New Blog

I've moved!! Check out my new blog documenting my stay in Taipei, Taiwan at:

www.MattInTaiwan.blogspot.com

-Matt

Back in US of A

From LAX airport:
I think the biggest surprise in my journey so far was coming back to the US. It actually felt foreign, for about a minute. It was strange to be surrounded by a "mostly" familiar accent again. Don't let me forget to mention switching from Australian to American airlines. No more offers such as: "Would you like complimentary organic chamomile tea or Cadbury's hot cocoa with marshmallow?", but instead "$5 for a bag of trail mix". The airport didn't help me acclimate either, Los Angeles International is a poorly designed facility. I miss Australia, but I know LA isn't the best summary of what the US has to offer. I think I just miss Bloomington.

I have trouble sleeping on airplanes and there for haven't slept in about 20 hours. Needless to say I'll be glad to finally get home and catch up on some sleep. In closing: international airtravel (unless I can ever afford 1st class) isn't the most fun, but I guess it's part of the journey. Why should traveling be overly luxurious anyways? Where is the adventure in that? When I finally arrived at my 1st semi perminant destination in Australia, I was so relieved. I feel much the same going back home. This temporary strain will make me really appreciate my freshly made bed and three course meal one associates with homecomings. Well, mom better have anyways.

See you all very, very soon
-Matt

One last stop

I purchased my train tickets yesterday. I leave tomorrow morning for Brisbane and will take the plane back home on Tuesday Morning. I'll be flying with the time zone changes, so this part of the trip will be much shorter than before. It's hard to believe my trip is pretty much over. Now that I've realized that fact, I sort of already feel like I'm back home. Time to pack one last time. See you soon!

-Matt

The City by the Sea

(Need I say more) Well okay.....
I spent my last day in Sydney across the harbor at Manly beaches. The ferry ride to Manly was beautiful. The ferry came back at dusk, just in time to see the sunset behind the harbor bridge and opera house.

A little bit more to come.
-Matt

Big lights, Big city

- I left the harbor city today. It was really hard to leave because there is so much more to explore! I keep telling myself there will be plenty of time when I come back (which I most certainly will someday). A lot of stuff happened within the week I was living in the city. I need to review and write down things so I can get them in the right order. I should mention I went to a ballet at the Opera house Monday night called "Gathering". It was an amazing joint effort between the Sydney ballet and the Bangarra aboriginal dance company.
-Anyways, here are some highlight pictures. Top left to bottom right: my first glipse of that oh so famous landmark, Inside one of the opera house galleries, the pyramid at the botanical gardens, moth orchids from the orchid exhibition, the Thai new years festival, Thai fruit sculpture, The Sydney Royal Easter Show aka State fair (at the 2000 Olympics site), classic show attraction, around Olympic park

First day in Sydney

So, I forgot to bring my camera cord for transfering pictures. I'll post a whole lot in a week at the most. I will expand on everything further when I get back, but concisely "today I":

This morning, I went for a tour of the Sydney Opera house. It was really amazing to see the inside (not to mention the outside). I then walked to the Art Gallery of New South Wales and after exploring the galleries for a while, I headed to the botanical gardens. Aparently there are about 7,000 flying foxes (giant bats) roosting in the gardens. At first I thought there were only a few in the trees. Then I looked around, they were everywhere! I also stopped by the glass houses to see the special orchid exhibit. Well now I'm tired, but there is still more to do! I was invited to a youth backpackers social around the block, I think I might check that out.

That's all for now
-Matt

Headed for the City

I'm leaving for the city center today. I'll be staying in a youth hostel for about a week while I explore the city. My hostel is close to the Sydney harbor and the opera house, so it's in walking distance of most attractions. I'm really excited to finally see all of those cliche tourist spots including the surfer mecca, Bondi Beach. I havn't lived in a city for this long before, so that should be interesting. I actually think I'll enjoy it a lot, even though I'll miss the mountain scenery, at least there's an ocean. I'm unsure about the internet availability at my hostel, but I'll update as soon as I can. By the way that's a map of my hostel "Footprints Westend" and the surrounds.

See ya'
-Matt

Freddy, the Alpaca

Some quick notes:
-This is Freddy, the alpaca. He is one of my new neighbors along with a few goats, some pigs, a pony, a gaggle of geese and of course, chickens.
-I went for a hike yesterday to the river in Maquarie Fields (the town I'm staying at). It was nice to get out into nature again.
-I booked a youth hostel in Sydney to stay at for a few days, while I explore the city. It's pretty close to the opera house and on the edge of the botanical gardens which are supposed to be amazing. There are lots of free museums, so I'll need to make a priority list.
-The Sydney Royal Easter Show is starting this week. I'm thinking it's the equivelent of our state fair, only much bigger because it's housed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics park and also because they have an Alpaca fashion show, definitely not Indiana.

More to come soon!
-Matt

The Sydney Beach!

Today, I went into Sydney to participate in a mini workshop at the University of New South Wales. The workshop was about keeping chickens in urban environments, it was lead by my host, Sue. Afterwards we stopped by one of the Sydney beaches for fish n' chips.