I have managed to escape to my favorite little cafe for a few hours to catch up on everything at home and enjoy delicious food! Today is rainy and overcast, so I think we might go to the aquarium shortly.

The man that owns this place is from South America and has lived in Australia for several years and says that you can experience the four seasons in one day here: cold and rainy, then suddenly warm and sunny. He says if you're body isn't used to it you can easily catch a cold. He has never been to East Tenn.??

This past weekend was Australia Day. It is a lot like Independence Day in the United States. Everyone here is very patriotic, and it is not uncommon to see one running down the streets with Australian flags wrapped around them like Superman's cape singing the national anthem.

When people hear me talk and realize that I'm American, usually their first line of questioning includes, "So what do you think of George Bush and the war?" My response is usually along the lines of, "I'm a Political Science major...do you really want to have this conversation with me? We could be here a while." So we talk about the weather.??

While celebrating Australia Day, we were able to go to a part of the city we haven't seen yet and is quite possibly my favorite part, Circular Quay (pronounced like "key"). I took tons of pictures of the Harbour Bridge as well as the famous and beautiful Sydney Opera House. What a sight to behold! It's truly better than I imagined it and words and pictures cannot really express the true beauty of this place, but I will do my best.

I am hoping (depending on prices) to see an opera before I leave. I have never seen one before, and what better place to do so than at the Sydney Opera House! Saturday was long and exhausting, so we spent Sunday resting. We did have dinner at a place called Urban Bites, which is the first restaurant we ate at when we got here.

We laughed at how miserable and homesick we were that first day and that we actually even allowed ourselves the thought of coming home. What were we thinking?

Thursday was another day full of class, and we went to a new Thai restaurant for dinner. I think I have declared Thai as my new favorite food. I absolutely love every dish I've had. If the weather is nice, this weekend should be fun and hopefully filled with exciting new adventures. 

I have 26 days left until I come home and I can hardly believe it. I have mixed emotions about my return to the States. I miss everyone so much and can't hardly wait to see everyone again. On the other hand, tears well up in my eyes when I think of leaving my new friends here and all the places that I love so much.

My dear friend Paul, who owns my favorite café, will top off the list of my most missed people. He is so nice to me every time I come in and always knows my order and lets me try new things. He is from Italy and I have now decided that Italy is next on my list of places to go.

I will also miss my roommate, Angie. It will be weird not having her around. She keeps us in line. I hope to return to Australia one day, as it will always hold a special and dear place in my heart. It's the place that I found myself.

I am off to meet Katie now and head to the city. I am excited to see the aquarium because it is one of the most famous in the world! As always, I will be sure to take lots of pictures.

I hope everyone is well and know that you are always in my thoughts and prayers. As Mamaw Taylor said, when you look up at the stars at night, know that even thousands of miles away, I'm looking up at that same sky.