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Am I Really Performing at the Opera House? Pinch Me Please! Dear Elementary Friends, I am writing the majority of this blog post on Wednesday Evening (26 October) .  Tomorrow evening (27th) I will be accompanying the Beaumont Road Public School Honor Choir to the Sydney Opera House to perform in the 25th Annual Ryde Schools Spectacular.  My plan is to complete this blog upon my return home tomorrow night so that I can include photos and perhaps a video of portions of our performance! The "Ryde" area of Sydney consists of about 22 primary and high schools located in various suburbs northwest of the city center.  Each of these primary schools is sending 20-30 students to make up the Ryde Schools Spectacular Choir - around 600 students!  The theme this year is "From Broadway to Hollywood."  So, the songs are near and dear to my heart.  We will also have dance troupes, individual dancers, and instrumental music presentations.  An extravaganza would be an...

Squeezing In as Much as We Can! Hello Elementary Friends, When Mitch and I first arrived in Australia we started making a list of places to go and things to do that our new Australian friends suggested for us for our year here.   We actually asked people to tell us the one thing that they would recommend if they were only going to be here for one year.  Here is the list that has been added to throughout our time in Australia: Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club Drive the Princes' Highway to Melbourne Blue Mountains Sydney Royal Easter Show Ferry to Manly  Northern Beaches "Run" Ferry to Circular Quay Royal Botanic Gardens Opera at the Opera House Bondi to Coogee Walk Italian Restaurant in Five Dock Make sure to eat traditional Aussie food like pavlova, meat pies, lamingtons, tim tams and ANZAC biscuits Eat at an RSL (Retired Service League) Vivid Light Show in the city Watson's Bay - Eat at Doyle's Nelson's Bay Deep Sea or Reef Fishing Climb to the Top of the Harb...

Vietnam - Timeless Charm Hello Elementary Friends, Now that we are back in Sydney I have taken some time to reflect on our journey to Vietnam.  It was an experience that made a lasting impact.  With the memories of the Vietnam War from the impressionable years of my junior and high school as my background knowledge, the journey was an opportunity to see the country now 40+ years later.  I will forever remember Vietnam 2016 as a people striving to thrive within a competitive technologically intelligent world.  The merging of two worlds was evident everywhere we went.  There would be a five star hotel sitting right next to a broken down shack on a busy city street.  Then, you would see hawking beggars sitting on a sidewalk leading to the doors of a very nice restaurant.  Most evident, however, was the statue of Ho Chi Minh just outside of luxury stores including Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Prada, etc.  I was surprised at what I saw in a "supposed" communi...