ARRIVAL

Thirty-six hours of travel are complete. I am in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Imagine Chicago with Los Angeles weather and South Carolina beaches...and Hawaii-sized waves. At least that’s my first impression.

I am “recovering” tonight at a downtown hotel before heading out to Macquarie University lodging tomorrow. In the heart of downtown Sydney...there seem to be more college-aged kids than in most cities. Brisk business people, of course...but mostly youngsters.

It’s bright sun outside and room temperature. A slight breeze. Again...a beachy city with early twentieth century American/ European architecture and a college town feel.

Sure. I could live here.

Oh yeah...and the city is crusty (re: dirty, rusty, imperfect) enough to be really endearing. That’s the thing we miss in cities like Greenville (my hometown): everything is so fresh and new. Nothing creaking under the weight of its own history.