Drive on the left?

We took our first road trip this past weekend! Apparently Australia gets a lot of foreign drivers in these parts because they had these signs all along the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road runs along the southern coast of Victoria and when you look out on the water you are basically facing Antarctica. You can feel it too. Check out the photo album from the weekend (Album 3 on the right). I took us 4 hours to get there but it was well worth it. Half of the fun was driving on the other side of the car and the road. Every time I wanted to turn, I accidentally turned the whippers on. LOL! I also had to shift with my left hand. Phil had a go at it as well. The sights were unbelievable. Most of the pics don't even do them justice.

I taught my first full lesson today to the eighth graders. They are notorious for being the worst behaved class on campus, but I think I managed them quite well for my first time. My cooperating teacher thought so too. :-) I actually liked that class a lot and I am looking forward to doing more work with them. I get to teach the 5th and 6th graders tomorrow!!! Wish me luck!.

I can't believe it's already the 4th week. The days are flying by and I have a feeling I will be back home in no time. I have already gained so much valuable experience through teaching, living with a new family and traveling in this country. It's amazing what I still have to learn about my own country.

I made pumpkin pie for my host family. It was the first time they had ever tried it and the first time I ever made one from scratch. I'll put a photo up of it in another album soon.

Hope every thing at home is well! Much Love....

Ein schönes Wochenende nach einer langen Woche.

This weekend was a nice one. Phil and I got to experience an "Aussie Barbie" with hot dogs and natural wonders. We fed the birds at the park which were wild but quite tame as you can see from the pic. While we were eating, one of the birds called a "Kookaburra" swooped down and swiped a hot dog from one of the girl's forks as she was putting it in a bun. LOL!

We also went to Phillip Island and saw surfer's beach, the koala sanctuary, Churchill Island and the penguin parade! There is a spot on the island where, every night at dusk, the penguins come ashore altogether and go into their burrows. It was really fun to watch! Check out the pictures from the weekend in "Photo Album 2" on the right side of this page.

As far as teaching goes, I had my first few lessons in the primary school and I am still observing a lot. I will start teaching full time at the primary level in just a few weeks and then at the secondary school a few weeks after that. Thats when it will really start to get busy!

Settled in...

Well, a week has already gone by. I am finally settling in to my "home" and getting to know the city a bit more. Phil and I went into downtown Melbourne yesterday and were so distracted by all the cool sights that we forgot to take any pictures. LOL! We ate in Chinatown which was really good and we did a lot of walking because it was such a nice day.

Today my host family took us up to one of the local "hills" which was more like a mountain. It's called "Mt. Dandenong". We could see all of Melbourne, Port Phillip Bay and some other mountain ranges from the top. This is a picture of us up there. It was really windy.

I start my second week tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. The school schedules are really crazy here. I have a different schedule everyday for 2 weeks and then it starts all over again. I just wrote it all out in my planner today.

I miss everyone at home already!!! This place is amazing but I have learned in my years of traveling that nothing ever compares to home.

First day of student teaching...

Well I wouldn't necessarily call it teaching just yet. I am still figuring out my "time table" (when you see the "", it usually means it's the Aussie way of saying it.)

I observed the primary school today and they welcomed me with a nice little sign in the front entrance. Of course my name was spelled wrong (like it always it) but it was still a nice effort on their part. Ironic how they are also advertising a spelling bee. :-)

The kids were funny but I think they thought I was even funnier. They asked me to say words like "slurp" and "tornado" and then giggled when I said it. They think Americans sound "funny". It was fun for me to have the accent this time though so I played along and laughed with them.

I'll have more to report hopefully once I get a good feel for what I will be doing on a regular basis. For now, it's time for bed. Good night! (or should I say good morning?) ;-)

First day in Melbin...

We arrived at around 10am in Melbourne and our coordinator, Kevin, drove us around first thing to give us a tour of the city. Check out "my photos" on the right hand side of this page to view the photos I took from the car ride. (They may not show up right away so if it doesn't work, check back again later.)

I still keep forgetting to go to the left side of the car when riding as the passenger. LOL! The city is beautiful and despite the dreary weather on Saturday, we really enjoyed the trip.

A bit about Melbourne...

Melbourne (pronounced /mel.bən/) is the state capital of Victoria, the southern most state on the mainland of Australia. Melbourne sits on Port Phillip Bay and is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3.7 million.

The seasons are reversed from Minneapolis so we (Phil and I) will be arriving in the fall and it will be winter time for most of our trip. Melbourne's climate is known for its changeable weather conditions. The phrase "four seasons in one day" is part of popular culture and observed by many visitors to the city. Just like home!  Although it is colder than most other Australian capital cities in winter, the lowest maximum on record is 39.9 degrees Fahrenheit and snowfalls are extremely rare.

I am pretty sure we will be able to handle the moderate temps and I am really excited about the beaches!

The countdown is almost over...

I am getting ready to leave this Thursday for Australia!! I encourage you all to visit my blog regularly if you want updated info and pictures from my travel and experiences.