Week two has come to a close and with that has come new experiences. This week we explored and learned more about the city of Sydney, going to new beaches and learning about the geopolitical circumstance Australia finds itself in.
To begin, my favorite part of the week was exploring a new beach, Manly beach. Manly is about an hour trip from where we live at Bondi Junction, but it was totally worth it. It’s removed from the city and feels a little more tropical. The ocean break was great, though there were two shark sightings in the first half of the day so we didn’t get to swim for that long. The ferry going back and forth was great also, as it gave us unique views of the harbor we could not see from land. It was beautiful this week and the weather made it all that much better.
Next, what we learned about in class this week was really interesting to me. We learned about the precarious geopolitical situation Australia rests in. They do half of their trade with China and half with the United States. The majority of their income comes from iron ore exports to China, while their defense comes from the United States. It was interesting to hear about how our deteriorating relationship with China is negatively affecting Australia’s ability to trade with them. This is something I had learned about in the US but coming to the country which will be directly affected
Overall it was a great week I can’t wait for the next one
