"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream, if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!"

Public transportation in Sydney is highly frustrating. Buses are quite rarely on time. Sometimes, they're very early. Sometimes, they're very late. Sometimes, for whatever reason, they never show up. Let me give an example of what may occur when using Sydney public transportation.

It's entirely possible that a person might go out to the bus stop right next to their house five minutes before the bus is supposed to arrive only to wait for twenty minutes before deciding to take the ten minute walk up the hill to the larger road that has six different bus routes crossing it. It is then possible for none of those six buses to arrive for another thirty minutes, causing this person to hail a cab that is the only cab that has shown up in the last fifteen minutes. Then, upon being dropped off at a different bus stop in town and rushing onto a bus, it is entirely possible that the driver of that bus may decide to go about 10 mph throughout the entire route. Meanwhile, it is entirely possible that every person over the age of 65 who is incapable of moving quickly will have lined up at nearly every stop along said route--one person at each stop, so that the bus is constantly having to stop. After all of this, it is possible for a person to finally arrive at the train station and find themselves on a train that randomly stops twice in between stations. Then, as the train comes into the station the person was going to, it's entirely possible that said person may receive a phone call from the friends they're meeting informing that the bus that needs to be caught from that final train station has arrived five minutes early and that driver is unwilling to wait those five minutes for the last person, thus causing that bus to be missed. This person then finally arrives at their destination over an hour later than intended, three hours after having left home.

I'm so glad this is yet to happen to me and my roommates--oh wait. It did. That was how our Saturday trip to Featherdale Wildlife Reserve began. But we did eventually get to Featherdale. Was it worth all the effort? Hell yes. You see, upon entering the reserve, we immediately saw all sorts of animals that one only sees in Australia. All sorts of fantastic birds, massive lizards, flying foxes (bats), koalas, wombats, kangaroos, emus, a massive crocodile, Tasmanian devils, dingos, and penguins. And that's just to name a few. And the best part? Most of the kangaroos and emus we free roaming through a large section of the park. As in, they're just running around where you're walking. You get to pet them and feed them. It was fantastic. And surreal.

Also, I've officially been in the same room as the deadliest snake in the world--yikes!

And that croc was freakin' massive. And there was an albino kangaroo. And one of the Tasmanian devils kept running around on this path it had created in its pin. It kept running and running and running in this big circle for the entirety of the few hours we were there. I got to pet a joey in a bag (used in place of a pouch for the orphan joey).

Through all of this, I took several digital photos which I'll put up on Facebook in the near future. I also took a full roll of film at Featherdale--really looking forward to developing/printing it.

By the time we left Featherdale, I was pretty tired. We ended up with a bit of a different group than normal--Nick, Ryan, Pat, Lainey, Paul, Toby, Sam, and myself. We went to a mall together, where we wandered about for a bit. Then, Nick, Ryan, and I headed home. On the way, we came across an ice cream truck that was playing Greensleeves (totally random, but rather awesome). Then we got home where Ross was hosting a good-sized party for Ilie's birthday--Illie's his Hungarian girlfriend, not sure I've mentioned her before. As Ross ran around making sure everything was ready, Santiago arrived back home--he'd been in Melbourne all week on a business trip. I won't go into detail, but a large yelling match occurred between Ross and Santi. Sigh. This is a fairly regular occurrence and there doesn't seem to be a good solution to fix the troubles that occasionally brew. I suspect I'll be interrogated by Erin and Kim on Monday, as I witnessed the whole event. Sigh. Why can't we all just get along?

Anywho, the barbie was great. Ross made lots of lamb, pork, and chicken. Ilie had made some incredible potato salad. The company were mostly Illie's family, but some of Ross's as well. He had sparklers and Nick and I took a couple down into the darkness of the miniature bush behind the house with those as our only lights. Intense darkness and sparklers is great fun. During all this, Dom joined us and I asked him if he'd had a good day. "No, mate," he responded. "To be perfectly honest, it was shit. But it happens. Tomorrow will be better, you know?"

A bit later, we turned in for the night. And that's that.

Oh, and the quote that is this blog's title is a song that Ross's daughter Danielle was singing to her youngest daughter. It's the Australian version. It makes me laugh.

"It's the people you're with that matters..."

Dominique (Dominic?)--Dom. He's Ross's neighbor who does a lot of work around the yard. He's actually a construction worker. This man has a big beer belly. He hardly wears a shirt and when he does it's usually unbuttoned. He just wanders onto Ross's property and talks with us frequently. A beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, it's rare to see him without both. He always seems drunk and it may very well be that he always is just a little bit so. Well, tonight, Dom decided to go out of his comfort zone, as did I. It was Jason's birthday today. He also passed his English exam which will allow him to enrol in uni here in Australia. Thus, tonight, Ross tossed some lamb and some sausages on the barbie and we feasted Aussie style. A large group of about 15 were here tonight and it was just hanging out, eating, and having a good time. Then, as part of the celebration, we all headed into Sydney to a pub in a hotel--the Shark Bar.

We went to the pub and all the non-Americans were drinking, as is normal (I won't pretend like they weren't getting tipsy, as they were). There was a good amount of dancing in the place, lots of music and lights. It was packed. And yes, even I got up and danced a bit. But the highlight of the evening was sitting and chatting with Dom.

Out of the blue, this seemingly always drunk man starts talking to me about the importance of caring about the people you're close to. He points out to me that most of the people in the bar are Asians. He clarifies he's not trying to be racist, it's just interesting. And that turns into a brief, but interesting discussion in which Dom says, "I don't care about if you're white or black or yellow or anything. It's your personality that matters. It's you as a person that matters." And he then says, "You know, Ross's wife died 5 years ago? Well, Ross has been my mate for 30 years. And his friends, we know we've gotta stick close. Ross is my friend. And it's just important for me to be here. I don't much care for the city, myself. I almost didn't come tonight, but it's an occasion that he cares about, so I thought, 'What the hell' and here I am."

That's friendship. Pure and simple. Dom doesn't look like much when you first look at him. But he is an incredible man. On the bus home--the last bus tonight--he gave some girl his number. Dom's a sneaky man. And he's as friendly as they come. And for a bit on the bus, he had all the attention of our group as we cheered for his success in talking to this lady. And then we got home. And there he was walking with me asking if I had a good time. I told him I did. I asked if he did. He said, "Yeah, I did. You know, those pubs aren't really my thing. I'd never been to that one and probably won't go back, but I had a good time. It's the people you're with that matters. Go to a place like that by yourself and you got nothing. Go with the right group and you'll have a great time."

And Dom's right. I have no idea if he's even a christian. But that man loves his neighbor like none other. And he's such an example of Australian hospitality--Ross is too, for that matter. The people here are incredible. I feel safe. Secure. Loved. And I only just got here. But I feel like these people are family. And it's going to suck to leave in 4 months. But I can already tell, this experience is going to change me. I'm already starting to think about the world differently. I don't think I'm going to be the same person when I return home. Life here is beautiful. I'm happy. And I can't wait for the change to really start happening, because loving like Dom does would be beautiful. And I think that's one of the main reasons I've ended up here. To learn to love. And I hope I can bring that home with me.