That Time of the Month!

Hello friends and Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Yes it is that time of the month: time to post a blog update on my life here in Sydney. Lots to write about due to the massive amount of great things occurring in the past 30 days!

First off, mazal tov to Michael Maze for snagging my sister as his fiancé! I was lucky enough to travel back to the States to help them celebrate their engagement in addition to seeing Shira graduate from high school with my 4 grandparents and all of my cousins save for Eitan. It was an amazing time home topped off with a quick trip to DC to see my friends and coworkers.

BUT I AM BACK AND HAPPIER THAN EVER!

Yes, it is still winter. And yes, the honeymoon phase has definitely passed here in Oz. Yet I am finding myself surrounded with great friends and even better adventures and stories that come with them. It's hard to believe I just passed my halfway mark here...but hey... things may change...

Unsurprisingly, this city is World Cup obsessed. Surprisingly, it is as not in-your-face as you would expect. Perhaps it's because the two game times are at outrageous hours due to our ungodly timezone (midnight and 4am). Even though the Socceroos left the tournament prematurely, everyone is still into it and happy to watch and put their lives on hold until July 11th (Hup Holland!). One guy in a bar even told me he'd call me after the games were over...! At least he was honest!

Winter now isn't as terrible as it was in early June. There were 2 solid weeks of rain which definitely didn't help things. What's nice about the Oz winter is that the sun still shines through despite the chilly temps. What is unfortunate about the weather here is that the Sydneysiders are totally unprepared for it and complain about it as though this is the first time they have experienced 55 degree weather. As an example, we experienced our coldest June day in 27 years. Everyone was freaking out about it...and rightfully so as there is no heat anywhere and the city is structured to be pedestrian-centric. (Again, I think the city planners forgot winter existed here).

Despite the weather, I have been out and about both in Sydney and in the New South Wales region. A few highlights from this month:

-My friends and I took a road trip to the Hunter Valley wine country in May. While there, we visited 3 vineyards and were able to taste the various bottled wines in the owners' boutique wineries. It was so fun and even educational. The awkward part was that we were the only ones who weren't spitting our wine once we got the "taste." I don't think our other, older tourmates appreciated our behavior by the end of the trip!

-Sydney is currently celebrating the 17th Biennale, which is in fact the fourth oldest in the world. It is Australia's largest and most exciting contemporary visual arts event. A highlight was my ferry trip to Cockatoo Island with friends to check out the sculptures and exhibits of over 50 artists. (note: this is not to be confused with a Biennial! When I was certain this was the biennial, I was dumbfounded to think that Sydney was only 34 years old. Don't worry, this confusion didn't last too long!)

-2 friends and I took a day trip to Watson's Bay. While there, we feasted on the ever-famous Fish n'Chips at Doyles and hiked up the cliffs to the Sydney Harbour National Park. This is a unique point in Sydney's many lookouts for you get a view of both waters: the harbour and the South Pacific.

-We had a pretty "bizarro" 4th of July celebration here. The Americans decided to celebrate Independence Day on Saturday the 3rd due to the fact that we have work/school on Monday. Whenever an Aussie would ask me what I would be doing on Saturday, I would reply "celebrating the July 4th." Now this is confusing on two levels: 1) it was the 3rd of July and 2) I always forget that the fourth day in July doesn't signify anything to anyone outside of the States. Full of singing, sparklers, American cookie cake and of course some burgers and dogs on the barbie, we had a great time on Coogee beach. Granted it was 50 degrees out, it was a gorgeous day nevertheless!

-Today I finally saw my first Sydney Opera House performance! It was a 90 minute-long dance performance put on by the troop Political Mother. I was expecting something along the lines of "Stomp" but got something a bit edgier instead. Overall it was pretty fascinating and definitely different.

-July is shaping up to be quite a hectic one! Lots of birthdays combined with going to New Zealand for a work conference plus Naomi is coming to visit! We will be going to the tropical northern city of Cairns to go diving in the Great Barrier Reef and ziplining through the rainforest. I can't wait for what this month has in store!

Til next time...