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Sydney, Australia
33° 53' S 151° 12' E
Feb 19, 2006 02:35
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Text written in: English

We've been in Sydney for exactly a week and i cant say that we've accomplished much. thats not necessarily a bad thing, its just different. but i wouldnt say its been fantastic either. we've been to the beach almost every day, lounging in the sand, playing in the ocean, attempting, sometimes successfully, to body surf. between sleeping on couches and watching dvds or tv shows on dvds, we eat random meals of various cuisines and then buy drinks to pregame before going out to local pubs and young people hangouts. we've gotten exercise by going on a few walks or playing touch rugby or soccer or swimming. we've seen a small amount of the city, sometimes even intentionally. we went to the famous Opera House and payed the overpriced student fare to get the behind the scenes (or behind whats open to the public scenes) and a look at the inside of the concert hall. but i guess my main regret or disappointment with being here is that while its a beautiful place and the beachs are wonderful, the sun is out, and the scenery is near perfect, i feel like im just on vacation visiting a buddy. i love going to the beach, but want variety with my days. the cycle of waking up, eating, checking internet, going the the beach, getting tired, getting drinks, getting dinner and then going out is starting to get old for me. we leave for the North tomorrow to dive the great barrier reef and im a little worried that we will have forgotten how to haggle, how to search for the best places, what to do when we dont have friends to help us make our decisions. frankly, im very excited for the change of routine.

i dont want to imply that we've been doing nothing and having no fun. the people we are staying with (now we are with davids friend from emory, dan, and his two roommates on their couches as opposed to before when we were with our friend from Buenos Aires, Nelson, and his three roommates on their couches) are great and looking to have a good time. they all have suggestions for things to do and an idea of how to do them. we've been very thankful for their hospitality not only because its been pleasant and welcoming, but also because it allows us to save money on lodging which we can then turn to other luxury items like taxis, drinks, steak dinners, and diamond studded, gold plated toe rings. but because we are with friends, and especially now that we are with friends in a similar situation (recent graduates of college out enjoying their first post graduate year in another country learning about other cultures as well as themselves), its easy to fall into a routine of doing college things and not making teh absolute most of the day. we havent seen much of the city besides when we got lost one of the first days. we havent seen a museum, an art gallery, a local culture show (if they even have culture here) or anything that we couldnt do or find in the States. i just find myself wanting more from every day but not necessarily finding someone to do it with. perhaps it may be time for a little solo flying. we will see.

yesterday was a lot of fun because we got to show some older aussies that we americans know at least as much as they do about soccer. Nelson plays in a Saturday soccer game every week and apparently the game has been going on for about 17 years. some of the players have been there for that long, nelson has only been playing for 5. the size of each side depends on how many people show up but they play in a gigantic public park so if there are more people, its all good. yesterday, it was 7 a side which was a pretty good number for our collective energy, stamina, and speed. while david and i brought dan and a roommate along and we each are 23 and of relatively good fitness, the rest of the squad was all over 30 and sported sizable guts or at least noticeable flabby sections. but despite all that, i found myself and witnessed the other youngin's being the ones acting lazy and slow when it came time to get back on defense or make a necessary chase. the "old men" were always running around being the responsible ones and i felt a little guilty not using my perfectly-toned-body-of-a-god to help out. but it was a friendly game and no one was taking it that seriously (a good thing too because when i took my turn at goalie, i allowed 2 goals on 4 shots). while we were playing we could hear a concert from another side of the park. it was none other than James Brown belting out his unique version of rock and roll. i must say, it was nearly perfect soccer playing music. so after an hour and a half, we were all nearly dead tired and called it a day. hopefully we will make it back in time for next weeks game.

nothing much else to tell about the past week. like i mentioned above, we saw the Opera House and the architecture was amazing as well as the view. it turned out the be a perfect day for it so we were able to see the sun glimmering off of the bay water and up onto the curved arcs of the exterior. while from afar the material on the outside looks like white plaster, up close you can see triangular fish scale looking tiles. over 4 million of them cover the roofs making for quite an impressive look. inside it was like a church and in certain areas, they told us to treat it as such. i "stole" a few pictures of the concert hall while the tour guide left to answer a page, which we thought was quite unprofessional. but it was ok because it allowed me to take the pictures i wanted.

oh right, one last story that i nearly forgot to include. last night after soccer, we showered up and met Nelson for dinner at a hotel bar that promoted cheap dinners with the purchase of a drink. so we ordered our food and sat down to watch Super-14 rugby and hang out. the bar was packed so we five crowded into a small table. after a little while a woman invited us to sit at her double table because she was alone and we were a large group. it soon became obvious that she was just a hair past very intoxicated because she had a million hilarious things to tell us and we somehow didnt get the jokes. at times she was enthralled with the rugby game but still managed to get distracted enough to tell us a joke or demand a drink for graciously allowing us to sit at her table. we smiled and ignored her request. her jokes were not too bad but sometimes hard to understand. here are two i can remember: "What do you get when you cross a rooster and a flea? An itchy cock." hilarious indeed. the next one she just sprung on us, "Whats that funny smell?" we say, "huh?" she cant contain herself, "CLOWN SHIT!" so since she was so gracious to tell us her jokes, we had to be courteous and tell her some of our jokes. unfortunately, we only know horribly sexist or grotesque jokes and were about 1/20th of the way through our repetoir before she had had enough and finally left us. mission accomplished. it was then that we realized that when we had come in, she had been sitting in the same spot but was surrounded with a group of people that we assumed were her friends. but then they left and she remained. we can only assume further that she was sitting there trying to pull the same tricks of trying to get free drinks. oh marge, you are one crafty girl.