The Ultimate IMAX Experience

Here is a fun fact: Sydney is home to the largest IMAX screen in the world! On a rainy day, a movie is always a nice way to get out of the house and do something fun, yet stay dry while you are in the theater. In the handy Sydney City Guide I picked up at the airport, there was a voucher for 20% off a showing at the IMAX Theater in Darling Harbour. Because there is only one screen, there are a limited number of showings per day and only a few movies available to watch. When I went, there were two options for the day: Hubble 3-D and Born To Be Wild. I decided on Born To Be Wild, which features elephants and orangutans and is narrated by none other than Morgan Freeman. I went to the IMAX Theater at 10:00 am and the next showing of Born To Be Wild was not until 2:15 pm! However, I was excited about being able to experience the largest IMAX screen in the world and to see the adorable elephants and orangutans in 3-D.

Of course, to see a movie in an Australia theater is quite expensive compared to the movie prices in the US. An IMAX 3-D movie is even more pricey! However, I had the 20% off voucher and they gave me a student discount after showing my ID card! I ended up paying $13.60, but that is much better than the standard price of $19.50. The movie itself was only 50 minutes long. However, full length features are even more expensive: an adult ticket costs $28.50.

One little random fact about me is that I have a little obsession with elephants. They represent wisdom, they bring good luck, and they are so cute! I was actually gifted a sponsorship of an orphaned elephant in Nairobi, Kenya by my boyfriend and his family. The sponsorship is done through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. With a one-time donation of $50 you can foster an orphaned elephant of your choice and receive monthly updates about the elephant’s progress and rehabilitation in order to successfully transition back into the wild. You also receive a wonderful watercolor painted by Angela Sheldrick each month. You can find more information about the program here. It is a very worthy cause!

To my pleasant surprise, the elephants that were featured in the Born To Be Wild movie were from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust! I was so excited, I could barely contain myself. I was able to watch what the program does and see the elephants that I am helping with my sponsorship! It is truly amazing and touching how these majestic creatures form close bonds with the keepers and the other orphaned elephants. The orangutan program was also very heartwarming and fun to watch. However, I favor the elephants…

The movie was fantastic, I did not want it to end! I had a wonderful time and the 3-D experience was better than any 3-D movie I have ever watched! The IMAX Theater in Darling Harbour is worth a visit. Also, if you are an elephant, orangutan or animal lover, go to see Born To Be Wild! Plus, you have to admit that Morgan Freeman has the best narrating voice ever...

Check out the trailer for Born To Be Wild:

Thai! Thai! Thai!

One of the most common foods that you will find around Sydney is Thai noodles and curries. I had never experienced Thai food before I came to Sydney and now I have become addicted! I crave Thai food all the time! It is the perfect blend of noodles, vegetables, and chicken or beef (rice too, if you order curry). There are many different places you can go to get Thai and the prices range from $5-15 AUD. On Glebe Point Road there is a place that is open only for dinner; they have noodles and curry options and everything is $5! The name of it is simple and to the point: “Thai $5.” It is definitely not a fancy place, but sometimes the “whole in the wall” places are the best! Also, in Newtown, many Thai restaurants have $6.50 lunch specials. If you want to sit down and enjoy a nice Thai meal in a fancier restaurant, the prices can range from $10-$15. However, I would rather have the $5 Thai, when it tastes exactly the same for half or a third of the price! Many of Thai places offer eat-in or take away. Overall, I definitely recommend experiencing the Thai noodles and curries that Sydney has to offer. You may discover a new favorite dish!

“Sweet Dreams are Made of Teas” – @ T2

When you are in Sydney you definitely need to take a stroll through the Queen Victoria Building! (It is called QVB for short.) QVB is a huge shopping mall that has a vast variety of shops, boutiques, and restaurants. You could compare it to your favorite shopping mall combined with South Coast Plaza, because it has some of the really expensive shops as well. You can browse the store directory here.

One day as I was walking through, I came across a little shop called T2. It was very busy and it had a wonderful aroma as you walk by which caught my attention. It is a tea shop that features every possible kind of tea that you could imagine! From white, green, and black teas to herbal, organic, and honeybush flavors, you are bound to find a tea just right for you. In the shop, there are little cups spread out on the tables that are full of the herbs labeled with the type of tea they make. When you look into the cups you will find flowers, herbs, dried fruit, and leaves. Trying to smell all of the different teas is like trying to find a perfume you like. T2 also has samples! They have samples of both hot teas and cold teas; I opted to try the Strawberries and Cream iced tea. It was absolutely delightful!

T2 also has a large selection of teapots and cups that you can purchase. Some of them are very intricate and they are totally adorable! Just looking at them makes you want to start a teapot collection (at least it gave me that urge). I have noticed that since I have been in Sydney I have grown quite fond of tea. After all, the International Student Orientation hosted a morning tea!

All in all, I highly recommend a visit to the QVB. If you go, make sure to take some time to smell the teas that are available at T2!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle at a Whole New Level!

Since I have been in Australia, I have noticed that Australians live a much more conservative lifestyle, conservative in respect to energy use and waste management. For example, when you use the toilet, you do not just simply flush, instead you have two options, to half flush or fully flush (you can probably guess which is used for what).

Furthermore, when I was looking for the laundry machine, I only found a washer, no dryer. When I asked my Australian flatmate about drying clothes, he said that you hang them to dry. I asked if there were dryers and he said, “Dryers are such a waste of energy and they ruin your clothes.” He seemed so shocked that I would even ask such a question. Who needs a dryer anyway? Instead, in the backyard is a rotating hanger that looks like a canopy without the fabric for shade. However, I did find out that the Darlington House next to the terraced houses where I live has dryers. Nevertheless, there are only two in the whole building and they are not on every floor. Laundry is expensive, each washing and drying cycle costs $2.00.

When you go to restaurants in Sydney they will ask “Eat in or take away?” If you opt for take away, you won’t be given your food in a Styrofoam box, instead, they give you microwave safe plastic containers that resemble Glad-ware. You can wash them and re-use them if you have leftovers or if you make lunch and take it to school. Very environmentally friendly and convenient!

Also, public transport is common and used regularly by individuals from every walk of life: from students to the elderly, businessmen and women on their way to work, or mom’s and kids on their way home from the grocery store. Public transportation does not have a negative stigma and it is employed by everyone and is very easy to use! You can take a train or a bus to pretty much any destination!

Additionally, plastic bags are almost obsolete. Many people regularly bring their canvas shopping bags and many stores charge 5 to 20 cents per bag to reduce waste! I have also noticed that there is not a recycling place where you can take your cans and bottles to get your CRV back, at least not in Sydney. Instead, people recycle and separate their cans and bottles and put them in the designated bin, just for the sake of recycling. They do not need a motivational mechanism to recycle; instead, it is just an inherent and automatic civic duty. There are bins throughout the city that are designated for trash, bottles, and cans.

Overall, I am impressed by the environmental awareness that I have witnessed while I have been living in Sydney. Maybe the US should consider utilizing some of the environmentally friendly strategies that Australia employs!