Week 2 in Sydney was just as amazing as Week 1! On Monday we had class from 3-7 and then John and I had to work on our presentation for Aussie Life and Culture after that. The presentation was actually very interesting, it was about the gender roles in Australia and how the common images of Australians in the media help contribute to the sexism that is still prevalent in the US. After finishing my presentation, we had family dinner afterward with Ned and Manolo. Manolo made Vodka Sauce again, Nicole made salad and Michelle made chicken (I funded the garlic bread and wine).
On Tuesday, John and I presented in class and it went pretty well. Tuesday was a pretty slow day for everyone so we went to bed early. Wednesday was not very eventful either. On Thursday, we had Aussie class in the morning, and then Michelle, Vivian, Jocelyn, and I went to Balmoral Beach in the afternoon. It was such a beautiful and quiet beach, probably my favorite one I have been to so far. There were no huge waves like at Bondi, so we got to just float in the water all day. We stayed at the beach until around 3 and then went back home to get ready to go out to a Latin Club that Michelle and Marco found. It was so much fun. We started the night upstairs around a table with Michelle teaching us all the different dances. Her and Marco were both so good at dancing, and they even made it onto the club’s Instagram!
Friday was Australia Day (and 104 degrees), so Michelle, Vivian, and I decided to take the ferry to Manly Beach. The ferry was incredible. We got amazing views of the bridge and the Opera House, and the rest of the way was amazing as well. When we got to Manly, it was pretty cold because the wind was so intense, but we still stayed for a few hours. We were all pretty tired that night, so we decided to stay in and rest for the night.
On Saturday, Nicole, Michelle, Manolo and I went to the Pitt Street Mall since it was pretty cloudy. The mall was enormous and we only made it to about four or five stores in about three hours, but I discovered that my new favorite store is Cotton: On where I bought some dresses. After shopping, we went to El Camino Cantina, a Mexican restaurant that someone had recommended to us. It was so good and we discovered that they have really good deals (including half-price fajita Thursday), so I think that will become a regular spot for us! Saturday night we went on a bar-crawl around downtown that was okay (but the Latin Club was not easy to beat!!) One of my friends from back at school who is studying in a different part of Sydney met up with us, and it was so great to see her and meet her friends. I ended up heading home a little early and got a good night sleep.
Sunday was a work day for Michelle and me since we have presentations on Monday and Tuesday of this week. We got breakfast with Nicole, and then she went to the beach and we worked all day. Overall, Week 2 was a little more low-key than Week 1, but it was still so much fun and I can’t wait for Week 3!
