Sydney - July 23, 2013

It was my last day in the South Pacific.  Tomorrow I begin the journey home.  It will be one of the longest days of my life, literally.  Only one other can match it and that would be August 4, 1999, the day I flew home from the Philippines and that was honestly an amazing day.  One of the best of my life, but it had nothing to do with leaving a third world country or anything like that.  But it was something like this:

I had traveled for at least 24 hours.  I was exhausted and so jet-lagged.  I was traveling with a large group of missionaries who were all returning home after 18 months or 2 years.  This was pre-9/11 so family and friends could meet you at your arrival gate.  I remember walking through the tunnel from the plane to the terminal and I could hear cheers and shouts for the Elders who had exited before me.    And when I came out of the tunnel, there was a huge crowd of people and there were banners and balloons and cheering.  All of sudden I heard some one shout, “There she is!!”  It was the voice of my mother and then I saw her push through the crowd of people and next thing I knew I was engulfed in her embrace.  She was SO happy to see me.  I thought, “This is what it is going to be like when we return to our heavenly home.”  There will be crowds of people we know and love waiting for us to come through the “tunnel” and our Heavenly Father and Mother will be so anxious to embrace us.  It will be an awesome day.  And for me that was the best moment of my mission.  I had worked really hard, sacrificed, loved and given everything and it was all worth it for that one moment of feeling so loved and wanted, safe and finally at home.  I imagine that we will have very similar feelings when we return home from our mortal missions.

Anyway, that was quite a tangent.  But it was an experience that happened before I was consistent at journaling and I wanted to make sure it was recorded somewhere.  So thank you for indulging me.  

What you really want to know is what happened today.  I started out at the Harbor Bridge.   I climbed to the top of the Pylon and saw the view of the Sydney Harbor.  I also learned a bit about the history of the bridge.  It was quite interesting.

An interesting thing about today is that ironically, on my last day, I took one picture and then was notified that my card was full.  It was a brand new 4G card a month ago.  It only has pictures from this trip on it.  I have taken over a thousand pictures and I just thought is was funny, that it couldn’t hold one more day’s worth of pictures.  I switched it out with the card from my little video camera and took a few more pictures and then got the message that it too was full.  Thankfully, in tourist’s areas there is usually some kind of camera shop.  I soon found a new card and was taking as many pictures as I wanted.

Once I remedied the SD card problem I got on a ferry that took me south of Sydney to a place called Manly.  There is a large beach there.  It was a very lovely beach.  I happily spent the afternoon there.

I returned to Sydney and had desert at the Belgian Chocolate Restaurant on the wharf .  It was my little farewell party.  

It was a great day and a great way to end this epic journey. Australia put on a gorgeous sunset, as you can, see for my farewell and as I was walking to my hotel I saw that it was also a glorious full moon.  A perfect ending!

I just have to note, as a follow up from yesterday’s post, that I have been working on focusing on the things that I want rather than worrying about what could be.  And it is truly amazing.  All of the things that I wanted and truly believed were possible today came to pass.  I even asked that it not be so windy today and it was the most wind free day, I have had in a coastal town this whole trip.  Harbors are beautiful and generally windy…but not today, in Sydney.  So, if you don’t like the way things are going starting putting your energy into thinking, imagining and creating how you want things to go and watch how amazingly it comes to pass.  One of the leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put it this way:

“We do have a choice.  We get what we focus on consistently.”

(Elder Pearson, Ensign, May 2009)

Now I am back in my hotel room exhausted, cold (because it is winter here), and yet with a full and warm heart because I am so grateful for this opportunity.  Thank you so much to the Penn State School of Theater and to my parents for helping to make this trip possible.  It has been amazing!  I really can't express enough gratitude for the experiences that this grad program has provided me with.  Thank you! Thank you!  Thank you!

Sydney - July 22, 2013

I am reading this book that is about how to create more joy in your life.  With out going into all the details if you are interested you can read the book, the author basically says that we get the things that we focus on - that we think about all the time.  So we should think about the things that we want rather than worry about what could happen or be or worrying about the things we don't want.  So today I decided to think about the things that I wanted to happen instead of worrying about the things I don't want.  

Because I have a "special" diet, I worry a lot about finding food that won't make me sick.  Today I decided to just be confident that I would find the kinds of food that I need. So, this morning before I left I got on-line to find the address of a grocery store.   I found a Coles Supermarket which is the supermarket chain that seems to be most prevalent in Australia.  I shopped at one in Brisbane and Cairns.  Well, when I got off the train, I couldn’t find the Coles, but I found a Woolworths and it had different kinds of food than Coles and it was really what I needed.  It was inexpensive and light because I was going to have to carry it around all day. Even though it was light, it was more than I wanted to carry around the zoo so instead of worrying about how much my shoulders will hurt after carrying this back back all day.  I said to myself there are going to be lockers at the zoo. And there was. It sounds so simple and silly when I write about it, but I don't think it is so much that these miraculous things are happening.  Lockers didn't miraculously appear at the zoo today because I sent that desire out into the universe.  More than anything it changes me and my perspective of life and the world around me.  If I had focused on how heavy my back pack is or how much my shoulders hurt I might not have thought to look around for lockers and wouldn't have been in as open minded or problem solving frame of mind.  I would just be grumpy and complaining which I think closes our hearts and our minds.  Anyway, it has been an interesting experiment.  And I really do feel like it changes me.  It makes me happier and more open.  My associations with the people people around me are so much more meaningful, even if they are strangers and it is a passing moment.  

So after I found my groceries I walked to Circular Quay (Kee) and I got on the ferry to the Taronga Zoo.  I went primarily to see the Koala Bears again.  I figure I better see as much of them as I can while I can.  I didn’t get to hold any today, but for $20 I could get up close and take pictures, seriously, it is highway robbery until you get in there and see how cute they are.  There was a baby one (a joey) today.  It was sleeping, but he was really cute.  I saw a bunch of the other animals.  It is a lovely zoo and the view of the Sydney Harbor from the zoo is pretty amazing.

They have a bird show here.  It was very similar to the bird show in Disney World, they have the flying of the birds all choreographed with music and dialogue.  They had this falcon, I can't remember which kind, but it is known for how fast and agile it is.  They swing this false bait around to show you how fast the bird flies.  It was pretty impressive.  But I didn't get a picture. This is the snowy barn owl.

The Kangaroo just chillin' in the sun

Victoria Crown Pigeon.  It is quite a beautiful bird, but it is hard to tell through the caging.

Mama koala and her joey.

He is about 71/2 months old.  They are in the mothers pouch for 6 months, 

so he hasn't been out that long.

This is the other koala bear that they let me get close too, but no touching.

When I returned to the Circular Quay I enjoyed some really great gelato on the wharf then walked around for a bit before heading back to my hotel.  I was quite windy and chilly today in spite of the sunshine and I was ready to get out of the cold.

I’m still trying to decide what to do tomorrow.  There are 3 things I would like to do and I think I can probably get 2 of them done but maybe not all three.

Sydney - July 21, 2013

I went to church today.  It was really lovely.  I prayed this morning that the speakers and teachers would say things that I need to hear and that would help me with the transition I am approaching.  I have been worried about finding a job in NYC.  One of the lessons was about how with God all things are possible.  We talked about Sarah and Abraham conceiving Isaac, Moses parting the Red Sea, Joshua and Jericho, and the Virgin Mary.  It was heartening.  Those things are all more complicated than me finding a job.  I felt assured that the Lord is aware of my needs and He is watching over me and will help me find a job.

After church I wandered around the city.  I walked back to the Circular Quay.  Can someone please explain to me why this word is pronounced (Kee)?   Every time I look at it I say (Kway).  I ran across it in England last summer too.  Is it some crazy French word?  Ok.  Sorry...  The Circular Quay is where the docks are in the Harbor.  I had a lovely lunch on the harbor.

After my late lunch I came back to my hotel and have been updating my blog.  I  have been sitting in this outdoor lobby for over an hour but now I am up to date!! Yay!  I was afraid I was going to have to do it all when I got home and that is so anticlimactic.

Some pictures from Hyde Park...Sydney, not London

Besides chimneys I also have a thing for textures.  Here are a couple of my texture pictures from today.

 I have no idea what this sign means....any ideas?

I was waiting to cross a street and read this little posting.  I was laughing at it until I remembered that I learned a second language and I am sure I never spoke it perfectly and no one ever laughed at me.  I repent and applaud this man's courage and ingenuity.

 This little symbol is all over on street signs and such.  I quite like lit.

Sydney - July 20, 2013

I love the Sydney Harbor!  It is such a gorgeous place!  Wow!  

I got on the train to take me to the Sydney Opera House because I had a ticket to the opera today and well because you have to see the Sydney Opera House if you are in Sydney.  I think the train was underground but then the station is above ground.  So I got off the train and the view of the harbor was amazing. You could tell who were tourists and who were not because the tourists, myself included, all stayed on the platform taking pictures.  The locals just exited.    Here is my first view of the Opera House.

 

And my fist view of the Harbor Bridge

I walked along the harbor to the opera house and ate lunch at the Bistro Mozart inside the Opera House Complex and then attended the Matinee of Tosca.  I had never seen Tosco before and was not familiar with any of the arias but I thought it was a great production.  There was some really great singing.  Both the Soprano and the tenor sounded fantastic.  They both did some strange hand and body motions every once in a while which made me think, “Oh, you really love that note.”  I can imitate them for you when I return.  But for opera singers, their acting wasn’t too bad.  I quite enjoyed myself.

 

Umm...I was surprised by and then quite fascinated by the glowing toilette paper holders in the bathrooms of the opera house.  I had to take pictures.

And the sinks were quite unique as well.  There isn't really a sink basin and it looks like the water is going to run onto the floor, but it doesn't!

Afterwards, I walked around the opera house taking some pictures and then walked around the neighborhood looking for something to eat for less than $30.  I didn’t find anything, but I did wander into a couple of souvenir shops.

At Buckingham Palace they have the Changing of the Guard.  

Well I call this photo "The Changing of the Shoes."

 And while I was on the steps of the Sydney Opera House changing my shoes I kept thinking of Cinderella, "On the Steps of the Palace."  So here is my Cinderella photo shoot.

The Harbor as it gets dark.  Beautiful.  It is such a breath taking place to be.  While I was taking this picture a man asked me if I was a Dutch Tourist.  I told him I was a tourist but not Dutch. He then said I can tell from your accent that you are British.  I said, "Nope, I'm an American."  He seemed surprised. He was an Italian Australian. He has duel citizenship.   I have found that people here think my accent is so strange and sometimes they don't understand what I am saying.  The egotistic American in me is surprised.  I thought that people had seen enough American movies that they would be used to the way we talk.  But apparently not.  A bus driver is Brisbane thought I had a really strange American accent very twangy he said.  Anyway, a little tangent...

I took the train home hoping that I would find a restaurant or grocery store that would feed me dinner for under $30.  I found a small grocery store that was more like what you could buy at a gas station in the US but with some fresh produce.  I did however forage some dinner for only $17.  Oh, and that includes my breakfast tomorrow.

I ate dinner and watched TV.   I have been traveling for almost a month and that is the first time I have watched TV.  I thought to myself, this is so interesting to see Australian commercials.  Why haven’t I delved into this cultural experience sooner?

I went down to the outdoor courtyard or lobby to see if I could get any internet connection and I was successful.  It was chilly though so I tried to hurry and take care of business.  Found the church for tomorrow.  And checked email.  Anyway, it was a  lovely day in Sydney.  The weather was quite nice even though it was windy, but harbor cities are usually windy.  I quite enjoyed myself.  Sydney is going to be a good city to end this epic trip in.