A Week's Gone By

Well, I made it through my first week in Australia!  And what a week it’s been – hectic, exciting, nerve-wracking…it’s definitely by God’s Providence that I’m here, and I know that He has been at work this whole time (and will continue to be).  Yesterday was definitely a typical Friday at school – and for whatever reason, my haircut seemed to be a hot topic.  My newly least favorite third year called me “Baldie” and one of the year tens asked me if my haircut was a gangster haircut in America!  Once the day was over, I began to look forward to a restful night.  The family went away to the country for a football game, so I had the house to myself for Friday.  Rather than  throw a wild Australian party, I decided to take it easy and just eat some ice cream and watch Lord of the Rings.

When I woke up in the morning, I decided to go do some exploring and check out the Adelaide Zoo.  After taking the two dogs for a walk (and fighting for 15 minutes to get them back into their pen), I set off for the city.  The house I’m in is about a 35 minute drive from the city, and about an hour bus ride.  I took the bus into town, and got off near the busy Victoria Square, in the heart of Adelaide.  This probably wasn’t the closest stop, but I wanted to play it safe and not get stuck on a bus heading in the wrong direction.  It worked out, though, because it gave me a chance to visit the Cathedral of St Francis Xavier, the Catholic cathedral for Adelaide.  It’s a really beautiful church that took almost 100 years to complete (it was only finished in 1996!). 

                                       

Using a small city map that I printed out the day before, I set off for the zoo in the northeast part of the city (downtown Adelaide is 1 mile square, with a grid layout and parklands surrounding).  I think I took one of the longest routes to the zoo, but I certainly got the grand tour of the eastern parklands.  When I finally got near, I realized that I was on the wrong side of the river – I could see the zoo from the back, but had no clue how to get in!  I kept walking around the perimiter, and finally found the main entrance.

The Adelaide Zoo is pretty cool – they have a bunch of exotic animals (giraffes, hippos, lions) and then some native Australian ones (kangaroos, emus, Tasmanian devils).  I made my way around, enjoying seeing so many different critters but ever-hoping to find the koala.  I gawked at the first kangaroo I saw hopping, and was amazed when a monkey swung out of a branch.  After a little over an hour, I sat down to grab a coffee and take a break before going to see Funi and Wang Wang (the giant pandas, the zoo’s pride and joy – they have a whole gift shop dedicated just to them!).  When I finished, I decided to go the roundabout way to the pandas.  Glancing around me as I walked, I suddenly stopped in my tracks – there it was, the koala!  I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see one, but there it was, 10 feet away from me.  This was without a doubt the highlight of my day.  After staring at the koala and wondering how fast I could run out of the zoo with it tucked under my arm, I gave up and headed over to the pandas.  It was really exciting to see them – they were walking around their habitats and sitting around chomping on bamboo.

 

When I left the zoo, I stupidly took a wrong turn out of the gate and walked the same route as before, all the way around.  Finally, I got to the bridge I needed to cross (after getting the grand tour of the parklands – again) and made my way to the bus stop.  I arrived just in time, and began the trek back.  Before I got on the final bus, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at “Macca’s” (what the Aussies call McDonald’s) to see how it compared to home – it’s almost exactly the same, except the drive-thru is on the opposite side.

Now I’m just winding down from a long day of walking around Adelaide and preparing to finish Lord of the Rings.  Since tomorrow is Sunday, I’m hoping it really will be a “day of rest!”

  

       

Adelaide, "The City of Churches"