This week I walked more than I ever have (aside from hiking or running) in my life. Sydney brings blocks and blocks of food, bars, shops, malls, and miscellaneous business districts with every step. Each part of the city is a bus or ferry away; yet everyday I find myself traveling over miles of its cement to reach my destinations.
Within one week the crew and I toured multiple regions of Sydney’s neighborhoods. My favorite by far has been Darling Harbor (Harbour). If readers are not aware, Darling Harbour is where Nemo and his tank friends resided until Dory and Marlin (Nemo’s dad) were guided by Australia’s marine life to the ocean waters of Sydney. Marlin rescues Nemo from P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way with the help of Taronga Zoo’s very own Nigel and the “mine” birds (sea gulls) of Australia’s beaches. I have yet to visit this particular residence and to my dismay a Finding Nemo exhibit, memorial, or landmark does not exist.
Further into the city’s boundaries the group has taken up residence in a house in the Sydney University (Uni) neighborhood. Flanking its homey walls are Broadway, George, and Glebe Street with the Uni a bridge and a Hogwarts quadrangle away. Did I mention we also walk to school? We graduated from walking between small college dwellings minutes apart at Lewis & Clark College to a ten-minute trek to class.
Every passing day brings a new adventure. I have gotten lost in my beach clothes within the central business district (CBD) of Sydney (similar to our very own Wall Street). To say that I felt out of place with my slightly heat-stroked companions Sophie and John is an understatement. The 400 buses to home fortunately were just blocks away, but I have not always been so lucky to quickly hop on a bus and be whisked away to my safe Glebe residence. It’s a constant challenge to determine the correct bus direction. That’s right, I said direction. Cars drive on the opposite side of the road, and drivers occupy the opposite side of the car. I have yet to perfect my ability to determine whether the left or right side of the street will lead me home.
In fact, one time a couple of us Clarkians waited for a bus only to find (to the annoyance of the bus driver) that we rode the bus to the opposite end of our primary destination. Tack on another five minute walk, and our trio managed to find the correct 400 bus home.
Although I face my own mishaps of disorientation in a new country, Sydney constantly surprises me. I am beyond certain that my feet and my next walk will bring me new exploits and learning experiences I have been constantly seeking out.
