The Wonderful Weeks's of Oz

We've been in Sydney for over a week now. We've met wonderful people, swam in the Pacific ocean, and learned to throw a boomerang. We became friends with two girls from Alaska, a boy from Canada, and a Kiwi (New Zealander) who worked at our hostel.

I don't really like the city. And Sydney is just like all the other big cities I've been to. It's dirty, and busy. I miss clean air and nice people, and streets that make sense. But it is cool in the fact that it's like a combination on NYC and LA. It's busy like New York, but it's chill like California. It's got beautiful buildings as high as you can see, but you can catch a glimpse of the ocean of you look in the right places. They have a park like Central Park, but it has palm trees. It's very unique, but it's still just a big city. Being here drains me a little bit, and I'm ready to get out and see more of the country. I want to see the outback. I want to cuddle a koala and kick a kangaroo. I want to be somewhere that doesn't smell like cigarettes, and has more to do than go out drinking.

Our first hostel was called Westend. We stayed in the dorm called "The Church." It consisted of 32 beds. So much variety, so many people, and so messy. But it was a lot of fun. There was always someone asleep. There were people like Marissa who slept 9 PM to 7 AM, and people who partied all night, and slept 7 AM to 9 PM. It sounds like an awful set up, but it was actually pretty fun. There was always something going on, either in our room, or down in the common room/kitchen. I was surprised at how many people actually make full out meals here. I've been impressed at the ingenuity of some of the backpackers we've met so far.

After a week, we moved across town to King's Cross. It's the Red Light district of Sydney, yet it's cleaner than the last part of town we stayed in. Apparently at night it's pretty sketch, but let's be serious. How often am I up late enough to deal with that? I've already been told that I act like a mother/grandmother countless times. My reputation will never be the same now that I'm known as an old lady in two hemispheres.

Our new room has 8 beds in it, full of french guys, and a smelly Bangledeshi. We have a bathroom and a fridge in our room though, which is nice. But surprisingly, I miss sharing space with that many people. It was so lively.

I've been getting as involved in church as I can here.  I went to the YSA branch on Sunday, and it was wonderful. I went to FHE on Monday as well, and I was the only Caucasian there besides the missionaries. It was all Asians. It was a good experience, though. I went to meet with the sister missionaries on Tuesday to help teach, but their appointment fell through. But they helped me find out how to get to the temple. I went up there on Wednesday for Institute, which is taught in the church office building next to the temple. It took me 2 hours, 2 trains, and a bus to get there. I really enjoyed it. A group of 4 polynesian boys wanted to be friends, and refused to let me go home the same way I came, so they drove me back into the city. They were a lot of fun. I'll be going out again tomorrow to do baptisms. It's a lovely temple.

We're leaving Sydney next Wednesday, heading north to Newcastle. Hopefully, we'll get our first chance to surf, and maybe even an opportunity to work.

I'm having a good time, but I miss Logan. I know how lovely it is there right now, and I miss the mountains.

Signing out,
The Resident Grandmother (Marissa)



And here I come to fill you all in with a few of the details. This city is similar to all other large, tourist cities, yet it's still unique in its own way. It is a pleasant combination of skyscrapers and scenery. You can go shopping within the city to buy a $560,000 Bentley or walk a few minutes to the Royal Botanical Gardens and feed peanuts to cockatoos (We have pictures, but they are on a friend's camera. I will upload them as soon as they do.) There is a huge variety of trees and wildlife in downtown Sydney and I can't wait to get out to the country to see what this continent really has to offer in the form of nature.

So as Marissa mentioned earlier: people like to party. It is exactly what I was expecting, and nobody disappointed. I refrained from going out this whole week except for our very first night here. There is a bus that tours around the city hitting five different pubs, with a free drink at each. The Oz Party Bus. Imagine a dance floor with 2 meter high ceilings, rails bolted the length of that ceiling, gratuitous amounts of lighting, arrhythmia inducing bass, and no capacity limit. Also, no sitting allowed. Now add 60 km/h to the equation and you have the party bus. This is what I boarded after I had been awake since 4 that morning. Lack of sleep and constant over stimulation evened out so I had a pretty decent time without being overwhelmed. The first pub was lame, besides the three flat screens showing rugby replays. Second pub had vibrator races that people bet on. Third pub was just meant for dancing. Dim lighting, social lubricant, and great remixes made for a really fun hour of dancing like an idiot. After three bars, the Alaskans,who I was with all night, and I called it and just walked home. I ended up only having a few drinks, but that's all I've really wanted so far this trip. Pretty good first night in Sydney.

Side note: In the past week here, I have eaten more pasta than I have in the past 8 months. Literally. I was having pasta breakfast lunch and doubled up on dinner. If I decided to buy any food (besides pasta sauce) it was usually rolls and deli meat from the grocery store. It was free at our hostel and since everything else is just so damn expensive, pasta was the meal of choice...every meal. I am eating the highest carb diet possible. I guess I'm making up for these past few months, eh?

Nothing past the first night has been too epic, but there have been a few great times. I have visited two beaches so far: Bondi Beach twice, and Coogee Beach once. These beaches easily have the nicest sand I've encountered and the scenery to match. The sand was flooded with beautiful, young people without a care in the world. I've picked up a liking for gelatto here, and I've gotta say I'm hooked. I've never had the chance to try it back home, and I'm seriously disappointed in Utah for not embracing this Italian treat. Another thing we did was go on a free tour of the city, and it was a great decision. The girl who does the tours is extremely knowledgeable about everything Australia related, and she gave us some really great ideas of what to look at while we were staying here. Other places worth mentioning are

Paddy's Markets: Flea market run by Asians...everything for cheap. In such an expensive city, this was a life saver.

The fish market: some of the most delicious looking seafood dishes to date. Seriously, lobster tails with cheese melted on top?! Get real. I haven't gotten one yet but I will.

The parks: There are so many parks in this city and each one is a joy to just stroll through. They are all unique in their own right, with different trees, water features, and wildlife. There are different birds all over the place. I always feel like I'm walking through an aviary.

Those are a few of the places she mentioned that we went to, and we plan on checking out a few more within these next few days.

Something great that I was planning on doing here actually came to fruition yesterday afternoon: I wanted to take boomerang throwing lessons. We were walking down the street and passed a boomerang shop the day before and there was a note facing the street that said free lessons. We checked it out and sure enough we booked the lesson for the next day. The park we went to was only 10 minute walk from out new hostel and it was right off the harbor so it was one of my favorite parks so far. Our instructor was only a few minutes late, but for free lessons I'm definitely not complaining. She had 2 different types of boomerangs, but different sizes so some were meant to fly farther than others. We started with the shortest distance boomerang and worked our way up from there. By the end of our hour-long lesson we were throwing the longest distance ones 50-60 meters around the park. Catching them was a feat, as I only caught one, but with some practice I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult.

That is all I can really think of off the top of my head right now and I'm tired of typing on this stupid keyboard with the awesome space bar. Free internet at the library  FTW. Sorry it has taken us so long to post anything, we will try to be better from now on...but no promises. Oh, and pictures soon! Hopefully. Please comment with any questions because I'm sure we've left some things out.

The mysterious foreigner,
Robert.