This is no New York

In my mind, Sydney is on par with New York, London, Paris; all of the big name cities around the world. Only after coming here did I realize unlike New York Sydney really is. Yes, Sydney is a big city, and in most every way feels like many big cities do, except it doesn't - all at the same time. New York is known as the city that never sleeps. I would call Sydney a sleepy city. It’s one of the first things that stood out to me during my earliest nights here. I’m downtown on a Saturday night, walking around in one of the most popular districts, the Rocks, and there are about five other people in sight. Five! May I stress to you that it is a Saturday night? It is an eerie feeling when you’re in a city of two million people on a Saturday night and you are almost alone, in the heart of the city.

The reason I refer to Sydney as a ‘sleepy’ city, verses a “city that never sleeps,” like New York, is the astounding fact that almost all of the shops close around five or six o’clock, hence the eeriness of being in the city at night as no one is around window shopping, or people watching. They are all at the bars, or pubs, movie theatres or home with their families. Although at first it really bothered me that I was going to have virtually nothing to do if everything closed at five o’clock, it’s actually been something I have come to love, and I think it says a lot about Australian culture.

Think about it, if the shops all close at five, many people get to come home to spend time with their families, and eat dinner together, a concept seemingly more and more far removed from our 21st century societies. And considering the only places that do stay open are restaurants and pubs, it’s an opportune time to go out with your family, or mingle with friends and strangers. For me, something that has become part of my everyday (which I have truly come to enjoy) is coming home for dinner and spending time with my host family watching Australian T.V. It’s in these times that I am really experiencing Australian culture. We have had some of the best conversations sitting around eating Indian cuisine at the kitchen table; having conversations about politics, and America (of course), and technology, and God. I’ve learned so much from sitting around with my family, and watching T.V., with them. In fact, what I look forward to is each week when my family watches a show called “Packed to the Rafters” an Australian drama, each Tuesday night.

That is what sets Sydney apart from other big name cities. It may be a sleepy city, but you can learn a lot from not going out, which is something I continue to learn.

Kaylee Wilson
Palm Beach Atlantic University