Almost Home

It's hard to believe it's our last day before the long trip back home tomorrow. The students are performing their last concert for a school here on the Gold Coast. Yesterday we had a great day at a wildlife park full of Australian animals. It was great to spend the day outside in the beautiful forested zoo. Highlights included petting and feeding kangaroos, taking photos with koalas and bably saltwater crocodiles, and the amazing lorikeet flocks that came for food in the afternoon. Thousands of birds were perched on arms and heads and shoulders. It was quite a sight. There were also several shows on native animals, snakes, and birds and an aboriginal dance show. After a quick change we headed to Kokonut Willey's for dinner. Ryan Weddig's sweet sixteen was celebrated with a sparkler filled drink and 16 kisses from girls in the band. The hotel we are staying in is right on the beach and next to a several block area of shops and restaurants and fun arcades and amusements. When the students return this morning they will have some free time to enjoy the area. Our weather here has been sunny, dry, and a bit warmer than Sydney so I am sure it will be a fun final day. This will be my last blog from Australia as you will shortly see your students and hear the real stories from them.

G'day
Lancer Mate

"I Felt Like a Movie Star"

That was a quote from one choir member I asked today about the experience of performing on the concert hall stage at the Sydney Opera House. "They had our names on the dressing rooms." "The green room had a restaurant in it." "It was exhilerating!" The enthusiasm was high after the performance as the parental papparazzi snapped photos of the students exiting the stage door. For the parents sitting in the hall listening there were very few dry eyes. Both the band and choir seemed like naturals on the stage and recieved loud acclaim from the audience filled with students from St. Patrick's, other schools, and the community. Along with the beautiful music made by the St. Francis students, there were delightful visual moments as well like Avery's sparkling smile after his Georgia solo, the waves back and forth between our students and their new found friends from St. Patrick's in the audience, and all the 'Yankees' doing the arm motions to YMCA as it was played by one of the other performing groups.

The first half of the concert belonged to the St. Francis choir and symphonic band. After a brief intermission, a group of middle school age band and orchestra students from New Zealand played a number of pieces including several marches and movie theme songs that were audience pleasers. The program closed with a high school group from Queensland, Australia whose big band played Birdland and then combined orchestra and choir performed several praise hymns.

After the concert there was a little time for lunch in the Circular Quay harbor area near the Opera House and then the students were off to enjoy their last evening with their gracious host families. Tomorrow is a long travel day to the warmer northern coast town of Surfers Paradise. As the students headed for the bus back to Campbelltown a few more reflections were offered. "I was surprised I was so nervous, I am glad it is over." "I will never forget this. It was amazing." "I am so sad to be leaving my family. They have been so incredible." "I know I will cry in the morning when we leave."

Saying goodbye to Sydney will be difficult, but the memories will be rich and lasting.

Didgiree Dudes

Saturday was a day full of classic Australian fun. We began the day with a harbor cruise under gray skies and with blustery winds. Despite the weather, the harbor was beautiful and the cruise calm. Sailing under the harbor bridge, past the opera house and out along the beautiful harbor coastline reminiscent of a cross between Seattle and San Francisco, we enjoyed a spot of tea and carrot cake. We then had time to wander and eat lunch around Darling Harbor, a revitalized inner harbor area with numerous cafes, shops, and attractions similar to the inner harbor of Baltimore. After lunch we enjoyed a stupendous didgiridoo concert by Jeremy at the Outback Center, a young man who discovered his indigenous roots as a teen. He gave us a wonderful explanation of the elegant simplicity and inherent spirituality behind his amazing virtuosity. It was fun to try to mimic the sounds and techniques after the concert and I saw at least one didgiridoo find its way out of the shop with a new inspired owner.

As the drizzly afternoon continued we headed out to the suburbs by bus to Gledswood Homestead. After a bit of billy tea and damper we all tried our hand at boomerang throwing and stockman whip cracking. Everyone enjoyed encouraging each other in their attempts. Next we watched Meg, the sheep dog round up a herd of sheep and keep them in line. I overheard a discussion on the similarities between Meg's performance and that of a drum major's responsibility. Hmmm. We then were amazed by the dexterity and speed of the sheep shearing and the ability to keep the sheep somewhat catatonic during the whole process. A few lucky band members got to try their hand at shearing, a much more difficult task than it first appeared. We finished off the evening with a great BBQ dinner in the dining hall accompanied by some classic Australian and US cowboy songs some by one of the stockmen, with a bit of a sing along for several numbers. We closed with a bit of 'bush dancing,' which is the Australian version of square dancing as the host families came to collect the students. All in all it was a fantastically fun day full of wonderful memories.

Today was 'Family Day' for the students with a variety of plans from shopping, tourist sites, and rugby matches all on the list of things that were planned with different families. Wishing all the Dad's a very Happy Father's Day.

Lancer Mate

A Message from Ms. Mitchell

Today (Friday June 15) was a great day. The kids had a lot of fun going to several different classes with their host students while Margaret and I enjoyed morning tea with the faculty. Everyone, especially our host girls, have been incredibly welcoming and we are bring treated very well. The late morning brought a rehearsal for the band kids while the choir taught a group of about 40 Aussie girls a piece which they performed with Margaret and the choir later that afternoon. To celebrate our stay, the kind folks at St. Patrick's threw a BBQ for lunch. After lunch both the choir and the bands performed a concert for a very 'enthusiastic' group of screaming girls! The choir sang beautifully, the symphonic band played well, and we closed our concert with the 'all male' Jazz band performance. The girls went wild and our boys were grinning from ear to ear. I'm sure they felt like the Beatles, if only for a short while. All in all it was a fantastic day. We have been a bit damp, but our spirits are not. Sydney is a great town.

We Arrived

I am sitting in a convenience store across the street from the hotel in downtown Sydney looking out at the rain that has been falling off and on all afternoon. It is a bit warmer than yesterday and very much like a San Francisco winter evening. Everyone is doing well and the students have been wonderful. Both flights here went well. On the long flight to Auckland everyone enjoyed the variety of movies available and some even managed to get some sleep. You would not have known the plane was full of over 70 teens. The pilot and crew welcomed and wished them well over the loudspeakers at both the start and end of the flight. Going through customs in Sydney also went well, with just one glitch with a flaxseed filled pillow. After loading onto our buses we headed into Sydney for a photo of the Opera House and Harbor. Everyone was glad to stretch their legs and wander a bit in the cold air. Next stop was Bondi beach for lunch and a dip of our toes in the ocean. Although the air was cool the water was slightly warmer than our Pacific in winter. The students headed off to meet their homestay families and the rest of us headed into the city to try and stay awake a bit longer and adjust to the time.

This morning we traveled to The King's School, a beautiful campus in the suburbs, a bit like Hogwarts without the castle. The choir and bands performed for the student body in a very nice theater. The school is an all boys school for 7-12 grades. The 1100 boys were a great audience and then hosted us in their dining room for lunch. We had some free time to explore the campus and talk with the students. Then it was back into the city for a little shopping in a huge pedestrian mall. The students have now returned to their families and will attend school with them tomorrow.

That's all for now. You should all be proud of the wonderful St. Francis ambassadors your students are.

Three more days

Well, we are down to the final countdown. Have you finished that last bit of laundry, found the luggage in the garage, picked out the novel to read on the plane?

Don't forget tonight is the send off concert of music that will played in Australia.

It's not quite the Sydney Opera House, but the band room will be filled with beautiful music and smiles nontheless at 7pm tonight.

Close your eyes and imagine the scene!

And if you can't make it tonight-Great news from John the Tour Manager:

We are attempting something that has never been done before on the Internet.We are about to finalize a "Live Broadcast" of the entire Sydney Opera House Concert.If successful, it can be viewed on www.banddirector.comWe will be having our final test this coming Friday. This will be the final determination of being able to do it. Our first test was successful.Please advise your families that this is a strong possibility and will be confirmed next week.

We'll post the final info when we get it.

Cheerio

Strine or Aussie Slang

It's June! The month we have been waiting for. 10 days left in our countdown. Here's a little Aussie lingo, also called Strine, to get you ready to meet and greet your new Australian friends and so you won't be a complete drongo.

G'day (pronounced gidday) is an informal hello for a Mate. A Mate is a friend, usually male. More formally a greeting is Hullo, Good Morning, or Good Afternoon.

Goodbye is Goodbye or sometimes Hooroo (pronounced 'ooroo) to mean 'see you later'.

Onya means 'Well Done' and is a short form of Good On You, which brings us to a general trend in Strine, abbreviated phrases.

There is a tendancy to shorten names, words or phrases and add a vowel to the end. Thus you get a Cuppa for a cup of coffee or tea. Names become Lizzie or Johnno for example.

Well that should get you Blokes and Sheilas started.

Oh, what's a drongo? An inept or embarassing person. It's used like we would use dimwit or loser.

Hooroo.