well, I put myself on record as maintaining a blog while attending this conference. little did I know, the amount of work that goes into something like that, and the limited access to the internet that I would face. but, here goes, first entry from Sydney.
I arrived at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday, July 7 (which is Friday US time), not too tired because I managed to sleep reasonably well on this 14 hour flight from San Francisco to Sydney. It was dark when landing, but bright morning by the time I got thru passports, customs etc. and out the other side.
The first challenge was to figure our how to get where I needed to be, the hotel Vibe (vee-bee or vibe, depending on who you are talking too). I eventually got directions to the train or subway platform, and made my way into the city. $13.50 one way.
First Discovery: the Sydney public transport system is Excellent. Large, 3 decker train cars with up and down seating and a platform and sitting area on each end of the car is the basic mode of travel. It works very well.
Second discovery: A 10 minute walk down the hill from the train stop through a restaurant, sidewalk café area gets me to the bottom and the Vibe Rushcutter Hotel. Rushcutter is the bay behind the hotel. Quick discovery, this is Prime real estate because it is the home of the Sydney Yacht Club. I found a good deal, a boat that had been reduced in cost to $600,000! This is a beautiful area where sail boats ply the harbor all day long. Saturday and Sunday were perfect days for sailing and it was a sight to behold, a couple hundred sail boats moving along in unison on the water, the sun shinning down and reflecting brightly off the water.
Third Discovery – Saturday evening I had signed up for a sunset cruise with the Captain Cook cruise company. Ferries and tour boats go in and out of the Circular Quay all day long. For my sunset cruise I got a very nice window seat in the front of the ship, a meal of excellent salmon, potatoes, canapés, rolls, wine and lemon cheesecake dessert and an hour and a half cruise of the Sydney Harbor. http://www.sydney.com.au/quay.htm link to info about the harbor front, sydney etc.
More on the public transit system, to get to the Quay, I rode the bus across town, a great way to get a nice overview of the city. The buses are very nice, very clean, very efficient, and drivers very helpful in letting me know where to get off and how to navigate the system.
ON the NEWS - Fox News, all the time, although they do run American ABC and CBS news about midday. Little has been said about the influence of Rupert Murdoch down here, but I will be inquiring with my colleagues. Fox news all the time, but at least there is no hannity and colmes, no bill oreilly etc….
It is a great view from the top of this hotel where the pool and health club are located. You can see the harbor, the train trestle, and lots of highrise apartment – condominium complexes clustered all around the hillsides. The land mass here is quite uneven with hills rising up from the Rushcutter Harbor front and very steep streets and sidewalks and housing pushed very close together. The impression is of urban living at its best.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rushcutters_Bay,_New_South_Wales link to information about Rushcutters Bay, history, origin of name etc.
More about the news --- Prime Minister John Howard is doing damage control since he said that the primary reason for sending troops to Iraq was to help control the price of petrol. Big mistake, Australian soldiers risking their lives to keep the price down at the pumps!! Not good.
All sports all the time – Wimbledon, American golf and Rugby. I have only been vaguely aware of rugby until now. It is on all the time, reviews of games, who won who lost. Rugby is a good cross between soccer and American football with a little bit of wrestling thrown in. It looks like organized chaos and these guys are skilled and tough!! What a game to watch.
Final observation – it is winter here, equivalent to January for us. I have been wearing shorts in my city travels. It is a bit cool, but tolerable. However, many locals are going around all bundled up in sweaters and scarves.
One more observation – well two – lots of Japanese tourists here; and the hotel breakfast is excellent. That’s good because the food at the college where the conference is taking place is not good, it is about as bland as can be. I now have a new appreciation of food services at Trinity Lutheran Seminary!! Tell Diane her food services rate much higher than Shalom College in Sydney, Australia!
More to follow later about the conference itself..........................................
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