Pictures! Finally!

Well it's been quite a while since my last post, and I've been quite busy! The orientation with Study Australia is complete unfortunately. We had a wonderful stay at the World Tower and have moved to our apartment at Bondi Junction.

In the past week or so I've done some exploring of the city. I went to a little part of Sydney called Glebe with a friend, Carlie. We wanted to try a Mexican restaurant she found there, but they didn't open until dinner and we were there for lunch. We ended up eating at a restaurant that I think my have been operated by an Italian family. It was a cute little place, but we were the only people there at 3 in the afternoon.

This past Sunday we moved from downtown Sydney to Bondi Junction. Bondi Junction is closer to school for me, about a 10 minute bus ride compared to a 25 minute bus ride. The apartment we're staying in is much nicer than I expected! There are 3 bedrooms, and 5 girls living here. There is supposed to be a sixth, but we hear she's having some trouble with her Visa. Once she gets here she'll be moving into my room, but for the time being I have a room to myself.

It's funny how different things are here. The t.v. shows are at least 2 seasons behind. Right now Dharma and Greg is on t.v. and one channel plays old Simpsons episodes in marathons. Going to the grocery store is surprisingly different. There aren't many of the same brands as in the States. I've seen a few Kraft products, limited Yoplait yoghurt (Australian spelling, of course), and their corn chips are pretty difficult to find. The grocery store near us is really nice and has a lot of specialty products. The nutrition facts are also different. Instead of calories, it's kilojoules.

The weather here is surprisingly cool. I had my first day of class yesterday and just wore a sweater to campus and I ended up freezing! Yesterday it sprinkled a little bit, which did not help the temperature. Today is a little warmer, and the sun is peaking through the clouds. The locals have said that the temperature usually starts warming up in August, so that's not far off!

Sorry this post is kind of all over the place and not very well written. Hopefully more soon!

Love, Em.

A wild cockatoo at the Sydney Botanical Gardens

With a lively koala at the Featherdale Wildlife Park

On a hike through the Blue Mountains, just West of Sydney

The Sydney Opera House at night