Friday, July 19

Headed out to Sydney Harbor early this morning for our sailing adventure. The rainy, windy weather added to the excitement. Ari and Justin were on my boat, and they did a wonderful job. Ari steered for much of the practice and race, and Justin was in charge of the main sail the whole time. Things got interesting when the wind picked up and the sail became parallel with the water, but we hung on and managed to get in some laughs.
Lauren and Justin were in my group at Sydney Sky Tower. Where Justin was a little more brave and willing to jump up and down on the glass, Lauren and I played it a little more safe. We all looked fantastic in our blue suits and harnesses though!
Matt and Jessie Smith (from Chicago) went with Angela and me to see the play Major Bang at the opera house this evening. What a great play performed by a New York company.
We're off to Manly Beach tomorrow. It could be a little brisk out there in our "togs," but we're staying optimistic.

Thursday, July 19

G'day from beautiful Sydney!

Rotorua was wonderful. The highlights are most definitely the luge and abseiling (repelling). I could hear laughter all over the hill as students made their way down the track, and the Full On people told us that ours was the only group this season in which everyone repelled. I was proud of the kids' concentration, determination and guts.

It was hard leaving New Zealand - especially Josh and Rob, every one's favorite delegation manager and coach driver - but Sydney is incredible, and we're set to sail Sydney Harbor tomorrow. Sweet as! (Josh taught us that.)

Monday, July 16

Yup, as predicted, Team Australia won the Auckland Challenge! I am so proud of my ten.
We went to Massy College early this morning and learned rugby and cricket. The kids did a great job of surrendering pretty much every American sporting instinct they have and embracing these two new sports. Rugby is challenging because all passes must go backwards and it's non-stop, and the cricket bat and its required swing made fools of mostly all of us. We were unable to go sea kayaking because of the weather (rather cold and rainy), so we went to a golf driving range instead. From there we went back to the hotel where Josh, our manager, arranged a mud rugby match. I'm proud to say that Lauren, Lea, John, Matt, Ari, Chantelle, and Yasheel all played...and got good and muddy! They had to be hosed off behind the hotel. Breakfast is at 6:30 tomorrow morning, and then we're heading to Rotorua.

Sunday, July 15

Another great day in Auckland! Started the Auckland Challenge at Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World where the kids worked in teams to answer a number of questions. My team, Team Australia, took an early lead. We then went to Youth Town to see how many laps each team could swim and how many free-throws we could make in 15 minutes. We then went to the Auckland Tennis Center to see how many serves we could get in out of 100. Once again, Team Australia dominated! From there, we went to the Auckland Sky Tower to check out the view from the top.
We were treated to another excellent dinner and were addressed by Craig Innes, a former All Black. We'll know the final results of the challenge tomorrow evening, but I'm quite confident Team Australia will emerge victorious.
We'll spend tomorrow learning cricket, net ball and rugby. We're also going sea kayaking. More later...

Saturday, July 14

Hello! We arrived safely and are having a wonderful time. Angela, my fellow leader, and I have calculated that we've all been awake for forty-two hours. Wow! You'd never know it to look at the kids. They're happily participating in each activity and getting to know each other.
We hit the ground running this morning. Breezed through passport clearance and customs, then met Josh, our PTP manager in New Zealand and Rob, our coach driver. The kids enjoy them both very much. After we left the airport, we stopped for breakfast then headed for the Millennium Institute of Sport. After a brief tour of the facility, we broke into three groups and participated in rock climbing, kayaking and snorkeling activities. Have you ever tried to stand in a kayak while paddling? Your kids and I have! After our activities, we were treated to a wonderful lunch, then headed out for a tour of Auckland. It culminated at the top of Mt. Eden, an extinct volcano from which we could see all of Auckland. The kids and their leaders went to the very bottom of the crater and walked our way out. Not an easy task!
From the Institute, we went to a local beach. The kids enjoyed ice cream and then played a pick-up game of soccer.
From there we headed to our hotel, checked in and are now getting ready for dinner at 7. I think we'll all sleep very well tonight.
We're up early tomorrow morning to participate in the Auckland Challenge!
No worries... Everyone is happy and doing well.

Our Delegation

In addition to our delegation, we will be joined by three others:

Mr. Keith Bullion and his delegation of 7 from Illinois (4 girls and 3 boys)

Mr. Kasim Gonzalez and his delegation of 9 from New Jersey (6 girls and 3 boys)

Ms. Angela Scolaro and her delegation of 9 from New York (6 girls and 3 boys) - Angela's delegation will join us at JFK!

Recommended Reading

Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country

If you haven't read Bryson, you should! Perhaps a good choice for the plane.

The perpetually hilarious Bill Bryson travels to Australia in his latest adventure, where he should feel right at home among the eccentric locals. Crocodiles, insects, giant worms, and venomous jellyfish are just the beginning of Bryson's problems as he navigates the beaches and deserts of this immense, sunbaked country. Arriving just in time for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, In a Sunburned Country is comic travel writing at its best.