Feels like Home... Almost.

Living in Sydney is finally starting to become routine.  I'm not sure if I'm sad that it's becoming so familiar or excited that I'm starting to feel apart of it all.  The good news is that even though I finally have a set schedule, I'm still in awe when I remind myself to look out our kitchen window every morning at the bridge and Opera House; this view will be one of my all-time favorites.  

The weather here is starting to get a little cooler because we are transitioning to fall.  The temperature now is in the 60 to 75 degree range depending on the time of day and sun.  All of us are realizing that we are definitely sticking out as Americans now because on the 60 degree days we show up to class in t-shirts and shorts and the Australians are in pants and jackets. Hopefully when their winter hits, it will actually be cold enough for us to wear jeans and sweatshirts because if not, they will begin to think we are crazy.  It has also been raining quite a bit more, even if it's just for 10 minutes every day; the first few weeks we were here there was no rain, so the majority of us are in a little slump because we miss the clear, bright-blue skies.  I'm aware that that sounds spoiled compared to everyone suffering in the freezing winter/spring at home, but I was convinced Australia was the most perfect place ever and now it may have a tiny flaw. Oh wait.. after it rains here there are always beautiful rainbows!!

This past weekend I got to experience my first rugby game.  We went to the Waratahs v. Chiefs game and it was actually really fun!  The stadium was huge but even though it was Friday night it wasn't very crowded so we found some good seats.  As cool of a sport that rugby is, it is difficult to follow any game when you have no idea what's going on.  There are two types of rugby in Australia: League and Union.  The game we were at was Union, and I'm still trying to learn all of the differences between the two.  Thankfully, one of my friends played in high school so he was able to give us enough of an explanation to be able to watch the game.  We cheered for the Tahs because we had signs and they were the home team; they won, so it was pretty fun with the crowd!   It was nice to experience something different after being here for so long.

Some exciting news for me, besides still having a blast in Australia, is that I'm going to New Zealand for 9 days for fall break!!  I just booked everything and I'm really looking forward to it.  Two of my roommates and another good friend are going as well in the big group through our program, so we should have an amazing time!