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Outsports Clubhouse: Membership For Gay Sports Fans And Athletes
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Let the Games Begin
Gay Games VI kicks off in Sydney tonight (Saturday Australian time; Friday in the U.S.) with perfect weather in a beautiful
and hospitable city. After two days here, one wonders what they put in the water to make everyone so darn friendly. The
service people in hotels, shops and other businesses put Americans to shame; "No worries, mate" seems to be the national
motto.
As for the Games themselves, we expect most everyone to have a terrfic time--it's hard not to when you're on
vacation and surrounded by fit, athletic men and women. This doesn't mean the Gay Games organization has been a model of
efficiency. We heard complaints from several athletes who couldn't get accurate information on their sport or you were forced
to wait a long time in a confused regisrtration process. In the final analysis, however, the game's the thing--if the sports
go off smoothly, registration woes will be long forgotten.
He Just Smiled a Gave Me a Vegamite Sandwich: I tried
Vegamite, a national breakfast obsession, and have to say it wasn't terrible. Vegamite is a yeast conconction with salt that
looks and spreads like heavy motor oil. I was told it's scraped from the bottom of beer barrels. Aussie kids grow up with it
and the routine is to spread it very thinly over buttered toast. I can't say it'll become a staple for me; I'll stick with
Smuckers.--Jim Buzinski
Australian Game: I got my first taste of exotic Australian meat tonight at my
track teams dinner. It was a wonderful restaurant - a buffet at the top of Sydney tower - one of the tallest spots in the
city. Its a rotating restaurant, which means you get a 360 degree view of the city. The game I got to try: camel (tastes
like a very bad, dry pot roast); kangaroo (tastes like gamey beef, but doesn't have the flavor of venison); and emu (a large
bird, like an ostrich, which tastes like corned beef). I also got to try Australian pumpkin, which was a lot like butternut
squash, though not as sweet.--Cyd Zeigler
The Bar Scene:I went to Stonewall - a bar on the gay street here, Oxford St. I went with some of the guys from my track team - Brian, Shon, Wayne Anthony & Todd - we danced a bit (same
dance music as back in the States) and had a coule vodka drinks (only carried Absolut and Finlandia). My verdict at the end
of the evening was one that Jim has been telling me all along: no matter what country you're in, every gay bar is the
same.Cyd Zeigler
Funny Talk: It was interesting to have us complimented on our cool accents by Aussie
guys; we had to remind them that they were the ones with the accent.
Money Money MoneyThe Australian currency
is beautiful - very colorful, and each dollar bill has a plastic portion to it; the $2 coin, though, is the smallest coin,
which has meant giving a couple homeless people a good amount of money without realizing it; each side of a dollar has a
different face on it - we don't know who any of them are, but they look good in pink and blue.
Quick Hits
You're not supposed to tip here, unless the service is exceptionally outstanding - but, that hasn't stopped us - might as
well leave a good impression of Americans while we're here . . . Its amazing how friendly people get when we stick a camera
in front of them and ask them to smile - the Games, and Sydney, seem to be bringing the best out of the visitors here . . .
Monday Night Football here is a repackaging of a tape-delayed San Francisco-Oakland game at 7:30pm; we'll be skipping that
. . . The population here in Sydney, from what I can tell, is almost entirely white and Asian - other than the Americans I
know, I haven't seen a black person anywhere . . . There are ibis (like egrets with a long, thin, curled beak) in all the
parks like there are pigeons back home - adds to the somewhat exotic feel of the place . . . Very easy-to-use public
transportation system here; rivals San Francisco and eclipses New York. ... A great scene was watching Aussie schoolboys
playing basketball during recess--in their dress pants, shirts, black shoes and ties. Not many future Kobe's in the bunch.
aaa
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