Life Down Undaaah.: Study Australia's Orientation

Arriving In Aussie...

After spending 20 hours on a flight with a few glitches in the airports, Amy and I finally arrived in Sydney, Australia - a day before everyone else. What did we do with our first 24 hours of freedom? What any jet-lagged 20 yr olds would do: slept for 16 hours.

We met up with our program consisting of 45 other students. We met some amazing people as we toured Sydney, obviously looking like tourists taking pictures of everything in sight.

After a long walk through Hyde Park, Anzac Memorial, Bondi Beach, and Botanical Gardens, and a wonderful dinner at Blackbird Cafe, we were finally allowed to sleep - or go out, which we attempted to do at a pub called the Three Wise Monkeys. Nonetheless, it was basically a failure, retiring at 11PM for bed.

The following day, we traveled to the Blue Mountains about two hours north of Sydney. It most likely would have been the prettiest site I had ever seen, if it weren't for the fog covering the valleys. We were taken (unknowingly) down a 3.5hr trail of "bushwalking" - which consisted climbing endless rocks and hopping from stone to stone in a canyon. Not the best impression of Australia's beauty, but nevertheless, an experience.

Afterwards, our program was taken abseiling down small cliffs in another section of the Blue Mountains. We eventually worked up to a cliff of 180ft, that of which both Amy and I tackled.

Slightly nerve-wrecking, but both of us are glad we did it.

After two days in the Blue Mountains, we finally returned to (our penthouse) apartments at the World Tower in Sydney. Given a free day, Hayley, Courtney, Amy, and I went to the Sydney Aquarium, where we could walk under, next to, or above sea lions and sharks of all sizes. After lunch and gelato, we sat in a park off the harbor enjoying the sites and the weather
(which is 80+ everyday).

After spending our free night at local bars and pubs like Scruffy Murphy's and Sidebar, we had our final dinner with our program on a cruise traveling around the Sydney Harbor. It was packed with amazing views of the Opera House and the Bridge, wonderful food, and great wine.