“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”



14 August, 2010

Backwards

Everything in Australia is the exact opposite from the U.S. I'm always confused on which way to look when I cross the street. When you turn the door handle, you turn it the other way. Locks are backwards. Escalators go up and down on the left. Ketchup is called tomato sauce. A restroom is a toilet. The wind blows to the west. The north is hot and the south is colder (it's not really cold anywhere here.) I'm already so confused, it's going to be disastrous when I go home.

Today was Philip's birthday. It was really fun. We walked 10-15 miles; my legs are so sore! I can't believe I actually made it that long with my wonderful kidney infection. I did have to stop every twenty minutes or so to go to the bathroom though. And I almost peed my pants one time. It was still really fun though. We started off at Darling Harbor and we walked around the best mall ever- the Queen Victoria Building. I bought an opal necklace!!! It's so pretty. I absolutely love it. Then we went to David Jones and holy cow is that the coolest place ever. It's a department store (nine stories tall) but the basement is a food court! They had samples!! It was really good. We ended up buying desert there. I bought an eclair and I got Philip a rocky road chocolate bar. They were really cool. OH! And David Jones is a really fancy and ritzy store, so they had American food! They had JIFF!!!! $20 for a tiny one. And it's $16 for a tiny bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup. Obviously I did not buy anything. The prices are ridiculous. But it was still fun to look at!

After David Jones, Philip and I went to lunch. We ate lunch on a ship on the ocean. It was really cool! We had fish that was caught that day. I guess 99% of the fish here is caught that day.



Anyways, after lunch we just walked around. We walked into the Maritime Museum and it was really funny. I guess the U.S. gave it to them as a gift, so half of the museum was American! I guess George Bush gave Australia a bell a while back and it's in there. So weird.



After the museum, we went to Circular Quay which is about five miles away. It was a really nice walk. It was all along the ocean! I love looking at the huge sailboat and ships that dock on the harbor.



Afterwards we went to the Botanical Gardens. Oh my gosh. I want to picnic here. Philip and I decided that we will soon :)





And at seven our roommate hosted a barbeque. About 35 people showed. It think it was a success! It was really good. I didn't know he was a good cook actually. He usually just eats instant noodles.

But last night, some guy came to Philip's birthday party and tried to steal my phone. I was furious. Today, he decided it was a good idea to come to the barbeque. #1- I'm sick and irritable. #2- He tried to steal my phone yesterday. #3- I've been pretty stressed the past week (month) or so, and I wasn't in the mood for anything. So I called him out in front of everyone and told everyone that he tried to steal my phone yesterday. Everyone probably thought I was a jerk, but I really don't care. The party was at my apartment, and I didn't want anything to come up missing and have to pay for it. And quite frankly, I was still mad about yesterday. So I definitely embarrassed him. Oh well. I honestly don't care. And if people do care, I would be happy to let them have my kidney stones and try to be polite when someone tried to steal your phone :)

Sydney is so beautiful. I will say this again and again until I die- I know it already. I love it here. I don't see how anyone could not love Australia. I love how people are so nice. I literally talked to the jeweler today for and hour and a half! That would never happen in America! And people always offered to take Philip and my picture. In America, people would never ask! You would have to ask them!! I like how people look out for others here. I like the accents. I like the acceptance Australians give everyone. I like how Australians will make fun of everyone- even themselves! I love the humor here.

Well I'm off to bed! I'm so tired. And tomorrow I have to write a paper I've been prolonging. Goodnight!

Brittaney~

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