Week 1

Sydney is hot; summer is slowly coming to an end but you wouldn't know it. Men are strolling the streets in full suits and women are wearing wool sweaters. Meanwhile, us Canadians are sweating in our shorts and tanks. That's not the only way we stick out like sore thumbs, we've got cameras in hand and maps in front of us most of the time. But this is for good reason because Sydney is big and beautiful.

The Opera House completely caught me off guard with it's enormity, and the IMAX theatre is the biggest in the world! Since we're staying near Darling Harbour we haven't seen much of Greater Sydney, but downtown is where it's at. A few apartments that we've looked at in the outskirts, near our campus, have been kind of dreary compared to downtown. However, they're extremely multicultural, which is great for the restaurant scene because we love all different cuisines! The bars have also been pretty good, with cheap happy hour deals and yummy local & craft beers. We spent an entire rainy day bar-hopping and rain doesn't fall often, so that was a blessing in disguise. Stumbling upon Paddy's Market, which is a massive Asian-style market, was also somewhat unexpected.

One tiny section of the market

I felt like I was right back in Southeast Asia, bartering with the vendors and finding everything from fresh food to cheap electronics to knock-off Gucci bags. Apparently Australia is about three years behind in fashion, and I definitely noticed once I arrived and started people-watching. We've seen everything from beachwear to ball gowns on the main strip in Darling Harbour, which proves that Aussies don't really follow any rules. I like it like that though, putting less pressure on us to fit in. The accent is bad enough, with people getting us to repeat what we've said because we catch them off guard the first time. It'll also take some getting used to to understand them the first time too. Some are worse than others! The worst thing though, is the price of groceries! Avocados are $3 each, cheese is ridiculous and chicken is much more expensive than kangaroo, so that's what we've been eating (partially against my will). However, I have to admit that it's actually pretty decent... and I never thought I would say that! Crocodile is a meat that I will NOT try though, so I'll let you know when Wes does. We celebrated our seventh Valentine's Day together, watching fireworks in the harbour and splurging on some delicious meals.

They celebrate the holiday for an entire week down here! Too bad we had to spend some time on campus filling out paperwork instead of rowing a boat in the harbour like all the other lovebirds. Oh well, we've got two years to enjoy the city, and eachother. Missing everyone back home though!