20 Days

Every morning, I wake up to a myriad of tropical birds singing as they anxiously wait for the day to begin. I steadily climb down from my top bunk, tip toe across my room to the door, and quietly make my way to the kitchen for brekky. I then pour my bowl of Milo cereal, and sit with my little exchange brother on the couch for some morning cartoons and prepare myself for the day.

Once I’m dressed and ready, I hop on the 492 bus to school, and spend 3 hours in a classroom watching the clock tick away before I have freedom once again. Once freedom rings, I burst out of the room, say hi to some of my mates at school, talk to some girls, and then I’m out for some kind of adventure.

Matter of fact, I have had multiple adventures this week. First off, I scheduled my trip to the Great Barrier Reef over Easter Break! Some of my friends and I will be exploring the reef on Easter day, and spending a gorgeous weekend in the tropical city of Cairns, QLD. If that’s not enough, I will be spending a day zip-lining in the Australian rainforest, while finishing the weekend with adrenaline pumping bungee jump.

Not only is this scheduled, but I also bought my first surfboard! I have yet to take it out, because it’s rough to find enough time with school. But, it’s still pretty sick.

This week, I am going to give you a tiny history lesson about Australia because 90% of you know little to nothing about it! Haha

Australia is actually one of the youngest continents in terms of civilization. It officially became a country in 1901, and was settled by the British as a place to dispatch prisoners in 1788. Britain believed that there was actually a criminal class of people that devoted their lives to thieving. So they would lock up very innocent people for what would be considered petty thefts today. People could receive 7 years, 14 years, or life for service. Britain quickly realized that their system was being filled up, so they decided to send a fleet to Australia as a means of punishment. Almost a survival of the fittest. Their thought process behind this was to remove this criminal class so they would no longer populate all of Britain. So, convicts and prison guards were actually the first to settle in what is known today as Sydney.

Over 60 years, hundreds of thousands of people were sent as punishment to live in this barren land. Much to their surprise, they found that they weren’t the only one’s living in Australia! The Aborigines had made themselves present, and this was not necessarily a good thing. Of course the British removed them from the lands and encouraged them to live like Europeans. This did not work, and cost the lives of many Aboriginal people. In case you’re wondering, Aborigine’s look African, but are much like the Native Americans. However, the Native Americans are much smarter, and have more respect from Americans, than Australians give respect to Aborigine’s.

Australia is still technically part of the British monarchy and the government very much operates like the British parliament as well. Australians cannot own guns by law, and find it very interesting that Americans seem to have so many issues with them! There are only 21 million people, the Seafood is delicious, and the beaches are all amazing. The drinking age is 18, the driving age is 18, and prostitution is legal. Cricket and Rugby are huge here, and I have yet to meet an Australian who does not love Americans! It’s crazy to me, but they want our accents just as bad as some of us want theirs.

This weekend I was able to actually go to an Australian petting zoo! I pet some Koala’s which are extremely soft and cuddly. I fed some Kangaroo’s, which are very soft too, and I saw some dingo’s and Tasmanian devils too! It was a great experience, and I got some great pictures too!

To top the weekend off, I spent the day at Bondi beach. If you know anything about OZ, you have probably heard of this famous beach. I would even consider doing a google search right now just so you can get an idea. However, that google search does Bondi no justice because it cannot bring you the warm sun, white sand, and salty smell (and taste) of the gorgeous blue Pacific ocean. Although it is a very touristy spot, Bondi really is a fun place to be, and I very much enjoyed hanging out there!

Well, this week will be a busy study week. I need to practice with some pieces for photography and art, and begin working on some papers! I have so many stories and history to tell you, so I hope you’re prepared for that when I get home. I still can’t believe I’ve been here for 20 days. But I’ve been here for 20 days and can cross a ton of stuff off of my bucket list! I plan on doing the Sydney Tower walk this week, while maybe going to the Sydney Aquarium as well! We will see what happens!

Peace.