Sydney Reflections

Sydney is a very very very big city.  It is also extremely touristy.  I knew this as soon as I saw currency exchange places on every street corner.  There are also a large percentage of Asians in Sydney.  There were all kinds of restaurants and stores that were obviously owned or run by Asians.  There is nothing wrong with this; it is just not what I was expecting.  All of the people that we met in here were extremely polite and generous and it seems that everyone just gets along all the time.  One particularly awesome part about Sydney was its transportation systems.  We had a transportation pass that would allow us to take any train, bus, or ferry to anywhere around Sydney as often as we wanted.  This was a huge luxury that I feel like can be easily taken for granted for.  I feel like I am rambling a little bit so, overall, Sydney was an incredible place to begin my journey in Australia and I look forward to returning at the end of the trip. As part of my class requirements for my journey down under I will be providing my reflections on the built environment, the natural environment, the predominate culture, and the minority culture of this massive city. 

The Built Environment:

Sydney is a very international city.  It was first settled as a penal colony and has since grown into a booming metropolis.  The first building that anyone thinks of when they think of Sydney Australia is the Sydney Opera House.  This iconic building sits on the bank of the harbor and attracts visitors from all over the globe.  The architecture of this building is stunning and I can’t wait to go on an architectural tour of it when we go back to Sydney. 

The next thing that you notice about Sydney is the Harbor Bridge.  This massive steel structure stretches across the harbor and looks out over the city.  It too attracts many travelers from all over the world to experience its grander.  There is even tour that you can take where you walk across the top of the bridge. 

The rest of the city is covered with massive skyscrapers and the surrounding areas all seem to have big residential dwellings.  I almost got the feeling that I was in New York City when I was walking through the streets of Sydney because it is so big and so busy. 

The Natural Environment:

When I think about the natural environment of Sydney I can’t help but think about all of the amazingly beautiful trees, plants, and animals all over the city.  The botanical gardens overlooking the harbor were possibly the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.  I realize that most of the trees and plants are native to Australia and therefore I haven’t seen many of them before, but they all felt like they were so much bigger, greener, and overall more attractive and illustrious than anything I see back home on a regular basis.  Maybe this is because everything here is so new and I am so used to everything back home. 

The Predominate Culture:

The predominate culture here in Sydney is obviously of European decent.  Although the Aboriginal people originally settled the country, it is clear that the white people have had a major influence on the culture in Sydney today.  The restaurants, coffee shops, bars, stores, and pretty much everything else are very similar to things at home.  There are obviously minute details that are different, but ultimately I believe that this is because both of our cultures were derived from the same place with mixes of different cultures from around the world as well.  One particular conversation that I thoroughly enjoyed with a local occurred on New Years Eve.  Her name was Patricia and his was Alfred.  She was originally from Madagascar and he was a native of Australia.  Their willingness to get to know our whole group and their generosity towards us really made me feel even more comfortable about being in Sydney.  We soon found out that Alfred is in the construction business as well and that he specializes in deep foundations.  This was icing on the cake for us because we had incidentally met someone that was in the exact same field that we were studying in. 

The Minority Culture:

The obvious minority culture in Sydney is that of its original inhabitants, the Aborigines.  I would even go as far as to say that the Asians make up their own minority culture.  There was a sign for a business called Aboriginal Employment Strategy near the University of Sydney where we were staying.  After some brief research I have learned that their mission statement is, “The creation of Indigenous career opportunities.”  Basically it is a non-profit business that helps aboriginal people find jobs.  For more information on the AES, click here.  These people have done a great job of keeping their traditions and culture alive in a modern world.  For those of you that haven’t seen the movie Australia, I would highly recommend it because it gives historically accurate information regarding Aboriginal assimilation.  The only other Aboriginal people that I saw were the ones playing didgeridoos on the street corners, which I have a hard time believing that they are that primitive.  Like I said earlier, Sydney is a very touristy place.