Sydney

Sydney, Australia

I arrived in Sydney on Tuesday, January 14, 2003 at about 1:00 p.m. The program in which I am participating provided a ride from the airport and two nights at a hostel. After I took a shower at the hostel, I set out to find a hotel (I am just too old to stay in a hostel). I ended up staying at the Wattle Hotel on Oxford Street. The staff was amazing. The manager LeAnne treated me like her son throughout the week I was there.

The first day I spent adjusting to Sydney. On Wednesday, I had an orientation with the program. They set me up with a bank account and provided advice and assistance in finding a place to stay and a job. After orientation, I went looking for a place to live. I worked with a outfit called Sharespace.com.

After looking at a couple places, I decided to live with Michal in a flat overlooking Elizabeth Bay. View from my flat's patio and the same from my bedroom.

On Thursday, I met some friends and went on the Harbor Tour. Afterwards, we went to Bondi Beach which is the most popular beach in Sydney.
Below is Bondi Beach

Below are pictures of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. Both are magnificent.

On Saturday, I went shopping for a bed for my new flat and then met some people at Manly Beach. To get to Manly Beach, I had to take a ferry across the Harbor. On Saturday night, I attended the symphony in the park with a group of people. The event itself drew over 100,000 people. The concert was amazing. Fifteen of us met for a picnic and cocktails at a cozy spot not far from the stage where a couple of the group had staked out early that morning. At dusk, the concert started. Just as the music began to play Barber of Seville, stormy weather soared in and over 1000 large bats took flight into the park sky. It was a very dramatic moment.

This past week has been quite busy. Earlier this week, I moved into my new flat and had my bed delivered. I have spent a little time getting to know my new roommate Michal. He is a pop music singer here in Australia. Despite what you might think of a singer, he is very cool and laid back. We get along quite well. Michal will be singing at, among other things, the Mardi Gras party here in Sydney. He has been spending a lot of time in the Studio recording a new CD. Who knows maybe he will hit it big in the states someday. Lets just say he has the looks to make it. I have not yet heard him perform, but his recorded music is quite good.

Roommate Michal (middle) singing at Mardi Gras launch party.

Throughout the week, I have been exploring the city and meeting new people. On Wednesday night I met a couple of friends at a pub and then went to a dinner party. The party held in honor of a guy that was heading back to Israel was very internationally attended. Several of the people at the party were from the middle east. I had a great time talking to them about the current affairs, especially getting there perspective and opinion on Bush. Although they were against the war and not too keen on Bush, they were more supportive of the US then I expected. They were Christians, however, so they had a different perspective than most Middle Easterners. Needless to say it was a very interesting party.

I have also gone to the beach almost everyday. It is quite amazing here. There are many beaches to choose from and they are all very beautiful.

Bronte Beach and Bondi Beach

Tamerama Beach and Me on Bondi Beach

On Friday I had another dinner party with some friends from Sydney. We had a great time and I got to see another suburb of Sydney. Saturday, I went to the beach then headed out to yet another dinner party. This dinner party was held out by the Olympic village. The hosts showed me around the area. Sydney really created quite the facilities just for the Olympics. The hosts were a lawyer from Sydney and his partner who is a political scientist. Both were very interesting.

Sunday, I went to a BBQ/pool party. The party was held in a very nice condo building not far from where my flat is. The host was a doctor here in Sydney. Again the party was quite international. Of the 20 people there, many were from other countries, but now living in Sydney. Those other countries included the UK, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand and the States (New York and San Francisco). I had a great time and met some wonderful people.

Sunday was also Australia day, which is much like our 4th of July celebration. Although the fireworks were banned because of all the bush fires happening in Australia, the people were quite festive. Sunday night I attended a huge party on Darling Harbor. The club where the party was held housed several bars, three dance floors and a couple outdoor patio/deck areas. The tickets to this party sold out within 48 hours of being offered for sale. Luckily, I have met many people who are in the know about these kinds of things and clued me in on getting a ticket (well actually Paul drove me to the place where he knew there were only four tickets left in the city). The DJs spinning at the party were amongst the best I have heard. We really had a great time. At the party I met a ton more people. Needless to say, Monday was a day of recovery.

Paul is a friend that I have been hanging out with quite a bit. Here we are at Bondi Beach.

As some of you may know, the day I arrived in Sydney my brother and sister in law had a baby boy. I have seen one picture of him, but I am waiting to get more. Now I am a proud uncle of Ethan Andrew. Born the say day as my sister Laura. Here is a pic of Ethan and Laura (who is pregnant with child to be due in April).