Thursday, June 29, 2006
G'day from Sydney
6/29/06
Though our schedule in Sydney was pretty easy on our first day, by the time 8 p.m. rolled around, most of us could barely keep our eyes open. Even with some (minimal) sleep on the airplane, I must have been up for about 55 of 60 hours, so every time I walked into my room, the bed looked more and more tempting.
We landed in Sydney around 8 a.m. (from now until I get back to LA, all times will be Sydney time). Before we touched down, a member of the flight crew reviewed the declaration process, of which most sounded familiar. But the one thing that was pretty unique was that anything that can slightly modify the Australian environment – such as food, wood products, or anything that has foreign soil (actual dirt) – must be declared. The soccer, golf, and tennis teams loved that, because each of their shoes and equipment needed to be individually hand-checked at the customs border.
Even with that, we were at the hotel by 10 a.m. for some freshening up and relaxation time before lunch and our team meeting. I’m staying with one of the Masters Basketball players, a nice guy from Seattle. By 2:30 p.m., we were on the buses and heading over to the HaKoah club (similar to a JCC) that is in one of the Jewish sections of the Sydney suburbs.
Food and transportation in and around the Games should be very interesting. We found out at the team meeting and subsequent captain’s meeting that lunch will be served only at the Vibe Hotel and the Sydney Olympic Park (SOP) – so that does a lot for my teammates and I who will probably still be at the bowl during lunch. I can taste the box lunches already! But also, we were instructed to only go to venues for competition and then return to the hotel, since they want to make sure everyone who goes to the SOP or another venue comes back safely. By Tuesday, we hope those rules will relax a little bit.
It was only then that our brief touring began – a short bus tour around some of the Sydney suburbs followed by a boat dinner in the Sydney Harbour. We had some great views during the walk, especially of the famed Sydney Opera House.
The night ended early and by 8:45 p.m., we were asleep. Tomorrow we are off to a walk down by Bondi Beach followed by Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday evening services) and home hospitality dinner. If I can post before Shabbat, I will; otherwise, Shabbat Shalom l’kol.
*** One final word about the purple shirts: I'm told from some other overseas friends (like Tony from Great Britain and Tony from Australia) that they love their shirts and wear them with pride. Tony grom Great Britain even bowled 58 over for 8 games at the Maccabi European Games qualifier. Great bowling Tony! Go get 'em!
