Arrival in Sydney
The flight from Toronto to Syndey was pretty tiring as the plane was almost full and my sleep was interrupted several times. There was a turbulence incident where the whole cabin shook up and down violently like in the movies. Some people thought we were going to die and swore never to fly again, hehe...
I took the Manly Airport Bus straight to Manly, with a drive over Harbour Bridge and a view of Opera House! Just incredible!
I'm staying at Manly Backpackers for tonight and tomorrow. My roommate turned out to be a guy from Israel who has just spent 3 years in the Israeli military. He seemed like a harmless and cool guy, but I didn't want to take any risks. I changed my room so he wouldn't strangle me at night! Heheh.. (I'm an Iranian. In case you didn't know, Israeli-Iranian relations are terrible!)
Manly West Public School
I went to Manly West Public School, where I did my kindergarten and years 1-4 of primary school from 1990-1994. This was my first time to visit the school in 14 years!
Mrs. McLean
Mrs. McLean, my wonderful 4th grade teacher, was still there! She remembered me as soon as I introduced myself and was delighted when I showed her our class photo from 1994 (below). She took me around and showed me to everyone, including her current class. She was very passionate about her students and introduced me to some of the very bright ones. She used to encourage me for my skills in maths in very much the same way.
Principal and Staff
The new principal, Mr. Raymond A. Dayley, was kind enough to give me a tour of the school's facilities, telling me how the school is still expanding and improving.
Other school staff that I met were Mrs. Street, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Simpson and Mrs. Kay. They remembered my dad and especially my mum very well. My brother's teachers, Mrs. Marinan and Mr. Cross, were still there too.
My old house
After Manly West, I visited our old house in Marjory Thomas Place, right next to the school, separated only by a wooden fence. It's very much the same as it used to be, except the fence has been repaired, lol. (My father purposely broke that fence so my brother and I could walk through it to get to school. One time the fence was repaired, but he broke it again!)
Manly Beach
Manly Beach is amazing! The sand is a clean white, the waves are huge, and surfers are everywhere.
I'm going back to Manly West and our neighbourhood again tomorrow, followed by a relaxing afternoon at Manly Beach.
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