In many ways Melbourne is similar to Columbus. Melbourne is a growing city filled with markets, parks, restaurants, businesses, and skyscrapers. The cab driver that picked us up from the airport when we arrived estimated that 1,000 people come here every week to live. The people of Melbourne are growingly diverse and overall a friendly lot.
Two weekends ago, most of the group got the opportunity to go visit Sydney. It was an incredible time but a vastly different experience than Melbourne. There are many parts of Sydney that are old and others that are very modern. The area around the Opera House contains a heap of gourmet restaurants and has a historic background. The people of Sydney resemble that of New Yorkers: rushed and annoyed with outsiders. While everyone, including the people of Sydney, asks what a bunch of Americans are doing in Australia, one man of Sydney captured this when he told us that we should not tell our friends and family how awesome Australia is because it would ruin it if more American tourists come. The other side of Sydney is home to Bondi Beach and many other surf beaches. Bondi has many colorful mosaic benches and vibrant marine murals.
This current weekend we visited the Australian Bush and the Great Ocean Road. While we have never seen the pacific coast highway, many references reveal similarities. The coastline is home to many small towns and tight-knit communities. People of Australia are seeing a huge rise in prices in the land in these communities as compared to previous years. The interesting part of the Great Ocean Road is that on one side of the road you have these gorgeous and massive views of ocean and on the other side it feels like the dairy heartland. Dairy cows get to enjoy a sea breeze every morning. On this trip we got to see so many animals in their natural environment and the efforts of the state of Victoria to preserve the wildlife.
Ashle Casey & Sarah Leonard