Becoming a Sydneysider

My first week at my internship turned out to be great! I was a little nervous going into an unfamiliar workplace, in another country. However, the people are so laid-back and friendly here. No worries is really what they live by. Myself and the other intern, Miguel, were immediately welcomed into the office. I intern at an online magazine called InTheMix which specializes in Australian dance music, which I know nothing about but am willing to learn. So far, I have been writing news articles and I already conducted an interview with an artist and published a feature. It’s a great experience here and I am just glad I am not doing the typical intern things like making coffee and spending all day copying papers. Right after work on Friday I caught the bus for a surf trip down south of Sydney with a bunch of my friends. It was awesome! It was pouring rain and hailing the first time we went out, but that didn’t keep us from getting up. I was surprised how much the advisors lessons helped and I stood up for a few seconds on my second try. The other day of the trip was a lot nicer, but we still wore some pretty stylish full body wetsuits. It was a blast and I am so glad I got to surf in the place known for it.

I just passed in my 30 page portfolio for my travel writing class this Saturday. It feels great to be done and have part of my grade in the class secure. The portfolio was a collection of journal entries, essays, pictures and information about my two week trip down the south coast of Australia. I put a lot of hard work into it and I know I will appreciate having it for documentation of my trip. Anyway, my friends and I decided to celebrate the completion with a nice dinner and night out on The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney that is right on the harbor. Yesterday, we also visited the aquarium, went shopping and walked around Sydney exploring. There’s so much to see and do in the city: I just hope I have enough time for it. It’s been kind of rainy here lately, which is extremely rare for Sydney, but I am off to Cairns in Queensland this weekend to see the Great Barrier Reef, snorkel and possibly skydive. I can’t wait and I hope the weather will be nice (its hot all year round there). My friends and I are flying out Friday and will be back next Monday night. It will be awesome to see the world’s largest ecosystem and the only living thing that can be seen from space. For all you Finding Nemo fans, I am hoping to find nemo and dori while I am snorkeling too and figure out if 42 Wallaby Way really exists. Until then, no worries! -Jennie