This week went by really fast and the weekend went by even
faster! On Friday, I went to the library after work and was issued my library
card. Okay that was probably more exciting than it should have been but it is a
REAL library. That basically means it is the opposite of the Bayliss. I checked
out two books: one on Sydney and one on Thailand. Their travel section was
overwhelming! I loved it of course! It made me think that if I lived by a real
library I wouldn’t need to hoard books.
On Saturday I went to Paddington Market because I have been
in need of a backpack since I got here. A girl at work told me to go there and
get the same backpack from China for 80% off. She didn’t steer me wrong. The
market is literally in the middle of their Chinatown here so there were people
everywhere and action around every turn. They had a dragon dance go down the
street and right into the mall. It was interesting. There were also about 500 lanterns coming from the market ceiling. I am assuming they are
gearing up for their Chinese New Year. Anyway the markets were really awesome!
I basically wanted everything that was in there. I ended up with a backpack and
a purse and a mental “I will be back”. The prices were REALLY cheap. There was
a little wiggle room in the prices but not too much. After I left the market I
went back to the station where I ate and went back to that stationary store…I
know temptation around every corner here. I had two $10 off coupons that were
burning a hole in my pocket so I took care of those. Then I rode the train
around for a couple of hours and came home with the cloud (aka my new backpack)
on my back.
Today (Sunday), Wendy, Stan, and Demi picked me up to go to
the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford. To my delight it was all kinds of
animals not just reptiles. It was way better than the park I have the pass for!
You can get a lot closer to the animals and it was less like a zoo. I got some
pictures that I posted here. The Galapagos Tortoise was my favorite
by far, he didn’t even look real. He was really neat! The koalas were pretty
cute too. Python snake and funnel webs not so much. The Tasmanian Devils were
crazy! They had a goose that was chasing the emus all around and they kept
going behind people to hide from it. I didn’t like the dingos very much. I don’t
know which animal is my favorite: the enchindas, wombats, or crocodile. Oh and
there were Americans at the park too- American alligators of all things. And no
don’t worry still no wombat pictures. The thing is, they are always sleeping
and these things look dead when they are sleeping but they are so darn cute! It
was a really neat park. I have noticed that their live shows here are different
than ours. They pick on people in the crowd and at home I don’t think that
would go over well. I almost paid to have my photo taken with a koala but in
the end I cheaped out and now I am thinking I would rather have a picture with
a wombat if we go back. And yes plan on seeing the Kookaburras often because
they are hams.
We ate lunch at the park before leaving. I ordered a French fries
with ketchup and a pop which translated into a befuddled expression. My interpreter
Wendy then rephrased it as chips with tomato sauce and a soda. Yeah, language
barrier is unreal. After that we went to the beach which was my first feel of
the Pacific Ocean.The beach was Wendy’s favorite because it is less
crowded. It is really nice there. Then we came home. The end….hahaha.
After awhile crocodiles
