Day 16: free day in Sydney

 Hi everyone my name is Aylee Weiss I will be a senior in the fall studying Broadcast and Digital Journalism. Today was our free day in Sydney so Kate Bradley and I decided we had to catch some waves in one of the best surf cities in the world. We got up and went to a local coffee shop for some fuel and then hopped on a ferry and headed to Manly Beach just outside the city of Sydney. It was a beautiful beach, the sun was trying so hard to break through the clouds as we put our wetsuits on and ran into the water with our boards on our hips. We had a blast catching waves with our surf instructors for about two hours… and we could’ve stayed out there for longer. We were having a blast. After that we found a local surf shop to get a sweatshirt to document our surf adventure. Then we got the best sandwich ever from this hole in the wall Greek shop and hopped back on the ferry. We then headed to Coogee beach to walk around and get some things for us and our families. We wrapped up our day watching the sunset on the beach and then got a quick dinner and headed home to get some sleep.

Day 14: E Sports Hub

 Hi I’m Cate Vickery! I am a sport management major from Alexandria Virginia, and I’m going to be a junior in the fall. Today was a bit of a sleep in which was nice. But I got up and got coffee and pastries with some of the girls. Then the group met up and went and had our lecture of the day in the morning at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The lecture was about the history of politics and geopolitics within the Olympics and what that’s going to look like this year at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then we had some free time around lunch and I went with a few girls and got dumplings. After our short lunch break, we all met up again and went over to the University of Technology Sydney’s main campus area. We met there Fadi Chadayda, who works for a company that helps to organizes and create Esports locations and events in universities and other spaces. Fadi showed us around a little bit of the campus and more specifically just the esports section of one of the buildings. We got to see a few different esports rooms, but the main one being a sponsored esports room by Red Bull. it was very cool because everything in that space was sponsored by Red Bull or other companies to help promote esports. Fadi then gave us a little presentation on esports in Australia, the history of it and a little bit about where he thinks it will go in the future as well as what his company does and what his job is. We were given time to play some of the games on the PlayStation 5 or PC consoles. It was very cool as people got to play whatever game they wanted which included FIFA, NBA 2K, rocket league, league of legends Fortnite, and many other games. We were done after that and all were pretty much on her own and split up. I went to a market with a few people, and we looked around and did a little bit of souvenir shopping and mostly just walked around the shops and saw what they had. By then it was almost dinner dinner time so a bunch of us met up at the hotel and went and got Italian food for dinner. Most of us turned in after dinner because we have a fairly early morning in the next morning, and a full day of scheduled activities. Thanks!

Day 13: Sydney Opera House

  Hi! My name is Dylan Taylor, and I am currently a rising Junior at Syracuse University. I am from Houston, Texas, and I am a Sport Management major. We have officially adjourned our 14th day of adventure in Australia.

To start off our second day in Sydney the group traveled to UTS for a few special lectures from Prof. Burton's good friend Dr. Daryl Adair. The first lecture was an overview of Australia and it's history as well as some of its pillars of society. The second lecture was very special about the history of race in sports as it relates to Australia. This was a treat as the lectures were informational, engaging, and eye opening.

After a nice lunch break, the group all met up again for a real treat. We went to one of Australia's most famous landmarks, the Sydney Opera House. This time we were able to attend an hour long guided tour through the building. We were able to learn about the history of the building, it's construction, performances, and we were even able to see a few theaters. I found the story of the architecture as well as the history of aboriginals prior to the building's construction to be the most interesting.

After this, we walked to the Royal Botanical Gardens, but unfortunately we were unable to attend so we walked through a park as a group instead. In the evening, we ate as a group at the hotel restuarant and concluded the best night in Sydney so far. 

Day 12: Bondi Beach

Hey squad! My name is Leda Rossmann and I’m an incoming junior studying history.

We flew to Sydney early this morning - the airport experience is so different here than in the US. There was barely any wait times for security or bag check so we got plenty of time to explore the Lego store and get some breakfast. Our flight was almost three hours and pretty much everyone slept the whole time. 

We arrived in sunny Sydney very excited for warm weather since it’s been pretty rainy in Melbourne and Cairns. We drove to Bondi Beach to visits the legendary Bondi Icebergs Swim Club. One of the club members spoke to us about the history of the club and its importance to Sydney’s culture. The pools are saltwater and freezing cold. I was so excited to jump in. I was a competitive swimmer for most of my life so the water is one of the most calming and nostalgic places I can be. The water wasn’t too bad, in actuality. We had some races going and I even beat Dougie.👸 We also checked out the sauna which was an interesting vibe (a lot of old guys).

Our amazing bus driver took us on a guided tour of the Sydney sights. We saw The Gap and heard the story of Don Ritchie, who saved at least 180 people from committing suicide off of the rocks. It was great to see the work the government has done in terms of suicide prevention in that area after his death. We also saw Lady Macquarie’s Chair where she would look into the harbor to watch for ships bringing news of her family during the early colonization days. 

We saw some of Vivid Sydney, a sort of light/art show in the harbor, lights into the sky and on the bridge, and art projected onto the Opera House and other buildings. A small group of us went to get pancakes at Pancakes on the Rocks and got to hear some of the Burtons’ stories about their past journeys to Australia. I can’t wait to explore Sydney more!

Day 11: The Zoo

 Hello! My name is Dante Reese, and I’m from Los Angeles, California. I’m a rising junior at Syracuse University, majoring in Sport Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship.

Growing up in Los Angeles, my elementary school mascot at Kentwood Elementary was a koala. Today, that childhood memory came full circle as my group and I had the chance to pet and take pictures with a koala at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures Zoo. We also fed and petted kangaroos, took a boat ride through a crocodile-infested swamp, and watched an engaging crocodile show where we learned about saltwater crocodiles.

After our thrilling time at the zoo, we visited Palm Cove Beach, where we swam in the warm ocean waters. We were also treated to ice cream by the generous John Tripodi. Thank you, Mr. Tripodi, for taking the time to inspire us with your success story. I was truly moved by how one can create such a successful business through experiences in various occupations.

Day 3: AFL Game

 Today was a big action-packed day for our group!

Since most of us went to bed pretty early the night before, we all woke up and got our breakfasts and then met in the hotel lobby around 9am. Many of us (myself included) got Schmucks; a Polski bagel shop right around the corner from our hotel. 

Our group then started our walk to Victoria University where we met with Dr. Matthew Klugman, who was kind enough to come into work on a Saturday to teach us about the history and rules of Aussie Rules Football as well as the social impact of the game. Dr. Klugman educated our class on aboriginal culture and explained the history of the tribes within Australia. After a captivating lecture our group got lunch and headed to flag staff gardens park with Damian Hecker (“Damo”) to try out Aussie Rules Football! We started out with drills and then played a scrimmage game. The game was very indicative of Australian culture because of how much Australians value their play and leisure time. I even surprised myself and scored a goal. After a very exciting match in the park we headed over to the Victoria Markets where we shopped for souvenirs and afternoon snacks. We then went back to the hotel and got ready to watch St. Kilda vs Fremantle Dockers at Marvel Stadium. We all got dinner at the stadium and many tried the famous Australian meat pies and kangaroo meat! Our group was able to understand the game much better after getting the chance to play it ourselves in the park earlier. Unfortunately St. Kilda (Professor Burton’s favorite team ) didn’t pull off the win but the game was so fun to watch nonetheless. After a very active day we headed to bed to prepare for our free day.

Day 9: Great Barrier Reef

 Great Barrier Reef

Hi my name is Anna McDonald, and I am a rising junior at Syracuse. I’m from Maryland and am a sport management major with a minor in sport event management.

The trip to the Great Barrier Reef took about two hours through rough ocean waters. On the way there the boat crew taught us about the marine life we might see, proper scuba diving and snorkeling techniques, and told us what to expect from the day.

Arriving at the reef was beautiful, from the boat you could see some of the corals and the water was very very blue. I got the opportunity to scuba dive for the first time and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I got to see some many different types of fish and all the corals. After the first dive we ate lunch and had the opportunity to dive or snorkel again, this time I just snorkeled which was just as cool. If we weren’t in the water we got to sit on the top deck of the boat where many of us tanned.

On the way back most of the group was pretty tired and many of us fell asleep. After arriving back to Cairns me and a few of the other girls got dinner on the main boardwalk. Once dinner was done I went to bed early to get ready for the free day where I will be skydiving.