For our last day in Australia, we went to manly beach which is one of the most traveled to northern beaches in Sydeny. Up and down the beach, there where sea shells, sea weed, and washed-up jelly fish. Manly Beach is also a popular attraction for surfers. On the beach, there were 100+ surfers, many of which were beginners.
RailCorp is the government owned rail system in New South Whales mostly located out of Sydeny and its surrounding area. We went to their company headquaters and meet with the human resource professionals in the organization. We learned that the rail industry is highly unionized with over 90% in some sort of union. The current human resouces problems in this sector include providing equity and diversity and consolidating different union's policies and rules into a a single, consise manual.
From a distance the Sydeny Opera House appears to be a smooth pearlly white buidling. Once you near the building you are able to see very detailed designs all over the building. In the night time the Opera house is lit up using rotating designs. It is a spectacular site to see and is defientiely one of the top attractions in Sydeny.
Yesterday, we flew from Brisbane to Sydney. We took a bus tour around city that featured many of Sydney's highlights including Darling harbor, Syndey Opera House, Manly Beach and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Although Brisbane and Sydney have many commonalities, the most obvious difference is the age difference between the cities. Brisbane is very modern with really no old buildings. Sydney, on the otherhand, is an older city that has some fairly old buildings especially in the downtown area where we are staying.
For my last day in Brisbane I visited the Martime museum which featured a World War II Australia ship, the Queensland Museum which featured artwork and crafts from Australia's indigenous peoples, and Saint Johns Cathedral which featured many different architectural styles throughout its 80 years of development. Saint Johns Cathedral just finished construction about a week ago.
Yesterday we visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world's first and largest koala sanctuary. So far this has been the highlight of the trip. Visitors are able to get up and personal with Kangaroos and pet and feed them. You can even hold a koala! The sanctuary has several other animals including tasmanian devils, wombats, and a variety of native birds. There was also a sheep dog show.
The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is definitively a must-see attraction in Brisbane.
For about the last decade Australia has been in a drought. During our stay in Brisbane, an unusual amount of rainfall has occurred. There has been so much rain that many of the streets and neighborhoods around the Brisbane area have been flooded. One of guides home was flooded last night because of the downpour which lasted most of Thurday.
One thing you will notice in Australia is that humor is a part of their culture. Even in business settings, humor is very normal much more so than in the United States. Even though we have only been on a company visit and a couple lectures, the speakers humor always shine through. This really isn't surprising considering Australia's laid back culture.
We have had less than a full day in Australia, but the differences between the US and Australia are very apparent. Looking at the businesses in downtown Brisbane, I noticed several American chains including 7/11, McDonalds, and Starbucks. It was interested to see that Burger Kings were called "Happy Jacks" probably used as a more attractive marketing name in the country.
We have made it to Australia. It was long flight and at one point we barely caught the plane from Sydney to Brisbane. The first leg of the trip was from Minneapolis to LAX. From there we traveled on a 14+ hour flight to Sydney and then an hour flight to Brisbane. Although we were in Los Angeles for less than five hours we managed to time our stay perfectly with a magnitude 4.7 aftershock centered near LAX airport. Although the experience lasted for less than 10 seconds, it was a very chaotic and confusing period. Despite being an earthquake, most people in the airport did not have much of a reaction.
After weeks of classes, we are finnaly getting ready to go to Australia. I have packed my gear and making last minute preparations before I head off. Tomorrow I leave.
Paul Banwart - HRIR 3021 in Australia