At the heart of Australia

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Arriving in Sydney on July 6 in the early morning to the picture-perfect Harbour Bridge while the sun is painting a gentle orange glow on the horizon and accompanied by Qantas' theme song "I still call Australia my home," I knew I was landing into something quite special. I have always hoped my first time abroad will be very memorable and I believe my prayers have been answered and more.

I have known Australia from the tales of its citizens, locals here whom I have met and have become good friends with while they were visiting the Philippines for the past two years, lead by a dear friend and brother Adam Long, an Australian with a Filipino heart. I met these nice and friendly Australians while they were volunteering with Engineers Without Borders-Australia in Gawad Kalinga, a movement in the Philippines seeking to uplift the lives of our homeless and ill-deprived (see www.gawadkalinga.org).

Journeying with them at the slums-turned-beautiful GK communities in Metro Manila and the Bicol Region, I have often longed to see their view, their perspective, especially coming from what I read and heard about to be a beautiful city, that is, Sydney. I did hope that I would also get to see their world.

The special time did come, after waiting for two years, when the world's eyes turned its gaze to Australia as the venue of choice for the World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations from July 15 to 20. Coming from a predominantly Catholic nation, I knew I couldn't miss this auspicious occasion as to be one in faith with the youth of the world. And it was also a beautiful time to finally see the land of my dreams. Not just to hear the stories but to actually experience them. I was blessed to be sponsored by the local parish of St. Monica to join WYD through the kind efforts of Adrian Lai and Winey Suen, Australians of Chinese descent who were also GK volunteers.

I have been warned that it was cold, as countries in the Southern Hemisphere like Australia get to experience their winter during this time of the year (and summer in December). But I was hoping it was not THAT cold for my warm tropical body. Yet it was THAT cold and more, arriving here at 9 degrees celsius, my hands were slowly turning to popsicles. It was like having an airconditioner that couldn't be turned off! But nature does have a way of coping and man as well. So, like most people here, I have learned the "art of layering" putting clothes on top of another and peeling (taking them off one by one) when it gets warmer. By warmer, it meant some 15 degrees - which is probably the coldest I have ever experienced on top of Philippine mountains. But here it seems to be just a minimum, and one friend said that their winter is getting colder and colder perhaps as a result of global warming. The coldest I've felt was at -7 degrees Celsius at the Snowy Mountains in Perisher Valley where we travelled to for about six hours south of Sydney on the day I first arrived. It was a picturesque drive to their high country, with the vastness of land on both sides including a now-dry Lake George and seeing beautiful lake Jindabyne on the way with the classic Australian blue sky, is enough to make one smile. When I first saw the snow capped mountains, my heart skipped a bit and I felt like a child again. We were also blessed with a double rainbow along the way. My first week in Australia was spent at the Snowy Mountains learning how to snow board, with one lesson learned during a blizzard.

Perisher Valley and the Narraburra Lodge will always hold a special place in my heart. This is where I experienced my first snowfall and saw pure fresh snow (snow dunes) after the blizzard storm, as well as a star-shaped crystal fall on a window pane. It is the stuff of my dreams. Perisher Blue is the destination of choice for many Australian skiers and snowboarders who wish to make the most of the snow during winter time, for it doesn't last very long. I was told that this year they got a good amount of snow, and that it is a good season, of which I feel very blessed to have experienced during my stay. Meeting Indako's family - cool Robert and funny Sandro - as well as meeting kind friends like Jaques, and Anil (master skier and booking manager at Narraburra Lodge) definitely helped in adjusting to this whole new world.

I was particularly drawn to the Snow Gum, a tree which survives in the cold climate, shedding its bark in the winter and revealing colourful fresh skin (orange, red, brown, light green). I absolutely fell in love with it. I admired the way it has adapted to its environment without losing its identity. And I wished that I could be like that beautiful snow gum.

In time, I have learned to acclimitize to the weather and the Aussie's beautiful accent, by wearing parkas and thermals and listening ever so carefully to my "mates." I have enjoyed their banter, wit and humour. I have had my fair share of barbecues and chips, lamb chops and stews. And how I love their cheese and wine, and how despite their laid back and carefree life style, they are almost always on time. (and yes, that rhymes 😊

Although I have yet to see a live kangaroo (as most of the ones I've seen where roadkill or a wallabie in a side mirror), I have truly enjoyed the road trip from the city to its country towns and back courtesy of Jaques's driving, who is an Australian of Polish descent. Gifted with natural beauty, Australia's rolling hills with light green (dry) grass and poplar trees, I was amazed at the vastness of the land, land occupied by herds of cowies and sheepies, as Inky calls them.

The spaciousness of it all just took my breath away but at the same time made me feel a bit lonely in a strange way. Coming from a country with 88 million people, where every nook and cranny seem to have humans, with children playing in the streets and people wandering about even into the late night, I was awe struck by the spacious countryside here and remembered our green rice fields back home dotted by nipa huts, farmer's homes.

Walking along the suburbs of Sydney far away from the city, I could feel the strangeness and loneliness of not having people around in a place with only over 4 million people mostly concentrated in the city. I do treasure the space and the privacy of walks in the suburbs but also long for the warmth of people and community back home. I do hope to find some kind of balance here between having time for your self and building relationships, and not forgetting there is a greater world out there in need of you.

I feel that Australians seem to be very well-versed in the area of balance, whether balancing their feet on surf boards or skis, or finding time for leisure and relaxation after work. I believe balance is crucial, if you want to live here or any where in the world. I long to find that balance for my own country as well. Opening itself to change, but still remaining true to who we are, not letting go of the values that make us whole.

I am in the middle of my three-week journey in Sydney, and I have yet to explore the city. As a pilgrim for the World Youth Day, I seem to have been walking miles and miles around Darling Harbour and Circular Quay to get to Barangaroo, Syndney Covention Centre, and the Central and Town Hall train stations. But I do very much admire their reliable train system and schedules which takes you to about any where you want to go in New South Wales and beyond. I am lucky I have a travel pass until the duration of World Youth Day. I enjoy the discipline, transport systems and the order of pederstrian crossings (where you push a button and wait for the beep beep beep before moving on) and timely bus arrivals, a world of difference from the busy and sometimes chaotic streets of Manila with jeepneys and public transports honking most of the time and where the stop lights can sometimes be "optional." Although, I still get confused at "keep left" and looking on your right side while crossing, rather than the other way around gained from years of American influence on Filipino ways, I love the order here but I do miss the warmth back home. I hope there is a way to have the best of both worlds.

Today, I have finally succumbed to the cold and recuperating at home in Penshurst, somewhere in the Eastern suburbs and enjoying a quiet time in between sneezing. I think I have visited most of Sydney's suburbs, from the more privileged Inner West with its beautiful red brick homes closest to the Central Business District where I stayed with Adam's family and met his cute nephew Ethan and gracious parents Joan and Colin, and the quiet town of Fairfield in the southwest where I stayed with a Filipino family, Petchie, whose mum is a nurse for 16 years here. GK pilgrims and I have walked a long way through Oxford Street en route the Youth for Christ praise event and enjoyed the view of trendy but expensive shops (at least for me who needs to convert times 40 for every Australian dollar I spend). We have also walked through Kirribilli at the North shore, the best spot for a photo oppurtunity of Australia's much loved landmarks - the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I particularly loved the walk at King Street in Newtown, which I learned to be a place for alternative artists, on the way to a party where I got to know Adam's good friend Clark, a pilot-in-training who looks more like a rock star in a boy band. I met him while I was painfully exhausted from the trip back from the Snowy and proceeded on the same evening to a 21st birthday party with Ads and Inky, and came home dizzy from being ill-acquainted to a hard drink. But I do hope I get to ride when he flies Qantas and maybe he can sing a more edgy version of "I still call Australia my home" song in-flight.

I have yet to check out the Tarongga Zoo and finally meet my kangaroo and koala. Climb the bridge with Ads and explore the harbour on Chris' boat. I have still to write my thoughts on the World Youth Day where groups of lively and energetic young people from different worlds walk the streets of Sydney.

Earlier this week, I was blessed to stand-in for someone to carry a flag (a yellow star on a red background, which turned out to be Vietnam) during dress rehearsals for the parade of nations and shook the hands of young prince of Austria during Holy Mass at the quaint chapel of St. John's inside Sancta Sophia, along University of Sydney. I have been privileged to spend a day with the elite and carefully chosen International Liturgy Group - about 140 young people from all over the world - and have a backstage pass to see preparations for opening day courtesy of Winey who is part of the ILG. It's the little, seemingly incosequential things like these that make my day. Ordinary days that turn into a surprise. Yet my stay here, even this day spent indoors in this quiet neighborhood while sick with cold, is a pleasant surprise I accept fully. I am happy because I get to write finally. I feel that my journey has been so rich and that I am truly blessed. I am grateful to God for allowing me to experience these amazing moments and hoping there are more journeys to come for a Baby Explorer like me.

As the snow board trainer always reminds us, "Look where you are going..." (since the snow board strapped to our feet follows our body language and goes to where we are looking)...I intend not only to look where I am going but to feel it, touch it, smell it, and live it. And I hope that for you as well.

Before that, leaving you with wise words from the World Youth Day celebrations: "Faith is everywhere and anywhere." And I pray that God will make your dreams come true beyond your wildest imaginings as he did mine. There can be miracles, when you believe. I know because I am experiencing it.

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Photos

The Burning Bush
The sun breaks through after the storm