The Southernmost Big City in the World (or the site of On The Beach)

Hello again.  This time I will be updating you all from my time in Melbourne, which is the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria, and, as the title of this entry makes clear, both the southernmost large city (the small towns of New Zealand's South Island, or even Wellington failing to count as metropolises) and the site of the famous post apocalyptic novel On the Beach.  Perhaps it isn't that famous, but my father and I share a strange curiosity and fascination with novels of that particular genre, so I've read it at least (as well as seen the movie version).  Now, onto my days in Melbourne.  I was limited to two days of interviewing time, due to my arrival during the long weekend of Queen's Birthday, which is a public holiday here in Australia, as well as most of the commonwealth, although interestingly enough, not in the United Kingdom.

Saturday, June 12th
Even though I had stayed up late last night watching the festivities in South Africa, I still had to check out at 10am today.  Due to some finagling with the friendly people at the front desk, I was allowed to sleep in until 10:30, and then I proceeded to check out at 11:00.  It wasn't that difficult to wake up, as it turned out, due to the large number of Maori performers getting themselves ready for a show right outside my door on the 2nd floor of the hostel.  Why they needed to get ready there, and do so as loudly as they did, will forever remain a mystery to me.  After checking out I still ha some time to kill before heading to the airport, so I went to the cafe next door and did some surfing of the interwebs.  For brekky I had what is called a full English breakfast, as well as the obligatory side of coronary disease.  The meal was great, with eggs, toast, bacon, suasage, ham, baked beans, and tomatoes.

Eventually I gathered my things and walked over to the bus stop, where I got on the Airport Link.  It took about 20 minutes to get from the city centre to the airport, which would be a pretty nice commute to the airport back in Jax.  The bus stopped only once before getting to the airport, at a giant outlet mall, which struck me as a little odd, but what are you gonna do?  The airport was fairly small for a national capital airport, but when you consider the size of Canberra, I suppose it wasn't too surprising.  In any event, it was certainly much larger than Gisborne's airport.  I got my boarding pass and hesitantly wandered over to the security line, wondering how my didgeridoo would play out (no pun intended).  It turned out I needn't have been worried, as carrying a didgeridoo through security is a common enough sight in this country that narry an eye was blinked.  As I was the only person at security, or in the whole terminal from the looks of it (I was there a little early, admittedly) they decided I would be a good guinea pig for all of their fancy testing devices for explosive powder residue and various other threats to aviation.

Having gotten through the gauntlet, I sat down in the waiting area and hijacked some wifi from the QANTAS first class lounge.  Thus content to bide my time, I sat in wait for my plane to arrive.  I flew Virgin Blue Airlines, Richard Branson's Australian toy, and it was a nice airline, in my opinion, with free satellite TV before takeoff.  The flight was somehow pretty full, although I have no idea where my fellow passengers came from, as they certainly hadn't been in the terminal, and in 40 minutes we had arrived in Melbourne.

Having landed at around 7pm, I got my luggage and boarded a bus headed toward Southern Cross Railway Station, in the CBD.  The bus ride took 20 minutes, and a tourism video played during the journey, advertising various parts of the city.  The rail station was very new, and had an unusual design featuring a large section of astroturf by an open air entrance as well as a wavy roof.  On my way out I was bombarded with hundreds of Australians dressed up in the colors of their favorite Aussie Rules Football team.  One of the many stadiums in Melbourne is right behind the Rail station, so the fans of the Essendon Bombers and the Richmond Tigers (both of which are suburbs of Melbourne) were getting ready to cheer on their team from the stands.  It was pretty cool to see sporting culture from a completely different side of th ocean's perspective.  Exiting the station got me to Spencer Street, which I walked down to its intersection with Flinders Street, where I found the hostel I would be staying at.  On the walk I passed a place called Batman's Hill, no doubt named after a former resident of Melbourne, but all I could think of was a combination of Bruce Wayne and George from UM.  Gave me some laughs, that's for sure.

The hostel was nice, with new furnishings and kitchens on every floor.  Downstairs was a bar, called Bertha Brown's, which was offering $5 pizzas to hostel guests.  As you probably guessed, I took advantage of that one.  I got myself an Athenian pizza, with lamb, tzatziki, olives, and feta.  It was scrumptious.  Afterward, I went to the supermarket nearby (at the train station actually) and picked up some milk, cereal, and FUIC, and then settled in at the hostel.  I went to the TV lunge and watched some World Cup action with fellow hostelgoers.

Sunday, June 13th
Today began at 4:30 AM for me, at which time I awoke to watch the USA's first game at the World Cup, against England (where I will be going for one day of layover before I get to France, and will also be seeing Michael, who has been studying/working there this summer with Prof. Frohock).  I was very pleased with the resulting draw, and was encouraged by the two guys who watched the game with me, Michael and Aiden, from Germany and Iraq, respectively.  After the game Michael and I went to a 24hr McDonald's for some early breakfast, and then went back to bed.

Waking back up, I went out into Melbourne for my traditional first day exploration, as well as to get a feel for what the city looked like during daytime.  I started by walking down Flinders Street toward the gathering point/hub of the city, Federation Square.  The square is a modern approximation on the older squares found in other cities, such as Trafalgar or the many piazzas of Rome.  It is a nice place to relax and watch the crowds go by.  The square is lined on two sides by roads, on a third by the Yarra River, and on the fourth by a group of very modern looking buildings which house the Institute for the Moving Image, a museum of cinematography.  Across one of its two border streets is the Flinders Street Rail Station, which is a gorgeous red and yellow sandstone neoclassical building, which could not be more in contrast with its cousin on Collins Street.  Across Flinders Street from the square is St. Paul's Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral of typical design, which is to say, fairly grandiose.  I spent a few minutes inside having a look around, as I do enjoy religious buildings.  It was, as I said, very average, although that is no bad thing, since an average cathedral is still an impressive structure.  To its credit, it did have a very large pipe organ and some very large and loud bells in its tower.  On the fourth corner of this intersection was a bar called Young and Jackson's, one of the oldest pubs in Melbourne, and in Australia for that matter.

I then walked into the middle of Flinders Street, to the tram station, where I waited for a red, antique tram.  This particular tram, and its similarly crafted cousins, was a free "tourist" tram that ran around the borders of the Melbourne CBD, and thus to almost all of the major tourist attractions in the city.  Melbourne is, I was discovering, a very compact city which sprawls on forever into the horizon.  You can enjoy yourself staying only in the center, but there is a lot to do on the periphery as well.  I took the magical free tram through two sides of its square route to the north end of the CBD, where I walked a few blocks away from the station to the QVM, or Queen Victoria Market.  This is one of the Southern Hemisphere's great indoor markets.  It's an open air affair, with a giant roof overhead.  There are about 20 to 30 rows of shop after shop, each selling different things, from souvenirs to crockery.  Some of the places are little hole in the wall restaurants as well, and there is a secondary market almost as large which only sells fresh food, from produce to meat.  I spent several hours there, going down every aisle and making a few purchases.  Overall, I was reminded of the Paddy Market from Sydney, but this whole experience was just better for some reason.  It may have been the open air versus closed environment, or the fact that I had some excellent patatas bravas, which are one of my favorite dishes ever, or it may have been the Portuguese festival going on just outside, with stalls, live music, and food samplings.  Even though I still don't really like the Portuguese language in comparison to its other Romance brethren, the festival had such a...festive feel to it.  The patatas bravas really helped too, as they brought me right back to my time spent in Barcelona during my 3rd summer of high school.

After the market I took the tram back to Flinders Street, seeing more of this wonderful city on the way over.  Back near the banks of the Yarra River, I visited the Melbourne Immigration Museum, which documents the various reasons for immigrating to Australia, the experiences of those who did, and some special exhibits on subjects such as the Muslim cameleers who allowed for the settlement of the Western cities of Australia.  The museum itself is housed in the old customs building, which would have seen a lot of activity during the heyday of Melbourne immigration (during the Victorian gold rush).  After the museum I went for dinner at Bertha Brown's, where I had a Lebanese pizza and some FUIC.  I then watched some more soccer with about 20 people in the small TV lounge on the second floor, which was designed for about 7 people, maximum.

Monday, June 14th
Woke up earlier today and had some cereal and milk before setting off into the city.  It was a really glorious day out, if a bit brisk, with people everywhere the eye turned celebrating the public holiday.  Oddly enough, though the Queen's Birthday is celebrated in most of the Commonwealth nations, it is not a public holiday in the United Kingdom, where the Queen actually lives and reigns.  First off I went to the Rialto Business Tower, where there is a observation deck near the top for observing Melbourne.  I had wanted to do this because similar experiences in Auckland and Sydney had been so much fun.  Alas, it was closed for the holiday, so I went on to my next stop.Next, I walked to Bourke Street, which is in the middle of the CBD and runs across its entire length.  It has, through part of it, a large pedestrian mall.  I spent some time window shopping and got some coffee to get me properly going for the day.  By the way, for any of you Starbucks aficionados out there, try the Almond and Hazelnut Latte, quite tasty when you need a blast of sugar along with your caffeine. 

Following that I strolled over to Little Bourke Street, which is home to Melbourne’s Chinatown.  This Chinese enclave is fairly renowned in Australia, so I wanted to see what it was all about.  Marked by big red Torii gates on either side (which was, on reflection, my first warning that the area was actually more of an Eastern Asia-town than a Chinatown) of its length, it was bustling with all kinds of shops, stalls, booths, restaurants, and stores, some selling authentic merchandise/cuisine, others completely faking it to rake in the tourist dollar.  I noticed a lot of restaurants specializing in Shark Fin Soup, and I felt the pain of a thousand MSC students in my heart, thanks to lectures I had taken last year in China on the subject.  Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed, due to the holiday, so I didn’t spend too much time there.  I soon got on a tram back to Federation Square.

From there I took the tram to one of the next closest stops and crossed the Yarra River to Southbank, a neighboring area to my own.  It was a nice place, with lots of upscale shops and places to eat.  A highlight of the area, though, was a street performer who was living within a large scale replica of the Jabulani ball for the entire World Cup, not coming out, but rather only spending time inside to watch every single match.  Another cool things in Southbank is the Crown Complex, which is home to a luxury mall, many restaurants, a hotel, and a casino.  It was like being in Las Vegas, although I didn’t gamble.

I then used a combination of the tram and walking paths to get to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the MCG, or the “G” as it’s known locally.  As it was going to be impossible to get any productive work done on such a festive day, I decided to experience some Aussie culture first hand and witness a game of Australian Rules Football, which is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the states of Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.  More than half of the teams in the AFL are from Melbourne or the surrounding suburbs, so the sport is still very much centralized on the city, and the best place to see a game in the world is the MCG.  The stadium is historic, having been built more than a century ago as a cricket ground, which it still functions as (since the fields for AFL and Cricket are the same, it can function as a stadium for both without all of the complications that places like SunLife Stadium run into).  The field is a strange thing to see, as it’s a giant circle, unlike the fields for other sports. 

For lunch I had some chicken and chips, which was basic but tasty, and not overpriced, as I was expecting since I was in a stadium.  The game itself was great fun, a kind of mix between soccer and rugby, with lots of punting.  I really enjoyed it, and, as I was sitting in a majority Collingwood Magpies section, decided to cheer for that team against their rivals, the Melbourne Demons.  The game was an annual rivalry game, and these two always play on Queen’s Birthday, so there was a very large crowd in attendance.  Even though the game ended in a draw, at 76 all, which is very unusual for one of these, I still really enjoyed myself. 

After the game I walked to Southbank with tens of thousands of confused and/or depressed Aussies, who were unable to cope with a draw in a rivalry match.  I went to the Crown Complex for a walk around.  I stopped in an Irish pub for dinner, since Bertha Brown’s was closed for the holiday.  Back at the hostel I fell into my routine of watching soccer and drinking some FUIC.

Tuesday, June 15^th

I spent this morning calling my various Melbourne contacts in order to establish definite meeting times for tomorrow.  As  had not expected the public holiday (the thought just never crossed my mind) I was now one day down in Melbourne for meetings.  Fortunately there was really only two groups I needed to speak with, and I got them both to agree to meetings tomorrow, one in person and one over the phone.  I will be having a phone conversation with Dr. Ian Anderson, and a meeting with the CEO and his advisors of VAHS, the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.  After a quick bite of lunch at BB's, I set out to find a few sites to see in the city.

I hopped on the little red tram and was on my way.  My first stop was the Victorian Parliament Building, which is a large, classical style building equally evoking Greek and Roman architecture.  Unfortunately, the building was closed, as the Victorian Parliament was sitting today, so I just ambled around on th massive set of steps for a little while, soaking up the view of the building.  I then got back on the tram for a few more stops.  I jumped back off at the northeast corner of the square route, where it bumps against the border of one of Melbourne's oldest suburbs, Fitzroy.  I got sidetracked for a short time by a small synagogue I spotted about 200 meters to the left.  I walked over to investigate it, and it was nothing special, but in my new position I spotted a real find, a gigantic cathedral made of black stone.  This juxtaposition of a cathedral with the color of mourning and sin was an odd thing to behold, and made the already very large building even more intimidating and menacing.  The cathedral is the home of the Melbourne archdiocese of the Catholic Church, and accordingly, there is a flag of the Vatican City flying on church grounds.  The inside was a bit mundane, disappointingly.  

From the cathedral I walked over to Fitzroy Park, which is one of Melbourne's numerous and expansive parks, most of which are located in the nearby suburbs, just like this one.  The only real exception to this rule is the King's Domain, which is very close to the CBD.  I walked down one of the main pathways, through the fallen leaves of autumn, past some children playing a pickup game of AFL, and just enjoyed the mild winter afternoon.  In the middle of the park sat the Royal Exhibition Hall, a large white building constructed in that famous Victorian style.  It was designed to impress around the beginning of Australian federation, and it surely must have succeeded in that goal.  The hall was surrounded by little ponds and gardens and had a very large fountain in front of it.  Beyond the hall was the Melbourne Museum.

This architecture is a bit too modern for my eye, but I can understand why most would find it appealing, with lots of steel beams and glass.  The museum had proven contentious in Melbourne, I was told, due to the location (away from all of the other main tourist sites) and its style (which you either love or hate).  The interior of the building housed some typical exhibits, as well as some very unique ones.  I especially liked the multiple exhibits, housed in an entire wing of the museum, which centered on the Aboriginal experience in Australia, from the far past up until today.  There were also exhibits on the human body (which were much more revealing than what would be allowed in the US), taxonomy, the oceans, the Torres Strait Islanders, Pacific Islanders, and even an indoor forest explaining the ecosystem.  All in all, a very good museum in my opinion.  That pretty much wrapped up the day for me, as I went back to BB's for dinner and then went to sleep.

Wednesday, June 16th

Today was my meeting day, and o I woke up early, freshened up, and, most importantly, shaved.  After breakfast I got a cab ride from Flinders St Station to the suburb of Fitzroy, since I didn't have time to take the tram.  There, within walking distance from the museum, down a residential street, were the offices and hospital of VAHS.  A partner of both NACCHO, and its Victorian counterpart, VACCHO, VAHS is an entirely community run healthcare service designed to serve the needs of the local Koori, or Aboriginal population.  

Once I arrived, I was led into the board room, just next to the main waiting area, which was full of people, mostly  although not entirely Aboriginal, awaiting attention and treatment for their various ills and injuries.  It got me in the perfect mindset for my research to be in a hospital again.  Inside the board room, after a bit of searching around for the right people, I was welcomed by a group of representatives of VAHS, including the CEO, the the Head of Research, the Chief Policy Manager, and Chief of Diabetes Policy.  This was quite the welcoming party, and I thanked them for giving me their time.  We quickly got down to talking about my research, and how it lined up with their work.  Each of the members present contributed something meaningful to the conversation, and it went very well.  My main interest was in comparing Maori Health Providers with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, to see how they both operated, were funded, interacted with their community, had guidelines and goals set for them, were governed, etc.  I learned a lot, especially from the CEO, who was a very energetic man named Rod Jackson, and they were even able to provide me with a copy of the as of yet unreleased Victorian "Close the Gap" plan, as well as a recent Ph.D. dissertation which lines up nicely with my work.

After the meeting I thanked my four hosts and found the exit.  I walked from the headquarters/hospital to the edge of Fitzroy Park, from where I reconnected with the tram and rode back to the station just outside of my hostel.  Back at the hostel I had some lunch and went upstairs for a brief nap.  I then gathered all the papers, outlines, brochures, and various other things I had been given at all of my interviews and headed for the post office on Collins Street.  The experience was less than enjoyable, with massive lines added to the trouble I had in understanding the Australian system for international mail.  I eventually got through it, though, and sent the package home, since I simply wouldn't have been able to carry it all with me for the remainder of my travels.  

After the post office I got to see another side of Melbourne by taking a pay tram out to the suburb of St. Kilda, which is a beach town.  I arrived just outside of the grounds of Luna Park, which is an amusement park with the requisite frightening clown face posing as the entrance.  I assure you, if you need fuel for your nightmares, this is the place to go.  I also walked down the boardwalk, which was pretty empty during the winter season, and dipped my hands  into the Pacific Ocean again.  Back at the hostel I did my laundry and packed up for my travels tomorrow, during which time I would take four flights and more than 30 hours to get from Melbourne to Delhi, with stops in Sydney, Singapore, and Mumbai along the way.

Last Few Days in Canberra

Sorry again for the delay in posts, but as my father pointed out to me, rather bluntly if I might say so, I suck when I am working without a deadline.  Alas, such is the life of one of nature's best procrastinators.

Thursday, June 10th
Today had been the day I had planned to meet with government officials, mainly MP's, but the plans fell through, regrettably, because almost all of the MP's, both Representatives and Senators, were spending the next two weeks not in Canberra, but in their home constituencies.  This is because Parliament is not sitting for these two weeks, as it takes its usual two on, two off pattern.  The nation is spending these two weeks letting their MP's know how they feel about Kevin Rudd's new proposed super profits tax on mining companies.  Labor, which is in the government currently, supports it, as do the Greens, but it is staunchly opposed by the Liberal Party (being the conservative party here, as they are Liberals in the European understanding of the word).

As I was thus granted an unexpected day off, I decided to wake up early anyway and take advantage of it.  I got a ticket for the Canberra Explorer Bus, at a substantially reduced rate thanks to my YHA connections, which was nice.  At 9:45 I got on board the bus, which was really more of a large van, after having had a quick brekky and a shower.  The bus went on a circuit to all the major sites several times a day, allowing for its passengers to hop on and off at various scheduled times.  The first stop was the Australian National War Memorial, which I had somewhat laboriously walked to the other day, so I stayed on the bus.  Likewise for the second stop, the National Library of Australia, since I had plans to go there tomorrow for a lecture pertaining to my research.

I did, however, disembark at the 3rd stop, which was a combination stop of the two neighboring buildings, the High Court of Australia and the National Art Gallery.  I walked to the High Court first, being generally more interested in law than art (though that is not to say that I don't enjoy artwork, as I love it).  The building is a tall, modern design, with a very large glass wall at the entrance.  Inside, the court building is divided into 3 main levels, each connected to the other with a giant slowly sloping carpeted ramp.  On each floor is a courtroom, and each of the three serve different purposes.  Courtroom One is the most imposing, and is located on floor one.  It is designed to seat all 7 justices (who retire when they turn 70, so there is a good amount of turnover on the bench), and has very high wood paneled walls and a large tapestry of Australia's coat of arms, which features a lot of symbolism referring to the six states and two territories (since we musn't forget that this is a federation).  The other two courtrooms are smaller affairs and can seat 5 (Courtroom Two) and 1 (Courtroom Three) for cases that are not deemed as vital or legally challenging.  While not as impressed with the High Court as I had been on my first visit to the US Supreme Court,  I was still fairly impressed and considered it to be a good crack at crafting an imposing building for the highest seat of law in the country.

After the High Court I walked down onto the National Mall, near Lake Burley Griffin.  The area I found myself in was called Reconciliation Green, and was the southernmost green expanse of the national mall.  The mall is bisected by the Provisional Parliament Building, and I was on the half between it and the lake, as opposed to the half between it and the New Parliament Building.  On the end bordered by the lake were a multitude of flags, representing all of the countries with diplomatic missions in Australia, plus the United Nations and the European Union.  On the other end of the green, near the Provisional Parliament, was a protest group known as the "Aboriginal Tent Embassy."  It's a collection of Aboriginal activists trying to regain land rights, and raise awareness of their plight in the minds of Australia's national politicians, although, admittedly, this may have been easier from their location when they first started in the 70's and those politicians still worked in the Provisional Parliament.  As a side note, I had Canberra's similarities to Washington, DC explained to me.  The architect of this planned city, Mr. Burley-Griffin, from whence the lake gained its name, was an American, and he took a lot of inspiration from his own capital city.  Continuing on my walk around, I wandered into the National Art Gallery for a little while, particularly fascinated by the display on Mughal artwork and architecture from India. 

I then got back on the bus, but only momentarily, as I got off again once it arrived at the Provisional Parliament Building, which is now the Museum of Australian Democracy.  Built in the classic British white stone style, it was built once Canberra was identified as the nation's new capital, and was always intended as only a stop gap building awaiting the design of an inspirational, and Australian, Parliament.  As with most buildings of import in Canberra, admission was free, although a small donation was asked for, which I provided.  Inside, the building was a mix of turn of the 20th century style, with hardwood, carpet, and plaster fixtures, and 1960's/70's style, similar to the house seen in the "The Brady Bunch."  This can be attributed to the time of construction for the main rooms, and the fact that the occupants, and thus styles, constantly changed until the 1970's for the offices and smaller rooms.  I walked through what had been the halls of power of an entire country, with absolutely no supervision I might add, and was quite impressed.  The building was roughly symmetrical, with the left half being dominated by the House of Representatives and the Executive Branch, and the right being dominated by the Senate.  The two debating chambers were decked out in their colors, green and red, respectively, and were much smaller than their newer counterparts in the current Parliament.  The offices of the Prime Minister were cool to walk around, although they reminded me of my grandmother's old house in Ft. Lauderdale, with the general feeling of the late 70's.  The TV was a trip, and I accidentally turned it on, although no one was there to reprimand me, thankfully.  The Press Gallery, which was basically up in the attic, was also neat to explore, with its cramped quarters and period correct news equipment.

After that I had a smoked salmon sandwich from the the cafe downstairs and hopped back on the bus.  I rode over across the lake to the National Museum of Australia.  It had to have been designed by an architect doing drugs as of yet undiscovered by other human beings, because the building is insane.  If you don't believe me, look up a few pictures on the web.  Go, I'll wait.  Now you understand my opinion, don't you?  Inside were some pretty cool exhibits, including ones on the general history of the country, on bushfires, on immigration, and on the culture of the Torres Strait Islanders off the very tip of Northern Queensland.  My favorite part of the museum, though, was the Aboriginal wing, which was, obviously, dedicated to the history, culture, struggles, and successes of the Aboriginal community in Australia.  In the main atrium there was an entertaining exhibit on the development of soccer in the country, which has fought for popularity in much the same way it has in the US, although battling very different sports for attention.  In the museum shop I found a didgeridoo which really connected with me, so I bought it (I'm sure everyone on Eaton 3 will be thanking me next year, haha).  It has a hand painting of a kangaroo wrapping around it, which I have yet to name, as well as various other features of typical Aboriginal artwork, such as a large white handprint and dot painting.  I was, overall, very pleased and excited about my purchase.  Back at the hostel, I did some work and then got off to bed.

Friday, June 11th
I spent this morning lazing about and doing work on the computer.  This was on account of my plans to go to a lecture at midday and to have a meeting at 3:00 pm.  At noon, after getting dressed up, I picked up a cab for the short ride across the lake to the National Library of Australia.  The building was modernist in design, and very tall for a library, albeit due to the fact that it houses every book ever published in Australia, as well as documents of historical significance, such as Captain Cook's log from his exploration of New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia (although this is, unfortunately, not on display to the public).  I got there a little early, so I walked around the foyer, with its stained glass windows, and then sat down and read a book for a little while.

At 12:45, in a well sized auditorium, the event I had come to see began.  After some opening remarks made by the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the man of the hour, The Honourable Justice Jack Kirby, was introduced and welcomed to the podium.  He had served on the High Court, and only recently retired due to age.  He gave a rousing lecture about Aboriginal communities and how the law affects them, both at the state and federal level, using as examples some of the cases he judged while sitting on the bench.  He also stressed the importance of the court in the federal system (to be honest he gave a very good argument for institutionalized checks and balances) and the need for all people to be well educated about their constitution and their system of government, as well as what those in power are up to.  He was a very good selection for the 2010 Wentworth Lecture, in my humble opinion.

I then walked back to the YHA and picked up my backpack and interview materials.  I then proceeded to walk to the nearby offices of NACCHO, or the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization, ready for my meeting with Policy Director Mark Saunders.  Mr. Saunders was very welcoming and he was happy to help me with my work.  He gave me both documents and a handful of trinkets about his organization, for which I was very thankful.  During the meeting we discussed NACCHO's role in health, the importance of their collaboration with the federal government, the huge disparity in health outcomes among the country's populations, and the efforts of certain communities to change things for the better.  He was particularly passionate about bettering the flow of funding from the government and properly understanding the effects new initiatives are having on groups before discontinuing their funding.  He was also kind enough to show me around NACCHO's library, which was a great source for a few titles of interest to my research.  For my last night in Canberra I had a quick dinner of pasta and then sat back and watched the opening ceremony and first games of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, very excited by the aerial shots of the country I would be visiting in a month's time.  My companions for this were a group of drunken English and Irishmen, who, for understandable reasons, took great pleasure in cheering against the French national team in their match against Uruguay.

P.S. Mathematically I am now a third of the way through my trip, although I will only officially acknowledge this once I leave Australia.  I have been on the road for a month now, and I am struck by two conflicting thoughts: 1. How is it possible that I have been traveling for a month already? and 2. How has it only been a month so far?  Oh well, food for thought.

It's Great to be on Capitol Hill

And now, on to Canberra, the capital of the Australian Federation.

Sunday, June 6th
Had my final few hours in Sydney today.  I had a great time in Sydney, but it was time to move on, to see more of this wonderful country and to learn more about Aboriginal health.  I packed up my case and had some brekky, as they call it here, before walking down to the train station below the apartments.  I bid farewell to the flatmates who were both awake and present, which was two of the six, and left.  Downstairs I took advantage of a promotion in one of the local papers which offered a A$2 Socceroos scarf with the purchase of the Sunday paper.  Since I needed something to read on my trip to Canberra, it was a win-win situation.

Weighted down by all of my possessions, I made my way to Central station via the subway from Bondi Junction station.  There I walked down a seemingly endless corridor before having to walk up a large staircase to find myself on the platform from which my train to Canberra would leave.  I had lunch at the station, which was fairly cavernous and had about 25 platforms, with trains bound for destinations both near and far.  The train itself was fairly normal, with seats a little bigger than those one would find on a standard airliner.  I was lucky enough to have a window seat, so I settled in, got out the paper, and reclined for the journey.

The train ride was 4.5 hours long, which is actually longer than it would take to drive between the two cities.  As such, there weren't many people on the train and I could sleep a little bit, as well as catch up on the news. the trip was pretty boring, except for the scenery, which was refreshingly unique, with farmland, bush, patches of eucalyptus forests, and lots of red soil.  It all seemed, for whatever reason, very Australian.  As we meandered out way through New South Wales to the Australian Capital Territory I was entertained by the view.

Having arrived in Oz's capital city I was struck by the temperature.  It was legitimately cold in Canberra, since this "Bush Capital" has no nearby ocean to temper the forces of winter, as Sydney does.  Unsure of how best to reach my hostel, I called, and they advised me to take bus 980.  I did, but it took me nowhere near the address I knew my hostel to be at, so I got off and took a cab to the proper place.  Once there, I was alone in the dark in the very outskirts of Canberra.  I was safe, but a little creeped out, especially since the building where I was supposed to be staying had no lights on.  When I walked up to the front door I understood why. Right there, taped on, was a sign stating that the YHA had moved, and was now located much closer to the heart of the city.  Thus annoyed and unable to hail a cab, I had to call for assistance.  I received it, and was soon on my way to 7 Akuna Street.  Once there I checked in, did some work, soaked my feet in the hot tub, and went to bed.

Monday, June 7th
Today was my 1st full day in Canberra, and the sky was free of clouds, so I followed a trip tradition and spent my first day walking around and seeing some sights.  It was a brisk day, with the temperature in the low 50's, but the sun was shining, which helped.  I was attempting to walk to the National War Memorial, which would not have been too much of a task had I known which way was the best manner to get there.  I did not know, however, so I took the long way, which took me down to the lake in the middle of town, which separates the Civic/ACT side of the town from the Federal side of the town.  The path may have been longer, but it was nonetheless very scenic, and provided an enjoyable walk.  The lake was similar to the river in D.C., in that one could see the buildings of the government from a cherry blossom bordered body of water.  After walking through some parks, I eventually found myself on the very edge of ANZAC Parade, which forms the main axis of the city and has at one end the National War Memorial, the lake in the middle, and the Australian Parliaments on the other end.  I say Parliaments because there is an old, provisional building, which was used for about 60 years, and a new building, constructed in the 80's.

The parade itself features a large mall at its center, and along the sides leading to the War Memorial are monuments to various wars or branches of the military, such as the Vietnam War or the Australian Royal Navy.  Some of the more inspirational of these monuments included the Australia-New Zealand Monument, which portrayed the relationship these two countries used to share at the very edges of the British Empire.  There is a reason the ANZACs (or Australia New Zealand Army Corp) are so important to the consciousness of both countries.  Another very inspirational monument was the one dedicated to Gallipoli, the formative battle of both countries young independence, which had been designed and donated by the Turkish government as a sign of good will.

The War Memorial itself is an imposing building at the base of a small mountain, built in a hybrid classical/1930's style.  It has a large bronze dome, which has long since turned the same green as Lady Liberty in New York Harbor.  The main building consists of an outdoor corridor, at the center of which is an eternal flame, and on the sides of which are the names of every known soldier who died fighting in a war for Australia, from the Boer War on until the War in Iraq.  They are listed with last name and first initial only, because we are all equal in death, much like the military cemeteries I have visited in Arlington and Jerusalem.  The names are all surrounded by red poppies, which is a tradition found in many places with British influence, used to honor the military dead, as the red is a reminder of blood.  Up some stairs past the flame is a the domed room in which the Tomb of the Australian Unknown Soldier rests, surrounded by giant tile mosaics of a seaman, and airman, an army soldier, and a nurse, as well as stained glass examples of the traits Australian soldiers all have: patriotism, loyalty, courage, etc.

Below the Memorial sits a more modern museum which conserved war artifacts and educates the public about the battles in which Australians have fought.  There were all kinds of artifacts, including a landing boat from Galipoli, as well as figures wearing period correct uniforms, and more dioramas than I could count.  In a back wing of the museum was an exhibit featuring many planes used in both World Wars One and Two, including the centerpiece, a Lancaster bomber christened "G for George."  There was also an exhibit on all the wars in which Australian had served before Australia became a country, including the Boer War and the Maori War, fought in South Africa and New Zealand, respectively.

Following my experience in the sobering War Memorial, I decided to go see how the country is run and travel to the other end of the axis, the Parliament of Australia.  The building is located within Capitol Hill, much in the same way that the Scottish National Parliament is built into the environment upon which it rests.  The new building was constructed during the 80's, and the designers were adamant that their building would coexist with, rather than dominate, its habitat.  Thus, the roof of the building is formed by the natural slope of the hill, with grassy areas covering the top of the building.  The only mark that rises above the natural shape of the hill is the structure holding the Australian flag, which is as big as a double decker bus.

There must be something in the water of the Tasman Strait, because both NZ and Australia have strove to have distinctive and striking Parliament buildings.  By the way, yet another similarity I noticed between DC and Canberra, which is easily explained as the result of being synthetic cities which were chosen for their role as capital, is that the street layout is unorthodox, to say the least.  The city is laid out in a circular pattern, rather than in a grid, which makes walking between two points needlessly longer and tedious, although it does make it easier to plan large green spaces, which add to the beauty of the city.

I wandered inside the building, picked up a map, and started to give myself a tour of the place.  It was as simple as that.  Aside from a few metal detectors at the front entrance, there was no visible security in the place, in stark contrast to our own Capitol.  The first room you come into is the foyer, which is filled with green and white columns and featured woodcut art along the walls portraying Australian flora.  Up the stairs on either side lead to the main floor.  On this floor was an exhibit on artwork found in the building, as well as one of the largest tapestries in the world, portraying a forest scene in New South Wales.  I got to go into the viewing galleries of both houses of Parliament, which differed only slightly.  The Senate had slightly less seating, due to a smaller number of members, and was furnished in red, while the House of Representatives had more chairs and was furnished in green.  Both chambers are constructed in the Westminster style, with opposition and government forces sitting opposing one another and a presiding member sitting on an elevated chair in the center to lead debate.  I completed my time on the floor by viewing something I was very surprised to find in the Parliament, or even in Australia for that matter, an original 1297 copy of the Magna Carta, preserved and sitting behind some serious security glass.  It is one of only 4 surviving copies in the world, and for someone like me, with an interest in political science, it was very neat to see.  It sent a shiver down my spine to be honest.

After all the excitement for the day, and some sunset views from the rooftop of the Parliament, I took a bus back to Civic center and the YHA.  Back in town I had some cheap Indian food for dinner and walked around City Walk, which is a main shopping area in Canberra's downtown.  Stopping in a bookshop I picked up The Language Instinct and Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World because they sounded interesting and were on sale.  To finish off the night I went and saw Robin Hood and then came back and did some work at the hostel.

Tuesday, June 8th
This morning I got up early, had some brekky, and got ready for the day.  I sat down in the kitchen and did a lot of work on setting up meetings for Melbourne and working some kinks out of some meetings here in Canberra.  I was tipped off by a woman I am meeting tomorrow to the possibility of attending a lecture given on Friday at the Australian National Library about Aboriginal Communities in relation to federal law.  It should be very interesting, especially in comparison to the special conditions which apply to American Indian reservations in the US legal system.  Around noon I finished up my phone conversations and set out for the day.

I had a quick falafel for lunch and then got on Bus Route #2 headed toward Capitol Hill.  After some twists, turns, and lots of roundabouts, I got off the bus in front of the Australian Royal Mint.  It's a large, modern building with absolutely no character or imagination, quite in contrast with the other buildings I have seen in Canberra.It's the kind of dull, bureaucratic building one would expect from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Inside, though, it was very modern in a good way, with lots of glass and sunlight.  There was a machine on the ground floor which let you mint your own coins, for a small fee of course, and, being the numismatist that I am, I took advantage of it.  I also perused the shop, where all manner of coins were on sale, even ones from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, besides the Australian offerings.  There were also all manner of commemorative coins and tools to help collectors like myself, such as albums, scales, magnifying glasses, etc.  I thought, however, that the shop and the cafe right next to it really missed a golden opportunity by selling neither mints nor chocolate coins, both of which seem to me to be no brainers for a National Mint.

Up some stairs I saw some cool exhibits about pre-decimal currency in Australia, which modeled that of the United Kingdom, about mistruck coins, and especially about new advances in coin making technology, which have allowed mints to produce:

• holographic coins
• colored coins
• bi and tri metal coins
• my favorite, triangular coins

I also enjoyed the glass windows which allowed for views of the Mint's factory floor, where the coins of tomorrow were being produced.  The machines press down on each coin with a force of about 150 tons every .146 seconds, which is a miracle of modern technology to me.  There were oil drums full of shiny, new coins, just sitting on the factory floor.

Next I went to the U.S. Embassy, with the hope of having a look around how our diplomats treat themselves on the job, especially since I have some aspirations of joining the Foreign Service some day.  Alas, security was tight and I wasn't going to be allowed onto sovereign American territory without an appointment, which was understandable I suppose.  The embassy was built to resemble New England brick buildings, but it was immense.  Our embassy is easily 4 times the size of the embassy of any other nation, and much bigger than some others.  All the embassies were built in recreation of their own national architectural styles, which gave the neighborhood a very international flavor, along with the fact  that large swaths of the land in the area wasn't part of Australia.  The South African Embassy had a countdown board with the number of days until the start of the World Cup, which got me excited since it is so close.

Getting back into town, I had a walk, ate some cheap Indian food again, and settled in for the night, or so I thought.  An hour or so after I got back to the hostel I had a brain flash of something Sean Hearn had told me back in Miami.  He had said that in certain parts of Australia there was a drink which outsold Coca-Cola.  This is something that only a few drinks in the world can claim, so I set out to get some of this beverage.  It is called Farmers' Union Iced Coffee and it comes in a big, light blue and brown milk box.  It is delicious, I will say, and I was told, a point of pride to South Australians.  I have decided now to make a pledge to taste the other 2 drinks in the world that also outsell Coke, those being Irn-Bru in Scotland (I will find some in my day in London with Mike) and Inca Cola in Peru.

Wednesday, June 9th
This morning saw me make more attempts at procuring a meeting with a member of the Australian Parliament. Unlike their kiwi peers, they are not nearly as willing to give their time.  I have also run into the difficulty that Parliament isn't in session while I am in Canberra, so the majority of them have gone to their home districts for the next two weeks.  Sitting at my work station, I did some more research into the situation here in Australia, which will help when it comes time to write my findings at the end of the summer.

For lunch I had some chorizo pasta here at the cafe attached to the hostel, which was both filling and sizeable, as well as tasty, which were three things I had not expected from such an establishment.  The dish helped to ward off the effects of today's weather, which has been extremely cold.  Today has been in the high 30's/low 40's and was below freezing during the night.  It has been a struggle to today to stay properly warm with the clothes I brought along, which were only suitable for mild winters, which I expect everywhere except Canberra.  No matter, the forecast calls for warmer days the rest of my stay here.  After lunch I got dressed up and shaved, which revealed the effects that cold had been having on my skin, which was a but drier and redder than usual.

I then proceeded to the Australian National University, which is the site of CAEPR, or the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research.  I went there to meet with a Dr. Maggie Brady, who Dr. Torzillo had recommended quite highly.  The campus was pretty much a ghost town, as it was a cold day and the students are in finals period.  I found her office alright, and introduced myself in person.  She seemed very impressed that I had been able to meet with Dr. Torzillo, who she assured me is a busy man and one who is held in very high regard by those who study Aboriginal health.

Dr. Brady was very helpful, and provided me with my best meeting in this country to date.  We spoke for about 1.5 hours, and the topics ranged over a host of subjects.  She stressed to me the cultural impediments to "closing the gap" as she is anthropologist.  It is a point of view I often encountered in New Zealand, and it was interesting to note the differences in the perception in Australia.  Among the challenges are the traditional housing dynamic of remote Aboriginal communities.  Even once they are given modern housing, it is often of shoddy construction, and the traditional dictates that many people live in one house.  Any family member who needs a place to stay immediately turns to his family, leading to more people living in one place than is the norm in white culture.  This, in turn, leads many children to be host to much more bacteria than their white counterparts, and the rates of ear, eye, and respiratory diseases is much higher in remote Aboriginal communities.  There is also a prevalence of trachoma and chlamydia.

We also discussed the individual autonomy that Aborigines have, and how this stops parents from helping children eat properly.  Often children are given money and go to the store to choose their own diet, which can obviously have some disastrous impacts.  There is also very little accommodation made for those who need special diets, such as the massive number of Aborigines who have pre-diabetes.  Often the drink of choice, sweet tea, is made communally, and so those who have much lower tolerances for sugar are forced to drink the same tea as everyone else.  It has been noted that in some communities the average daily sugar intake is higher than 70 teaspoons.  Dr. Brady finished the meeting by recommending some authors whose work she thought could be beneficial to my project, as well as giving me a ton of documents and books.  I thanked her for her time, and went on my way.  I went back to the hostel and did some blogging, work, and drank some more FUIC.

Sydney Town

Hey all,

I know in the last post I said I wouldn't be so bad about updates, but here we are.  I'm a hopeless procrastinator, as those who know me well are aware, and this has been a curse of mine for some time now.  Moving on, I have here for you recollections of my time spent in Sydney and a few days in Canberra.  Both of these are in Australia, as I've now left New Zealand.  Pictures will be posted when I leave this country, in about a week and a half.  Until then, more updates.

Sunday, May 30th
Woke up today for the last time in New Zealand on this trip, although hopefully not for the last time in my life.  I had to wake up at the ungodly hour of 5am, and this after going to bed at 3am due to the bar below my room and a plethora of interesting movies on tv (my favorite being Bottle Shock, which featured the inimitable Alan Rickman).  I packed up, dropped my key off and walked down K Road to the Airport Flyer Bus pick up station.  When I got to the airport, it was still dark, which actually made it easier to recognize things from my past trip here 2.5 weeks ago, when it had also been pre-dawn.  I wasted time in the main terminal before heading off to security.  Once through, I went to a bar and watched the New Zealand v. Serbia soccer game, which was a warm up before the World Cup for both teams.  As my flight was delayed, I had enough time to watch the whole game, which NZ ended up winning.

My flight was probably delayed because I was flying between Auckland and Sydney on Aerolineas Argentinas (I know, pretty random choice of airline), and the plane was coming from Buenos Aires.   Once on the plane (which featured the dullest interior this side of an LTU flight) I was cracking up, because everything was in Spanish.  It just felt so out of place on this side of the world.  The flight was about 4 hours long, and I spent most of it asleep, trying to regain so many lost hours of sleep.  The only highlights were that those crazy Latin Americans gave me a ham sandwich for lunch, and that I descended into Sydney blasting "Down Under" by the Men at Work, which I think probably irritated the Aussies and amused the Kiwis.  I cleared Aussie customs ridiculously easily, even though I had declared my recent visit to a farm and my possession of hiking boots.  Once through I was greeted by that most American of vendors, Krispy Kreme, and also by a place called Hungry Jack's, selling whoppers.  I was later to learn that Burger King is called Hungry Jack's down here and that they weren't actually practicing copyright infringement.

I took a bus to Bondi Junction, where I was to meet up with Yuval, of MT6 fame, and go to his flat, where I was graciously being offered a place to sleep free of charge during my time in Sydney.  After a bit of confusion I managed to get a hold of him and he took me to his place, which is directly above the train and bus terminal, or in other words, perfectly located for exploring the city.  He has been studying abroad this past semester at Sydney University, a fairly prestigious school in this part of the world.  His apartment was amazing, with great views of the Harbour Bridge out of the kitchen window, two balconies, a gigantic circular window in the living room, and plenty of space, even for 6 people.  I relaxed there for a little while, being generally exhausted from the travel.  During this time, I met a few of Yuval's flatmates, who all seemed like pretty nice people.  I had intended to go to the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby game this evening, but at approximately 2:30 I learned that it started at 3:00.  I hurriedly made my way down to the train station and set off on my way to the game.  I had to take 3 different trains to get to Olympic Park, site of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and home of my team, the Rabbitohs.  I suppose I should explain, to those still in the dark, why the Rabbitohs are "my team."  I am not the most knowledgeable fan of rugby, and had not really had any affiliation with the sport until 2008.  During that year, Russel Crowe, who happens to be part owner of said team, brought them to Jacksonville, my home town, of all places, to train during the preseason.  He even arranged for them to play an exhibition games against the winners of the European League, Leeds Rhinos.  It was highly entertaining, and I have been a Rabbitohs fan ever since.  The journey to the stadium took about an hour, so I arrived at the very beginning of the second half.  After some pleading with the security guards at the ticket gates, I was allows entry free of charge, which was an unexpected bonus.  I got to see almost all of the 2nd half of play, during which time most of the scoring occurred.  The Rabbitohs won handedly against the Penrith Panthers, a team from a distant suburb of Sydney, with a final score of 44-24.  Once the final whistle blew, I was treated by the fans to South Sydney's song, which bears striking resemblance to rather famous Civil War song back in the States.  I took the trains back to Yuval's, had some Mexican food for dinner, and crashed on the couch.

Monday, May 31st
Today was a relatively slow day.  The weather was pretty rotten, with gale force winds, and lots of showers.  I needed to get some work done anyway on finalizing some appointments in Australia, so I decided to stay in.  I slept in a bit, both due to exhaustion, and the 2 hour time difference.  I got up at 10, but it felt to my body as if I had slumbered until noon, which was rejuvenating.  After waking, I had some cereal and milk for the first time in about a month and got to work.  I had arranged to attend a conference on Indigenous Health being hosted by Sydney University, so I worked on some background research on the speakers and their work.

After a lot of work, I found myself a bit stir crazy, so I ventured out into the wet to see what was about in the neighborhood.  Bondi Junction is a hip, relatively wealthy suburb, so there was no shortage of amusements for my boredom.  I went across the road to the Westfield Mall, which is by some accounts the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, or at least Australia and New Zealand.  I almost couldn't find my way around, it was so large.  It had so many shops of interest that I wound up spending about 3 hours inside it.  It was fun to do some window shopping, and also to observe little cultural and linguistic differences.  I ate at the Harbour Room Food Court, which is the most upscale food court I have ever seen.  All the restaurants were really classy, but the prices were still fairly low, which was a plus.  I had a really tasty chicken schnitzel sandwich, which they have everywhere here in Sydney.  I couldn't even finish the food on my plate, there was so much of it.  I did some shopping at the supermarket and went back to the flat.  I spent the evening doing more work, watching some TV, and reading.  It was a slow, but productive day.

Tuesday, June 1st
Hard to believe it's June already, but here we are.  I had a great day today.  I got to check a major thing off my life's must do list, and I had a very successful time at the conference this evening.  I started off the morning with a hearty breakfast, then was off on my way for the day.  I took the train from Bondi Junction to Central station, where I got on another train to Circular Quay, which is at the center of Sydney's harborside.  Once there I wandered past a nifty and very talented didgeridoo player on my way to the world famous Sydney Opera House.

The building was every bit as spectacular as I had expected it to be.  The curving walls, forming the shapes of sails, seashells, birds' wings, and other imaginations, were covered in white and cream colored tiles.  The design of the building reminded me of the Contemporary Hotel in Disney World, not for architectural similarity, but because they both represent the past's conception of the future.  We can all agree that the conception was wrong, but nonetheless awe inspiring in its bravery and boldness.  I walked around the structure a few times, just absorbing the images and trying to understand them.  I booked a tour for later in the afternoon and wandered off to the other side of Circular Quay for my next adventure.

I walked to the area near the harbor known as The Rocks, since it forms a rocky outcropping into the harbor.  It was here that European Sydneysiders first settled to create what is today a sparkling city of millions, although obviously Aboriginal inhabitants had lived elsewhere in the region for thousands of years prior.  Parts of it still have that old European charm, though, with small alleyways and cobblestone roads, along with old architecture.  From there I took some stairs up to the pedestrian entrance to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is perhaps the second most iconic structure in Australia, behind only the Opear House.  It is certainly a nice bridge to look at, being very well designed, especially with the two flags at its summit, one the Australian national flag and the other the Aboriginal flag.  I walked to the midpoint of the bridge, and soaked up some amazing views of the city.  The bridge is actually a lot higher up than it seems, giving a wonderful vantage point from which to view Sydney.  I then had to head back to the Opera House for my tour.

The tour was led by a very knowledgeable gentleman named Stephen, who was quite enamored with the performing arts.  He stressed early on that the Opera House did much more than just operas, and included comedy, concerts, ballet, dance, and many other forms of entertainment, but that it just didn't roll off the tongue to say Sydney Multifunctional Performing Arts Center.  We were all given headsets which were tuned to his microphone, thus eliminating the need to shout while on the tour, which allowed us to observe many rehearsals and sets.  The two main buildings are the larger Concert Hall, and the slightly smaller Ballet and Opera Hall.  We got to see some of the small thatres on the lower levels as well.  In the large concert hall, a student orchestra was performing some bombastic klezmer music, which threw me off a bit.  The interior, though, all things considered, was much less stunning than the exterior, which could be explained by the dismissal of the architect, Jorn Utson, halfway through construction.  A number of videos on the tour explained Utson's relationship with the building, which he never saw completed.

After the Opera House I had some grilled baby octopus and chips for lunch, having to shout at and threaten the seagulls.  They were certainly true to their "Finding Nemo" form, and there were about 50 of them following me into the train station, even after I had thrown away what remained of my chips.  I went back to the apartment, got dressed, had some dinner, and got on a bus to go to Sydney University for my conference.  By the time I arrived, the sun had set, so I couldn't see everything that well, but the campus seemed nice.  I had a tough time finding the Auditorium in which the event was taking place, but did eventually get there, with about 10 minutes to spare.

The Sydney University School of Medicine was putting on a panel of speakers, each to speak for about 20 minutes about the organization, program, or policy they were affiliated with, and then questions would be allowed.  All of the people involved were deeply committed to closing the healthcare and/or education gaps between the general Australian population and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.  To start off the event, as is customary, a commemoration statement was made about the land we were meeting on and the elders who we needed to pay our respects to.  The Belle Celloe, the woman who had organized all of this, gave a brief introductory speech, and the conference began.  We heard from Ben Howard about the AIME Program, Jeff McMullan, CEO of the Ian Thorpe Foundation, Dr. David Brockman, VP of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association, Gael Kennedy, of Filling the Gap, Mark Bloxsome, an Aboriginal man who works for the federal government, and Ngiare Brown, of the POCHE Centre for Research.  All of the speeches were helpful, inspirational, and instructive in understanding the path forward in Australia.  After they Q&A session, I went down to the stage to thank the speakers and organizers of the conference.I then walked to Redfern station and took 2 trains back to my couch/bed.

Wednesday, June 2nd
Got up fairly early today, to get going, because there was a lot I wanted to get done and to see. I took a bus out to Sydney's most famous beach, although debatably not her nicest, Bondi Beach.  From Bondi Junction it was only a ten minute ride away, and I took advantage of this fact.  The day was a bit chilly, overcast, and windy, but the beach was still spectacular.  It is set into a natural cove, and half of it is given over to swimmers (you must swim between the flags) while the other half is given to surfers.  There were a lot of the latter, kitted out in their thick wetsuits, since the Pacific in winter isn't the most temperate of waters.  I dipped my toes in, just to see how it felt, and it was cold, but not terribly so.  I then wandered around the area, which was similar to beach towns everywhere, with cafes and tourist shops.  The cove was bordered on either side by rocky coast, and it reminded me of a cross between the coastlines of Northern California and Maine.

I took the now familiar train into Town Hall station, which is, as one could guess, located right under the Sydney Town Hall Building.  The building is in the classical style, and is quite striking.  It cuts a very majestic image nestled in between the skyscrapers of downtown Sydney.  It is also proximate to a couple of other old and majestic buildings, namely the St. Andrews Church and the Queen Victoria Building.  Following some guidance from a local information booth, I set out on my way throughout the city.

Downtown Sydney is immense, and completely different than anywhere else I've been thus far on my trip.  It's a far more metropolitan city than Auckland, to be sure.  It reminds me of New York, with the city feel so close to water.  I walked through the CBD to a large park, which was again reminiscent of New York.  This park, as with one of the ones in London, is known as Hyde Park, and holds within its border the Sydney ANZAC Memorial.  This is, of course, a monument to the war dead of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, from when both countries still fought for the Empire, mostly in the Boer War and World War One.  It was the first memorial I had even seen built in the Art Deco style, which was cool, and really worked for some reason in lending an air of austerity and respect.  The interior is similar to Grant and Napolean's tombs, with a main floor above a circular lower area with a tomb, or in this case the crucified form of an ANZAC soldier.  The roof is covered with countless cold plated stars, and the main floor features a eternal flame and four alcoves in which the battles of the ANZAC have been inscribed.  Outside is a large reflecting pool and the flags of Australia, New Zealand, the Aborigines, and the Torres Strait Islanders.

After paying my respects, I walked through Hyde Park to The Great Synagogue, which was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century for the Jewish congregation of Sydney, which itself had been formed officially in 1826, or so said a plaque on the building.  It's built in old Central European style and is quiet grandiose.  I did not enter the synagogue, because it is only open to the public during services, due to security concerns.  I thus admired the exterior for a little while and went off on my way.

Next I went to the Sydney Tower.  This is Sydney's attempt at the beautiful tower gracing Auckland's skyline.  Unfortunately for Sydney, their tower is both shorter and uglier than the kiwi version.  It's a gold, gaudy mess, and it adds no aesthetic value to the skyline.  I entered on street level, and found everything to be under renovation, which made the whole scene a bit disorderly.  I got into an elevator to the "summit" with a large and very confused Indian family, which led both to annoyance and hilarity.  The elevators, unlike the normally shaped ones in Auckland, are each shaped like pieces of pie, in order to fit more into the main structure, which led to some interesting positioning in order to all fit in.  Up at the top, the view was pretty stunning, especially since I got right as the sun was starting its descent.  This gave the whole northern half of the city a golden glow, particularly the Harbour Bridge.  Unfortunately, a tall, ugly building was blocking the view of Circular Quay and the Opera House, but the rest of the city was my oyster.  I could see the harbor, the Pacific Ocean, and the distant Blue Mountain range, as well as the metropolis below me.  Just as in Auckland, this was the way to see the city.

After the tower I walked to a nearby Apple store, where I used the wifi on a new iPad (which was just released here and is driving the Aussie press crazy) to get a map and find my bearings.  I then trekked out to Darling Harbour, incidentally the site of Real World: Sydney, for a visit to the Sydney Aquarium.  Having discovered an interest in marine life over the past few semesters at UM, I was very excited to get to see so many examples of organisms which only live in Australian waters, or cannot be found in the US.  I was also very excited to see my first real life pokemon, a dugong.  Alright, I promise that will be the last pokemon reference on this blog, but I was still excited to see, in person, this sleeker cousin of the Florida Manatee.  The aquarium consisted of four buildings.  The main building was on the Darling Harbour landmass, while the 3 ancillary buildings were in the harbor itself.  The main building had all the smaller exhibits, featuring a platypus (which was hiding), several species of penguin, rockfish, cuttlefish, and all sorts of other creatures.  The three other buildings, which were accessed via gangplanks, were massive tanks with walk through underwater tunnels in them.  The first was the famed dugong exhibit, while the other two featured sharks and rays, and a Great Barrier Reef habitat.  In the Great Barrier Reef habitat, there was a clever use of glass built in to separate some animals from others.  One of these animals was the Lionfish, which is a poisonous fish that has become an invasive pest in the waters around South Florida.  It was interesting to see them in their natural environment.

Following my marine adventures, I walked around Darling Harbour, which has a shopping and entertainment feel to it.  I walked past the largest IMAX in the world, as well as numerous malls, shops, restaurants, and a casino.  I spent some time wandering through one of the malls, had dinner at a local place (chicken schnitzel), and after that I returned to Bondi Junction to relax and sleep on the couch.

Thursday, June 3rd
Today Yuval finally had some free time, so he was going to take me to a few places around town that he liked.  We were delayed in the morning due to some technical difficulties with Yuval's computer, but eventually we got on our way.  We took the train to Central station, where we walked a few hundred meters to Paddy's Haymarket.  This is a very cool place in Chinatown where you can get everything on the cheap, and bargaining is required.  It was very different from the stores I had been in thus far in NZ and Australia.  It was a fun place to wander, and I procured for myself a boomerang, a poster of Aboriginal artwork, and a present for my folks.  Haggling was required, and I only spent about $35 on the lot of it.  Yuval got himself a didgeridoo, which I was considering also purchasing, but for the fact that I would have to lug it around with my from country to country.

After the market we walked over to Chinatown proper, which was easy to spot, given the large red Oriental gates marking the entrance.  We found a cheap place to eat, and dug into emmigrant Chinese food, which, in my opinion, can be much better than the real thing, being loaded with sugar, fats, and MSG.  We then took a free CBD bus to Circular Quay, where Yuval took some pictures of me with the Circumnavigators Club flag in front of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, as much to please my benefactors as my mother.  We wandered around The Rocks, and found a similar didgeridoo to Yuval's selling for nigh on $300.

Next up, we decided to go visit the National Maritime Museum, both because it sounded interesting and because it had free admission to the general public.  We made the sizeable walk between Circular Quay and Darling Harbour, where the museum is located, and were both pretty exhausted by the end of it.  Unfortunately, we arrived just 15 minutes before the museum was closing, so we were not allowed entrance.  Thus suitably dispirited, we began the long walk back to Town Hall to catch a train back to the apartment.  Once there, we settled in and didn't do much for the evening.  Yuval was going on a trip to Cairns, to visit the Great Barrier Reef, tomorrow, so he got a pretty early night's rest.

Friday, June 4th
I was woken a few times last night by the storm raging outside the windows of the apartment.  Upon actually waking up for the morning I could see the extent of it, as the harbor wasn't visible through the downpour.  It appeared as if the storms of Miami had transplanted themselves to the streets of Sydney.  Not only were the wind and rain bad in Sydney, but a smaller town in New South Wales had been decimated by a tornado during the night, although thankfully and miraculously no one had been hurt too seriously.  Noting the weather, I stayed in for the morning.

I was finally forced to set out into the weather by sheer hunger.  I had some passable Italian food at the food court nearby and then went back to the apartment to get dressed up for my meeting later in the day.  After showering, shaving, and donning the suit, I set out again into the rain and wind.  My meeting was with a Dr. Paul Torzillo, who is a respiratory physician at Prince Albert Royal Hospital, as well as a big force in the work to help improve the healthcare of remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.  I met the doctor at his hospital office in the suburbs near Sydney University, and through a clever combination of trains and taxis had somehow managed to stay relatively dry.

He was a little pressed for time, due to some commitments in the OR, but we had a very productive meeting nonetheless.  We were able to discuss his work with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, for which he has received many awards and decorations, as well as about the general situation of Aboriginal health in Australia.  The thing he really wanted to stress to me was that, much as is the case with other disparaged groups, there is a lot of diversity in the Aboriginal situation here.  The problems facing Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders living in remote communities and those living in urban settings are, while both grave and deserving of attention, very different from one another.  Very helpfully, Dr. Torzillo also provided me with some additional contacts for my time in Canberra and Melbourne later on during my time in Australia.

After the meeting I couldn't find a cab on the suburban roads, and so I had to walk through the downpour to the nearest major street.  On the way I got soaked, predictably.  I took a cab to the Great Synagogue, where I had decided to go to Shabbat services, since I was already dressed up and looking for some company, as Yuval had left that morning and I didn't know his flatmates that well.  I got there a bit early, so I sat in a cafe nursing a coffee and trying to dry off, rather unsuccessfully I might add.  At 5:45 I went to the synagogue, where I had to pass the concerns of the two security guards stationed outside in order to be allowed entrance.  Once inside, I was equally impressed with the interior design as the external.  It was grand, with gold, tile, and ironwork everywhere, and a beautiful ark and bima.

Services mostly consisted of a cantor chanting prayers, with the rest of the congregation either joining in at the good bits or holding side conversations.  The rabbi gave a very brief D'var Torah about how we had earned extra merit for coming to be closer to G-d on such a night, and how being close is all G-d desires of us.  I am not terribly religious, but it was nice to think that I had done something to be proud of, whether in reality I had or not.  The service itself was very compact, with most of the real bang being reserved for Saturday morning. Once services were over the small assortment of people present (we had only had one more than a minyan) went into the back rooms of the synagogue for some wine and pretzels.  Everyone was very welcoming to me, and they were all very interested in my trip and grant.  Amongst our number was the Rabbi (Jeremy), Cantor (David), members of the congregation (Raymond and Peter), a newly converted Jew (Johanna), and a few more whose names I cannot recall.  Johanna and I had a lengthy conversation about her experience converting, about her maternal grandmother, who had been a proud Yankee, and also about her writing.  She is the author of a bestselling historical fiction here in Australia, and she is trying to get it published in the States, so be on the lookout for the novel Ironbark.  We also noted a lot of similarities between Australia and the US in terms of history and culture, especially out west during the time of the gold rush.

Once he heard that I had no plans for dinner, the Rabbi invited me to his house for Shabbat dinner, where some of the congregation would be joining us.  It took about 20 minutes to walk there, but fortunately the rain had stopped for the time being.  I had, throughout the night, a lot of side conversations about US politics, my research, and the recent news, of which the Israeli flotilla raid was prominent.  At the rabbi's house we met his wife and family and had a lovely dinner.  There was much singing, laughing, and, as this was a Jewish food, more food than could conceivably be consumed by any normal human being.  We were treated to homemade challah, chicken soup, roasted vegetables, steamed pumpkin, grilled mushrooms, roast beef, barbeque chicken, and potatoes, as well as some wine and scotch for good measure.  To cap it all off, we had candies, chocolate, and apple crumble fro dessert, as well as various fruits.  We wrapped up around 11, and I didn't get back to the apartment until around midnight.  Very fulfilling day and night, though.

Saturday, June 5th
I woke up today expecting a continuation of yesterday's horrible weather, but not for the first time the weather of Oceania threw me for a loop as it was absolutely brilliant outside.  It was actually sunny and warm, which is another first in this winter season down in the Southern Hemisphere.  I had been panning to stay in and do work, but I decided to take advantage of the weather and see some more of the city the day before I left for Canberra.  I took the trains to Circular Quay, had some Hungry Jack's for lunch, and boarded a ferry bound for the other side of the harbor, and Taronga Zoo.

The ferry ride was awesome because I got to see Sydney from a completely different angle, from the water.  The ride only took about 20 minutes before we pulled up to a dock on a forested beach near a big hill, where the zoo is located.  It was a bit like how I pictured Jurassic Park the first time I read the book.  The boat left me at the bottom of the hill, with the entrance to the zoo at the top.  I took the chairlift there, getting a view of some of the animals (like the elephants) from the air.

The zoo itself was very cool, as there were many exhibits featured or showcasing animals I had never seen in person, much like at the aquarium.  Although I did stop by to see the African plains animals, and the animals of the Asian mainland, I was most interested in those animals which can only be found living in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.  I got see giant Red Kangaroos, emus, cassowaries (which can run 30 kph through dense jungle), and koalas.  I walked next to hopping wallabies, with no barrier between us.  I was particularly enamored of the building housing all of the nocturnal creatures.  This is where I got to see an echidna, a Tasmania devil, and many animals whose names I can't even begin to pronounce.  I also missed out again on seeing a platypus.  They are very reclusive creatures, but I did learn that their babies are called puggles, which may be the most adorable thing ever.

After my trip to the zoo the clouds began to roll in from the Pacific, and the weather took a turn for the worse.  I went back to the apartment, where Yuval's flatmates had graciously allowed me to stay even after he left.  I stayed in for the night because I had a train to Canberra to catch in the morning, and also because I wanted to watch the USA v. Australia soccer game at 10:30.  I was very pleased to watch the US win the game, 3-1, and then I fell asleep.