Happy Australia Day! from @WheresAndrew

Happy Australia Day to all of you!

After traveling for more than seven weeks in Australia, I feel like I have a much better sense of this remarkable country and its people. Still, that didn’t prepare me for the jubilant celebrations that mark Australia Day. As a national holiday, Australia Day commemorates the landing of the first group of British convicts in Sydney harbor on January 26, 1788. I wanted to be in Sydney for the city’s birthday, and so I flew overnight from Darwin, nearly five hours away.

Unsure about what Australia Day is and how to celebrate, I turned to the local Sydneysiders, who very quickly showed me what it’s all about. As an outsider, I was touched by the Australians’ sincere love for their country and how above all, Australians value their freedom and their friends (and perhaps Vegemite, too).