It’s been another hectic, amazing week down under. Last Sunday some of my friends and I took a day trip to beautiful Royal National Park. The world’s second oldest national park lived up to the hype. We took a scenic 4 kilometer coastal walk to the iconic Wedding Cake Rock which was one of the oddest looking rocks I’ve ever seen. Just yesterday, we ventured to the nearby Watson’s Bay to catch a Sydney sunrise. The short 15-minute stroll on Watson’s bay proved to be one of the most stunning walks I’ve ever been on. On one side of the bay we could see the Sydney skyline being illuminated by the setting sun, and on the other side the famous Watson’s Bay lighthouse looked out to the vast ocean.

In my time in Sydney, I’ve notice how much of an influence American Culture has had on the city, and Australia in general. In fact, if it weren’t for the accents and the cars driving on the opposite side of the road, you would think Sydney was just another American city. It’s got the same American Skyscrapers, the same typical American fast food chains such as McDonalds, and KFC, and the same type of US apparel stores. When we go out at night, the bars and clubs play the same popular American songs that every college student knows. There’s no such thing as Australian made movies; everyone goes to the movie theatre to see the US blockbusters. Even popular US sports like football, and basketball are beginning to gain popularity here. It’s so intriguing and interesting to see how big of an influence the US can have, even halfway around the world.

I only got a week left to live it up in Sydney, so stay tuned to see how my last week on the other side of the world goes!