This first week in Sydney, Australia has been nothing short of breathtaking. Just about every day, there was something that I heard, witnessed, or saw that completely blew me away. Examples include the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, the centermost point of Sydney, The Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary, and so much more. Although not a huge spender, I could not resist the urge to make some purchases along the way and try the local cuisine. One notable places I tried on my break between classes, was this place called “Fresh and Hot Ma La Tang”. It was a Chinese place in which you self serve whatever ingredients you want into the bowl and then you pay based off what kind of soup or broth you want it in in addition to the weight of the ingredients. Although I have been to many self service restaurants and buffets before, this style of “soup” and also paying based off the weight was new and unique to me. I loved the place and would defiantly recommend it for anyone looking for a delicious meal. One aspect of Australia that I love compared to the United States is their clean and efficient transportation system. After just a couple days in Sydney, I found it quite easy to navigate the subway. From the subway cars, to the waiting areas, I rarely found any particular areas too crowded or too unsanitary. While no subway is perfect in either regard, I find Sydney to have an excellent public transportation system and something I would not mind using frequently.

While enjoying everything that Sydney has to offer, I have also been taking part in two unique courses that are really fascinating and interesting. The first course is tilted “Financial Decision Modeling,” and so far we have learned essential excel functions and important ways to decipher and interpret money over time. The second class I am in is “Business Law” and we have dived into many important court cases to help us learn about important issues that American Society has faced and how jurisdictions help parties reach conclusions in the best way possible. I really liked how we got to take part in our own individual negations to know and understand what it is like to be in some of these situations that businesses’, governments’, and individuals’ face. In just a few weeks time, I will soon conclude these two courses and swap to two other courses; the class scheduling is also something that is new to me, but is has also helped me to grow and adapt the experience of longer classes and differently styled curriculums!

Continuing my adventure around Sydney, I went to the Australian National Maritime Museum. For a price of 35 Australian dollars, I was able to freely explore both inside and outside the museum including taking a self guided tour on the HMAS Vampire II located right by the museum. I got to explore what the inside of the ship looked like in addition to the story behind it being built and the number of crew to operator many of the complicated machinery. It is hard to say what each lever, button, and gauge was for, there was so many in every room. Alongside this, they also had a continuous documentary playing different clips around 5-10 minutes each of experiences soldiers faced onboard. They also had a fun lego building activity where you can attempt to build your own replica submarine or warship. Going inside the museum, I found lots of more exhibits ranging from art, to military vehicles, and more. There was a lot of history to be uncovered from looking at all the exhibits and I wish I could have stayed all evening. I waited up until the last few minutes before the clock struck five to leave as the exhibits were just that interesting. As someone who never used to go museums a lot, I would highly recommend coming here for anyone looking to see the history and take a step into what the actual submarine and battleship was like.

My favorite excursion so far was visiting the Wildlife Sanctuary trip. This day trip featured a visit to many animals well-known by many, including kangaroos, Koalas, and Emu. We were allowed to view the animals, interact with them directly, and take lots of up close photos. One of my favorite parts was when the guide took a photo of us petting the koala. The koala’s name is Arnold and he is super cute and serene. He enjoys rubs on the back, but like many other koalas, he does not like to be pet on the head or elsewhere as that can be pretty stressful for him. He also has to be carried a special way by the arms, or else there is a risk of injury for Arnold. We learned that koalas like to sleep a lot! Most koalas sleep 20 hours a day and have special claws or feet to help them stay on their tree branch or perch without using up much energy.

Other than Arnold the koala, I really enjoyed seeing the other animals, escpically the kangaroos. I took many good photos and video of the kangaroos and other birds jumping around. A few of the kangaroos even had a kid in their pouch as they bounced around. Oftentimes, I think about what kangaroos or see them in movie clips, but seeing them at this excursion was truly an unforgettable experience. Some important things to note is it best to approach a passive kangaroo from the back or at least the side and pet them below the waist. I noticed that kangaroos either use both their hands and hind legs to move around somewhat slow or use just their hind legs to move around in a bouncy and fast way. Never before this day did I think the kangaroo’s tail was so powerful. It helps them balance and acts sort of like a kickstand does for a parked bicycle to stand upright. On the tour we also saw my other animals, some which are not native to Australia and others that are. We saw an animal that is part dog and part wolf, but not the most friendly. We also saw this cool bird that looked like an owl, but was not capable of flying. I will also mention we saw snakes, one of which was a python which we got the opportunity to hold. Fortunately we never encountered any snakes outside on our trek through the wilderness, but if we did the key would be to stand still.

Besides seeing the animals, we also got a chance to use boomerangs and whips. Nobody was able to catch their own boomerang, however some people did have some excellent throws. It can be a little intimidating watching the boomerang hurdle down really fast too. I managed to throw mine in the same location twice in a row off to the right of the clearing. The second activity we got to try was using a whip. I was very excited as I never tried doing this before, but some people defiantly had a better feel for it than others. To successfully make the whip sound one generally has to wave it completely above their head twice and then do a quick and rapid back motion to execute the whip effect. I was pretty unlucky as I never quite got my footing in this activity. After many attempts, I still did not fully succeed, but the director of the activity did applaud me for my effort and unwillingness to give up. After our tour ended I bought my own boomerang as souvenir and as something fun to toss around once in a while to test my throwing skills again!