After a relatively uneventful flight from Singapore, we landed in Sydney at 10:00 AM Saturday morning and I was met by Chanthea Nou of Caritas Australia. Arriving about the same time was Psyche Mae from the Philippines so Chanthea was able to pick up both of us.
Chantehea Nou (R) took Psyche Mae (L) and me to our accommodations at The Centre, not far from the airport, where we were met by Helen Walker who made sure everything was in order for us.This is The Centre, a small Catholic-founded facility for retreats and conferences.After doing some preliminary work after being away from e-mail for almost a day, I took advantage of today’s free time and walked into the little suburban area of Randwick, a quiet residential area of Sydney.To keep me energized in what I anticipated would be some long work sessions this weekend, I bought some cookies and a bottle of Coke. It wasn’t until I got back to The Centre and noticed the purple cap that I found out I had bought Coke Plus Coffee! I’ve never heard of that. I had always had a good impression of Aussies but now I’m wondering what’s wrong with these people! Coke…with coffee! Yechh…..The Aussies are certainly not lacking in hospitality (even if their tastes in Coke are a little off), and tonight Helen took us to dinner with Janak, the third of us speakers who had just arrived from Nepal. L-R: Psyche Mae, Douglas, Janek, Kerryn, Eleanor, Helen.
