Sydney

Harbor Bridge

Opera House

Sorry I have not posted in awhile, but I have been BUSY!  Last Thursday we flew to Sydney for the weekend and came back on Monday.  Then, this week I have lots of homework and essays that I have been working on.  I also developed a little cold that has made me spend lots of time in bed. 

Thursday:

Arrived in Sydney, it took about an hour and a half to get there and we stayed at the Base Hostel.  We shared a room with four other people.  There were two guys from London, a guy from Scotland, and a guy from Ireland.  They were all very nice and it was fun talking with them and hearing all of the different accents.  It was really funny when we could not understand each other and we would just laugh about it.  Also hearing the different stereotypes that were associated with all of us was funny.  Glen, the guy from Ireland had never met an American so we were the first Americans he had met and I hope we left a good impression!  There were people from all over the world at our hostel and it was cool meeting new people and hearing their story.  We got there later in the evening so we just stayed at the hostel and ate there for dinner.

Bondi Beach

Friday:

We went on a tour with our hostel to Bondi Beach and then had a BBQ.  We took the OZ bus there and then walked along the beach and saw the beautiful water filled with surfers and also looked for whales (it is their migrating season), but did not see any.  Then we had a BBQ and I also had a Tim Tam milkshake, which was amazing!  Later that night we met up with some of Stew’s friends that also go to Butler.  They are studying in Sydney for the semester.   I also tried calamari and it was alright, it was too chewy for me.

Saturday:

We slept in and then us girls decided to go shopping and sightseeing.  Stew and his guy friends went to a footy game (Sydney vs. Hawthorne).  Our hostel was in a great location because it was close to everything and we could walk.  The Opera House and Harbor Bridge was only 15 minutes away.  We finally ended up by Darling Harbor, where we met up with Stew and his friends for dinner.  For dinner that night, I decided to try kangaroo.  It came with mashed pumpkin and stewed cherry tomatoes and it was very good.  It tasted like beef, but a bit chewier.   After dinner, we went to Coogee Beach where Stew’s friends live.  I also fell that night and my ankle swelled up and is still swollen.  I think I just rolled it, because it doesn’t hurt anymore, just swollen a tad.

Sunday:

We went to the Rocks, where there was a large market held outdoors.  There were crafts, food, and everything you could image there.  For lunch we ate at Pancakes on the Rocks and I ordered Devil’s Delight.  It consisted of two chocolate pancakes, covered with chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, and strawberries.  It is a very popular place and we had to wait a good half hour before we got a table.  We also stopped by a McDonald’s later that day, they call it Macker’s and it was a very fancy one!  It had two levels and was very nice.  That night we packed up and just hung out with our roommates.  Glen from Ireland is in Sydney for the year to work.  Andy from London is just traveling and is a DJ.  The other two guys have been here for a while and are working.

Monday:

Flew back to Launceston, which was bittersweet.  Once we were back I went to class and later that night I went out to dinner with some people from class (they were friends with Brett (from band) when he was here last year) to a sushi place and it was very good!  They also tried to convince me that drop bears are real.  Drop bears are supposedly kind of like koalas that “drop” out of trees and are very vicious.  However, I looked them up and they are not real.  They also told me to put vegemite (a very bitter spread that they love and I hate) behind my ear to keep the drop bears away.  Jess, Eva, and Annie are in my Children’s Lit. class and Angus is in my Aboriginal Studies class and I met a few more people that night too.  We are all 2^nd or 3^rd years and most of them are English or History majors.  A couple of the guys go to the Australian Maritime College, which is on our campus too.

Random:

-  Prawns = shrimp

-  There election is coming up and if you don’t vote you get a fine

-  They call a period (.) a full stop.

-   I met a guy that believed that the U.S. had 52 states and that the 51^st and 52^nd states were Hawaii and Michigan

-  They don’t have squirrels here and the only people who have seen them are the ones who have been to the US or Canada.  It is funny because a lot of people think they are cute and friendly like in the movies.

-  Spring begins in September

-  Their main flavor of cheese is called “tasty”

-  You can climb the Harbor Bridge and I want to go back and do that!