calling all aussies...

[Zverev]

OZ is a great place for tennis.
You can play it all year around, 12 months a year, mate!

I live in the small country town (around 5000 people),
there are 3 tennis clubs, each has 5-6 tennis courts(artificial grass).
Annual membership is $40 - unlimited access, so I took membershipship in all of them, just in case.
Can play tennis every day, the only thing that holds me back is my injuries.

Besides, Aussies are THE greatest people on this planet,
prawns are cheap, lamb is tasty and the beer is good.

Regards
Zverev
(4 years of OZ life experience.)

[tennisphotog]

You are quite fortunate. And you are right to worry about the direction of America. If I had your opportunity, and having spent lots of time in Sydney, I would relocate and never return to the states. As they say "you are going to a better place"

[ty slothrop]

thanks everyone for your great feedback. my opportunity has been pushed back until probably late in 2005, but I'm seriously considering going for it.

just in time for melbourne 2006 (jaden gil agassi def. donald young for men's title)!

[AndrewD]

Gee, thanks Silent Bob for completely trashing my entire country lol.

I do take exception to most, not all, of what you wrote but I am sorry that somewhere along the line you've managed to get such a negative view of the place.

Ty, Australia is no better or worse than most other places in the world but if the opportunity comes to work there I'd say give it a go. You learn more about a country when you have the opportunity to see it as more than just a tourist so I think it would be a great experience.

As Bob said, Sydney and Melbourne are small in comparison to capital cities in other countries but therein lies the charm. As regards the people, there are the same types you get anywhere. What you call 'white trash' we might call 'yobbos' (the only people who would use the word Seppo). Still, live in a nice area = meet nice people. Live in a crappy place = meet people you wouldnt like.

Yes, there is racism but, unfortunately, show me a country where there isnt any. Put it in some context. The worst racism Ive ever seen was when I worked in Indonesia for 12 months. The most out in the open Ive seen was in Scandanavia and Germany. Nowhere is immune and Australia suffers just the same as everywhere else. One bright spot is Melbourne, where you cant turn around without bumping into someone from a different culture.

I've spent 10 of my 35 years working and travelling overseas and Ive yet to find anyone who thought that, just because Im Australian, I was 'white trash'. I'd say, on average, we're friendlier than the Engish, on a par with the Canadians and genuinely puzzled by the Americans lol. No, we're not as sophisticated as the Europeans (or as world-weary) but happily not as class conscious as the English or suffering from the desire to tell the rest of the world what they should do and think.

One thing though. Bring a sense of humour and learn to appreciate and recognise dry-wit and sarcasm. Australians do like to 'poke fun' at each other and aren't really a good match with anyone who takes him or herself too seriously.

Good luck

[Radical Shot]

Well said cobber.

Totally agree about the need to learn to appreciate and recognize the Aussie sense of humour. Many Americans in particular get caught out by it and get easily offended, when usually the opposite is meant.
________
medical marijuana doctor

[AndrewD]

Thanks Radical Shot. We mightn't be the 'greatest' nation in the world but at least we have Australian Rules (apologies if you're a Rugby fan lol). Although it is a bit embarrassing when you have to admit to the rest of the world that 1) we have yobbos and 2) we let them travel LOL

[Radical Shot]

Yeah, but there's a bit of the Aussie yobbo in each of us, just waiting to come out after a few homebrews.

The Aussie bloke is an interesting creature indeed.

Love the AFL. Go Swannies!
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mercury grand marquis

[Cuzza]

Yep, AFL also makes our country great.

Australia is often called the lucky country. We would have a more laid-back approach to America, especially with wars etc.

Tennis is great here too. I think its the most played sport in the country. Well, I'm in Melbourne, so I can't say for sure in Sydney, but there are tennis courts everywhere here. There are heaps of competitions/tournaments. Tennis is fairly big down here.

[K!ck5w3rvE]

Some tennis places you'll want to check out are:

Sydney International Tennis Centre. Its at Homebush. It is the venue of the Sydney International, but the public can play there. There are heaps of Rebound Ace courts (love this stuff).

Tennis Ranch. Its a big tennis shop at Gladesville.

Top Serve Tennis, at Burwood. These guys travel the tour stringing for pros everywhere. They are the official Luxilon stringers in Australia (Luxilon sends all its strings to TST, then other shops have to buy them off TST). Their play-test facility for getting a new stick is excellent.

Here's some sites:

www.tennisranch.com.au
www.********tennis.com
www.sydneytennis.com.au

[K!ck5w3rvE]

weird.......that second link isn't supposed to have all those ********, its supposed to say 'top serve tennis' (without the speech marks and spaces).