A month gone already?!

It's crazy to think it's been a little over a month since I landed in Australia! I just can't believe it; where did the time go?! I'm absolutely loving my experience so far and don't want it to end anytime soon. Three and a half more months might not cut it....but it'll have to I suppose. Although, I know I'll make the most out of them.
So we went to Oakvale Farm last weekend and that was amazing! I cannot believe how well mannered the kangaroos are. They just hang around and let you do pretty much anything with them, especially if you have food (check out my pictures tab to see my smooch with a roo). We also got to pet koalas, which was sweet; they're so soft and adorable!

koala bear

sleepy koala

Other animals we saw were miniature horses, camels, llamas, goats, sheep, wallabies, turkeys, a peacock, and a dingo. It was very neat! My favorite part was probably hanging with the kangaroos; they kind of reminded me of my dog Kirby, whom I miss very much!

feeding the kangaroos!

Newcastle Beach

On Monday, we explored another beach, and it's actually even closer than Bar Beach, called Newcastle Beach. It's beautiful! The weather was actually decent for once and we laid out in our bathing suits and everything. We stayed for a few hours and then went to class- we are living the life!

Yesterday we went into Sydney again, and we pretty much just shopped all day; ergo, a pretty good day. Our main goal was to hit up this market in Chinatown, Paddy's Market, which just has booths and booths and more booths of random discounted stuff. I got a bag, a makeup bag, a cool aboriginal music thing, and a couple authentic boomerangs that were painted by actual aboriginal tribes. The market was so incredibly crowded and overwhelming since it's literally just rows and rows of booths; we plan to go back another time soon so we can shop there in a more organized and prepared fashion- clearly, we are very serious shoppers!

Paddy's Market

We just booked a long weekend trip to Melbourne, which is a large Australian city that is a short plane ride from Sydney. We are going in two weeks, from Thursday August 29 to Tuesday September 2. I am so pumped! I have heard it's even better than Sydney; we'll just have to see about that...
Even though it's only been a month, I feel like I've known my housemates for a lifetime. I love every single one of them and am so grateful to share this experience with them. Here's to many more months ahead!