Springtime in September

The weather is finally getting nice! It is officially spring in Sydney. This past week has been amazing weather. On Friday, Celeste and Angela had returned from their spring break so I decided to spend the day with them. We did the 6 km walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach. It was a gorgeous walk and I would have pictures but unfortunately my camera has finally died :( . Anyways, we walked around the boutiques around Bondi Beach for awhile and then decided to save money and walk to Bondi Junction. This was about a 40 minute walk uphill. I get to the station at 6:22 pm only to discover the last bus to Newtown left at 6:20 pm...FML. I called an Australia friend (well technically she is British) and two buses later I made it home. Saturday was another beautiful day. A bunch of us went to Coogee beach for the day. It was finally warm enough that I had to go into the water to cool off. Sunday I wake up to yet another sunny day. I decide to go for a run at noon. WORST DECISION EVER. What I did not realize until I started running was that it was way TOO hot. I returned to my room dripping in sweat and dying of heat exhaustion. I check weather.com to discover that it was 90 DEGREES!! We decided to check out the public pool in the park to cool off. Susie also got her mother's sauce/lasagna recipe. This sauce takes all day to cook but it was sooo good. We had an italian family dinner complete with garlic bread, homemade lasagna, and some red wine. Today I went to class wearing my Chargers Jersey to send my Bolts luck on the opening game of the season, Monday night (well in the US) against the Raiders. I actually had one guy come up to me and tell me he wore black today to support the Raiders. Luckily the Chargers pulled off the win but of course they had to give me a heart attack in the process. Well I better go finish that paper before Mommy and Daddy come on Friday!

Blue Mountains

This past Saturday we went to the Blue Mountains. We woke up bright and early to get on a tour of the gorgeous Blue Mountains. Our guide took us to several look out points and then we did one big hike for about 2 hours. We actually decided to go off the path to try to get this other part of the mountain but we were running late to meet the rest of the group. Jake, Josh, and I decided we would just run the supposed 2 km to get to the Grand Staircase. After running for awhile, we realized it was a lot farther than 2 km and ended up having to turn around and run back. We were so late that the bus was almost going to leave without us. We were those annoying Americans that went off and did their own thing. Overall, the trip was amazing though. I definitely want to go back and explore the blue mountains some more. See some great pictures below. On Sunday, I went to the park with Chris and Jake to meet up with some Australians. They taught us how to play touch "footie" aka rugby. It took me a little while to pick it up but it was actually quite fun. I definitely need more practice tho! 

Sorry I have been MIA

Sorry I have not posted in awhile. I knew I wouldnt be amazing at this so bear with me.  Last Friday, Susie, Hannah, and I attended another delicious shabbat dinner. This time we went to a Japanese place and again Bryan just ordered for the whole family. There was SO much food. Another solid Shabbat dinner. On Saturday, we walked around the markets at the Rocks and then went to the Opera Bar. 

Opera House Up Close

At night, we went to an AFL (Aussie Rules Football) Game. When we first got there I had no idea what was going on in the game. By the end of the game I caught on that you have a certain amount of tackles to get down the field and to score you have to kick it between two poles. Between the middle two poles is 6 points (?) and between the outside ones is 1 point. It was a close game but our dear Sydney Swans lost to the Geelong Cats :( . 

AFL game at ANZ Stadium (Where the Olympics were!)

AFL (notice the weird scoring poles)

Sunday was a gorgeous day so we decided to head out to Bondi Beach. Unfortunately, we took the wrong bus so it took us 3 buses and almost 2 hours to get there. Not fun. But Bondi was gorgeous and packed with people. 

Bondi Beach

Monday we had our second intramural game and we won 3-1! Tuesday we went to this Mexican Restaurant that has 3$ Tacos on Tuesdays. Someone asked to try the hottest hot sauce they had and it was literally lethal. I put a drop on my tongue and it was on fire for at least 30 minutes. Zach jokingly put some of the hot sauce on the edge of Susie's glass and she started freaking out cuz her mouth was on fire. Chris decided to actually put the hot sauce on his taco and he was sweating so much. It was a very entertaining dinner and I always love Mexican food. 

Taco Tuesdays!

The Hot Sauce of Death!

On wednesday, my Rex mask was finished but I might do some different glazes on it. We also visited a ceramics gallery for class. 

My Rex Mask

On Friday, we went to see a National Rugby League game (there are two types of rugby). We had to go for my sports class and again I had no idea what was going on. It was similar to AFL but the scoring is different. 

NRL game West Tigers vs Parramatta Eels

Saturday was another gorgeous day so we headed to Coogee Beach. I met up with James and the boys and Celeste and Angela. We all hung out on the beach enjoying the weather and I even climbed some cool rocks by the water. Last night was the big game, Wallabies (Australia) vs All Blacks (New Zealand). This was a Rugby Union Game (Different from League). The biggest difference I noticed was that there was an unlimited number of downs to score. Anyways, the Wallabies were winning the whole game until the end. They ended up losing by one :(. We decided to have a dance party in the Well, a lounge in the Village. We basically just blasted music and danced on tables until we forgot all about the loss.

Rocks by Coogee

Coogee Beach

Matisyahu in SYDNEY!

Last night, Hannah, Susie, Dan, Tom, and I went to see Matisyahu at Metro Theatre in downtown Sydney. It was an amazing concert! Susie, Hannah, and I pushed our way to the front and ended up front row center for almost the whole concert. Matisyahu crowd surfed twice and all his bandmates did also! Since we were right in front we got to touch all of them (sounds kinda creepy but it was sweet!) The keyboardist (Rob) is from Boston so after the concert ended Hannah started screaming, "I'm from Boston!" He came over and talked to us and then we hung out with him and the bassist (Stu)! Check out the short video clip from the concert on the bottom.

Talking to Rob the Keyboardist after the show!

Close up!

Matisyahu crowd surfing! I grabbed his leg!

FRONT ROW

Manly Beach and Learning Bowls

Saturday we went to Manly Beach. It is a beautiful beach on the other side of Sydney. In order to get there, we had to go down to the harbor and take a ferry. The ferry ride was pretty cool cuz you got to see the view of the city from the water. The area around the beach was also super cute with a lot of cute shops and restaurants. Overall it was a great day trip! On Sunday, I had to go on a field trip for my sports class. We went to this place to learn the game of Bowls. Bowl is essentially bocce ball but on a lawn instead of the beach. You line up on one side of the green and there is a white ball on the other side. We got into teams and each team got 8 balls. The point was to try to get your ball as close to the white ball as possible. The balls are also weighted on one side so they curve. It took a little while to get the hang of it but it was pretty fun. Not exactly the most exciting game but I guess it used to be a game for old people so it makes sense. On our way back, Hannah, Susie, and I decided to get dessert at Max Brenner's. Of course it was extremely delicious. This wednesday I am going to a Matisyahu concert in Sydney!

my friend Kayla bowling

view from the Bowling green at dusk

BOWLS

Ferry ride back from Manly 

Manly Beach!

Weekend Adventures

Friday night began innocently enough with agreeing to attend Shabbat dinner with a friend of the Saad family. I also bring Hannah and Susie along for support and to ease the upcoming awkwardness. Hannah is half-Jewish so her mother was thrilled she was going to Shabbat dinner and Susie is not Jewish at all so this was going to be her first Shabbat. Bryan, one of the two sons who is our age, picks us up from the village. We arrive at a Chinese restaurant. I will a little surprise that we were having Chinese for Shabbat dinner but I was not complaining. I was even more surprise to discover that dinner included the WHOLE family (parents, two sons, two cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandma). We were definitely overwhelmed but once conversation began to flow things were fine. I know my family has their moments where things become inappropriate but this one interaction definitely takes the cake. The father begins to explain how he saw some Australian supermodel the other day. Bryan replies that he wouldn't mind if his dad divorced his mom and married this supermodel instead. He then proceeds to say that the supermodel would be an awesome step mom and he would ask to breast fed all over again. His brother, Peter, adds that he would ask to be reborn again. The best part of this whole interaction is that once everyone stops laughing, Peter recounts the conversation to his GRANDMOTHER. We then went back to their house for dessert. They had an awesome view of the city from their balcony. In traditional Jewish fashion, we were sent home with a tupperware of left over cake. 

Saturday a group of us decide to pay a visit to the Sydney Tower. It is basically this really tall stratosphere type of building where you can go to the top and look out on the whole city. We decided to take it a step further and do the Sky Walk where you basically walk on the roof of the building! I am really starting to like heights now. The views were awesome and we got some good pictures. Chris and Jake even picked me up for one of the pictures! 

Jumping on the Sydney Tower

I climbed that bridge in the background!

This was actually pretty scary despite my smile

Sydney Tower

I think that's town hall

The Harbor

Sunset over the Blue Mountains

Look how high up we were

One of the classes I am taking is about Sports and Australian Culture so we have to take field trips. This sunday was our first field trip where we watched 8 year old kids playing Rugby League (there is a difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union). They were all really cute and some of the parents got really into it with the cheering. One mom jumped over the fence because she was so excited. Keeping in the sports mindset, a group of us set off for a field on campus where we play a game of 6 v 6 soccer. It was really fun but so hard to play in running shoes cuz you just slide everywhere. Sunday night I finally go see Harry Potter 6. It was sort of a let down. It was still a good movie but it deviated from the book way too much.

little kids playing Rugby League

I CONQUERED THE SYDNEY HARBOR BRIDGE

Today I conquered the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It is a 3 hour climb to the top but you can see all of Sydney from up there. We had to wear these jumpsuits with harnesses and we were like attached to a cord on the bridge. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to bring a camera. They give you a picture of your group on top of the bridge tho(which I then took a picture of with my own camera hence the bad quality). I just got back to my room and I am pooped. Our guide told us that the climb burns like 800 calories woo hoo! Tonight, I am going to shabbat dinner ( just to make you happy mommy). 

On top of the Bridge!
Before the Bridge Climb in our sweet jumpsuits

New and Improved Schedule!

I officially finished my first week of classes at 10:30 am on a thursday! I also decided that I didn't feel like taking math so I decided to take ceramics instead. Check out the way better schedule now! 

First Day of Classes...well sort of

Today was my first day of classes...or should I say class. I go to my math class at 10 am. The professor seems very nice and the class doesn't seem too bad. I am hoping Duke will approve it though. Then, I went to my signals and systems class only to find out that the professor cancelled class for the week! My 2 pm class is a lab for Math and those don't start meeting until next week. I am officially done with my first day of class! woo hoo. Above you can see my class schedule. Please notice how I have NO class on Fridays!!!!

Random Post

So this post is random but I really wanted to post this video. I found it really funny when it happened. Basically, Jake decided he wanted to try to hit someone with the champagne cork. Chris volunteered and Jake hit him right in the chin. Enjoy!

Also, this is more for my parents, but I thought I post like two pictures of my room. It is not super big but it is a great size for me. Sorry it is not super clean but I did make my bed! 

Picture Update

So I realized I never posted pictures of my friends that I have made in Sydney. My two best friends here are Susie and Hannah. They both go to University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Some other good friends I have made are Jake, Zach, Cameron, and Chris (sorry no pictures of him). Jake is from Minnesota and he goes to some small school there. Zach is from Denver but he goes to University of Arizona. I tried playing the "who do we know in common" game with him and the only success was Paris Bus (if you know me well enough then you would know this is hardly a victory). Cameron is from Seattle and he goes to a small arts school up there. Chris is from LA and he goes to UCSB. He lives in the studio apartment next to me! There are plenty of other friends but I just wanted to highlight a few. Here are some pictures with friends both new and old.

Duke in Sydney!! Celeste and I at Scruffy Murphys
Zach and Susie
Me and the Opera HouseMe, Jake, and Susie
Me, Susie, and Hannah
Duke People in Sydney! Jeff, James, and Me
Australearn People Snorkeling a the Great Barrier Reef
Susie, Me, Hannah, and Cameron in the Rainforest