Autumn is here!

Today I wore a long sleeved shirt for the first time sunce arriving on Jan 25. Athough it is still sunny and bright most days, the days are getting shorter here in the southern hemisphere. The nights come earlier with the passing of each day – about 6:30 right now. The natives are sporting jackets and sweaters more and more. The ever present thongs (not what you think) )are giving way to sneakers and other more substantial foot wear. When I first got here I was intrigued by the number of people who wear what we call "flip flops." I saw signs in store windows: Thong Clearance Sale. In the summer months, more Aussies wear thongs and sandals than shoes. You seen them every where including the CBD, not just the beach. In case you are still wondering, I am posting a picture of someone in a thong.





Today was the official kick off to "WYDSYDO8" - that’s World Youth Day Sydney 2008. There was a huge concert in the courtyard of St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Sydney. The three hour event included the Rapping Priest, Fr. Stan Fortuna of the Bronx. It was a neat experience of church with 5000 young people from all over the area converging to celebrate. It was a most diverse gathering of people of all races and ethnicities. The Korean community took responsibility for preparing food and there were many Korean delights that I had never tried before. There were Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, PNG’s (that’s Papua New Guinians), Indians and many many others amid the Irish, British, Italian, and German Australians in the crowd. And in the midst of it all strolled straw-hatted Cardinal George Pell. It concluded with the 6:00pm Palm Sunday Youth Mass which was jammed with thousands of people. The Australians are getting very excited about the July 2008 World Youth Day here in Sydney