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.

They took us down the Clyde’s River, which winds through all the mountains and hills and forests and all along the national park.

Let’s side note to mention that we were served lunch on the ship- fish and chips. For those of you who don’t know, I am not a fish person (a person who eats fish, not a person who is also half fish. I’m neither of those things.) Any who, I’d just like it to go on record that I did at least try some of the fish. And I am still, in no way, a fish person. Moving on, halfway through we made a stop at the tiny town of Nelligen where we climbed a humongous hill to see a church at the top.

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.

There were surfers bobbing on crashing blue and white waves, fisherman casting on short black rocks, and the most gorgeous sunshine coming down on us all. Soft sand swallowed my feet and I wiggled my toes up the surface.

I could’ve spent the rest of the trip on this beach. I didn’t go swimming but that doesn’t mean I didn’t try my best. I waded in as far as my capris would let me. Then the water took on a mind of it’s own and decided to slam against the rock I was standing next to, which of course flew over the edge of the rock and all over me. I assume it was the universe just saying hello.

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.

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.

Day 23: Saturday April 4

Saturday morning we went to the Royal Australian Mint (you know, the place they make the coins). Since it was the weekend, the floor wasn't actualyl running at the time but we did get to see the factory rooms where everything is made.

We also got to watch a video on how the coins are made. First, an artist is employed to sketch the coin and etch it onto a large block. Then, they scan the sketching using some kind of laser program and it etches out the design on a much smaller scale onto something called a die. This will be what they use to stamp every other coin. A die is created for each side of the coin and the program etches them backwards so when they stamp the coins, they come out correct. Meanwhile, blank coins are being cut and sized at this time. Then they take buckets of blanks and run them through a machine that high speed stamps the blank between both sides of the die.

A lot of this work is done by machines and high intelligence robots, often being run by humans (kinda freaky to watch them work- the robots, that is). There are actually three types of coins created: proofs, uncirculated, and circulating. Proofs are the most expensive; they are created individually by a person rather than a machine and are the most well created pieces. The room they are created in is air conditioned year round and almost completely dust free- they say it’s more air tight than some operating rooms.

The proofs room

Obviously circulating are ones that are created and then sent out for use. Uncirculated are created for collections and displays or as souvenirs and receive an extra step of softening and cleaning to make them better looking.  They told us how the first coins ever to land in Australia was actually by accident, when the Dutch crashed/landed on the coast.

Dutch coins with coral grown around them

They also told us a lot of history, like about how Australian money was originally pence and pounds, similar to the U.K. and that they eventually switched to the decimal system after establishing themselves. We also learned about the most famous Australian coin, the 1930 penny. Turns out that The Great Depression was going on at the time and the government decided that no pennies were to be made that year, but by the time this came around, a die had already been produced and about 3000 pennies had been struck. So, they took the pennies and put them into storage. Here’s where it gets a little fuzzy- the next year, once production had picked back up, somehow the 1930’s pennies got put into circulation with the new 1940 ones. Some say it was accident, some say it was on purpose but either way, it’s pretty rare.

"The coin that didn't exist"

We spent plenty of time just looking at the various rare coins they have collected or even created then eventually made our way back downtown. Being Saturday, we knew that both the malls would be open so we spent a considerable time shopping and just exploring the city center. To finish off our Saturday night, we decided to hit up another rugby game. This time it was the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Brumbies vs the Central Cheetahs. It was a great night and we even won. After a long walk home, it was time to get this girl in bed.

Terri, John, and I at the game

Day 22: Friday April 3

   Happy Good Friday! And what a good Friday it was. No school, since it was holiday, and I had the villa to myself, since my roommates and some of the other group members flew to Cairns for the weekend to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. Now, don't get me wrong, I would've loved to go but the money just wasn't there. On the plus side, this means that I, for the first time this trip, have a few days to actually relax, which is why I didn't get out of bed until about 3:45 pm today. Well, I got up to get breakfast around 9:30 am, but just took it back to bed with me. I didn't feel guilty because the weather wasn't all that great but also because I just needed it. We've been go, go, go this whole trip. I did get out of the house once today though. Terri stopped by and we made a trip to the mall. Turns out though that everything is closed on Good Friday so we grabbed a sandwich at a place called Grill'd (I had a Caesar's palace, which was amazing) and went back to the park. Interesting moment: on our way back, we passed a dug and alcohol testing checkpoint. Like in the middle of the day on Good Friday, outside the city. It was so random! There were 6 cop cars, which is the most I've seen this entire time here. Either way, we made it back and I spent the rest of the night just relaxing and enjoying some alone time.

Day 21: Thursday April 2

My terrible paper rocket

   We didn't go to school today but before you scold, it was because we had Questacon training. See,    the term ends next week, which means that the last week we are here, school will be out on break (or holiday, as they call it). So instead we will be working at a place called Questacon, which is the National Science and Technology Center. For those of you who have been to Impressions 5, it's basically a hands on science museum. Our job will be helping in 4 different areas: the Science Time room or the Japan Theater, both of which put on different science shows for kids, depending on their age, helping with the paper rocket exhibit outside, or busking. Busking is somewhat like street performing; we're putting on small shows in the lobby area for kids to participate in. Possibly my favorite side show is the Dr. Scar kit. This is where we get to give the kids scars and black eyes, using make-up of course, and we talk to them about blood and cells and how they work.

We took turns practicing on each other and ourselves

Another one of our body-based shows includes Mr. Seymour Guts, where we "dissect" a dummy and talk to the kids about the different names and jobs of all our organs. We also have a music cart and a colored milk cart, where we play with a lot of colors and instruments and show the kids how science helps create them. A crowd favorite is the astronauts. This really just includes putting on space suits and taking pictures with kids, occasionally discussing the aspects of space.

    Once we had been fully inducted (including awesome badges and key cards) we grabbed some lunch at the cafe then made our way to the Parliament House. The building is seriously huge.

There are 4500 rooms, including a travel agent, a bank, a hair salon, a florist, a pool, and a gym. There are 17 courtyards. It took 8 1/2 years to build and is supposed to last 200 years.

The Senate. The color is that of the Poppy flower.

The House of Representatives. The color is that of the Eucalyptus leaf.

On the roof, looking down into the city center

Underneath the triangle

On the steps inside Parliament

After seeing as much as we could, we headed home to get our weekend started.

Day 20: Wednesday April 1

    I did not want to get up today. I still wasn't feeling all that great (re: vomiting yesterday from possibly bad food), I'd been awake since 5 am when my roommates alarm goes off, and before that I had been awake from 1 am-4 am, when my roommate had gotten home and decided to cook food. Unfortunately she apparently has never learned to do anything quietly and this resulted in me being woken up. And of course when that happens, it's very difficult for me to fall back asleep. Instead I got to think about our plane crashing into the ocean and me actually surviving only to be eaten by sharks. The point here is that I did not want to get up. But, being the diligent student and teacher that I am, I did. I picked the easiest outfit and headed to the bus. Though I did realize this is the first day I didn't take my vitamins in the morning. I was on a roll! Disregarding all this, I eventually got to school and headed to my favorite class: year 10 English. And, for some added fun, Beats was gone today which meant that I got to teach class. Again. Except on my own. For a double lesson. Can you say terrified? We're still on poetry and today's goal was just to get them to write a lot of poems. We learned about various types of poems (limericks, acrostic, kennings, haikus, etc) and shared. They had to have at least 4-5 poems by the time they left.

One I wrote about them as an example:
        There once was a class of year tens
        Who found themselves in trouble when
        They thought they were too cool
        To do their assignments for school
       And had to take all their classes again

One we wrote as a whole class:
       There once was a small kiddie goat
       Who got a frog stuck in his throat
       He coughed really hard
       And was so caught off guard
       And now he's a furry wool coat
       (he died)

    After that we had Link again and to be honest, I couldn't be all that bothered about whether or not they were working on their portfolios. But one of them did show me some pretty cool BMX videos. I know, I know, it's not academic and on task but you know what? Everyone needs a little break sometimes.
    After school we had class at the uni again. We grabbed some dinner but this time I went for a chicken Caesar salad because I was feeling a bit pizza-ed out (don't tell Adam). Today's class was on resumes, references, and cover letters. Luckily I've been working on these since like last September so it was easy. We took a short break for cake because it was Eric's birthday (it's also my brother-in-law, Kyle's, birthday so celebrations all around). I was pretty much ready to do though so I encouraged us to pack up so I could go to bed.

Day 19: Tuesday March 31

   To be honest, today was a bit stressful. And that's putting it gently. We had a double lesson (meaning 2 back to back hours) with our year 9 English foundational class at the beginning of the day and they were a handful, to say the least. It was an assessment day as well so that meant we were harder on them about talking, using phones, etc. Before we had even gotten started, Beats had to remove two students from class temporarily. One student in particular (let's call him Jay) was causing some real problems. He came in late and proceeded to distract other students that had actually started to do their work. Of course, Beats had already reprimanded him but now was dealing with another student that had come in late so I stepped in. But, being a student teacher, he didn't care too much about me telling him what to do and proceeded to tell me to shut up, that I was annoying, I couldn't tell him what to do, etc. Now I've had worse things said to me and frankly I couldn't care but I was not about to let him distract my other students. This meant that I got to follow him around the room (proximity) and repeatedly tell him to stop distracting other students. Eventually he did return to his seat and stayed there. Even though he still refused to do his work, other people were able to do theirs so it still felt like a win.
    After that we were in Link with our year 10's and again, it's as if I was talking to a wall. Repeatedly Beats and I were trying to redirect students who were watching youtube instead of working on their portfolio and they just acted like they didn't hear us. Thank goodness that's only a half hour long because I was pretty done by the end. Luckily next was lunch and I decided to treat myself, so I went to the canteen for the first time ever and bought a sausage roll. Turns out that may not have been the best plan because by the end of year 10 SOSE I was feeling pretty bad. I did my best to make it through the staff meeting about, idk, google or something, but the moment it ended, I got up, walked outside to the nearest trash can, and promptly vomited. Suffice to say I was done for the night. Terri took me home and I spent some time on the bathroom floor before eventually migrating to the couch. Emily took care of me (aka put on Gilmore Girls and brought me water) and after a nap, I was feeling a little better and even managed to keep down a small bowl of chicken stir fry that Em made (which was delicious, for real). We even went down to the lobby to get some ice cream (strawberry smoothie bar for me) and once we got back, I decided to officially end the kinda crappy day and head to bed.