Easter in Australia was quite different then what I’m used to (surprise, surprise…what isn’t?). First off, not a single box of peeps to be seen anywhere (I don’t even like these creepy marshmallow treats, but somehow they still remind me of home and make it Feel like Easter time). The other Easter candy was quite different then what I’m used to as well (as many of you might know since I sent some home!). Anyways, Easter weekend was our first weekend of break, so it was time to relax from the stress of school and projects. Good Friday was a great time to do this, since apparently EVERYTHING closes in observance of this holiday, even the grocery store! Things were eerily creepy and quiet outside, like a ghost town. I spent most of the day hanging out and watching some episodes of Dawson’s Creek, season 1 – talk about a blast from the past! Lauren and I had rented it for fun to relax since nothing else was going on and a lot of the group was out of town. Before we knew it, it was Easter Sunday (don’t worry the Easter bunny found me here in Australia, I got a basket delivered to my apartment – thanks mom, you’re the best!). Lauren and I woke up early and got ready for mass.
St. Mary's Cathedral
We had plans to go to St.Mary’s Cathedral (near Sydney Harbour) so we thought we might dress nicely for the occasion. When we arrived during the last part of the previous mass, we found ourselves to be VERY overdressed. I know church is getting to be more casual these days, but I figured Easter mass at the Cathedral would be a different story. Apparently not! We ended up getting good seats in the massive/beautiful cathedral, although the tiny rows were slightly cramped. When the music started, and continued on for thirty minutes, we realized we were at the Easter High Mass, which meant full on symphony throughout. This was my first time going to church since being here and it was really nice, even if it was 2 hours long. After mass, we were very hungry and decided to get some Easter pizza at Broadway café (not the delicious home cooked Easter meal I’m used to, but oh well). Other than that, Easter was pretty boring and quiet – I really missed the big Easter egg hunt and a chaotic family gathering. I did get a chance to SKYPE on Monday though (Sunday for those of you at home) and it was really nice to see everyone and say hi. It made me miss home even more though; luckily mom and dad are coming next week!
The following weekend brought one more Easter festivity – the Sydney Royal Easter Show at Olympic Park. What the heck is this you might ask? Well I had NO idea what is was when I signed up for it at the front desk in Unilodge either. Chuck somehow convinced us that it would be fun, and since he had a guest visiting, we all joined in. The lady at the front desk raved about these show bags that they had there and assured us it would be a good time, but we were still mostly clueless. We signed up to leave on Saturday at 9am and when that rolled around I was very close to taking the thirty-dollar hit and sleeping it. I pictured this to be an outdoor concert type thing, probably boring and lame anyways. Eventually I rolled out of bed and grumpily met the group downstairs, iced coffee in hand. Lauren was missing, apparently she was feeling even worse than me. I tried sleeping on the bus ride there, as I was still exhausted from the margarita night we had had the night before, but before I knew it we were pulling into the parking lot. When we got to the front gate, I soon realized, that this Royal Easter show was a fair, like any old fair I’ve been too, only this time was some silly/fancy name. I’m not complaining, I was just so confused at how wrong I was in picturing tis event in my mind. I was relieved because I thought the day might be more interesting than I had planned. It was a very pleasant day out and I was looking forward to the typical fair activities – a little shopping/browsing, good food, some rides, and a few special attractions. It was me and 3 boys, so of course the first thing we hit up was the truck and motorcycle show. I was very impressed and entertained by the fancy/daring tricks. We then saw some farm animals (always a blast) and watched a ridiculous show on milking cows. Then we got some lunch, which was not impressive, but we soon forgot about our disappointment as we rode the ferris wheel high above the entire fair and park grounds – we could even see the whole Sydney skyline in the way distance. While we were heading up to me with Chuck and his friend we came across this –
These were what the girl at the front desk was raving about, for some odd reason. We entered the tent to find that these dumb show bags were just like oversized useless goodie bags you get form a kids party. They came in every theme and style, big and small. I[‘m sure many parents get conned into buying these for their children, but I still have no idea why this adult was so impressed with them. They definitely seemed to be very popular here as they took up an entire massive tent. So after our odd encounter with the Royal Easter Show bags, we got some ice cream and met Chuck at the wood chopping station (not exactly my kind of fun), where they had been there for 2 hours at this point! After about 5 minutes there and a disastrous attempt at eating melting ice cream, I was ready to leave. We went to watch the horse show for a bit and then decided to call it a day. All in all I was pleasantly surprised with how the day turned out; I was dreading the whole thing when I woke up. We had a great time and saw some pretty cool stuff, typical fair stuff, which is always fun!
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