Hello! It's Sunday, March 26th, and we just arrived in Cairns which is pronounced /cans/, as in, "Two cans of soda." Its one of the only times I can get the Aussie accent down perfectly, so I try to use it whenever possible. The weather is a lot more tropical, ; a lot warmer and more humid than Sydney. My hotel is right on the ocean. In fact, I would probably be able to hit a baseball onto the sand from where I'm sitting. I know how great this sounds and all, being right on the beach in such an amazing place, but there is bad news: You cannot go in the water. There are box jellyfish that linger in the waters off the coast here from November to April. The poison from one sting can kill up to three adults, so instead of taking the chance of being stung by one these, people just avoid the otherwise tempting water altogether! I can still enjoy the great view, though. It's low tide as I write this, so the water looks a bit grey. Before leaving Sydney I stopped by the historic area known as The Rocks. Our amazing community voted on me going there, so I went. The Rocks, which is situated just below the Sydney Harbor bridge and takes in the surrounding area that crawls up the hillside toward the observatory station, and continues all the way to the Opera House has a history that is as jagged as the rocks the area is named after. This is where early British troops landed on January 26th, 1788 and established Australia as a settlement. Over the years, though, the area has gone through distinct phases. it went from being an incredibly seedy part of town filled with outlaws and the like, to being nearly completely razed to the ground at the turn of the century because of an outbreak of the bubonic plague, being partially reconstructed (again), then restored to its current position as one of the most visited areas of Sydney. It's very touristy because its a very attractive area to walk around in, soak up the history, and to get a bite to eat in. So that's just what I did! And how appropriate was it that I stumbled upon an old British-style fish 'n chips restaurant?

Wow! I found myself back in the classroom in one way or another in the last few days. Last night I stayed up really late in order to chat for a half hour with Mrs. Reynold's 5th grade class in Washington D.C. We started our webconference at 1:00AM Friday morning Sydney time, which was 9: 00AM Thursday morning in Washington D.C., and spoke for a little more than the half hour. The students were incredibly receptive and curious as to what I was doing in Australia, and even more interested in Aboriginal culture. As I said last night to them, I'm also quite interested in learning more about Aboriginal culture and will answer all of their questions as soon as I learn the answers myself! I am very excited to webconference with them again, perhaps later in my journey. My chat with Mrs. Reynold's class was virtual. The other day, however, I was able to visit a year 8 Science class at The King's School here in Sydney with Peter Walters, from Marcom Digital. As you might guess from the photo, this is an all-boys school and they wear uniforms. We had a wonderful time learning about each other's cultures. Such a good time, in fact, that we took up more time than we were alloted and the students had to go to their English class late! I hope they didn't get into too much trouble with their teacher! After my introduction we spend the 45 minutes discussing the practice of Digital Storytelling with the myriad of multimedia tools at hand, and how someone might develop an idea to convey to an audience. The students had great ideas that they are keen on developing into reality. My visit to The King's School was broken up between my meeting with the year 8 boys, The King's School library staff, a teleconference with DEN leaders in Washington D.C., a brief tour of the school's vast grounds, and a tasty lunch. I was blown away at everyone's kindness and how welcome they made us feel. Because The King's School is a private school, they simply have more resources within reach than public schools might. In my opinion, this is a model for how a school should be. Shouldn't all students have access to the tools necessary for achievement? I'm looking forward to putting into action the ideas we shared between the library staff at The King's School the DEN leaders in Washington D.C.

Hola from Sydney! Just as I was finishing up my lunch yesterday, one of the producers gave me a call asking if I wanted to go climb the Sydney Bridge. "Climb the bridge?", I asked. "Oh yeah," he said. "You can climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and get a bird's eye view of the city, but don't worry, it's really safe." I was a bit nervous but very interested in this sort of activity. As a New Yorker (especially as a kid) I've always driven, walked, or even ridden my bike under a variety of bridges, but I've never (as most people have not) climbed to the top of any of them. The Queensboro Bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge and The Manhattan Bridge to name a few. I'm sure I'm not alone in having always wanted to climb a bridge. In any event, I went along with the cast and crew of 5 Takes and climbed the bridge at around 5:00 PM, with enough time to take in the sunset. Before setting foot on the bridge, though, we had to secure all of our camera gear and personal belongings. We even had to wear special outfits in order to protect us from the many edges that could catch our clothes. Needless to say, as we climbed the bridge at 5:00 Sydney's rush hour traffic zipped under foot as a warm wind howled at our heads. It felt more odd to be climbing the bridge than it was frightening. The beautiful view was the reward which was spectacular; to one side the Sydney Opera House, the other a clear view of the cityscape, behind us the various inlets than make up the Sydney Harbor with their expensive homes and apartments lining the shore. Such a view made me feel miniscule. Quick facts about the Sydney Harbor Bridge: Year built: 1932 Tons of steel: 50,300 Years to build: 9 Number of cars passing each day: 200,000 Toll: AU$2 Paul Hogan, better known as Crocodile Dundee, was a bridge painter in the 1970s before he was picked up by a talent scout. As the saying goes, the rest is history. I doubt he's painted a bridge since!

Hello! What a wonderful, busy few days it's been! Sydney, it seems, is one of those cities that "has it all". I've only been here for 3 days, but there's so much to Australia's biggest city: Many different people, amazingly clean white sandy beaches, a variety of restaurants (I had French the other night), beautiful architecture (many art deco buildings), a convenient train network around the city and into the suburbs, and, above all, a nice climate. It's one of those cities that you visit and makes you think about moving... Traveling with the cast and crew of the show "5 Takes" has been a learning experience. Everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful (especially with me considering my novice "status" with editing), and to add, experienced. The editors in particular are around my age and are masters at what they do. Their job is to make the TV show happen. They take the many, many hours of raw footage from three different cameras and spend countless hours each day (up to 16) sifting through them piecing together an hour long show for the Travel Channel. Because this is reality TV in real-time, they have to edit as the filming is going on. The first show airs April 3rd. I have a lot of respect for their hard work! On our first day we went on a boat cruise around Sydney Harbor. It was a great way to be exposed to the city before setting out on foot. Relaxing and informative, the cruise wasn't a typical ride through the water. Instead, it was a an art exhibit turned boat cruise! Essentially, this one man's vision was to set a boat rigged with GPS (Global Positioning System- A satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the United States. It's original intention was for military use but in the last twenty years or so the government made it available for the public.) technology and as it goes along it's cruise around the harbor (or any important body of water), pre-recorded sounds and anecdotes are piped through the boat's surround-sound system. These sounds were linked to specific parts of the harbor, hence the use of GPS technology. When we passed by the Sydney Opera House, for example, you could hear an orchestra playing. When we passed by a cargo ship, we could "overhear" a captain reading over a shipping order from 1890. Truly a one of a kind experience, and it was free! In a short while you will be able to see it for yourself as my second webisode was done on the boat cruise! Be sure to ask questions and vote for where I should go in Sydney. I'll be making a trip to wherever wins the vote tomorrow. Take care, Josh

Welcome to Sydney, Australia! Woo! Talk about a long flight. 5 hours to Los Angeles, an hour wait, than 19 more grueling hours to Sydney made me feel as though the airplane was my home for a full day. Because of the changing time zones, I left on Thursday, March 17th, and arrived Saturday, March 19th, skipping Friday all together. Basically I never had a St. Patrick's Day! It's OK, though, because when I finally return to the U.S. I will "gain" a day instead of "losing" another day. The cast and crew of the show 5 Takes were great in striking up conversations about what they were looking forward to in Australia and beyond. We all agreed on napping as soon as possible! But there was work to be done so that would have to wait. Because I'm traveling with such a large group of people (15 in total) and with so much equipment and luggage (personal bags, many cameras and microphones, stacks of laptop computers, editing stations, etc.) it took us a couple of hours to get completely through the airport and into the heart of Sydney. But when we finally made it out we were greeted by a welcoming blast of sunlight and many friendly people! After a quick lunch I was able to get settled into my hotel room, sort out some technical computer problems and finally take a nap. It's pretty amazing that I'm in the land "down under", a place I've only dreamed of visiting. I am very far from home and the weather is a lot different than it is in New York. Australians are entering their fall season, while New Yorkers are entering their spring. I can't wait to experience their different seasons especially considering it's in the mid 70s F here. I guess I can pack my coat for now! The next few days are going to be packed with many cool explorations of the city. I'll be sure to keep you posted. See you soon! Josh