Oklahoma State University Athletics
Australia, As Told By ... Jentry Holt (Vol. 4)
August 18, 2017 | Cowgirl Basketball
Sydney was our third and final stop in Australia! It was interesting the way our schedule ended up. Melbourne very much had a big city feel, Cairns was a relaxed beach town and Sydney seemed to be a little bit of both.
Sydney was definitely a big city. Sky scrapers, traffic, the works. However, Sydney was surrounded by the harbor and had beaches as well.
The architecture in Sydney was quite unique. There were very modern buildings right next to older ones that had withstood the test of time. Even with the housing this seemed to be a pattern. Old, new, old, new. It was as if the city was made and then the 20th century came along and filled in the blank spaces. The area was beautiful to look at. It made you think that every style is accepted in Sydney and that when something grows old it is not cast aside or destroyed but rather preserved and cherished.
On our first day we toured the Sydney Opera House. This building is truly one of a kind! The large sail looking structures, which give the opera house its distinct look, are merely hollow shells surrounding the performance theaters inside. We were able to enter the largest of the theaters in the Opera House. A massive piped-organ lined the entire back wall. Let me try and put into perspective just how large this organ was. Our tour guide, who was of average size and stature, said that she could easily fit inside one of the pipes.
The variety of events that are held in the opera house are phenomenal! Opera (obviously), sumo wrestling, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a muscle man competition here, as well as performances by Prince, Elton John and Ed Sheeran. The list goes on and on, so even if you aren't into opera there is something else for you!
Day two we took on the bridge climb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This was terrifying. The climb takes three hours to complete, you walk 1,390 stairs and the peak is 440 feet in the air. We were required to wear jump suits and have everything strapped to us. If something were to fall down to the highway the force would be enough to go through a car. Again my hands were profusely sweating but man the view was amazing!
This trip forced me out of my comfort zone every day, and every day it was worth it. I've tried to describe our experiences to the best of my ability but words just don't do it justice. This truly was the trip of a lifetime and I can't say thank you enough. Thank you to the people who made this possible for us and to those who covered us in thoughts and prayers! Thank you for reading along and for going on this journey with us!
After 25 hours of travel, we are finally home.
                                   Â
                                                                                                           Jentry
P.S. I kept a running list of phrases that were different to us. Here are most of them:
Hot sandwich = toasty
Tall people = tallies
Elevator = lift
Lemonade = sprite
Cotton candy = fairy floss
Otter = water rat
Telling lies = telling porkie pies
Trash can = rubbish can
Hug = cuddles
Bathing suit = bathers
Basketball shoes = basketball boots
Yield = give way
Charlie horse = corkie
Cheese pizza = margarita pizza
French fries = chips
Storage/closet = Cloak room
McDonald's = Macca's
Milkshake = thickshake
Chocolate milk = milk shake
Program = record
Silverware = cutlery
Expresso = short coffee
Long coffee = our normal coffee
Fellow/man = bloke
Disrespectful = cheeky
Sydney was definitely a big city. Sky scrapers, traffic, the works. However, Sydney was surrounded by the harbor and had beaches as well.
The architecture in Sydney was quite unique. There were very modern buildings right next to older ones that had withstood the test of time. Even with the housing this seemed to be a pattern. Old, new, old, new. It was as if the city was made and then the 20th century came along and filled in the blank spaces. The area was beautiful to look at. It made you think that every style is accepted in Sydney and that when something grows old it is not cast aside or destroyed but rather preserved and cherished.
On our first day we toured the Sydney Opera House. This building is truly one of a kind! The large sail looking structures, which give the opera house its distinct look, are merely hollow shells surrounding the performance theaters inside. We were able to enter the largest of the theaters in the Opera House. A massive piped-organ lined the entire back wall. Let me try and put into perspective just how large this organ was. Our tour guide, who was of average size and stature, said that she could easily fit inside one of the pipes.
The variety of events that are held in the opera house are phenomenal! Opera (obviously), sumo wrestling, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a muscle man competition here, as well as performances by Prince, Elton John and Ed Sheeran. The list goes on and on, so even if you aren't into opera there is something else for you!
Day two we took on the bridge climb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This was terrifying. The climb takes three hours to complete, you walk 1,390 stairs and the peak is 440 feet in the air. We were required to wear jump suits and have everything strapped to us. If something were to fall down to the highway the force would be enough to go through a car. Again my hands were profusely sweating but man the view was amazing!
This trip forced me out of my comfort zone every day, and every day it was worth it. I've tried to describe our experiences to the best of my ability but words just don't do it justice. This truly was the trip of a lifetime and I can't say thank you enough. Thank you to the people who made this possible for us and to those who covered us in thoughts and prayers! Thank you for reading along and for going on this journey with us!
After 25 hours of travel, we are finally home.
                                   Â
                                                                                                           Jentry
P.S. I kept a running list of phrases that were different to us. Here are most of them:
Hot sandwich = toasty
Tall people = tallies
Elevator = lift
Lemonade = sprite
Cotton candy = fairy floss
Otter = water rat
Telling lies = telling porkie pies
Trash can = rubbish can
Hug = cuddles
Bathing suit = bathers
Basketball shoes = basketball boots
Yield = give way
Charlie horse = corkie
Cheese pizza = margarita pizza
French fries = chips
Storage/closet = Cloak room
McDonald's = Macca's
Milkshake = thickshake
Chocolate milk = milk shake
Program = record
Silverware = cutlery
Expresso = short coffee
Long coffee = our normal coffee
Fellow/man = bloke
Disrespectful = cheeky
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
