Day Eight: June 13th, 2011

         The weather turned out too be too poor and the water too choppy for my group to go on our whale watching excursion this morning, so instead we visited Paddy's, an indoor market. It was fairly large and covered in vendors, from produce to fake designer handbags (this turned out to be pretty handy considering the zipper had just broken off of my duffel bag a few days prior, and we were about to fly again the next day!). I had a good time perusing around with my friends, but I would have liked to whale watch all the same. After Paddy's, we walked around and explored the Rocks again, where we got free samples from a candy store called Sticky. They make hard candy right in front of you, it was so cool! Next, we headed over to the Sydney Harbor Bridge for the bridge climb, something I had been anxious about since signing up, because I was afraid of heights. Did you catch that? WAS. Not anymore! The bridge climb was incredible. Like I said before, I hate wasting time being scared when I could be treasuring these experiences because I doubt that they will ever happen again.

Prompt: Am I a good traveler?
           If there were no teachers here, I actually do think I'd somewhat be able to get by. I am constantly worrying about people on this trip, so I have become a lot more alert. At the same time, I have often stopped to just have fun and soak this all in. My friends and I have a system, all helping each other out with laundry, food, and other packed items that we will share with one another. The group system works very well for us because we are having a great time exploring the cities together. Personally, I feel that even though I am a teenager, I am responsible enough to travel and get where I need to be. I don't know if I could do it entirely alone, but if I were to travel with a group of about seven or eight, I truly do think we could thrive. We might possibly get lost going from place to place, but I think that is all part of the adventure. We are all cognizant teens and this trip has really helped to get us to that point. As an individual, I believe that I could travel on my own, but I might not enjoy it, simply because I have so much fun with other people and we all help each other out. However, once I am older, I think that an alone trip, or one with just one other person, would be beneficial in the sense that I would have to stop relying on others and take time just for me to have my own adventure; who knows where it will lead me?