After a extremely long pair of flights totaling around 22 hours, I finally made it to the land down under. I was immediately met with strong heat and an even stronger impression. The city of Sydney is beautiful, teeming with culture alongside a strong emphasis on nature. The city was filled with large walkable spaces, filled with beautiful trees. This was especially apparent as I walked into Darling Habour.
Around the harbor was bars, shops, and events of all sizes. In America, these walkable hubs of activity are few and far between due to America’s large dependence on cars. I was especially amazed by the city as I was walking around at night. I stumbled upon an alley at the harbour known as “Dancer’s Alley”. A full street filled with people performing dance videos, dance battles, and breakdancing at night. It was a completely surreal experience and something I’ll be sure to video next time I find myself there.
On Friday, I arrived at Bondai Beach. The views on the sand were breathtaking, but I preferred to go to the rocky cliffs that surrounded the beach. The blistering sun didn’t seem to affect me at all as I stood atop the rocks, letting the wind run throughout my body. I also happened to buy a boomerang here, hopefully I can learn to use it at some point in the future.
The next day, We went on a guided tour through the rocks district. I was more captivated by the stories than anything else. Such as the daring bank heist where the money was buried in the rock, the story of the “Suez Canal” alleyway, and especially the story of the woman on the Australian $20 bill.
On Sunday however, was something I had always dreamed of. A Zoo with Kangaroos! And a walk-in one no less!
As a kid, I always loved nature documentaries and zoo’s. But this experience was something truly special to see the kangaroo’s, wallaby’s, and emu’s all running free. It was beautiful hearing the story of how this sanctuary has grown throughout the years, fighting off both greedy sand miners and wildfires. All the rangers seemed to absolutely adore their jobs, and it felt like I was viewing a small, loving community. It was also really fun learning how to throw boomerangs and crack whips. I found both to be quite difficult, but I was actually quite good at throwing the boomerang.
Overall, my first week was a wonderfully gratifying culture shock. I love the city of Sydney with all my heart, and I can’t wait to experience more of what Australian culture has to offer with each passing week. I thought I would be a little more stressed by going halfway across the globe, but I never expected to feel as comfortable here as I did. My mother feared that I would love the city too much and want to live there, now I realize that fear was not unfounded.