Day 4 -- June 11

Summary:

My lunch!

Today was a travel day. We left Auckland at the crack of dawn and caught our flight to Sydney. I had mixed feelings, because I knew I'd miss New Zealand a lot, but I was also really looking forward to Sydney and Cairns. I was especially excited for Cairns because it has two World Heritage areas nearby (Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics of Queensland). When we got to Sydney, we basically bummed around town and saw the sights. We got some nice views of the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Bridge, and the Rocks. It was cold and rainy almost all day, but it was nice to have a free day to walk around the city. We even got to go up into the top of Sydney Tower and see the city from there! Then we went to a huge underground mall for lunch, and I had a bagel sandwich. It was really good! Afterwards, we went to an enormous farmers' market and shopped around (I bought an owl necklace). It was really raining by the time we decided to leave. The teachers said we could pick between riding the subway home or walking. Most people chose walking because they said it was only about an eight minute walk back to the hotel. However, we took a wrong turn and ended up trekking around Sydney for an hour! By the time we got back, I was tired and soaked through! Even though the weather was not the best, it was still a really fun day.

Compare and contrast Sydney to another city you've been in.

The Sydney Tower

Sydney and Chicago are alike in many ways. Both are large, sprawling urban areas, and both are home to around five million people. Although Sydney smells like cigarette smoke, it seems to be a much friendlier place than Chicago. Many people there seem really friendly, and the market especially was almost like a giant family. Now, I'm not saying that everyone in Chicago is a complete jerk, or that everyone in Sydney is your best friend, but Sydney just seems like more of a party town. Also, I see it as smaller than Chicago, even though I think it covers a larger square area, because Chicago is famous for its hundreds of gigantic skyscrapers, and Sydney has less. Both cities hold a lot of stock in historical architecture, although a lot of the houses in Sydney are being torn down and rebuilt in more modern, contemporary styles. Furthermore, Chicago is a giant patchwork of apparently mismatching styles (modern, Victorian, contemporary, etc.) that all mesh together into one fluent, coherent city. On the other hand, Sydney appears to be in the middle of transitioning from one stage (red brick homes) to the next (glassy modern structures). It is very interesting. Sadly, there are a lot of homeless people in both cities. The homeless people in Sydney seem to be more comfortable with their situation and just act so chill, like, "'Sup, bro? I ain't got a home, but it's all good. No worries, mate!" They both have dark and scary alleyways, and thug-like men who appear to have some evil intent as they walk toward you as you go back to the hotel late at night. However, both cities have zoos and parks, and while Sydney has its harbor, Chicago has Lake Michigan. Both have multiple beaches, and while Chicago only has one pier while Sydney has several, both are extremely successful in the tourism industry. Both cities have quirky-named streets and restaurants, and a red light district (awkward!). All in all, Sydney and Chicago are as alike and as different as two snowflakes from the same cloud.

Mailbox in Sydney Tower

Fountain in Central Park (in Sydney)