ZOO

January 21st

Today my school day consisted of going to the zoo, which was fantastic. The trip to the zoo was also an adventure by itself. We took a bus from Arundel to Circular Quay (remember that its pronounced key) and then caught a ferry across the harbor. The ride gave us a great view of all of Sydney and also reminded me of Puget Sound, which made me happy. Once at the other side we took a short gondola ride over and up to the top of the zoo so we could walk down. We then had a few hours to explore the zoo and the whole time was spent in the Oz (Australia) specific exhibit. I started with koalas and worked my way through emus, wombats, platypuses, kangaroos, wallabies and many interesting birds. It is times like these that I am amazed that I am here going to school because my class today was effectively a day at the zoo! After the zoo we took a ferry back over the harbor and a bus to Arundel. In the evening we went to the last Sydney Festival story performance and then out to Japanese food. Anywhere you go you can find tons of cheap Asian, Indian and African food. I actually think I saw four Thai restaurants on one block.

Anyway I should probably stop writing and go to bed because tomorrow we are getting out of Sydney for the first time. We are going to the Blue Mountains for the weekend, which are two (ish) hours west of Sydney. When Nat was telling us what to bring she reminded us to take our Ace Bandage in case of a snake bite. Almost all species of snakes in Oz are highly venomous. AAAAHHH! Still, I am really looking forward to seeing the mountains and getting out of Sydney. In one of our lectures we learned that the tallest mountain in Oz is 3x shorter than the tallest one in the US. I expect that they will look a lot different than the ones that I am used to. I also can’t wait to see more of Oz. Sometimes it does not even feel like I am in a different county with all the European/American neighborhoods, English speakers and loads of Asian tourists in the city.

I will be away from technology for the next three days so don’t be alarmed if I don’t respond. I will also add zoo and other pictures in a few days!