G'day from "God's country"

I have been missing all of you friends and family over the holidays. Hope that everyone had an enjoyable break from work, school, obligations, etc. Cant wait to hear all the new years stories when I get home.

So I have apparently made it to "God's country" as it was called by my buddy Christian as I landed in Melbourne, Australia. And in God's country, cricket is more important than world politics (and probably eating and sleeping for that matter), surf is incredible, people are less pretentious as lifestyle dominates working status, and you have to shower with a bucket to collect water for the lawn because the droughts are bad right now.

I came down with my first case of "culture shock" (going from a third to first world country) during my first few days in Australia. Our family friends Christian and Emma from the Nihiwatu resort that we have kept in contact with over the years let me crash at their brand new house in Geelong. It is only about 10 min from the surfing headquarters of the world, Torquay, which is home to bells beach. After three months of travel through Asia, I was basically plopped into a similar version of San Clemente. It was strange to see full retail prices in surf shops which kinda blew me away. Its been awhile. More than the prices, it was the incredible hospitality that I have continued to experience here that has shocked me the most. My guard was up from all the scams and rip-off attempts that faced us in every country thus far. Now in Australia, I have a free place to stay, I am being fed like a king, and all forms of service now dont require some form of monetary compensation. I tripped out the first few days trying to get used to this system, desperately trying to return the favors and drop my guard.

I had a great first week with Christian and Emma, as they filled me in with the Aussie way of life. I ate Vegimite, which is disgusting, and watched hours of cricket. Fortunately, we got to surf some unreal waves on the south coast, although I was so out of practice I did more bobbing and shivering in the lineup than actual surfing. I had a few more surfs to get the kinks out, which felt amazing after a three month hiatus.

Now I am in Sydney, staying right above Manly beach at a friend's dad's beach house. Good networking is a beautiful thing, isnt it? I have been completely spoiled again by the Australian hospitality over here, and have had the opportunity to explore some of the nearby cities and beaches. Sydney is an amazing place. I wish it was closer to Orange County so I could live here. The vibe is fun, the community is active, service is friendly, beaches are incredible, and there is plenty to see in the main part of the city. Last night I went to an open air theatre right on the water at the Sydney Harbor.

This next week I am continuing to explore the Australian coast from Byron Bay up through the Gold Coast, and on to Brisbane. From there, its hawaii for a few days, and then home by the end of the month. Its crazy that my adventure is finally winding down.