So Melbourne reminded me of a New York or something along those lines. We weren't really in the city much (except to go to Chinatown for dinners), but I didn't mind. Instead, we went out to Phillip Island to see rafts of little penguins waddle on to shore, and the ruggedly beautiful coastline of the Great Ocean Road.
Both places required a lot of tour bus traveling, but the tour guides were great fun, and there was plenty of cheesy music involved. Good times.
In other news, I also found out about Australian Football, which is their own crazy version of football. There is no offense and defense (like soccer), and they kick field goals at any opportune moment. However, there are four poles, and if goes through the middle, it is a touchdown, whereas on the sides, it's only 1 point. They also seem to punch and kick the ball downfield, rather than ever throwing it overhand. [This is a very primitive understanding of the game] They also call soccer, soccer! Amazing.
Best Parts of the Stay:
Finding out that "kangaroo" in aboriginal language meant "I don't know what you are talking about," which is apparently what the aboroginals told the English explorers when they inquired about the animals (don't know how accurate this is, but this is what the tour guide said)
A group of squawking parrots and lorikeets landing on us and eating bird feed out of our hands, in groups of four and five. This was much more enthralling than words can describe for some reason.
Go West, by the Pet Shop Boys. (Look it up on youtube.)
Worst Parts of the Stay:
The bug bites that started to itch like crazy, but really, a minor nuisance compared to the rest of the trip.
Quote of the Stay:
Cairns Taxi Driver: Where you guys off to?
Mom: Melbourne.
Taxi Driver: Nice.
Mom: Oh yeah, there's no ice there. But it's pretty cold huh.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Cairns, Queensland
note: this was written back on the 23rd when we were leaving Cairns but I never got internet access on my laptop. Melbourne and overall thoughts that aren't so tourist-y coming soon.
Cairns is in far north Australia, and consequently much closer to the equator, and tropical in nature. Several flowers were ones you would find in Hawaii, and people walked around with no shoes to combat the muggy climate.
The town’s industry is 70% tourism, with its most famous attraction being the Great Barrier Reef. Up north a bit from the city is one of the only places in the world where legitimate rain forest lies side by side with coral reef (off the beach). However, most of the city had ugly mud flats instead of beaches, and waters that you couldn’t swim in because of lurking crocodiles.
Best parts of the stay:
Wearing boat shoes while driving a boat (albeit one that puttered along at a snail’s pace)
Catching weird Australian fish
Learning crazy facts about the rain forest and how God has created things in such a fascinating way
An impromptu family volleyball match that was actually great fun
Worst parts of the stay:
Probably my worst sunburn ever while out on the reef
Subsequent irritation that marred my next couple days there
Walking 25 minutes each way out of the hotel every time we wanted to go into the city
Quote of the stay:
"You can be speechless and still express everything perfectly." - random ad outside our hotel
Cairns is in far north Australia, and consequently much closer to the equator, and tropical in nature. Several flowers were ones you would find in Hawaii, and people walked around with no shoes to combat the muggy climate.
The town’s industry is 70% tourism, with its most famous attraction being the Great Barrier Reef. Up north a bit from the city is one of the only places in the world where legitimate rain forest lies side by side with coral reef (off the beach). However, most of the city had ugly mud flats instead of beaches, and waters that you couldn’t swim in because of lurking crocodiles.
Best parts of the stay:
Wearing boat shoes while driving a boat (albeit one that puttered along at a snail’s pace)
Catching weird Australian fish
Learning crazy facts about the rain forest and how God has created things in such a fascinating way
An impromptu family volleyball match that was actually great fun
Worst parts of the stay:
Probably my worst sunburn ever while out on the reef
Subsequent irritation that marred my next couple days there
Walking 25 minutes each way out of the hotel every time we wanted to go into the city
Quote of the stay:
"You can be speechless and still express everything perfectly." - random ad outside our hotel
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Sydney, New South Wales
note: this was written back when I was leaving Sydney a couple days ago
Sydney is a beautiful place. There are a bunch of peninsulas that create uniquely large harbors and bays, as well as some areas that overlook rocky ocean on one side and tranquil waters on the other. The Blue Mountains right outside of town is like a smaller Grand Canyon—if it were completely covered in rain forest with a hanging blue hue draping the canopy. There are also “exotic” birds such as giant parrots, big white cockatoos, and various other cawing, vibrantly feathered avian creatures gracing the sky.
Speaking of animals, they are no where to be seen in Sydney itself, but man are they cute. George Lucas must have gotten his inspiration for ewoks (and maybe Yoda a little too) from koalas. How can you not like the little guys that just slowly munch on eucalyptus leaves while hugging the branches with their little paws? Kangaroos and wallabies too are pleasant enough, at least as babies.
Sudden revelation on this trip—platypuses and bats are seriously like hybrid animals. If they can exist, why can’t mermaids?
The major downfall to traveling in Australia—everything is expensive. A McChicken costs $4.75! I saw that and was heartbroken for Yibs. Regular bottled sodas in machines are like $2.50 or $3. Considering that an American dollar is about 90 Australian cents, it’s not like the conversion rate is the reason. Apparently, the Australian minimum wage is around $15.
I feel like Australia is Europe-lite (tried to find an unoffensive way of saying this… half-hearted, poor man’s…). People drive on the other side of the road, and have accents that if you try to imitate, sometimes turn into British accents (I know this from experience). There are a bunch of school kids dressed like Madeline running around, and people watch rugby and cricket on TV. [[A side note on Cricket: this must be the most boring sport ever. It makes baseball seem like a fast paced endeavor. I’m sure me not knowing the rules has something to do with it, but all I see is a pitcher running about 20 yards down the field before he pitches this bouncing thing that the batter awkwardly tries to make contact with. I think runs are scored when the ball goes foul. If there is even a foul. Sigh. I miss intramural softball.]]
Some of the Australian terms I’ve picked up on: in the queue instead of “in line,” take away instead of “to-go,” and Hungry Jack’s instead of “Burger King.”
I would say the population is about 50% Australian, and 50% immigrant. I’m sure being in Sydney has to do with this, but it’s definitely not a different sight for natives to see Chinese people in Australia. Along these lines, I think I’ve seen something like 3,482 white guys with Asian girls. I digress. Definitely a melting pot of culture here, arguably even more so than in America.
It’s nice to get a breath of winter air. Not that it’s terribly cold. It’s usually around 16 Celsius which I believe is around the low 60’s during the day. Cairns, the next city we’re going to, is up north, and so it’s a lot warmer. More to come! And yes, I “miss you guys or something.”
Quote of the stay:
"Now that's a cheeky smile!"- random Australian guy commenting on my smile during a picture... still not sure what he means.
Sydney is a beautiful place. There are a bunch of peninsulas that create uniquely large harbors and bays, as well as some areas that overlook rocky ocean on one side and tranquil waters on the other. The Blue Mountains right outside of town is like a smaller Grand Canyon—if it were completely covered in rain forest with a hanging blue hue draping the canopy. There are also “exotic” birds such as giant parrots, big white cockatoos, and various other cawing, vibrantly feathered avian creatures gracing the sky.
Speaking of animals, they are no where to be seen in Sydney itself, but man are they cute. George Lucas must have gotten his inspiration for ewoks (and maybe Yoda a little too) from koalas. How can you not like the little guys that just slowly munch on eucalyptus leaves while hugging the branches with their little paws? Kangaroos and wallabies too are pleasant enough, at least as babies.
Sudden revelation on this trip—platypuses and bats are seriously like hybrid animals. If they can exist, why can’t mermaids?
The major downfall to traveling in Australia—everything is expensive. A McChicken costs $4.75! I saw that and was heartbroken for Yibs. Regular bottled sodas in machines are like $2.50 or $3. Considering that an American dollar is about 90 Australian cents, it’s not like the conversion rate is the reason. Apparently, the Australian minimum wage is around $15.
I feel like Australia is Europe-lite (tried to find an unoffensive way of saying this… half-hearted, poor man’s…). People drive on the other side of the road, and have accents that if you try to imitate, sometimes turn into British accents (I know this from experience). There are a bunch of school kids dressed like Madeline running around, and people watch rugby and cricket on TV. [[A side note on Cricket: this must be the most boring sport ever. It makes baseball seem like a fast paced endeavor. I’m sure me not knowing the rules has something to do with it, but all I see is a pitcher running about 20 yards down the field before he pitches this bouncing thing that the batter awkwardly tries to make contact with. I think runs are scored when the ball goes foul. If there is even a foul. Sigh. I miss intramural softball.]]
Some of the Australian terms I’ve picked up on: in the queue instead of “in line,” take away instead of “to-go,” and Hungry Jack’s instead of “Burger King.”
I would say the population is about 50% Australian, and 50% immigrant. I’m sure being in Sydney has to do with this, but it’s definitely not a different sight for natives to see Chinese people in Australia. Along these lines, I think I’ve seen something like 3,482 white guys with Asian girls. I digress. Definitely a melting pot of culture here, arguably even more so than in America.
It’s nice to get a breath of winter air. Not that it’s terribly cold. It’s usually around 16 Celsius which I believe is around the low 60’s during the day. Cairns, the next city we’re going to, is up north, and so it’s a lot warmer. More to come! And yes, I “miss you guys or something.”
Quote of the stay:
"Now that's a cheeky smile!"- random Australian guy commenting on my smile during a picture... still not sure what he means.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Leadership
"Take ownership of your leadership." - Welcome Pet
For whatever reason, I have been thrust/presented the opportunity to lead in various roles recently. This has been going on for awhile now, but alas, I have only been thinking about it more lately (It also happened to come up on Wednesday in JL^2/EKu's small group). Plus, as men, we must be responsible for leadership roles more readily, in general.
Sometimes I feel as if I too naturally take the backseat. My mom always criticized me for being like a "wooden plank" when I had to notice things to do myself--i.e, people too often had to verbally tell me to do something for me to do it. This is obviously not what being a leader entails. For anyone reading this and thinking to themselves, "uhh you still do this David," I apologize.
I pray that I can become someone who takes ownership of their leadership position at all times. Someone who can speak up knowing what to say at all times and someone who represents qualities that people want to follow. Besides not wanting to let anyone down (which is huge in itself), I know that these positions and opportunities are key foundational building blocks for the rest of my life... and I don't want a weaksauce foundation.
"Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy" - Isaac Newton
For whatever reason, I have been thrust/presented the opportunity to lead in various roles recently. This has been going on for awhile now, but alas, I have only been thinking about it more lately (It also happened to come up on Wednesday in JL^2/EKu's small group). Plus, as men, we must be responsible for leadership roles more readily, in general.
Sometimes I feel as if I too naturally take the backseat. My mom always criticized me for being like a "wooden plank" when I had to notice things to do myself--i.e, people too often had to verbally tell me to do something for me to do it. This is obviously not what being a leader entails. For anyone reading this and thinking to themselves, "uhh you still do this David," I apologize.
I pray that I can become someone who takes ownership of their leadership position at all times. Someone who can speak up knowing what to say at all times and someone who represents qualities that people want to follow. Besides not wanting to let anyone down (which is huge in itself), I know that these positions and opportunities are key foundational building blocks for the rest of my life... and I don't want a weaksauce foundation.
"Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy" - Isaac Newton
Monday, August 9, 2010
Heh
And of course last night was a clear sky with stars shining brightly.
God and his sense of humor...
God and his sense of humor...
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