After 24 hours of travelling including a 15 hour flight from LAX to Sydney, we made it. I'll skip the boring stuff like driving to the airport and flying to LA (other than the fact that we had to take three trains just to get to our other gate in Seattle) and get to the good (or at least somewhat better) part. Keep in mind that I half-slept about six hours last night so perhaps I won't be incredibly coherent, but I'll do my best.
We got to LA, found our gate, and I soon located the people with the instrument cases. We introduced ourselves and hung out for a bit before boarding the flight to Sydney, Australia. I hadn't realized just how many people they could fit on that plane. Dad and I were in row 72, but one of the other violists was in row 84, so I'm not entirely sure how far back it even went. So let's say 90 rows, ten seats across, and let's not forget the WHOLE OTHER LEVEL ABOVE US. Yeah. I know. Wow. Luxury aircraft all the way... the seats were pretty big and comfy, with a decent-sized TV (they called it a "personal entertainment system" or something of the sort) and a remote attached to the armrest. They actually had awesome movies. After takeoff, I watched the King's Speech (which is FANTASTIC and you should all watch it), then stayed up a bit longer and tried to sleep. I slept for a few hours, which I was incredibly happy about because it meant there were only ten hours left in the flight. Sigh... so, I played some solitaire, some tetris (thank you, Personal Entertainment System), looked at some more movies, dozed a bit more, went for walks, met up with fellow YTSO-ers, etc. etc. They served us two meals, snacks, and a ton of drinks including free beer (and no, I didn't have any! :P). The food was pretty good for an airline meal, which was a pleasant surprise. I felt like they did everything in their power to make a 15-hour flight as comfortable as it could be, and I really appreciated it. Thank you, Qantas!
We got to Sydney, got through customs, and then waited on the other side for the rest of the YTSO people to come through. I hadn't realized it, but there was another flight coming in from LA about an hour after ours that contained a few more orchestra members. While we waited, we stood outside, enjoying the sunshine and heat and talking about how utterly fantastic a shower would be right about now. A couple of hours later, we got to the hotel, where we were allowed to get clothing from our luggage but couldn't go to our rooms until after the harbour cruise. Rats... the shower would have to wait.
So, after leaving our luggage for the hotel people to take up to our rooms, we traipsed over to the harbour to get on the boat. We cruised around for a while while the tour guide told us about the many sights we were seeing, but I'm not entirely sure if anyone was listening because we were far too excited about introducing ourselves to everyone and getting to know each other. I met all of the other violists as well as most of the other orchestra members, which was lots of fun. I met my stand partner, Mauricio (who has his DOCTORATE in viola performance!!!), and he is delightful. I'm really looking forward to working with everyone!
I was SO glad I changed into shorts because if I hadn't, I probably would have fainted from overheating. Okay, so it wasn't THAT hot, but I'm not used to heat and I've never been particularly good with hot weather. Nonetheless, it was WONDERFUL being on the water in the bright sunshine with lovely people.
After the cruise, we walked back to the hotel eagerly anticipating our much-awaited showers. We got our rooms and goody bags (which include a YTSO t-shirt, towel, music bag, pencils, pin, and sunscreen), and went up to check them out. The room has an amazing view of the Sydney Opera House and the harbour, and is bright, airy, and very clean. More pictures to come! Next up, a tour of the opera house and the orchestra welcome dinner. :D
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