Sydney

Well we have all arrived safe and sound in Sydney- Sydney, Nova Scotia, that is.

We arrived in Sydney after 2 great days in Halifax, ready for the 7820 District Conference. It is being held at the Membertou Convention Centre, a facility built on land owned by First Nation people, the Mi’kmaq. The centre is majority government funded and has been built as a way of providing for indigenous communities and their people. The conference kicked off with supper and chances to mingle and chat with Rotarian’s from all over Atlantic Canada, the second largest district in the world, as well as meet some of our host families we’ll stay within the coming weeks.

We gave our presentation on Friday lunch time and you’ll all (or Y’all) be pleased to know it went off without a glitch and we received really positive feedback from everyone at the conference. We’re expecting to get some more in depth questions regarding Australia in the club presentations, but so far we’ve answered dozens of questions on politics, Australian aboriginals, kangaroos, sport, culture and general inquiries.
One of the biggest things we’ve noticed that differs from home is the shape of the houses over here- they are all two storey, rectangular and made of wood. There are no fences around yards at all and in outlying areas, such as Sydney, there are few plants or gardens. We’ve been told because of the severe weather and salty air, it’s hard to grow plants here.
Suz, Shannon and Colin paid a visit to a 17th century French fortress called Fort Louisbourg, which was fully reconstructed on top of original foundations. During peak tourist season, the site is much like the former Old Sydney Town in Australia and has actors dressed in period costume and re-enactments of day-to-day events in the 1700s.
Insert photo of town

Rotarians know how to entertain.
On Friday evening we had a formal, sit-down dinner with we Aussies front and centre for the performance of “4 Men in a Tub” a folk music and comedy act. They had us in stitches with their comedy skits and by the end of the night, we were all busting out our best jig. Suz, David, Shannon and Colin learnt to play the spoons.


Governor’s Ball

We’re off to the Governor’s Ball this evening, which will close the conference. We’ve been told it’s also a formal affair, and we’ll be entertained by Men of the Deep, a choral group of retired miners. It will conclude at 9.30pm, but we’ll all come back to our hotel, the Days Inn, for a Governor’s Reception, which will have folk music from the region. Lots of fiddles!