Continuation of Whatever Day This is (2ish?) From Edmund

I have a handwritten journal entry about the flight and such, but I'm thinking maybe I can make money off of the journal when I return to the States. It's a bit past 8pm over here, and I'm on my cousin Julie's laptop. Wait... the bathroom is available. BRB.

Ahh... I've decided to just write in my journal first, then copy it over to this one. Here's my first entry:

"To what shall I compare myself, sitting in the midst of the crowd at the gate, or what analogy shall I use to describe it? Perhaps if I knew about botany, I'd say I'm part of a flower or fruit bearing many seeds. We're all clumped together only to be scattered about to After a few quick errands, I skipped telling you about several events from the day because now I'm on the plane, and I don't feel like divulging what happened in the morning. Laziness prevails, because I just had some turkey. Well, earlier we met up with a load of CYMers & parents at this dim sum place outside the airport. The restaurant was nicely decorated, and the tables were teeming with eager, hungry people, which is always a good indication of good food. I was ready for lots of small, hot dishes like various types of dumplings. I'd been looking forward to a place like this for quite some time. However, two problems came up. First, too many people at our table. Second, it's hard to write neatly on this awkwardly-positioned piece of notebook paper. Third, the dishes that were ordered for our table were authentic Chinese delicacies; the temperatures and textures of some of them didn't bode too well with our palates. Reservations notwithstanding, we ate in good company. I was just glad to be at table with some good friends.

Ward was kind enough to cut out of the restaurant early to take us to the airport, where we eventually said our goodbyes to everybody and took some pictures. I've never had anybody see me (or a group) off at an airport before. I probably didn't show it [at the time], but my heart was glad. I felt empowered by the presence of everyone was we walked off towards the gates and onward with our pilgrimage.

The gate itself was flooded with youth and adults like, a vividly colored sample of what we'll likely see in Sydney. This wasn't my first time flying, so blah blah blah and takeoff weren't a problem for me. In past flights, I enjoyed watching the blanket of clouds paint the sky on the canvas of the sun, impressing one with a crisp, celestial feeling. Instead, the watermelon-sized viewing windows treated us to a vast view of the city lights in the dark, obscured by the fog and later, completely blocked by - would you believe it - THICKER fog.

It's been about two hours into the flight. We've had our little airline meal and a half (Well, Angela did) and everyone's completely knocked out. Raj deserves a good night's rest for once... or rather... all the time. Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are almost at their happy movie ending, and I think I'm the only one awake on the plane right now. Including the cockpit crew. Maybe that's an indication that the movie sucks. Maybe not. (1838 h, Sydney time)"

More to come later, everybody. Lots of interesting stuff to be reported concerning our first day's stay in Aussie Land. World Youth Day banners and advertisements were everywhere. The toilet flushes straight down due to a tank design which uses less water than previous ones; such is the case in every toilet we've encountered so far. But I'm going to call this a night until the next post. 'Til then, mates.

Godspeed!