Sydney: First Impressions

For our first day in Sydney, we had some nice weather all day, being partly cloudy with temperatures ranging from 16-20 degrees C. From what I saw today, I can say that the town can feel cramped at times, somewhat like New York City to a lesser extent. However, the town looks amazing, especially at night with all the lights from the buildings being on. The parks in Sydney were even better, making it a great place to just hang out with friends.

One of the first places we visited was the Hyde Park Barracks. I believe that the Convicts at first dreaded this place, as they were sent away from family and friends to work on this new colony as punishment. They did not have good living conditions, as the resting rooms, while comfortable, will end up being very fowl, as the only bathrooms they got were two buckets that were placed on opposite sides of the room.

We got to go on break for lunch, and I was surprised at how expansive the shopping area was. Everywhere we went, there were more and more stores and restaurants. Even when meeting up with the others, I still discovered more places based on what the others said. What I know for sure is that I will probably get lost, but I will most likely find whatever I am looking for.

The last place we visited for the day was the Australian Museum, where we learned more about the First Australians. The tour guide we had gave very detailed information about the different artifacts and tools used by them, and how they behaved before and after the British made it to Australia. The First Australians, while surprised at how advanced the British were, did not completely trust them at first. The British did not normally follow their traditions, so it made the First Australians upset at times.

During the day, one thing I noticed was that every block on every street seemed to have at least a couple of stores and/or restaurants. Everywhere you go, you would find a new or similar store or restaurant, depending on the area that you are in. Also, I learned a couple of new Australians words during the day. One of them was dilkara, meaning rainbow. This was one of several words told to us by the tour guide at the Australian Museum today.

Overall, I am excited about what I have learned for the first day, and I hope that these next days in Australia will be just as exciting as today was for me and the others.