Sydney in a nutshell

For the first time in years, I slept through my alarm. That was weird.

Regardless, I still had time to run the Harbor (Harbour) Bridge. This morning the sunrise was amazing..

We started the day with a leadership lecture where the CEO of Zambrero came and talked. A very interesting character if I do say so myself. A mere 4 or so years older than me and running a company. Incredibly impressive.

After a quick lunch of free food (my favorite kind) we headed to the Australia Museum where a Los Angeles former resident gave us an enthralling tour. Surprisingly, I'm not being sarcastic. Our first, and longest, stop was the Aboriginal section where he told us about the cattle drives that the European settlers made from NW Australia to the SW region. Of course, it went straight through the Aborginial mobs. Another interesting tidbit was that in order to find water, they fed a member of the mob salty water/food and it forced them to find a source of water in the desert. Crazy stuff.

A more current fun fact: apparently they show warnings before TV shows with deceased Aboriginal people on it. The Aboriginals believe that it will distract their soul to mention their name. Innnnteresting.

Our guide, his name eludes me, also showed us some shields that were used by aboriginals that lived in desert areas. These shields, maybe 6 inches by 2.5 feet, were only useful if you're incredibly skilled. Apparently the way they were used was that the wielder would need to be quick enough to knock a flying arrow off its path rather than actually blocking the blow. If I was armed with this shield and someone was going to shoot an arrow at me I would probably use it to dig a hole to hide in. I'd have no chance.

We went upstairs to the animal section where I read the following: Australia is home to 160 species of snake. (yeeessshhh) Twenty-five are toxic to humans and 20 of those are among the 25 most venomous in the world. I bet most of those are found on Fraser. Aka death island. I'm glad we're not going there this year.

While the rest of the crew went to grab lunch afterward, I promptly seized the opportunity with two of my students to see St. Mary's Cathedral. I am what I am.

Veering north, I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens and wandered around until my legs ached. It hurt so good.

Along the way I saw a weird massive spider, a colony of flying foxes which were making a massive racket, and a baby dusky moorhen. So adorable.

I love gardens.

Promptly after I returned to the YHA, I crashed, hard, on my bed for a bit- only long enough for a short recovery. Kevin Scott, one of the ADDO institute leaders (responsible for the leadership course), Mandy and I went over to the Australian hotel next door for a quick and overpriced dinner. I can't believe I spent $15 on a meal. I'm still recovering.

Accumulating students and overwhelming the lobby, we gathered the troops and headed towards the iconic Sydney Opera House. Tonight was a performance by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra entitled “A Gershwin Tribute.”

For the opera house being so prestigious, it really wasn't impressive to me on the inside. It reminded me of an airport, or better yet, a train station. Once inside, the concert hall itself was beautiful, reminiscent of old time theaters. The performance itself was brilliant, Summertime and Rhapsody in Blue were a couple of the pieces played. We sat on the side behind the percussion so the acoustics were rather off-kilter but I was in the Sydney Opera House. It didn't matter.

The woman singing some of the pieces reminded me heavily of Snow White, not in looks, but her voice sounded like it was right out of the old Disney classics. She dabbled a bit in opera as well which was certainly her forte, though not my taste. The conductor was just incredible. I think we got a stand-up comedian, conductor, and pianist all in one. He played piano for a large chunk of the program, and it was amazing. I think I'm going to spend the rest of my summer inside the practice rooms. Squires, you've just earned yourself a permanent resident.

I felt bad though, I was EXHAUSTED and literally battled sleep through the last 30 minutes of the performance.. but it wasn't for lack of entertainment.... only because I was so stinking tired.

Mandy and I walked (ran? sprinted?) back to the hostel at warp speed and literally did a flying half-asleep leap into bed. Magical.