Hi there! This is my first post from Sydney and it’s great here! I left from Midland on Monday, the 11th of February and had several hours layover in San Francisco, so I took a cab to Pier 39 and went to the Bay aquarium and walked around and had supper. Then it was back to the airport and on to Australia!

I and the other participants in my program went directly to Cairns (pronounced like “cans”) for a few days for an orientation. We SCUBA dove on the Great Barrier Reef and it was amazing! I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see any sharks or turtles, but the reef itself was phenomenal. It had the most beautiful corals and it was just teeming with life. I’ve never seen anything like it, and can’t wait to go back when my family comes to visit me in July.



We also went to the RainforeStation, which was sort of a reserve/park. We got to feed kangaroos and hold a koala and tour the rainforest and throw a boomerang! I wasn’t too bad at it either, if I do say so myself!










I’m in a five-bedroom apartment on the Sydney University campus. I only have one roommate so far, but I'll get three new ones in the next week. The apartment is very nice and has plenty of room.

On Sunday, I went to St. Stephen’s, which is an Anglican church that is close by. The people were very friendly and the sermon was based completely on scripture, so I think I’ll continue to go there while I’m here. The building is one of the oldest in Sydney and is beautiful, complete with a picturesque/creepy graveyard with headstones dating back to the 1850’s and a giant fig tree out front.

The Conservatorium is great! It’s located right next to the Botanical Gardens and a short walk from the Sydney Opera House!


















So far, I haven’t had much of a problem with culture shock. The main problem has been sticker shock! The minimum wage here is $17 or $18 dollars an hour and the exchange rate is abut 1 USD = 1.20 ASD. Consequently, everything is a bit more expensive. For instance, a Subway sandwich and drink might cost $5 or $6 in the US, and it’s $8 or $9 here. The time difference was definitely an adjustment, but I haven’t had a huge problem with jetlag. I haven’t really had time to get homesick yet, but I’m sure it’ll kick in once I’m not quite so busy.

The latest political news down here is that the Prime Minister apology to the “stolen generation,” which is an entire generation of aboriginal children (now adults) that were taken from their families and entrusted to white foster families, a policy that was meant to dilute the aboriginal culture. Although there are some that oppose the apology, everyone that I have spoken with has approved of this long-overdue act of diplomacy. This may be the first step in what will be a bridging of the cultural gap between Australian aboriginals and the Australian government.





I am booked for a weekend at surfing school on the weekend of March 7th and I’ve also volunteered for a weekend to plant trees on the weekend of the 14th of March. I start classes on March 3rd and have an entire week off later in March, so I’m looking into booking a trip. I’m hoping I can find somebody who would like to go to New Zealand with me, or maybe Bali or Tasmania. I’ll post again soon. Cheers!