Paris

Paris. What more can be said about the place? I’ve been only once, ten years prior, with my family instead of my girlfriend. At 13 years old, that would have been odd to have a girl with me back then. Because both Sarah and I had previously visited here, we could pick and choose what to see. There were the obvious tourist spots to hit: Louvre, La tour Eiffel, Champs Elysees, Sacre Couer, etc. Sarah wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower the most, and I was more than happy to oblige.

First, we had to find our hostel. I bought two tourist passes, giving us two days of unlimited travel on Paris transportation. And I ordered them en francais – the lady even understood me. I find that I learned a great deal studying the language from the age of 12 to 20. Over the next two days, I used it more than I probably ever will again. After getting to the metro stop we were instructed to go in order to find our hostel, we were a bit lost. A nice Frenchman stopped us on the street and tried to help us, even going to ask a few other people where the road was that we needed to find. It wasn’t that hard after we had our directions, and we dropped our stuff and headed towards the metro.

It was going to be lunch (dejeuner) and then Notre Dame. We ate at a restaurant by the side of the road – ordering in French again. Notre Dame was crowded, swelling with tourists. I sometimes forget that thousands of other people are in the same city as myself, looking to go to the same places. It didn’t take too long to get in, and we took a quick lap, stopping to admire the pristine stain glass windows adorning the walls of the cathedral. It was quite the view to take in. No sign of the hunchback, the story that probably made this place more famous than it should be. Not to take away from the luster of it at all.

With the weather seeming quite decent, our next stop was the tour Eiffel. This was after going to the Louvre and realizing that we could go for free after 6 PM on Friday night. Unfortunately, we left and saw that it was raining. We killed time, rode the metro to l’Arc de Triomphe, stopped for a bite to eat at a café, and then when the weather cleared, moseyed over to the Eiffel Tower. To nobody’s surprise, it was quite crowded, and the wait to get up to the top was a miserable experience. It started to rain, and the rain mixing with high winds you get a few hundred feet in the air made it quite cold. Not helping me was the fact I had left any kind of cold weather clothing I had with my luggage. Fortunately, by the time things cleared up, we were at the top, able to see all of Paris. Definitely a worthwhile wait.

The rest of our first day was dinner, then both crashing back at the hostel, ready for another day of Paris.

Day two was going to start at Versailles. The massive palace built by Louis XIV (I think), it was the one thing I really wanted to see. And it was worth it. After going to Hampton Court a few days before, Sarah and I decided that going into the palace wasn’t all that worth it. It was going to be nothing more than Hampton Court times 10. More of the same ridiculousness of that time period. But a walk around the Versailles Gardens, along with being free, was much more relaxing. No lines to wait in, no people to walk through, and no hassles. Once we were satisfied with a couple of hours spent there, it was time for Sacre Couer.

I wasn’t sure if I had been there before (turns out I had), but it was another mob scene. People were everywhere, snapping pictures and watching the street performers. The view from the top made the hassle worthwhile, and after just 20 minutes there, moved along to the Louvre.

This was another spot the two of us had seen already. So it wasn’t going to be a long stroll. Plus, I don’t really like art all that much. You see something like the Mona Lisa, and it just screams overrated. The painting is great and all, but I prefer the large paintings done by the French, such as Lady Liberty leading the People or the painting of the Wedding at Cana. Stuff like that is much more inspiring, as you wonder how someone can paint something that big. We walked around for about an hour total, trying to hit the big displays: the Code of Hammurabi, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and a few other works of art. It was definitely time well spent, and as a bonus, free of charge.

That was the essence of our whirlwind trip of Paris. Tomorrow morning was a train ride to Interlaken, where we would get a day and a half of the Swiss Alps.

London - Part Two

Thanks to a variety of reasons – lack of extra time, battery power, or anything else – I have given up in my quest to bring a daily update to my blog. And that’s ok, considering our journey is almost over. So I’m using this last post to update where we are. Right now, we’re on a train from Bern to Geneva, where tomorrow we’ll be flying out to Dublin, where our last two days of Europe will be spent.

Our last two days in London were some of our best. We went to Hyde Park, saw bits of Westminster Abbey, and went to see the Lion King on the West End. All three were quite brilliant. The weather finally turned nice, giving us a chance to sit under the sun, and not have to run for cover from the rains. The show on Wednesday night was a brilliant way to end what had been a successful first trip (for me at least) to one of the world’s most famous cities.

Thursday was an early morning, as our Eurostar train was leaving London at 6:30 AM. Our tickets were purchased, and I thought we would simply buy, get on the train, and be off. That was no the case. We go to St. Pancras station with 20 minutes to spare, got our tickets, a snack, and went through security. Unfortunately, the French guy manning the X-ray machine decided it would be fun to take all my electronics out of my bag and scan it for explosives. I was a bit panicked, and the guy wasn’t the nicest about my urgency. The scan seemed to take forever, and when it was done I jammed everything in my bag and headed towards Passport control. We were through that quickly, and had to have a train official hold our train for us – but we made it with probably seconds to spare.

The journey was quiet and the two of us slept practically the whole time. Up next: Paris.

London - Part One

Well, we've been in London the past few days. I've given up on trying to keep a daily recounting of the trip, so I'll highlight a few things from the past few days. On Thursday we got up in Dubai super early to catch our 7:30 flight to London. Things went smoothly, and we met Sarah's parents at the Pimlico Underground station. It was a happy reunion, and we dropped off our belongings at the flat they are renting for the week we were staying in London.

My first impression of London was that it is super crowded, especially compared to Sydney. The Underground doesn't have air conditioning either. Which really sucks, because it'll end up being much hotter on the train than outside. Bummer.

The Binghams have already been here, so it was hard to determine what sights we would go see. On Thursday we ate lunch at a pub, hung out at our flat, and then went to meet Jess' flatmates for dinner. I was quite knackered, having woken up at around 1 AM London time. It was a pleasant sleep that night.

Friday we took a train to Greenwich Village, home of Greenwich Mean Time. The area surrounding the Royal Observatory provided a lovely view of the Thames and the city proper. It was a nice day trip, considering I felt overwhelmed by the crowds. A highlight of the day was taking a boat from Greenwich to Westminster, then taking the tube back to our flat.

Saturday I got the chance to head to Emirates Stadium for Day One of the Emirates Cup, which featured Arsenal playing Juventus and Real Madrid against Hamburg SV. The experience wasn't the same as it would have been seeing a regular season EPL match, but it was awesome nonetheless.

On Sunday we went to All Souls, Jess's church and took in the morning service. After we visited the Royal Museum, home of the Rosetta Stone, and meandered around the city. It has been a fairly touristy experience, but worthwhile seeing as though we are tourists. Only one more day left tomorrow, then off to Paris.

It's Hot in Dubai

Today was our extended layover in Dubai. And let me say, that it was hot. Now, in SE Asia, it was very warm. Humidity was through the roof there, making it gross and sweaty wherever you went. In Dubai, it was instant misery once you left air conditioning. And with my motivation to see a lot waning once that happened, I wasn't sure what we were going to do with today.

We walked outside and took a cab to Emirates Mall. There, we saw Ski Dubai and decided against actually skiing. We had Cinnabon for breakfast (yum and gross at the same time) and then meandered around in the air conditioning for six hours. Those hours included going to see Wall E, the new Pixar movie, and by the time it was all said and done it was now 4:30 PM. We caught a cab to Jemeirah beach, hoping to see the Burj Al Arab along the coast. However, today there was a haze hanging over the city, possibly from the sand blown into the atmosphere. We managed to stay outside for an hour or so, before getting another cab to Dubai Creek Park. We walked and walked and walked some more, all the way back to our hostel after stopping a couple times for food and water. It was so stinking hot out, I cannot emphasize that enough. Misery. We managed to also see the Burj Dubai, the tall tall building that is gigantic. It is a monstrosity.

We were done with Dubai and ready to go, so at around 10 PM we collapsed and slept, with an early wake up for our flight to London.

Bangkok, Thailand - Day Three & Dubai, UAE

With today being the last day in Thailand, and with the need to leave by 4 PM for the airport, it was time to get moving early. With us that doesn't always go over so well, but we were up and ready to go by around 10. The Grand Palace and Wat Pho were the top two destinations of today, as they were both astounding views from the street. This required a walk to the Sky Train, a boat ride up to where we had been before, and we were there. Wat Pho was first, seeing as it was closer to the river.

This temple was really neat. The Buddha inside of it was gigantic, and lying down. I was amazed at the audacity of a belief to build gold statues as big as they possibly could. It was really a sight to behold. Along with a giant Buddha, it had a lot of structures that fit the region we were in. We didn't spend way too long at Wat Pho, but it was definitely worth the visit.

Up next was the Grand Palace, which required a bit of walking to make our way around the miles of wall that surrounded it. I was required to wear pants, so I had to rent clothing in order to see it. The Grand Palace was built in the 1700's when Thailand was known as Siam, and it features a mansion and a large temple, including the supposedly famous Jade Buddha. Not sure why it's famous, but it is. Understanding Buddhism would have helped a bit on this trip. But it's not like it mattered all that much. Despite the length of the wall surrounding the whole palace, it only took us around an hour and a half to see the whole thing.

After the Palace, we stopped for some food from a street vendor that would come back to haunt me, hopped on a boat taxi back down the river, and with a couple more hours to kill checked out two of Bangkok's shopping centers, Siam Paragon and MBK. Both were crowded, gawdy, and pretty much like all Western malls. So it was nothing new to see, really.

With that done, we returned to the hostel and got a taxi to the airport for our flight to Dubai. The flight itself wasn't bad, but upon arrival we discovered just how hot it is in the desert in July. NEVER GO. Along with that, we had to take a bus to the terminal (took forever) and then waited an hour for our luggage, then another 45 minutes for a cab. And it was so hot that I was a sweaty mess all the time. So gross.

Bangkok, Thailand - Day Two

The previous night featured a great sleep, as our new hostel - named Lub d Bangkok, whatever that means - was comfortable, clean, and quiet, all elements that brought a great deal of rest. It was now going to be our fourth different city in South East Asia, and by this time we were used to the little nuances to look out for. Our experiences on the MRT gave us clues about the right places to go and how to best get there. However, today was going to be a bit different, as we were going to get in as many touristy things as possible.

Leaving our hostel, a taxi driver approached us, offering 20 baht to drive us to a bunch of places. Knowing that also would require stopping at various markets or shops to get petrol passes, we negotiated a ride towards the Dusit Zoo, as it was a good 3 or 4 miles from our hostel and a decent starting point to walk down towards other sites. Finally reaching our destination took a bit of haggling, as I opened the door and was ready to get out, but the driver relented after first claiming the zoo was too far. We actually went into the zoo, which was dirty and unimpressive, although did get pictures with elephants. Which I guess is an accomplishment.

Our next stop was Wat Benchamabophit, or the marble temple. There was going to be a lot of temples these next few days. In case anyone was wondering, "wat" is the Thai word for temple. It was the first of many, but this one was very ornate and over-the-top, as most Buddhist temples appeared. Leaving towards the next destination, the Golden Mount, we were somehow talked into getting a tuk tuk for the day for 20 baht. He took us to various temples, each with a different Buddha mood.

One of the best parts of it, was that one of the temples was open only a couple times a year. We even ran into this Thai man who suggested buying sapphires or rubies and selling them for a profit overseas. Strewn within our temples, were two trips to Thai export jewelry stores and a tailor. I bought a suit (why not?) and Sarah a sterling silver ring - much cheaper than my purchase.

After all that it was now late in the afternoon and I was tired of the dirt and soot of the tuk tuk. The driver dropped us off at the Golden Mount and left us to go on his way. It was definitely worth the time experiencing the economic shake up of the tuk tuk driver. Not a good job to say the least. It was a quick walk up the Golden Mount, and also a nice view of the whole city. We climbed down and made our way towards the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, unsure if they were going to be open or not. Along the way, we passed another big temple and a Giant Swing. These Thais are crazy.

Unfortunately, both our destinations of interest were closed. We found a small restaurant on the docks of the Chao Phraya River at Tha Tien. Tomorrow we would take the boat taxi up the river and explore Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. Tonight, we ate delicious Pad Thai and took a picture of Wat Arunratchawaaram. We had to take a cab to Hua Lamphong to get the MRT back to our hostel. We were both tired from so much exploring. Tomorrow is our last day in Bangkok. This trip is moving by crazy fast.

Bangkok, Thailand - Day One

I woke up on the train feeling refreshed - it had been the best night of sleep, despite a continually rocking felt though out most of the night, plus the light being left on in the car. We got up and just hung out, watching various parts of Thailand go by. Of course, there was no way to know where we exactly were.

The morning passed by slowly, and as time went by, the countryside that had been dotted with foliage began to reveal buildings. The train employees would give us different information as to how much of the trip was left. But it seemed to drag on and on, until finally arriving at Hua Lamphong station at around 3:30 PM, making the trip over 24 hours. Not surprising, however.

Sarah and I grabbed our belongings and headed out towards the station. It was hot, smelly, and the heat from the trains made it much worse. The station itself was one large room, packed to the teeth with Thai people. We were approached by an information lady, and figured out how to get the appropriate money, map, and transport to our hostel. After getting out 3,000 Baht, I went to buy a map of Bangkok for 50. Handing a 1,000 Baht bill to the lady, she gave me a look of surprise and dropped the money. It was too big, but she still took my money and found the change.

We left the station and were approached by one of the many drivers waiting outside who wanted to know where we were going. I told him the address and he seemed to understand. What I didn't know was that he was a tuk tuk driver, which is basically a scooter with room for passengers. It was an interesting drive, but we made it in one piece, dropped our stuff off, and walked towards the MRT/Sky train, with a few things planned.

My friend Gale had drawn up an itinerary for my three days there. Our first destination was the weekend market at Chatuchak. It was an enormous place, complete with anything and everything you might need. There was clothes, pets, food, shoes, and even fake plastic fruit. Sarah and I browsed for hours, overwhelmed by the number of people and the number of shops. We even got lost trying to leave and make it back to the park near that MRT.

Once we were back in a semi-familiar place we made our way to Sukumvhit Rd, a hotspot for shopping. However, there wasn't all that much going on, and it made for a quick stop. We made it back to our hostel pretty early to look up places to go the next two days we had.

My first impression of Thailand was all over the place. It was a dirty and smelly place, as indicated from the tuk tuk ride, and the next few days would only reinforce this opinion. There is a quaint feeling to it, as it is a combination of a unique past with a struggle for modernization. The next two days were going to be interesting, that's for sure.

Penang, Malaysia & train to Thailand

Night two on the train was a bit better in the sense I slept a little more. That night's sleeper car featured no bathroom within it, which gave us more room for luggage. They also played a bootleg of the Incredible Hulk, which I found amusing.

Our stop that day was Butterworth, a station in the northwest of Malaysia. Once our luggage was dropped off, a nearby ferry took us across the water to the island of Penang, specifically to the city of Georgetown. This was the location I knew least about, and our day was mostly spent just walking around the island. It wasn't that big, there really wasn't too much to see - very underwhelming and very hot. The water was also quite dirty, especially near that beach-like areas. Keep in mind there were no beaches, just a bit of sand next to the water.

Our train was scheduled to leave at around 2:45 PM, and would take close to 24 hours to reach our next destination of Bangkok. Upon first arrival, it was just two cars, the engine, and some other random car. Four cars to take us all the way to Bangkok? That couldn't be right. The rest of our day was spent trying to get luggage sorted within our seats, and be ready to sleep for the night. The train wasn't all that bad - there was a good bit of room, a large window to watch the countryside go by, and only a moderate amount of dirt littering the floor. Funny that a long train ride only cost around $40 US a person. I think. It wasn't expensive. The debate that Sarah and I had was over the food. Were they going to add a food car once we got to Thailand? By the time we got to the border we were quite tired and hungry, so it was going to be a necessity.

We were lucky after leaving Malaysia and going through Thailand passport control, making it our third country in four days to be greeted by a waiter taking orders. Food at last! On top of that, there had been some Malaysians selling food outside the passport area. So we ordered food, which turned out to be quite good for something you get on a ghetto train. We spent the night talking to two Americans who we met from the West Coast who were sitting next to us, before calling it a night around 10 PM. Our last night on a train!

Kuala Lampur, Malaysia

The previous night marked our first train-sleeping experience. And while our room was pretty comfortable, that didn't mean I got much sleep. Thanks to the shoddy nature of the tracks/train, the ride overnight was incredibly bumpy. I probably managed around four or five hours of sleep (if that).

Needless to say, we had a full day in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. And considering that it was 6 AM, nothing was open, giving us nowhere to leave our luggage for the 14 hours or so we had to spend here. We decided to get a hostel for the day, and considering it was only around $6 US, it seemed like the best way to spend our day worry-free.

It took awhile to make it to the hostel - the directions they gave were right, but the street names were incorrect. After lugging my luggage up three flights of stairs - an exercise that was miserable, considering my bag weighs around 50 lbs - we were took a quick nap and were off for the day. The first stop was the Kuala Lumpur tower, and we took a quick ride to the top. That and the Petronus Towers were the top two stops on our list. Other than that, KL was just another place to explore. It was a relatively clean city, although much dirtier than Singapore. Then again, so are most places in the world.

We made it to the Petronus Towers after a quick walk. It sits on top of a large commercial centre, which felt good to sit in thanks to the air conditioned nature of it. After a few pictures at the Towers, we kept on moving. I had read about a bird park in Kuala Lumpur that was supposed to be interesting. So we got off the sky train and made our way through a long and windy road to our destination. I'll admit that it was a pretty cool place - although perhaps not as interesting as I first thought. We were both pretty exhausted, so we walked back to the sky train, back to the hostel, and back to Sentral KL station for our next overnight ride.

Singapore

So it was a wonderful reunion last night at the airport. I picked Sarah up, we hopped in a cab and returned to the hostel that I had scouted out earlier. Not the most upscale place by any means, but it did the job. We would only be there that night. The next day was our only day in Singapore, so we tried to make the most of what little time we had. First on the list was picking up the train tickets from the train station, a short walk from the MRT stop. The clerk at the hostel had recommended getting a cab, but I thought that was nonsense. After a thirty-minute walk, the ticket had been purchased at an old style train station. It was run by KLM, the Malaysian train company. It featured old, grungy-looking food vendors, and made you pay for the bathroom. The important thing now was our first mission for the day had been accomplished.

We didn’t have much of a plan for the remainder of the day in Sinagpore. After all, what is the country known for? It seemed like an Asian mixing pot, with people of all different lineages walking around. I had an Eyewitness Travel guide that gave a few tips. There were a couple of neat looking temples that we were keen on going to. But the Harbourfront was closer so we made our way there first. There, the next option was to choose between Sentosa, an island just south of Singapore, or Mount Ferrar, which was more like a hill by the time we got up there. It offered a decent view of the city, which was a cluster of skyscrapers off towards the northeast. However, it wasn’t much more than that, and we didn’t last very long at the top.

Once we had descended the mountain on the cable car, it was time for Chinatown. Visiting Chinatown in any place can become a repetitive experience, or it can provide a new glimpse at Chinese culture in some random part of the world. In this case, it was simply reminiscent of most other Chinatowns that I’ve seen (predominantly Sydney’s). We quickly stopped at a temple, whose name escapes me, plus a large shopping complex that had Asian-centric stores. Nothing too special. It was bloody hot outside as well.

Then we went to Little India. I wanted to have some Indian food, but we decided to look for the Sultan Mosque, an interesting looking mosque that was perhaps a 1.5 kilometer walk from the Little India MRT station. We arrived and saw that it was closed, after briefly getting turned around, unable to find the right street to go on. Once we made it, we decided that we were tired and went to the train station for our trip to Malaysia. The MRT took us to our hostel, where we had left our luggage, grabbed our belongings, hopped back onto the MRT and found a cab driver to take us down. We were an hour early, and had some chicken curry at the run down food court, which looked more like a bunch of street vendors. The station was out of place in the modern city like Singapore. We hung out and chatted up with two Canadians who had spent a good deal of time in Kuala Lumpur – the city where we would wake up. They passed along some useful traveller tips, like what to see or do in just a day, seeing as though we were only passing through.

After a decent wait in the non-air conditioned station, people started to line up in preparation for boarding. It was an interesting array of people getting ready to board the train. A few white people here and there, but the vast majority were of a darker complexion – most Malaysians are like that, I would learn. We passed through the border security with no problems and took a long walk to the end of the platform to find out train. I had decided to book first class, wanting to risk nothing in terms of how shoddy the Malaysian train system was. Turns out it wasn’t that bad, and we bordered our sleeper car despite orders not to. After a five minute spell of unpacking and getting sorted in our tiny bunk-bed room (complete with bathroom) and relaxed. Unfortunately, this was about the time when the lights went off, along with the air conditioning. Thinking rather quickly and unsure of what to do, we jumped off the train, leaving all our stuff minus passports and valuables. Not sure what was going on, we sat on the platform as a Malaysian train official spoke into a walkie-talkie, obviously trying to get something sorted out. Sarah and I speculated as to what could be going on, but were shocked when he jumped on the train and it took off, taking our stuff with it. Panic set over me a bit. While half the train was still there, why did the first eight cars leave?

This issue didn’t last too long, as ten minutes later, the train came back. I think they were trying to add an extra car for the seats. Whatever. We were back on and took off for Kuala Lumpur that night.

Melbourne-Singapore

There's not much to say about today. Was up by 7, hit the tram back into the city, decided to "walk" to Southern Cross Station from a random tram stop. Big mistake. I had to drag my luggage across four or five blocks, before locating the bus back to the airport. The ride was uneventful, but despite being two hours early for the flight, the line was massive. I struck up a conversation with an English bloke who had quite an interesting story. Turns out he is a mining engineer on holiday, after having worked the last year in China and Tasmania. His next job? Burkina Faso. I thought that was sweet.

After a few delays, I got on the plane, and we took off for our seven hour flight. It wasn't bad, and they had us in the 'Pore by 5. I sit now waiting for Sarah with little idea of what to think of this country. I saw a lot of flags, some adverts for some kind of patriotic holiday, and that's it. Kind of reminds me of Taiwan so far. But all I've seen is my hostel, the MRT, and well, the airport. More tomorrow, although I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, considering I don't have an adapter for my laptop. Although getting to see Sarah in t-minus 4 hours is amazing.

Day Three in Melbourne

Man, it's cold here. Have I whinged enough about that yet? Because it sucks to try and see a city when the drizzle is coating your Australia beanie, making the rest of you feel cold and wet. I toughed it out though, setting out for another day - my last full day in Australia.

I had trouble sleeping, but made it out of bed and onto a tram at around 10 AM. Again, there was nothing planned for today, something that has proved to be alright by me. My first move was towards the Queen Victoria Market, a large open air area near the outskirts of the CBD. It was underwhelming at best, essentially Melbourne's version of Paddy's Market. Not a big deal, and I passed through. I stopped at a random cafe, read the paper, had a coffee, and didn't even think where to go. I wandered down Elizabeth St, but had the urge to see another part of the town, so I walked up a different street. I was lacking in ideas - but I also had my camera. So I headed towards the MCG (exaggerated towards) and snapped a distant photo that you see up there. Federation Square caught my eye, so I made my way to the Information place to grab any kind of inspiration. There was a part of me that wanted to check out the Great Ocean Road, but the combination of the weather and the outside chance of catching my friend Katja, I wanted to stick around. Plus, who doesn't love a good rain?

After stopping at information, I headed across the Yarra, snapped a few photos, and surprise, surprise, made my way towards the Casino. At this point, I was cold, the rain was picking up (from a mist to a light drizzle), and I needed warmth. I also made the decision to actually go inside the Casino. I managed to track down a cloak room, dropped off my backpack, and wandered around the huge place. It was ridiculous - so many card tables, slot machines, and other rif raff that I find unnecessary. And pointless. A good way to waste some money, in my opinion. I've never gambled at a casino, but poker at Joe's has been enough to ward me off for awhile.

Once I was fed up with the Casino, I made my way up towards Flinders St. I stumbled upon the Melbourne 360 building. Seeing as that I always tend to go up tall buildings (Auckland, Sydney, Taiwan), I decided to make it a trend, and took in a quick view of the city from high up. An example below:

Where to next? At some point I decided that I wanted to catch the free tram that took you around city circle. Found that after a short search, and cruised the city for about 20 minutes, listening to the bits bits of history a taped voice brought over the tram's airwaves. Finding myself hungry, I jumped off for a quick bit, which was a gross chicken burger. Managing to resist the desire to have another coffee, I walked down some other random road, caught another tram out towards a place called Royal Park. The sun was finally out, giving a bit of warmth to the day, but still gross. There was nothing but a set of public toilets and a tennis court in this park. I was close to my hostel and toyed with the idea of turning in early, but I resisted and carried on, hopping on another tram towards the city. I jumped off, walked around for a bit longer, but then the rain started again, I realized that I was quite sick of Melbourne, and I then found the tram that took me to my hostel where I now sit. I had the goal of trying to get things squared away for the trip, which I have managed to do. From here, not sure how often I can post. Will try to lots. Hope everyone is doing well, where ever they are and whatever they are doing.

Day Two in Melbourne

Today was my first full day in a city that must be what Seattle is like. Cold, wet, and rainy, especially during the winter season. I woke up this morning in my small room that reminded my of a fancy prison cell. That's what most hostels tend to be like: cold, uninviting design that is a simple step up from the grungy underbelly of a gaol (Australian spelling for jail - weird, I know). After my flight here and hauling around a suitcase weighing in at 26.6 kg, I knew that I would have to rearrange what I was taking along. This meant finding a post office, a simple task as it was perhaps a five minute walk to the nearest location. I bought a box with tape, threw my clothes in, and decided to make the return, drop off the package, and to take the next tram into the city.

Having spent very little time actually planning what I was going to do, I headed in with little idea of what was on. I first decided to head towards St Kilda, a suburb known for its beach. I went there and was instantly freezing, as the wind was billowing in from the sea, making for a chilly walk onto the pier. I only made it halfway, stopped in a overhang, made a couple of phone calls, and decided to head back to the main drag. Wasn't all that much to do in St Kilda, after all. I picked up a Boost juice before jumping on the next tram, with my next destination Crown Casino, which I've heard is a big deal.

I hopped off the tram right in front of the casino, and wasn't let in. I had to check my bag, and ended up getting lost in the maze of advertisements and lights, with a mall and food court tossed in there as well. With little desire to actually head into the casino, as I see gambling as a giant waste of money, I headed out to cross the Yarra River, and ended up using the Sandridge Bridge (reminding me of Sandbridge). It was a bridge built in honor of the Aboriginals and other people who live in Australia, as there glass panes listing what country people are from, how many are there, and what languages they spoke. An interesting experience. With no destination, I decided to take advantage of my daily pass and just jumped on a random tram which was heading towards Malvern. 'Sweet', I thought to myself, 'a town named after a suburb back home', which I know isn't true. I was on the tram for awhile, then decided to just jump off and head back towards town. I got back off near the Domain, which is like every other domain I've been to in the southern hemisphere: a big park. Across the Yarra, I could see Rod Laver Arena, along with the MCG, two iconic images of this city. In 1956 Melbourne had hosted the Olympics, hence the name of this area being Olympic Park. I had read about an Australian sport museum, and being slightly interested in athletic events, made the decision to try and head there when I could.

First stop was Rod Laver Arena, home to the Australian Open. It was dead quiet there, although a door was open, allowing me to walk around in a circle. Since it is the offseason, there is a monster truck rally going on, not tennis. I declined the idea to book a guided tour, and instead walked around the rest of the tennis centre. Before that, I bought a ticket to the Melbourne-St George NRL match, which was going to take place just a few hours later. There wasn't much to see around the tennis centre, so I walked towards the MCG. I found the sport museum pretty easily, and took about an hour looking at the history of sport in Australia, although it was very Victoria-centric, focusing mostly on Cricket and AFL, the two big sports in these parts. After that, I was hungry, and headed to a decent pub for some fish and chips. I killed time there, having a coffee and trying to warm up.

By the time I had finished my coffee, the weather had gotten worse. With lack of a better phrase, it was freakin' cold out. I bought a stupid beanie with the Australian flag on it, which ended up being a good call. I then found myself back on the tram, ready for some rugby league.

The game was underwhelming. I'm not a huge fan of the sport, but had decided that it would be worth checking out. And for $12, it wasn't terrible. Until it started raining. That was not good, although the hat paid dividends, keeping me warmer than I would have been. I left early, as even a mid match fight didn't hold my interest too much. The Storm dominated as well, providing even less entertainment. It took me about 30 minutes to make it back to my hostel, where I sit typing this latest entry. Only 5 flight to go til I am back in the US. Hot dog.

Bye bye Sydney

In the craziness of what has been the last few weeks, between preparing for leaving, applying for jobs, saying goodbyes (the list goes on), I've been unable to live up to my one post a day goal. So now, I'll hope to keep a close account of the trip Sarah and I are about to embark on. For those keeping track, I'll be visiting 10 separate countries in the next 25 days:

Australia
Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
England
France
Switzerland
Ireland
USA

It's going to be a whirlwind tour, and one that I will enjoy.

That being said, saying goodbye to my friends in Sydney was quite hard. It's been a great year - and a difficult one at that, but it was just an incredible experience. I was blessed with the chance to meet people from all over the world, get to know people who weren't like me at all, and to enjoy spending time with them. I hope to see at least some of them much sooner than I think I will. They are all such great people and have made my Sydney experience so much better. I keep thinking about the great relationships that I had from JMU, and now this? I am lucky indeed.

As of now, I'm in a hostel in Melbourne where I will be staying until Wednesday morning when I fly to Singapore. So it'll only be two full days, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to pass the time. The Broadway Musical Wicked is being shown here, and I thought about checking it out, but there isn't a show until Wednesday. I might take in a Rugby League match tomorrow. Definitely things to do here. But I kind of wish I had just made it a longer time in Sydney.

I got into Melbourne today at around 3. The airport is a good distance away from the city, but I managed to easily find the bus into town. I hadn't really thought about getting directions to my hostel, so I just jumped on a train up towards North Melbourne station. I got off there and realized that I had no idea where I was. And that isn't a good feeling. I found a map that listed very few street signs and just started walking. Before I started to panic, a cabbie spotted me, a clueless tourist with a huge bag (26 kgs) and stopped for me. I instructed him of my destination, which he had to look up on a map, and we were off. We reached the hostel in about five minutes, and I realized I would have never made it. I checked in, dropped my stuff in a tiny two person shared room (the beds are probably a foot and a half apart), and grabbed the tram into the city.

The next couple of hours I strolled around centre city. There's a lot of shopping down here. I toyed with the idea of going to see a movie, but Mamma Mia by myself? I don't think so. I just walked through the shops and crowds of people, felt cold, and decided to come back to my hostel for conduct some more research while paying for overpriced Internet. I did buy travel insurance as well. Which is a good thing, apparently. Tomorrow will bring a new day and more of a new city. The first of many.

A Quick Update

In the craziness of what has been the last few weeks, between preparing for leaving, applying for jobs, saying goodbyes (the list goes on), I've been unable to live up to my one post a day goal. So now, I'll hope to keep a close account of the trip Sarah and I are about to embark on. For those keeping track, I'll be visiting 10 separate countries in the next 25 days:

Australia
Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
England
France
Switzerland
Ireland
USA

It's going to be a whirlwind tour, and one that I will enjoy.

That being said, saying goodbye to my friends in Sydney was quite hard. It's been a great year - and a difficult one at that, but it was just an incredible experience. I was blessed with the chance to meet people from all over the world, get to know people who weren't like me at all, and to enjoy spending time with them. I hope to see at least some of them much sooner than I think I will. They are all such great people and have made my Sydney experience so much better. I keep thinking about the great relationships that I had from JMU, and now this? I am lucky indeed.

As of now, I'm in a hostel in Melbourne where I will be staying until Wednesday morning when I fly to Singapore. So it'll only be two full days, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to pass the time. The Broadway Musical Wicked is being shown here, and I thought about checking it out, but there isn't a show until Wednesday. I might take in a Rugby League match tomorrow. Definitely things to do here. But I kind of wish I had just made it a longer time in Sydney.

I got into Melbourne today at around 3. The airport is a good distance away from the city, but I managed to easily find the bus into town. I hadn't really thought about getting directions to my hostel, so I just jumped on a train up towards North Melbourne station. I got off there and realized that I had no idea where I was. And that isn't a good feeling. I found a map that listed very few street signs and just started walking. Before I started to panic, a cabbie spotted me, a clueless tourist with a huge bag (26 kgs) and stopped for me. I instructed him of my destination, which he had to look up on a map, and we were off. We reached the hostel in about five minutes, and I realized I would have never made it. I checked in, dropped my stuff in a tiny two person shared room (the beds are probably a foot and a half apart), and grabbed the tram into the city.

The next couple of hours I strolled around centre city. There's a lot of shopping down here. I toyed with the idea of going to see a movie, but Mamma Mia by myself? I don't think so. I just walked through the shops and crowds of people, felt cold, and decided to come back to my hostel for conduct some more research while paying for overpriced Internet. I did buy travel insurance as well. Which is a good thing, apparently.

University

I've totally dropped the ball. This I know. So much for a daily update on my thoughts of Australia. I'll do what I can for the next ten days, perhaps beyond. I've been saying goodbye to friends every now and again which had proved to be an emotionally draining exercise. It's different now than leaving JMU because I knew that I would see those friends again. Or at least the ones I wanted to. These friends I hope to see again, but don't know when or where that'll be. Talk has emerged of a reunion in some country at a uncertain time, but we'll have to see what goes down.

Today I'll be looking at the experience I've had with University in Australia. After completing a four year degree at JMU, I wasn't really sure what to expect from a Graduate level course. I knew straight away that it would be a bit easier simply because the subjects I was set to study fell into what I was interested in - namely books and sport.

The outlook of Uni here is quite different. First of all, there are far fewer Universities throughout all of Australia. Which makes sense, considering the population boasts a bit more than 20 million people. So the need for more Universities isn't close to the same as it is in the US. The whole college experience is quite different, with many students commuting to a campus in or around the Sydney area, and far less people coming from afar.

The year I took classes I learned how frustrating and slow the whole processes can be here. Lecturers have some of the "no worries" attitude that you see in the rest of the country. They'll turn in grades and hand back assignments whenever they feel like it, leaving you with little time to know what your academic standing is. The hours I spent in class each week was also much shorter, with just two hours of work per week per class. That meant a grand total of eight hours a week for four classes, a full course load for just 14 weeks. Not too shabby. I spent perhaps twenty hours a week between doing my readings and time in class all together. This, on top of working twenty hours a week made me pretty busy.

There were definite shortcomings in the experience I had. One of the biggest issues was the lack of fluent English speakers. This affected me during the first semester more than the second - and while it isn't necessarily a negative, it brings down the quality of education when not everyone can contribute on the same fashion. At the same time, it was impressive to have so many Chinese students in class who could more than hold their own with a second language. As I have said before, I wish I could do that.

On the whole, the experience was worth it - but mostly because of the extra things I did on the side, the friends I made, and the country I lived in. The education alone wouldn't have cut it, but because of the extracurriculars that I've picked up along the way, it's been an enlightening time.

What's a Hotel?

That is a good question my friends. In the US, you say hotel, and that is what it always is. Accommodation. A place to stay for one night, perhaps two, maybe more. In Australia, they have those. But it is means bar.

Take the Marlborough (pictured). It's a bar nearby, and there isn't even a hint of rooms. But nearly everywhere you go you'll see (insert random name) Hotel. And it means bar. They serve lots of beer, have sport on TV, and that is that. It's been an interesting part of my time, because no one will ever really refer to a place like that as the such and such hotel, but rather, just its first name. For example, the Marlborough is affectionately called the 'Marly' by those who frequent it. I have spent many hours in there, usually in the morning watching a sporting event that is on live from the US where is is the night before. Then of course, nights out at various hotels, where my friends would get kind of drunk. There is also the Landsdowne, home of the famous $10 meal that Dave and I would always get - Chips, Chicken Schnitzel, and Mushroom sauce served with a ice cold Coca-Cola. I will miss those the most. Delicious food with good people.

I haven't been able to come across why a lot of these establishments are called hotels. I heard somewhere that it used to be a law in Sydney that places that served alcohol also had to provide accommodation. Not sure if that is valid, but it could be. Bottom line is, they are plentiful in the harbour town, and you definitely can't stay there overnight.

Language

I've already dropped the ball on my grand plan to post once a day about Australia and its funny little customs. I got a little bit lazy. I'm sorry.

One of the fears of going to live in a foreign country is the language barrier. Not knowing the language of the place you are going to spend a year or more of your life can be challenging.

Fortunately for me, that was not the case. But there has been a lot of lessons about what Aussie's say. They use 'the Queen's English' as one of my co-workers put it. Certain phrases that I've picked up, such as 'no worries', 'no dramas', using hey or eh as an interjection, and much more. It's been an interesting view of their culture - both listening to the words they say and what different things mean. The bathroom is the 'toilet', 'washroom', 'loo'; all very British-esque. I am aware that isn't a word.

Becoming aware of my accent was another interesting aspect of language. Because we (Americans) are usually used to hearing the same twang, it doesn't really hit us that we have an accent. I like to joke and say that I don't have one - well I really don't. A taxi driver from Kuristan told me that I have a 'beautiful' accent one time. I was flattered, but still didn't give him an extra tip.

I'm not particularly sick of the Australian accent. I wouldn't say that I can emulate it very well either - although it would be fun to come back to the US and pretend that's how I speak. It would be funny.

The flip side to the language experience has been the number of people who are fluent in two languages (or more). I am jealous. I have friends who speak, aside from English, Russian, Spanish, German, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Hindi, and many more. No, it's not just one person, but different people who speak these languages aside from their native tongue. It fuels my desire to live overseas in a foreign country, speaking a language I don't know. It's going to be hard, but I will do it. Hopefully.

Happy Birthday, USA. Here's to you

It's that time of year again. The Fourth of July. Or as I like to call it, Freedom day. Because that's why America was started right? A bunch of old gits wanted their freedom. Also known as the rich men that didn't want to pay taxes. So they riled everyone up, got them to hate the British Crown, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I will reluctantly concede that there is much more to it than that. Alright, perhaps a lot more. But a recent (being this year) realiz(s)ation of mine is that the United States of America as we see it today is quite different than the one that our forefathers (the old gits) set up way back when.

Political rant aside, now I can make it to the point of my post. I don't think of July 4th as much of a holiday; usually I hang out with some friends, enjoy fireworks, and then call it a day. Simple stuff really, and I see no need to make a huge fuss over the events that transpire. However, seeing as though I'm abroad, in a country that clearly wouldn't be celebrating it, I decided to go out and celebrate it American style: you guessed it, I went to McDonald's.

Where did the inspiration come from? Let's just say everyday this week I've been asked "what are you doing to celebrate the Fourth?", a question raised by my predominately Australian co-workers. A simple shrug was all I had. One of them was trying to come up with ideas for a Fourth of July themed birthday for one of his friends (all Australian) and I was of no help. All I could think about was grilling burgers and shooting off fireworks. Today's inspiration led me to the golden arches, where I sat and pondered the greatness of our country, and how we leave our mark across the globe through either a fast food restaurant or the bombs we deposit (drop) on some unfortunate country that has wronged us. The chicken sandwich (burger) that I ate reminded me of the obesity and laziness that many people in our country embrace, and as I tried to choke down my french fries, I realized that I was nauseated by what I was trying to eat. So I tossed it in the garbage - pretty much bringing things full circle, by doing what all great Americans do: create lots of rubbish (garbage). And now I sit before my computer, depositing these thoughts in a small corner of the webosphere (my new name for the Internet) wondering what the 5 people who read this actually think of the Fourth of July and my nonsensical ramblings.

My time in Australia is drawing nearer and nearer to a close - which is shocking. Time has passed by faster than I can remember. So many great things have happened in the past year, many of them marked with the great people I have met here. As I wonder what tomorrow (or two months from now) may bring, I've decided to try and think of one thing to write about per day that is unique to Australia and try and spit out 500 or so words. Stay tuned for that. It'll be, as we Americans like to say, awesome.

Master of the House

So I'm done my degree. Turned in my final assignment this week. Kind of a weird feeling if you ask me. I will be amazed when I have a Masters Degree - it was never anything I expected. And to get it while living abroad for a year is a phenomenal time. I have had so many great experiences here - both in furthering my career, and with great people, learning about the world, and traveling to so many cool places. To put the icing on the cake, my travel plans with Sarah are beginning to finalize. They are as follows: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the UAE, England, France, Switzerland (perhaps Italy), Ireland, then finally home in the USA August 14. I can't believe that my time here is almost up. It will have been a year since I arrived on July 15. Five days later I'm traveling to Melbourne to see that part of Australia. I fly straight there to Singapore. But I'll outline those plans later.

Since finishing school, I've just been full-on working at Thomson. I will also start applying for jobs back in the USA, possibly at ThomsonReuters as well. I'm torn about what I want to do next. Where will I be? What will I do? Will I be able to get a job? So many questions, for so soon. I'm not going to stress about it too much. But if you're reading this and want to give me a job, it would be appreciated.

PS - I would like to be referred to as "Master Clark" from now on. I've earned it.

Watching Euro 2008 in Australia is difficult

The first week of class-free living is nearly completed. Unfortunately, that doesn't include assignment free. I've been finishing up my magazine projects, a couple papers here and there. But the end is in sight. Tomorrow I'll be going up to FourFourTwo for my second to last day of my internship. That's been good, but hard. Not the work, just going in somewhere so infrequently. A lot gets done when I'm not there. However, I've gotten experience at a magazine, and a global media corporation at that. Not to mention that it's a soccer magazine, a sport I happen to be partial to. There isn't a whole lot to say. Yesterday marked my 11 month anniversary with Sarah (so awesome). I'm in the process of planning our trip home via a bunch of different countries (also awesome). Along with that, blogging over at Arsenal, MLS, and KC Wizards Offside websites. Go check it out if you can.

Oh, and not to mention the last thing I've been up to. Watching Euro 2008 at 2 AM and 4:45 AM when I can. Have managed to watch the France-Romania snoozer, the opening match between Czech Republic and the Swiss, and Spain's 4-1 triumph over the Russians. The time difference has made it a difficult and brutal experience, but worth it nonetheless.

Done

And that's the end of that. I have now successfully attended all of my classes for the second semester of graduate school. What a crazy thought. It literally seems like I arrived in Australia only a few months ago - when in reality it has been nearly 11 months.

Life is winding down here. I'm skipping a day at 442 to try and get a full head of steam into my work, and possibly skipping dinner at a colleague's house because of finishing assignments. I really need to buckle down, so this is no time for procrastination.

Sports in Australia

Hello all. I haven't been on for awhile. For this I apologize. This week marks the last week of coursework during my time at Sydney University. I have just four assignments left, and then I'll wrap everything up on June 13th. After that, a month and change of working before heading home via eight or nine separate countries. Aside from keeping up with Uni and working, I've been enveloped by the hysteria of Australian sport.

As many of you know, I like sports. Simple enough right? The past weekend (not the current one), I went to two sporting events in two nights. First up was the Australian football team taking on Ghana in an international friendly. This game was a bit dull, as the tactics employed by Pim Verbeek were hardly aimed for entertainment. But the result was there, so that was key. The embarrassing moment for Australia happened before the match when the officials in charge failed to procure the anthem of Ghana. That's poor form. Then the game itself happened. It wasn't all that exciting, although there were one or two moments, near the end of the game where Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer was called up to maintain his clean sheet. The Socceroos (as they are dubbed) won by a meager 1-0 scoreline.

The next match was a Super 14 semifinal. The NSW Waratahs were taking on the Sharks, a provincial team from South Africa. Winner would face the Crusaders (a team from New Zealand) the following weekend for the title.

Upon sitting down at my seat, which was second row from the field, the size of the players immediately struck you. These guys were massive. We're talking the size of an NFL lineman in height, but way less body fat. And that was just the pack. The backs for the Sharks were all at least 6 feet tall and built like small trees. There isn't a sane person in the world who would want to tackle them. That was just the Sharks. The Waratahs had some formidable sized players, Lote Tuquiri, Rocky Elsom, and Phil Waugh (who is built like a trash compacter).

These impressions all sank in before the game began. And when it did, the speed and agility of the players for their size was remarkable. If you know anything about rugby union, the ball is always live unless a penalty, infringement is whistled, or the ball is knocked out of play. The kind of collisions I heard was unlike anything I had ever seen at a sporting event before. It was perplexing to think people enjoyed playing a sport like this; especially since I had gone to a few practices myself.

The actual game was a lot of fun; the stadium was full and the crowd was into the match, making for lots of noise and excitement. Add to that the four tries the Waratahs scored, and the night was full of joy, as NSW won. A good game of rugby is definitely something worth taking in live.

We Will Rock You

One of the iconic natural landmarks of Australia is Uluru. Also known as Ayers Rock, the puzzling monolith is a massive figure in the desert landscape of the Northern Territory. And as I've mentioned before, I made it out there this past weekend. In March, Dave and I had decided to give it a shot and threw together what we hoped would be a cheap trip by using Tiger Airways.



This meant we'd have to fly from Sydney-Melbourne before boarding the Tiger flight to Alice Springs, then drive roughly 430 kms southwest to get to Uluru, a national park of Australia and a World Heritage Site. Last Thursday, we got an early start, leaving SUV at around 6:45 AM. Ilya came with us, and we were meeting another friend Devin in Melbourne for the flight up. It was going to be a long day, but I had prepared myself mentally (or at least tried to) for the 9 hours of travel. Compounding things was the fact I felt a bit sick the day before, having a sore throat and runny nose. Congestion makes flying much worse for those never unlucky enough to experience such misery.



Despite the illness, the flights went relatively smoothly. As we descended upon Alice Springs, I was once again reminded of the desolation of Australia. Red soil greeted us upon landing on the single-strip airport that actually lay 10 km of the town centre. We had rented a car from Budget in order to complete the overland part of the journey, and soon after disembarking we had the rental. It was a manual, and considering I was the only one familiar with driving stick, I soon realized I might be doing the majority of the driving - although I love driving stick.

Before heading straight to the rock, we popped up to Alice Springs, grabbed some supplies at Woolworth's, ate lunch at Pizza Hut, and started the drive. The four hours passed pretty quickly, although night driving through the Outback isn't my favorite thing. Plus, Kangaroos were everywhere alongside the road, so I laid on my horn to scare them away. We made it to Yulara, the resort 20 km away from the actual rock. I was pretty tired at that point, felt like crap, and passed out in our swindle of a room. It was quite chilly at that point as well. I managed some sleep, although we were getting up at 5:45 AM the next morning for the sunrise at Uluru.

The morning came fast. The four of us were ready in short time and made the short drive to the rock. The park entrance fee was $25 per person (sucks) but the large, dark monolith that soon greeted us was surreal. I have never in my life seen anything so big, so imposing, and so real. It was like something out of a movie. The pictures I'm posting don't come close to doing the size of the rock justice.



It was quite cool in the morning, and I felt pretty terrible, so I stayed in the car as the sun crept over the horizon, slowly coloring the rock. It was impressive, despite the fact we were joined by about a hundred other tourists. But what would you expect from a place that gets over 400,000 visits a year?

After the sunrise, we headed back to our accommodation and I passed out for a few more hours. We decided to rest up before returning for the six mile walk around the circumference of the rock. Not feeling good while walking around in the hot desert isn't the best feeling in the world, but I sucked it up, knowing the chances of returning here are slim.



Once we had eaten lunch, we drove back over to the rock. Stopping at the cultural centre, we took time to learn a little but about Uluru and what it means to the Arnangu people, the Aboriginal people who along with the Pitjantjatjara and the Yankunytjatjara find the place holy. It baffles me a bit at the thought of putting a sacred meaning in a rock, but it was interesting nonetheless. They asked you not to climb the rock, and I had no intention of doing so, considering over 35 people have died trying to do it.

The walk began after driving a bit closer, and instead of trying to describe the grandeur of it, here are a few pictures to look at:




I managed to feel alright through the duration of the hike, but by the end I was pretty spent. We had around an hour and a half before sunset, so we drove to the spot the park has set up and parked, waiting for the sun to set upon the rock. What greeted us was an interesting sequence of events, namely a changing coloration as the sun went down. Dave took a number of pictures and made them into a time lapsed movie:

The whole day now over, I once again felt pretty terrible, although excited and in awe of the enormous natural structure that I had encountered. Question upon question piled into my head over the significance of the rock in relation to the world, the traditions the Aboriginals believed, and how that all fit into my own faith. As you might tell, it made my head spin, trying to figure that out. I came to no conclusion, although glad that I've been able to see something like that and to think about it. The existence of the rock makes me hard to share the beliefs of those who think the earth is 6,000 years old.



Theological discussions aside, the next day we woke up for the return trip to Sydney via Alice Springs and Melbourne. It had been a crazy journey, but one that made me appreciate a different culture, expose me to a number of Aboriginal people (there were loads walking the streets of Alice Springs), and getting to see one of the world's greatest natural wonders. It was a quick, get-in, get-out trip, something I recommend to everyone.

Liquid

Rugby League is boring. I've come to this conclusion after attending a 28-12 match between Australia and New Zealand last Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground. With a crowd of over 34,000 that seemed to near capacity, I had high expectations of a match that probably wouldn't be close. And right after the Kiwis finished their haka, it was all Australia. They jumped to a 22-0 lead after the first half, and didn't look back. Even though New Zealand outscored the Kangaroos (nickname of the Rugby League team) in the second half, but the game itself wasn't all that exciting. I don't really find excitement in guys picking up the ball, running into a tackle, and hoping to score. Not that fun.

Hello, Goodbye

I'm done nine weeks of my second semester of graduate school. Soon I will have a Masters Degree. I don't know what to think about that. Seems like I just got here. That I moved to a continent over 10,000 miles away from the people and places that I was familiar wit-

Stop it. I'm not going to drip nostalgic words into (or onto?) these pages yet. Still time to do something and to see what I would like. Well, not so much as see, but to experience. To experience the rich Australian history of Sydney. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget or the time - something that happens when you are in the midst of planning a trip that nearly encompasses the entire globe. So I'm not sure what I'll get to see of this great southern land, even though I've technically seen the whole thing.

What I am certain of is my latest triumph in the publishing world. With the latest issue of FourFourTwo hitting shelves yesterday, I have entered the magazine arm of the publishing industry. And when I say entered, I mean that I've been published in a magazine. Something I wrote is in a magazine. For those keeping score at home, I've now been published in every form of media: newspaper, book, internet (not this blog, those don't count), and magazine. Pretty sweet for a 23-year old who is uncertain about what to do with the days given to him. I'd like to think that I have accomplished a lot, and yet I know how much I've squandered and wasted time. It's an encouraging and discouraging at the same time. Knowing I'm capable of much more with having done so much is an interesting conundrum.

Anyways, I think every single one of the lectures that I attended this week were quite poor. On Tuesday, our Magazine class featured a portion on InDesign, a program that comes quite natural to me. It's similar to Pagemaker, the program I used back when I was Sports Editor of the spoke. Digital Publishing continues to make me question the existence of such a class, and last night's lecture for Editing was on footnotes. How does someone give a two hour lecture on footnotes? I don't know. But it happened. I was there to witness it. I'm glad to have this experience at Haymarket - it's been quite cool, and has totally redeemed the semester.

Also, the weather has gotten cool. Bummer. And for those who I haven't informed, I'm hitting the shores of the U.S. (for good) August 14th. Before then? Plans are to visit Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Dubai, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Dublin. I can't wait. And I'm going with Sarah. Amazing.

It's Been Awhile

Time is starting to fly, and I'm real busy with assignments to keep the blog up to date regularly. I'll try and post pictures and funny stories when I have more time to be creative. It's getting cold here and I'm going to Uluru next week, for a quick three day trip. Should be fun. If you'd like to hear me, email me or call me. Please.

Two Up - Australia's way of commemorating their veterans

Yesterday was ANZAC day. This being a holiday similar to Memorial Day, commemorating the first military action taking by Australian and New Zealand troops in Gallipoli. Every year, to celebrate this momentous event, Australians across the land and gather in pubs to play the game of Two-up. The basic gist of this game is flipping two coins in a circle and betting with random people in a pub. It's quite an interesting idea, that to celebrate those who have bought and died for their country they get drunk and bet on a coin toss. But no judgment here.

I ended up spending around 7 hours in a pub yesterday. Egads. I'm off.

Hanging in there

Week seven of classes have come and gone now. Life is still pretty much the same... Working at Thomson and FourFourTwo, writing another biography on Alex Rodriguez. I'm not permitting myself to have much of a social life until the semester is over. Being concerned over more than just my work. And since I don't want to spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen, I'm going to go.

Now I am old

I turned 23 on Friday, and for the first time, had a barbeque on the beach in celebration. It was a nice break after a busy week that was a preview for the next two months of my life: Thomson, FourFourTwo, classes, and Uni work. I need to work hard and squeeze writing my latest book in there, as the deadline for it is now less than a month away. I've really got nothing to say at the moment, as I'm waiting to get pictures that I can upload from Dave.

Of note this week, Thomson becomes ThomsonReuters. It won't affect me much now aside from changing my email address. However, I'm hoping that it pays off in the future and I can snag a job editing stuff at Reuters.

Jumping off of Ramps into Sydney Harbour is the thing to do

The past week has been pretty crazy so no posts. I've been busy with Uni work and Thomson. Making up 40 hours of work was tougher than I thought, but I managed to get it done. I went to FourFourTwo and have the internship up and running, and from here on out Thursday and Fridays will feature me heading up to North Sydney to work for Haymarket Media. It's pretty much my current dream at the moment so it's quite stunning to actually happen.

Over this past weekend I headed to the 1st Red Bull flugtag in Australia. For those unaware of what the Flugtag is (German for "flight day"), it is basically a competition where people build a contraption that is supposed to fly but can't be powered by machine and jump off of a ramp. They are scored by design, flight length, and a few other standards. Pretty weird? Yes. Awesome? Most definitely. I got there with Dave and a few others to watch the spectacle. That is probably the best way to describe it, as nothing can make this event logical. Part of the mystique of it, I guess.

Other than that, life is life. Questions, challenges, and all sorts of things make each and every day interesting. It will be nice to head back to America soon (four months or so), but not too soon.