Wow.. I've really slacked on the blog game for the last couple weeks of my time away. I was really getting in the mindset to live out my last couple weeks and nothing else was of importance. I do not plan on discontinuing my travel blog now that I have returned home. I hope to keep my adventures going throughout the year, even it's not as fabulous as Australia.
Since its been so long since my last post, there is a lot to talk about. After my weekend in Newcastle, I was fending off a cold pretty hard. I had been to the chemist about 4 different times and finally found some cold medicine that seemed to do the trick. During the week at work, I got to attend a networking event (Women in Global Business) on behalf of my supervisor and networked with some other global business women. I heard from a panel of really experienced and intelligent business leaders.
Over the weekend I went all over Sydney. On Thursday a bunch of the interns went out to Kings Cross and danced as usual. It seems as though when we go out, even if a pub/club is kind of lame, us Americans sort of take over and always make it a good time. Friday was probably my laziest day ever. I stayed in bed pretty much all day and didn't leave Park Lodge until about 10 pm. I was busy writing my final paper for my internship. I went out with Kayla to a German pub called Lowenbrau. We had huge jugs of German beer but ended up separated when she left with her friends from work and I stayed with my mate Simon. After heaps of dancing Simon and I ended up at Chinatown with a group of mates for a late night feast. The restaurant had these fish tanks filled with giant sea creatures. I felt bad because they were so over sized and crammed into tanks.
After a long night I said my final goodbye to Simon, because he had to leave for Perth for some airforce duty and by the time he would return I would no longer be in Australia. On Saturday Kayla and I went on a cruise tour. We boarded a boat and set out of Goat Island. We were guided around the island and learned some wonderful Sydney history. Goat Island is where the first convicts were dropped off. It is just a small island and has sort of an eerie vibe too it. It's not open to the public, besides the tour. We had an Aussie barbie lunch and chatted with some nice people. After the tour we went to the Rocks market and had some coffee and macaroons. I had one that tasted like a rose. We also got to see how lollies, a traditional Aussie candy, are made. It was a fun-filled day!
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| View from Goat Island |
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| Making 'lollies' |
On Sunday I went to the Aroma Fest with Kayla at the Rocks. It was a lot of fun. There was so much food and drink! We got stuffed up with some really tasty stuff (Chips and dip, coffee, chocolate shot, corn on the cob, pavlova) yummmm.
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| Aroma Fest |
The next week at work was my last full week. It was very bittersweet. I worked very hard to finish out all my projects. I'm very proud of what I accomplished over my internship and all the professional experienced I gained. I now have confidence to graduate school with the ability to thrive in a professional working environment. My last week I was busy getting ready for our Economists Event. On Thursday we held the Economic Roadshow where I heard from a panel of Australian Economists about emerging markets and the future for Australia's economy. I love hearing different perspectives of internationalization and international business. It is so cool to hear other point of views than that of American's and compare and contrast them. After a long night I went to bed early to rest up for perhaps my biggest day yet.
On Friday (my last Friday in Sydney) I got up at the crack of dawn with Kayla to set out for SKYDIVING! We were picked up in the CBD and taken to Wollingong, a small beach town just south of Sydney. When we arrived there was a lot of waiting around before we could gear up. I literally had to shut my mind OFF, in order to avoid the intensive nervousness. Once it was our turn to gear up, there was literally no time to think at all. We were shuttled to the airport and hopped in a plane. I thought we were high at 5,000 feet but we still had 9,000 more to go. At 14,000 feet I would be the first one to jump out of the plane. My tandem guy was like "ok ready" and barley squeaked out "yes" and he goes "okay ready, one, two...... oh wait i'm not ready!" what a jerk... Finally we did it. I jumped out of a plane at 14,000 feet! WOAH!! The free fall was a bit rough, because you're falling so fast your eyes water, mouth dries out, and skin sort of burns but you love it because you are flying. Once the shoot opened up it was the most amazing feeling I've ever felt. I was free falling through the sky, floating, flying. My tandem guy goes "Welcome to my office". I was at a loss for words. All I could feel was freedom, all I could see was beach, ocean, land. When my feet touched the ground I felt like a new person.
For my last weekend, I had decided with a group of people to stay in a hostel at Bondi Beach. It was a great decision. On Saturday afternoon I went with Becca, Cole and Danny to our hostel. We put all 3 bunkbeds together to make one giant fort. We went out to a romantic full-moon dinner at Hurricanes. A lot of people from Park Lodge arrived to join us for the evening even though they weren't staying in Bondi with us. We went to out to Hotel Bondi and had good fun! It was a big one all of us. Sunday morning, Cole woke me up to watch the beautiful sunrise over the beach. It was perfect! Afterwards we went back to sleep until check-out. We ate breakfast along Bondi beach and then spent the day in the sun and sand. We headed back to Park Lodge in the late afternoon and I got ready to meet up with Nonnie for dinner. We went to the Australian Hotel to try their famous Kangaroo Pizza. It was quite tasty! It was like a cross betweek steak and pork, tough but salty and delicious!
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| Full Moon over Bondi |
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| Becca and Cole playing in our Hostel |
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| Sunrise over Bondi Beach |
Monday was my last day at the ECA which was very bittersweet. I was glad to have accomplished success at my internship but it was hard to leave such an amazing experience with wonderful people! On my last day I finalized some work, met a new intern- Selwin from Amsterdam- who would be replacing me in a sense, and taught him the ropes. The ECA team took us out to lunch to Yum Cha, a traditional Australian/Asian dining experience. During the afternoon I met with my supervisor Lisa, for final evaluation/feedback. I said my goodbyes and hope to keep in touch with everyone I've met in the future!
Tuesday was my last day in Sydney :( I packed up most of my things in the morning and then set out for breakfast at Frames, my favorite cafe. After, I head into downtown Sydney for the last time and walked around the Opera house. For dinner, I went out to a Turkish place with my house-mate Danny from West Virginia. It wasn't long after dinner I was saying my final good-byes to the rest of my house-mates and getting to bed early for just a few hours to sleep before my 3:30 am departure to the airport....
It was very hard to say goodbye to my life in Sydney but I knew it had to be done. Instead of being upset about leaving such a beautiful city and amazing new friends, I decided to be happy to have had an unforgettable experience that I can take with me in memory and value for the rest of my life.
