As usual I haven't been keeping up with my blog as much as I should because I've been too busy running around Sydney and having the time of my life! :)

Some of the highlights of my time recently have been going to see an Aussie Rules Football game and going to the Blue Mountains. I was supposed to go to Bondi Beach for the 4th of July as some of you will see in your postcards (I've finally started them but they're not finished or sent out yet) but unfortunately I got really sick and couldn't go. Instead I spent my fourth of July in bed barely moving. No worries though! I'm feeling much better now.

So first off, Aussie Rules Football is much easier to understand than American Football. I've been around American Football for 21 years and I still have absolutely no clue what's going on but after about 15 minutes of Aussie Rules Football I knew exactly what was happening. I don't have all the technical terms down or anything yet and I won't bore you with how it's played but if you want to know feel free to ask. Either way, the Sydney Swans were playing the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Swans won! Yay! I tried an Australian hot dog and it was pretty much awful but I was starving and ate the entire thing anyways. The Golden Gaytime ice cream bar that I had completely made up for the hot dog though. Silly name. Delicious ice cream. I'll try to put up some pictures of the game later.

Secondly, the Blue Mountains were absolutely amazing! Almost our entire group got together to go. Unfortunately this meant that we had to go in two buses and we didn't get to see the other half of our group for most of the trip but it was fun anyways. The mountains get their name from the blue haze that surrounds the mountains. The haze is caused by the oils from the eucalyptus trees collecting and mixing with the air and dust particles. There are beautiful cliffs and waterfalls and absolutely breathtaking views. I wish I could explain the beauty of it all to you but it's something that my camera can't even come close to capturing. The picture above is of the blue mountains and I didn't actually take that one but I have one that looks just about the same that's probably from the same point. I saw the famous "Three Sisters" which is really just a giant rock formation, Katoomba Falls, another water fall I forgot the name of, and a kangaroo in the wild! We got SO close to it! We had lunch in Katoomba which is in the center of the blue mountains and while lunch was nothing spectacular the caramel slice that I had at the bakery for dessert was wonderful. I'll definitely be putting up some pictures of all that soon as well. We get new internet tomorrow so hopefully the connection will be faster and it will be easier to do these things.

Aside from all of that work is fine. The friends are still awesome. I'm still always doing something with my time. This weekend we'll be going to Wollongong for an aboriginal education weekend so that should be fun.

If you're still wondering what Australia is like aside from fun and beautiful my best description is this: if London and the United States has a really attractive, really fun child that had a lot of friends, that would be Australia. There is obviously a lot of British influence here but they have also become very westernized like so many other cultures. There are 7-11's, KFC's, McDonalds (of course), Hungry Jacks (their version of Burger King), Gloria Genes Coffee and an assortment of other American places. Naturally they have Starbucks. This is the same for their shops. They have Target and K-mart, American Apparel, Adidas, Coach, and tons of other stores we see every day. They also have Woolworth's which you see in England.

However they still have a landscape and wildlife that is unique to Australia alone. At the Zoo we saw deer and roosters, presumably because they don't have many here. Their language is English but definitely not American English. They live a fairly laid back lifestyle from what I gather and have a completely different idea of cold than most of the people I know. They have a history that is all their own that I will hopefully be able to tell you more about after this weekend. They also drive on the opposite side of the road from us.

Even with all these differences I haven't really experienced much culture shock. This is probably a combination of having experienced life the England, so many things being "American", and simply being so excited to be here. I hope you all enjoyed your fourth of July back home! Stay tuned for details on the aboriginal trip! Until then, Peace, Love & Eucalyptus!