I can't believe I only have three weeks left in my new home. It has been an absolutely incredible experience that I will cherish forever. I have truly been blessed through what I have been able to see and do. I have met people from all over the world, who have opened my eyes so much. I have always considered myself to be a "globally aware" person, but this experience has made me that much more "aware". Granted, the whole experience has not been perfect by any means. To be quite honest I have not been the biggest fan of Macquarie University (let's just say I have become all the more appreciative of CU). I also despise the prices in Australia, I constantly feel like I'm being ripped of or cheated by how much, and what I'm paying for. However, despite these things, if someone offered me the opportunity to stay in Sydney or Australia in general, for longer I would in a heartbeat. Sydney itself is a huge sprawling city, with so much to offer. I can walk five kilometers in any direction from the CBD and be in a completely new and exciting area. It is a diverse, multicultural, lively, vibrant city....and you can't beat the skyline. The country in general has a great open, friendly and laid back attitude. Suffice it to say, that a great many people I have met while here have been generally interesting to talk to and interested in getting to know me. Of course, I have also made good friends on my program and at the uni.
So to get to some actual substance, the past couple weeks have been spent seeing more of the city and saying goodbye to some friends that are leaving. But instead of going through the details of the last couple weeks, I am going to give my "Three Week Left Bucket List":
Cairns: held a koala, played with Kangaroos, danced with aborigines, zip lined in the worlds oldest rain-forest, scuba dove in The Reef, attempted rather amusingly to win over a 25 year old German backpacker, wake boarded, and was first introduced to Australia.
Canberra: Stood on US soil (embassy), explored the Australian parliament, toured the War memorial, fell asleep during the Rugby Semi-final at an Irish pub, and discovered why the city has that "reputation".
New South Wales (outside Sydney): Surfed at Crescent Head, hiked through the Blue Mountains, explored Newcastle, toured the oldest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere, explored Wollongong (and its awesome pineapple fritters), stood at the Kiama Blowhole, and gained a great appreciation for how large just one state is.
New Zealand: Bunjy jumped from 450 feet, went on an overnight cruise of the doubtful sound, toured a sheep farm and saw "heaps of sheeps", drove through some of the most spectacular scenery ever imaginable, met the most awesome people (both locals and on tour), witnessed prime Lord of the Rings territory, experienced an Ice Bar, saw more stars than I could describe, witnessed the destruction of Christchurch, and incorporated "sweet as" into my vocabulary.
Tasmania: Toured one of the most infamous colonial convict sites of the British Empire, wandered through Australia's largest street market, played with Wallabies (and their babies-in pouch) at Wineglass Bay, went horseback riding, came within five feet of a wild Tiger Snake...twice, went ATVing on Cradle Mountain, saw Tasmanian devils, and drove on the left hand side of the road!
Sydney: Went to an Aussie Rules football game (and subsequently befriended a great local family who have been a pleasure to get to know), hit the beaches, surfed, explored the City day and night, walked across the Harbour Bridge, took way too many pictures of the Sydney opera house, went on a Harbour cruise, explored the Sydney bush, took part in a 17 mile cancer fundraiser walk, explored Darling Harbour, went to the zoo, had the best fish n chips in Watsons bay, went up the Sydney tower for free, explored every part of Sydney I haven't mentioned, listened to local bands, attended an Australian University, met some amazing people (locals and other internationals), and (cue cheesiness) fell in love with my home for the semester!
Three weeks left and my trip to Melbourne awaits....stay tuned!
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