Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree

This weekend has been a lot of fun.

Friday I went with Julie, Lindsay, Rachel, and Chris to the Powerhouse Museum.  It wasn't my favorite, and I probably wasn't in the biggest museum mood.  I also thought there would be more interactive parts, but anyway, I did really enjoy a cool lace exhibit.  It had everything from lace shoes to tea pots.  Some of it was really beautiful, and some really odd.  There was also a cool fashion faith section, with different modest yet fashionable outfits (most with headscarves).  We had heard before we went that you could try chocolate, so we were really excited, but it ended up being this video where you learned about chocolate, and at the end it was supposed to give you some (as in a few chocolate chips of different flavors), but sometimes it didn't work (the most exciting was when we got 5 in one shot).

Rachel, Chris, Lindsay, and Julie waiting for chocolate

Friday night and Saturday were pretty calm, lots of reading.  Then last night I went with Lindsay, Julie, and Chris (and we met up with a lot more people) to Argyle again, and then Pancakes on the Rocks.  This time Lindsay, Julie, and I split buttermilk pancakes with blueberries and ice cream.  They were amazing and splitting it 3 ways was perfect.  We then still weren't tired and the three of us and Melanie took a cab to Scubar since it's close to where we live, so it was easy to get home from.  It was quite a late night but a lot of fun.

I then got up this morning to go to the Taronga Zoo with people from my floor! Our RA, Sarah, set up an event and 11 of us joined her.  The weather was perfect (conveniently, since yesterday, despite being the first day of spring, smelled like snow and felt like winter).  The zoo is on a hill that overlooks the city, so we kept getting these beautiful views of the city.  The animals, of course, were amazing.  We went to the seal show and the bird show, and yes, I finally saw kangaroos and koalas!  One of the boys, Mike, wore a penguin shirt just for the occasion, but then, despite going back to the penguin exhibit twice, we never saw any penguins! Apparently at this time of year they don't come out too often.  There were a few funny animals, like the dholes and the binturong.  We also saw a kookaburra which was so exciting and now I have the song stuck in my head  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fO1je3Oxg .

Elephants seen from the Sky Safari

KOALA!

Seal Show

Binturongs Eating

Sarah (our RA)

Kangaroo

Kookaburra sits in the tree

We then left, and, being hungry, 9 of us stopped at a place for potato wedges (with sour cream and sweet chili sauce) (and some people got beers).  I don't know why the zoo made us all so hungry, although food in the zoo was outrageously priced (Scott and Sarah each got a combo of a snack (chips or candy bar) and a soda for $9).  Anyway, so at the pub the tvs were on of course and I saw rugby and Australian football.  I learned that in rugby the reason they don't wear any padding is because it would cause more injury to their heads and the way they hit its more aimed at the body.  And I couldn't understand what was going on in the football game at all. It's a very different sport.

Alright, I know I don't always make it clear that I'm taking classes here, but I do need to go work on my presentation for wine class. Cheers!