Week 1 - Sydney

So far I am loving Australia - it is beautiful here! This blog is to let my friends and family know what is going on with me so you don't have to hear it second hand, etc. I am studying abroad here at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland until the end of November, and then probably travelling for a good chunk of December after my exams are done. I am travelling with a group of Americans organized by IFSA-Butler through Butler University, who keeps us organized and plans various activities throughout the year.

Butler organized an orientation in Sydney, so last Tuesday I flew from New York to LA to Sydney. The IFSA-Butler group was about 90 students from American universities studying at about five Australian universities - we had orientation together and then split up into our respective schools. The flight to Sydney was 15 hours long, but it was suprisingly nice because each seat had individual interactive TV screens with TONS of free movies, TV shows, and games to keep us occupied, plus a nice dinner and breakfast was provided. I managed to get some sleep but I had the middle seat so it was a little difficult. We arrived in Sydney at 6AM on Thursday.

In Sydney, we stayed at a sports camp in Narabeen in cabins. Butler planned many activities for us such as information sessions, a kayaking trip around Lake Narabeen, bushwalking (hiking), an Aboriginal performance, a band, a trip to the Taronga Zoo to see native Australian wildlife, a ferry trip across the Sydney harbor, and a walk through Sydney itself. Sydney reminded me a lot of San Francisco with respect to the harbor and houses built into the hills surrounding it. We visited the opera house and the historic 'rocks' area. It started pouring rain while we were walking around, but still fun.

Cool cave formations on our hike

At the zoo - a section where kangaroos and wallabees were just hopping around

sydney opera house!