Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Day 36: Friday April 17
Today was my last day in Australia. I am so heartbroken to be
saying goodbye to this amazing country. This experience has been more than I could
ever imagine. Our morning started quite early, as we had to leave our villa by
5:30 am. I did my best to pack up as by now my foot was quite sore and swollen.
I was also incredibly anxious about making it on time. I can only assume all
this made me quite the annoying travel companion. Nevertheless, Terri, Emily,
John, Eric, and I piled into the van and made the three-hour drive to the
Sydney airport. After some difficulty at check in and security, we made it to
our gate with 45 minutes to spare and we were ready to board. I have to say we
got pretty lucky with both timing and seating. Our flight was relatively empty,
which meant that each of our rows had an empty seat in the middle and I was
able to stretch myself out. I took about a 5-hour nap and watched two movies:
Into The Woods and This Is Where I Leave You. The first was not as good as I
suspected; the second was better. The flight felt much shorter than when we
flew into AU so we landed in LA sooner than I expected. Let’s just side note
that I left AU at 11:05 am Friday morning and landed in the US at 7:50 am
Friday morning. It was a bit of a mind melt. Once in LA we had to go through
customs two more times, collect our luggage, and then recheck it. I was happy
just to sit down by the time we made it to our gate, even if we did still have
an hour layover. The flight from LA to Minneapolis was not as fun (we were
packed in) but did involve more sleep. By the time we got to the MSP airport,
my foot was throbbing and our gate was a good 50-minute walk on the other side
of the airport. Luckily, I was able to catch a ride on a service cart and was
able to grab some food and stretch out during our 2-hour layover. Having already
done a 14-hour flight and a 4-hour flight, the 1-hour flight into Flint was a
breeze. I was back in the mitten before I knew it. As sad as I am that it's all over, I was thrilled to see my fiancé waiting for my outside the airport,
ready to take me home.
Day 35: Thursday April 16
Today was my last day of the program. I woke up in the morning and couldn’t believe that five weeks had already gone by. We got dressed and rode the bus into the city one last time. We were pretty lucky because for our last day at Questacon, we busked all day. Sivan and I started the morning with our music trolley. We started together but then took turns so that we could each explore first. Questacon has 4 levels with 7 galleries total so I wanted some time to see each one. The top floor had the optical illusions gallery, which is exactly how it sounds.
It also has the awesome Earth gallery. This one was cool because you saw caged lightening and created earthquakes. The third floor had an experiment lab where you got to make things blow up and examine x-rays. The second floor is where the theaters are and the first floor had the big kid room: Excite. This is basically a game room with science incorporated. My favorite part of this room is the vertical slide, which I went on in the morning and pretty much had a heart attack! They also have a four-way air hockey table as well as an air hockey-playing robot arm that is basically unbeatable.
Also, to enter the room, you go through the Rototron and try not to get dizzy.
Later on in the day we busked a bit more, this time with the stick insects because I wanted to say goodbye to them one last time.
Then finally we turned in our keys, thanked everyone who had welcomed us into their work, and rode the bus for the last time ever.
Now that the program was over there was only one thing left for me to do: get my tattoo. Yup, I wanted to commemorate this trip in my favorite way- with some fresh new ink. So I went home and got ready then called a cab and headed to North Lyneham to a little shop called Tattoo Power. I had made this appointment before I even left for Australia so I walked in and met with Dave and we discussed size then before I knew it, I was on the table having my foot prepped. Now this is my fifth tattoo so it wasn’t much of a shock but this is my first in full color so I’d have to say it was my most painful.
It was definitely worth it though because it is gorgeous. An hour and a half later I was thanking Dave for his work and calling another cab.
This time I was headed to Mel’s for one final goodbye. The plan was to stop by, give her the present I got for her, and then head home. But, in true Mel fashion, once I had arrived, she insisted that I stay for dinner and drinks. She had out of town friends over so we made it into a small party. For dinner we had Moroccan, which I’ve never had but was super good. We had couscous (which is similar to rice but technically a different kind of wheat called semolina) with beef and veggies. After dinner I gave Mel her presents and then it was time to break out the games. We started with two tense games of Camel Up that I swear I was going to win. They may have been a bit tense due to the money that we had put on the line. After that Shorty bid us goodnight and we moved onto a final game of Trains. Trains is basically what it sounds like where you build train tracks to and from different cities to get points. I actually got second place on that one! Finally, quite heartbroken, I realized it was time to go. We called a cab and Mel walked me out and I tried not to cry but I knew I was really gonna miss her.
Once back home I still had a decent amount of packing to do. My foot was starting to swell a bit so that was some added fun. About a half hour in the girls next door came over to say goodbye as we would not see each other in the morning. I was really starting to hate all these goodbyes. We woke the roomies up so they could say goodbye too and around 1:30 am I finally laid down on the couch to take a quick nap (I say nap because we had to get up at 4 am to leave). I did my best to not think about how we were leaving in the morning.
Later on in the day we busked a bit more, this time with the stick insects because I wanted to say goodbye to them one last time.
Then finally we turned in our keys, thanked everyone who had welcomed us into their work, and rode the bus for the last time ever.
Now that the program was over there was only one thing left for me to do: get my tattoo. Yup, I wanted to commemorate this trip in my favorite way- with some fresh new ink. So I went home and got ready then called a cab and headed to North Lyneham to a little shop called Tattoo Power. I had made this appointment before I even left for Australia so I walked in and met with Dave and we discussed size then before I knew it, I was on the table having my foot prepped. Now this is my fifth tattoo so it wasn’t much of a shock but this is my first in full color so I’d have to say it was my most painful.
This time I was headed to Mel’s for one final goodbye. The plan was to stop by, give her the present I got for her, and then head home. But, in true Mel fashion, once I had arrived, she insisted that I stay for dinner and drinks. She had out of town friends over so we made it into a small party. For dinner we had Moroccan, which I’ve never had but was super good. We had couscous (which is similar to rice but technically a different kind of wheat called semolina) with beef and veggies. After dinner I gave Mel her presents and then it was time to break out the games. We started with two tense games of Camel Up that I swear I was going to win. They may have been a bit tense due to the money that we had put on the line. After that Shorty bid us goodnight and we moved onto a final game of Trains. Trains is basically what it sounds like where you build train tracks to and from different cities to get points. I actually got second place on that one! Finally, quite heartbroken, I realized it was time to go. We called a cab and Mel walked me out and I tried not to cry but I knew I was really gonna miss her.
Once back home I still had a decent amount of packing to do. My foot was starting to swell a bit so that was some added fun. About a half hour in the girls next door came over to say goodbye as we would not see each other in the morning. I was really starting to hate all these goodbyes. We woke the roomies up so they could say goodbye too and around 1:30 am I finally laid down on the couch to take a quick nap (I say nap because we had to get up at 4 am to leave). I did my best to not think about how we were leaving in the morning.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
#SoWorthIt
During my time in Australia I knew I was going to meet lots
of awesome new people and I have, but being able to meet Melissa and her family
and friends and spending time hanging out with them has honestly been the best
experience of this trip. They are just such fun, interesting, down to Earth,
genuinely good people. It’s crazy to me that five weeks ago I travelled across
the world and met people that I would now consider such good friends. It kind
of shows the whole “not so different” aspect of traveling, as well as the idea
of things happening for a reason because if it hadn’t been for KSS allowing
Central to place us there or for Mel being willing to take me and accept me
with all the other things she has going on, none of it would’ve happened.
Basically what I’m saying is it’s been incredible and I am truly sad to see it
end, but very grateful for everything that has gotten me here.
Day 34: Wednesday April 15
Today was what experts would call a “slow start.” I woke up
at 6:34 A.M. to silence. No one in our villa or the next had stirred. See, by
this point in the trip everyone is spending late nights either working on last
minute assignments or packing (or in my case hanging out with all the cool
kids) so mornings have become less of a priority. Eventually though we dragged
ourselves around, hopped on the bus (which is quickly becoming the bane of my
existence), and landed at Questacon, where I got my very first coffee of the trip!
Yes, yes, I know, me, the coffee queen, has gone over 30 days without coffee.
(Alright, maybe I had a sip or two of Em’s at one point but overall it’s been
pretty cold turkey). This has not been for lack of available supplies or lack
of want but more so lack of money. Additionally, like most food/drink in
Australia, the coffee here is (generally) quite a bit better than that at home
so I figured that if I began drinking coffee regularly here then upon my
return, I may have some taste aversion to my homeland version. And, if there’s
anything I hate, it’s a coffee snob. (Or a snob in general. Like, excuse me,
don’t even try to go walking around like you’re all that). The point is that I had
a caramel latte and it was delicious and just what I needed to head up to
gallery five and spend the morning running the doors and playing games with the
kids.
There were a couple of probability games, like flipping the toast to see
which side it landed on the most (that rhymed a little) or spinning a tube with
two colors of raffle balls and seeing which one would come out more often. My
favorite was the dice pit where kids rolled two die then did math to find the
total. There was also one where kids threw a ball through a hole in a net. I’m
not exactly sure what the educational point of that one was but they seemed to
love it anyway. It was good fun and I even was able to sit in on one of the
shows about animals that live in extreme environments. All in all, not a bad
morning.
The afternoon, however, got a little rough. Our next shift was covering the Japan theater doors again. This itself isn’t that bad, if only perhaps a little boring. But I also sat in on this show, which was all about optical illusions, and I ended the day with a bit of a headache. There was a bright spot when Mel and Shorty came to pick me, Beth, and Lilly up and kindly drove us over to the mall. Mel also had stopped by and picked me up a really nice Kingsford Smith School zip up which I’ve also been wanting since we got here. Once at the mall, we had gift shopping to do. For one, we needed to get a thank you gift for Terri. It’s also one of our other girls, Laura, birthday this weekend so we wanted to get something for her as well. Then, I still was trying to find a gift for both my sister and my (future) sister-in-law! Who knew that shopping for two girls would be so difficult? I mean I have a few small things for both of them but I really wanted to get them something that said “(insert various sisters’ names here).” Additionally, I’ve been also looking this whole trip for a small knife for my father-in-law. It’s not weird; he works with his hands a lot. But, it turns out that, unlike a certain other country (*cough cough* America) it’s actually quite difficult to find knives, or pretty lots of weapons, or sale here. Thus, mostly defeated, I met back up with the girls and we headed to the bus station. This is when things really started to go down hill.
Even though we have been here for over a month now, we still aren’t that great at the bus system. We’ve been lucky because almost every route we need for work is the same. Today, however, we were in a different part of the city. So we got to the station and started reading the different routes and Beth headed down to the other end while Lillian and I kept searching. Then we hear Beth say, “Lillian, it’s down here” so we turned and another bus pulled up. Here’s where some alternate universe stuff starts happening. I look up and see Beth’s blonde ponytail turn around. I look down for about 10 seconds to grab my bus pass from my bag. I look back up and she’s gone. So I follow Lillian onto the bus and start trying to look past all the people in front of us. By the time we are sitting down and the door closes, it hits me that Beth is not on the bus. This is also the time where Lillian says the same thing. As we’re pulling away, I scan the bus station but still see no Beth. And within a minute, we are cruising down the street, one girl short. And, as luck would have it, our phones expired yesterday so there was no communication to be had. The worst part was we had gotten on a bus that went basically the opposite of where we needed to go. So instead of going west over to the edge of the city, we went Northeast outside the city itself into the suburbs. In the end we asked some men on the bus and, after shaking their heads at us for how far away we were from our actual destination, they pointed us in the right direction. So we hopped off and got on a new bus and soon we were seeing familiar sites. We did one more bus switch at the UC and were finally home. Only an hour and a half later. I wouldn’t have been bothered at all had it not been for the fact that we had plans to go with Terri to the Telstra Tower and had now missed it. But it was an adventure to say the least. Eventually Terri returned (with Beth who had realized after a few minutes that we must’ve gotten on the wrong bus without her and instead got on the correct bus and had arrived home in 20 minutes) and said we could have another chance tomorrow so really all’s well that ends well. I spent the rest of the night packing and cleaning, doing my best to pretend that tomorrow wouldn’t be my last day of this program.
The afternoon, however, got a little rough. Our next shift was covering the Japan theater doors again. This itself isn’t that bad, if only perhaps a little boring. But I also sat in on this show, which was all about optical illusions, and I ended the day with a bit of a headache. There was a bright spot when Mel and Shorty came to pick me, Beth, and Lilly up and kindly drove us over to the mall. Mel also had stopped by and picked me up a really nice Kingsford Smith School zip up which I’ve also been wanting since we got here. Once at the mall, we had gift shopping to do. For one, we needed to get a thank you gift for Terri. It’s also one of our other girls, Laura, birthday this weekend so we wanted to get something for her as well. Then, I still was trying to find a gift for both my sister and my (future) sister-in-law! Who knew that shopping for two girls would be so difficult? I mean I have a few small things for both of them but I really wanted to get them something that said “(insert various sisters’ names here).” Additionally, I’ve been also looking this whole trip for a small knife for my father-in-law. It’s not weird; he works with his hands a lot. But, it turns out that, unlike a certain other country (*cough cough* America) it’s actually quite difficult to find knives, or pretty lots of weapons, or sale here. Thus, mostly defeated, I met back up with the girls and we headed to the bus station. This is when things really started to go down hill.
Even though we have been here for over a month now, we still aren’t that great at the bus system. We’ve been lucky because almost every route we need for work is the same. Today, however, we were in a different part of the city. So we got to the station and started reading the different routes and Beth headed down to the other end while Lillian and I kept searching. Then we hear Beth say, “Lillian, it’s down here” so we turned and another bus pulled up. Here’s where some alternate universe stuff starts happening. I look up and see Beth’s blonde ponytail turn around. I look down for about 10 seconds to grab my bus pass from my bag. I look back up and she’s gone. So I follow Lillian onto the bus and start trying to look past all the people in front of us. By the time we are sitting down and the door closes, it hits me that Beth is not on the bus. This is also the time where Lillian says the same thing. As we’re pulling away, I scan the bus station but still see no Beth. And within a minute, we are cruising down the street, one girl short. And, as luck would have it, our phones expired yesterday so there was no communication to be had. The worst part was we had gotten on a bus that went basically the opposite of where we needed to go. So instead of going west over to the edge of the city, we went Northeast outside the city itself into the suburbs. In the end we asked some men on the bus and, after shaking their heads at us for how far away we were from our actual destination, they pointed us in the right direction. So we hopped off and got on a new bus and soon we were seeing familiar sites. We did one more bus switch at the UC and were finally home. Only an hour and a half later. I wouldn’t have been bothered at all had it not been for the fact that we had plans to go with Terri to the Telstra Tower and had now missed it. But it was an adventure to say the least. Eventually Terri returned (with Beth who had realized after a few minutes that we must’ve gotten on the wrong bus without her and instead got on the correct bus and had arrived home in 20 minutes) and said we could have another chance tomorrow so really all’s well that ends well. I spent the rest of the night packing and cleaning, doing my best to pretend that tomorrow wouldn’t be my last day of this program.
Day 33: Tuesday April 14
Today was a busy day. It started off with Emily and I being
the only ones to catch the bus. Or so we thought. Turns out they all decided to
get a later one but at first we were a bit worried. Once we had all arrived and
settled into Questacon, Sivan and I started our day busking with Emily and
Christy. I walked them through the insects (explaining what they are, how to
hold them, how to show the kids, introducing them because they have names) then
Sivan and I set up our music trolley. The music one might be my favorite
because there’s a lot you can do and talk about with the kids. It was still a
little early so to get some attention, Sivan and I sang the blues. Well, she
played the harmonica and I played the drums and sang the blues. I put on my
best “blues” voice I could and sang about my baby leaving me and having no
money. We were definitely the crazy Americans but it worked because lots of
kids started coming up and asking if they could play with us.
Afterwards I spent my lunch break
shopping at the Q-Science shop (yup, just buying more stuff) then we headed
outside to help build rockets. What happens is we have an air pump attached
to…a tube and a…launcher button (clearly I know all the technical terms). The
kids use paper and tape to build rockets that we pump up and they shoot them off.
The emphasis here should be “the kids” ‘cause you know those 5th
grade science fairs where you see a 10-year standing next to a perfectly built
volcano and the kid is like picking their nose and clearly not caring at all
but the parent (s) is right next to them with a big smile on their face and
showing off all “their kids” hard work? That’s kinda how rockets were. The only
time I really saw many kids building their own was when Sivan or I were
helping. We explained the three basic parts needed (body, cone, and wings) then
either provided hands to hold pieces while they taped or tape to put down while
they held. Everything else was up to them, as it should be. And some of them
actually did pretty well. The downside was me crawling on the ground at the end
of the day picking up the hundreds of scraps that had been dropped there but
such is the life of a teacher. By the time the clock struck three, we were
packed up and ready to go. It was perfect timing because as we were walking in,
I walked right into Mel and Jake.
See, remember last week when I visited and I met Mel’s friend Christy? Well, turns out I made a good impression because she invited us over for a game night! So, we hopped in Mel’s car, stopped at Wooly’s for some bubbles (aka champagne) then headed to the house. We weren’t due for a little bit so I made a quick call to Adam on the unlimited wifi (still my two favorite words), which was a nice bonus. But soon we were out the door and walking down the street (Christy lives in the same neighborhood). Moving along, we made it to Christy’s to find that another familiar face was there: Jill! It was pretty much a party. I also met Christy’s husband/Mel’s other friend, Grant. We spent some time chatting and then sat down for a game of Camel Up! The premise of the game is that there are 5 camels and they are in a race. The goal is to have the most money at the end of the game. You win money by betting on who will win or come in second each leg and who will win or lose the race as a whole. It was a hoot and relatively quick (aside from the chatting and joking around but that was the best part). We got through about three games before Grant was ready to join us and Jake showed up for dinner. During this time Christy’s two little ones, Gwen (3 yr) and Mark (6 mo), made appearances as well. They are just ridiculously adorable. Gwen is sweet and a little shy but if you get her on Frozen or Barbie, then you’re good. She even shared her freeze-dried ice cream (which was definitely yummy, btw) that Mel had brought her. And Mark is just a happy little guy who is always smiling and likes to move. He let me hold him and was just bouncing around it my lap and having a grand old time.
Once we settled we brought out dinner and that’s when the night got even better. Mel had made a mild chicken curry (something I’d never had before) and Christy made green beans with fetta cheese (also never had) as well as a lovely salad and some brown rice. The whole thing was fantastic! I helped myself to seconds of pretty much everything. Then for dessert, Jake brought out some frozen mango and Grant brought out some rum raisin chocolate (other things I haven’t had). Suffice to say, it was definitely a success. During and after dinner, talked a bit about all the things I’ve never had and how most people would possibly consider me a picky eater (I’m currently visualizing several family members nodding vigorously in agreement) but I must admit that I’ve tried pretty much everything I’ve been given here and have yet to be disappointed. The rest of the night was a complete blast and flew by for me. After dinner we ended up on the topic of music and the group began sharing all their best Australian suggestions. We listened to a couple and I liked them but am currently hardcore blanking on names right. Come back to me in a few days. Christy even started to make a list for a potential mix cd.
We ended with the game Coup. Basically there are 5 roles (Captain, Ambassador, Assassin, Duke, and Contessa) and each role has an action and a counteraction. Example: The Duke can take three extra coins and can block people form taking foreign aid. Or the Captain and the Ambassador can both steal coins and block others from stealing coins. Only you know your roles and you are allowed to lie about them to do actions that you aren’t actually capable of. If, however, someone thinks you are lying about who you are then they can challenge you. If you are lying and can’t show the card you claim to be, you lose one of your lives aka card. If you are telling the truth though, you show that card and they instead lose a life/card. Then you get a new role so that both your roles are secret. The point of the game is to collect coins, kill other people, and be the last one with a life left. It’s a lot of fun because you have to be able to bluff a little or be inconspicuous and just read other people. I was actually pretty proud of myself because I won our first round! But that was all ha. Playing games with Mel is crazy but fun because she is a straightforward person but not so easy to read so she can just mess with your mind.
After a few more rounds, we said our good-byes (mine, quite sadly, for a very long time) then headed back to Mel’s to meet Shorty, who was so graciously taking me home. Although before we left, Mel came down the stairs with a present for me: the Raiders beanie!! Remember like 20 posts ago when I said we went to the Raiders rugby game our first weekend here and I saw the coolest knit hat with horns on it and it was the first thing I wanted in Australia but it was a promo thing so I couldn’t get it and I’ve been searching ever since and was going to go on ebay and buy it? (and if you don’t remember then I just recapped it for you) Well I finally got one! Somehow it got brought up at dinner (probably because I haven’t shut up about it this whole trip because it is seriously bomb as hell) and Mel said she had an extra one and she would give it to me and then I promptly declared my love for her (because seriously she has become my Australian fairy godmother). Anyway, eventually we made it in the car and all the way home where I bid them goodnight, left another note on the fridge, and promptly passed out with a smile on my face.
See, remember last week when I visited and I met Mel’s friend Christy? Well, turns out I made a good impression because she invited us over for a game night! So, we hopped in Mel’s car, stopped at Wooly’s for some bubbles (aka champagne) then headed to the house. We weren’t due for a little bit so I made a quick call to Adam on the unlimited wifi (still my two favorite words), which was a nice bonus. But soon we were out the door and walking down the street (Christy lives in the same neighborhood). Moving along, we made it to Christy’s to find that another familiar face was there: Jill! It was pretty much a party. I also met Christy’s husband/Mel’s other friend, Grant. We spent some time chatting and then sat down for a game of Camel Up! The premise of the game is that there are 5 camels and they are in a race. The goal is to have the most money at the end of the game. You win money by betting on who will win or come in second each leg and who will win or lose the race as a whole. It was a hoot and relatively quick (aside from the chatting and joking around but that was the best part). We got through about three games before Grant was ready to join us and Jake showed up for dinner. During this time Christy’s two little ones, Gwen (3 yr) and Mark (6 mo), made appearances as well. They are just ridiculously adorable. Gwen is sweet and a little shy but if you get her on Frozen or Barbie, then you’re good. She even shared her freeze-dried ice cream (which was definitely yummy, btw) that Mel had brought her. And Mark is just a happy little guy who is always smiling and likes to move. He let me hold him and was just bouncing around it my lap and having a grand old time.
Once we settled we brought out dinner and that’s when the night got even better. Mel had made a mild chicken curry (something I’d never had before) and Christy made green beans with fetta cheese (also never had) as well as a lovely salad and some brown rice. The whole thing was fantastic! I helped myself to seconds of pretty much everything. Then for dessert, Jake brought out some frozen mango and Grant brought out some rum raisin chocolate (other things I haven’t had). Suffice to say, it was definitely a success. During and after dinner, talked a bit about all the things I’ve never had and how most people would possibly consider me a picky eater (I’m currently visualizing several family members nodding vigorously in agreement) but I must admit that I’ve tried pretty much everything I’ve been given here and have yet to be disappointed. The rest of the night was a complete blast and flew by for me. After dinner we ended up on the topic of music and the group began sharing all their best Australian suggestions. We listened to a couple and I liked them but am currently hardcore blanking on names right. Come back to me in a few days. Christy even started to make a list for a potential mix cd.
We ended with the game Coup. Basically there are 5 roles (Captain, Ambassador, Assassin, Duke, and Contessa) and each role has an action and a counteraction. Example: The Duke can take three extra coins and can block people form taking foreign aid. Or the Captain and the Ambassador can both steal coins and block others from stealing coins. Only you know your roles and you are allowed to lie about them to do actions that you aren’t actually capable of. If, however, someone thinks you are lying about who you are then they can challenge you. If you are lying and can’t show the card you claim to be, you lose one of your lives aka card. If you are telling the truth though, you show that card and they instead lose a life/card. Then you get a new role so that both your roles are secret. The point of the game is to collect coins, kill other people, and be the last one with a life left. It’s a lot of fun because you have to be able to bluff a little or be inconspicuous and just read other people. I was actually pretty proud of myself because I won our first round! But that was all ha. Playing games with Mel is crazy but fun because she is a straightforward person but not so easy to read so she can just mess with your mind.
After a few more rounds, we said our good-byes (mine, quite sadly, for a very long time) then headed back to Mel’s to meet Shorty, who was so graciously taking me home. Although before we left, Mel came down the stairs with a present for me: the Raiders beanie!! Remember like 20 posts ago when I said we went to the Raiders rugby game our first weekend here and I saw the coolest knit hat with horns on it and it was the first thing I wanted in Australia but it was a promo thing so I couldn’t get it and I’ve been searching ever since and was going to go on ebay and buy it? (and if you don’t remember then I just recapped it for you) Well I finally got one! Somehow it got brought up at dinner (probably because I haven’t shut up about it this whole trip because it is seriously bomb as hell) and Mel said she had an extra one and she would give it to me and then I promptly declared my love for her (because seriously she has become my Australian fairy godmother). Anyway, eventually we made it in the car and all the way home where I bid them goodnight, left another note on the fridge, and promptly passed out with a smile on my face.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Day 32: Monday April 13
Today was our first day volunteering at Questacon. There is so
much to love about this place. Free wifi all day, for one. But also it has
something for everyone: little kids, big kids, teens, even parents. And, it
makes learning science easy and fun.
We’ve been split into teams and my team,
Sivan and I, had a pretty easy morning- all we had to do was help set up for
the music show then man the doors. We got to watch the show too, which was a
nice bonus. Let’s side note to mention that I also got to video chat with my
absolutely adorable niece so my day was pretty much made at that point. We
grabbed a quick lunch around noon then it was back at it.
The second half of our shift we were supposed to be busking in the foyer so we teamed up with another group, Lillian and Beth, and brought out the Dr. Scar trolley. Dr. Scar is the one where we use artist makeup to give kids black eyes, scars, bruises, anything. While doing so we teach the kids about how blood cells work and what hemoglobin is but we also mostly just help them come up with really cool stories for how they got their injury.
After a little while Lillian and I decided to break off and play with the Music trolley for a bit. This one has a bunch of slinkys and drums and pop cans and we focus on sound waves and resonators vs. oscillators. It was fun for a bit but four hours of the exact same thing can be boring so we brought out one more cart: the insects. Now, for any of you who know me, you know I am not a fan of anything creepy or crawly. Lillian said she would handle the actual bugs and I could just talk about them but once we got started, things got busy and I was forced to let one of them (then two of them!) crawl on me. Thankfully there were only two types of bugs: the Spiny leafy insect and the Goliath walking stick.
As their names suggest, they are both quite harmless as they just pretend to be part of a tree. Neither of them are poisonous or let alone even bite. They just crawl up your arm and freeze there, thinking that they are in a tree. I actually became quite fond of the walking stick and named him Jeremy (well some of the kids did, but I stuck with it). Not even gonna lie, I was pretty proud of myself and before I knew it, it was time to go.
We piled into Terri’s van and headed to a local restaurant called Tilly’s for a celebratory dinner. It’s supposed to be like pretty famous and amazing and although the atmosphere was pretty cool (it looked kinda like a speakeasy) the food wasn’t all that amazing. I mean good but I’ve had better. However, I did try a new thing while we were there- hummus. It’s actually not bad. Another thing checked off the list. We headed home and I spent the rest of the night finishing up journals before turning in for an early night.
The second half of our shift we were supposed to be busking in the foyer so we teamed up with another group, Lillian and Beth, and brought out the Dr. Scar trolley. Dr. Scar is the one where we use artist makeup to give kids black eyes, scars, bruises, anything. While doing so we teach the kids about how blood cells work and what hemoglobin is but we also mostly just help them come up with really cool stories for how they got their injury.
After a little while Lillian and I decided to break off and play with the Music trolley for a bit. This one has a bunch of slinkys and drums and pop cans and we focus on sound waves and resonators vs. oscillators. It was fun for a bit but four hours of the exact same thing can be boring so we brought out one more cart: the insects. Now, for any of you who know me, you know I am not a fan of anything creepy or crawly. Lillian said she would handle the actual bugs and I could just talk about them but once we got started, things got busy and I was forced to let one of them (then two of them!) crawl on me. Thankfully there were only two types of bugs: the Spiny leafy insect and the Goliath walking stick.
As their names suggest, they are both quite harmless as they just pretend to be part of a tree. Neither of them are poisonous or let alone even bite. They just crawl up your arm and freeze there, thinking that they are in a tree. I actually became quite fond of the walking stick and named him Jeremy (well some of the kids did, but I stuck with it). Not even gonna lie, I was pretty proud of myself and before I knew it, it was time to go.
We piled into Terri’s van and headed to a local restaurant called Tilly’s for a celebratory dinner. It’s supposed to be like pretty famous and amazing and although the atmosphere was pretty cool (it looked kinda like a speakeasy) the food wasn’t all that amazing. I mean good but I’ve had better. However, I did try a new thing while we were there- hummus. It’s actually not bad. Another thing checked off the list. We headed home and I spent the rest of the night finishing up journals before turning in for an early night.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Day 31: Sunday April 12
Today was the day I did something I
would not have expected to in Australia: visited a sheep farm. Turns out sheep
farms are actually pretty big here and there’s one basically just up the road
so we figured why not? Not wanting to all cram into the van, Sivan, Emily, and
I caught a ride with Chris, an LSA (learning support assistant aka
paraprofessional) from our school who we had invited along and we made our way
down to the farm. Let’s side note to mention that Terri, bless her heart, is
not the best driver and somewhat directionally challenged (no judgment because
let’s face it, so am I) so when we got to the farm, there was a sign out front
letting her know she had made it.
Once we got there the first thing Emily and I did was jump all over the cutest puppy in the world. Bob is a 4 month old kelpie, which is a sheep dog. His dad and mom, Digger and Jenny, were also nearby. Craig, the owner of the farm, told us they had about 10 acres and 1500 sheep. He explained that the sheep pretty much wonder where they like and anytime they need to be brought in, Digger does that. I’ll admit I’ve never known much about how sheep dogs operate but I finally got the chance to see.
Once we got there the first thing Emily and I did was jump all over the cutest puppy in the world. Bob is a 4 month old kelpie, which is a sheep dog. His dad and mom, Digger and Jenny, were also nearby. Craig, the owner of the farm, told us they had about 10 acres and 1500 sheep. He explained that the sheep pretty much wonder where they like and anytime they need to be brought in, Digger does that. I’ll admit I’ve never known much about how sheep dogs operate but I finally got the chance to see.
Craig sent Digger out to the field
with the command “Go back” which means go behind the sheep. First he circles
the sheep so they get scared and group together. Then he gets behind them so
they run the way he wants them to. Two of the girls, Lillian and Laura,
actually joined Digger in the running of the sheep and it was pretty amusing.
Once they are brought down to the smaller area, they are ready to be caught.
This was also something I watched several of the group members try (I, however,
did not. The one thing I’ve turned down while here and mainly because it looked
a) like a lot of work and b) terrifying- animals are unpredictable!). Turns out
it’s quite difficult. What you do is grab the sheep by the chin and turns his
head towards his body (don’t worry, it’s not hurting him). Then, put your legs
against his side and push his back hip, somewhat knocking them off balance.
After this, they just sort of roll right over in between your legs and you
basically cradle them. It’s hilarious to see the sheep just sitting on their
butts looking up at you. Once you’re there though, you’ve got them. I was
willing to at least cradle the sheep to see how it feels.
Of course you might expect them to be very soft but when you think about it, they’ve been living outside so they can be a little rough.
Of course you might expect them to be very soft but when you think about it, they’ve been living outside so they can be a little rough.
Our final step was sheep shearing.
We learned that sheep shearers are paid by the sheep, the fastest record in the
world is 40 seconds (Craig did his in six minutes), and, when done correctly,
you will end up with three separate pieces of wool.
The first piece will be the belly, the next will be the legs, and the third will be one large piece that is the rest of it. It’s amazing because when you think about shaving or cutting hair, it falls off in pieces. But with shearing, it’s literally one big piece, like a blanket.
The small pieces are tossed and the large pieces are separated by grades: AA, AAA, Super AAA.
The first piece will be the belly, the next will be the legs, and the third will be one large piece that is the rest of it. It’s amazing because when you think about shaving or cutting hair, it falls off in pieces. But with shearing, it’s literally one big piece, like a blanket.
The small pieces are tossed and the large pieces are separated by grades: AA, AAA, Super AAA.
After watching him do all that
work, we were hungry. They served an amazing lunch of sirloin steak (which,
yes, I did eat even though I rarely eat steak), salad, potatoes, coleslaw
(which I also ate despite the rarity as well), and I even tried beets for the
first time (not a huge fan but could be worse). For dessert, apple pie with
custard. To work all this off, our last event was both a surprise and a blast:
boomarang throwing. Turns out I’ve been picturing it wrong the whole time! Rule
number one is the hold it up and down, not sideways. Depending on the make or
the wind, you can tilt it a little but mostly up and down. Also, you need to
throw into the wind and be sure it flick your wrist. It’s all about the wrist
flick. Now, let me just say, my first try at it was actually pretty good. It flew and in the right direction and it curved back towards me, it just didn't make it all the way. My second go however, well...
We had so much fun watching each other practice and giving it a go
ourselves. I’ll admit none of my 5 or so attempts ended with it actually coming
back to me but some came close. With practice, it’s sure to happen. We said
thank you and good-bye and headed home where I spent the next few hours doing
the dreaded p-word: packing. I swear I’m going to have to buy another suitcase;
I have way too much stuff! I got a break at the end of the afternoon as we all
met up at the villa café and had dinner together. Afterwards we had our very
last seminar meeting. Tonight’s topic? Interviews. We talked about all the ins
and outs and even did some mock questions with each other. Nerve-racking but
important. At the end of the night Terri handed out goodies and certificates
and we headed to bed, ready to start our final week in Australia.
 |
| This is the part where I nailed the fence. |
Day 30: Saturday April 11
Today may have been the best
day of the trip. If not number one then definitely top three. We finally went
to visit The Blue Mountains! The Blue Mountains is a mountain range in New
South Wales that forms part of an extensive mountainous area associated with
the Great Dividing Range. It is carved in
sandstone bedrock.
I woke up early to grab a shower and a quick bacon and egg sandwich before leaving then headed outside to wait for our bus. This actually turned out to be more of a van. Well, maybe a large van, almost as if a bus and a van had a baby (disregarding the fact that they are both inanimate objects). What was particularly wonderful about this bus is that while it held 20 people, it was reserved specially for only the 11 of us. That’s right, we were on a private tour. Our guide’s name was Jim and he was a man who was good at his job. As we drove through Sydney he told us all the different historical sites and how they came to be. Then he took us over the Harbor Bridge and gave us a view of the bay. After that we had about a 45-minute drive before our first stop: Featherdale Wildlife Center.
I woke up early to grab a shower and a quick bacon and egg sandwich before leaving then headed outside to wait for our bus. This actually turned out to be more of a van. Well, maybe a large van, almost as if a bus and a van had a baby (disregarding the fact that they are both inanimate objects). What was particularly wonderful about this bus is that while it held 20 people, it was reserved specially for only the 11 of us. That’s right, we were on a private tour. Our guide’s name was Jim and he was a man who was good at his job. As we drove through Sydney he told us all the different historical sites and how they came to be. Then he took us over the Harbor Bridge and gave us a view of the bay. After that we had about a 45-minute drive before our first stop: Featherdale Wildlife Center.
So Featherdale has a very open door philosophy, meaning that
both humans and animals alike could pretty much go wherever they please. There
were some exceptions, such as the birds and bats and certain animals were
blocked off from others but otherwise, animals were free to fly or climb
wherever they pleased. We walked through the gate and were immediately greeted
by little wallabies jumping all around, playing in the bush and looking for
food. You were able to feed and pet them if they were willing to come to you.
They were almost like little puppies. We went through another gate and found several koalas napping in their trees. There was even one area where they brought the koala down and you were able to pet them. They didn’t feel like I expected them too; they were soft yet somewhat coarse.
The next section was one of the main attractions: kangaroos. These guys would hop right up to you and say hello, especially if you had food. They were cheeky too! They would sneak the food out of your hand while you were feeding another one and cradle their paws under your hand so it was harder to move. It was so much fun just petting and feeding them. They eat right out of your hand; it’s a crazy feeling. And once they know you’re friendly, they’re happy to let you scratch their heads, or backs, or ears. They were actually a little softer than I expected, almost like dogs. The final sector had a lot of different animals to see but they were mostly in their own little areas.. We saw several types of birds, a dingo, and a quokka. The dingoes are actually very pretty; they had copper colored fur and looked like a slightly bigger fox. The quokkas were, of course, adorable and looked like they were just smiling the whole time. I also go to see and pet a wombat for the first time. They’re so fat! And they’re fur is a little rougher than I imagined. Adorable nonetheless. I also worked quite hard to spot a Tasmanian Devil but he was in hiding. We only stayed for an hour but I could’ve stayed all day. Eventually though we piled back on the bus for the longer leg of our trip; two hours north of Sydney and up into the mountains.
They were almost like little puppies. We went through another gate and found several koalas napping in their trees. There was even one area where they brought the koala down and you were able to pet them. They didn’t feel like I expected them too; they were soft yet somewhat coarse.
The next section was one of the main attractions: kangaroos. These guys would hop right up to you and say hello, especially if you had food. They were cheeky too! They would sneak the food out of your hand while you were feeding another one and cradle their paws under your hand so it was harder to move. It was so much fun just petting and feeding them. They eat right out of your hand; it’s a crazy feeling. And once they know you’re friendly, they’re happy to let you scratch their heads, or backs, or ears. They were actually a little softer than I expected, almost like dogs. The final sector had a lot of different animals to see but they were mostly in their own little areas.. We saw several types of birds, a dingo, and a quokka. The dingoes are actually very pretty; they had copper colored fur and looked like a slightly bigger fox. The quokkas were, of course, adorable and looked like they were just smiling the whole time. I also go to see and pet a wombat for the first time. They’re so fat! And they’re fur is a little rougher than I imagined. Adorable nonetheless. I also worked quite hard to spot a Tasmanian Devil but he was in hiding. We only stayed for an hour but I could’ve stayed all day. Eventually though we piled back on the bus for the longer leg of our trip; two hours north of Sydney and up into the mountains.
The views were amazing. Looking down on the city and into
the valleys is such a cool feeling. Our next stop was at a random turn off
called Lincoln’s Point. We drove up a one-lane dirt road and parked in the
bushes then followed Jim to the edge of a mountain. Literally. No railings, no
barriers, nothing between you and the wide-open air. The clouds were low so
when you looked out, all you saw was a sea of white.
It was like an illusion. And it was breathtaking. Literally. My heart stopped when I walked all the way up to the edge and looked down, seeing the trees and rocks far below. It was a little breezy and with one strong gust of wind, I’d be free falling. I decided at that point that maybe it’d be best to sit down. So I walked away from the ledge, sat down, then scooted my way back up, dangling my feet right off. The wind was working in our favor and it blew the clouds away, giving us a clear look over the rest of the hills and mountains in the area. The moment was almost surreal and gone much too quickly. But, again, we piled back in the van and continued our trip.
It was like an illusion. And it was breathtaking. Literally. My heart stopped when I walked all the way up to the edge and looked down, seeing the trees and rocks far below. It was a little breezy and with one strong gust of wind, I’d be free falling. I decided at that point that maybe it’d be best to sit down. So I walked away from the ledge, sat down, then scooted my way back up, dangling my feet right off. The wind was working in our favor and it blew the clouds away, giving us a clear look over the rest of the hills and mountains in the area. The moment was almost surreal and gone much too quickly. But, again, we piled back in the van and continued our trip.
Next we made another quick stop at a different lookout to
get our first good look at the Blue Mountains range. It was called Govett’s
Leap and it looked out over Grose Valley.
This is also where Bridal’s Veil is, a beautiful, white thin waterfall that drapes over the mountain, much like the veil of a bride.
It was amazing how every view was better than the next. From here we could look almost straight through a large part of the range. We tore ourselves away to move onto our next destination.
One of the two main stops on our trip was next: the three sisters. The three sisters is a rock formation of three tall sandstone rocks that have been created overtime by erosion. They are one of the most famous formations in Australia and are located in the Jamison valley.
The sisters’ names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m). There is an Aboriginal legend that says these three sisters were part of the Katoomba tribe and they fell in love with three brothers from a neighboring tribe but it was forbidden. Angered by this the three brothers attacked and an elder of the Katoomba tribe turned the sisters to stone to protect them. But, he was killed during the battle and no one else knew how to turn them back. Knowing the history added even more meaning to the incredible views.
We took some time exploring the paths along the rocks and enjoyed the views of the valleys. After this was took a short break for lunch in the town of Leura at a small cafĂ© called Loaves and the Dishes. The town was too cute for words. I wanted desperately to go shopping but we had no time. One day I will return there though. It’s on my list. After lunch we took some time to focus on the culture rather than the land and we went to an Aboriginal show. The show involved a family from an Aboriginal tribe talking about the different aspects of their tribe, including the different ways they paint their bodies, what land is theirs, and some of the dancing, singing, and hunting to do.
It was so interesting to learn about their different views and ways of life. They hold a lot of value in family and the environment. We learned that they have different types of body painting styles based on what law they are representing: man, family, personal, spiritual, or environment. We also learned the story of the didjeridu and got to hear them play it.
This is also where Bridal’s Veil is, a beautiful, white thin waterfall that drapes over the mountain, much like the veil of a bride.
It was amazing how every view was better than the next. From here we could look almost straight through a large part of the range. We tore ourselves away to move onto our next destination.
One of the two main stops on our trip was next: the three sisters. The three sisters is a rock formation of three tall sandstone rocks that have been created overtime by erosion. They are one of the most famous formations in Australia and are located in the Jamison valley.
The sisters’ names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m). There is an Aboriginal legend that says these three sisters were part of the Katoomba tribe and they fell in love with three brothers from a neighboring tribe but it was forbidden. Angered by this the three brothers attacked and an elder of the Katoomba tribe turned the sisters to stone to protect them. But, he was killed during the battle and no one else knew how to turn them back. Knowing the history added even more meaning to the incredible views.
We took some time exploring the paths along the rocks and enjoyed the views of the valleys. After this was took a short break for lunch in the town of Leura at a small cafĂ© called Loaves and the Dishes. The town was too cute for words. I wanted desperately to go shopping but we had no time. One day I will return there though. It’s on my list. After lunch we took some time to focus on the culture rather than the land and we went to an Aboriginal show. The show involved a family from an Aboriginal tribe talking about the different aspects of their tribe, including the different ways they paint their bodies, what land is theirs, and some of the dancing, singing, and hunting to do.
It was so interesting to learn about their different views and ways of life. They hold a lot of value in family and the environment. We learned that they have different types of body painting styles based on what law they are representing: man, family, personal, spiritual, or environment. We also learned the story of the didjeridu and got to hear them play it.
Once the show finished, it was back on the road for us. But
only for a few miles to get to what is considered the best Blue Mountains view.
We spent some time just soaking it in; the clear blue skies, rolling green
land, strong brown sandstone. It’s a once in a lifetime view.
The next step was to take the experience even further. First, we took a cable car across one of the valleys, from the top of one mountain to the next. We went right over the valley and even saw one of the waterfalls inside it. Then, we took another car down into the valley, right at the base of the mountain.
From here we were able to walk a bit through the rainforest within the valley-area. It’s incredible the different types of plants and trees and seeing the way they rely on or feed off of each other. We saw trees whose trunks had actually grown together, weaving around one another. We also saw some old coalmines that had been used in the mountains long ago.
We learned that back in the older days, no one dared brave the mountains without an Aboriginal guide. There was no way around or through them, you had to go over and when you did, you took a guide who knew the land. Luckily we didn’t need to know the land because they had a pathway for us. Otherwise I may have never made it back.
But we did and we found ourselves at the foot of Cliffhanger: the world’s steepest railway. Yup, a railway that goes up the side of a mountain. And, since we were going from bottom to top, we took the ride backwards. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. At one point, we were actually inside the mountain, going through a tunnel they had cut for the track. Such an amazing experience. Once we made it back up top, we hit up the bus and made one final stop at an overlook called Lookout Point up the road to see a large sandstone wall that is slowly moving down one of the mountains.
With one last look look, we piled into the van a final time and made the long trip down the mountains and back into the city. After a quick dinner at the In-Café at the YHA, we got on the Murray bus for the very last time (at least for me) and headed back home.
The next step was to take the experience even further. First, we took a cable car across one of the valleys, from the top of one mountain to the next. We went right over the valley and even saw one of the waterfalls inside it. Then, we took another car down into the valley, right at the base of the mountain.
From here we were able to walk a bit through the rainforest within the valley-area. It’s incredible the different types of plants and trees and seeing the way they rely on or feed off of each other. We saw trees whose trunks had actually grown together, weaving around one another. We also saw some old coalmines that had been used in the mountains long ago.
We learned that back in the older days, no one dared brave the mountains without an Aboriginal guide. There was no way around or through them, you had to go over and when you did, you took a guide who knew the land. Luckily we didn’t need to know the land because they had a pathway for us. Otherwise I may have never made it back.
But we did and we found ourselves at the foot of Cliffhanger: the world’s steepest railway. Yup, a railway that goes up the side of a mountain. And, since we were going from bottom to top, we took the ride backwards. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. At one point, we were actually inside the mountain, going through a tunnel they had cut for the track. Such an amazing experience. Once we made it back up top, we hit up the bus and made one final stop at an overlook called Lookout Point up the road to see a large sandstone wall that is slowly moving down one of the mountains.
With one last look look, we piled into the van a final time and made the long trip down the mountains and back into the city. After a quick dinner at the In-Café at the YHA, we got on the Murray bus for the very last time (at least for me) and headed back home.
Day 29: Friday April 10
Today was my last day teaching at Kingsford Smith School and like a lot of good things in life it was bittersweet. I’m so excited to know it marked the last day of my student teaching career EVER. It’s been a long nine months getting here and I know it’s going to pay off. But, I was not ready to leave my kids or my colleagues. Being able to observe and work in such a different environment has opened me up to so many new ideas and the connections I was able to make with these kids, even in just a few short weeks, has changed me the more that I have gotten to know them. My time at this school is something I will be able to carry with me and learn from and remember for a lifetime.
As for the day itself, Mel and I rode in together in the morning after an amazing breakfast of Coco Pops (Coca Crisps to us) and we actually had a relatively easy day. We finished watching Despicable Me with our year 9 English and watched Indiana Jones with the three students who bothered to come to our year 10 SOSE. During the break, the kids put on a little concert and some of the teachers even joined it. Being Friday, we had morning tea and were able to say goodbye to the rest of the school staff. My own staff lounge bought me a wonderful going away present: Books That Changed The World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History by Andrew Taylor. Additionally, as the last bell rang, they all began to swarm me to hug goodbye and to check how to spell my name so they could find me on facebook. Eventually I dragged myself away (past the student who first wanted me to take a selfie with her) and climbed in Terri’s van. We headed back to the villa to pack up and an hour and a half later we were at the bus station climbing back on to the Murray bus, headed towards Sydney. It was pretty uneventful, lots of sleeping and Harry Potter audio book. Once we made it and settled back into the now-familiar YHA hostel, food was the next step. Everyone else suddenly had the desire to go out but, at this point, it was 9:30 pm, I had just spent 3 hours on a bus after being at work all day, and all I wanted to do was sleep. So I waved good-bye to the rest of the group, hit up the local Subway and 7-11, and headed back to our hostel to have a quiet dinner by myself before passing out in our bunk beds.
As for the day itself, Mel and I rode in together in the morning after an amazing breakfast of Coco Pops (Coca Crisps to us) and we actually had a relatively easy day. We finished watching Despicable Me with our year 9 English and watched Indiana Jones with the three students who bothered to come to our year 10 SOSE. During the break, the kids put on a little concert and some of the teachers even joined it. Being Friday, we had morning tea and were able to say goodbye to the rest of the school staff. My own staff lounge bought me a wonderful going away present: Books That Changed The World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History by Andrew Taylor. Additionally, as the last bell rang, they all began to swarm me to hug goodbye and to check how to spell my name so they could find me on facebook. Eventually I dragged myself away (past the student who first wanted me to take a selfie with her) and climbed in Terri’s van. We headed back to the villa to pack up and an hour and a half later we were at the bus station climbing back on to the Murray bus, headed towards Sydney. It was pretty uneventful, lots of sleeping and Harry Potter audio book. Once we made it and settled back into the now-familiar YHA hostel, food was the next step. Everyone else suddenly had the desire to go out but, at this point, it was 9:30 pm, I had just spent 3 hours on a bus after being at work all day, and all I wanted to do was sleep. So I waved good-bye to the rest of the group, hit up the local Subway and 7-11, and headed back to our hostel to have a quiet dinner by myself before passing out in our bunk beds.
Day 28: Thursday April 9
Today was the day of surveys and training. Since this is the final week of the term
and a large part of our schedule is cut due to classes being away, I filled in
time by completing things I really hate, such as online training and surveys.
But, I figured that the school as wifi so wi not? (get it- wi, why? Ok moving
on). I was lucky enough today to also be able to sit and observe one of my
fellow student teachers, as her teacher was away and Mel was covering. It’s so
cool to see each other in our own environment and doing the thing we’re all so
passionate about. What else was cool about today is that Mel invited me to stay
over at her house at the beginning of this trip and today I was finally able
to. So, the school day went by mostly in a blur and before I knew it, the final
bell had rung.
After school is when the real fun began. I headed home with Mel and got my first glimpse into real Australian life and, let me just say, I like it. Mel’s house is gorgeous. It reminds me a bit of ranch house with a tiny feeling of haunted and she has the coolest stuff. Lots of niche-homey things mixed with Aboriginal pieces. I alsto took notice of the big game shelf in the front den. She showed me my guest room (which is like bigger than my room at home) and I got to meet her son, Jake. She also introduced me to her two adorable dogs. We hung out and just chatted for a bit before she had to go to a meeting. After she left I used her unlimited wifi (her words) to call Adam, which was such a nice feeling. Later on her partner Shorty came home and we hung out and watched some footy and talked about the different types of leagues. Once Mel got back, we started to set up for dinner. This is also when a couple of her friends, Jill and Christy, stopped by. Christy also had her younger daughter and her baby son with her. It was so much fun, it was like a little party! We had some cider and wine and swapped stories before sitting down for possibly the best nachos I’ve ever had. Chips just covered in beans and meat and cheese and sour cream and guacamole. I told her I was flying her out in November to make them for the wedding. Then, to add to it, she pulls out dessert: strawberry trifle. I almost died; brandy-soaked cake with custard on top, then strawberry filling, then real strawberries, then cream, with chocolate raspberries. I was in heaven. After I inhaled as much as I could, we broke out the games. We played one called Skulls, which is hard to explain, and one called Timeline, where you are given different songs, movies, books, etc, and you have to put them in chronological order. I was better than I thought. The entire night was such a blast and it was so cool to just fit right in and feel comfortable joking around and having fun. I went to bed with a full stomach and a full heart.
After school is when the real fun began. I headed home with Mel and got my first glimpse into real Australian life and, let me just say, I like it. Mel’s house is gorgeous. It reminds me a bit of ranch house with a tiny feeling of haunted and she has the coolest stuff. Lots of niche-homey things mixed with Aboriginal pieces. I alsto took notice of the big game shelf in the front den. She showed me my guest room (which is like bigger than my room at home) and I got to meet her son, Jake. She also introduced me to her two adorable dogs. We hung out and just chatted for a bit before she had to go to a meeting. After she left I used her unlimited wifi (her words) to call Adam, which was such a nice feeling. Later on her partner Shorty came home and we hung out and watched some footy and talked about the different types of leagues. Once Mel got back, we started to set up for dinner. This is also when a couple of her friends, Jill and Christy, stopped by. Christy also had her younger daughter and her baby son with her. It was so much fun, it was like a little party! We had some cider and wine and swapped stories before sitting down for possibly the best nachos I’ve ever had. Chips just covered in beans and meat and cheese and sour cream and guacamole. I told her I was flying her out in November to make them for the wedding. Then, to add to it, she pulls out dessert: strawberry trifle. I almost died; brandy-soaked cake with custard on top, then strawberry filling, then real strawberries, then cream, with chocolate raspberries. I was in heaven. After I inhaled as much as I could, we broke out the games. We played one called Skulls, which is hard to explain, and one called Timeline, where you are given different songs, movies, books, etc, and you have to put them in chronological order. I was better than I thought. The entire night was such a blast and it was so cool to just fit right in and feel comfortable joking around and having fun. I went to bed with a full stomach and a full heart.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Day 27: Wednesday April 8
Today was a day of behavior management. Since Mel is the
executive teacher for our department, she is called into classes when there are
excessive behavior problems. So we spent the morning with a class of year 8’s
in mandarin Chinese. It’s amazing to watch Mel go into a class that she doesn’t
know but be able to implement her authority and gain their respect. It’s also
amazing to see what some positive reinforcement does for both students and
teachers. She even gave me a chance to show what I knew by asking me to sit and
talk with a student who was refusing to come into the classroom. Unfortunately
I wasn’t successful with getting him in but the chat we had did give Mel and I
some insight into what the situation is and how it might be fixed. On top of
this, while we were trying to help in this room, several other teachers were
coming in because they needed Mel’s help as well. Suffice to say, it was a busy
morning.
Luckily our afternoon was an easy one. We had our usual Link class where I helped a student write a poem about a monster that lives in her closet who is afraid of the dark and then we watched Despicable Me with our Year 9 class. I’ll admit though, I wasn’t paying much attention because I was fairly wrapped up in a book. See, next term Mel is teaching Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey and she asked me to make a vocabulary list for her based on words from the book and the list of the 100 most commonly misspelled words. So I started scanning the book for significant words and then I started to read it and then I was obsessed and read the entire thing the rest of the day. It’s really good! It’s about a girl who moves to a new city and begins being cyber-bullied and how she deals with it and how it affects her family and her friends. I would recommend it to anyone who likes YA novels. It’s based in Australia so some of the language is a little different but I think it adds to it.
Now, let’s play a game. It was Wednesday so what does that mean? Pizza and uni night! Today was a little special though because it was our last seminar on a Wednesday actually on campus. So to commemorate, I finally caved and bought myself a $10 jug. I’m not much of a beer person though so I went with jolly miller hard apple cider. Sooo good! And traditional ham pizza to go with. Needless to say, I was a happy girl going into seminar. And I was even happier to find out that it was going to be a work night, which meant that I got to go home earlier since all my work is done! So after a quick debriefing, a few of us got to head home and I was happily in bed before 9.
Luckily our afternoon was an easy one. We had our usual Link class where I helped a student write a poem about a monster that lives in her closet who is afraid of the dark and then we watched Despicable Me with our Year 9 class. I’ll admit though, I wasn’t paying much attention because I was fairly wrapped up in a book. See, next term Mel is teaching Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey and she asked me to make a vocabulary list for her based on words from the book and the list of the 100 most commonly misspelled words. So I started scanning the book for significant words and then I started to read it and then I was obsessed and read the entire thing the rest of the day. It’s really good! It’s about a girl who moves to a new city and begins being cyber-bullied and how she deals with it and how it affects her family and her friends. I would recommend it to anyone who likes YA novels. It’s based in Australia so some of the language is a little different but I think it adds to it.
Now, let’s play a game. It was Wednesday so what does that mean? Pizza and uni night! Today was a little special though because it was our last seminar on a Wednesday actually on campus. So to commemorate, I finally caved and bought myself a $10 jug. I’m not much of a beer person though so I went with jolly miller hard apple cider. Sooo good! And traditional ham pizza to go with. Needless to say, I was a happy girl going into seminar. And I was even happier to find out that it was going to be a work night, which meant that I got to go home earlier since all my work is done! So after a quick debriefing, a few of us got to head home and I was happily in bed before 9.
Day 26: Tuesday April 7
Our first day back after break was fairly easy. It started with
a quiet night and a quiet morning and a quiet bus ride. See, the group that
went away this weekend, all 8 of them (including my two noisy roommates), got
stuck in Cairns. Their Monday flight was cancelled so they were traveling back
today. Which means I had the villa to myself for one more night and I was in
heaven. To add to my already good day, Mel and I have mostly year 10 classes
and this whole week year 10 students are out of class all week for a driver’s
course. Even more quiet. We did sub for one hour where the kids just worked on
worksheets and then we wrote poems in our half-hour link class and finished
watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in our year 9. As for the rest of the day, I
worked on assignments by myself in peace.
The end of the day picked up a little with a raffle and pizza party in the staff common room. This was a little pick-me-up before…parent-teacher interviews! That’s right, I met the parents. We actually only had four meetings but it was still interesting to see how similar they are to our own conferences. Teachers sit at tables in the library and parents come in and talk to them. Some of them have their students, some don’t. We talk about what we’re doing, how can we communicate with them, support them, etc. Compared to other parent interactions I’ve had, it was a relatively easy night. Terri came by to pick us up and after a quick stop at Kingsley’s Chicken, I was home and in bed for the night.
The end of the day picked up a little with a raffle and pizza party in the staff common room. This was a little pick-me-up before…parent-teacher interviews! That’s right, I met the parents. We actually only had four meetings but it was still interesting to see how similar they are to our own conferences. Teachers sit at tables in the library and parents come in and talk to them. Some of them have their students, some don’t. We talk about what we’re doing, how can we communicate with them, support them, etc. Compared to other parent interactions I’ve had, it was a relatively easy night. Terri came by to pick us up and after a quick stop at Kingsley’s Chicken, I was home and in bed for the night.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Day 25: Monday April 6
In Australia, there is a thing called Easter Monday. I have
no idea what it’s significance is, I just know it means I get an extra day off.
So, in the morning, I got up extra early to video chat with Adam’s family since
it was Easter for them. Then I hopped in the car with Terri and John and we
took a little road trip up the coast. Well, more like down the mountain,
because it was nothing but twists and turns and hills. It was crazy! I’m
talking actual hairpin turns and sudden drop offs. It really was quite
gorgeous. Eventually we made it all the way to Bateman’s Bay. BB is the best;
it’s basically the vacation spot of people who actually live in Australia. It’s
just a small coast town lined with little shops and lots of beaches. We started
our day off with a three-hour boat tour (yes, I did sing the Gilligan’s Island
theme song several times) aboard the Escapade.
 |
| It was a tab bit rainy earlier in the afternoon. |
But, it turns out that the church is now a house so we couldn’t go in. It was interesting to see nonetheless. We also looked at the old schoolhouse and the courthouse, which, coincidentally, is now a church. Once we reached the bottom again, I treated myself to a waffle cone and some actual real ice cream. Hey, I earned it.Then we hopped back on the boat and made our way down river.
 |
| It was called "Rainbow" but it tasted awfully close to Superman! |
Back on land, we decided to drive along the coast in search of an actual beach. The first one we found, Corrigans, was a strange little thing. It was covered in seaweed and shells and it twisted along the shape of the water.
We spent a considerable amount of time shell hunting then went on our way. We went further up and as we went around one more bend, we came upon one of the prettiest beach I may have ever seen. On the map it actually said ‘”Pretty Point” but the beach itself is called Malua. The pictures don't do it justice but I'll share anyway.
Once we had our fill, we piled into the van and made the long trek back up the mountain. Two hours and one grocery store pit stop later, I was warm in bed (with a cheeseburger and fries) and ready for a good nights sleep.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Day 24: Sunday April 5
Happy Easter! My Sunday was quite lovely, even if it did have a
bumpy start. Terri and I got up early and headed down to the park café to
stream the MSU vs. Duke game from NCAA.com. Unfortunately I learned a new word
when I tried this: “geoblocking.” Basically, it means “hey I know you have a
login to access this website’s special features so that you can view things but
since you happen to be in another country, we’re gonna go ahead and say no.” If
I weren’t in another country, I wouldn’t need to stream it people! So basically
I wasn’t thrilled with that answer. So, I did what I do best: googled how to
get what I wanted. And, as it always does, google came through and I was able
to download a certain something to trick the website into thinking I was
somewhere else. I’m not sure how exactly it works or how permissible it is so
better not to ask questions. Unfortunately since our connection is low, we
could only get the audio but hey, it was something.
In the end though, it turned out to be somewhat for naught (not because we lost, which does suck but hey, we made it this far) but because during halftime I got a video chat from my (soon to be) sister-in-law, Amanda, and I spent the rest of the game talking to them. This was awesome because I haven’t been able to talk to her or any of my in-laws this whole time. I haven’t even talked to or seen Adam, only texted, so I was pretty excited. My nephews, Dominic and Noah, were adorable and singing songs to me and told me all about Mario kart and I was able to chat a bit with Adam’s parents, Kevin and Lorrie, and even my love himself. All in all, pretty great start to the day.
After this I headed back to the villa and when I got to the door, I saw that the Easter bunny had found me, even thousands of miles away from home. Well, an Easter bunny named Terri.
I spent the afternoon cleaning, working a bit, and relaxing plenty before Terri and I headed out for our girls night: going to see Cinderella! This was the one and only time I’ve caved on my no pop rule because I had to get a freezee to go with my popcorn! Except they didn’t have Blue Raspberry and I was baffled. Like who gave you the right? And they didn’t have extra butter! I even asked and the woman was so confused and just said, “why do you need extra?” The only answer I could think of? “I’m American.” Moving on, we headed to our seats—and when I say ‘our’ seats, I mean our ASSIGNED seats. Yes, that’s right, we had assigned seats at the movie theater. When we bought our tickets, she asked where we would like to sit. It was strange. Luckily I picked good seats so I was okay with it. As for the movie itself, it was really good! I was a little worried that they might mess it up but they did actually a great job. I won’t say much because I don’t want to spoil it but the stuff they somewhat added in made such a big difference. My only complaint is that they didn’t use any of the songs from the original soundtrack. I mean there was no actual singing but even for background songs. Either way, it was a nice end to the holiday and when I got home, I kicked back and enjoyed my relaxing evening before heading to bed.
In the end though, it turned out to be somewhat for naught (not because we lost, which does suck but hey, we made it this far) but because during halftime I got a video chat from my (soon to be) sister-in-law, Amanda, and I spent the rest of the game talking to them. This was awesome because I haven’t been able to talk to her or any of my in-laws this whole time. I haven’t even talked to or seen Adam, only texted, so I was pretty excited. My nephews, Dominic and Noah, were adorable and singing songs to me and told me all about Mario kart and I was able to chat a bit with Adam’s parents, Kevin and Lorrie, and even my love himself. All in all, pretty great start to the day.
After this I headed back to the villa and when I got to the door, I saw that the Easter bunny had found me, even thousands of miles away from home. Well, an Easter bunny named Terri.
I spent the afternoon cleaning, working a bit, and relaxing plenty before Terri and I headed out for our girls night: going to see Cinderella! This was the one and only time I’ve caved on my no pop rule because I had to get a freezee to go with my popcorn! Except they didn’t have Blue Raspberry and I was baffled. Like who gave you the right? And they didn’t have extra butter! I even asked and the woman was so confused and just said, “why do you need extra?” The only answer I could think of? “I’m American.” Moving on, we headed to our seats—and when I say ‘our’ seats, I mean our ASSIGNED seats. Yes, that’s right, we had assigned seats at the movie theater. When we bought our tickets, she asked where we would like to sit. It was strange. Luckily I picked good seats so I was okay with it. As for the movie itself, it was really good! I was a little worried that they might mess it up but they did actually a great job. I won’t say much because I don’t want to spoil it but the stuff they somewhat added in made such a big difference. My only complaint is that they didn’t use any of the songs from the original soundtrack. I mean there was no actual singing but even for background songs. Either way, it was a nice end to the holiday and when I got home, I kicked back and enjoyed my relaxing evening before heading to bed.
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