Remember the Mitchell Library? The sweet library that I've been visiting for one of my classes? Well, when I went back I was super creepy and took a picture. I kind of hid in the doorway so the security guard couldn't see me, so it's not that great, but it gives you an idea.

Library

Library door. These are the faces of a bunch of important guys in Australian history. They are all labeled, but you can't see it in the picture.

Glad to see that the native people are represented as well.

In the foyer of the library.

The floor is this map which shows the western coast of Australia. The western coast of Australia was actually charted/explored about 150 years before the east coast. Most west coast investigation was done by the Dutch.

Inside the Mitchell Library wing. This picture doesn't do it justice.

This past Friday was Anzac Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). It's kind of like Memorial Day and there were ceremonies at various monuments around the city. In the morning, I went to the Powerhouse Museum to see an exhibit on Princess Diana. I'm not sure if it's going to be traveling to the U.S., but if it does, I recommend it. I explored the rest of the museum and headed out into the city to see if I could find any Anzac fun. Other than people in uniform everywhere (particularly the bars), nothing seemed to be going on. I visited a few of the memorials, had a picnic lunch in the botanic gardens, and caught the 5 p.m. services in Martin Place (location of one of the memorials).

Memorial in Martin Place

On Saturday some friends and I got together for dinner and went to a rugby game. We had a bit of a struggle getting to the stadium, but everything worked out. The game was between the Waratahs from New South Wales and the Sharks, a South African team. We had great seats, the Waratahs won, and it was an all-around good time.

The stadium was very nice and the crowd was much less rowdy than I expected. We had an old man sitting next to us that kept yelling ridiculously funny things about the other team. He kept the entire section laughing. Rugby was an interesting game. It was a rugby union game (there are three different leagues of rugby in Australia - all with different rules) so the whistle wasn't blown when people were tackled and the players were able to get more physical and fight more. It kept the game moving and made it more interesting to watch.

Interestingly, there was no announcer at the game, so there was very little to help me understand what was going on. We ended up walking the 3.5 miles back to the University, though it didn't seem very far at all. I guess that's what happens when you walk everywhere.

Bucknellians (Lindsay Alexander and I) love the Waratahs!

As I said before, Saturday and Sunday were the first warm and sunny days after two weeks of depressing weather. Wanting to take advantage of possibly the last beach day of the season, Brittany and I headed for coast. We took the ferry across the harbour to Manly. We crossed the isthmus from the harbour-side to the ocean-side, arriving at Manly Beach. Although it was a nice day, the wind off the ocean was strong and it was a little too chilly to spend much time sitting on the beach.

Sunrise from my window.

Looking back at the city from the ferry. This is right around where we would go sailing. We would always have to be on a lookout for the ferries. So here mom, this is almost as good as taking pictures when I'm out sailing.

Manly Beach

Manly Beach

We were soon heading up the coast to a smaller beach and then through some trails to the top of the cliffs at the ocean's edge. At the top of the cliffs you could look up the coast and identify a handful of other beaches and coves. Brittany and I enjoyed our lunches at one of these cliffs and I almost had to grab her by the ankles to prevent her from jumping over the edge after her camera, which came dangerously close to being lost. Fortunately, the four of us (me, Brittany, my camera, and her camera) were soon on our way up the peninsula towards the North Head.

Me standing on the cliff where we ate lunch.

The view down the coast from where we ate lunch.

Fun flowers growing along the trail.

Wetland area on top of the cliff? Weird. We heard a lot of frogs.

I checked under all the cars, but alas, didn't find any furry friends.

The view from North Head was breathtaking and provided a good view of where I had walked during my adventures at South Head back in March. Brittany and I kept commenting, "We live here!" when looking out at the view of the ocean, harbour, city, and suburbs.

That peninsula is the South Head. The point on the right of the peninsula (there's a light house and building there) is where I took a lot of my pictures from. I walked left along the cliffs to the white light house (Macquarie Lighthouse) that is in the middle of the picture.

On our way back to the ferry, we walked through some residential areas and found our way to a little local beach. It was great to see families out enjoying the evening and people sitting around playing guitars - it was straight out of a movie.

The adventure lasted longer than either of us had anticipated and I was nervous that I wouldn't make it back to John's before dinner. Unlike Bucknell, food is not available all the time, and on Sunday dinner is only served from 6:30-7:30. We were the first ones off the ferry to the city and I literally ran down the street to catch a bus heading home, yelling back to Brittany that I'd talk to her the next day. Because I know you all care, I did make it back in time to grab some food.

Sunset on the harbour side of Manly.

Monday was pretty typical: class, class, formal dinner - you know, the usual. Before dinner I was walking around King Street (the main street of Newtown, a neighbourhood near campus), and within half an hour I ran into five people that I knew! I love how even in a city of 4 million I can still randomly see people I know. Even when I'm in downtown Sydney, I sometimes see people that I know. While visiting a coffee shop in a random neighborhood near where I took my sailing lessons, we were served by a guy who was in one of my roommate's classes.

Today was Becca's birthday, so a bunch of us got together to celebrate. We started by having a mini picnic of Tim Tams, homemade no-bake cookies, and sparkling cranberry juice in the botanic gardens. We were there during the sunset and had a wonderful view of the opera house, the bridge, and the harbour. We then headed to one of our regular spots, The Flying Fajita Sistas, a Mexican restaurant in Glebe. We met up with another friend and enjoyed chips, guacamole, salsa, and tacos (it was $3 taco night!). After several rounds of chips, we moved a few doors down to San Churro Chocolateria. Because we clearly needed more food, we stuffed ourselves with churros, chocolate sauce, chocolate milkshakes, and chocolate-covered strawberries. More people joined the group while we were there, and after a few hours, we rolled ourselves home.

I must say, that I really do love Sydney. I've always been the girl who hated cities and who would want to live in the country, but I've become surprisingly fond of city life, and I definitely think I could live here. I love having the ability to walk everywhere and to able to use transportation for anywhere far. There is so much to see and to do here, and it's all in my backyard. The harbor is beautiful, and quite a bit of its coastline is undeveloped parkland. One doesn't have to go far from the city centre to find National Parks - many of which have stops on the train lines.

Hum...what are some things have I observed since I've been here...?

Well, when I'm alone (in classes or out around the city), I try to keep my mouth shut as much as possible. I know that as soon as I say anything, everyone will know that I'm an American. They can probably already tell by the way I'm dressed, but oh well, I like to pretend that I blend in. There have been multiple occasions where someone who I just met (as in I have said nothing, just my name, or answered yes or no questions) asks me where I'm from and when I say "The U.S." they reply, in an incredibly annoying tone, "Yeah, I know. What part?" Ahhh! This annoys me beyond belief. I could be Canadian, you know! And then when you reply "Maryland" they almost all look at you blankly before asking "Is that close to New York?" Sometimes if I pronounce it "Mary Land" instead of "Mairlind" I'll get a positive response...but not usually. I know (blogger) Jessica Vooris mentioned this issue in one of her previous posts. Jess, I feel your pain! I've also experienced this feel-good conversation:

Girl: So where are you from?
Me: The U.S.
Girl: I couldn't tell by your accent. (Not at all sarcastically)
Me: Really? (Getting excited that maybe I was doing a better job of blending in)
Girl: No, I was being sarcastic, your accent is really strong.
Me: Oh... (feeling dumb)

I FINALLY had someone ask me if I was American or Canadian on Monday. It only took three months. I've also found that most non-native English speaking people are not able to pick up on my accent, so it takes an actual conversation for them to find out I'm American. This is always fun. When people do find out that I'm American, they always ask me about the election. I don't know, but I don't typically ask someone who I just met who they are going to vote for.

I just saw that (blogger) Evan Unger made a comment about people being "rude" when walking down the street, and thought I'd add my two cents. I have found that it is more correct to walk on the left hand side of the sidewalk, but that people frequently don't observe this "rule." Also, I haven't noticed this downtown, but on campus, where there are a lot of narrow sidewalks, people make no effort to get out of the way of people coming from the opposite direction. Many sidewalks are only two people wide. One would think that if two people were walking together side by side, and another person was walking towards them, that one of the two people would move behind the other so that everyone could pass on the sidewalk. Here, if you are the one walking towards them, you have to step off the sidewalk into the street or get friendly with the spiders in the bushes while passing them - people walking together generally make no effort to make room for anyone else on the sidewalk. I've noticed this time and time again (multiple times a day) and so have some of the other Americans here. I keep saying that one time I'm going to hold my ground and see what happens, but I keep chickening out.

Perhaps I'll make a comment or two updating you all (once again) on the outrageous prices here. Bottle of soda, 600 mL (about 20 oz), $3 . Greeting cards, $5-$8. Normal-sized candy bar from a vending machine, $2. One day I'll take a camera into a store so we can all enjoy the ridiculous prices. Nothing is free here. The dining establishments on campus and other random restaurants charge you for ketchup (tomato sauce)...40 cents a packet. You're going to eat in a restaurant instead of getting take away? Extra charge. You're going to pay with a credit card? Extra charge. I didn't realize that there is also an extra charge at home for using credit cards but that the businesses absorb the cost instead of passing it directly to the customer. The exchange rate is getting worse again - I've gotten in the habit of checking out the rates every time I pass a bank.

This post has gotten a little depressing, and I'm sorry for that. I would like to talk about the light, fluffy, happy things all the time, but then I would be leaving out a lot of the important frustrations of living in another country. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm whining too much, I just want to talk about observations, even the not-so-glamorous ones, that I've made while in Australia.

Some random pictures:

Covered walkway of the General Post Office.

General Post Office.

The Strand Arcade...classy shopping mall.

The Governor Phillip Fountain. Just for fun, a sign by the fountain reads: "The Governor Phillip Fountain is the only large neo-classical fountain in Sydney and was the most expensive public sculpture produced in Australia in the 19th century."

Boats I've gone sailing on.

Looking back down the dock. CYCA stands for Cruising Yacht Club of Australia...where I took my lessons.

The Conservatorium of Music (aka The Con), the former stables of the first Government House (mentioned in my previous entry).