Sunday was one of the nicest days in a while. We spent all day on the beach and just relaxed before we started our second week of student teaching. Since it was Alissa's actual birthday a few of us went to the pub for Karaoke night! It was fun Alissa and I did our usual song Dance with Somebody by Whitney!

July 17, 2010

On Saturday, we spent the day at the beach. Then Alissa's host teacher took me, her, and Kristina out to dinner with her boyfriend. They treated us to a delicious dinner and wine for Alissa's birthday. We went to this Chinese restaurant which is the best on the coast. They were super nice, and told us how they would take us on weekend trips, and fishing and things like that! When we got back we had a surprise party already planned for Alissa in our apartment! We celebrated her 21st birthday!!

Happy Birthday to Eddie too!

July 13, 2010

The first week of student teaching FLEW by. I can’t believe how fast the days go by. The kids are outside and have so many breaks through out the day. We start the day at 9 with “smart moves” which is when we go outside and play a game for a half hour. Than the kids come in and do some maths (not math.. maths) after they do their maths they get a fruit break for about 10m minutes. By now its about 10:15 so they come in and either do more maths, or spelling. At 10:50 the whole school has morning tea. This is for 40 minutes. The teachers get a break while the students eat for 10 minutes, and than play on the oval for 30 minutes. Than middle session starts. This only goes from 11:30 to 12:50 the students do some work with either science or English. Than from 12:50 to 1:30 the students have big lunch where they again eat for 10 minutes and play for 30. They day is broken up so much by giving the children a chance to play outside that it just flies by! "Afa" session or afternoon session the kids silently read for a while have a lesson and than get the last 15 minutes of the day to go back outside and play an organized game with their teacher. The students are not in the classroom for that long but they still get a lot of work done and complete what needs to get done. I love it! I have started picking up little think like doing their maths with them, and spelling. Each week I will take on more responsibility until I am teaching completely on my own. Every other Tuesday we have staff meetings which last for only about an hour. Since Danette is away for the first 2 weeks I have been working with Kris. She is awesome, she’s so funny and so easy going. She drives me home everyday even though its only a 5 minute walk. She also took me on a “field trip” to Daniel Murphy’s Discount Liquor store and bought me a bottle of wine. She’s taught at Mooloolaba for 26 years but recently became a contract teacher and just subs for teachers who are on long service leave. She pretty much runs the school because she’s worked there for so long. So one day when we had none contact time she drove us to starbucks and we drank our coffee on the beach for an hour. Everyone at Mooloolaba is so nice and so welcoming. I am loving my first student teaching placement! Tuesday night a bunch of us went and played OZ*TAG again. This time we played a real game and have the official shorts! It is so much fun.

July 12, 2010

Today was our first day of student teaching! The kids weren’t there and we were at the University for professional development. My principal picked me up and brought me home, which was really nice so I didn’t have to take the bus. Its called “Pupil Free Day” I followed around Linda from Mooloolaba because my host teacher Danette is in Hawaii. We went to different conferences about their curriculum, moving towards a national curriculum and bringing technology into the classrooms. I also went to one that taught us new math games to bring into the classroom and one where this guy bashed on the New York State teaching system. It got kind of awkward for all us New Yorkers… We got fed a lot though today they had lots of food for morning tea, and also for lunch. It was really nice outside so after Pupil Free Day I went and caught some rays at the beach. We all just sat around talking about what we all did that day, its going to great to be able to come lay on the beach after teaching all day ☺ I’m so excited for tomorrow when the kids are going to be there.

July 9, 2010

For the past few days everyone has just been relaxing on the beach and in the hot tub. We all finally caught up on some well-needed sleep, and did lots of laundry. We all went grocery shopping and pilled up on food because we hadn’t cooked for ourselves in 2 weeks and we needed to get food to bring to school with us. We went out to the Surf Club for a few drinks, and danced but we all kind of hung low because we were starting our student teaching on Monday!

July 8-9 2010

After having afternoon tea at the Longway Cattle Station we all got back on the bus. We had a long night ahead of us because we were driving all the way back to Mooloolaba. Emily and Kristina were our captains for the night and decided to have a Polly’s Prom 2010 (our bus company was Polly). The captains got everyone glow sticks, and necklaces and it was BYOB. The girls gave out superlatives to everyone on the bus mine was most likely to celebrate her 21st birthday for more than a week. Haha because everywhere we went I told them it was my 21st birthday so I could get some free drinks! We all got ballots and had to elect a prom King and Queen. The winner was Trevor our bus driver, and his wife Colleen who had joined us for the trip! It was so cute. We had a dance party on the bus that everyone enjoyed and we all got really drunk. People were passed out all over the bus, and in the isles. We didn’t get much sleep but it was a lot of fun!

July 8, 2010

Today was day 12 and the last day of our trip ☹ We headed for Longreach which is one of the biggest outback towns and is well known. Our first stop was the Longreach School of Distance Education. This school is double the size of New York State… virtually. The students all live too far away from schools so they go to school from their homes and tune into radios, telephones, or webcams for class. The teachers work out of the actual school building and hold 45 minute sessions with their students online or over the radio/ phone. A couple of times a year all the students actually go to the school and stay there for a weeks time. During this time the students would have a more normal school day with other students and a teacher in the same classroom. This is also when they get to bring in and show their unit projects they have been working on. It was interesting to see how kids from so far away could still “attend” a specific school even when they lived in the middle of nowhere.
Next we went to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. We watched a cattle show, and sheep dogs round up the sheep. We got to see how cattle used to carry logs for farmers, and how long it took to transport just one log. There were also girls performing how to crack whips. After we got to walk the streets and go into different stores along the strip. All the stores sold were different cowboy and country things. We than went to this older couples house who owned and lived on the Longway Cattle Station. It was 40,000 acres of land and thousands of cattle. It is one of the oldest and biggest stations in the outback. The house was huge, and so beautiful with a lot of original features. They had gotten a lot of their original cattle from the King Ranch Station in Texas!

July 7, 2010

On day 11 we spent a lot of hours on the bus traveling. We stopped from morning tea in some random time in the Outback. There was only one café, which was running on a generator, which blew out because there were so many of us ordering food. Here is where we picked up 2 hitchhikers! They were a guy and girl in their mid 20’s and from Germany. They have been hitch hiking through Australia for 8 months, and had been waiting at this café for 2 days trying to get a ride. Colin (our professor/ tour guide) made sure it was ok with all of us for them to join us to our next stop and of course we all said yes! We would never pick up hitchhikers in the U.S! The girl sat next to me and was so fun to talk to, they both had such rich stories and were living such a cool life. For 9 months the only things they owned were the bags on their backs and a saxophone. After Australia they were heading to Canada to back pack/ hitchhike for a few more months. We dropped them off at our next stop which was again in the middle of nowhere. The bus had to drive through mini rivers from time to time in the outback so one time we all decided to get out of the bus and walk through the river. We hadn’t seen a car in over 2 hours mind you and just as everyone was in the middle of the river we saw 3 cars coming our way. All 3 cars sped up and went really fast leaving us all soaking wet from head to toe! Everyone was drenched with this dirty river water and had to get back on the small confined bus!
Our next stop was Hughenden for lunch. It was a surprisingly big town considering all the other towns we had passed through. There were people around, a petrol (gas) station, a traffic light, and a mini library! After lunch we got back onto the bus and drove to Winton. We stayed at a place called Banjo’s. There were 3 pubs in town. We all went out and were determined to find real cowboys! There was another State of Origin game on (the Maroons (QLD) vs. the Blues (N.S.W)) so of course we had to cheer for the Maroons! Whenever there is a state of origin game the bars are packed so everyone in this town was at the pub! We met a lot of great people and got to hear about their lives, which was so cool to hear about. So different than anything I’ll ever know. Colin stayed out until the bar closed with us, and took some shots with us. It was another fun night in the Outback!

July 6, 2010

Today we stopped at Lake Eacham on our travels to the outback. We learned that this lake was created by a volcano. We also stopped in at Ravenshoe for morning tea along the way too. The outback is just how you would picture it, no roads, huge ant farms which could be up to 6 ft. high, cattle everywhere, and kangaroos. The kangaroos and cattle would just be in the middle of the dirt path and wouldn’t move until we got right up close to them. There was redish color soil, and leafless trees all over. We stopped at the Chilagoe Post Office Hotel which was in the middle of nowhere for lunch. This was the first building we had seen in 4 hours, and it was one of the only restaurants for miles! We than traveled a few more hours to a town called Forsayth. This town had a total population of 46 people, and 31 of us pulled up to spend the night. We booked out all of their accommodations and half of us still had to stay in tents. They made us dinner, which was lamb and vegetables with cheesecake and they built us a big campfire where M.J played the guitar. The town was kind of creepy because there were absolutely no lights except for in the cabins and it gets pitch black in the outback. It was nice to be able to see the stars so clearly and just enjoy the heart of the outback though. While we were driving to Forsayth our bus had to swerve to dodge 4 cattle, which were in the middle of the road! I think it scared Trevor (our bus driver) a little. You also aren’t allowed to drink the water in the outback so we brushed our teeth with bottled water! We were literally in the middle of nowhere!

July 5, 2010

Day 9, I was extremely hung over from celebrating Independence Day… we went to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures which was a zoo of your typical Australian animals. We took a Crocodile tour out on a boat where we were meters away from the Crocs. We got to see them feed the cros and hear their jaws smack shut. It was so loud but pretty neat to get so close to them. We went to Port Douglass afterwards for lunch which was a really nice town. After that we went to Daintree National Park and walked the Mossman Gorge. The falls were beautiful and the rainforest was gorgeous. There was a suspension bridge over the falls. We than went back to Calypso which was our backpackers and got ready for the night. We went to a bar called the Woolshed where we all danced on tables allll nigghttt longgg! It was so much fun. They play American music, but they are really behind for example the Jay –Z and Alicia Keys song New York is the most popular song right now…

July 4, 2010

On day 8 of our trip 18 of us took a bus at 6 am to the EXTREME RAFTING lodge. We were about to rafting down the Tully River, which is a level 5 and one of the top 5 rivers to raft in the world. We all decided to get wet suits because it was pretty cold out. The bus took us to the river where we met our guides and got all our equipment including the life vests, helmet, and paddles. It was a rainy/misty day but it didn’t bother anyone because we were rafting through the rainforest. Our rafting guide Nori was from Japan and was the medic on the river so I felt like I was in good hands. We rafted14 km, which took us from 10am- 4-pm. We stopped along the river for a quick lunch, which was under a tent in the middle of the rainforest. We stopped a few times when we were rafting to go cliff jumping, and some times we got to just let the current take us down the river but had to be quick to get to the sides. Nori flipped the raft a few times so we would all fall in which was really scary but so much fun. My leg got caught under Emily one time and I ended up with bruises from my hip down to my ankle. It was fun to float down the river but there were a lot of rocks and boulders. Rafting through the strong current and all the boulders was amazing. We got to slide down a mini waterfall which was so fun except I got thrown into the side of the huge rock… and they only give you 10 seconds to come back up before they come down to rescue you well guess who came up at 9 seconds… just in the nick of time! It was kind of scary because I was so deep in the water. After we were done rafting we got changed into warm cloths and they had a snack for us. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
Since it was the 4th of July the backpackers held Happy Hour specials all night for Americans! We had an American flag that we brought out with us, and had them play Born in the U.S.A. We all went nuts. It was fun to celebrate in another country.

July 3, 2010

Today was day 7 of our 2 week trip. We took a Jet boat out on the pacific ocean to the Great Barrier Reef! The boat hasn’t ran in a year, and our ride was its last trip out to Fitzroy Island (which is the island on the reef). It went so fast, and we would literally go airborne for 5 seconds at a time before landing. It was like a rollercoaster. We all had to wear seatbelts on the boat. I put on a pair of goggles because the waves kept on crashing on me over the side of the boat. At Fitzroy island we got all of our snorkeling gear and than rode the boat to the outer reef. We rented underwater cameras so we could take lots of pictures. It was an over cast day so they sun wasn’t shinning too bright which mean the reef wasn’t as colorful as it usually is but it was still great to see and still fairly vibrant. It was amazing to actually swim in the great barrier reef! We snorkled for a couple of hours and than went back to the island for lunch. During our lunch break we jumped on a trampoline in the middle of the ocean. After lunch we took the boat back out to the inner reef to Shark Fin Island and snorkeled for another couple of hours. I saw lots of colorful fish, a stingray and lots of coral. I don’t think I looked up for an hour. I just kept following the fish, and finding new colorful coral. We even got to swim down and touch all the different hard and soft coral! It was another amazing day in Cairns ☺

July 2, 2010

Day 6: Today we rode the Kuranda scenic railway up thru the rainforest to the Kuranda Village. It was a fun train ride, with beautiful scenery and along the way they told the story of how Kuranda came about. We shopped around the village and ate lunch. After a few hours at Kuranda we rode the sky rail back above the rainforest. There were huge waterfalls that we got to see and all different kind of birds. It was so cool to be so high and look down on all the trees and rivers, and wildlife.
After the sky rail we went to meet the Aboriginals. We watched a traditional aboriginal dance where they made a fire from rubbing 2 sticks together. They played the dijeridoo and these other instruments that were all made out of wood. Next an aboriginal gave us a performance and taught us a lesson on how to play the digeridoo, and later got to give it a go. They are really hard to play! Than a female aboriginal came and explained to us how they used natural resources to their advantage. She talked about how to make instrument, what foods you an eat in the wild, what they used for medicine, and some remedies they have for different sicknesses. We also learned how they made boomerangs, what makes them come back to you, and also got to throw them! Mine went far, but only came half way back to me… I’ll have to keep practicing. There was a little boy there helping us throw the boomerangs and taught us how to throw a spear. His name was Dane, and couldn’t have been older than 7. He could throw the spear so far and aim it right where he wanted! It was neat learning about the lifestyles of traditional aboriginal people because today they have the reputation of being drug addicts and alcoholics.

July 1, 2010

Day 5 of our trip and we’re off the Cairns! Along our way up we made a lot of little 20 minute stops in little towns. Our first stop was Ingham. We were only there for a few minutes to get coffee and go to the bathroom. We kept traveling until we got to the Mena Creek Pub. We had lunch here and I got this really good steak. There were signs all over the pub saying “Best Little Pub in the Country” There was a suspension bridge here that could only hold 4 people on it at a time, which hung over a beautiful waterfall. After lunch we went to Ety Bay where we saw rare, endangered birds called Cassawarys. Aparently they are extremely dangerous and will attack you, but of course the whole New York crew ran up close to them to get good pictures. These birds are huge and have this hard fin looking thing on the top of their heads! After Etty Bay we traveled to Josephine Falls which was really nice. I got a lot of great pictures! There were a few different trails that we climbed to get different views of the falls. After the falls we got back on the bus and traveled a few more hours to the Capypso Inn Backpackers in Cairns where we would be spending the next 5 nights. Alissa and I got to share a room to ourselves which was awesome since we had just come from sharing 8 to a room. We were all put together on the same floor so it was like our own little apartment. The showers finally had hot water and good water pressure but we all had to share only 2 showers! Calypso was a definite upgrade from the backpackers we stayed in at Magnetic Island.

June 30, 2010

Day 4 of our vacation! Today we scooted around all day again. We got up early and got coffee at this cute outdoors Italian bakery. The coffee was really good and should be for $5.50 a cup! The coffee here is not like at home they only drink cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites. I usually order a cappuccino. After brekky we went on another little hike that was straight up! It was a well needed workout. We than went to Picnic Bay to go swimming and lay out since we couldn’t at the beach by our hostel. The beach was really nice, and the sun was hot. After riding all day it was finally time to turn in the mopeds. We were all so sad they were so fun. I want to get one when I get home. Tonight at the backpackers the theme of the night was Gender Bender so we raided the boy’s cloths and got dressed up for free Goon (which is shitty box wine). Two of the boys in our group Ian and Brian dressed up, and Ian aka Liberty won a $75 bar tab ☺ Tonight we got to stay in the Chalet where Kristina proceeded to scream CHALETTT BAYYBEEE alllll night. Haha There were wallabies on the deck to our room which would scare the crap out of me, and did not even budge when you yelled! Tonight was are last night on Magnetic Island, we have to be up early tomorrow because were off to Cairns!

June 29, 2010

Day three of our amazing trip! This morning we had to meet Colin at 8 to go and pick up our mopeds! We got to the place and were given instructions on how to drive them. All the mopeds were named and we got to pick our own. My bikes name was Elmo and she was red. She got up to about 56 kilometers. We all just scooted around the island all day and stopped at all the bays, beaches, and hiking trails. We went on a long hike up to one of the highest points on the island called The Forts Lookout and saw Koalas in the trees along the way. On this walk we saw look out buildings from WWII and saw where Japan bombed Australia. We got to watch the sunset as we drove through the hills on the island. There was a place called Wallaby World that just had hundreds of wallabies all over in caves and along a jetty of rocks. Even though they were wild they were not scared of people and we were able to feed them right out of our hands. Tonight we played Bingo at the base and a lot of people from our group won different things like beers, money, and a room upgrade. Colin got a Chalet for one night and drew our names out of a hat to see who would get to sleep in it. I WON! Woohoo I got to pick 4 people to join me in the Chalet so I chose Kristina, Alissa, Lauren and Rudy. A few of us decided to keep our scooters for the night so we could have them the next day too so Alissa, Kristina, Lauren, Rudy, Johnny, Logan, Brian, and John took them out for a late night cruise. It was so fun but scary too because the wild animals would just run out right in front of us. I almost hit a Wallaby. This trip is so much fun, and we are all loving every minute of us. Its hard for me to get used to these backpackers because I get grossed out by everything but I haven’t been too bad so far. I just try not to think about how dirty it really is and cover myself from head to toe when I go to bed.

June 28, 2010

Day 2 of our trip: We had brekky at Emu where they had eggs and toast for us. The coffee was terrible.. I was not happy. We traveled for a few hours and watched The adventures of Priscilla it was a weird movie about drag queens. Our first stop today was Sarina which was another really small town. They had really good coffee here only $5 for a small. The price of coffee is crazy and its not even coffee. I really miss Dunkin Donuts. Our next stop was Boewen which is where the movie Australia was filmed. We were a little behind schedule today and were running last for our ferry. We all quickly got off the bus and ran to catch the ferry. We were off to magnetic island. The sunset was beautiful on the boat and we took a lot of pictures. We stayed at Base backpackers on magnetic island. The first night we entered in the backpackers Bar Wars. It was Kristina, Lauren and myself on a team and our name was American Pie. We had to do funny things like a water balloon fight, musical chairs, and a close line. We had really small rooms at Base where 8 people stayed in a room and everyone at the place shared the same bathrooms. We would wait till about 1am to shower because that was the only time there was hot water. There were possums and wallabies everywhere that we not scared of people and would come right up to you. There was a salt-water croc hanging out in the water right outside Base so we couldn’t use the beach right outside where we were staying. They had patrol out all day and night trying to catch the 10 foot crocodile and there were warning signs all over.

June 27, 2010

Today is our first day of our 2 week vacation up the coast of Australia. Carri and I were the captins first which meant we had to give everyone details about the day, sit at the front of the bus, hand out maps, and take care of the garbage. We were supposed to entertain everyone but we all just pretty much slept for the first few hours. We headed to Noosa for brekky at 7am. We ate at the surf club that Danette took Alissa and I to yesterday. We stopped at the Noosa National Park lookout. We drove for a few hours and than stopped at the Eumundi Markets which were all little outdoors stores. We all wished we had more time to shop around there. We drove a few more hours and stopped at Childers which was a really small town. While traveling I did a lot of sleeping on the bus, and we watched the movie Rogue which was like Jaws but with a Crocodile instead. We stopped at a little pub Ragan Tavern where we had a gong contest and who even won got a beer. We finally got to our first backpackers around 6. We stayed at Emu Beach Resort and Backpackers. We had a bbq there with steak, fish, pasta, and salad. It was really good. Paul the owner was awesome and gave us all shots. We pretended it was my 21st birthday again and he gave everyone more free shots. We were dancing on tables and made a Backpackers Hall of Fame on the wall and all signed it. Alissa, Kristina, Lauren, and I all shared a room.

June 26, 2010

Today was a great day! My host teacher Danette and her friend Linda picked Alissa and I up and took us to Noosa for the day. We stopped at this really cute coffee shop on the way that had really good coffee. We went to the beach for a little bit and walked the streets of downtown Noosa which is adorable. The stores were really nice and really expensive so we all just window shopped. We ate lunch at the Noosa Surf Club and I got fried calamari and "chips" aka french fries. They serve chips with almost every meal. After lunch we walked around a little more and than they took us back to Newport. My teacher is so nice and really relaxed. She made me feel so much better about student teaching. I'm so glad I got placed with such a good teacher. Shes in her late 30's but is a lot of fun, and likes to drink so of course we'll get along. She invited me on the "girls weekend" with her and her friends, so that should be fun. It was a great way to start my 2 week vacation!

June 25, 2010

Today was our last day of class! We were all so excited. We had our test in the morning and than another guest speaker. We took the wrong bus on the way home and it took about an hour to get back to Mooloolaba from the Uni. Tonight we had a bbq with Brian Bernette from Cortland. We had the barbeque right on the beach, which was fun and than a few of us played soccer on the beach under the lights. It was really fun.

June 24, 2010

Today I got the morning off from class. I didn’t have to be to Uni till 1:30 which was nice because I was a little hungover. Alissa and I got coffee and took a nice long walk on the beach. Than I hung out on the balcony for a while and decided to go for a run. It is so nice out probably around 80 degrees and the sun is shinning. The last thing I wanted to do was go to class. We had a guest speaker come in today and tell us about Queensland curriculum, it was really boring. Tomorrow is our last day of class FINALLY!! We have a test tomorrow so were all going to have a study session tonight. A few of us are going to go food shopping later to get some snacks for our outback trip! I can’t wait we leave Sunday. We all studied together tonight which lasted about a half hour and than a bunch of us decided to drink some wine and play soccer on the beach under the lights.

June 23, 2010

Today I was woken up by Alissa at 7 and she had a huge glass of wine that I had to chug! I made her do it too. Than we had to go visit 3 school from 8-3. We got our wireless internet today finally!! So when we got home we all set that up. Everyone threw me a surprise party in Kristina and Laurens room. It was so fun and I was so surprised! They had 4 shots lined up that I had to take right when I walked in. We had cake, hung out and drank for a while. Kristina got me a kangaroo pandora charm for my bracelet, and Alissa got me a bottle of champagne. Than we all went to dinner at Hogs Breath. It was so good they have really good steaks, and fun mixed drinks. Emily (Rudy) and I ordered the YES! Drink which was sooo delicious. By the time dinner was over we were all pretty drunk and just went back to the apartments to drink and watch the U.S Fifa soccer game. WE WON!!! It was a great birthday and will last until tomorrow at 2 when is over in the U.S ☺ Its going to be so weird to be 21 when I get home!

June 22,

Today we had class again at Uni. We had a visitor come tell us his story and than we went to tour the school Kristina will be teaching at. Tonight we went to OZ TAG, which is flag rugby. It’s similar to flag football. We watched a game to try and figure out the game and than just jumped right it and played! It was so fun. We have games on Tuesday nights. Tomorrow is my 21st birthday here!! I can't wait :)

June 21, 2010

Today we had class again all day 8:45 to 5. We had two visitors from their life and the different jobs they’ve had and where they have worked. When I got home Alissa and I went for a run and saw that a bunch of people were playing soccer on the beach so we joined them. It was so fun playing on the beach at night under the lights. I hope we play again soon! It really burns the legs running in the sand. Alissa and I made dinner tonight; we made spaghetti with butter and burgers. We pretty much ruined the pan we used to cook the burgers because all we had to cook them in was a pot. We watched a few episodes of Friends and fell asleep early tonight.

June 20, 2010

Today we went to the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo! We caught a free shuttle to the zoo at 9AM. It was awesome! I got to hold a koala, play and feed the kangaroos, get a little too close to crocodiles and alligators! I loved how close you could get to all the animals. The koala was a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be, smelled pretty bad, andddd it peed on me! haha Roo Heaven was amazing too, there were so many kangaroos all over, and they come right up to you and let you pet them and hold their hands. We also got some Roo food and fed them! So adorable! I also got to feed the elephants which I loved. I fed them 5 time. They ate huge pieces of fruit and vegetables. It was kind of gross because they would get snot all over your hands. We went to a wild life show where Kristina was picked out of the crowd to be a volunteer. It was hilarious they made her put her arms out wide and move her hips back and forth yelling CA CAAWWW CA CAAWWW. The whole day at the zoo was just so fun and it was great to see all the classic Australian animals!

June 19, 2010

Today was the first day we were able to sleep in! Alissa, Kelsey, Johnny, Brian, and Logan and I all hung out and relaxed for the day. We spent most of the day on the beach just lounging. Alissa and I went for a walk and worked out at the facilities on the esplanade. It was a pretty lazy day but it nice to finally not sit in that classroom for endless hours. It was really nice out high 70’s with the sun shinning. We didn’t go out tonight even though it was a Saturday night because we were waking up early for the zoo on Sunday and didn’t want to take the chance of being hung over! I love falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing its so relaxing!

June 18, 2010

The past two days we have been visiting different schools that people in the program will be teaching in. All the schools are a like but so different than our schools at home. All the buildings are so small and the children spend a lot of time outside.. the perks of having nice weather all year long. They have a lot of breaks through out the day too for snacks and play and exercise. The little ones are so cute, and their accents make them even cuter. They are so polite and so interested in us! One group of little boys pointed to me and said “wowww she’s really pretty!” haha adorable. Another little girl said “there’s HEAPS of teachers!” All the teachers and principals are so welcoming and a lot of the schools give us food which is an added bonus. Some of the traditional foods we have tried so far have been lemingtons (coconut brownie like things), meat pies (mini pot pies), and scones with jam. We have been getting home between 5:30 and 6 at night. I have continued taking runs on the esplanade right on the beach and hanging out with everyone at the beach to watch the sun set! Its amazing! They have a little workout area down the esplanade which everyone enjoys using too. It’s a hard life living right on the pacific ocean ☺

June 17, 2010

Today I went to my school Mooloolaba State school! I met the principal (David Turner), deputy principal, host teacher (Danette Flick), and substitute teacher who will be in my class the first two weeks im there Chris. My teacher Danette will be on long service leave for the first 2 weeks vacationing, but Chris seems really nice and like she’s a fun teacher. The students were so cute, and so excited to meet me. They had a present for me which included a stuffed animal bird, a deck of cards, vegemite, cookies, and an Australian flag. They also all sang me a welcoming song, and 3 girls read a welcoming poem. I can’t wait to start! They school was so different than our at home. Each classroom is in its own building and the kids have to walk around outside from building to building for different subjects such as art, P.E, Japanese, etc. And yes they learn Japanese at school. From Mooloolaba we went to Maroochydore State High School. That was a cool school too so different from schools at home. They fed us a lot of traditional Australian food there that was very delicious for morning tea. Morning tea is really big here and every school takes time out of their day for it. Its pretty much what we call snack time at home but all the grades do it not just in elementary school. Tonight we all went out for Mexican food at Montezuma’s. It’s right down the road. They had really good food and even better margaritas! I still get nervous ordering drinks because im not 21 even though the drinking age is only 18.

June 16, 2010

Today I woke up early to skype my mom and the Daleys! It was so fun and nice to see them. I had class again all day today… so boring. We learned more about there government system and education system. Kristina’s principal was our guest speaker today. He told us “his story” about how he became a principal. After class was over we all ran out of class and to the bus. We were so sick of class we couldn’t wait to get home and start happy hour. Our homework from Colin was to go to a local pub and watch the State of Origin Rugby game. It’s a huge rivalry game similar to our red sox vs. Yankees but they only play each other 3 times a year. The game is between Queensland (the maroons) and New South Whales (the blues). We all wore maroon and cheered for Queensland . Queensland won! A bunch of us went to McDonalds late that night I wish they had Pizza and More! On the walk home Kristina and I met this guy who was so smart. He knew so much on what was going on in the world. Kris and I were fascinated, and learned a lot in our drunken state. It was a really fun night with everyone and we met lots of people at the Mooloolaba Pub.

June 15, 2010

This is where we will have class for the next 2 weeks


Today was our first day of really class. Our two week class is from 9-5 at the University of the Sunshine Coast in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) building. We took the public bus to the University and as we pulled in there were 9 Kangaroos just hanging out on the grass! This was our first sighting of the Roo’s so we were all so excited! As soon as we got off the bus we went over to them to take pictures. They let us get so close to them, and were not scared at all. I didn’t even zoom the camera for the pictures you see posted! It was such a fun and exciting morning. The class is horrible. Its Colin lecturing us while we just sit and listen for 8 hours on the Australian government, and their school system. He kept us late until 5:30 too, we were all so pissed. I got brekki at the University which was pretty much just like McDonalds home fry but so much better. Thank god we go on school visits during class on some days or I would not make it through the two weeks. Once we got back to The Newport Apartments I went for a run along the esplanade. It was so nice to run right next to the beach. I might actually start running… and enjoy it too!

June 14, 2010

Today was the first day of our 2 week course taught by Colin. We started with Brekki buffet at the Surf Club. It was really good, and the restaurant was closed for just us. It was awesome we at brekki right on the beach with a beautiful view of the pacific. There were lots of surfers and boats out. Alissa, Kristina, and I tried the famous Vegemite this morning! Its this dark brown, bitter, and extremely salty spread that they use equivalent to our peanut butter. Everyone loves it here, but we thought it was disgusting! After brekki we met up with a lifeguard who taught us some important things to be aware of while in the pacific such as rips, sharks, stingrays, and jelly fish. From there we all got "go cards" or bus passes. We use the public buses a lot to get around. We all took the bus to the mall and did some shopping. The mall was an inside outside kind of place and was so big. After figuring out the buses on our own, and getting back to our apartments a bunch of us went on a long walk down the beach. Alissa dropped her phone in the ocean.. such a bummer. We met some kids that went to primary school near by and they showed us where some crabs and fish were. They were so cute with their accents. After the walk we all relaxed by the pool and hot tub. I was laying on a beach chair and out of the corner of my eye I saw this creepy animal a foot away from me. I freaked out! It was a possum!

June 13, 2010

Today was pretty gloomy and raining so the girls and I decided to just walk behind our apartments along the marina and get lunch. We ate at a place called Hogsbreathe Cafe. The food was good and the prices were cheap! We also did some more walking down the Esplenade which is like a boardwalk at home with a bunch of cute shops. We went grocery shopping for the first time at Coles and got some of the essentials for the apartment. We finally got internet too today! $37.50 per week per computer and that's with a 50% discount that our accommodations gave us! So expensive! Today was Jessica's birthday so we had cake for her and than went out to this club called 240V. Think of the most sketchy, grossest place and you'll picture 240. It smelled like pee, everyone was on heroine, they played techno and had crazy strobe lights. We didn't stay for very long because we all sobered up as soon as we walked in because we were so sketched out.

June 12, 2010

This morning we all got up early again. We went to a cafe near our hotel for breakfast. I tried to get a coffee but that didn't work our so well. They have terrible coffee and I don't know how to order or what to get... definitely not like Dunkin Donuts. Our director over on this side of the world Colin who will also be our teacher for 2 weeks, and tour guide on our 2 week outback trip picked all of us up from our hotel in Brisbane with a charter bus. Once again we loaded up all of our luggage and proceeded to the Brekki Creek Hotel for lunch. (Brekki is what they call breakfast here) We got to eat outside in the beer garden and had some interaction with some people at the bar. After lunch we all got back on the bus and traveled to Mooloolaba. We are going to be living in apartments right on the pacific ocean in Mooloolaba. We were all so anxious to get settled into our new homes. When the bus pulled up to the apartments everyone started freaking out. They were so nice! Alissa and I were speechless when we walked in. It was so nice 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 balconies... It finally hit us that we were in paradise.



The view from our balcony! --->

June 11, 2010

We all woke up around 5:30 today wide awake and unable to fall back asleep. The girls and I decided to walk around Brisbane again and actually enjoy the scenery. We walked around a cute little park with lots of art, and colorful stairs. As we were sitting on a bench enjoying breakfast we noticed a box labeled "Used Needles" Yup.. it was for drug users. Apparently they don't approve of the drug problem in Australia but they except it as a problem. We went to the Queen St. Mall, walked through King George Square, saw the City Hall, and had our first experience on the Central Railway.



A group of us to the train to the famous XXXX Brewery. It was a long tour of the factory which was fun to go through and at the end you got to try 4 different 4X beers and got dinner too :) The Summer Ale was a favorite for the girls and the brewery is one of the only places you can get it on tap. Once we got back to dt Brisbane we walked around a little longer and hit the hay early again.

June 10, 2010

We finally made it to Australia!! The plane landed in Sydney at 7:00 am. We had to go through customs which were no big deal, than take a shuttle to our gate for our next plane which was to Brisbane! We had to go through security again where my bags and suitcases got checked because I had food in them.. ha. We had a 2 hour layover, which actually ended up being a 3 hour layover due to wind conditions. The plane to Brisbane was much smaller and there was a lot more turbulence. This flight was only an hour but turned into an hour and a half because the plane before us hit birds on their way down so they had to clear the runway. So while they cleared the run way we circled Brisbane while the pilot described the area around us.

We finally got off the plane, and went to the baggage claim. All of our luggage made it safe and sound! From the airport Alissa, Kristina, Lauren, Johnny, Brian and myself all took a Mexicab to our near by hotel in Brisbane. The poor little driver had to load all of our luggage into the van and didn't even get tipped for doing it because Australian's don't tip! Our hotel was pretty nice, very cheap, and over looked downtown Brisbane. Brisbane is pretty much a smaller, cleaner N.Y.C. The first thing we wanted to do was find a way to tell our families that we had landed but that wasn't as easy as it sounds. With internet being so 1995 slow and costing $2.00 for 15 minutes it was hard to contact them. As we were walking around downtown Brisbane we found a 7/11 that sold calling cards. We each bought one but of course they didn't work! After getting a bit to eat we continued to walk around and finally found a Vodafone store. A few of us got a pay as you go phone and called home right away. While we were walking an Australian stopped us and asked if we were from America. When we answered yes he yelled "OMG ITS SOOO OBVIOUS!" It didn't take long for the New York crew to stand out. We all headed back to the hotel and tried to stay up late to avoid jet lag.. well 7:00 rolled around and I was out like a light.

June 8, 2010

Today I left for Australia! I met Alissa, Kristina, Lauren, and Johnny at JFK airport for our 6:55pm flight to the Los Angeles airport. This flight seemed so long and it was only 6 hours, I was nervous for the 14 hour flight ahead of me. The plane was HUGE! It had 2 floors but first class was upstairs so I didn't have the luxury of seeing what it looked like. The economy section on the other hand was nice and cozy with 10 seats across, 2 aisles, and a ton of bathrooms. Each seat had its own t.v with newly released movies, games, t.v shows, and other forms of entertainment. Alissa and I mostly chose to watch the plane tracker station to see where we were, and how far we had to go. They fed us a lot of interesting food on the plane, so we got a head start on the weird food in Australia. We landed at LAX at 9:30 (with the time change). We had a layover but our next stop was Sydney Australia! 14 hours on the plane with 2 meals dinner, and breakfast, a big snack and 10 hours of sleep. I pretty much only woke up when they told me it was time to eat. Its funny flying to Australia because you loose a day. It suddenly went from June 8th to the 10th right before our eyes.