Blog Assignment 3

            The tennis fans at the Olympic Stadium were the model of what tennis fans should be. They were respectful, interested and knowledgeable about the game, even though it wasn’t a major tournament. It was impressive to see all the volunteers did their jobs strictly for the love of the game. One girl I talked to told me that she volunteered because this tournament had given her so much entertainment over the years that she just wanted to give back and meet other tennis fans. That really impressed me. You could tell that the volunteers were crucial to the event, and happy to be there. Talking to the volunteer coordinator, she emphasized the importance of these people, and made sure we knew how important they were.

           (Our volunteers we interviewed)

The cricket match was a whole other experience entirely. They had a much more diverse set of fans. These fans ranged from young to old, die hard to casual fans, and everywhere in between. The passion for the sport was there in loads the same as at tennis, but you could tell immediately it was a different atmosphere. People were laid back, cheering loudly, doing the “Mexican Wave”, and hitting beach balls; all while they played the game around us. It was an electric atmosphere and the fans were enthusiastic even though their team was not playing well, and ended up losing. All in all these were completely different experiences, but great in there own ways. On a side note, I now understand cricket… which I never thought would happen.

           

 (At the Cricket!)

Although it was great to see some hometown boys with the Bryan Brothers up close and personal, I found it much more exciting to go into the unknown of the cricket match and really be absorbed into the culture and the unfamiliarity. Activities like this make me really excited to see the rest of Australian events, like the rugby and soccer matches to see the fan atmosphere there.

 (The Bryan Brothers)

Oh and this happened.

Rock Rock City Bitch

Today we toured the oldest part of Sydney called the Rock City District. Pretty cool area of the city, filled with a lot of pubs, and old buildings they kept from the time the Convicts settled in and had to build their houses.

We had a tour from a lovely Aussie named Amy who gave us tons of information on the area, and more importantly the slang they all use. Like "Dodgy" which is like sketchy or shifty. And a "Wheeliebin"which is like a roadside trashcan with wheels. And best of all the sizes of beers here, which are, from smallest to largest a "Midi" and "Schmidi" and a "Schooner. That is definitely going to come in handy.

After that tour we took the ferry from Sydney Harbor to Bondi beach. The ferry ride gave me the opportunity for some awesome pictures of the Harbor, which is where the Sydney Opera House is.

(Sydney Opera House)

Bondi Beach is one of the best beaches in the world and always packed here, for surfing lessons. This was the highlight of the day even though it was almost 40 degrees Celsius (over 100 degrees F). There aren't a lot of pictures up yet cause of how long it takes to upload stuff here but more will be coming up soon.

(I am in here somewhere, possibly bottom right)

Hiking and The Beach

   Today we went on a tour of different parts of the city and surrounding areas. These included a suburb called Manly with some stunning views of the majority of Sydney.

After that we continued to a area of cliffs near Sydney called "The Gap"which had some pretty great views of the water.

(The Gap)

Fun fact from the Gap: They now have a large fence surrounding the whole area with fences, plus self help lines and cameras. They added these because it was a very popular place for people to take a leap off of (They don't survive).

After that we continued on a looooong hike (about 4 miles) down the coast, and ended up at Bondi Beach, which is an extremely popular beach around these parts. Great sandy beach, tons of people, and bars and restaurants around.

I didn't jump...

Taking some surfing lessons tomorrow at Bondi Beach. Until Tomorrow,

 Cheers

Blog Assignment 2 - Backpacker Industry

       The Backpacker industry is a very interesting and rapidly growing market in Australia. Because of this growth, it is becoming an economically viable industry in these parts. We have seen multiple backpacker shops that sell all the supplies needed, and many hostels that can house these backpackers. This type of tourist is much different from the “traditional tourist” who wants to see the “must see” attractions and is willing to spend a large amount of money on their trip. The backpacker tourist prefers to go “off the beaten path” and see less traditional things while saving money, whether its through the major cities of Australia, or the paths of the outback. Unfortunately, the rise in popularity of this type of tourism, it sheds these on these less popular places, and bring more people there which can negatively impact the environment. Personally, I believe these people are less likely to attend a sporting event than other tourists, but would be thrilled to participate in it due to the savings and money, and the experience it would bring to them.

Landed in Sydney!

After roughly 20 hours flying on planes, and some real interesting plane food, we finally made it.