Easter Weekend

My family has arrived, K two weeks ago and K and M last week and two weeks until L arrives.  The third and final phase of my sabbatical.  The first phase was me, alone in Sydney, working at LeapFrog, taking sailing lessons, bridge lessons and walking everywhere all over the city.  A sense of independence and aloneness.  The second phase was of travel to Manila, South Africa, working on LF projects and now the third phase is family.  This third phase is making everything seem more real.  It will not just be my memories of Sydney but now I will have shared memories and stories to tell that others will be part of.  I didn't realize when this experience started, how important that would be.   These precious four months will live longer because others are here to be part of it.

I am showing family all of my haunts around Sydney.  Developed the perfect first day.  Land from the states at 6:30 am,  make it to my apartment around 8:30, a shower and breakfast and off to the ferry to Circular Quay and then to Manley,  a walk around the beach, and then sitting on the beach watching the surfers at Manley.  Lunch at the Kiosk at Shelley Beach, ferries back to the apartment and quiet evening with light dinner and bed by about 8:30 pm.  Lots of sunshine, some walking, good views of Sydney and the beach.  Perfect first day in Sydney.  I've done this twice for the two most recent arrivals.  L arrives on Mother's Day, what a perfect present.

Easter weekend is a bit unusual in Australia.  The country feels rather unreligious, compared to very religious US.  But the amount of chocolate Easter candy in the stores boggles the mind.  I've never seen so much candy for sale. I imagine there will be some pretty good sales after Easter on the left over candy.  This year ANZAC Day and Easter fall on the same weekend so there is a five day weekend, which for Australia is better than the Second Coming.  Australians love their weekends.  Where parts of the US are live to work places, this country is more of a work to live place.   So five days off,  Good Friday through Easter Tuesday.  Easter Tuesday???  Well because ANZAC day is Monday, one is obliged to push Easter Monday to Easter Tuesday.  Got it?   Just about everything is shut down on Good Friday, Easter and until 1:00 pm on ANZAC day.  Even grocery stores.   Just so happens I have no, and I mean no, food in my apartment so we are scraping together meals and trying to find the few restaurants that are open.  ANZAC day is sort of a Veterans Day and Memorial Day rolled into one.  Daybreak ceremonies that everyone says are very moving, but I have yet to talk to anyone who has ever been to a day break ceremony.  Parades of veterans and then a gambling game called Two Up which is only allowed to be played, legally, on ANZAC Day.  Seems you go to a bar, and bet on whether the coin toss will be heads or tails.  It may be more challenging than this but I don't think so.

Although I am not overly religious,  I was a little taken aback by watching parties and a wedding (live band pounding out songs while everyone danced and drank) on Good Friday.  Now that is something that would never happen, in virtually any  community in the states.  There was a loud and rowdy party in my apartment building on Friday night, long into the night.   There are a few Anglican Churches,  St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney and a few other churches scattered around but my overall impression is that organized religion does not play a big role in the life of many Australians.  But the five day weekend, now that is a big deal.

Spending more mental time on UE things,  working with J on some trips for the summer and getting excited about returning.  LeapFrog announced a huge new investment in Kenya last week.   The largest microinsurance investment, ever and one that will fund significant new growth in microinsurance in East Africa.  I think there will be a few more announcements in the coming months.   The projects in the Philippines are still in the early stages but I think they will come together.   LeapFrog is taking the social metrics initiative very seriously and I think will be able to have a strong story to tell in the future on the role their investments had in improving their communities.   I'm looking forward to following this over the years.