This past week in Sydney, we were treated to our first Australia Day, most similar to the 4th of July. This holiday celebrates the creation of Australia as a colonial nation. Nowadays, the holiday consists of barbeques, festivals, and fireworks in downtown Sydney and the rest of the country. That is exactly how my friends and I chose to celebrate, by going down into The Rocks to some of the oldests pubs in the city. The area was set up for a big festival with music and fireworks. However, while the holiday market and festivities were a great time, we have heard a lot in class and through other local people that the oversight of aboriginal people in the celebration is a hot button topic in the current state of Australian society. The Australia day holiday inherently overlooks the contribution and lives of the aboriginal people as the holiday is the recognition of the English navy arriving on the island. This means that there is no recognition of those who lived on the continent before and marginalizes their contributions to society.
This weekend we also got to spend some time in the harbor. On Friday evening we ventured onto a boat and we rode out into the harbor and met some friends on a barge that had been made into a bar and dance club. We also got to venture to some other parts of the country, taking the ferry up to Manly. The area was a nice change from the busy city life of Sydney. It provided much more of a beach town feeling rather than a bustling city.
This upcoming week I would love to be able to take a day trip at some point out towards the blue mountains and do some more outdoor exploration.
