This video I found looking through some of the files in my computer, I didn't know I had but I liked it so much that I decided to post it here!

Enjoy!

After freezing cold temperatures in Sydney, to which locals are used to, I finally arrive to Hervey Bay Airport on July the 20th. It was such a relief to see familiar faces and especially to see my family that has been living here for so long.

Well, besides the fact that I'm in another estate and the temperature is a little bit higher, many towns in Australia keep an amazing resemblance to each other, sometimes giving you the feeling on the Wild Wild West!

But who cares! I got to see my sister and my nephews who went to Colombia to visit but I was working and I couldn't spend too much time with them.

My sister has been living in Australia for the last 5 years and it's a long trip from Colombia to get here, so you can imagine how excited I was to be here with her and the boys!

They just teenagers and each one has their own way, they're like opposites but certainly really fun to hang out with. I just love them and watching them all grown up is an indescribable feeling.

Here's where pretty much ends my journey to the land down under... like I told you, lots of expectations, but not what I expected....

However, I have to say that Australians so far have been really nice to me (some of them) but where I am I can say they're pretty dull (and some might hate me for it) but hey, I have Latino blood and it's always like that with us!

Probably I'll have some more comments about Australia later on!

Friday and Saturday got a little better, I had the chance to visit Chinatown where people barely understands English (and I find it outrageous!) and buy knock-offs of poor quality. Some people bought there jackets and other stuff and discovered the very next day how bad these things were made, however, souvenirs were not that bad, because you can find plenty.

Yes! The Aquarium was really nice, they have like this underwater tunnels so you can see the fish swimming around, even sharks.

If you're up to it and can afford a couple of smokes, maybe you should know that you can smoke in public places as long as you follow certain regulations: anywhere near door of public and government buildings or malls (shopping centres included) you're allowed to do it, but you can follow cigarette butt trails to the smoking areas, I did it because I was freezing.

Walking downtown is fun and things are not as far as locals tell you (their solution was jumping in the metro to go anywhere!). There are a lot of nice buildings and some historical areas that you might want to explore.

My recommendation is that you go in the afternoon to Sydney Tower, so you can see the beautiful sunset and relax until night falls so you can see the city lights from above.

Overall it was a nice experience and we all had the chance to share a lot and experience this site like few people could.

As you must know well by now the purpose of my trip was to participate in the World Youth Day 2008. It is like a gathering where Catholic youth from all over the world comes together to participate in something that at the end didn't make any sense. The feeling of being happy about being Catholic was never felt but I attended mass and heard the sermon everyday, then I realized that the church is still very old and the people who is young at heart are a bunch of hypocritical punks.

While I was in Sydney I had the chance to meet a person whose handicap didn't allow her to walk very fast or move along with the group; everything was fine until the time to do things young people love doing came: She was always left behind, pushed around or ignored (even by me once and I acknowledge it, but I made it up to her). These people were so eager to do tourism around Sydney and buy that they'd rather leave early or separate from the group than actually being a helping hand. Young people is not willing to help other, I'm young but not selfish or self-centered, why did they ignore her so bad? The answer my friend is a simple as it comes: she was in their way.

Only once I left her behind, but it was because she was looking for presents the very day of the Pope's arrival. Later she apologized but I was stuck like glue to her butt until the last day we were together in Sydney. This woman is dedicated to serve God and is more happy of doing so than many of the people I met during this trip; in her hometown she works with youth through prayer, especially youth in need like in prisons for underage felons and rehab clinics for poor people.

I never anyone so happy to be surrounded by all these people...

Long story short... being with her certainly had advantages for me, we could get in first to many places, locals were very helpful whenever she needed help even when she didn't ask and she was extremely kind and gracious to me.

But going back to the topic, there are five things to do in Sydney that you can do for only $AUD 90. It's called Sydney five-in-one and they give you the high-lights of the city and five days to do these 5 landmarks: Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower, Tour in boat throughout Sydney Harbor, visit one of the pillars of the Harbor Bridge and the Aquarium. If you do all of these stopping at every site and paying full it's about $AUD 125 altogether, including things we didn't expect.

We got to taste Australian wine in the boat during the tour around the harbor and actually see whales for free, we got the most amazing holographic projection and ride this thing with big screens in Sydney Tower, we had the chance to see the inside of the Opera House because the shows finished about the time of our tour (usually you can't enter these places) and spend an amazing time in the Aquarium. They talked about the zoo (everyone wanted to see the animals, not me) and it sounded spectacular, so perhaps you should try.

To complete the story, well, we saw the Pope really close, but not for enough time to take a picture and in Barangaroo and Randwick he would way to far to see him without aid or in a large screen...

This was my best shot:

There he is inside the car, but he went by too fast!

After this everything was downhill for my participation in the World Youth Day activities.

Well, too many expectations and considering the comments of people I've met in Colombia I was expecting so much more...

Anyhoo, it's a beautiful city and the Opera House is really amazing, sometimes beyond unbelievable, considering the history and story behind the construction. They don't allow to take pictures inside the building, but let me tell you is incredible. I was lucky enough to hear a rehearsal of the huge organ and the acoustics were out there off the charts!

Behind this picture is the night view of the Harbor Bridge, really nice lights were decorating the bridge for the visit of the pope.

This is how it looks at night.

This was the night of our arrival to Saint Patrick's School where we were staying at. We had passes that allowed us to travel around Sydney for free within certain boundaries, but yet we were able to go to many places and visit almost daily the Circular Quay station where you get off to walk to the Opera House.

The following morning we did it again, we took the metro down to Sydney and off at Circular Quay, so we had the chance to see it really early in the morning. Some locals were okay with the temperature but most of us Colombians couldn't cope with it, so scarf, gloves and a wool hat were necessary early in the morning.

Thousands of people were walking this area all day long so it was difficult to get a clear shot of the place, that day we toured for an hour inside the opera house and we got to see how it was built and the people in charge.

It was really fun to visit. Later on I'll write about the Pope.

Well, as I was saying last time I didn't write much about the whole experience but I think it's worth writing. I left Bogotá on July the 9th around 9:00 am in a flight from Bogotá to Miami.

Everything was fine from Bogotá to Miami, except for the team that was participating in some sort of cup or something, most of them under 12 or so... it was annoying, they kept playing the whole way to Miami and not even when they were eating they were quiet. So, no nap on the way there nor any rest, considering I got up around 4:00 am that day.

Bumpy ride, which is normal this time of year and flying over the Gulf. They immigration officer was encouraging me to buy a DVD player so I could spend some of the time from LAX to Sydney International Airport watching the Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy); 9 hours straight of movies to watch, so it would cover some of the flight time.

In the picture (L2R): Jane Doe, Adahine, Me, Patricia and Indira.

Surprise! The Captain was a no show, so we got stranded for three hours in Miami, and all the running around trying to find the place where to check in our stuff had me exhausted already. Finally one got there at 5:00 so we left at 5:30 to LAX. It was a 5 hours flight with no meal served and a sandwich was $10 USD... (I thought "they're joking, right?"). We got to LAX at 8:00 with a connecting flight at 8:30 so they had us running to let us know that they flight had been delayed.

So, we decided to get ahead and check in to leave LAX to Sydney, and it took us 2 hours in line. There were so many people that it was a pain in the butt trying to do anything. Of course, we were starving and we got our boarding passes at 10:00pm to board at 10:00pm, so we went to McDonalds to grab a quick bite and stuffed ourselves trying to eat real fast. When we crossed security it was already 10:30pm but the gates were jammed and there was no one to open them so we were at the boarding gates trapped. Around 11:30pm the doors were opened and we got to the buses and I was the lucky winner of the seat in business class (1B to be exact!) in Qantas from LAX to Nadi (Fiji), then to Sydney.

That's me in the picture with Patricia.

So, after waiting one hour we left around 12:45 LAX in our way to Sydney. Some woman had a blood pressure condition and she couldn't travel so we had to wait for a doctor, then the Captain told us that everyone's luggage had appeared and it was now safe on board (of course, no one knew that it had happened). 10 hours of waking up and falling sleep were kind of relaxing but most of the time I couldn't sleep very deeply, because my hands and legs get numb during any flight. Lovely companion were these two Christian guys who were heading to Cogee Beach to work with underprivileged youth. The Italian guy next to one of them took the picture, he was on his way to Sydney to propose but the girlfriend had no idea.

We got to Sydney around noon, after 14 hours flying and 6 hours of delays altogether...

I'll write that part later!

I left Colombia on July the 9th heading to the World Youth Day Celebration that took place in Sydney. Great experience... not! I met more people from Australia (of course!) than any other country, even though this event was created to bring youth from the world together...

Some of them were really nice while others... Nah! It's just not worth my effort nor my criticism... there must be plenty of blogs around praising and elevating this to the top...

However, I had the most wonderful hosts anyone could ever have! The Shaws, they were extremely gracious and kind, they were very giving but, most of all, extremely intelligent. One of the few smart conversation and with true insight about Catholic Church these days I had! I can't completely express my gratitude and hopefully I can connect with them again soon.

The trip was a complete mess and it's not only the organization since we left Colombia but also the airlines... American Airlines! It's one of the most expensive airlines in my country and allegedly we got a great price for our tickets... but I'm pretty certain from previous experiences that this is not true. I think that the people in charge of booking the flights had something to do with it, but anyway, the only thing they did the way they should was leaving Colombia. After that was all chaotic with delays and luggage missing or in the wrong band all the way to LAX.

But then some other airline made up for the American Airlines mistakes! Qantas, the Aussie Airline by default (there are others but mostly domestic) upgraded me to Business Class (apparently they sold more seats) and I had the most delightful 14 hours of flight from LAX to Sydney International Airport with a small stop in Nadi (Fiji). How lucky can one be? Or maybe it was God's will, so I couldn't refuse... Lord, thy will be done!

These were some of the travel mates who left with me Colombia, a really fun group! I know I will hear from some of them really soon!