said...

@Moonshine - Khatron Ke Khiladi is on, no? I'm missing out on it :(

New country + New job + No friends = Too many comfort zones shaken at the same time :(

Kalyan Karmakar said...

Miss you too :) Hope you get into your new house and the city soon and it willl be a lot warmer I am sure...watching the same TV shows can lead to such sanity. I think Australia is the only country I travelled to where I managed...take care and smile a bit more

Mantra said...

What happened to all that talk about mingling with the locals and imbibing a new culture? Doesn't sound all that easy now, does it? And you were making fun of Indians who seek the company of other Indians abroad? That's because no matter what you think of yourself, you will always be a second-class citizen abroad. I'm sure you're going to come sobbing back to India soon. All these fancy places are okay to visit as a tourist.... See how long they take to accept you as a local. And next time don't shoot your mouth off before you experience something first hand. Miss Know-it-All!!!!

Scarlett said...

@Mantra - For your information, "all that talk about mingling with the locals and imbibing a new culture" is happening, thank you very much. But that doesn't mean I won't miss my friends & family back home. And FYI - I have lived abroad for years before, so I wasn't "shooting my mouth off without experiencing it first hand". I've done it before and I'll do it again, and I don't see myself going "sobbing back to India soon" as you put it.

And honestly, I don't need nasty people like you reading my blog either. It's OK to disagree with a blogger's POV, but it's NOT OK to be so nasty & negative. The truth is, losers like you are so frustrated in life and probably no one would listen to what you have to say in real life anyway, so you spew all your venom on a stranger's blog. Sad life. You're welcome not to drop by again.

Kalyan Karmakar said...

@Mantra, what Scarlett, or any blogger writes about, are their personal views. As a reader one has the right to critique it. Bloggers expect that when they put their opinion out in public. However getting personal and malicious as you have is definitely not on. Sheer bad manners

Scarlett said...

Thanks Knife for standing up for a fellow blogger. I'd do the same for you :-)

Mantra said...

I'm sorry. I take back everything I said. I am nasty & negative. I am a loser who is so frustrated in life and since no one listens to what I have to say in real life I spew all my venom on a stranger's blog. I have a very sad life. I will respect your wishes and not drop by again. You are a lovely lady Miss Scarlett, you have shown me the true way and the light. Anyway it's ok... I will take your leave now. Good luck with everything and may you never come back to India again... unless you want to of course. Bye.

Anonymous said...

Good luck, am sure u'll enjoy Sydney. I was wondering - what's the most common question you get asked about INdia?
When I lived in Europe some yrs back, people always asked me if it was true that we worshipped cows, and how did we do it :-)

Avanti

Kalyan Karmakar said...

@Scarlett I know you would :)

Kalyan Karmakar said...

@Mantra: glad you have found the elusive inner peace

Scarlett said...

Avanti, the Aussies have quite surprised me by their lack of ignorance about India. I got asked the stupidest questions about India in the US (surprise!). The Aussies generally refrain from asking me about India and the few questions I've been asked till now have been quite informed.