#3: Evelyn Smialkowski
Wynyard Park
By Annette Ekin
Tell us about yourself I’m 22, from the North Shore, but I’m living in London at the moment. I went over there a year ago thinking I might travel and I got to London and loved it so decided to stay. I kind of fell into finance. I work in network development. It was never the plan but it pays the bills and stuff while I’m having fun.
You’re just back in Sydney for a visit? Yeah. I’m only here for two weeks. I’m taking advantage of the outdoors. Northern Beaches, you can’t go past the beaches there, I love them. I love the weather, the way of life, how laid-back everyone is. I love the style in Sydney and the take-advantage-of-a-good-day attitude. I love sitting at North Bondi on a Sunday and having afternoon drinks.
Which begs the question: why leave Sydney? I finished uni and I did a bit of traveling around Australia and I felt it was a natural progression to see what else was out there and I got to Europe and just loved it. I loved the big-ness of London and as a young person I think this is the perfect time to go do it all and then come back.
Hope you read Time Out in London… Heaps. It’s so good when people come to visit or just generally, to see what’s on.
Correct answer. So what are you up to today? I’m just waiting for my mum to finish work and then we’re having dinner at a Polish restaurant in Glebe called Na Zdrowie. I’ve not been but my parents are Polish and say it’s good. There are these Polish dumplings that I like – pierogi – so I’ll probably have some of those if they have them.
Do you speak Polish? Yeah, fluently. I’m pretty lucky, that I can stay in London because I have an EU passport.
OK, the reason we stopped you was to ask: what’s the story with the bikini-top-T-shirt combo? My sister lives in Perth and she studies medicine there and they always have crazy, dress-up medicine parties. I was looking at her Facebook photos and I thought it was really cool. She was wearing this fluoro bikini top as a joke and I asked her to bring it back to Sydney so I can take it. It’s from Good Sammies, an op-shop in Perth. She got this and a pair of denim high-waisted shorts for $2.50. It’s what op-shops used to be about.
Is this a break from the corporate wear? My office is pretty casual. I just try not to fall into “The Black”. The vintage over there is nice and cheap.
If London is “The Black”, how would you describe Sydney style? I think because of the weather and the beaches, it’s quite summery. But sometimes I love and hate it. If I see another “Ksubot” [you know, the Ksubi/fluoro epidemic], I may want to end it all. It’s a very fashionable city but I find it’s more in one direction as opposed to playing with other styles.
What’s on the To Do list before you head back to London? Lots of catch-ups, hanging out with the family, eating sausage rolls from Bourke St Bakery… stuff that you miss.