SYDNEY

Sydney is arguably one of the coolest cities I have ever seen. I'll give you a quick recap of the busy weekend. After a smooth airport experience Malcolm and I arrived at YHA hostel in central Sydney on Thursday afternoon. We were pretty surprised at how nice the hostel was, despite the community bathrooms and 2 roommates who didn't speak to us. We spent Thursday afternoon walking around - a lot. We walked down through the beautiful parks down to the Botanical Gardens. We even found a museum on the way! All the parks were huge and filled with gorgeous trees and flowers - they all looked like something out of a movie. One of the things I noticed right away was how culturally diverse Sydney is. You can walk down the street and hear a handful of different languages being spoken all around you. By the time we got back to the Hostel our feet were aching and we were exhausted. Friday morning we woke up early and headed down to the Opera House for our 10am tour. We did have a little trouble finding it, and were forced to be stupid tourists walking around with our map asking how to get to the Opera House. The slight embarrassment was well worth it - the opera house is stunning. It was so strange to actually see something that I have seen pictures of for years; to actually stand in front of it and look at it with my own eyes was a very cool experience. The tour was worth it simply because we were allowed to go inside and see things we normally wouldn't be able to. After the tour we drank some coffee at the opera house cafe and looked out at the harbour bridge - it was a pretty surreal experience.

We then made our way over to the ferry, which we rode around the harbour. We got off at Luna Park, which is a historical amusement park, and walked around there for a little bit. A lady gave us free passes as she was leaving, so, upon Malcolm's request, we went on one ride, and I am glad to still be living after it. It must have been 70 years old....and I really was concerned for my life. Anyway, we promptly left the park and, not wanting to pay $100+ to go across the top, walked across the bottom of the harbour bridge. By the time we got back to YHA we were beat and crashed pretty quickly.

Saturday we slept in and took a short walk down to Darling Harbour, where we ate an amazing fish and chips lunch. Then we went to the Sydney Aquarium in the harbour, where we saw tons of cool fish, a platypus, sharks, and the biggest stingray I have ever seen. I'm not exaggerating....it was literally the size of a small car......insane. We spent the rest of the day walking around the harbour area. Darling harbour was my favorite part of Sydney, there were restaurants, parks, and shops; it was really peaceful but still had a lot to see and do.

Sunday we took a bus to the famous Bondi Beach. I was afraid that I was going to be overwhelmed because it is sooo big and sooo popular, but strangely I was not bothered by the crowds or the size; the beach was not as touristy was I had expected and created a very laid back environment. It was a great relaxing day, and a nice change of pace from our normal "walking all over" day. I have so many more pictures that I wish I had room to show you - I guess they will have to wait until I get home!

We arrived back safely to the Gold Coast on Monday just around 1pm. It was a great weekend, and am so glad that I got to share it with Malcolm. Sydney is a huge city, which was slightly overwhelming at times, and I was so thankful to have an old friend there experiencing it with me. I did find myself feeling homesick for Bond, and missing my friends from here, which made me realize how hard it is going to be to leave for good in 1 month. Thankfully the people that I am closest to, Lindsay and Corinne, go to APU, and it is comforting to know that our friendship will continue when we get home.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the Australia Zoo, home of the former Croc Hunter Steve Irwin. Lindsay and Corinne had 2 friends from APU in town for spring break who had rented a car, so we all drove 2 hours North up to the Sunshine Coast. The zoo was pretty cool, especially the Croc show. It was really weird to think that if we had been there 2 years ago, Steve Irwin would have been doing that same show. His picture is still everywhere around the Zoo, along with his wife, daughter, and son. They had a whole tribute section of the zoo set up, with tons of photos, old videos, and letters people had written to Steve and his family after his death. There was even a poem that his daughter had written. And yes, I definitely cried. Despite that downer experience, it was a really fun day.

This week has flown by. I have been busy working on papers and homework and getting ready to leave again. Tomorrow at 1pm a big group of us are leaving for Toowoomba, a town about 2 hours inland, to stay with our Australian friend Alex and her family for Easter weekend. There is a huge Christian concert also happening in Toowoomba over the weekend, which we will be going to. I'm so excited to get to stay in an actual home with an actual family, and I am also looking forward to seeing the country. I will give you another update sometime soon, probably during a break from writing papers!

I am beginning to realize that my time here is winding down, and I have alot of mixed emotions about it. I am so incredibly excited to see everyone again, and at the same time I am sad that this time in my life is coming to an end. I am going to do my best to cherish every moment I have left here. It is comforting to know that I have something so amazing to come home to - you all continue to be in my thoughts daily. I hope you have an amazing Easter, talk to you soon!

(PS - the picture of me next to the kangaroo is for Chris Morris, who challenged me to lay next to a kangaroo. Challenge completed Chris!)

I'm skipping town

Well, it's finally here, the trip I have been thinking about since before I left California....Malcolm and my adventure to Sydney!! We leave tomorrow morning at 11am, and arrive in Sydney around 12:30. I'm veeerrrrryyy excited to get there, and hoping that all travel and accommodation stuff works out as planned. We are getting back Monday afternoon, and I will be giving you an update all about the trip shortly after that.

This past week has consisted of alot of homework; it's time for final papers, so I have been working hard to get finished or started on some of them. We also took a tour of the rain forest last Friday, which was really cool. We got to go fruit tasting at Tropical Fruit world, where I had some of the best Mango I have ever tasted. Then we continued on to the Hinterland, where we saw the Natural Arch water fall, along with 4 other amazing look outs and waterfalls. It was a great day.

I can't believe that it is almost time for me to be heading home. Only 2 more weeks of normal classes left! Thank you so much for the continued love and support - it means the world to me!