The shuttle bus pulled into Seoul Tuesday morning around 10am. My first day in Korea was spent sleeping and eating, mostly. I didn't have to deal with jetlag, per se, but all the traveling and red-eye flying had shaken up my internal clock a bit. Plus, I was still recovering from cold #2 (or possibly #3. I kind of lost count after the first one.)
Wednesday morning, the family and I packed up the car and headed down to Jinjoo, the city where my grandmother, aunt and uncle (all on my father's side) all live. It was the second road trip we had taken as a family in maybe 10 years. Certain things were just like old times... Dad driving, mom in the front passenger seat, and me and Chris in the backseat, arguing over something stupid. But then an hour into the trip, we switched roles a bit. Chris took over the driving, I sat in the passenger seat, while mom and dad relaxed in the back. I guess it's just natural as children get older they start to take over more and more of the parents' responsibilities.
One of the interesting things about Korea is that a lot of the noises here are so pleasant. For instance, every announcement you hear is preceeded by a pleasant, soothing tone or three... and the announcement itself is made in such a nice voice that you think you must be receiving the best news ever, even if it's just telling you that the train is coming. We had several things talking to us in the car: the GPS navigation system and the radar detector. They'd say things like "*bing bing bing*, good morning!" and "*bing bing bing* there is a radar 500km ahead of you. please be aware!" I'm surprised they didn't start saying, "*bing bing bing* My, what a well-coordinated outfit you are wearing today!" or "*bing bing bing* Have you lost weight?"
Anyhow, we rolled into Jinjoo around 4pm or so, and met up with grandma. Now, the thing is, people in that area of Korea speak with an accent, kind of like people from the South in the US. So understanding my grandmother is twice as hard as understanding everyone else. But, thankfully, I managed to get through the evening with a minimum of embarrassment.
The next day was spent mostly on the road. We woke up early, had breakfast at grandma's house (mmm, gimchi for breakfast...) and headed out to the city registrar to get a copy of Chris' registration... the reason for all this was that he wanted to figure out how to write his name in Chinese characters. For those of you who don't know, there are a whole bunch of Chinese characters for each phoenetic sound... so the whole thing can get kind of confusing if you don't actually know Chinese. ANYhow, then after dropping grandma back at her house, we were off to the Korean National Heritage Museum. This place is pretty impressive looking... but it takes about 20 minutes just to walk from the parking lot to the museum (no joke). The point of the whole $500 million dollar compound is to remind us Koreans of the shit we had to endure during the Japanese occupation (apparently the textbooks began to just gloss over that part) and to also serve as a symbol for the eventual reunification of North and South Korea.
Really, the only entertaining thing about this place was the pictures Chris took of me screwing around inside the museum. But, once again, I can't get pictures to upload here, so I'll have to post them later when I get home :(
That night, back in Seoul, we met up with my dad's older brother for dinner, during which I finally learned how to write my name in Chinese (it's a long story). I would post it for you guys to see, but... yeah. the picture thing.
Alright, I'm going to raid the kitchen for food... I'll write more later!
-e
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Say Hello to Korea (and Bam)
[still can't upload pics... sorry folks!]
Most of Monday and the early part of Tuesday were spent traveling to Seoul, Korea. I woke up and had one last crappy/free breakfast at the Travelodge with all the CCSA people, ran upstairs to do some last last minute packing, then hung out in the lobby for a few minutes taking some last minute pictures. At 11am, we all hopped on the Murray's Coach bus and headed off to the airport.
The trip to the airport was pretty uneventful... Once we got there, I had to split off to check in at the Malaysian Airlines counter, but my flight left about an hour after CCSA's, so I headed over to their gate after going through security. We saw Bam Margera from the TV show "Jackass" (plus some Right Guard commercials, if I remember correctly). He was on the same flight to LA as the CCSA people. Unfortunately for him, so were about 75 middle school children, all of whom wanted his autograph. It's a living, I guess.
Anyhow, after giving/getting a few more hugs and shaking some hands, I parted ways with the rest of my CCSA people and headed back to my gate (with a pitstop at the airport Wagamama for some noodles... mmm...). My flight left without incident (something I still wasn't used to) and what's more, I practically had an entire row of seats to myself. Awesome. I watched the Pink Panther movie (the recent one with Steve Martin) about 6 times. It was surprisingly good... I especially liked the bit about the hamburger.
We landed in Kuala Lumpur around 8pm local time. I had nothing to do until 12:15am when my next flight was taking off, so I decided to wander around a little bit. I noticed the escalators were very efficient, only turning on when someone approached it. ...well, I thought it was neat, anyhow. I found a free internet kiosk which occupied me for a bit... unfortunately, the mouse didn't work, so all I could do was find out that I had some new e-mail-- then sign off. I grabbed something to eat at Sabarros, which I normally would not do, but it was the only place that would take credit cards (stupid Burger King). Actually, I was the recipient of a random act of kindness... The BK had a few internet stations, but unbeknownst to me, you had to go buy an access card at the counter. So I just queued up behind this one girl... but when she noticed I was waiting, just gave me her access card and explained that it was worth 100 minutes and there was no way she was going to use it all. Sweet.
The flight to Seoul was, again, uneventful... No real good movies or anything. I did get a seat in the row with the door, which theoretically was supposed to give me more leg room... unfortunately for me, there was a large bulkhead sticking out of the door. So much for more leg room.
I arrived on time and breezed through baggage claim and customs. My mom and brother were waiting on the other side. It was great to see them... Chris tried a few Tim Tams, but didn't really see what all the fuss was about. He's obviously crazy.
It was good to be back in Korea... It's been about 5 years since I visited. As per usual, the thought of being in a country full of Korean people combined with the thought of being forced to speak my clunky, inadequate and generally horrible Korean both terrified and excited me. Well... Okay, less excitement and more anxiety, I guess. But, hey, it's all part of the experience, right?
Right.
-e
Most of Monday and the early part of Tuesday were spent traveling to Seoul, Korea. I woke up and had one last crappy/free breakfast at the Travelodge with all the CCSA people, ran upstairs to do some last last minute packing, then hung out in the lobby for a few minutes taking some last minute pictures. At 11am, we all hopped on the Murray's Coach bus and headed off to the airport.
The trip to the airport was pretty uneventful... Once we got there, I had to split off to check in at the Malaysian Airlines counter, but my flight left about an hour after CCSA's, so I headed over to their gate after going through security. We saw Bam Margera from the TV show "Jackass" (plus some Right Guard commercials, if I remember correctly). He was on the same flight to LA as the CCSA people. Unfortunately for him, so were about 75 middle school children, all of whom wanted his autograph. It's a living, I guess.
Anyhow, after giving/getting a few more hugs and shaking some hands, I parted ways with the rest of my CCSA people and headed back to my gate (with a pitstop at the airport Wagamama for some noodles... mmm...). My flight left without incident (something I still wasn't used to) and what's more, I practically had an entire row of seats to myself. Awesome. I watched the Pink Panther movie (the recent one with Steve Martin) about 6 times. It was surprisingly good... I especially liked the bit about the hamburger.
We landed in Kuala Lumpur around 8pm local time. I had nothing to do until 12:15am when my next flight was taking off, so I decided to wander around a little bit. I noticed the escalators were very efficient, only turning on when someone approached it. ...well, I thought it was neat, anyhow. I found a free internet kiosk which occupied me for a bit... unfortunately, the mouse didn't work, so all I could do was find out that I had some new e-mail-- then sign off. I grabbed something to eat at Sabarros, which I normally would not do, but it was the only place that would take credit cards (stupid Burger King). Actually, I was the recipient of a random act of kindness... The BK had a few internet stations, but unbeknownst to me, you had to go buy an access card at the counter. So I just queued up behind this one girl... but when she noticed I was waiting, just gave me her access card and explained that it was worth 100 minutes and there was no way she was going to use it all. Sweet.
The flight to Seoul was, again, uneventful... No real good movies or anything. I did get a seat in the row with the door, which theoretically was supposed to give me more leg room... unfortunately for me, there was a large bulkhead sticking out of the door. So much for more leg room.
I arrived on time and breezed through baggage claim and customs. My mom and brother were waiting on the other side. It was great to see them... Chris tried a few Tim Tams, but didn't really see what all the fuss was about. He's obviously crazy.
It was good to be back in Korea... It's been about 5 years since I visited. As per usual, the thought of being in a country full of Korean people combined with the thought of being forced to speak my clunky, inadequate and generally horrible Korean both terrified and excited me. Well... Okay, less excitement and more anxiety, I guess. But, hey, it's all part of the experience, right?
Right.
-e
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Making Time for Lobby Time
[once again, i can't post pics right now, but i will as soon as i can!]
After our marathon hike down the coast at Manly, we hopped on a bus back into the city. We were all pretty exhausted, but since it was our last night in Sydney, we were determined to make the most of it. The CCSA people were headed out to dinner at Thai-Foon (hardy har har), a favorite Thai restaurant in Darling Harbour. So we showered, changed and headed back out the door (although I nearly fell asleep while waiting for the girls).
The restaurant experience in Sydney has been an interesting one to say the least... For those of you who don't know, tipping is neither mandatory nor expected in Australia. However, as a result, many servers don't really pay a lot of attention to your needs. Getting water is almost impossible at some restaurants. Getting the bill can be even harder... I thought maybe living in New York has conditioned me to expect everyone to move at the speed of light, but most of our friends from the South thought the service was pretty terrible too.
But I digress...
Anyhow, our dinner was fun... I discovered Heather's aversion to mushrooms was much more severe than I had first imagined. She found what she thought might've been mushrooms in her Empress Noodles, tried one, then almost puked all over the place while trying to extract the half-chewed vegetable from her mouth. She then carefully plucked anything even mildly resembling a mushroom from her dish.
I also discovered that Jessica had never tried tofu before. Despite a few attempts by Kime to get her to try it, she just wasn't having any of it. But, all in all, everyone enjoyed their food. Eryn enjoyed her veggie pad thai so much that she actually finished it before Jackie AND I finished our food! (For those of you who don't know, J & I tend to inhale rather than chew... Eryn eats as fast as any normal person would, but probably just seems slow next to us.)
After dinner, we headed back to Chez Travelodge for some "lobby time," which just consists (big surprise) of hanging out in the lobby, usually drinking alcohol and playing cards. Many CCSA folks have commented that lobby time has been among their favorite activities on the trip. I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. Even when there is no drinking or card playing, lobby time gave me the opportunity to get to know a few people on the trip that I am now pleased to call friends.
The night pretty much tapered off from there. We played a few rounds of Kings and one more round of the Phase Game before I called it quits. After doing some last minute packing, I dozed off... I was going to need some sleep to get through all the travling that awaited me.
-e
After our marathon hike down the coast at Manly, we hopped on a bus back into the city. We were all pretty exhausted, but since it was our last night in Sydney, we were determined to make the most of it. The CCSA people were headed out to dinner at Thai-Foon (hardy har har), a favorite Thai restaurant in Darling Harbour. So we showered, changed and headed back out the door (although I nearly fell asleep while waiting for the girls).
The restaurant experience in Sydney has been an interesting one to say the least... For those of you who don't know, tipping is neither mandatory nor expected in Australia. However, as a result, many servers don't really pay a lot of attention to your needs. Getting water is almost impossible at some restaurants. Getting the bill can be even harder... I thought maybe living in New York has conditioned me to expect everyone to move at the speed of light, but most of our friends from the South thought the service was pretty terrible too.
But I digress...
Anyhow, our dinner was fun... I discovered Heather's aversion to mushrooms was much more severe than I had first imagined. She found what she thought might've been mushrooms in her Empress Noodles, tried one, then almost puked all over the place while trying to extract the half-chewed vegetable from her mouth. She then carefully plucked anything even mildly resembling a mushroom from her dish.
I also discovered that Jessica had never tried tofu before. Despite a few attempts by Kime to get her to try it, she just wasn't having any of it. But, all in all, everyone enjoyed their food. Eryn enjoyed her veggie pad thai so much that she actually finished it before Jackie AND I finished our food! (For those of you who don't know, J & I tend to inhale rather than chew... Eryn eats as fast as any normal person would, but probably just seems slow next to us.)
After dinner, we headed back to Chez Travelodge for some "lobby time," which just consists (big surprise) of hanging out in the lobby, usually drinking alcohol and playing cards. Many CCSA folks have commented that lobby time has been among their favorite activities on the trip. I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. Even when there is no drinking or card playing, lobby time gave me the opportunity to get to know a few people on the trip that I am now pleased to call friends.
The night pretty much tapered off from there. We played a few rounds of Kings and one more round of the Phase Game before I called it quits. After doing some last minute packing, I dozed off... I was going to need some sleep to get through all the travling that awaited me.
-e
Monday, July 24, 2006
Now You're a Man... a Manly, Manly Man
[Unfortuntely, I'm having some issues uploading pictures to my blog from this computer... they will come later, i promise!]
We had so many rainy, cloudy, dark days in a row that it was starting to look like we weren't ever going to see the sun in Sydney again. But, at the last moment, this Sunday, which was our last full day in Sydney, turned out to be a perfect day. So Jackie, Eryn and I took advantage and headed out to Manly Beach to take in the sights and do the 10k (6-ish mile) beach walk.
Our first stop was the local Coles, to pick up some food for a picnic lunch. Mostly, we just got salads and fruit... But we did come across Simpsons themed hot dog flavored chips. Yes, that's right. Hot dog flavored. We were going to buy a bag just to bring home as a souvenir, but I decided perhaps taking a picture might be a better idea.
Anyhow, we proceeded to the beach, which was, of course, beautiful. Then after snapping a few photos, we headed over to the trailhead for the beach walk. Now, mind you, this was not just a "walk," as all the tour books might have you beleive. This was a full-fledged hike. It started out all nice, even and paved. But then it quickly turned to dirt, rock, puddles, steep inclines, steep declines, trees, mud, etc... although Eryn swore that she was going to end up face down in some dirty water, and Jackie did get a bit of a splash from the ocean at one of the beaches, and I stepped in more than a few puddles, we mostly all managed to get through the hike without getting too wet.
It was a long freaking hike (if I didn't mention it already), so we stopped off a few times. The first time, we found a nice looking beach/cove... Eryn took to writing some stuff in the sand:
It was kind of hard to stop her... she had written about 4 different phrases before we left. Jackie, on the other hand, was more about just standing around on some rocks and watching the waves come in... until one wave came in a little too far, and a little too fast. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of this.... I just heard a splash and a yelp, followed by Jackie's trademark laugh :)
The next stopping point was yet another beach (big surprise). But this time, we got a small surprise: a beagle puppy! Jackie nearly wet herself when she saw it (she is a beagle owner for those of you who don't know). But, I'm not gonna lie... I nearly wet myself when I got a little closer too. This puppy was SO cute. Like, "rivaling koala bears" cute. His name was Bob. He was teething and loved to play, so he'd nip at our hands when we pet him, which of course just made him even cuter. Bob also was very intent on getting to China... or... er, Canada? See, he was very intently digging a hole in the sand and his owner at one point said something to the effect of "next stop, China!" I didn't think about it until now, but I thought that was juts something Americans said since China is opposite the US on the globe. Hm.
ANYway, we made one more stop to call the folks back at the hotel to verify plans for the evening, then forged on to the Spit, which marks the end of the Manly Scenic Walkway. We're not exactly sure what The Spit is... It could be the body of water running underneath the Spit Bridge... Or it could be the general area around the bridge. Eh, who knows. The important part is that we were there, right? Right?
Right.
-e
We had so many rainy, cloudy, dark days in a row that it was starting to look like we weren't ever going to see the sun in Sydney again. But, at the last moment, this Sunday, which was our last full day in Sydney, turned out to be a perfect day. So Jackie, Eryn and I took advantage and headed out to Manly Beach to take in the sights and do the 10k (6-ish mile) beach walk.
Our first stop was the local Coles, to pick up some food for a picnic lunch. Mostly, we just got salads and fruit... But we did come across Simpsons themed hot dog flavored chips. Yes, that's right. Hot dog flavored. We were going to buy a bag just to bring home as a souvenir, but I decided perhaps taking a picture might be a better idea.
Anyhow, we proceeded to the beach, which was, of course, beautiful. Then after snapping a few photos, we headed over to the trailhead for the beach walk. Now, mind you, this was not just a "walk," as all the tour books might have you beleive. This was a full-fledged hike. It started out all nice, even and paved. But then it quickly turned to dirt, rock, puddles, steep inclines, steep declines, trees, mud, etc... although Eryn swore that she was going to end up face down in some dirty water, and Jackie did get a bit of a splash from the ocean at one of the beaches, and I stepped in more than a few puddles, we mostly all managed to get through the hike without getting too wet.
It was a long freaking hike (if I didn't mention it already), so we stopped off a few times. The first time, we found a nice looking beach/cove... Eryn took to writing some stuff in the sand:
It was kind of hard to stop her... she had written about 4 different phrases before we left. Jackie, on the other hand, was more about just standing around on some rocks and watching the waves come in... until one wave came in a little too far, and a little too fast. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of this.... I just heard a splash and a yelp, followed by Jackie's trademark laugh :)
The next stopping point was yet another beach (big surprise). But this time, we got a small surprise: a beagle puppy! Jackie nearly wet herself when she saw it (she is a beagle owner for those of you who don't know). But, I'm not gonna lie... I nearly wet myself when I got a little closer too. This puppy was SO cute. Like, "rivaling koala bears" cute. His name was Bob. He was teething and loved to play, so he'd nip at our hands when we pet him, which of course just made him even cuter. Bob also was very intent on getting to China... or... er, Canada? See, he was very intently digging a hole in the sand and his owner at one point said something to the effect of "next stop, China!" I didn't think about it until now, but I thought that was juts something Americans said since China is opposite the US on the globe. Hm.
ANYway, we made one more stop to call the folks back at the hotel to verify plans for the evening, then forged on to the Spit, which marks the end of the Manly Scenic Walkway. We're not exactly sure what The Spit is... It could be the body of water running underneath the Spit Bridge... Or it could be the general area around the bridge. Eh, who knows. The important part is that we were there, right? Right?
Right.
-e
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Good ≠ History NO!
(The title of this post is what was written down on the board in my business law class. Yeah, it didn't really make sense to us either.)
Our last evening in Melbourne was spent at the great Hotel Esplanade, a huge music venue (3 stages), restaurant, and bar (or 3 of them) rolled up into one beachfront complex. We made friends with some of the waitstaff, who tried to help us understand the difference between a New Zelander's accent and an Aussie accent. We think we get it, but what the hell, we probably don't.
We also saw this great punk band from Japan called The Facefuls. The lead singer was probably 5'0", and dressed in this red leather outfit... She was so much fun to watch and would, in between dancing around on stage, run out into the audience and dance with various people in the front row. Also, the drummer wasn't wearing any pants. Yeah... all he had on were some briefs that definitely had something stuffed in them. Awesome.
Our flight the next morning was mostly uneventful... Unless you count the three crying babies on our plane. Jackie mentioned that they have limits on how many dogs you can bring on a plane at once... then said they should have limits on how many babies you can bring on a plane too. I concur. This one baby would not shut up for the entire flight. As we were desperately trying to get some sleep, this little kid was SCREAMING (not crying... SCREAMING) bloody murder. Then, just as that one shut up, another baby would pick up the slack and start crying. Awesome.
Anyhow, bleary eyed and slightly bonkers, we made it back to the hotel by 11am. That afternoon, Eryn, John and I went over to the nearby park to kick around a soccer ball, toss a frisbee around, and kick/throw the rugby ball around as well. It was a nice time and all was going great... that is, until this old lady walking by started yelling at John. At first, none of us could hear what she was saying, but according to John, she was scolding us for playing on the grass. Little did we know, but apparently the grass is for "people's enjoyment" and not for "kids to play on." John basically just stood there with a blank look on his face, unwilling to argue with a crazy old woman and kind of unsure as to what he would say even if he was to argue. In any case, we figured since it was about time to leave anyway, we'd just head back to the hotel.
After showering, (well, I showered... i don't think Eryn did, cuz she's dirty) we headed out to Watson's Bay to check out the sunset. 
It was spectacular... I would post some more pictures of it, except my stupid camera decided to freak out right before the most beautiful part of the sunset happened (y'know, when the sun is real low, and the reds and oranges are bouncing off of the clouds). So I'm posting a shot I got with Eryn's camera:
Anyhow, after the light show, Eryn (still dirty) Sean and I went over to Doyle's to get some dinner. At this place, you order at the counter and then they give you this little pager/buzzer thing to tell you when your order is ready. Except they gave us all pagers that were broken or out of batteries. So they'd beep, we'd walk over, they'd tell us it was broken, give us new pagers... then five minutes later, it'd beep again, we'd go over, they'd tell us it was broken again, etc. etc. Eventually, we did get our food, and it was good. mmm. food.
Here's a shot of Billy, Patrick, myself, John and Sean at the Watson's Bay dock.
Yesterday, our class visted Fox Studios. This turned out to be the most interesting and enjoyable field trip so far (for me, at least). First, we got a tour of the soundstages, which, since they were in between productions, were just big, empty spaces. But cool to look at, nonetheless. Then we headed over to Trackdown, the scoring stage/studio (not owned or affiliated with Fox Studios, actually). It was a beautiful space (similar in size to the Enterprise Studio A live room, for those of you who know it). Then we moved onto their post production facility. We even got to hang out with the director of Clear and Present Danger, Phillip Noyce, who just happened to be at the post facility. When he found out we were a group of students from the US, he decided to do some market research and showed us 4 different drafts of the movie poster for his latest work, Catch a Fire, and asked us our opinions.
We left the studio meaning to catch a bus, but ended up walking for 45 minutes to get back to the nearest train station (damn Sydney buses)... That evening, Eryn and Jackie finally got me to watch Billy Madison, which they insisted I had to watch or else they would stop being my friends. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. O'Doyle rules.
Nothing too special happened today... Except I finally got my hair cut for the first time since getting to Sydney. And I must say, it feels SO GREAT. I hate it when my hair gets shaggy (which, for me, means anything past half an inch). I must run, but thanks to all who have been commenting... Keep it up!
-e
Our last evening in Melbourne was spent at the great Hotel Esplanade, a huge music venue (3 stages), restaurant, and bar (or 3 of them) rolled up into one beachfront complex. We made friends with some of the waitstaff, who tried to help us understand the difference between a New Zelander's accent and an Aussie accent. We think we get it, but what the hell, we probably don't.
We also saw this great punk band from Japan called The Facefuls. The lead singer was probably 5'0", and dressed in this red leather outfit... She was so much fun to watch and would, in between dancing around on stage, run out into the audience and dance with various people in the front row. Also, the drummer wasn't wearing any pants. Yeah... all he had on were some briefs that definitely had something stuffed in them. Awesome.
Our flight the next morning was mostly uneventful... Unless you count the three crying babies on our plane. Jackie mentioned that they have limits on how many dogs you can bring on a plane at once... then said they should have limits on how many babies you can bring on a plane too. I concur. This one baby would not shut up for the entire flight. As we were desperately trying to get some sleep, this little kid was SCREAMING (not crying... SCREAMING) bloody murder. Then, just as that one shut up, another baby would pick up the slack and start crying. Awesome. Anyhow, bleary eyed and slightly bonkers, we made it back to the hotel by 11am. That afternoon, Eryn, John and I went over to the nearby park to kick around a soccer ball, toss a frisbee around, and kick/throw the rugby ball around as well. It was a nice time and all was going great... that is, until this old lady walking by started yelling at John. At first, none of us could hear what she was saying, but according to John, she was scolding us for playing on the grass. Little did we know, but apparently the grass is for "people's enjoyment" and not for "kids to play on." John basically just stood there with a blank look on his face, unwilling to argue with a crazy old woman and kind of unsure as to what he would say even if he was to argue. In any case, we figured since it was about time to leave anyway, we'd just head back to the hotel.
After showering, (well, I showered... i don't think Eryn did, cuz she's dirty) we headed out to Watson's Bay to check out the sunset. 
It was spectacular... I would post some more pictures of it, except my stupid camera decided to freak out right before the most beautiful part of the sunset happened (y'know, when the sun is real low, and the reds and oranges are bouncing off of the clouds). So I'm posting a shot I got with Eryn's camera:
Anyhow, after the light show, Eryn (still dirty) Sean and I went over to Doyle's to get some dinner. At this place, you order at the counter and then they give you this little pager/buzzer thing to tell you when your order is ready. Except they gave us all pagers that were broken or out of batteries. So they'd beep, we'd walk over, they'd tell us it was broken, give us new pagers... then five minutes later, it'd beep again, we'd go over, they'd tell us it was broken again, etc. etc. Eventually, we did get our food, and it was good. mmm. food.
Here's a shot of Billy, Patrick, myself, John and Sean at the Watson's Bay dock.Yesterday, our class visted Fox Studios. This turned out to be the most interesting and enjoyable field trip so far (for me, at least). First, we got a tour of the soundstages, which, since they were in between productions, were just big, empty spaces. But cool to look at, nonetheless. Then we headed over to Trackdown, the scoring stage/studio (not owned or affiliated with Fox Studios, actually). It was a beautiful space (similar in size to the Enterprise Studio A live room, for those of you who know it). Then we moved onto their post production facility. We even got to hang out with the director of Clear and Present Danger, Phillip Noyce, who just happened to be at the post facility. When he found out we were a group of students from the US, he decided to do some market research and showed us 4 different drafts of the movie poster for his latest work, Catch a Fire, and asked us our opinions.
We left the studio meaning to catch a bus, but ended up walking for 45 minutes to get back to the nearest train station (damn Sydney buses)... That evening, Eryn and Jackie finally got me to watch Billy Madison, which they insisted I had to watch or else they would stop being my friends. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. O'Doyle rules.
Nothing too special happened today... Except I finally got my hair cut for the first time since getting to Sydney. And I must say, it feels SO GREAT. I hate it when my hair gets shaggy (which, for me, means anything past half an inch). I must run, but thanks to all who have been commenting... Keep it up!
-e
Friday, July 14, 2006
Rainy Day Blues
Yesterday turned out to be a pretty packed afternoon. After leaving the internet cafe, we headed over to Federation Square which is fairly unremarkable, save a giant building with some really interesting architechture. 
But we did encounter a very nice old man, who is part of a volunteer team dedicated to helping clueless tourists like ourselves find all kinds of interesting (and free) things to do.
He pointed us to a free bus tour that circles the city and drops off/picks up people at about 15 different points throughout the city. Luckily for us, one of those points was the old Melbourne Gaol... which we didn't realize was pronounced "jail" until the pre-recorded "tour guide" on the bus started talking about it. We had been saying "ga-ohl" to each other all day. Whoops. On the way to the gaol/jail we happened upon this street sign:
That's right folks. The Batcave is in Melbourne, Australia.
Anyhow, the gaol was pretty amazing and creepy. We got to see the little cells they had to stay in, and each one had a little story about one of the more famous inmates. They used to hang people in there too, so we got to see the gallows that they used and they even had the equipment/suit they used on display. CreeEEEeepy. We also had fun pretending Eryn was a prisoner at this jail/gaol:
We also found this vintage clothing store that was suggested in the Lonely Planet book at which I found and bought a shirt with the Hostess logo on it. Hostess makes Twinkies. For those of you who get the joke, I was pretty proud of myself for that find ;)
Afterwards, we headed over to the Fiztroy area for dinner. After walking up and down the street for what seemed like forever (I was particulrly hypoglycemic, so it probably was only 5 minutes), we picked this place called Red... um.... Red-something and promptly started to stuff our faces. We also shared a bottle of wine by a winery called "Scuttlebutt," which quickly became our new favorite word for the evening.
It was only about 6:15pm when we finished dinner, so we decided to roll ourselves out the door and down the street to look at some of the shops around the area. Unfortunately, most of them were closed, so we just hopped into a taxi and headed back to the hotel. Oh, and apparently, renovations and reconstruction tends to follow us around... Not only do we get to wake up to the sounds of drills and sawing in our Sydney hotel, but our Melbourne hotel also decided this was a good time to do some renovating as well:
Anyhow, we were pretty exhausted, and it was still early, so we figured we'd just chill out a bit and head out later in the evening. However, after a game of Rummy 500 (in which I made an AMAZING comeback to secure 2nd place), we pretty much decided it was time for bed.
Anyhow, today turned out to be pretty rainy and cloudy. Unfortunately for us, there isn't much to do in Melbourne when its raining (thus the long blog post). But we aren't letting it get us down! (not too much, anyway) We'll be headed over to check out the Esplanade Hotel later tonight, which is a local venue suggested to us by an Aussie friend in Sydney.
Gotta run!
-e
But we did encounter a very nice old man, who is part of a volunteer team dedicated to helping clueless tourists like ourselves find all kinds of interesting (and free) things to do. He pointed us to a free bus tour that circles the city and drops off/picks up people at about 15 different points throughout the city. Luckily for us, one of those points was the old Melbourne Gaol... which we didn't realize was pronounced "jail" until the pre-recorded "tour guide" on the bus started talking about it. We had been saying "ga-ohl" to each other all day. Whoops. On the way to the gaol/jail we happened upon this street sign:
That's right folks. The Batcave is in Melbourne, Australia.
Anyhow, the gaol was pretty amazing and creepy. We got to see the little cells they had to stay in, and each one had a little story about one of the more famous inmates. They used to hang people in there too, so we got to see the gallows that they used and they even had the equipment/suit they used on display. CreeEEEeepy. We also had fun pretending Eryn was a prisoner at this jail/gaol:
We also found this vintage clothing store that was suggested in the Lonely Planet book at which I found and bought a shirt with the Hostess logo on it. Hostess makes Twinkies. For those of you who get the joke, I was pretty proud of myself for that find ;)Afterwards, we headed over to the Fiztroy area for dinner. After walking up and down the street for what seemed like forever (I was particulrly hypoglycemic, so it probably was only 5 minutes), we picked this place called Red... um.... Red-something and promptly started to stuff our faces. We also shared a bottle of wine by a winery called "Scuttlebutt," which quickly became our new favorite word for the evening.
It was only about 6:15pm when we finished dinner, so we decided to roll ourselves out the door and down the street to look at some of the shops around the area. Unfortunately, most of them were closed, so we just hopped into a taxi and headed back to the hotel. Oh, and apparently, renovations and reconstruction tends to follow us around... Not only do we get to wake up to the sounds of drills and sawing in our Sydney hotel, but our Melbourne hotel also decided this was a good time to do some renovating as well:
Anyhow, we were pretty exhausted, and it was still early, so we figured we'd just chill out a bit and head out later in the evening. However, after a game of Rummy 500 (in which I made an AMAZING comeback to secure 2nd place), we pretty much decided it was time for bed.
Anyhow, today turned out to be pretty rainy and cloudy. Unfortunately for us, there isn't much to do in Melbourne when its raining (thus the long blog post). But we aren't letting it get us down! (not too much, anyway) We'll be headed over to check out the Esplanade Hotel later tonight, which is a local venue suggested to us by an Aussie friend in Sydney.Gotta run!
-e
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Meh-ben!
Hey all,
I have about 5 minutes at this internet cafe, so I'll have to make this quick... E & J and I are in Melbourne for the weekend. We woke up at 5am this morning to catch an early flight. The flight over was pretty uneventful (which is a nice change from the hell E and I had to go through to get to Sydney). We plan to check out a music venue or two, some gardens, and a dead person museum of some sort.
Anyhow, I gotta run... time's up!
-e
I have about 5 minutes at this internet cafe, so I'll have to make this quick... E & J and I are in Melbourne for the weekend. We woke up at 5am this morning to catch an early flight. The flight over was pretty uneventful (which is a nice change from the hell E and I had to go through to get to Sydney). We plan to check out a music venue or two, some gardens, and a dead person museum of some sort.
Anyhow, I gotta run... time's up!
-e
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Lost: Favorite Nalgene
So when you're living in a hotel with a bunch of college students, inevitably there is going to be some drinking. And games. And drinking games. Here are a few pictures that show what happens after those things occur:
Anyhow, so on Thursday, the whole CCSA program got up at 5:30am, collected our boxed lunches and dragged our asses onto a bus. Three hours later, we were in Canberra, Australia's capital city (no, Sydney is not Australia's capital). Our tour guide was sure to tell us that it is pronounced "Canbra" not "Canbra." That's right, "Canbra" .... not "Canbra." (yeah, we were all kind of confused.) We stopped a couple of miles outside the city to get some scenic views overlooking the tiny little city (about 380k people live there). Then it was onto the main attraction. Oh wait, there was no main attraction.
Here are some CCSA peeps at the lookout point.
When I told my ex-roommate Gabi that I was going to visit Canberra while in Australia, he said, and I quote, "Canberra is butt." Turns out he was right. There is pretty much nothing there. We visited the High Court of Australia (the Aussie equivalent of the Surpreme Court) and Parliament.
John was kind of confused as to how we had walked through a "mall" and not seen any stores... we kindly explained to him that the "mall" was that big green strip we walked through on the way to parliament. Like I said... real exciting. 
In fact, the most exciting part was the crazy magpies that were mounting an attack on Jackie and John and I while we sat and had some coffee. We can't say we weren't warned. 
Okay... So onto Friday! E & J and I took the bus/train over to Bondi Beach and did the 8km coastal walk along the shore and cliffs from Bondi beach through Bronte and Tamarama, all the way to Coogee (pronounced "coo-jee"). It was BEAUTIFUL.
We couldn't have picked a nicer day. There was barely a cloud in the sky, it was warm enough to wear t-shirts, and there was a slight breeze that delivered the refreshing scent of the sea and salt to our lips and noses. So great.
The walk probably took us a little longer than most, since we stopped every three feet to take another picture. but with rock formations and coastline like this, how could we not?
There were many moments to be had, like this one where I just sat out on a big rock and stared out into the breaking waves. Talk about zen.
Unfortunately, I lost my favorite Nalgene on this little stroll... It had a great bumper sticker on it that said "Ultimate Frisbee: Because everyone can use a good huck." ...and another great sticker that looked like the blue and red NBA logo, except with a guy going up for a disc. Boo.
The afternoon was polished off with some fish and chips from a place appropriately called "Chish and Fips." Nothing like some beer battered fish and french fries to make a 8km walk worth it ;)
That evening, the three of us went out to see an Aussie band called Model School over in Surrey Hills. Not bad at all... but the opening bands weren't that great. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The next day, we headed over to the Paddington outdoor market. First stop, though, was Centenial Park, where we tossed a frisbee around for a few minutes. I showed J & E some pointers on how to throw forehand, which they picked up very quickly. Here are a few shots of us:
(I'm sure I caught this throw... I'm sure it wasn't 5 feet above me and I wasn't just trying to look cool in the picture...)
Here are Jackie and I acting like a couple of kids in the park... Well, actually, there were these two kids in the park running around, and at one point, one of them just walked up to the other one and screamed in his face. Thus, the concept for this picture was born.
Next we moved onto the Max Brenner Chocolate Shop. Basically, think of all the chocolate delights you've ever had, then put them in one store. Then eat them. Yeah. It's that good. I had this thing called a... um... okay, I can't remember what it was called, but it was similar to a cinnamon bun, without so much cinnamon, and dipped in melted chocolate. With chocolate chips inside of it. Aughuhuahugaugahuag.....
After wandering around Paddington market for a while (there wasn't much for us guys... mostly women's clothing and jewelry), we headed back to the hotel for a quick snooze before meeting our professor's friend (and now our friend) Guy Morrow, a local music business professor and artist manager extraordinaire. He took us to see his friend play at this great venue called The Basement, best known for it's jazz shows. This show, however, was all pop/rock and singer-songwriter types, much to my delight. The main act, Peregrine, was fantastic... A little Ben Folds, a little Toad the Wet Sprocket, and a little blues/rock... An excellent way to top off an excellent day.
Today has a few other things in store... Probably going to play some soccer in the park later this afternoon and possibly catch a free digeridoo concert over in Darling Harbour afterwards. Thanks to everyone who's been commenting... keep them coming! It's nice to know people are sharing in my Aussie experiences :)
later,
-e
Anyhow, so on Thursday, the whole CCSA program got up at 5:30am, collected our boxed lunches and dragged our asses onto a bus. Three hours later, we were in Canberra, Australia's capital city (no, Sydney is not Australia's capital). Our tour guide was sure to tell us that it is pronounced "Canbra" not "Canbra." That's right, "Canbra" .... not "Canbra." (yeah, we were all kind of confused.) We stopped a couple of miles outside the city to get some scenic views overlooking the tiny little city (about 380k people live there). Then it was onto the main attraction. Oh wait, there was no main attraction.
Here are some CCSA peeps at the lookout point.When I told my ex-roommate Gabi that I was going to visit Canberra while in Australia, he said, and I quote, "Canberra is butt." Turns out he was right. There is pretty much nothing there. We visited the High Court of Australia (the Aussie equivalent of the Surpreme Court) and Parliament.
John was kind of confused as to how we had walked through a "mall" and not seen any stores... we kindly explained to him that the "mall" was that big green strip we walked through on the way to parliament. Like I said... real exciting. 
In fact, the most exciting part was the crazy magpies that were mounting an attack on Jackie and John and I while we sat and had some coffee. We can't say we weren't warned. 
Okay... So onto Friday! E & J and I took the bus/train over to Bondi Beach and did the 8km coastal walk along the shore and cliffs from Bondi beach through Bronte and Tamarama, all the way to Coogee (pronounced "coo-jee"). It was BEAUTIFUL. 
We couldn't have picked a nicer day. There was barely a cloud in the sky, it was warm enough to wear t-shirts, and there was a slight breeze that delivered the refreshing scent of the sea and salt to our lips and noses. So great.
The walk probably took us a little longer than most, since we stopped every three feet to take another picture. but with rock formations and coastline like this, how could we not? 
There were many moments to be had, like this one where I just sat out on a big rock and stared out into the breaking waves. Talk about zen.
Unfortunately, I lost my favorite Nalgene on this little stroll... It had a great bumper sticker on it that said "Ultimate Frisbee: Because everyone can use a good huck." ...and another great sticker that looked like the blue and red NBA logo, except with a guy going up for a disc. Boo.
The afternoon was polished off with some fish and chips from a place appropriately called "Chish and Fips." Nothing like some beer battered fish and french fries to make a 8km walk worth it ;)
That evening, the three of us went out to see an Aussie band called Model School over in Surrey Hills. Not bad at all... but the opening bands weren't that great. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The next day, we headed over to the Paddington outdoor market. First stop, though, was Centenial Park, where we tossed a frisbee around for a few minutes. I showed J & E some pointers on how to throw forehand, which they picked up very quickly. Here are a few shots of us:
(I'm sure I caught this throw... I'm sure it wasn't 5 feet above me and I wasn't just trying to look cool in the picture...)
Here are Jackie and I acting like a couple of kids in the park... Well, actually, there were these two kids in the park running around, and at one point, one of them just walked up to the other one and screamed in his face. Thus, the concept for this picture was born.
Next we moved onto the Max Brenner Chocolate Shop. Basically, think of all the chocolate delights you've ever had, then put them in one store. Then eat them. Yeah. It's that good. I had this thing called a... um... okay, I can't remember what it was called, but it was similar to a cinnamon bun, without so much cinnamon, and dipped in melted chocolate. With chocolate chips inside of it. Aughuhuahugaugahuag.....After wandering around Paddington market for a while (there wasn't much for us guys... mostly women's clothing and jewelry), we headed back to the hotel for a quick snooze before meeting our professor's friend (and now our friend) Guy Morrow, a local music business professor and artist manager extraordinaire. He took us to see his friend play at this great venue called The Basement, best known for it's jazz shows. This show, however, was all pop/rock and singer-songwriter types, much to my delight. The main act, Peregrine, was fantastic... A little Ben Folds, a little Toad the Wet Sprocket, and a little blues/rock... An excellent way to top off an excellent day.
Today has a few other things in store... Probably going to play some soccer in the park later this afternoon and possibly catch a free digeridoo concert over in Darling Harbour afterwards. Thanks to everyone who's been commenting... keep them coming! It's nice to know people are sharing in my Aussie experiences :)
later,
-e
Friday, July 07, 2006
Quickie
Things I did yesterday:
- Went to Australia's capital city, Canberra
- Took some pictures
- Visited the High Court of Australia and Parliament
- Sat on a bus for about 7 hours total
- Went out and partied with the CCSA folks
- Went to 7-11 at 3:30 AM
Things I did today:
- Woke up late
- Went to Bondi Beach with J & E
- Did the 8km beach walk down to Coogee Beach
- Had fish and chips at a place called "Chish and Fips"
- Took a crapload of pictures
- Just got back into the city
I'll post pics and stories soon!
-e
PS - Thanks to all you guys who responded to my Blue Moon question... Unfortunately, I was arguing the lemon garnish side. I've personally never had it with an orange. The girl I was arguing with already looked it up on wikipedia and the coors website and they both said organge... she proceeded to gloat in my face... doh!
- Went to Australia's capital city, Canberra
- Took some pictures
- Visited the High Court of Australia and Parliament
- Sat on a bus for about 7 hours total
- Went out and partied with the CCSA folks
- Went to 7-11 at 3:30 AM
Things I did today:
- Woke up late
- Went to Bondi Beach with J & E
- Did the 8km beach walk down to Coogee Beach
- Had fish and chips at a place called "Chish and Fips"
- Took a crapload of pictures
- Just got back into the city
I'll post pics and stories soon!
-e
PS - Thanks to all you guys who responded to my Blue Moon question... Unfortunately, I was arguing the lemon garnish side. I've personally never had it with an orange. The girl I was arguing with already looked it up on wikipedia and the coors website and they both said organge... she proceeded to gloat in my face... doh!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Idiots in the Lobby
Not a whole lot to report today... We had a quiz in each class earlier. The quizzes weren't really that difficult... To give you an idea, the first quiz's essay question (worth the most points of any single question) was "Describe a few of your favorite experiences in Sydney thus far." Yeah. Then the second quiz started out with a bunch of multiple choice questions like "Who is teaching this course?" and "Where are we?" Not the most difficult quizzes I've ever taken.
I also went out and got some Thai food yesterday at a restaurant called Thai-Foon. Har har. Oh, and the funniest quote of the last couple of days is "a billion o'clock in the morning." Definitely using that in the future.
In hindsight, I really really wish I brought my guitar with me. I'm starting to go a little crazy not being able to play an instrument or sing (my voice is still pretty messed up from my cold). I tried to use the piano in the lobby of the hotel, but basically was told that wasn't okay. Psh... they should lock it up, then... morons.
OH... Speaking of morons in the hotel lobby, a few friends and I wanted to check out Luna Park (Sydney's equivalent of Coney Island) last night. First I called the front desk and asked if they knew how late Luna Park was open... They said "roughly 10 o'clock." ...Roughly. Okay. So to make sure, I went downstairs and told them I wanted to know how late the park was open and asked them to look up the website that was listed in our guidebook. They tried for fifteen minutes (no joke) to find the Luna Park website. Apparently the URL I gave them didn't work and they couldn't find the actual website... FINALLY they find it and tell me that the rides at the park aren't even operating that night and they're only open to 6 o'clock on the other weekdays anyway. Great. So they ask me if I want a printout of the information, to which I reply "yes, please, that'd be great." They proceed to hand me the printouts... along with a LUNA PARK BROCHURE which had ALL the information I needed on the back. WTF?!
Ugh. Anyhow, I'm about to run out of time on this computer, so I should get going. But thanks to all that are posting comments... Please keep it up! And if you know, please answer my poll question about Blue Moon (lemon or orange garnish?)!
later,
-e
I also went out and got some Thai food yesterday at a restaurant called Thai-Foon. Har har. Oh, and the funniest quote of the last couple of days is "a billion o'clock in the morning." Definitely using that in the future.
In hindsight, I really really wish I brought my guitar with me. I'm starting to go a little crazy not being able to play an instrument or sing (my voice is still pretty messed up from my cold). I tried to use the piano in the lobby of the hotel, but basically was told that wasn't okay. Psh... they should lock it up, then... morons.
OH... Speaking of morons in the hotel lobby, a few friends and I wanted to check out Luna Park (Sydney's equivalent of Coney Island) last night. First I called the front desk and asked if they knew how late Luna Park was open... They said "roughly 10 o'clock." ...Roughly. Okay. So to make sure, I went downstairs and told them I wanted to know how late the park was open and asked them to look up the website that was listed in our guidebook. They tried for fifteen minutes (no joke) to find the Luna Park website. Apparently the URL I gave them didn't work and they couldn't find the actual website... FINALLY they find it and tell me that the rides at the park aren't even operating that night and they're only open to 6 o'clock on the other weekdays anyway. Great. So they ask me if I want a printout of the information, to which I reply "yes, please, that'd be great." They proceed to hand me the printouts... along with a LUNA PARK BROCHURE which had ALL the information I needed on the back. WTF?!
Ugh. Anyhow, I'm about to run out of time on this computer, so I should get going. But thanks to all that are posting comments... Please keep it up! And if you know, please answer my poll question about Blue Moon (lemon or orange garnish?)!
later,
-e
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Tim Tams are my new favorite food.
Okay... If you haven't tried Tim Tams, you haven't lived. For real. Such chocolately goodness should be deemed a controlled substance and banned from stores. Or, maybe just stockpiled in a warehouse somewhere. A warehouse to which only I have the key...
Anyhow, lots has happened since my last entry... let's see...
The last few days were spent doing all kinds of new things... Hanging out with some new friends, visiting new friends, seeing new things, finding out all kinds of new things that can kill you (more on that later), and lots of new pictures.
On Thursday, we went to visit the APRA and AMCOS offices in Sydney... We learned a bunch of interesting stuff about the Australian copyright system and made some good contacts. Aussies are so freaking nice :) That night, Jackie and Eryn and I walked all around Darling Harbour and visited the Aquarium. It was fantastic... Especially since I hadn't been to an aquarium in such a long time. The sharks were probably the most awe inspiring... but the seals were super cute, as were the penguins. And the GIANT sting ray was pretty awesome too. A big statue of the shark from Finding Nemo out front was entertaining as well, especially when Eryn cuddled up with it (nearly knocking it over). 
We also found a huge poster of Ronald McDonald looking particularly gay, but still fabulous. So fabulous, in fact, that we had to take a picture with it, while trying to emulate his excitement. 
Friday afternoon was spent at Paddy's Market, this huge warehouse marketplace filled with little booths selling your typical tourist merchandise. I finally picked up one of those Australia zip-up shirts that everyone on this trip has bought... but at least i got it in the color i wanted, black. I also went with a few other people to go pick up some beer...
Three of these guys decided to buy 30-packs of VB (yes, for those of you who know what VB is, that's right... they bought 90 cans of VB...) and then had to walk 20 minutes back to the train, then back to the hotel, carrying these 30-packs. Ah, brings back memories of college...Friday night started with J & E and I going to a show at the Enmore Theater to see a local band called You Am I. The show was alright and the fans were crazy into the band. But the music got real repetitive and eventually boring... then the lead singer, who was not really all that attractive, took his shirt off, which pretty much gave us our cue to leave.
Afterwards, a bunch of us went out for Jessica's birthday (one of the girls in the program). We checked out a local club/bar called Jackson's. Once again, reminded me of college... But a great time was had by all. Btw, the jury is still out on whether or not aussies can dance... but i think they're leaning towards "no." :p
After a very late night, what's the last thing one wants to do? That's right...get up really really early. But, the payoff was great! Jackie Eryn and I went on a bus tour of the Blue Mountains and the Featherdale Wildlife Park. Our tour guide wasn't the nicest guy in the world, but he was very informative. So informative, in fact, that he insisted on telling us, over the course of the 8 hour trip, how many different things in Australia that will kill you. Among them:
- the most venomous snake in the world
- tarantulas
- octopi
- bull sharks
- spiders with huge fangs
- jaywalking (apparently, he hit a drunk jaywalker one time)
- lightning
- crocodiles
He also mentioned that you will kill the kangaroos if you feed them chocolate. And you will kill the koalas if you hold them. Awesome.
ANYhow, first stop was the park... Here's a pic of me holding a baby wallabie. So cute. Inside this park were the cutest animals on the face of the planet: koala bears. that's right folks, i finally got to pet a koala bear on the back of its head!! I didn't get to feed it a leaf, unfortunately. But the experience was still worth it. And after seeing them up close and personal, I can definitely see how a koala bear infestation would indeed be the cutest infestestion ever. 
I didn't get to feed it a leaf, but it was munching on one at the time, so that's good enough for me. I also got to feed kangaroos and wallabies. We saw a huge assortment of great animals too... oh, and for those of you who hate zoos out there, know that the Featherdale Wildlife Park only rescues injured animals from the wild. They nurse them back to health, and if they get well enough, release them back into the wild. Woot.
After the park, we moved onto the Blue Mountains... 'Twas bootiful! Kind of reminded me of the Grand Canyon, but not quite as deep (okay, not nearly as deep), and much greener. But it was grand nonetheless... We also got to go down into the valley and see the Australian rainforest. It was so peaceful and green down there... well, save some screaming kids, at least. 
We also took a crazy rail car ride back up the mountain. Apparently, it's the steepest rail car ride in the world. It was freaky as all hell, though... Because you were facing the ground as this rail car pulled you up, backwards, higher and higher, and you felt yourself tipping forward more and more. Very scary. 
We also got to see Jackie try out a digeridoo. She did great for her first time, actually! And our tour guide demonstrated a boomerang for us (which is not supposed to hit animals, mind you... it was just used as a tool to scare birds so they'll fly out of their trees into nets that hunters would set up around the trees... who knew?). After that, we headed for a quick stop at the Olympic Park, which was pretty cool... Then hopped on the ferry to get back home. 
Here is the beautiful sunset that we were treated to while waiting for the ferry to arrive:
Saturday night was another night out on the town with some of the folks from the program to celebrate Monica's birthday (Jessica's sister, actually). We got Monica up on stage with the coverband for the start of her career as a professional tambourine player ;) 
After another late night, E & J and I headed over to Balmain to check out the local town, get some brunch and hang out a bit. Then E & i ran back to the hotel (literally) to get changed to go play some soccer in the park with a couple of CCSA guys (and one older italian dude). Later that evening, a few of us went out to see Over the Hedge, which turned out to be a very cute little movie, starring a bunch of great actors (and had a great soundtrack, all done by Ben Folds). After a few rounds of cards (games played: spoons, egyptian rat screw and Arab rummy), it was time to turn in for the evening.Also, on a personal note, I'm feeling much better (thanks for the well wishes, Marcia!). Also, I'm trying to fit some Aussie slang into my vocabulary, like "mate," "cheers," and my favorite, "no worries."
OH... And I'm taking a poll for anyone reading this blog... What do you put in a Blue Moon beer: a slice of lemon or orange? please comment and tell me! (anyone can comment now, not just registered users).
Alright... now it's back to the hotel to get some homework done!
-e
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