World Youth Day

[janetz]

Thanks to all who took the time to answer questions for my daughter traveling on July 8th for WYD. To those interested, she will be in airports and in the air for a total of 34 hours to get to Auckland where she will be met by a host family and stay with them for 5 days. Then they will fly to Sydney and camp out in a school for the remainder of their time. She will return home on July 28th so she will be there awhile. A trip of a lifetime! She is very excited and trying not to "overpack"......:D

[kaseyoz]

Hi, I know she will have a memorable time here in sydney.

The weather the last week has been sunny skies and around 20 degress and we are in winter. I hope the weather stays fine for them.

Does she know which school she will stay at yet or will they allocate it once she gets here.

The school where I work will ne taking in nearly 300 pilgrims. I still cannot work out where they will put them or the portaloos etc.

Our school has lots of rosters going for supervision, preparing breakfasts etc. It will be a very busy but fun time in sydney.

 

I know she will be fine but if she needs any information that i may be able to help her with please email me and i will forward my mobile number to her.

 

kaseyoz@hotmail.com

[janetz]

Hi, I know she will have a memorable time here in sydney.

The weather the last week has been sunny skies and around 20 degress and we are in winter. I hope the weather stays fine for them.

Does she know which school she will stay at yet or will they allocate it once she gets here.

The school where I work will ne taking in nearly 300 pilgrims. I still cannot work out where they will put them or the portaloos etc.

Our school has lots of rosters going for supervision, preparing breakfasts etc. It will be a very busy but fun time in sydney.

 

I know she will be fine but if she needs any information that i may be able to help her with please email me and i will forward my mobile number to her.

 

kaseyoz@hotmail.com

 

 

Thank you for your kindness. I will keep your email for her. One question, when you say 20 degrees, do you mean 20 degrees celsius? Which is 68 degrees fahrenheit to us. Your winters are mild compared to ours. 20 degrees here means snow instead of rain. So I hope I am right. We are not sure about the school yet. I do know the group will be walking to where ever the overnight vigil with the holy father is and sleeping outside so i hope the weather is not to cold. 300 in one school? My goodness. Thank you!!!!! :):)

[kaseyoz]

Yes i meant 20 degress celsius.It never snows in sydney.

 

I think the walking part is the stations of the cross where they will walk across all 8 bridges of sydney.

I assume they all know about the overnight vigil and will all have the right equipment.

 

They have had all sorts of volunteers mostly teens packing the backpacks full of items for them and also packing up the meals.

The logistics astound me. How will they heat up food for all those teens with healthy appetites..

 

It has been a very exciting time for some of us here and we cant wait to welcome the young to sydney. I am sure they will all want to come back and travel more once they return home.

[Globaliser]

It never snows in sydney.

But when it hails, boy does it hail!

[janetz]

Yes i meant 20 degress celsius.It never snows in sydney.

 

I think the walking part is the stations of the cross where they will walk across all 8 bridges of sydney.

I assume they all know about the overnight vigil and will all have the right equipment.

 

They have had all sorts of volunteers mostly teens packing the backpacks full of items for them and also packing up the meals.

The logistics astound me. How will they heat up food for all those teens with healthy appetites..

 

It has been a very exciting time for some of us here and we cant wait to welcome the young to sydney. I am sure they will all want to come back and travel more once they return home.

 

 

Ahh the walking. They will be carrying their backpacks from home and their sleeping bags. More to carry? Oh boy. It does sound very organized. I wish I were going also. My daughters group will be there until July 26th. :)

[kaseyoz]

But when it hails, boy does it hail!

 

too right.

Here are a couple of photos from a couple of years ago.

 

Peopel went crazy as even some adults have never seen snow before.

this was a hail storm but sure looked like ssnow to me.

[janetz]

too right.

Here are a couple of photos from a couple of years ago.

 

Peopel went crazy as even some adults have never seen snow before.

this was a hail storm but sure looked like ssnow to me.

 

 

People get pretty excited if they have never seen it. Last year my husband plowed snow 17 times. (over 5 inches) We get alot of snow here. :)

[mochuck]

Hi Janet,

Do you know which school your daughter is staying in? My daughter is a high school teacher and is going to be sleeping overnight at her school to help with the pilgrims for a few nights. I do believe there is a bit of a shortage with showers for some schools. So tell her to bring plenty of deodorant and to be prepared to have a couple of "birdbaths".

 

Still, its all part of the adventure.

 

We are hosting 3 adult pilgrims in our home from Canada. I'm really looking forward to it.

[janetz]

Hi Janet,

Do you know which school your daughter is staying in? My daughter is a high school teacher and is going to be sleeping overnight at her school to help with the pilgrims for a few nights. I do believe there is a bit of a shortage with showers for some schools. So tell her to bring plenty of deodorant and to be prepared to have a couple of "birdbaths".

 

Still, its all part of the adventure.

 

We are hosting 3 adult pilgrims in our home from Canada. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

 

Not sure what school. She is in the air as I type with 30 others....Yes, what an adventure! :D

[mochuck]

My 3 pilgrims from Canada arrive today and that is all I know. I don't have any idea what time they are arriving and nobody else seems to be able to tell me. All I know is they are 3 single adults aged between 18 and 35.

 

I'm really hoping that SOMEONE has a clue about what is going on. So we just hang around at home until someone calls us to collect them.

 

This might seem a strange question from someone who lives in Sydney but does anyone know which is better Koala Park or Featherdale? I've been to Koala Park many times and think its a bit dodgy but my friend reckons Featherdale is dodgier.

 

Most of the tourists on these boards seem to love them both. I guess they're just overwhelmed by patting a kangaroo and seeing koalas.

[janetz]

My 3 pilgrims from Canada arrive today and that is all I know. I don't have any idea what time they are arriving and nobody else seems to be able to tell me. All I know is they are 3 single adults aged between 18 and 35.

 

I'm really hoping that SOMEONE has a clue about what is going on. So we just hang around at home until someone calls us to collect them.

 

This might seem a strange question from someone who lives in Sydney but does anyone know which is better Koala Park or Featherdale? I've been to Koala Park many times and think its a bit dodgy but my friend reckons Featherdale is dodgier.

 

Most of the tourists on these boards seem to love them both. I guess they're just overwhelmed by patting a kangaroo and seeing koalas.

 

 

Andrea is now in NZ with her host family. She and another girl had to wait at a church for the day as their host was working. Tuesday, the group of 30 will fly to Sydney and go to their "school". :)

[emmy]

Hello ~ just arrived back from Sydney yesterday after 46 hours of travelling..Qantas had a delay of 5 hours on our flight. 46 hours in the same clothes is no fun LOL

 

We were there for my daughter Andrea's wedding to an Aussie. She has been living there for 4 years now and we saw many of the youth pilgrims arriving for World Youth Day. It certainly will be crowded and Sydney was expecting more people than the Olympics. They seemed ready for the crowds and indeed the weather was awesome for 'winter' with only 1 day of rain in 3 weeks and plenty of blue skies and sunshine and great temps.

 

Loved every minute of our time in Sydney..I am sure your daughter Andrea will to. Such a great experience for her.

[OHCruisinDad]

We've been in Sydney since the 9th. I've seen a huge influx of kids, pilgrims and other visitors. This was particularly true at both Darling Harbor and Circular Quay today. More than the normal weekend and tourist crowds. The schedule changes for the ferry services, road closing signage and all sorts of other information is posted all over the city. The city appears to have planned well for this event as there are facilities in many locations and information posted everywhere. We'll miss the event as we fly out tomorrow.

 

For anyone going or who has family going, they should have a great time while in Sydney. We get back here every 2 - 3 years to see my DW's sister and family and we always enjoy our visits to Sydney, summer or winter.

[mochuck]

Have you heard anything from your daughter yet Janet? The atmosphere here in sydney is great. the pilgrims are all friendly and seem very happy.

 

There are a lot of Americans here, I think I heard that after Australians, there are New Zealanders and then Americans as the biggest contingents.

 

Our Canadian pilgrims are lovely and they seem to be enjoying themselves greatly. Mainly because they think our winter is like summer.

[janetz]

Have you heard anything from your daughter yet Janet? The atmosphere here in sydney is great. the pilgrims are all friendly and seem very happy.

 

There are a lot of Americans here, I think I heard that after Australians, there are New Zealanders and then Americans as the biggest contingents.

 

Our Canadian pilgrims are lovely and they seem to be enjoying themselves greatly. Mainly because they think our winter is like summer.

 

 

We heard from her on Monday from NZ. She was flying into Sydney on Tuesday. I know she was going to get a phone card to call us but I assume with all the pilgrims the lines for the phones are long. We don't expect to hear from her until the end of the week. Your winter temps are our "late spring" temps. Just perfect. So I can see why your Canadian's are enjoying the weather.

Our group thought the Americans would be in the minority as Australia is so far away, so this is news.

We are recording the WYD events as they are on TV here in the middle of the night. It looks great. I wish I could be there. We keep watching for Andrea!!! :D

Thank you for the updates. I really enjoy your posts. Jan

[SheilaNC]

Our grandson is there this week, not for youth day, but with a school group tour. They did the Harbor tour as soon as they got to Sydney, then the Sydney Tower and a tour of the Opera House. Very tired young ones by the end of the day, I'm sure. He didn't say much about the Youth Day crowds, but then again, he didn't have a frame of reference and might be thinking it's always that way. Although we were there in Feb, I'm still jealous of his trip :)

[janetz]

I know my girl has traveled more in her 19 years than I have so far.....;) Yes, I would love to see Australia!

[emmy]

Just back last Friday from Sydney I must say one of the moments that stopped my breath was coming in on the plane and I had a window seat looking out and seeing water and more water and more water and then I caught my first glimpse of land and I had to remind myself that I was seeing the Australian continent for the first time.

 

Also memorable was my first sighting of the Opera House and the bridge at sunset from the Royal Botanical gardens.

 

I am sure all these young people are having the experience of a lifetime. A coworker of my husband has his daughter over there at World Youth Day.

[MMDown Under]

I never tire of the first spectacular sight of the bridge, the opera house, and the harbour, as I fly into Sydney from the north, and I'm a local.

[mochuck]

My daughter and 5 of her students are participating in the Papal boat a cade today.

[kaseyoz]

It certainly has been an exciting time in sydney. Seeing all the teens enjoying their time here warms the heart.

 

Our newspaper has been full of photos etc all showing and reporting on the wonderful comaradie among the pilgrims.

They have set up a "faith book" similar to face book i guess where they can upload their photos. There are over 300 there already.

It might be something to have a look at.

 

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24032954-5001021,00.html

 

The warm sunny days have certainly helped, although there have been tales of some pilgrims mostly from more disadvanged areas arriving with no warm clothes or bedding causing a callout for donations for these pilgrims.

 

Mochuck..... Is your daughter actually on his boat, how lucky for her.

[mochuck]

No she was part of the flotilla - she was on John Cadman III which was right behind his. she couldn't see him though (because he was up the front). Still exciting - she said the students loved it.

[janetz]

Yes, I got up at 4am to watch the arrival before work...Seemed like that boat was pretty crowded!! :)

[janetz]

It certainly has been an exciting time in sydney. Seeing all the teens enjoying their time here warms the heart.

 

Our newspaper has been full of photos etc all showing and reporting on the wonderful comaradie among the pilgrims.

They have set up a "faith book" similar to face book i guess where they can upload their photos. There are over 300 there already.

It might be something to have a look at.

 

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24032954-5001021,00.html

 

The warm sunny days have certainly helped, although there have been tales of some pilgrims mostly from more disadvanged areas arriving with no warm clothes or bedding causing a callout for donations for these pilgrims.

 

Mochuck..... Is your daughter actually on his boat, how lucky for her.

 

 

Thank you for the link....! :D