Where Am I?
11-12 Update - 11/12/2003
Where Was I?
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Where Am I?
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WALKING FOR A BETTER WORLD 11-12 Update - 11/12/2003 |
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Hi,
Well it is close to 11pm as I start to write, here at La Trobe University in Melbourne , Australia. A Peace Camp was set-up on the grounds yesterday. Last night about 12 of us were camping, a few more folks arrived today and others will continue to arrive until we leave, either next Tuesday or Thursday on our road trip. While we are here I have real good access to the internet, so it is a great time to send me a message if you want. Once I get on the road trip and the first month in the desert I will have very limited access. Many folks will join us along the way for the rest or part of the trip. There are still quite a few people working on obtaining visas, 14 between Africa and Pakistan, plus some from Japan and elsewhere. On Thursday there will be a concert of sorts to raise funds for the walk at a local bar. Then on Saturday and Sunday we will be holding all-day conferences, you can checkout the list of speakers on the walk website. I will be one of the speakers and I completed my first draft today and will fine tune it the next couple of days, I'll send out my final version when it is ready. The speeches will be translated into Japanese and English. On November 20th the Hiroshima peace flame will be leaving Japan and arriving to the walk in December. During the day I walked a couple miles off campus to get a few things (shampoo, cough drops, wash cloth) I thought I could use now and would find hard to get or more expensive in the desert. The weather tonight has turned windy and colder again. I was wearing long pants, a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt and a fleece pullover and was still cold around 8pm tonight. I guess there is a chance of rain tonight. In my time here so far I have seen many different varieties of birds and two introduced species of animals: a fox and rabbits, both which have no natural enemy and have done a lot of damage to native species. No sightings yet of kangaroos or other species that make you think of Australia but we will once we get out of the city. Transportation is mainly by car, althought they have an extensive tram system and buses to get around. Driving on the opposite side of the road seems so different. A small recap of my time here: I arrived at around 5:30am on November 3rd. Angie met me at the airport as did Marcus . I stayed with Troy and Jacinta (friend's of Marcus's and supporters of the issues we are walking for) on the 3rd- 7th. On the 8th and 9th, Marcus, Atsuko and myself stayed in Wonthaggi at Marcus mom's home. We spent some time at the coastline nearby, walking on the shore; the lack of development was the most striking contrast to the shoreline in the U.S. On the 10th I was back at Troy and Jacinta's for the night. Tonight we had some delicous homemade veggie burgers,salad, bread and stew. My allergies have cleared up for the most part, so I'm doing fine. Gerti takes her exam on the 21st then will arrive in Australia on December 3rd- I can't wait. My mom and sister both seem to be doing fine back in the states. I hope this finds you all well, keep in touch. Love and peace, Jeff |
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