Feb 15th

I’ve only been here for 3 days but it feels like a lot longer because I’m doing so much. I’ve been to a welcome session at my school, looked for accommodation, got a phone set up, seen the Sydney Opera house, and more. I know this city’s public transportation system like that back of my hand. The family I’m staying with is in Vaucluse which is a bus and train ride away from my school. And the family doesn’t really do sit down meals so every night Jenna, her brother, her cousin Robert, and me go out for dinner. But tonight we had our first dinner with them because it was Shabbat and they had guests over and it was delicious. Mom, I even did the dishes! As for night life, lately, Robert’s friend Andrew has really shown us around. Last night, he took us out for a Valentines Day dinner and then to a Pub with him and his friends. The night before, we all watched a movie together. Tonight, we’re venturing to a new part of the city. I’ve been very proud of myself lately. I get up around 9 every morning and don’t go to bed until about midnight. So my days are packed and by the end I’m ready to collapse.

I’ve been a little disappointed with the weather though. Apparently the entire summer has been like this and it’s supposed to be like this for the next few months. It’s overcast every morning, if we’re lucky the sun breaks through in the afternoon, and then at night it rains. Ugh. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon walking around downtown, through the most amazing Botanic Gardens, and then to the Opera House and I managed to get my first glimpse of sun. And today I spent 3 hours at one of the beaches called Bondi and it was beautiful. But when the sun isn’t out, it’s pretty chilly out.

The whole housing search has been really difficult mostly because I don’t have internet access. Also, all the rooms available are being leased out by families or a working couple in their 30’s. Not exactly what I had in mind. So now, I’m thinking about finding people to just rent an entire place with me. This should be interesting. I’m going tomorrow morning to a slew of open houses. And real estate here is unbelievably expensive. It’s equivalent to living in downtown Chicago. I went to see a place yesterday that was being leased for $160 a week and it was the size of my walk-in closet. I could stretch my arms out and they would just about touch the walls. It was so old and decrepit looking, that I stayed for about 30 seconds and then ran the other direction.

Aside from all the troubles of trying to settle in, this is probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I hope to be getting you pictures in the days to come so that you can see for yourself.