To answer my title question, no, probably not. Not even
close actually.
But, I think I’m starting to get
the hang of things. The first couple of weeks at uni were different because I’m
so used to seeing people on campus or walking to class with someone and that
wasn’t the case here. However, with a little help from my friends, I’ve gotten back
to that point, which is really makes the campus of UWS much more appealing.
There was a moment yesterday in some sitting area where I caught comfort like I
get on north campus at Northern Arizona University. I’ll get back to that. For
now, it’s time to retrace my steps and share more incredible experiences that
I’ve had the past few weeks.
I will pick
where I left off and start with a weekend at Darling Harbor. I only intended to
go there once but ended up at Darling Harbor every night of the weekend. The
first time was to go see Guardians of the Galaxy in IMAX 3D with Felix and
Alison. I’ve seen an IMAX 3D movie before and I’m glad we had that experience.
The day after that Sam took me to the Wildlife Zoo, the Aquarium and atop the
Sydney Tower. The view was indescribable and it let me look at all of Sydney in
one setting. As for the third day, I think we just took a stroll down the
boardwalk and made it Chinatown, which was loud and the food was delicious.
Then we just missed the Chinese Friendship Garden because it closed.
The weekend
after that I believe we went to the Ivy again, where I didn’t lose my wallet
this time, and then had karaoke night the following day. There I properly sang
out the classics for my brothers back home like, Unwritten by Natasha
Beddingfield, Blink 182, Metro Station and Queen.
Let’s see
now, I forget that week but I’ll move on to the Thursday at the Blue Mountains.
A two-hour train ride took us to Katoomba where we got off and couldn’t see 30
yards ahead of us because of the fog. So like the international students we
are, we asked for directions to the Three Sisters. After a quick walk through a
quiet, mountainous town we arrived at the beautiful Three Sisters. But, we
couldn’t see shit so we took our tourist photos of the fog pretending like we
were enjoying the view and we adventured down the pathway. To explain the Blue
Mountains, it’s kind of like the smaller, rainforest-y version of the Grand
Canyon. We explored the rainforest, danced in the waterfalls, at Timtams on the
edge of a cliff (don’t worry mom, we didn’t fall), and just basically fell in
love with more of Sydney. After hours of wanderlust Karen, Dani and I took a
skyline back up where we walked back to the city to eat. Then we had the best
breakfast meal I’ve had so far at a pancake house. All in all, I’m going back
to Katoomba and the Blue Mountains.
That same
weekend, we ended up going again to the GWS Giants last home game where they,
like the sports teams I love back home, broke my heart and lost in the last
minute (no joke).
Now on to
last Thursday’s adventure. Karen, Dani and I went to the Contemporary Art
Museum because it was free and we love anything free. Contemporary art isn’t my
favorite style but it was pretty captivating. Some of the pieces seemed
borderline psychotic and at the same time I was perplexed. Most of it was
pretty dark and heavy. We continued that theme when we took the ferry to
Cockatoo Island. Cockatoo Island used to be an old penal establishment where
convicts lived and built ships for labor. It reminded me exactly of Shutter
Island.
A few days
after that I went to an American themed house party. And this is probably the
only time I’ll get to say this, but I was the only American there. I was
invited by a girl named Josephine who I met in my Australia and the World
class, which is fitting now that I think about it. I’m still convinced she only
invited for authenticity and to teach them how to play beer pong (hahaha).
Either way, it was still a great night. I met plenty of Australians thanks to
Jo, who never failed to introduce me as ‘the American’ any time someone came
through the front door. I also learned that all you need for American parties
are red cups and that more people wore sports jerseys than the American flag or
bald eagles. We’ll see, but I hope I get another chance to be the American
because I loved hanging out with all the Aussies.
Between my
last post and this one I’ve been keeping in touch with everyone back home. It’s
nice to Skype and see my friends like Jessie, Jeff, Kevin, Davis, Reece, Tyler,
John, Laura, Kelsey and of course my family. I almost feel like I’m better
keeping in touch with people here than I was when I lived in Flagstaff. But
those conversations are nice reminders of home. In addition to that, I’ve been
pretty for the net couple of weeks because I’ve got three essays and a huge
chemistry exam before spring break. That’s right it’s spring here.
I’ll talk
about it more in my next post but I’ll give you a brief overview of my week to
make you all jealous. I’ll be going to Cairns for three days with Karen, Felix,
Chi and Haley to do some rainforest hiking and to snorkel the Great Barrier
Reef. Then Felix and I head to Auckland, New Zealand where we will meet Dani
and take an eight-day road trip across the Northern Island with our rented
campervan. In that time we’ll be in Waitomo, Tongarario National Park, Turangi,
Lake Taupo, Rotorua, Matamata (Hobbiton), and the Coromandel area. Feel free to
Google any of those places and be prepared for some beautiful scenery. It’s
been difficult to plan but everything is coming together and the itinerary is
almost set. It feels odd to book a vacation when it feels like I’m already on
vacation.
For now,
it’s time to buckle down and finish the quarter strong. Hope everyone back home
is doing well and enjoying him or herself. Feel free to message me to Skype any
time. LOVE YOU ALL. GO BRONCOS. LOVIN LIFE. STRAYA!
