Day 2 and 3

Wow!  So much has happened since my last post and I hear you have had a snow day.  It is hard to imagine snow when it is so warm here, but I am sorry to miss it because I do love snow days! 


HMS Vampire at Maritime Museum



Interior Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House



Pizza at The Australian

 Let me begin by telling you a bit about our second day down under which was Tuesday.  Day two began with drizzle and continues on and off all day.  We started the day by visiting a public relations firm in north Sydney.  This was really good for the students since most of them are studying business.  It was interesting for me as well.  I learned that there are 4 main political parties here in Australia.  Mining is a huge industry here and natural resources include coal, iron, gold, petroleum, and natural gas.  Australia has a population of about 22.5 million people and over 7 million are on Facebook!

After our business meeting we headed to a restaurant that had been recommended to us for its great pizza.  Guess what kind we all tried?  Kangaroo pizza—check out the photo below.  It was quite delicious!  I’m glad we ate it before we saw them at the wildlife park on Wednesday.  After lunch, we visited the Maritime Museum and actually got to tour a submarine and a battleship.  I had to think of some of you boys and how you would have loved that.  The submarine was extremely cramped inside. When it was in service, it would have held 68 crewmen!  I got a bit claustrophobic and we were not even underwater.

Day 3, Wednesday, was jam packed.  Each day a different student is the leader.  They are responsible for the day’s activities and getting us to and from everything.  It is a big responsibility, but they are all doing a terrific job.  Chelsea was our leader today and she had us on a tight schedule!  Remember, I told you earlier that we were going to tour the opera house, well this was the day.  We had a guided tour which was really cool because we each wore head phones.  The guide spoke into a microphone that transmitted only to our headphones.  It made it really easy to hear everything she had to say.  The Sydney Opera House was designed by a Danish architect named Jorn Utson.  When they began construction they estimated it taking 3 years and $7 million to build.  In reality it took 16 years and $102 million to complete the project!  Quite a difference don’t you think?  The sad thing is that Utson never personally saw the building completed.  He left the project before it was finished.  On a positive note, he was consulted later on additions to the building and now has a room named after him.  The building is absolutely beautiful.  Up close you can see that the tile on the outside is not just one color but several different colors of off white.  Some of the tiles are glossy and some of them have a matte finish.  All of the tile was made in Sweden and I think the guide said there are 17 different shapes.

On the inside many different types of wood were used in the concert halls and theaters.  We were able to sit inside the main concert hall.  It was specifically designed for instrumental music.  Microphones are really not needed because the acoustics are so good.  I had to think that Mr. Varner would love it, so would you band students.  The opera hall is designed for voice.  We were not able to see it because something was in rehearsal.  After the tour, the students decided they would like to see a show there, so we will see a musical next Friday on our last night here.  I am really looking forward to that!

Well, the students are waiting on me, so I had better go.  I will tell you more about Day 3 later.  Oh, before I go here is an Australian analogy for you.  Read it and complete it.              opera : voice :: orchestra : _______________________