I still don’t understand how I came to take the final exam.  Assuredly, I was out of my mind when I was talking to my friend Seo-Kyung about our trip to.  “When will your final exam finish?  From the time we made the airplane reservation forup until now, the blue sky and glossy beaches there have been stuck in my head!”

 12/26

 As soon as we stepped out ofSydneyAirport on December 26, the day after

Christmas, we went to Circular Quay by taxi.  I felt as if theSydneyHarbourBridge and the Opera House under the hot sun seemed to hail me passionately. 

They were not far from each other, so many visitors were trying to take a picture of both of them at once.  Maintaining in our ambiguous imagination that every place withinSydney must be beautiful, we started to walk from Circular Quay,

loafing around The Rocks, the old district being transformed into a ground coexisting traditional and modern beauty.   

Following Hickson Street towards George Street, I found the exotic scenery of low-story buildings and large intervals across the streets too different from that of.  Due to the public holiday, those stores and theaters closed stiffly gave me a feeling of desertion rather than composure, along with the small number of people.

We saw the QVB (Queen Victoria building), named after Queen Victoria of the 19^th century, when was under’s rule.  This building has been described by Pierre Cardin as "the most beautiful shopping centre in the world."  It is the largest shopping mall in the world, and befitting of its reputation, murals showing the old beautiful days, scattered benches and a large clock with dolls and a piano playing itself were attracting me, as were the people standing in several rows at certain famous stores inside, such as Dolce & Gabbana and Coach.  

But the lowest price I could find was about 3 dollars: a muffin in the food court.  Prices in are higher than in.  I had to eat only one much bigger muffin than any found inin the name of saving my traveling costs.  Outside QVB, we went for a walk inHyde Park .  I saw people acting as giant chess pieces and many kinds of birds, including a pelican with a horribly big bill leaping at me with my lone muffin!  

12/27

 The next day, we first took a train to Eastwood and transferred at Central Station to go to Circular Quay.  From there, we went Taroonga Zoo, the biggest zoo in, on a big ferry.  A low fence about twenty centimeters high which surrounded the zoo seemed to be laid like a string of unity between animals and humans as well as creating a dark and quiet environment for nocturnal animals.  

A gathering of about 20 orangutans and chimpanzees showed many kinds of behavioral patterns similar to those of humans: scratching each other’s backs, picking lice of their heads, even sexual activities… Ah! Ancestors!  Despite the large variety and numbers of animals including the representative Australian mammals, the Kangaroo and Koala, I could not detect any smelly or dirty part of the zoo. 

After returning to Circular Quay, we looked around the Opera House and theRoyalBotanic Gardens .  Admission into the Opera House was only granted to fully-dressed people, and we were rather bedraggled.  I murmured that I could only view the Opera House’s architectural beauty from a distance.  The Royal Botanic Gardens in which a green wind was blowing gently encompassed many kinds of people from lone joggers to families.

12/28

 On the third day, we tried to go to Epping Station which was nearer than Eastwood Station from our home, but we were wandering about with three maps for an hour, while my uncle had said to me it usually took 15 minutes.  I’d like to use the excuse thatis much too roomy!  We bought one-day ‘Bondi Explore ‘ tickets.  

Taking no notice of the announcements being broadcast in Australian English, we first arrived atGapPark andWatsonsBay .  The scenery ofGapPark covered with big rocks was like a fairy tale; small houses left a little spare with pastel tones.  I would love to have one teeny house with my partner there.  My aunt said to me, “I assure you, the price of those tiny houses is far from reality.”  WatsonsBay next to theGapPark was a small and beautiful beach, with relatively fewer people than on other beaches. 

 Next we went toBondiBeach , the largest beach in the world.  There were many kinds of races taking place on the water.  I saw several completely nude people and handsome guys with gorgeous bodies.  Behind my friend and sister who demanded (a little strongly) to take a rest, I enthusiastically enjoyed the best beach alone under the hot sun.  Yeah, it’s the best beach I’ve ever been to. 

Feeling so sorry that I had to leave it, we went to Fox Studios for our last stop on the bus itinerary.  I have been completely soaked in American soaps and dramas, so I prefer Fox Channel broadcasting programs, and was full of anticipation when I heard the word ‘Fox’, but because of the holiday season, most of the sets were empty and closed, which made me want to return there next time.  

12/29

 On Saturday, all of my family members enjoyed a driving course towards Westhead, one of the tourist attractions inKu-ring-gaiChaseNational Park .  The outlook from Westhead provide profuse scenery: Palm Beach,LionIsland (which resembled a crouching lion) and three-dimensional maps.  Following side streets for a few minutes from there, we were directly able to reachPalm Beach . 

I didn’t wake up magically on the big, hot rock for a minute due to accumulated fatigue over the last three days until several birds were wandering sneakily around me!  My sexual allurement had seduced even the birds of another country or else I looked like their prey…  I’d like to believe the former!  I was another “Sleeping Beauty” in a real dreamy atmosphere; cobalt blue sea, huge rocks and some freaky birds which replaced my handsome prince. 

Later that afternoon, we were looking aroundMacquarieUniversity , which is much larger than Sookmyung Women’s University.  Many small papers covered in Chinese writing posted by students seeking lodging made me consider again how China’s power is apparent in every corner.  

Behind the spacious fields of the University, we went toward Sydney Olympic Park located inHomebushBay under the name of ‘Green Olympics’, which had been a landfill site flooded with a ton of hazardous wastes.  My show of playing with poles was far removed from that of sexy strippers; it was more creative than those ladies’, though my friend and cousin were very indifferent to me.

12/30

 You may not believe that desert and beach could co-exist in one place; Port Stephens broke my prejudice.  After I slid screaming over the dunes on a sled, I had to remove all the sand in my mouth and in my clothing; I was open-mouthed.  No moment was more exciting than taking a dolphin-watching cruise from Nelson Bay on a small ferry towards the South Pacific; a scene from Le Grand Bleu flitted thorough my mind. 

Pelicans reminded me that they are friends with humans as well.  In front of a man holding fish in his hands, big-beaked Pelicans arranged themselves in a row automatically with big strides.  There was no room for pigeons!  The Day Tour programs with their ompetitive prices left us really satisfied.  On the way home, we watched Bul Sae (Firebird), a Korean soap opera of several years ago on the bus.  Seo-Kyung said “I hardly ever enjoyed Korean soap operas before, but I came to watch one in.” 

That evening, two of my cousins, my friend, my aunt, my uncle, my maternal grandmother and grand father all gathered to celebrate my aunt’s 54^th birthday.  We enjoyed Vietnamese summer rolls for dinner; I had an attack of indigestion from eating too much.   

12/31

 On the last day of 2007, we visitedDarlingHarbour near Town Hall Station.  Due to the high admission fee, we had to hang around in front of the entrance to theChineseGarden of Friendship and thePowerhouseMuseum , so I enjoyed the scenery ofDarlingHarbour by walking around all its corners. 

TheAustralianNationalMaritimeMuseum which included several large vessels allowed us in for free.  The museum was full of ambience; abundant maritime items actually used in the old days and thorough research records about Australian Maritime History.  My aunt, Seo-Kyung and I stayed up late and enjoyed the fantasticSydney festivals only by means of the TV; but we danced and sang by ourselves to celebrate the beginning of 2008 while listening to Korean pop music.    To be continued…      

Tips:  Keep all the following in mind when you go to:

1. The Day Tour program is convenient, and sometimes the total price is much cheaper than personal tours.  The train system is well prepared and as systematic as that of.  However, you should know that a number of visitors gather in Sydney and its perimeter everyday, asSydney is one of the most famous sightseeing cities in the world.  ’s land is of such a large scale that about 70% is supposedly undeveloped according to a tour guide.  Suppress your passionate desire to walk around and not use transportation!

2. You should become accustomed to the pronunciation of Australian English.  Although I was not fluent in English, I had little trouble with basic conversation, when I went to the  But inSydney I was so embarrassed about communicating (especially listening) in a slightly ‘different’ English dialect.

3. Don’t waste too much money.  Technically, convert the cost of the product you want to buy into Korean money.  And you need to know that the Australian dollar is different from the U.S. dollar.  A muffin costs $2~4; a return train ticket to nearby stations between $3-10. 

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