First, what are the chances that I would end up on the same flights as the president of Life Teen and the Eastern/Life Support Director from Toronto on? Pretty good apparently! Randy Raus and Lisa Epperson were both on my flight. It was good to get a chance to talk to them one on one and hear some of the great things that are going on with Life Teen worldwide!
When I arrived in Sydney, you can imagine my surprise when I looked around standing there in my t-shirt and shorts (which had a life of their own by this point) and saw people walking around in long sleeve shirts, jackets, and yes even SCARVES! Yes, it is winter here in Sydney, but not winter like my fellow New Englanders know. Oh no, apparently upper 60s, lower 70s is COLD. WHAT?!
Somehow I managed to get sore feet on the FIRST day of World Youth Day. I walked almost the entire city in order to get my pilgrim registration plus pilgrim pack. I followed that up with a walk to the fringe of Sydney to get my wooden dowel and zip ties to fly my flag. I have grown quite attached to my U.S. flag. This is also its third World Youth Day. It not only serves to tell people where I'm from but it also serves as a great walking stick (which I will need if I walk anywhere near as much as I did today).
I think Sydneyers are just now starting to grasp how greatly their city is about to be taken over this week. It will be interesting to see how many pilgrims will be there tomorrow for the Opening Mass. So far I have seen the pilgrims from St. Mary's Life Teen in Dedham, and pilgrims from Mexico, Italy, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and more! What a great cultural experience!
Here's some pictures for now. Hopefully they will give you a small glimpse into some of the things I've seen so far. There will be much more to come I promise! So stay tuned.
An interesting bird. If anyone wants to tell everyone exactly what it is, that'd be great!
A view from the top floor of YHA Central Sydney where I am staying
Notice the many banners announcing World Youth Day 2008
Another view from the rooftop
3 comments:
that, my friend, is an Australian White Ibis bird. That thing looks vicious. Glad to see you made it down safely to Australia. You must have smelt like quite the Italian sub after that 14 hour flight. Damn son...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_White_Ibis
Peace,
Derrick
I dont know what kind of bird that is - but there are 3 birds in waltham missing you. Oh and 1 diddler.
http://www.ozanimals.com/Bird/Jabiru/Jabiru/asiaticus.html
This might be the bird
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