Hi everyone! I arrived in Sydney yesterday morning. After somehow managing to sleep for nearly 8 hours of the 15 hour flight, I actually felt rather refreshed! No personal entertainment center on the seat back, but the guy next to me returning home to Melbourne was rather entertaining, with stories of Australian rules football (crazy!) and Cricket (games last for days!). Chloe, who arrived from Taipei the day before, and her friend Chantelle, who lives in Sydney, met me at the airport. For these first 4 nights we're staying in Sydney Olympic Park (site of the 2000 Summer Olympics), about 30min outside of downtown Sydney by trains. That's where the Sydney Salsa Congress is being held. After checking in we headed to downtown Sydney for a little sightseeing preview. We started with lunch in the 360 degree revolving restaurant at the top of the CentrePoint Tower. Could not have asked for a better day -- barely a cloud in the sky and ~75F! Then we took a walk along the bay past the famous Sydney Opera House to catch a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach. After soaking up the sun and sand while watching the surfers, we hung out at Chantelle's house for a bit before heading out to a lively bar downtown with some of her friends for the night. Today we worked diligently to recover from jet lag (i.e., "slept in") and took it easy around Olympic Park, taking a scenic bike ride through the natural wetlands surrounding the park. Tonight the Salsa Congress starts!!!