Hanging out with Brian

On Saturday the 24th I flew from Brisbane to Sydney where I met up with my brother Brian. Brian is studying abroad in Wollogong, a city an hour or so south of Sydney. Sydney was a great place to start our time together and we had an enjoyable day exploring the city. We started out by checking out the Sydney Opera House and taking some photos. From there we walked along the harbor and found ourselves in "The Rocks" part of town where we had an awesome lunch at "Pancakes on the Rocks". Contrary to the name, neither of us had pancakes, but we did enjoy the best Greek salad I've had in a long time and some really yummy nachos. After lunch we walked around the Saturday craft market where Brian found some souvenirs and then went to the art museum to take in some contemporary art.
All of the sight seeing wore us out, so we went back to the hostel for a quick nap before getting dressed up for the Opera House. We had tickets for an actual Opera, and we were excited. I had never seen an opera before, and what better place to try one out than the Sydney Opera House. The opera was entitled Ruslaka, and was performed in Czech. I was concerned, because from our seats you couldn't see the subtitles... but we didn't have any problems because it turns out that the first 2 acts of the opera Ruslaka are exactly the same as my favorite Disney story... The Little Mermaid! And even more to our good fortune, after the first act a man and his two little kids came up to us and offered us his closer, much better tickets. He needed to take the kids home because they were tired and he didn't want the tickets to go to waste. So, Brian and I moved on up. It was good without the subtitles, but once I really knew what was going on, it was even better.

Then next day we took an early train back to Wollogong, and hung out around Brian's dorm. It rained all day, so it was a good day to take a long nap and cuddle up and read a book. I have been going strong for 2 1/2 months now.. it was nice to relax a bit.

On Monday I pretended to be a college student again as I went to class with Brian. I learned some stuff about politics and culture and got to check out the campus first hand. It's no Madison, but it is in Australia, so I guess it makes up for it. After class, Brian and I went into the City of Wollogong and explored the coast a bit.

Tuesday, while Brian was at class, I had my first extended time of being alone in the past 2 1/2 months. It was really nice to just hang out with me. I went for a run, hung out at the beach, did laundry and caught up on my travel journal. It was so nice. That evening we went to the beach and I watched Brian surf for a bit before it got too dark.

Wednesday, after being on the beach for awhile, Brian and I decided to go hike Mt. Kiera, a big hill/bluff/mountain near campus. It was a nice hike, and the views from the top were really nice. You could really see a long way up the coast. It was just nice to be out and active with my brother. That night we went to his University movie night and saw the movie Dream Girls.

Today, Thursday, Brian and I took the train to another coastal town called Kiama. This town was more relaxed and cuter than Wollagong, and we had a relaxing day of walking around and reading at a cafe and library. The weather was a bit rainy which took away from the beauty of the town a bit, but we had a nice day anyways.

It was so good to hang out with Brian for awhile. He is having a great time in Australia as well. He has bought a surf board and is working on his surfing along with biking up and down the coast with his bike that he brought. He is making a bunch of friends and learning a lot as well.

Tomorrow morning I am taking off early and flying from Sydney to Johannesburg South Africa. That will begin my month of African adventure. Wish me luck!