I’m actually writing this the day before we leave, but I’m way behind on what’s happened.  So when we arrived in Brisbane we went to a koala sanctuary and zoo, as seen below.  We got to pet kangaroos, hold koalas, and see all the ridiculous animals found in Australia.  All I’ve realized is that I need a pet platypus.  We finally got to see our friends the Galeas and stayed with them.  What an amazing family.  I’d say they’re some of our favorite people from Australia.  We also took a trip up to Gympie, but that’s a whole different story.

These past 2 weeks have really flown by.  I haven’t really had much time to post or even access to the internet, so this has fallen by the wayside.  Shows have been great, after today we only have 3 more high schools.  We play a youth concert tomorrow night and on Saturday we play a show in a run down part of town.  This is what they call the “ghetto” here, and everyone said we shouldn’t go there.  This area, however has been the best response in high schools, as well as just talking to people on the street.  Everyone seems very down to earth there, and the area is not even close to as bad as our bad neighborhoods.  We honestly feel right at home there, plus it gives us the opportunity to work with the troubled youth in that area.

Headin to the beach tomorrow, so I should look ‘rican whence I return.

We’re now into the middle of our first week of high schools.  The besides the first day being a bit rough, the others have gone well.  The kids seem to really enjoy what we’re doing, especially when I get them up there to do stuff with the loop pedal.  Besides Ben using the loop pedal to emulate a full band, I’ve used the pedal to make big percussion loops to use on a few songs, and to be interactive with some of the crowds.  Everyone really seems to enjoy it.

Thursday and Friday we head to Bankstown to do a few high schools and a couple concerts.  The area is said to be about 80% Muslim, so it should be really interesting seeing the people who come out and their reaction.

The pics below are a bit random, but kinda funny.  We went up into the blue mountains west of Sydney and saw the “Three Sisters” rock formation.  It was beautiful, and Ben thought it to be appropriate to plank on the bridge between the mountain and the formation.  We also got to eat fish and chips on the beach of the bay that is the largest breeding ground of great white sharks in the world.  The ‘fish’ we were eating was actually shark, so I guess you can say it was empowering to do that, haha.  We also got to get out on the streets and just play some acoustic stuff on the street.  Also, my face in front of the opera house.

This starts a crazy week of high school shows during the day and concerts in the community and venues in the evening.  Everything is pretty great here, especially the food.  Everyone is so welcoming and hospitable, we feel at home already.  Just finished our 5th gig at a young adults meeting and it went incredibly well.  Met some great people as well.  A few days ago we played on the streets in an area called St. Mary’s.  It was too fun.

Yesterday we ventured into downtown Sydney.  The weather was terrible, but we got a fair bit of sightseeing in, as well as a good meal.  It’s such a beautiful city.  There was an area that reminded me of the tremont area in terms of shops and restaurants, but it was the size of a small suburb.  Amazing.

You may have heard of these guys.

Got to do some fun stuff over the past couple days.  We met up with one of the pastors of Hillsong to talk about working with them.  They tend to do things on a relational basis, so meeting up and hanging out seemed to be the way to go, which I prefer as well.  He invited us to one of their conferences to meet the other youth and young adult pastors, which was way too fun.  They are such humble, down to earth, and positive people.  I gained way more respect for them and now understand why they are where they are today.  I think we may do a show or two with them at the end of the tour.

Never really understood rugby until I got down here.  I’ve watched 3 matches over the past 4 days, including the ‘Grand Final,’ which is basically the Aussie version of the Super Bowl.  I really dig the sport now.  Really crazy to watch.  Like nascar (crashes=injuries), the NFL, and NHL combined.