I want to thank all of my friends and family members for reading my blog. I never thought I'd get 600+ views and I really appreciate everyone's interest in my travels. Its been a lot of fun keeping this blog and having people actually read it. I hope you all enjoyed it and that it gave you more insight into Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the world.
This blog will stay on the internet forever, so it will serve as sort of a virtual diary of my trip that I can look back on in the future. If you ever go to Australia or NZ in the future and want to look at what I did feel free to come back to this blog.
Unfortunately, my real life isn't near as interesting as this trip has been, so this will be my last blog post.
Thanks again for reading and I'm excited to see everyone when I get back home!
Cheers,
Alex Robertson
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Review of Australia/New Zealand
As you can probably tell from my enthusiastic blog posts I have a pretty high regard for Australia and New Zealand. However, it's my nature to make everything sound greater than it probably is. In reality, for most typical Americans there probably isn't a need to come here. Mostly everything you get in Australia/NZ you can get in North America: beaches, mountains, scuba diving, skiing, big cities, small coastal towns, and even McDonalds. That's probably why not a lot of people from the USA come here. However, if you can make a trip to either of these countries I would highly recommend it.
Australia: Great weather, very nice people, good food, and lots to do. Australia is so vast that you almost have to have a few weeks to spend here if you want to see more than one area. I really liked every place I visited here. There is probably more to do in Sydney than in Melbourne, but Melbourne is much more relaxed and has a more homey feel. Cairns was cool, but I wouldn't spend five days there like I did. Its the hub of the Great Barrier Reef, which is why most people go there. I would definitely recommend a trip to the Reef if you visit Australia. I didn't go there, but the Whitsunday Islands in Australia are supposedly some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You can do overnight cruises through the islands and then scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Overall, I really liked Australia and enjoyed my time there. I hope that I can come back one day and recall all of the fond memories from my time spent here.
New Zealand: Stunningly beautiful scenery, great wildlife, nice people, and tons of outdoor activities to choose from. New Zealand isn't as ritzy or wealthy as Australia, but it has loads to offer in terms of natural beauty. Many people say that NZ's South Island is the most beautiful place in the world. Its definitely the most beautiful place I've ever been too. It's like God smushed lakes, mountains, glaciers, rainforests, prairies and deserts all together and made NZ's South Island. Auckland was pretty cool, but I wouldn't spend a week there like I did. You could go to NZ and do a 9 day tour like I did and it would be well worth it. Queenstown was probably my favorite city that I visited out of my whole trip. The Doubtful Sound was probably the prettiest. Overall, I loved NZ and my 9 day tour was probably the funnest thing I did during my time here.
If I had 10 days to spend and someone made me pick between Australia and New Zealand, I would go to NZ's South Island. NZ supposedly has some of the best trout fishing in the world, and I'd love to go back there for that reason alone. If I went back I would also sky dive, I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't do that while I was there.
Australia: Great weather, very nice people, good food, and lots to do. Australia is so vast that you almost have to have a few weeks to spend here if you want to see more than one area. I really liked every place I visited here. There is probably more to do in Sydney than in Melbourne, but Melbourne is much more relaxed and has a more homey feel. Cairns was cool, but I wouldn't spend five days there like I did. Its the hub of the Great Barrier Reef, which is why most people go there. I would definitely recommend a trip to the Reef if you visit Australia. I didn't go there, but the Whitsunday Islands in Australia are supposedly some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You can do overnight cruises through the islands and then scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Overall, I really liked Australia and enjoyed my time there. I hope that I can come back one day and recall all of the fond memories from my time spent here.
New Zealand: Stunningly beautiful scenery, great wildlife, nice people, and tons of outdoor activities to choose from. New Zealand isn't as ritzy or wealthy as Australia, but it has loads to offer in terms of natural beauty. Many people say that NZ's South Island is the most beautiful place in the world. Its definitely the most beautiful place I've ever been too. It's like God smushed lakes, mountains, glaciers, rainforests, prairies and deserts all together and made NZ's South Island. Auckland was pretty cool, but I wouldn't spend a week there like I did. You could go to NZ and do a 9 day tour like I did and it would be well worth it. Queenstown was probably my favorite city that I visited out of my whole trip. The Doubtful Sound was probably the prettiest. Overall, I loved NZ and my 9 day tour was probably the funnest thing I did during my time here.
If I had 10 days to spend and someone made me pick between Australia and New Zealand, I would go to NZ's South Island. NZ supposedly has some of the best trout fishing in the world, and I'd love to go back there for that reason alone. If I went back I would also sky dive, I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't do that while I was there.
Favorite Pictures of My Trip
Here are several of my favorite pictures from my trip:
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| Blue Mountains, two hours west of Sydney |
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| Sydney Opera House |
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| Bondi Beach |
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| Cove in Cape Tribulation, Queensland |
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| Great Barrier Reef flyover |
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| You can't visit Australia without holding a koala bear |
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| New Zealand South Island |
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| Franz Josef Glacier |
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| South Island New Zealand |
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| NZ South Island tour group |
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| Wanaka, NZ |
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| Outside of Queenstown, NZ |
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| Queenstown, NZ |
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| Doubtful Sound, NZ |
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| Sunset in Doubtful Sound |
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| President's Cup golf tournament at Royal Melbourne Golf Club |
Mixed Feelings About Leaving Tomorrow
Well the time has come for me to leave my world of distorted reality and return to the United States. Its a perfect time to be going back home, right before Thanksgiving. After being on a pretty strict budget and not having the pleasure of eating too many quality meals for the past 7 weeks, I'm really looking forward to feasting on some great food.
I've also missed not being able to watch football. Fortunately, my friend Ram has satellite with ESPN so I got to see a few of the games this weekend. It was a crazy day in college football, I'm sorry to all of my followers that are Sooners fans. It will also be nice to not live out of a suitcase anymore.
However, leaving is very bittersweet. I am, of course, very excited to see my family and friends, but this trip has been so much fun and I'm going to miss it. I was nervous about traveling alone before I came on this trip, but I absolutely loved it. It really forced me to break out of my shell and meet lots of different types of people. If I was with a friend I probably would've been hanging out with them the whole time and not really socializing with others. Being alone and on your own agenda is such a pure feeling. The only down side is that you have no one to share the memories with but yourself. I'm fine with that though, I'll always have the memories and it will be great to look back on this trip when I'm older.
I'm excited to see everyone when I get back. It will be interesting to assimilate back into US society and not hang out with foreigners all the time. I plan on being home for a few days and then going to Kansas City for the Mizzou/KU football game. I haven't seen a lot of my college friends since graduation so I'm looking forward to it.
I get into OKC at 2 p.m. on Monday.
I've also missed not being able to watch football. Fortunately, my friend Ram has satellite with ESPN so I got to see a few of the games this weekend. It was a crazy day in college football, I'm sorry to all of my followers that are Sooners fans. It will also be nice to not live out of a suitcase anymore.
However, leaving is very bittersweet. I am, of course, very excited to see my family and friends, but this trip has been so much fun and I'm going to miss it. I was nervous about traveling alone before I came on this trip, but I absolutely loved it. It really forced me to break out of my shell and meet lots of different types of people. If I was with a friend I probably would've been hanging out with them the whole time and not really socializing with others. Being alone and on your own agenda is such a pure feeling. The only down side is that you have no one to share the memories with but yourself. I'm fine with that though, I'll always have the memories and it will be great to look back on this trip when I'm older.
I'm excited to see everyone when I get back. It will be interesting to assimilate back into US society and not hang out with foreigners all the time. I plan on being home for a few days and then going to Kansas City for the Mizzou/KU football game. I haven't seen a lot of my college friends since graduation so I'm looking forward to it.
I get into OKC at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Time Travel
Thanks to Ram
I want to give a big thanks to my friend Ram who let me stay at his place in Sydney the past two nights. My friend Robbie put me in touch with Ram before I came down here and its been a lot of fun hanging out with a good ole American. Ram if you are reading this, thanks again mate.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Readings
I got done with Steve Jobs Biography a few weeks ago. I absolutely loved the book. I used to think it was a bunch of BS that Apple wouldn't be able to survive without him, but after reading that I'm convinced that they are going to have a lot of trouble replacing him. He was such a hands-on CEO and was responsible for so many of the things that make Apple great, especially their innovative culture. He made big decisions in two seconds that other companies would have taken two months to make after analyzing market research and financial data. He was also a firm believer in not asking customers what they want because "they don't know what they want, you have to show them what they want." A quote I liked from the book in relation to that topic was from Henry Ford about the rise of the automobile: "Before the automobile was invented, if you would've asked people what they wanted they would have said a faster horse."
Jobs was also intent on making everything incredibly simple for the user. One article I read put it this way, "we are all a bunch of technology pilgrims, the first generations to have technology truly effect and run our day to day lives. We need simplicity." Jobs was also so confident in himself (to a point that he was undoubtedly narcissistic) that he didn't care what anyone else thought of him. I definitely wish I had a little more of that quality in myself. I think caring too much about what people think can really hinder you, and if you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you? I think so much of what happens in your life can be attributed to confidence and optimism. It seems like if you are confident going into a situation you are so much more likely to succeed at it. You make your own luck. Steve Jobs bio really furthered this belief with me.
I'm probably a little biased towards Steve Jobs because I'm such an enthusiastic Apple user, but I think its really unfortunate that he died so young. He really did dictate how we interact with consumer electronics in the 21st century. I think Apple will still do pretty well in the future, and the company's recent success can't all be attributed to Jobs, but he definitely be dearly missed.
Joe Kennedy, JFK's dad, really didn't mess around when it came to raising his kids. Before they were even born he had big plans for all of his children. Although the Kennedy family has had their share of problems and misfortunes, he definitely succeeded in his goal of getting his children into the American limelight.
My Predictions for Australia's Future
With my trip coming to a close, I wanted to share my predictions for Australia's future. Very little research was done on this matter, just random thoughts that I have accumulated throughout my 7 weeks Down Under after talking with people and watching the Australian news/reading newspaper and internet articles. Take them for what they are worth.
First of all, keep in mind that currently -- amidst a global recession -- Australia's unemployment rate is only 5%. USA: 9.1%, Europe: 9.7%
Many people, including recently President Obama, have dubbed the 21st century the "Asian Century." Just as the 20th century was called the "American Century" and the 19th century was called the "British Century." If the predictions of increasing Asian economic and political influence hold true -- and it looks like at least for the foreseeable future they will -- Australia will be in an excellent position to reap the benefits.
Here are Australia's top two-way trading partners for 2010:
1. China
2. Japan
3. USA
4. Singapore
5. UK
6. South Korea
7. New Zealand
8. Thailand
9. Germany
10. Malaysia
You'll notice that over half of them are Asian countries, and 7/10 of them are in the Asia-Pacific region, so you can see why a boom in this region would benefit Australia. Australia's main exports are resources such as coal, iron, zinc, and tin. In fact, in 2006 Australia was the world's largest exporter of the following: coal, wool, zinc and tin ores and concentrates, iron ore, beef, barley, and raw sugar (I cheated and got that fact from an Aussie gov't database).
As Asian countries (i.e. China) continue to grow they are going to need to import more of Australia's resources, which are apparently very plentiful. One older Aussie put it to me this way "we have so many resources its almost not even fair, we still have a long, long ways to go before they are depleted." Additionally, Australia gets a steady labor supply of Chinese/Asian immigrants to mine its resources. I've mentioned before that young Aussies don't want to work blue-collar jobs and for the most part rely on immigrants to do such work. However, these immigrants still get paid extremely well, usually what would be an unfathomable amount in their home countries. I read an article two days ago about a miner in the Outback who made $200,000 dollars last year.
Most notably, Australia has been one of the few countries in the world that has maintained strong diplomatic relationships with both the United States and China. If they are able to keep strong ties to both countries, they will have a huge advantage being on good terms with the two most powerful countries in the world going forward. However, in my personal opinion, I think the day will come when they will have to choose one or the other to side with, and I think they will ultimately choose the USA. As tensions grow between the USA (and pretty much the entire Western world) and China, it's going to be increasingly difficult for Australia to stay in the middle.
Australia also has good relations with many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. If you walk around downtown Sydney or Melbourne about 70 percent of the people will be white and 30 percent will be Asian (in New Zealand it seemed to be about 50-50 in the big cities). I think these numbers will grow closer as time goes on. I predict that in the future Australia (and, of course, Hong Kong) will be the place in the world where the East meets the West. Australia will be a place where both sides feel comfortable. Its predominantly English, Western influence and stable political system will attract investors/businesses from the West and the increasing Asian population and its location as the closest place to learn English and Western customs will continue to draw people/investors from Asia.
Australia has a relaxed immigration policy because they have to in order to have enough workers to run their economy. They also don't have a big problem with illegal immigrants like we do in the US mainly from Mexico, because Australia doesn't have any bordering countries. All of the Asians I have talked to on my trip absolutely love it down here. It seems like many of them come down here for a few months to learn English and end up never leaving. Its a perfect place for them to go: its not so far away from home, there are plenty of people from their home countries here, and they get to practice their English and immerse themselves in Western culture. They have all said how important they think it is for their future to speak English and learn "how people from the West act." There are now also lots of 2nd and 3rd generation Asians that live here. It is somewhat strange hearing an Asian talk in a Crocodile Dundee accent.
I've never been to Asia, but all of the people that are either from there or have visited talk about how incredibly different the Eastern and Western cultures are from each other. People in the West are much more open. Asians seem to get embarrassed very easily, and if they have a problem with you or work you have done they will not come right out and say it. One of my Taiwanese roommates studied in Brisbane, Australia for a few months and he said the classroom culture was so different than what he was used to. In group projects his fellow group members from either the USA, Europe or Australia would just come out and say "you did this wrong." He said in Asia they would typically say something along the lines of "your work was really good, I think you should go back and look at it again" if they spotted an error. Also, public displays of affection are extremely rude in Asian countries. My roommate from South Korea this week said he went to a beach in Melbourne and was amazed at all of the white couples kissing each other, he had never seen that before. On my NZ tour there was a 68 year old Japanese couple on our trip with us. They refused to sleep in the same bed together even when there was a double bed because they thought it would be terribly rude to the rest of us.
Here is a very funny observation of Chinese culture from one of my friends living there right now:
"As for Chinese manners, well, they're absolutely terrible. Take any
common courtesy and etiquette from the western world, and the Chinese
lack it. Every Chinese person seems on the verge of constantly
coughing or hacking their lungs out, and though they mostly refrain
from doing so inside, constantly spit everywhere outdoors. Children
don't wear diapers, they actually wear as*-less chaps and their
parents hold them over bushes, trash cans, or flower arrangements to
urinate and defecate in front of everyone. For men its fashionable to
grow out their pinky nails, and its considered
good luck to grow hair out of moles, especially if they're on their
face. That nice well-groomed business man next to you? Look for his
three inch pinky and four inch long chin-mole hair. Anyways, someone
summed it up to me the other day by saying China is basically an
overgrown agricultural peasant community all of the sudden thrust into
the spotlight of the urban industrialized world, and some of their
manners are a bit backwards."
The key for Australia's success going forward will be its ability to maintain a population size big enough to support its growing economy. With much of the nation virtually uninhabitable and major droughts along some major coastal cities such as Melbourne, it is going to be difficult increasing their population without some serious trade-offs.
I believe with its location as the only major Western power in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia is in an excellent position to boost its economy and geopolitical influence in the future. I think as the United States develops a greater presence in the Asia-Pacific region, we will develop even stronger ties with Australia and they will become one of our most important allies. You can see evidence of this from this week's visit from President Obama where he and Australian PM Julia Gillard announced that 2,500 US Marines will be stationed in Northern Australia, which many people see as a direct counter to China's growing influence in the region. If the future really is in the East, more and more of our economic and military resources will be shifted to the Pacific and the perfect place to set up shop will be the land Down Under.
P.S. Australia's great weather, beaches, and nice people don't hurt either.
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| Here is a map of East Asia. Notice Australia's geographical proximity to many of these countries. Australia is the only predominantly white, "Western" country in the region. |
Many people, including recently President Obama, have dubbed the 21st century the "Asian Century." Just as the 20th century was called the "American Century" and the 19th century was called the "British Century." If the predictions of increasing Asian economic and political influence hold true -- and it looks like at least for the foreseeable future they will -- Australia will be in an excellent position to reap the benefits.
Here are Australia's top two-way trading partners for 2010:
1. China
2. Japan
3. USA
4. Singapore
5. UK
6. South Korea
7. New Zealand
8. Thailand
9. Germany
10. Malaysia
You'll notice that over half of them are Asian countries, and 7/10 of them are in the Asia-Pacific region, so you can see why a boom in this region would benefit Australia. Australia's main exports are resources such as coal, iron, zinc, and tin. In fact, in 2006 Australia was the world's largest exporter of the following: coal, wool, zinc and tin ores and concentrates, iron ore, beef, barley, and raw sugar (I cheated and got that fact from an Aussie gov't database).
As Asian countries (i.e. China) continue to grow they are going to need to import more of Australia's resources, which are apparently very plentiful. One older Aussie put it to me this way "we have so many resources its almost not even fair, we still have a long, long ways to go before they are depleted." Additionally, Australia gets a steady labor supply of Chinese/Asian immigrants to mine its resources. I've mentioned before that young Aussies don't want to work blue-collar jobs and for the most part rely on immigrants to do such work. However, these immigrants still get paid extremely well, usually what would be an unfathomable amount in their home countries. I read an article two days ago about a miner in the Outback who made $200,000 dollars last year.
Most notably, Australia has been one of the few countries in the world that has maintained strong diplomatic relationships with both the United States and China. If they are able to keep strong ties to both countries, they will have a huge advantage being on good terms with the two most powerful countries in the world going forward. However, in my personal opinion, I think the day will come when they will have to choose one or the other to side with, and I think they will ultimately choose the USA. As tensions grow between the USA (and pretty much the entire Western world) and China, it's going to be increasingly difficult for Australia to stay in the middle.
Australia also has good relations with many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. If you walk around downtown Sydney or Melbourne about 70 percent of the people will be white and 30 percent will be Asian (in New Zealand it seemed to be about 50-50 in the big cities). I think these numbers will grow closer as time goes on. I predict that in the future Australia (and, of course, Hong Kong) will be the place in the world where the East meets the West. Australia will be a place where both sides feel comfortable. Its predominantly English, Western influence and stable political system will attract investors/businesses from the West and the increasing Asian population and its location as the closest place to learn English and Western customs will continue to draw people/investors from Asia.
Australia has a relaxed immigration policy because they have to in order to have enough workers to run their economy. They also don't have a big problem with illegal immigrants like we do in the US mainly from Mexico, because Australia doesn't have any bordering countries. All of the Asians I have talked to on my trip absolutely love it down here. It seems like many of them come down here for a few months to learn English and end up never leaving. Its a perfect place for them to go: its not so far away from home, there are plenty of people from their home countries here, and they get to practice their English and immerse themselves in Western culture. They have all said how important they think it is for their future to speak English and learn "how people from the West act." There are now also lots of 2nd and 3rd generation Asians that live here. It is somewhat strange hearing an Asian talk in a Crocodile Dundee accent.
I've never been to Asia, but all of the people that are either from there or have visited talk about how incredibly different the Eastern and Western cultures are from each other. People in the West are much more open. Asians seem to get embarrassed very easily, and if they have a problem with you or work you have done they will not come right out and say it. One of my Taiwanese roommates studied in Brisbane, Australia for a few months and he said the classroom culture was so different than what he was used to. In group projects his fellow group members from either the USA, Europe or Australia would just come out and say "you did this wrong." He said in Asia they would typically say something along the lines of "your work was really good, I think you should go back and look at it again" if they spotted an error. Also, public displays of affection are extremely rude in Asian countries. My roommate from South Korea this week said he went to a beach in Melbourne and was amazed at all of the white couples kissing each other, he had never seen that before. On my NZ tour there was a 68 year old Japanese couple on our trip with us. They refused to sleep in the same bed together even when there was a double bed because they thought it would be terribly rude to the rest of us.
Here is a very funny observation of Chinese culture from one of my friends living there right now:
"As for Chinese manners, well, they're absolutely terrible. Take any
common courtesy and etiquette from the western world, and the Chinese
lack it. Every Chinese person seems on the verge of constantly
coughing or hacking their lungs out, and though they mostly refrain
from doing so inside, constantly spit everywhere outdoors. Children
don't wear diapers, they actually wear as*-less chaps and their
parents hold them over bushes, trash cans, or flower arrangements to
urinate and defecate in front of everyone. For men its fashionable to
grow out their pinky nails, and its considered
good luck to grow hair out of moles, especially if they're on their
face. That nice well-groomed business man next to you? Look for his
three inch pinky and four inch long chin-mole hair. Anyways, someone
summed it up to me the other day by saying China is basically an
overgrown agricultural peasant community all of the sudden thrust into
the spotlight of the urban industrialized world, and some of their
manners are a bit backwards."
The key for Australia's success going forward will be its ability to maintain a population size big enough to support its growing economy. With much of the nation virtually uninhabitable and major droughts along some major coastal cities such as Melbourne, it is going to be difficult increasing their population without some serious trade-offs.
I believe with its location as the only major Western power in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia is in an excellent position to boost its economy and geopolitical influence in the future. I think as the United States develops a greater presence in the Asia-Pacific region, we will develop even stronger ties with Australia and they will become one of our most important allies. You can see evidence of this from this week's visit from President Obama where he and Australian PM Julia Gillard announced that 2,500 US Marines will be stationed in Northern Australia, which many people see as a direct counter to China's growing influence in the region. If the future really is in the East, more and more of our economic and military resources will be shifted to the Pacific and the perfect place to set up shop will be the land Down Under.
P.S. Australia's great weather, beaches, and nice people don't hurt either.
End of Trip Schedule
Here is my itinerary for the rest of my trip:
Saturday: 6 p.m. Fly from Melbourne for Sydney
Saturday - Monday: Stay in Sydney. My friend Ram has been gracious enough to let me stay at his apartment. I'm really glad I get to spend a few more days in Sydney before I go home.
Monday: 11:50 a.m. Fly from Sydney to Los Angeles, arrive at 6:50 a.m.
9:05 a.m. Fly from LA to OKC
1:55 p.m. Arrive in OKC
Saturday: 6 p.m. Fly from Melbourne for Sydney
Saturday - Monday: Stay in Sydney. My friend Ram has been gracious enough to let me stay at his apartment. I'm really glad I get to spend a few more days in Sydney before I go home.
Monday: 11:50 a.m. Fly from Sydney to Los Angeles, arrive at 6:50 a.m.
9:05 a.m. Fly from LA to OKC
1:55 p.m. Arrive in OKC
Tiger Looks Happy to See Old Caddie!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Happy 50th Birthday, Dad!
Love,
Alex
President's Cup: Day 2
I went to the second day of the President's Cup today. All of the matches were pretty close so it was really fun to watch. Tiger lost for the 2nd day in a row.. I'm sure that made news over in the States. Today was really crowded. With almost half of the international team being Australian, I felt like it was basically Australia vs. America. The crowd was really getting into it today, cheering hard for the international team. I've met a few Americans out there, but we are definitely few and far between. The match stands right now at: USA - 7, International - 5. It should be really fun to watch this weekend.
My personal prediction: Tiger WILL win another major at some point; however, I don't think he is going to break Jack Nicklaus' record of winning 18 majors. Tiger would have to win 4 more, that's like having a career like Phil Mickelson's from here on out.
My personal prediction: Tiger WILL win another major at some point; however, I don't think he is going to break Jack Nicklaus' record of winning 18 majors. Tiger would have to win 4 more, that's like having a career like Phil Mickelson's from here on out.
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| Right after Tiger sunk a long putt to win the hole on #4 |
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| Tiger getting ready for his tee shot on hole #5 |
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| Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson on the 6th green |
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| Ryo Ishikawa, 20 yrs. old, from Japan. 5' 9" 140 lbs. and hits the ball 300+ yards. He's like a rockstar in Japan, the media follows him everywhere. He donated all of his 2011 earnings to the Japanese tsunami relief. |
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| Hole #9 Green |
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Ozbama
One thing I've realized on this trip is just how much people in other parts of the world pay attention to the United States. Everyone is always talking about us, and everyone has an opinion on us. Our president goes to other countries and gets treated like a rock star. If Julia Gillard (Australia's Prime Minister) came to the US it would probably make the ticker on the bottom of CNN but it wouldn't be a big deal. People have been buzzing about Obama's visit for weeks. We really are seen as the pillar of the free world, and as corny as it is to say, it makes me very proud to be an American.
President's Cup: Day 1
Today was the first day of the President's Cup. I arrived at the course at 11 a.m. and play began at 1 p.m. The weather was perfect (72 and sunny) and the course is in great shape. The greens are really quick. The Americans did pretty well today and they go into tomorrow with a 4-2 lead. However, Tiger and his partner Steve Stricker got smoked. They lost in 12 holes, which ties the quickest loss ever in Pres. Cup history.
The tournament was pretty crowded, and with only 6 matches going on per day each hole attracts a lot of people. It was still relatively easy to get a good spot though. Here are some pictures from the day, they wouldn't allow cameras so I had to sneak these which is why there aren't really any of actual players.
The tournament was pretty crowded, and with only 6 matches going on per day each hole attracts a lot of people. It was still relatively easy to get a good spot though. Here are some pictures from the day, they wouldn't allow cameras so I had to sneak these which is why there aren't really any of actual players.
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| 7th Green |
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| Back of David Feherty's and Adam Scott's heads |
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| 17th Tee Box |
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
President's Cup Golf Tournament
The main reason I came to Melbourne at this time is because the President's Cup golf tournament is being played here Thursday-Sunday. The President's Cup is a tournament where 12 of the best USA players compete against 12 of the best international players outside of Europe. If you've heard of the Ryder Cup between the USA and Europe its basically like that. There are some huge names playing this week such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. I am going to the tournament on Thursday and Friday, which is being held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, supposedly one of the best courses in the world. Unfortunately, I can't take a camera inside but I am allowed to take my phone so hopefully I can sneak a few pictures.
There is some drama with Tiger Woods this week. A few months ago he fired his caddie (Steve Williams) who then went to work for an Australian player named Adam Scott. When Tiger fired Steve he ripped Tiger apart to the media and a few weeks ago at a banquet he said he wanted to win lots of tournaments with Adam Scott to "shove it up Tiger's black a**hole." A lot of people wanted Steve fired for making that comment, but he wasn't. So the Thursday match-ups came out today and Tiger is going to be playing Adam Scott tomorrow, meaning he will be in the same pairing as Steve Williams. I'm definitely going to be following that group around.
Here is the TV schedule for the Pres. Cup if you want to watch back home. On both days I will be wearing a black Titleist hat with yellow letters and sunglasses and khaki shorts. On Thursday I'm wearing a light blue collared shirt and on Friday a dark royal blue collared shirt if you want to look for me on TV.
Cricket Game
I went to the cricket game this afternoon. There were about 75 other people that joined me. Although there was hardly anyone there, the atmosphere was enjoyable. The weather was perfect and they served hot dogs and beer and played good music during the breaks. It definitely had the feel of a late spring baseball game. I still don't really know the rules so I wasn't exactly sure what was going on. I also walked around the Melbourne Tennis Centre, which is where they play the Australian Open tennis tournament each January. Here are some pictures from the cricket match and the tennis centre:
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| Melbourne Tennis Centre |
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| Some famous cricket player |
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| You can tell by the number of fans that it was a huge game |
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| This is kind of their version of a bullpen |
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Wednesday Cricket Match
Tomorrow afternoon I am going to a cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, supposedly one of the best cricket stadiums in the world. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG for short) seats almost 100,000 people. Here is a picture of the stadium:
The match I am going to is Victoria vs. Western Australia, two Australian state teams. They call these matches "domestic matches." The "international matches" (i.e. Australia vs. South Africa) are much more popular and they easily fill the stadium for those games. However, there will probably be only around 1,000 fans in attendance for tomorrow's game. This is perfectly fine with me because a) I wouldn't have any clue what was going on even if I went to a good game, b) I am going to have my choice of the best seats in the house, and c) my ticket was only $10.
I've had the rules of cricket explained to me dozens of times since I've been over here, but I won't bore you with the specifics. From what I gather, it's basically like baseball expect they only have two bases. Games are known to be somewhat boring to the average fan (also kind of like baseball) and matches can sometimes carry on for 5 days.
I'm really looking forward to the game though, I really wanted to see a cricket match while I was over here and I'm glad I have the perfect opportunity to do so. By the numbers of fans, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer. Although most of this is due to its fanatic fan base in India (supposedly cricket is a way of life over there), its also very popular in Australia, South Africa, England, and several Caribbean islands. Rumor has it Trinidad and Tobago used to have the most feared pitchers in the world.
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| Melbourne Cricket Ground |
The match I am going to is Victoria vs. Western Australia, two Australian state teams. They call these matches "domestic matches." The "international matches" (i.e. Australia vs. South Africa) are much more popular and they easily fill the stadium for those games. However, there will probably be only around 1,000 fans in attendance for tomorrow's game. This is perfectly fine with me because a) I wouldn't have any clue what was going on even if I went to a good game, b) I am going to have my choice of the best seats in the house, and c) my ticket was only $10.
I've had the rules of cricket explained to me dozens of times since I've been over here, but I won't bore you with the specifics. From what I gather, it's basically like baseball expect they only have two bases. Games are known to be somewhat boring to the average fan (also kind of like baseball) and matches can sometimes carry on for 5 days.
I'm really looking forward to the game though, I really wanted to see a cricket match while I was over here and I'm glad I have the perfect opportunity to do so. By the numbers of fans, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer. Although most of this is due to its fanatic fan base in India (supposedly cricket is a way of life over there), its also very popular in Australia, South Africa, England, and several Caribbean islands. Rumor has it Trinidad and Tobago used to have the most feared pitchers in the world.
Melbourne Art Gallery and Australian Center for Moving Images
Today I went to the Melbourne Art Gallery and the Australian Center for Moving Images. The art gallery is supposed to be one of, if not the, best art museums in Australia. I enjoyed the art gallery, but I liked the Australian Center for Moving Images better. It was basically an interactive history museum of modern media split up into four sections: film (TV & Movies), video games, internet, and special effects. It just opened a few years ago and was super high tech, with touch screens everywhere. They also have a big room with a dozen personal booths where you can pick from a selection of over 600 movies to watch on-demand of free. The whole museum was very interactive to the user; in the video games section they had dozens of old video games you could play, which was a smash hit with all of the little kids running around. I also learned that there is a popular scream in movies called the "Wilhelm Scream." Originally recorded in 1951, tons of movies have just used the same recording of it. They showed a video highlighting different movies that the scream has been used in and it was pretty funny, they really were all the exact same. They were famous movies too, like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc. Here are some pictures from the art gallery and film museum:
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| Part of the Australian Center for Moving Images |
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| One exhibit they had was called "ManStyle" which showcased the different styles of men throughout the ages |
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