No Worries!

Urban Dictionary: The most common phrase in the Australian vocabulary. Used in situations ranging from benign endings to conversations to matters of earth shattering importance.

No worries mate!

Hello all!

I think one of the major lessons I have learned in my time in Australia is to not stress so much over the little things. In time everything will get done and work out, so there is no use worrying over it! Put your faith in God and just live! 

Also seize the moment. Don't sit waiting for tomorrow when you can do so much today! I realized this when I looked at my calendar and saw that my weekends are already filling up for the remainder of my time in Australia. There is so much I want to do and see. I have learned to take advantage and enjoy everyday!

Weekend Adventures:

Friday: Was a cloudless 85 degree day. My friends and I spent the whole day at the beach, napping, swimming, and chatting with some other students who are studying in Melbourne but visiting Sydney for the weekend. A truly relaxing day at Bondi Beach! To end the day I went for a run then went out with some friends around Newtown (The suburb where I live) for the night.

Saturday: I went with some friends on a Hunter Valley Wine tour. We caught a bus at 8 am from central station for a little under 2 hour bus ride out the The Hunter Valley. Surrounded by mountains the valley is home to 120 vineyards. It is Australia’s oldest and one of its most well-known wine regions. One of the wines the Hunter Valley is best known for is their Semillon. Because it is situated in the basin of the mountains all of the heat is trapped and on average the temperature is 5 degrees warmer then Sydney and humid, which is a good climate for grapes to grow in.

Before leaving the bus our tour guide gave us a crash course on the proper way to sample wine. Hold the glass by the stem, hold your glass up to the light, swirl the wine to get it on the sides of the glass, smell it, and then sip it. 

On our tour we stopped first at Drayton’s Family Wines, one of the oldest family owned Hunter Valley Winery (est.1853). We had a bbq after our first tasting then headed over to Blue Tongue Brewery.

At Blue Tongue Brewery we sampled a few of their original brews outside while listening to live music.

Then we went and walked through the famous Lindeman’s Wines vineyard. 

Our next stop was McGuigan Cellars for another wine and cheese tasting. 

Our last stop of the day was the Golden Grape Estate. This vineyard was surrounded by rose bushes, because if there are any diseases in the soil the roses will die before the grapes and they will be able to treat the grapes before they are infected. I felt so sophisticated and grown up going to all of the wineries! I also learned a lot about the different kinds of wine and how they are made.

Cafe of the Week: 

 Clippers Cafe on Glebe Point Road. The inside of the cafe has a garden type feel and lots of neat old photographs and antique tea pots as decorations. They have the best iced mocha’s ever!!!

New Experiences:

I watched bits and pieces of the Australian film The Castel on commercial breaks while watching another movie and from what I saw it was ridiculous and off the wall. It’s one of those movies that are so pointless it’s funny. Apparently it’s about this Bogan (Australian slag for hillbilly) Australian family that loves their house, but the airport next door wants to extend their runway and demolish their house. I think I will rent it so I can watch the whole thing...I’ll let you know how it goes.

My friend Ankur and I got up at 6:30 am to run 3 miles down to Sydney Harbour to watch the sunrise at 7am. It was neat to see Sydney streets so calm early in the morning and the view of the harbour was beautiful! We took lots of pictures and walked around the opera house and the rocks. The run home we had to weave in and out of people on their morning commute. I was exhausted by the end, but it was well worth it!

The Rocks- where the first convicts were brought into Sydney.

Other News: 

Emma and I successfully made the eggplant parmesan! We had to get creative because of lack of ingredients and cooking utensils but it was delicious!  

My friends came into visit me at work and took a picture of me hard at work!

Well I believe that is all for now. One more week until our mid-semester break! Lindsey, Emma, and I will be flying up to the Gold Coast next weekend, but I hope to update before we leave. Until then, everyone have a great week! 

Cheers, Betsy