I caught a plane out of LAX on Tuesday February 7, 2012 at 10:30 pm and arrived in Sydney on Thursday February 9, 2012 at 8:30 am. I had about 3 hours of sleep on the plane, I was tossing and turning the entire time trying to get comfortable. Thank god for all the movies or else I would have been absolutely miserable. I watched five movies, including, Crazy Stupid Love, My Idiot Brother, and Ides of March. The guy next to me was passed out on his tray table the entire flight; I later found out that he had popped a couple Xanax, that's the way to do it.
Upon arrival it still didn't feel like I was in Australia, a place I had wanted to visit since I was 11 years old. Everyone was dirty and smelly, trying to make a good first impression. We all complained about wanting showers and food and some even a nap. The first day was a lot of waiting around and getting accustomed to the Education Abroad Network, the program I used for housing and tuition. But everyday to come was better than the next.
The first night we went to a restaurant in Darling Harbor called Blackbird that served kangaroo. It was a lot like steak and the marinade was a nice teriyaki. I had a pasta but I tried everybody else's meal. We then went to a bar across the bridge, still in Darling Harbor but it was not fun so I went home early. I knew one guy from school that I had met my first semester freshman year. I went out with him and some other people from Maryland that he met. I found that going out with my roommates suited me more than going out with people I already knew.
The first real day in Sydney we went to the zoo, Uni (University of New South Wales), and Coogee beach; back to back to back. At the zoo we pet koalas and kangaroos and fed the kangaroos. There was a whole area to feed the kangaroos that included emus and birds and the emus charged us as we had the food in our hands to feed the kangaroos. At Uni we made schedule changes and saw the campus and got a feel for what was to come during the semester. When we were finished at the Uni we walked to Coogee beach at the end of the day, didn't have a bathing suit or anything we just dipped our feet in the water. It took about twenty five minutes to walk from Uni to Coogee, why we didn't take a bus I have no idea but it was a nice day. My friends now live in Coogee beach so when I'm done with class I'll take a bus there in 10 minutes. I couldn't tell you what I did the second night but I probably went to a bar and got drunk.
The second day we did a couple miles long walking tour around Sydney, starting at Hyde Park. We went all the way across Hyde Park and crossed the street at the Hermes and went through the mall. I love designers, I don't incorporate them into my wardrobe but I love knowing the history and seeing the new collections and all the runway shows. I had never seen a Hermes before so I was flabbergasted. I also had never seen a Mui Mui and a Louboutin. I was in heaven. We ended the walk at the Sydney Harbor Bridge and proceeded to do the bridge climb. I thought I was going to pee myself I was so scared of the height. My roommate Susie was moseying up and skipping and jumping and I'm holding on to the railing the entireeee time. The view was beautiful and I could see for miles and had the best view of the Opera House but I was absolutely terrified. That night we went to The World Bar, me and my roommate Jenna and her friend Benny and I met a local. My first local of the semester! Our goal for the entire semester is to meet guys with boats. My roommate Susie one night we were at Kit and Kaboodle and she met a millionaire with a Black Am Ex who had a yacht and offered to take her to the Swiss Alps and ski. She turned him down. Crazy.
The last day in Sydney before we went to Cairns, Queensland for a week we did an Amazing Race. It's exactly like it sounds. The program set up check points and activities to do throughout Sydney. My team came in 6th out of 24 teams and my roommate Jenna won. The prize was a dinner at the Sydney Opera House worth $500. I'm gonna go anyways when she does because I heard that was one of the best places to eat in all of Sydney. So there's no reason not to go even if it is around $100 a person. One of the nights we were in Sydney I went to take a nap at 7 o'clock at night and slept through the entire night and woke up at 7 am ready to start my next day. I was that tired and worn out. Our flight to Cairns on February 13 was at 9am so we had to be at the airport quite early. Everyone was ready to sleep on the beach and do nothing but lay in the sun. Little did we know, there was no beach....
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