Being in Sydney during the month of January is a magical feeling. January contains an extremely important day to the people of Australia. Prior to arriving in Sydney, I had no idea about this significant day, Australia Day. January 26^th marks the day that the first ships from England had arrived, more specifically, they arrived in Sydney. This day is extremely important for Australians because it represents the first colonization of the country. However, this day is controversial for one reason – there were already native people living here. Before the English had arrived, the country had belonged to the Eora Nation, the Gadigal tribe of the Eora Nation were living in Sydney at the time. It seemed as if the English were reliving the same situation that had occurred with the Americas – arriving to a new land, only to find out that there were already natives.

On the bright-side, the day now represents unity among people in Australia. Most people in Sydney like to spend this hot, summer day, lounging at the beach or near a pool, which is exactly what my friends and I had done. We started the day early by heading out to Gordon’s Bay, a rocky, secluded beach between Coogee and Bondi Beach. After spending a few hours at the beach, we all decided to pack up and head home to get ready for dinner. After doing some research, my friends and I had ended up at the oldest pub in Australia, the Fortune of War. This rustic pub was conveniently located in The Rocks, which happens to be in the same place as the Sydney Opera House. Afterwards, we headed outside to view the fireworks over the Opera House. It was very heartwarming to feel so welcome on such an important day for Australians. Australia Day was definitely extraordinary!