to see his last
round as we had to cross the huge park to reach the archery area in the upper
corner. On the way back we ran into a glorious fountain and pool area with a
sculpture of cones jutting into the sky. We frolicked about in the water and
enjoyed cooling off on the hot summer day. Then we climbed up a hill for a great view of the whole Olympic Park.
I wanted to find the Olympic rings,
but apparently they didn't exist. There was however white Olympic rings etched
into the ground. I saw the Olympic torch among a bunch of pillars with
athletes names on them. It was so inspiring to see! There was even an entire block of Campbell's.
After another night at Max Brenner’s
Chocolate Bar (aka Club Max, and yes I go here way too much) trying their
famous Babka, it was off to plan some trips! I want to go to Bali and Fiji if
possible while I am here. I also want to explore Australia by going to
Melbourne, the Gold Coast, and Ningaloo Reef among other places. I feel like
this experience has sparked a deeper desire to travel and see the world. 
The next day I explored the Royal
Botanic Gardens. It was the perfect place for a lovely stroll in the harbor, I
want to come back and picnic under the trees and among the amazing greenery!
I sat on Macquerie’s chair at farm cove as runners ran past. I found a Wollemi
Pine tree, which is extremely rare. It looked skinnier than a normal pine. Then
we found a wishing tree!! I got way too excited for that! You are supposed to
walk around the tree 3 times forward and 3 times backwards to make your wish
come true, so I had to do it. I also touched the tree for extra luck! After a
long day of walking around the gardens, I wanted to try some more Australian
native cuisine. I read about a place that makes kangaroo pizza and it was
nearby, so that had to happen! We split a pizza so that each of us got a slice
of crocodile, emu, and kangaroo meats. It was delicious! The emu was my
favorite with kangaroo in a close second. 
Classes have been going well! They
seem a bit easy so far! I’m hopeful that they won’t get too much harder so this
can truly feel like a vacation. On Tuesday I spent my whole day in the library
so I could at least feel like a student a little bit. On the walk to the library I bought a pair of Australian brand Blue Ridge high-waist denim shorts. I read the textbook for
my hardest class, Operations Management, and did my homework for the class. I
was then in need of a coffee break to revive myself from the 6 hours of
drowning under books in the library. I went to Gloria Jean’s near home and got
a cappuccino and brought along a couple Tim Tam’s for some prime slams. The
coffee here is amazing! Mine came with a lovely heart shaped in the foam. I
feel like I have tried the majority of the Tim Tam flavors now. There is
original, double coat, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate with white
filling, raisin rum, Turkish delight, honeycomb, orange, and mint chocolate.
Most people here joke about how addictive they are and refer to them as “crack
cookies”, which I definitely agree to. 
Saturday morning my friends in the
building started a tradition of going to this place called “Pancakes on the
Rocks”. It is hands down the best pancakes I have ever had in my life! They are
served with ice cream and come in both classic buttermilk and chocolate forms.
I sense another addiction coming along. Saturday nights at Darling Harbor are a
spectacle of fireworks for all to see. They shot straight out from the water
and it was amazing to see. 
Sunday night is movie night at
Urbanest. This week was “Looper” which I found to be quite an interesting
movie. I had dinner in Chinatown at Campbell Restaurant (yes another place
named after me, yay!) and tried real Chinese food. I got a seafood bowl of
miscellaneous unknown sea creatures. It was fun to decipher what I was eating
exactly, quite the interesting meal as my friend and I talked to our food the entire
time. Then we stopped at a gelato place called
N2 that is basically a science lab. I spotted it on one of my walks in the city
and wanted to share my discovery. It was then a movie night of “I Am Legend”
with my friend, Conor, after a Coles run for our sweet tooth. I tried Anzac
cookies which are another famous Australian cuisine icon. They were crunchy and
kind of coco nutty. Wives made them for their husbands during the Anzac war. 
Ellen DeGeneres decided to come to
Sydney to film her show with her mother and wife, so I knew I h
ad to be in
attendance. I almost made it into the audience, but I did get to see the show.
After, I saw Ellen as she walked on the dock from crossing over the harbor on a
boat. She smiled as she held Portia’s hand and they drove away in a large,
white van. Then I wanted to explore around a bit so we first stopped at the
Opera Kitchen for a quick bite. I ate a salmon salad under the sails of the
opera house with a beautiful view of the bridge in the background as seagulls squawked
at me in envy. It was quite a picturesque lunch. It started to rain so I decided to explore the
Australian Contemporary Art Museum. It was 4 floors of art, some of which I was
confused by and some got me thinking. Once at the top there was a pretty view!
At night the group was off to Ivy. There was an area around a pool
and a live band playing poolside. It was fun, but way too crowded and we ended
up leaving pretty quickly. 
There was a smaller group this
weekend as most people went on a surf trip. I was happy to stay behind and do
my own thing. The small group that remained united for a night out in Chinatown
at the Dixon House foodcourt, an overwhelming display of the variety of Chinese
food options available. I got some more seafood in a lovely sauté sauce. The
end of the weekend meant it was time for my Outdoor Education class field trip
at Royal National Park (separate post on that day). Monday I ditched my lecture
to go to the Royal Easter Show, which was basically the Australian version of a
state fair. There were animals, food, and rides. 
The next week of school was the
final stretch before spring break! Although it has come up so fast and I don’t
even feel like I have done enough work to get a break, I will gladly take it!
There was a strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday my class was cancelled,
so basically this week was a start to my break. I found out my class was
cancelled after I had arrived so I decided to make the most of it before my
tutorial and I went to see the Sydney Fish Market. It was definitely not what I
had expected, but it was still awesome to walk around and sample fish! I ate
raw salmon for the first time and I must say it was delicious!
Now break is official. Tomorrow I am
off to New Zealand to explore the South Island and road trip around to see
Glaciers in Franz Josef, bungee jump in Queenstown, and see Milford Sound in
addition to all the amazing sights and beauty of New Zealand. I also really want to
frolic with sheep while I am there. There are more sheep than people, so it shouldn't
be too hard to make that happen! I can’t believe I get to see another country! I feel blessed for all the opportunities this experience has given me so far.
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