Australia Zoo

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The Australia Zoo is owned by Steve Erwin's family. 

He wanted people to fall in love with animals through interactions with them,

so it is a very hands-on zoo.

There are areas where you are right in with the animals-no fences.

It's neat that they trust the visitors to treat the animals well.

I was able to feed and pat the Kangaroos

(Aussies say "pat" rather then "pet")

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I saw lots of crocs and they even had a crocodile show.

The guy on the right is a wombat. 

They have poor vision, like to burrow and are soft. 

Below are a tasmanian devil and a dingo.

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Holding the koala was my favorite part of the day. 

Feeding that elephant was pretty fun too.

It was an excellent experience and the coolest zoo I have been to. 

Thanks Steve!

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organizing pictures for this blog in an aesthetically pleasing fashion is difficult and frustrating.

I am doing my best, but I apologize if they look like a mess!

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Cricket

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Last night I went to Cricket with Lauretta -she works with Karen- her mate Dave, and his mate. 

This is what I learned...
Aussies either love or hate it.

A lot of words I didn't know and don't really remember. 

The games/matches are pretty long. 

The object is to hit the ball to the outer ring, if you do your team gets 6 points/runs.

Queensland was playing against New South Wales. 

New South Wales won.

The games against international teams are much more popular... notice all the empty seats.

One of the players is really famous.. I took a picture of him, but I don't remember his name.

The men in front of us were entertaining and I liked their hats. 

After the cricket we went to Lauretta and Dave's house and had dessert.

she told us about some of her travels and showed us all her lonely planet books. 

She has close to 20!

Then, she brought us home around 10:30.

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Mail Call!

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All these lovely post cards went out in the mail today!

Check your mail boxes in about 10 days. 

If you would like your very own let me know. 

Tonight I am going to Cricket. 

More to come on that tomorrow. 

Happy Friday!

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Another Umbrella Hits The Dust

 

 

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There was a huge storm about an hour before the end of the school day.

A student needed to go to the office to meet her mum.

She was scared to go alone, so I walked/ran with her.

I got drenched.
My umbrella didn't fair too well either... 

As you can see, there was other damage around the school too.

What an afternoon!

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Australia or America?

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I have been surprised how similar Australia and the US seem. 

There are many familiar stores- most surprising to me Target!

It is more like a department store though. 

Driving down the street, it reminds me of California, 

lots of palm trees and other trees that are similar. 

One big difference, we are driving on the left side of the road. 

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A New Home

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            *                                            This is my new home. 

It is in Mansfield, 
about 10 minutes away from downtown Brisbane.
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This is my room.

Really Sage's but, 

she is sharing with Janara while I am here.

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Troy, Karen, Tyler, Janara, and Sage make up my host family. 

They are very friendly and do everything they can to insure we have an excellent stay. 

The girls LOVE spending time with Shilo and me. 

All three kids go to different schools. 

Sage's school only had 18 students and 5 teachers!

what else would you like to know?

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My First Day of School

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My day began with a long bus ride, 

but not before my host family esscorted me to the bus stop. 

Each morning I will get on at the bus at Karen's work. 

She wanted to make sure we got on the right bus today,

so they all waited at the platform and waved goodbye as we drove off.

It was sweet. 

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45 minutes later I walked off the bus into my new adventure.

My teacher is an energetic, welcoming, eager to learn and teach, South African. 

There are 26 students in my class I think I learned 3 names today :  /. 

I will be learning with the students in Maths and Social Studies this week.

(Mass and Indigenous People)

The school is different, but so simmular all at the same time. 

I am excited. I am confident I am going take a lot away from these 6 weeks!

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Brisbane

What a great way to begin this journey!

My long weekend has been filled with 

exploring, beautiful weather, and excellent food. 

On Friday Shilo and I wandered "the city."
That is what the locals call the down town area.

I loved the Botanical Gardens. 

Saturday was my first Australian Barbecue,

Troy made delicious chicken and kangaroo. 

Sunday Karen and Troy dropped us off on South Bank.

It was a beautiful day in the sun.

We walked along the bank, 

enjoyed ice cream, street performers, the view of the city, and pesto pizza.

When I got home I jumped in the pool to cool off. 

For dinner we ate lamb roast.

I would have thought it was steak if they wouldn't have told me.
All in all it was a fabulous weekend!