September 20, 2000:

G'Day Mates! Here I am, strapped aboard my seat and on my way to Sydney, Australia for the 27th Olympiad. Ty Trade decided to send me to the Olympics to provide an e-Beanie perspective for all of our friends. I spent most of today packing and waiting for my tickets at the airport. Traveling can be so much fun, but there sure is a lot of waiting around. It turns out that Australia is a lot farther than I thought! But not to fear, I am determined to go where no Speckles has ever gone before...

On the long plane ride (over 16 hours to Australia), I found some very interesting information about the Olympic Games. Did you know that the first "Olympics" were held in 776 B.C., where actually only one kind of running race was held (known as 'the Spirit')? Later, the Games would incorporate other events such as javelin throwing, broad jumping, wrestling, boxing and chariot races. These Games were held for over 1,000 years before they were cancelled. Fortunately for us, on March 25, 1896, the Games were revived to promote unity and friendship among the nations. The first modern day Olympics were held in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece. Athletes from around the world came to proudly represent their countries.

Did you know the athletes in the Olympics take an oath?

"We swear that we will take part in the Olympic Games
in the true spirit of sportsmanship, and that we will
respect and abide by the rules that govern them, for
the glory of sport and the honor of our country."

September 21, 2000:

G'Day Mates! It's me Speckles reporting from "down under!" It's hard to believe I'm really here in Sydney, Australia! Everyone here talks like Crocodile Dundee! I don't understand all the expressions but people are nice, they explain it to me and I'm trying to learn!

Today I took a "walk about" just to get familiar with the area. Sydney Olympic Park is where many of the events are held. The Park is so big it's like a city within a city. Competitions in archery, basketball, diving, gymnastics, tennis, hockey, swimming and more are held here. You can see from the pictures that there are walkways and signs and arrows all directing the people from one place to another. Some of the signs are in English and some are in other languages. It seems like there are millions of people here!

I wanted a shot of me in front of the Olympic torch so I asked a nice lady from Germany to take my picture. I think it turned out well...don't you? And the really cool thing is she spoke English and she knew a lot about the Olympic torch and its history. She told me that there are actually 10,000 torches made out of aluminium for various runners to carry on their trip to the stadium. WOW! I wish I could get one!

The Tennis Center is very big, but every seat is a good seat to see the matches. It was a beautiful day today! The sun was very warm and I had fun sitting in the stands watching a few games of tennis. In between games lots of people were comparing their pins. Yes, at the Olympics, spectators trade pins from different countries. I hope to collect lots of pins to add to my collection. Some people buy pins from vendors and then trade them with other people they meet from different countries. Even the Olympic athletes trade pins! I've even heard they trade their official uniforms at the end of the games. I wonder if that's true?

After a long, but very exciting day it was good to get back to our hotel. I was happy to see a familiar face at the Hospitality Desk. USA BEAR made me feel right at home. This reporting job is fun...but very tiring. I'm going to have to pace myself so that I can last through the Olympics. That's funny! It's like I'm in my own endurance event. OLYMPIC REPORTING! So for now, it's Speckles the e-reporter, signing out from Sydney, Australia!

September 23, 2000:

G'day Mates! It's me again...Speckles reporting from the land of "Shrimp on the Barbie", "Vegemite" and "No Worries!" What an exciting day I had today! I got to see the US swim team! They were talking to some TV reporters for one of the morning shows! They had this really cool cheer that they performed. I'm not a cheerleader...but I've never heard a cheer like this one! It was very funny!

I am so proud of the atheletes from the United States! We are leading the medal competition! There are so many other countries here that have good atheletes! And everyone is very proud of their own country. China is in second place. It's very exciting to watch the medal count. There are still lots of events left so I hope we continue to stay in the lead.

I sat by some people from China at the volleyball competition. They didn't speak English...but we both like volleyball...so we could communicate. They had some really cool pins and we traded! My collection is growing! Maybe I'll have a picture made to show you soon.

[Speckles] Sometimes it's hard for me to see at these events...I'm so small. At the volleyball game a nice lady from Argentina let me sit on her head. We took a picture and everyone around me laughed. Some people even asked me if I was the official mascot of the Olympics? I didn't know there was a mascot so I asked one of the hospitality people at our hotel and they filled me in. The first Olympic mascot was at the Munich games in 1972. The Mascot was created not only to be a symbol of the games...but it was also a way to appeal to kids. Waldi the Dachshund, Misha the bear, Same the eagle and Hodori the tiger are previous mascots. Izzy the whatizit was the mascot for the Atlanta games. I wonder what a whatizit looks like? Did any of you see him at the Atlanta games????

Track and Field events are strating now. I think these events are very popular because there are so many people here now....you almost can't get around. I wish someone would let me ride on their head when we walk around Olympic Park! That way I could see better! I'm really looking forward to seeing some of those world class runners! I'll report back with news from the track!

Oh yes, just in case you're wondering what Vegemite is...I'll tell you. It's the Australian national snack spread. It was invented in 1923 using yeast that is left over from brewing beer. Yuk! I haven't had the nerve to try it yet. Maybe I will...and maybe I won't. For now...this is Speckles signing off from Sydney Australia.

September 26, 2000:

G'day Mates! It's me again, Speckles, reporting from the Sydney Olympics You're probably wondering why you didn't hear from me over the weekend. Well, it's so excitiing! I made friends with a family from Iceland. Sven, Inger and their mother Mrs.Johanssen! Thy had an extra ticket to lots of the Track and Field trials over the weekend and they asked me to come along!

Boy did I see some cool running racees! The running races are my favorite. I run a little bit myself and I'm always trying to run faster. My legs are very short...so I get tired easily... but I always try to improve upon my personal best. (That's runner's talk.) Hey, I got to see Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene and Cathy Freeman and lots of other great runners that I didn't know. Sven and Inger know all about Cathy Freeman. They really like her and they have been following her career.

Did you know that she was the lady who carried the torch up the stairs at the Opening Ceremonies? Remember, she walked through some water, then lit the fire and a ring formed around her? Then the ring rose of fire up into the sky! I would have been very afraid. I was proud of her then... even before I saw her run. Cathy is an Aborginal. People who live in Australia come from many different parts of the world. The 400,000 Aborigines who live in Australia migrated there 175,000 years ago. So I guess they were there first. I asked Sven where they came from...but he did'nt know. Cathy is one of Australia's national sports heroes. That's why she was chosen to light the torch. Everyone in Australia is hoping that she will win a gold medal.

I watched her run in some qualifying races over the weekend. But the most exciting thing happened today! She ran in the finals of the women's 400m race...and won the gold medal! She also wears the coolest running outfit you've ever seen! I couldn't get close enough to take a picture...but I drew a picture of the outfit. I'm going to ask my friend Delores back home to make one for me so I can run fast too!

Today someone recognized me and called me by name. It was very cool! "Hello Speckles I've been reading your reports!" I was so proud! I am tired and it's hard meeting my deadlines...but when they knew who I was...it was terrific! I almost felt like I earned a medal in Olympic reporting! Bt I can't rest on my past successes! I must go! There's still much more to see, experience and write about. Stay tuned!

September 29, 2000:

G'day Mates! It's me Speckles reporting from the Sydney Olympics. I'm not so sure that I'm cut out for being an "ace" reporter after all! I missed my deadline yesterday and you guys didn't get a report from me! I did miss it for a good reason...I was on a boat in Sydney Harbour! And, I was having so much fun...I didn't get back in time! I guess that means the rest of my reports have to be really, really, good! Okay...here we go! I stopped by the hospitality desk at the hotel and they had tickets to an event called handball. I didn't know that handball was on Olympic sport! My friend Clubby plays handball at his health club. (He asks me to play...but I'm a little clumsy). Anyway, I thought it would be fun to watch a handball match...plus I like the way the ball sounds when it hits the wall.

Boy, was I surprised when I saw the match! I've included some pictures for you to see. There are 7 players on each item! They pass, throw, catch and dribble a small ball with their hands while trying to score goals in a net. It's sort of like soccer...but with your hands...instead of your feet!!!!! It is very fast and the rules seem very strange to me. [Handball] Three is the magic number in handball. Players can hold the ball for only three seconds before passing, dribbling or shooting. They may take only three steps after catching the ball. And a team-mate receiving the ball from another team-mate must be at least three meters away. The match I saw was very exciting! On Friday, Russia, Yougoslavia, Spain and Sweden will play in the semi-finals. I wonder if my friend Clubby is watching this kind of handball on TV?

While I was at the match, I met two really nice people who live in Sydney. Torrie and Tim Balfour were there to watch their cousin that plays on the team from Spain. They were very proud of him. I asked them lots of questions about handball. (That's why I know so much now.) We had fun and they invited me to go on their boat for a ride around Sydney Harbour! I was so excited! I have lots to tell you all about our trip on the boat. Stay tuned...you don't want to miss my story of how I was denied access to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

September 30, 2000:

G'day Mates! It's me Speckles reporting from Sydney once again! I promised you that I'd fill you in on how I was refused access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Well, it's quite a story!

Remember the nice people I met at the Team Handball event...Torrie and Tim Balfour! Well, they told me that if you really want to see Sydney, you have to climb up and walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (That's the bridge in the picture). Can you believe that??? They let you walk over the top of a bridge??? I was really , really scared ...but also very excited When I got there and saw the ladders that you had to climb up...I became very frightened! My friend Hank sells insurance and he's always telling me that I should have more. At that moment, I really wished that I had a million dollar policy! Before they let you climb the ladder, you are required to do several things.

You have to remove anything that might fall off and hurt someone below when you're on top of the bridge. They have lockers where you check your wallet, your watch, your camera, your handbag...stuff like that. Then you have to put on a jumpsuit over your clothes and are hooked up to a cable so you won't fall (or can't jump). After breathing deeply, (to relax) checking all my belongings...can you believe it...they wouldn't let me walk over the bridge because they didn't have a jumpsuit small enough for me to wear! I was so mad! I tried to hide in Tim's pocket...but they caught us!

So instead, Tim and Torrie took me on their boat for a ride in Sydney Harbour! I was disappointed... but boy was their boat awesome! Tim took lots of pictures of me with cool things in the background. Can you see the Opera House? And, then there's that bridge! (I'm still bitter) But all in all...it was a terrific day! I'm so lucky that Ty Trade sent me down here!

Well, I'm on my way back now...seems someone at Ty called and asked me to return to the US!. I wonder why? It's been fun, I've learned a lot and now it's time to go back home. I am a little homesick. I can't wait to eat my favorite meal...a big, juicy Chicago-style hotdog! Thanks for reading my reports and G'day Mates!