Hello Again

Hello again,
I've just arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. A mere three hour flight from Sydney. Obviously, I don't have that much to tell about NZ itself, but I can recap on the last few days in Sydney.

Like I wrote last time, Friday was pretty lazy. A bit of internet, some reading, some beach and home. The beach was less exciting than expected, because - apparently - everywhere I go I bring the weather with me. That it to stay, there was a bit of a storm, with high winds and some rain.
After the Shabbess dinner (Oy, the shabbess) I went out to check the local scene. Apparently the gays of Sydney also follow the Shabbess, as there weren't that many people out and about. It's not that it was empty, just, well, slightly disappointing (and now I KNOW I'm going to get comments on this post!). But read on...

Saturday was a nicer day, and I decided to do what I really came for - a ballet class. The Sydney Dance Company has studios down by Circular Quay (on the wharf), and they give classes. Unfortunately, since I woke up much later than intended, I made it to the beginners. The teacher was very nice, but the place was crowded, and it was a little slower than necessary. The really great part was after class, when the teacher came up to me and asked me how the class was - was it too easy? and we started talking. When I mentioned I was from Israel, he asked (all serious) whether I was with Bat-Sheva (they just opened the Sydney Festival with Telophasa and a couple of other pieces - checkout http://www.batsheva.co.il/site/). I still can't figure out whether he was complimenting me or insulting them...

Later on I took the ferry to Manly (don't you just love that name?), which is lovely (in a calm, boring sort of way). The ferry ride itself was interesting - the view is indeed spectacular.

After I returned, I went to a party with Jack, a friend of a friend who lives in Sydney. This was a birthday party for a girl-friend of his, and I got to meet a cool bunch of people from the Australian Film Commission and some other friends. Some people were dressed as robots, since it was a robot-theme-birthday-party. (This involved lots of aluminium foil. Don't try this at home). This was in Surry Hills, just behind Oxford St., so on the way back I saw that I was wrong - there is a nightlife scene in Sydney, but it's on Saturday night ... I'll have to check it out when I come back (and what can you do?).

The reason I headed home relatively early was that on Sunday my brother and I booked a surfing lesson. And since I can't resist, I will say - the sea was rough that day, my friends. It started with about an hour ride to one of the more secluded beaches. We then suited up and dragged the surfboards to the beach. It's harder than it looks, and these were the heavy learners' boards. A bit of theory on the sand (which makes it look really easy - did you know you actually do Yoga poses to stand on the board?), and then into the water. Since I have that luck with weather, we experienced a particularly cold stream,which means the water was 17C rather than the normal 22-23C. Or in professional terms - it was fucking cold. and for some reason (jetlag?) I was really affected by it - after the first dip in, I started literally shaking and couldn't stop. So for the rest of the day, I was in and out of the water, while the rest were enjoying their lessons and practicing. Well- enjoying is pushing it. In truth, it's really hard to even paddle inside, deep enough to catch waves. In case you were wondering why the beach bums and surfers are so muscular - it's just from trying to paddle in... But to be honest - the conditions weren't great (wave-wise) and I was frickin' cold, so I think I'm going to try again under more hospitable conditions.

Oh, and just because I was cold doesn't mean I didn't get burned. I mean REALLY burned. Anywhere and everywhere. And I did put on sunscreen, but not on the bottom side of my soles :(

Sorry about the lack of pictures again - I keep forgetting to schlep the camera cord to the internet cafe... I will try to remember next time. Kisses for now.