Greetings from Sydney! That’s right: just days after an excellent trip to Minnesota, I made a very long trek to the other side of the world. I had a window of less than two days back in Boston (most of which I spent in the office, ha) and then I hopped back on a plane to Australia (with a quick LAyover in Los Angeles). I arrived early this morning and spent the entire day trekking around Sydney to see the sights and fight the jet lag. I’m off tomorrow morning to Canberra, and then the trip continues (more information below). In a tour assembled collaboratively by several Australian interfaith and atheist, agnostic, humanist, rationalist, and freethinker organizations, I’m going to spend nearly two weeks traveling around and talking about interfaith work and atheism. Here’s my schedule of events:

Sunday 8th April |  4:30-6:00pm
“Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious”
Hosted by ANU League of Godlessness, Canberra Atheist Church, & Canberra Atheist Meetup Group
Manning Clark Centre Theatre 3
Australian National University, Canberra
Followed by a Pub Night with Canberra Atheists

Thursday 12th April | 12:45-1:30pm
“Faithiest: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious”
The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
A Fringe Event of the Global Atheist Convention

Friday 13th April | 12:00-4:00pm
Speaking; other speakers include Debbie Goddard and Lyz Liddell
2012 Student Leadership Conference
Hosted by Australian Freethought University Alliance
Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre

Friday 13th April – Sunday 15th April
Look for me at the 2012 Global Atheist Convention – I’ll be there!

Monday 16th April | 1:30-3 PM
Some of my best friends are atheists: a conversation among the faithful about how religions engage with atheism
Hosted by InterAction
Gopals Vegetarian Restaurant, Melbourne

Monday 16th April | 6-7:30 PM
The Road Less Traveled: Can atheists and believers work together for the common good?
Hosted by Rationalist Society of Australia, Humanist Society of Victoria & InterAction
Forum with PZ Myers and Leslie Cannold
Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre, University of Melbourne
A Fringe Event of the Global Atheist Convention

In addition to the events above, I’ll also be visiting some folks, doing a touristy thing or two, and (man, did this sneak up on me) turning 25 (on April 9th). I’m so excited and grateful to have such an incredible opportunity to visit Australia, discuss my ideas and my work, and learn about how atheist-inclusive interfaith work plays out in Australia.

P.S. For more about my Australian tour (plus Faitheist, “confrontationalism versus accommodationism,” interfaith work and atheism, The Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard, and more) check out this interview I did with the wonderful Kylie Sturgess for the Token Skeptic podcast. Thanks again for inviting me on the show, Kylie!

P.P.S. Just a few days after I get back from Australia (which I will inevitably again spend trying to get caught up on work), I’m heading to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois for the Illinois Conference on Interfaith Collaboration (ICIC). I’ll be giving a speech, as will Eboo Patel, Jim Wallis, and Valarie Kaur. Plus, there will be tons of useful workshops on interfaith organizing, plenty of opportunities to meet and talk with other interfaith activists, and it’s being put together by an energetic, passionate group of students. You really don’t want to miss it!

Alright, time to recuperate after ~21 hours on airplanes and a full day of urban exploring. The only thing I have left to say is that I’m really hoping I get to see (at least one) platypus.