Our time here in Sydney is comnig to a close, but we have many more adventures awaiting us. It was nice to have a week in the city and get assimilated to Australian life (for example, learning that everything is smaller here: coffee's, portion sizes, men's shorts...), but I'm excited and ready to explore more of the country.
Last night was the kick-off to the Sydney Festival, which is essentially a party in the city that lasts for about a month. Our group had a picnic in the park (where Preston and I successfully completed 52 cartwheels in a row) and then we headed over to see a live theater (or, in Australian, theatre) performance of "As The World Tipped". The show was about climate change, and was a large projection of the effects of climate change on Australia with dancers harnessed and dangling in front of it. A few of us are thinking about recreating the performance off the side of Pflueger when we get back, so look forward to that! The performance was really amazing and reminded me of the fragility of this planet we live on. For all of the fun and memories we're having and making, we're also on this trip to be stewards of our planet and give us resources to make a difference.
The performace tied in really nicely with our activites from today. We had a free day to ourselves and Stena, Preston, Janet (Mobus), Chrissy, and myself took a 2 hour train ride to Katoomba so we could explore the Blue Mountains. We took a few different paths and had a wonderful time playing in nature. There were many rocks to be bouldered, trees to be climbed, and waterfalls to stand under. The view of the rolling hills and expansive valleys took my breath away, and I was again reminded of how amazing nature is and how important it is to preserve views like this one for generations to come. I'll put some pictures up when I get them off of my camera because the view was too good to keep to myself. We also saw wild Kangaroos from our train on the way there, which was a first for us!! When I say we, though, I mean Preston and myself. Stena was not as lucky/did not have the swift eyes we did.
The train ride back was a nice mix of jokes (highlight: What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back? A stick) and naps, and our wet, muddy crew has now returned to the College to shower and grab dinner. As I'm writing this blog, Preston is reading me a Spanish novel out loud to increase my cultural knowledge. I love cities, and Sydney will always have a wonderful place in my heart, but there is just something about being in nature that fills me up and today's excursion was much needed. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Hunter Valley, where we will be exploring sustainable businesses, especially of the agricultural vareity. We've been told it's one of the most beautiful places in Australia, so I'm much looking forward to it. Hope you're having a wonderful January, and say hi to Red Square for us!!
Australian Phrase of the Day: "Believe me Truely"- A homeless man at the train station to Stena and Preston
A haiku of our time in Australia:
It is summer here
We all love to dance a lot
To Barbara Streisand
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