This weekend has been absolutely amazing, and has confirmed that Sydney is one of the greatest places in the world. Thursday night a group of us went back out to World Bar where we danced all night long. Friday night a bunch of my friends and I went out to a bar called Scary Canary, which is my favorite bar I have been to yet here. Scary Canary is famous for their drinks which are served in a sand pail (yes, the kind you build sand castles with!). All I know is that the drink is bright blue and tastes amazing. I love this bar too because not only do they have these amazing drinks served in pails, but every night of the week there is something big that also goes on in the bar. For example, Friday night they had Twister, and whoever won the game got 10 nights and airfare included to New Zealand. I really wanted to play but some people jumped ahead of me and got to play. I guess next Friday I will have to go back! They also have a beer pong tournament Wednesday nights and a pool table tournament some other night. Everyone in the bar was dancing like there was no tomorrow, even the security guards and bartenders. I turned around at one point to see a huge 350 pound security guard doing moves on the dance floor I never thought were even possible for a man that size. By the end of the 4.5 months here, Scary Canary will know me by first and last name, and hopefully I will be their #1 customer.
On Saturday, my friends and I decided to go to Luna Park which is right next to the Sydney Bridge and across the way from the Sydney Opera House in the Sydney Harbor. Luna Park is this amusement park that has all kinds of rides found at a fair. The way the people who built this amusement park made it had some serious talent behind them. When you walk into the park, there is a huge clown with its mouth open, and you walk right through the mouth to enter. Each ride is uniquely built with many details put into it, making it look like the amusement parks you build on Roller Coaster Tycoon (a computer game where you build your own theme parks). The coolest part about the park is it is right off of the harbor, so you can see everything from it. This was my first time being right on the edge of the harbor, which made me realize how lucky I am to be studying abroad in Australia. I literally stood at the edge, 5 feet up from the ocean, looking out and seeing ferries, yachts, boats, sailboats, and of course, the bridge and opera house. My favorite ride at Luna Park was the ferris wheel, because it jetted out from the land and went over the water, with a magnificent view of the harbor. We were lucky enough to get on the ride during sunset, which was a view I cannot describe in words. It was one of those things that you would have to be there to understand why my mouth was down to the floor the entire ride. We stayed until about 9 p.m., and therefore got to see the harbor and bridge lit up in lights. It was an absolutely beautiful view that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Today (Sunday), I woke up at the crack of dawn to go on my first field trip with my Australian sports and culture class. We went to Maroubra Beach, which is one of many famous beaches in Sydney. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by bus, and probably about 15-20 minutes by car. The reason why we went to Maroubra Beach was because every Sunday in the morning, there are a group of 500 kids from the ages of 5-12 years old, who participate in something called Nippers. For those of you who live in Huntington Beach, it reminded me of Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguards. I think that Nippers is a lot better than the program back at home because it is strictly run by volunteers. These volunteers do it not only because they have community spirit, but they did nippers as a young child and want to give back to others. The purpose of Nippers is to get these kids confident in the ocean and learn what to do if they are ever in trouble in the water. Since Australia is surrounded by ocean and the majority of the people live on the coast, it is really important for all kids to learn how to swim and be comfortable with the ocean. For example, one of the parents told me that they pour buckets of water on the kids heads (the 5 year-old group) to get them comfortable before going out into the ocean. The mentality of Nippers is that everyone is a winner and is meant to be fun. All of the parents come out and cheer the kids on, which makes the children want to continue with Nippers up until the age of 12. The goal of the program is by age 12, these children can go out by themselves into the ocean and "ride the surf" while being perfectly safe.
The field trip lasted from about 9:15-10:30 in the morning, and they I decided to stay at Maroubra Beach and have my friends Adam, Andrew, and Alan meet me there to hang out for the day. I learned today that each of the beaches in Australia are rated on a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the most dangerous beach. Maroubra beach is rated being a 6, but honestly it seemed less dangerous that the beaches back at home. There is a reef right near the beach, causing rip currents, which could be why the beach is rated so high. It was really pretty with cliffs surrounding the beach, and today was probably the best weather Sydney has had so far while I have been here. The sun was out the entire time, and it was never too hot or too cold, making a perfect beach day. Something that I learned and now I will definitely keep in mind even more is that right above Sydney there is a hole in the ozone layer. This means that the rays of the sun are much more intense than anywhere else. Even though I reapplied sunscreen 3 times throughout the day, I am SO burnt! I was out in the sun from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. straight, and had to leave my friends early because I did not want to get even more burnt. Even though I look like a lobster right now, the beach was perfect. The water temperature of the ocean here seemed a lot warmer than back in Huntington Beach, which was a nice change. The weirdest part about being at the beach today was thinking that when I looked out, WAY out there was America and the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
I am excited for what this week brings to me. Stay tuned for more exciting experiences in Sydney!
Heaps of Love,
Heidi
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