In the Land Down Under

I've been here 5 days now...here's a quick recap of the past 5 days:

Day 1: I arrived here early morning and within 20 minutes of settling into Dan's place, we're off to catch a bus to meet up with Isaac. I was a little hesitant at first since I had a turbulent flight in which I got sick but it all worked out well. We did lots of walking and got to see many things on my first day. We first hit off at the Sydney Aquarium which was awesome! Hung out at the Darling Harbour & went to the posh Lindt cafe for hot chocolate. Walked around the Rocks, Sydney's most prestigious & oldest area, and dined at the Pancakes on the Rocks. Did a whole bunch of other stuff in between and ended up having dinner and drinks at a pub downtown - $5 meals! Needless to say, my first day was jammed packed..

Day 2: Went out to the Blue Mountains, which is about a 2 hour train ride west of Sydney. It was pretty damn cold there. Oh I forgot to mention, it's pretty chilly here in Sydney. I was unfortunate enough to arrive during one of the coldest and rainest winters they've experienced in 10+ years. But Sydney's winters are nothing compared to the weather at Blue Mountains...I friggin' freezed to death. I bought a hat and mittens upon arriving. I saw the 3 sisters, did some bush-walking, rode the SkyRail and the 90 degree steep steep train ride. Got back to Sydney around dinner time. Dan had to go take care of some other business so Isaac and I hung out. We walked around Darling Harbour before settling on an expensive restaurant to eat at. It was his last night in Australia so it was his choice. Afterwards, we went to the casino and then went home.

Day 3: Met up w/ Dan the next morning for breakfast before Isaac left. We had Mackers (McDonalds) & then went to Paddy's Markets so that Isaac could do a little souvenir shopping for his fam. Isaac left before noon so I told Dan that I wanted to explore the city on my own. We split up & I walked up Wentworth Ave. Saw Hyde Park, St. Mary's Cathedral, Martin's place, the Currency museum and the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens. The edge of the Gardens had an amazing view of the Opera House & the Harbour Bridge. I actually took some nice pics from Mrs Macquares Point & also walked up close to the Opera House. It was a much warmer & more splendid day until it started to drizzle. Had to cancel the rest of my plans for the afternoon & headed home. Dan & I made dinner.

Day 4: the Taronga Zoo! Got to see koalas, platypuses, kangaroos, wombats and a live free flight bird show. The zoo is a ferry ride across from the city and it has a stunning view of the Opera House & the Harbour Bridge with the cityline in it. It has got to be one of the most expensive zoos in the world cause it's on prime real estate. Those animals sure get great views of the city! Great day with the warmer weather...At night, Dan & I went to the grocers and got stuff so that I could make Shepherds Pie. Um what else? Oh ya! I tried the McOz here...it's the Australian specialty from McDonalds...available only here. There was a beet root in my burger for the McOz...weird eh?

Day 5 (Sat): Captain Cook's Harbour Cruise in the morning; went back to see the weekend markets happening at the Rocks. The market was awesome...a definite highlight of my day...just spent an hour touring those little streets, admiring everything. Walked all the way down George St. to Paddy's Market to pick up souvenirs for my friends & fam this time. Dan met up with me in the afternoon so that we could go to the Fish Markets & have an authentic experience. Very good food. Ended the day by hiking across the city to Bondi Beach - Sydney's most famous beach - watched ppl surf there for a bit.

Day 6 (Sun - today): Hillsongs & Church. Made a late lunch with Dan. Planned out my trip to Melbourne & the Gold Coast. Celebrations for Canada's Day in the late evening. Probably a pub or something with other Canadians.

The rest of the week I'll be heading out to Melbourne and the Gold Coast....backpacking. Wish me luck at those hostels and let's hope I have a great time and better luck with the weather.

Well that was a great five years...

So as many of you know, yesterday afternoon was my convocation for my Bachelor of Education degree. Needless to say, I did not attend my Bachelor of Arts convocation. Besides the 30 degree weather and the heat stroke I was getting from sitting under the spotlights with thick robes on me, it was a fantastic day.

Naomi's finance rented a limo to pick us up and drive us to York which was fun times. I did almost do a flip in the car and flashed everyone but I learned from my mistakes and wore my seatbelt the next time the driver decided to break hard. Hmm...what else? The ceremony was endless...it felt like we had a million people graduating from the Faculty of Ed. I wonder how we're all going to get jobs with everyone coming out with a BEd. At the end of the day though, it was a good day cause I could finally breath and say that I've finished my five years at York. My parents and Ken were really good sports too and sat patiently through the whole ceremony to watch me walk on stage for those 30 seconds to shake the hands of the President and Vice-Chancellor, the Chancellor, and the Dean of Education. Afterwards we had some cake and sandwiches, picked up our diplomas and headed over to Daniela's house where a graduation potluck was being held.

All the grads got buttons that said "Congrats Grad!" We had a fabulous meal of Portugese chicken and potatoes, lebanese dips and falafel and pastries, Chinese marinated pork chops, and Canadian cake and fruit. Oh ya, and Spanish stuff too. Our parents were forced to interact with one anther which was socially awkward at first but in the end, it turned out okay. :) Thanks everyone for a good time. And thank you Daniela's family for hosting this event. And thank you Ken for coming out at the cost of your own sleep! Good job Naomi, Steve, Krista and D for surviving the trials and tribulations of the Concurrent program!! Yay for us!

sooo summer 2007 officially begins...

for the first time in 5 years, i can officially relax. i'm not juggling between work and summer school this year...nor am i off trying to make my way through the foreign streets of beijing, thailand and hong kong. i'll be officially unemployed in two weeks and i can do whatever i please. i can sleep in, go for a run, do some gardening, take a walk, cook something new, make a scrapbook...do whatever the heck i want and not feel badly about wasting my time! i'm going to have so much fun. i've spent the past week, organizing all my files and throwing away all the books and notes that i've accumulated in my undergrad. there's nothing more satisfying than sitting down and relaxing in a nice clean room.

oh, and i've also booked my tickets to visit dan in australia! this summer is going to be awesome!