All I Want For Christmas.. Is a Little Dingo Pup!

Today was such an incredible day! We woke up early and headed to this small wildlife sanctuary about 20 minutes away called Jirrahlinga. This "zoo" fosters the native wildlife as well as local dogs, cats, and other pets for boarding. It was a located on a five acre farm and we arrived right when it opened so we basically had it all to ourselves! We had about an hour to walk around and see all of the animals before one of the staff members came out to show us koalas, baby wombats, and my personal "favourite" the little Dingo puppy! She was so precious and didn't want to eat me or the little ones at all. Instead, she gave me Dingo kisses, LOTS! I just wish I had room to bring one home with me... We watched all of the animals for awhile each and I was excited to get to see the koalas a bit more active this time around. They were running and hopping all over the ground, it was so cool! I also learned that baby koalas are called "Joeys", which was weird because I thought only Kangaroos had Joeys! Learn something new everyday.....

Fun Facts of the day:

1. Koalas, Kangaroos, Wombats, Tasmanian Devils, and Wallabies are all marsupials, which means they have a distinctive pouch to carry their young!

2. Koalas are not bears!

3. Wombats can run up to 40 kilos (translation: almost 25mph) Pretty funny, I actually would love to see that- considering they look like precious balls of chunk!

We watched the different birds for a bit too because we were quite amazed at some of the Cockatoos speaking to us "Hello," they would say as we walked past! There was two beautiful Peacocks there, one all white and the other the normal blue and green that you usually see. They both had the feathers down when we first saw them, but luckily something triggered and they both shot out their huge wings (or whatever they are called). It was so gorgeous! The pictures didn't really turn out that good because of course there was a fence keeping them protected from all of the randoms who walk by everyday! But, still very cool to see. We saw Kookaburras, owls, parakeets, lorikeets, emus, and so many more! We stopped in the gift shop before leaving and after making our purchases the lady was nice enough to take us around to the employee only area to show us their new rescue Wallaby. It was a three month old baby Wallaby who feel out of it's Mum's pouch while she was being chased by a "mean dog." It was so tiny, soft, and cuddly! It was the cutest little Wallaby I've ever seen!

After the sanctuary, we came home and started decorating some more for Christmas. Shani had a birthday party to go to for one of the girl's from her class, so after she was dropped off we (Shane, Carol, Charli and Me) decided to take the dogs to the river path and take a walk. It was such a beautiful day outside today, nice and sunny with a little wind! Perfect!

After the walk and picking Shani back up from the birthday party, we all came back home for a sleep! I was a bit adventurous today and requested that we try the kangaroo meat that they had been saving, for tea tonight! (I know! What am I turning into!?) I was a bit nervous to eat it but was a big girl and sucked it up! After my first bite, I felt really bad for liking it! We will definitely have to purchase some at Jungle Jim's for everybody to try- it tasted just like steak, I don't think anyone would even know the difference!

We ended the night with the nightly tradition... singing the twelve days of Christmas. Jaimee was out with a friend tonight so Shani took her turn of putting the ornament on. The song is now: "On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 6 toy soldiers.... 5 peppermint candies... 4 scarlet mittens... 3 little penguins... 2 Christmas trees... and a teddy bear hanging on the tree!"

It's about that time to start school back tomorrow, and I can't believe that I am getting ready to spend my last five days teaching as a student! This week is a busy one; filled with teaching, movie night (Where the Wild Things Are), running, learning to make "Pav" with Shane's Mum, and the Bellaire staff Christmas Party on Friday night. I'm excited to get to hang out with the teachers and staff one last time outside of school, it should be a very great night! I am sort of bummed at the fact Andrea is already in Sydney touring around without me, she has become my travel buddy in this beautiful country! However, we both have to do Sydney all by our lonesome. She leaves on the 10th of December so couldn't make it to Sydney with me, and I still have to teach so I couldn't switch my flight to go with her. So, it's off to Sydney early on the 12th of December, for me!!! (6am flight- woo!) I will spend the day in Sydney, touring around, taking a cruise around the harbor, shopping at the market, visiting Bondi Beach, and if I feel like spending $150 dollars- doing the Harbour Bridge Climb (haven't decided if I want to do that as my Christmas present to myself or not!) Probably not, considering the flight situation I had on the way over, I better save all I can now in case I have to buy another ticket. Furthermore, my flight back to the States departs Sydney on the 13th around 11am, however doesn't look very good for buddy pass riders (Figures, just my luck!) Well, I guess that means I may be spending one more day in Sydney! (It could be worse!) I will be optimistic as I usually am and just pray that I get a seat on Sunday. Can't wait to see everyone verrrrrrrrrrrrry soon! Love and Miss you. See you in 7 days! (Or maybe more!?)

Only 12 days of Christmas in the land down under!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

DECEMBER 1st..... What? I cannot believe how fast the time is going by. The more I think about how much longer I have in Australia, the more and more excited I get to see everyone at home. So, to answer some of your questions- "Yes, I will be coming home!" However, I will miss all of the new friends and little ones here a lot. Everything that I have done here has been an amazing experience and I am extremely grateful for being able to take on this opportunity! What a trip of a lifetime... I can't wait to come back already! "Oh yes- there will be a next time!" (mark my words)...

The 1st of December starts off very festive in the Wilkens' household. It all starts with putting up the tree and the little ones having a go at putting all of the deckies on! Then... Carol, Jaimee, and Me (this year) going around and switching around the ornaments so only one is hanging on a single branch instead of three! The night ends with someone pulling out a little "surprise" from the countdown Christmas tree and changing the lyrics to the "Twelve Days of Christmas" to match the ornament that was pulled out of the tree. Being the G.O.H. (Guest of Honor) I got to pull out the first Christmas ornament. It was a teddy bear, so we came up with the lyrics... "On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me.... a teddy bear hanging on the tree!"

Day 2: "On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me... "2 Christmas trees, and a teddy bear hanging on the tree!"

Day 3: "On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me... "3 little Penguins, 2 Christmas trees, and a teddy bear hanging on the tree!"

Day 4: "On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... "4 scarlet mittens, 3 little Penguins, 2 Christmas trees, and a teddy bear hanging on the tree!"

Day 5-12: TBA

Unfortunately, I will not be here the rest of the days to Christmas so the family said they would gladly film each night and send it to me! I will be excited to hear what the rest of the song will be!!!!! Such a cute way to get the family together for just a little bit each night and be silly!!

So, as the days of December fly by I'm getting ready to prepare for my last and final week of teaching (AS A STUDENT)! Graduation is nearly here (December 19th 9am at NKU) :) and I am so ready to be a College Grad and look for a teaching job already and HAVE MY OWN CLASSROOM! I've already got some ideas up my sleeve to bring the life of Australia into my future classroom!

This week at school, I accomplished a lot more teaching. I taught lessons in Maths, Writing, and of course led my usual Reading rotations. I set up something unique for the kids to do and that was to write to little Michael's class in Pittsburgh. I got in contact with his teacher and set up a pen pal exchange. We finally finished out letters and the kids just loved hearing that they were writing to American students and loved it even more to hear that one of them was my cousin! Now, all I hear is "Miss Salyers, you have a cousin!" Like I never knew what a cousin was or even if I knew that I had some!" So my response, is "Yes, I have MANY!"

Today at Bellaire (Friday 4th December), we took all four Prep grades on an Excursion to Rippleside Park. A huge open area right along the beach. This was a "Healthy Me" excursion and we (the teachers) had five different rotations for each group of students to attend throughout the day. My rotation was the "ball games" rotation, so I had to brush up on the Aussie ball games the night before (Thank the Lord for Google)... I taught myself how to play Poison Ball and Tunnel Ball then just made up a few as I went along. Luckily the games for Preps were pretty easy and easily explainable too! The day was a success and of course the little mates were worn out by the end of it! We were at the park from 9:30am - 2:00pm (so basically the entire school day!) The kids enjoyed every minute of it and I finally got some Australian sun!!! (Unfortunately, now I have tank top lines!)

We made it back to school just in time to end the day with icy poles and make it to the Assembly. Which every Friday, all of the students, staff, and parents join together for the last half hour of the day outside for an Assembly. During this time, the Principal announces important information, awards are given, Student of the Week students are recognized, and anything you can think of is presented. My favorite part of Assembly however is at the very beginning.... when everyone stands for the singing of the Australian National Anthem. (Funny- but my first day... I started singing "The Star Spangled Banner!") Whoops- I've just about learned the words to "Advance Australia Fair" however I just love listening to all of the silly duffers sing the tune! Lucky for you, I filmed one for your viewing pleasure! Charli cracked me up during the song because she saw me with the camera and stopped singing and started smiling for the camera (ha, it was pretty funny)! Today, was Andrea's last day at Bellaire so I'm all alone there next week- not that we ever had time to get together during the school day so I'm sure it won't be much different. I will just know that she is in Sydney, sight-seeing without me! :(

This weekend we are planning to head to one last zoo, so that I can finally get to know the famous "Dingos"....I'm pretty excited to be having a low key weekend, as it is my final weekend in Australia! Well, I guess technically not the final one... but the final weekend with the Wilkens' crew! So, it will be nice to be able to spend the entire weekend with all of them!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone soon and I'm sure you are thinking the same about me! I just know how much you all miss me and are ready for me to come home (by the way; that's me ignoring the comments like "2 months have already passed, are you sure?" or "you haven't been gone long enough for anyone to miss you yet!") Well, I know deep down that everyone is dying to see me and we will just leave it at that.

Therefore, if you have any final requests that you wish for me to bring back to you. Please send them promptly- as I am heading into my final week in Australia and ending in Sydney on the 12th. That will be the last day for anyone to get any Aussie item- so be thinking! Although, there will definitely be another chance... just probably not for a few years- so if you think you can wait that long... be my guest!

Can't wait to see everyone very soon - Countdown = 8 days Mates!!!!

Does anyone know the meaning of Thanksgiving?

Sorry I am a bit behind in my writing. I realized that I'd only had a few short weeks left and started getting busier and busier with things to do around town.

So I will back up a few weeks and let you in on what I have been doing:

Thursday, November 26th (Most importantly: Jill's Birthday, of course- and THANKSGIVING). I believe the number one question I got from people back home was "What are you going to do for Thanksgiving, (unfortunately followed by:) Do they celebrate Thanksgiving there?" (Those people included.... Oh never mind, I won't embarrass you like that!) Anyways, come on, America- where have you been. WHY DO WE CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING!?

After I had my laugh at everyone who asked me that... It was a good day though, I was able to explain to my class about Thanksgiving (which I'm sure they know more about it now than some of you at home... sad!) I also was invited to a "Thanksgiving Dinner" at Claire's house prepared by her Mum (who was so cute, she had been planning the dinner since Tuesday). Claire's brother's girlfriend is from Michigan and just recently moved out here to finish her Masters' degree. Her Mum thought it would be nice to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for her since she was away from home...and it is such an important holiday for us! Well, Claire asked Andrea & I over for dinner as well. Boy, was it delicious- a scrumptious meal which included sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, turkey.. of course, and a delicious Pumpkin Pie (homemade). She went all out for us Americans, it was so great! Made me feel right at home on Thanksgiving!

As my days and weeks have been going by faster and faster; Carol's birthday dinner was celebrated the next night (after Thanksgiving). Andrea and I were going to actually go into Melbourne that night, but luckily decided to stay in and catch a train early Saturday morning (best idea we ever had).... Only because I didn't have to miss out on Carol's delicious birthday dinner she prepared herself and we also saved some money on a room that night!

We took a train up into Melbourne early Saturday morning and headed to the Vic Market. This place was amazingly huge stuffed with so many souvenirs, shirts, aboriginal artworks, and so much more. I did manage to purchase a few things for all of my mates at home, but still have several of you to buy for. I didn't think it was going to be this hard finding things for people, but unfortunately I'm running out of time and still have some things to get for many of you.

We spent a few hours at the Vic Market, then headed more into the city to see the famous Myer department store Christmas window display. The theme this year was Olivia Helps with Christmas, for those of you that do not read Children's literature... Olivia is a little piggy! The Myer windows were amazing, as you walked down the path each window told a different part of the story and had mechanical characters acting out the story as it was read to you over the loudspeaker! So neat- Sophie would have loved this! (Maybe I can bring her back with me one day!?)

We then went into Federation Square, where I loved looking at all of the building structures and out into the city. We were a bit disappointed because we were trying to be good tourist and take pictures of us at each spot, however there was no sign what-so-ever that said "Federation Square." We ended with a tour of the beautiful St. Paul's Cathedral. It was such a gorgeous church and they had the most amazing picture of Jesus hanging on the wall.

After we returned home from Melbourne (back to Geelong, that is), I rushed back to the Wilkens' to get ready for the Ballet concert that the two little ones were in. Carol loved the fact that she got to go to a "concert" on her actual birthday! It was actually pretty interesting, I've never really been into ballet but it was pretty cool to watch some of these girls show off some of their talents! Of course, the little ones were the cutest though! That night, I met up with 5 of the teachers from Bellaire. We had a blast at the Edge bar, owned by a Geelong footy player- and our "favourite" place to go when we go out in Geelong! We ended the night dancing our hearts away at Lamby's! It was such a great time getting to hang out with Blanche, Claire, Abby, Laura, and Kandice!

Needless to say, Sunday was a pretty relaxed day as I had been running out non-stop the past few days, not to mention working from 8-33opm all of those days as well (well, besides Saturday). But, it was all worth it (the sight-seeing, the ballet concert, the teacher's night out, and even the hangover!) :)

Much love, Cheers!

My Life in the Land Down Under!

Can you believe I only have three more weeks in this beautiful country? Are you sure you are ready for me to come home? I have seen so many amazing things since I have been here and have been able to do so many things too! For example, I have been kissed by a kangaroo... touched a koala... been insulted by a Tassie devil.... have met many amazing people... and even tried some different foods, to much of your all's surprise!!!! The picture above is from our night out in our "hometown" of Geelong. (Andrea, Me, Kirby, and Sarah) It was Sarah's birthday on 23/11/09 and we went out to the newly modeled "Edge" bar that overlooked the bay in downtown Geelong. Sarah is another student teacher from Alabama who is heading back the week before Andrea and I are, so it was nice to catch up with her and hang out for a bit! Kirby actually teaches with Sarah at Barwon Valley School, she is from Aussie. Sarah is also a special education major, which was cool to talk to her a bit since that is my major as well! It was fun meeting them and their friends! We all had a fun night! LOTS of money was spent, thankfully it wasn't any of ours! Long story- tell you all later!

This past week at Bellaire has been great. I have been doing a lot more teaching of the lessons in reading, writing, and maths. We did a Safety Walk last Friday and walked around the block at school. We practiced crossing the street, reading safety signs, and talked about what they mean. They all did a great job picking out the signs and practicing their "Stop, Listen, Look, Think" technique when crossing the road. I have been observed on my two formal lessons and all of my paperwork for graduation is nearly finished! Crazy- I can't believe 4 years of College is almost done too. My first lesson I taught was about report writing, we wrote about our Swimming Program that we participated in for two weeks. They did pretty good in writing like a reporter and most of them enjoyed pretending to be a news reporter for share time!

I also did a lesson on Subtraction. I bought the little mates "Smarties" (no, they aren't like ours). However, they are similar to our M&Ms, I know weird! We did subtraction of numbers to ten and the higher Maths groups did numbers to 20. They all did a great job on this and loved using the Smarties as their counters! Good Onya, Lauren! :) What can I say, I'm just that good! Ha, a bit slap happy tonight... Couldn't fall asleep last night, I guess its catching up with me!!

We have a lot going on this week at school too with finishing up assessments, teaching lessons, and writing to little Michael's class in Pittsburgh! I'm setting up a Pen Pal thing to his classroom with my Preps! We are going to Google Earth Pittsburgh tomorrow and show them Michael's school and around town, which will be fun and exciting!! Hopefully, they can keep in touch, however we didn't really think about the fact that the school year here is nearly over! Oh well, still will be fun for all of the kids here and in the States! We also have two more excursions coming up, one this week to the Highton Shops (we are doing a healthy walk, walking to the fresh fruit store to buy a fruit!) Yum! Next week, we are going to Rippleside, which is located along the Waterfront in Geelong. We are going there for a fun-filled day of activities! I'm pretty excited to spend the day outside playing on the beach with all of my little mates!

Other than getting ready for lessons, excursions, pen pals, mailing things home, and planning things to do while I'm in Sydney, I have just been soaking in each day that I'm spending here. We went up to Chadstone Shopping Centre, which is the largest shopping center in Australia. They had all kinds of different stores, mostly designer which was really cool to see. We had a lot of fun there, it was such a pretty mall. We got our picture with Santa last weekend at Market Square, which was fun... but Santa wouldn't let me sit on his knee (he said the "big girls" get the sides of the chair!" Whatever, Santa!) Andrea and I are planning on heading up to Melbourne for the night Friday after school, so that should be a good time. Some of the girls she met on her Contiki Tour were supposed to meet us, but it doesn't look like they are going to be able to make it now. We have a day of things planned however, we are going to wake up Saturday and go to the Vic Market, which is a massive shopping day! I'm pretty excited about that!!

I hope you all are doing well, I can't wait to see everyone! If anyone wants to join in trip number 2 I would be glad to show you around the places that I already know! :) Someone better join me next time, you all would love it here IT'S AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Checking off the Bucket List!

Another great week down in Australia, can you believe how fast time is flying!? This past Thursday, we celebrated my birthday with the family at the Wilkens' house. Shane's parents, Bob & Maxine and Carol's mum, Joan came over for dinner as well. Maxine is the best Pavlova baker in the world, so they made her bake one for me for my birthday! Pavlova was named after the great Russian Ballerina, Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue type of cake with a crispy crust but soft yummy inner layer! Oh, you all would love it! Matt, we are making this our next project to try and bake when I come home! This dessert is extremely popular in Australia and in the Wilkens' family, only because Shane's Mum is the best PAV maker ever! Pav's are served for celebratory occasions and Maxine isn't allowed into any occasions without a "Pav" present!

We had such a yummy dinner for my birthday celebration! It was "Chicken Wellington's", a puffed pastry stuffed with chicken, bacon, mushrooms, and cheese. This was served along with veges and a potato! We also enjoyed a delicious chocolate sponge cake with the candles designed like a "23." Crazy, it didn't feel like my birthday at all- but it was nice being able to celebrate it so many times! :) The Wilkens' got me a unique pair of earrings and necklace made out of iron ore which was made in Australia! Joan (Carol's Mum) got me a calendar of Aussie animals and Bob & Maxine gave me a calendar of all of the gorgeous Australian scenery! (Great keepsakes!) The Wilkens' also threw in some different flavored Tim Tams (which are all delicious). I honestly don't know how I'm going to get all of this food home and past Customs!?! Can someone figure that out for me!?!

This weekend was spent at Healesville Sanctuary just outside of Melbourne. It was an open range zoo full of "ONLY" Australian wildlife! We had a blast walking around the zoo and looking and reading about all of the different animals! Healesville is a sanctuary that cares for over 1500 injured/orphaned wild animals every year. I was able to see so many different animals and learn so many things about them all. Australia wildlife is so interesting and amazing... I really enjoy being able to experience all of this! I watched platypus eat yabbies (little shrimp), looked at a lizard that had no legs (and no it wasn't a snake), and saw the Australian Easter Bunny (Greater Bilby) funny looking creature. Look him up if you have time! I almost got attacked through the fence by a Brolga (which is a type of Crane), apparently his mate was nesting and from just walking into the area, I saw him and he was right up next to the fence... so I got down to look at him and he shot his beak through the fence at me! I learned later that he was only trying to protect his mate! Oops! I saw flying foxes (look just like bats), Laughing Kookaburras, Echidna's, and so many more amazing animals! During this visit at the zoo, so many things were checked off of my bucket list. I was able to watch Koala's eat gum leaves and climb around in the trees. I fed kangaroos corn & carrots out of my own hand, and even was special enough to receive a little smooch from little Skippy! This kangaroo stayed by me and let me pet and rub under his neck for nearly over five minutes... When he decided to finally leave and get more food from the other visitors, he licked my arm! I wish I had my camera out because that would have been the coolest picture ever! (side note: I still have eaten kangaroo, and now that I had this experience.... I'm not too sure I can bring myself to do it now!?)

Of course the Tassie devil made his appearance in Healesville too! These are my new favorite animal, I think! Besides the koalas and kangaroos, of course! But this little devil, had quite the personality (if you see what I mean?) His area was blocked off by an electric fence so we couldn't get too close, but I climbed around the fenced in area and stood on top of a rock near the devil to try to get him up to move around.... I'm fascinated with making these marsupials get up and move when I see them! After making many noises, he finally perked up and started walking around his area... We followed him every where he went and once he stopped, I was able to get a few good photos! Unfortunately, to our surprise he decided to give us a little bit of how he felt about us waking him up... He came right over in front of us and squatted- "Yes, Mr. Devil pooed right in front of us!" When he finished, he rub his bottom on the ground (I guess that's how they wipe, no thumbs?) and went right back to where he was before & layed down. (That was him saying, "I'll show you American!") Whoops- Oh well at least we got a show!

This weekend was so great and so much fun for the little girls and most importantly, Me! :) I can't believe it's nearly Thanksgiving. A teacher from Bellaire has "American" sister/brother in laws that her siblings married and only one of them live here in Australia. Her mom is cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for the American daughter-in-law and Claire (the teacher at Bellaire) invited me over for Thanksgiving dinner! I'm not too sure what the plans are exactly yet but I figured that would be fun! Carol's birthday is on the 28th of November, so we are having her birthday dinner on that Friday (and we get another PAVLOVA!) Marcelle (Andrea's host mum) talked about having a Thanksgiving BBQ for Andrea and I as well, so don't worry I won't be missing out on the Thanksgiving feast. I'm sure it will be like my birthday was and I will probably get about four Thanksgiving dinners!

It's almost time for me to come back home.. Is everyone getting excited? I can't believe how quickly time is flying! I definitely have to plan a trip back (don't worry, it won't be for awhile... got to save up again!) I want to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef (but it's so far away from here and I'm running out of weekends to get these things done.) So, I'm taking Claire's advice from school and saving some things to do for Round 2!!

Can't wait to see everyone! Miss & Love you all!

23 in Tassie!

"Turnin' 23 in Tassie!"

We made it to Tasmania! We spent the weekend walking around Hobart and touring breweries, pubs, the waterfront, a Zoo, and of course Australia's first ever Casino (Wrest Point) and "No, I didn't win anything! We stayed in a hostel, in which you had to enter down this dark alley way (pretty scary, arriving there late at night) and not to mention the man that was being escorted out of the door by police as we were walking in! However, it worked out because we spent most of the day/night out and about in Hobart! We learned a lot about Hobart on all of our bus rides, the bus drivers were nice enough to throw in some Hobart history while taking us places. We learned about Mt Wellington(which is the tallest mountain in Hobart) and that Hobart is the second oldest city! Hobart reminded me of a mixture between NYC and Chicago- It was too small to be NYC but too big to be Chicago. However, Hobart is a waterfront city and was mainly operating by the port and bay's that surrounded it. Andrea pointed out that it looked European'ish too! Which we saw a lot of European buildings and the green scenery, that I can recall from pictures I have seen from Europe. Next on my list, a trip to EUROPE!?! Any takers??

Our first experience was touring the Cascade Brewery. We walked for about thirty to forty minutes to get to this brewery, but it was well worth the exercise. Free beer and a gorgeous scenery! We were walking around the brewery and got to see where the beer was brewed, packaged, shipped, and much more! My favorite part of the tour was watching all of the bottles go through the assembly line. Getting filled, labeled, cased and separated into 6 packs/cases, and boxed up! It also gave me a new insight on beer, I think I tried about eight different kinds of beer while I was in Tassie! I have a few new favorite ones that I'm hoping I can find back home, if not I may need to start shipping some now!

After the brewery, we walked back into the city and stopped for a small appetizer! Of course, we filled up on those so we didn't do dinner that night! We checked out some of the pubs around Salamanca and enjoyed people watching for a while! Our first stop was at a place called Grape Bar Bottleshop, it was a great place (if you are over 40) and dance old school! We were drawn in because it was a piano bar and we were in the mood to listen to music. After some of the old school dance moves were pulled out by some of the little ole' ladies, we bolted! Headed down to Sam Boag's (a younger joint). This pub was cool, it had a lot of neat artifacts, stained glass hanging all over, and it was even cooler because it was almost MY 23rd BIRTHDAY! It didn't really hit me that it was my birthday until, our new friends (the army and navy dudes) brought in a birthday cake with candles! Needless to say, I was surprised and wasn't expecting it! It was nice though, because it didn't really feel like my birthday because it was hot, 26 degrees (Celsius) which is hotter than my birthday is ever at home and I was in Tasmania! So, that made it feel a little more like my birthday, which was nice!

On my actual birthday, we spent most of the day walking around the Zoo in Richmond, Tasmania. We started the day off at the Salamanca Market (which was down the street from our hostel) and just walked around looking at all of the great things that there were to buy! (We both pointed out that this market reminded us of a high class garage sale) so sorry everyone, you didn't get anything from Tasmania! The Zoo was amazing though, unfortunately our bus driver's hours meant that we had to stay 3 hours at the zoo. I thought this wouldn't be a problem (thinking of spending 3 hours at Cincy Zoo, I would be fine... I could finally see the whole entire zoo and not worry about rushing through it!) However, this zoo was a tad bit smaller than Cincy Zoo... ha a LOT smaller.

It was an open range zoo which was amazing because that meant we could walk around in the areas where the animals were. We both pet a koala, an Albino Wallabee, and aggravated a Tassie Devil! We also got to feed emu's, camels, a ostrich, little horses, goats, ducks, and llamas! Because we were there for so looong... We did everything twice!! This made my birthday pretty exciting because it was my first time seeing a koala and kangaroo/wallabee & a tassie devil in person! After the zoo, we came back and got ready for the night (my birthday night!) Our first stop was a pub crawl.... which was hilarious! Our tour guide was about 60yrs. of age and the whole group of people were married couples! We couldn't stop laughing at the fact that we were the youngest in the group and the only singles! The tour was interesting though and we got to learn more about Hobart, other than the pubs as well! We stopped off for our first drink at Victorian Tavern (which was originally an Irish Pub) and this was where I tried "Cascade First Harvest" (the beer made from Hops)... It was ok, but I wasn't a huge huge fan! So, I won't be looking for that one when I go home!

After the pub crawl (which consisted of two drinks), we decided to head out for a nice Italian dinner. We ate bruschetta and a calzone and downed a bottle of my new favorite wine (Frogmore Creek).... It was delicious! After dinner, we headed back out to the pubs on Salamanca and then the casino, where I didn't win anything! I also didn't bet much either, so that was ok! Salamanca Place, was the place to be this weekend! It had the best pubs, cafes', restaurants, and of course our "favorite 24 hour bakery" that we went to every single night in Hobart! We made it around the the Tasmania Museum & Art Gallery, which was very interesting. This building was built in 1863 and holds all kinds of Tasmania artifacts, pieces of art (of course) and Aboriginal artifacts. My favorite area of the museum was the animals and botanical areas and the Antarctica display they had going on! Before we went out on the town one night, we sat in the Parliament House park and "people watched" and rested from our long walk to Cascade. The Parliament House was beautiful, it was originally a hotel but is now one of the oldest civic buildings in Hobart. In my book, I read that it was designed by John Lee Archer and built by convicts (who were mainly in Hobart back in that day, because Tasmania- or Van Diemen's Land as they used to call it was the spot to send all of the convicts.. even from Ireland, Europe, etc...) But anyways, John Lee Archer- related some how?? *Lou, you are a computer man- you can take that on as a project!*

When I arrived back in Geelong, it was 36 degrees (Celsius).... which is 95 degrees for my USA friends! I went with Carol, Shane, and Charli to the local pool and layed out in the sun for a bit... Well, I was actually in the pool most of the time because it was so hot! We left the pool and headed to the market to pick up tea. (Which is "dinner") We were having a barbecue! Everyone got to eat hamburgers, but Carol, Jaimee, and I all got to eat CHOPS! (No, not pork chops)..... "Baa Baa".... All I could think of was Mary's poor little lamb! So, yes.... I'm a changed girl- I'm trying all different kinds of foods- meats, veges, and drinks! In Hobart, I tried avocado, cucumber, goat cheese, and eight different beers! :)

Today, back at school we celebrated my birthday! The kids enjoyed it because I brought in cookies (or biscuits) as they would call them! I got to wear the birthday hat and even got a birthday sticker! They sang "Happy Birthday" to me in the morning and even added a little twist onto the song... It was so cute! We had a fun day celebrating my birthday and tomorrow we get to celebrate again because it is Mr. Holloway's birthday! (The other teacher that I am following at Bellaire, since I am blessed with a team teaching classroom that has 38 students in it!) I love that style actually, it seems to work very well here at Bellaire!

Hope everyone enjoyed my birthday! I miss ya'll and can't wait to see everyone here soon... I'm down to my final month, already! Can you believe it!? I will be back before you know it and it will be like I was never gone! CONGRATS TO SOPHIE FOR USING HER BIG GIRL POTTY! I'M SO SAD I MISSED THAT BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT.... She better be a pro at it by the time I get home so I can SCREAM "YAH SOPHIE!!!!!!!!!!" Miss & Love you all!

"It's Already NOVEMBER!?"

Well, my time sure is flying by here... I can't believe it's already NOVEMBER (the best month of the year) Why..... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!! And MY BIRTHDAY WEEK! And MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!! (Nope, you aren't getting away from that chant this year everyone.. still get to hear it from the other side of the world)! It's even better this year because it is my first SPRING/SUMMER Birthday and I GET TWO OF THEM! (November 7th in Aussie and November 7th in the US of A)!!! Boy, am I one lucky girl! So this week has been flying by at school and the PREPs & Juniors (Grades K-2) are still in taking their swimming field trip everyday! This field trip is such a great experience for me because it really tests my abilities as a teacher : 1. Make sure students eat a bit of their lunch before they leave. 2. Make sure each student gets dressed and puts all of their belongings back into their bags. 3. Make sure every student gets out of school and onto the bus. 4. Make sure each student is inside the Aquatic center. 5. Assist the students with swimming caps and goggles. 6. Take students to the toilet during swimming if they need to go. 7. Assist students in getting dressed and make sure they put all of their belongings back into their bags. 8. Make sure each student leaves and gets on the bus at the Aquatic Center. 9. Make sure each student gets back to school safely and finishes the rest of their lunch! Keep in mind- they only swim for 45 minutes each day, so all of that has to be done pretty fast! Woo- it's hard work being a teacher... My mind has to fly in a hundred different places all at the same time... "Help this one with their swimming cap and goggles, take this one to the toilet, tie this one's shoe, this one lost her bathers (that's bathing suit), etc... etc.... No wonder why I go to bed so early!" :) But, that's what makes it all fun, exciting and worth it... Everyday it's something new, which I LOVE!

November 2nd was the Melbourne Cup (I couldn't attend the races, unfortunately) but still placed a bet in the staff sweeps that were going on at school that day! Of course, I didn't go for the high rollers table, and just stuck with the dollar bets. I was nervous to spend a lot because you weren't able to choose your horses (it was a Sweeps) so you put your name down and a horse was drawn for you. But, I wish I would have put more down now.. because apparently I WON some cash! Which was exciting, I'm not exactly sure how much yet, but I'm sure I will find out tomorrow at school! I have been taking a lot more control in the classroom this week which is great considering I am supposed to have a four week transition period (which seems a bit long). I was really excited the other day, I was laminating books the kids made while they were out at recess and I looked up and saw my name had made it on the "S" word wall, with all of my S's underlined! (And, even with the correct spelling! GO PREPs!)

Earlier this week, I took the kids to the computer lab and did a lesson on WORD (we just wrote a paragraph about our weekend) which was fun... BUT, I definitely have A LOT more respect for computer teachers now! Every second, I heard "Ms. Salyers, my computer is doing this... or that?" Or "Ms. Salyers, mine doesn't look like that." Woo- talk about a work out! I also did a lot more morning introductions before we move into the reading groups. I taught a introduction lesson on punctuation and high frequency words. I got to be in charge of the guided reading groups, handwriting, and DKU (Deep Knowledge Unit) where we talk about things like how medicine keep us safe, or making a trust hand, etc... The little things in life that the kids should learn to keep in the back of their minds! My classroom management still needs a bit of improvement I would say, a few of the students are still trying to test me (mainly, ONE). But for the most part, they are all pretty well behaved and listen when it's my turn!

This weekend, I am off to Tasmania (or Tassie) as it's called here! Andrea (the other COST student at Bellaire) and I are spending a few days/nights there touring the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, a brewery, the coastline, and of course the markets! This trip wasn't really something I had planned before coming here but when we found the cheap flights, it was too hard to pass up! Especially since I am all the way over here, I better take advantage of every opportunity I can get ("When in Rome, right!?")! It should be a great weekend, getting to spend my BIRTHDAY in Tassie and seeing the world of Tasmania! I don't think I'm taking my computer with me so I won't be in contact for a few days (sorry: Edward, Sophie, & EVERYONE!) But, have no fear... you will be able to tell me Happy Birthday! I am returning back to Geelong on November 8th (which is of course my day of birth in USA) so, I will get on Skype, email, facebook as soon as I get back!! However, I will be expecting some already "Happy Birthday's" since my actual birthday will have already happened over here! Keep that in mind! (ha, just kidding.. mmm- no, no I'm not!) :) Next weekend, Carol has booked us a cabin in Healesville (sounds like Hillsville) which is located near Melbourne in the Yarra Valley. The town is surrounded by mountains, forests and hills as well as wineries, & fruit and berry farms! So that will be an exciting trip; getting a little change of scenery and staying in a cabin! I'm glad that I have this wonderful family to show me around all of Australia... it is so great being able to ask questions and ask what things are and know that I will have someone there to help me out whenever I need it! Same goes for my teacher at Bellaire that I am following... She is such a nice girl and a lot of fun to be around! She is pretty young, she is actually only 2 years older than me... so we are planning a few weekends to hang out and check out some of the wineries around Geelong. I think that's the update for now, nothing else has really been going on besides just teaching more (which is great), getting ready for Tasmania and Healesville, and LESSON PLANNING!!!! I forgot to mention that... I was put in charge of next weeks reading plans- So I had to plan eight activities for all five days for eight different reading leveled groups! Luckily, I have it all mapped out already and now I just have to work on getting the books ready and put in tomorrow! Hope everyone is doing great and I can't wait to see you all in December (which will be here before we know it)!!! Love you all!

Another Scenic Sunday!

Today, we went to Otway Fly Rainforest and walked the Tree Tops! It was beautiful and such a wonderful time. The trees, ferns, and stumps all were very unique throughout the forest and it was just the neatest sight to see! Some of the trees had fallen through the years leaving the nature scene looking like an obstacle course!

The TreeTop walk was amazing! The walk was a bit shaky too, we climbed the tower to get to the top of the rainforest and the whole time it was swaying slightly back and forth (good thing I'm not afraid of heights!) It was such an amazing sight to see and to be able to look at the tip top of the trees in the clouds and then look down to the bottom of the rainforest floor! AMAZING! The entire walk took about two hours to make it through and back... you can see the path a bit in the picture above! The Otway Fly is about a 600 metre long walkway (which converts to about 1,969 feet) and about 82 feet of that was above the forest floor! Another interesting fact I learned today was that this rainforest is about 1,640 feet above sea level!

I learned a lot about the forest and all of the trees/ferns that were in it. My favorite fern looked like a scorpions tail (where it curls up) and that was how they bloomed. Such a cool thing to see in nature... The fern blooms up in a straight line and curls at the end and when it stretches out to show the entire fern the curl un-ravels! The tree stumps and branches that had fallen or had been cut down back in the day were so neat! (Marie, you would have loved walking this forest!) I found one branch sticking out of the side of the path that looked like an alligator and lots of tree stumps that looked like they had faces in them! This experience was so great and I really enjoyed walking the TREE TOPS! The picture below is all of us at the top of the tower (at the top of some of the trees in the forest- Shane, Carol, Jaimee, Me, Shani, and Charli in the pink hat!)

After all of the tree top walking, we drove down the road a bit and stopped to have a picnic lunch. After lunch, we walked about another hour to Triplet Falls where we sat and watched the waterfall for a bit! I had a bit of fun on a log that had fell by the waterfalls and decided to practice the log dance from "Dirty Dancing" along the edge of the forest, right along the drop off! Ha, just kidding... but I did walk the log to get back on the path!

Triplet Falls were so pretty and just a great sight to see! The Otway Forest had a lot of really cool trees and stumps in it as well. My favorite tree that I saw was the "Boomerang Tree." It got its name basically because of the way it looks! The Boomerang Tree was a Mountain Ash, which is the world's tallest flowering plant! We all had such a great time today and it was so relaxing looking at all of the nature of Australia... Especially after a long day of surfing and using muscles I didn't even know I had!

After Otway Rainforest and Triplet Falls, we made our way back to Geelong! We stopped off at Shane's parents house so that I could meet Grandma & Grandpa! Grandma was the only one home... but she of course had biscuits & cupa's ready for us when we dropped by (Cookies and Coffee)! It was nice getting to meet her because I hear she is the world famous "PAV" (pavlova) maker who will be making an appearance for my birthday celebration after I get back from Tassie! After we left "grandma's", we stopped to get (take away) dinner at the local.... Yep, FISH & CHIPS restaurant.... And yes, I did order FISH & CHIPS! However, it is Flake & Chips which translates to Shark and Fries. I also was informed that I had to get the Potato Cake, Chiko Roll and a Dim Sim with my fish & chips! Well, I know all of you are dying to know..... YES I DID EAT IT! It wasn't horrible... the best part of it was it wasn't fishy tasting at all. Now if every fish entree' was like that I might be able to eat it. So, yes everyone I did eat Shark! (Crazy, I know!)

Well, another week of working with the PREPS and then it's off to Tasmania with Andrea (the other student teacher from U.K.). We are very excited to be able to see Tassie!! I'm looking forward to this week at Bellaire because for the next two weeks the little mates have a swimming field trip everyday! This will be such a great experience for some of the kids because some of them have never been in a pool before! They are so ecstatic about going and I can't wait to gain this experience as a classroom teacher! Hope everyone had a great Halloween (and someone saved some CANDY for me)! Love and Miss you all!

I reckon I need to practice my surfing!

Well, my first surfing lesson was a blast! I really enjoyed working out the muscles that I didn't even know I had. I was paddle-ing my life away and kept hearing "Paddle harder!" It was so hard trying to paddle fast and hard enough to catch the wave, yet I was hardly moving! Today was such a great experience though and Andrea and I had a great time! It was a bit rocky in the beginning of the class, but towards the middle and end I was starting to get the hang of it. Lots of more practice though!

See.... Finally standing up! I love Andrea's hand coming out of the wave! She has great picture of her standing and my head popping out of the water! We had such a great time... I reckon I don't have to run for a few days. Surfing today was probably the equivalent of working out for about a week! I'm already so sore and so tired. It was fun once I finally got the hang of standing up on the board, a lot harder than you think surfing is though. I thought that I would be able to pick it up pretty fast going into this experience, but that wasn't the case! Definitely a lot harder than it looks! Took a few face plants and jumps into the water after a few waves that I caught, it was rough trying to maintain balance the entire time! It sure was fun though!

After our class today, we set up our picnic lunch and watched the seagulls and little children play all along the beach! It was sort of a weird weather day here in Geelong... Spring has finally sprung, I guess because when we left Geelong at about 9:15am this morning it was beautiful and sunny! We arrived in Torquay (the beach where we surfed) about 30 minutes later and it looked like it was going to pour down rain! Of course, the ocean was freezing but we were given those amazing wetsuits (ha) to keep us nice and cozy.... and add a bit more material in case a shark came around (just kidding). We were planning on staying around the beach for a few hours after class and lunch but the sun just didn't want to come out. So, instead we left the beach and stopped off at a few of the outlets in Torquay. Of course, when we did make it back to Geelong it was beautiful outside!

So once I made it back "home", I sat outside and started reading this new book that Shane had given me to read and relaxed in the sun! Oh and I did some laundry. Which was a sight (Yes Nana, you would be proud!) I did my sheets, towels, and clothes and even had to hang them out on the line. Which I am definitely not a pro at and don't think I ever will be. I definitely prefer to have the dryer next to the washer (makes life so much easier!) However, I did have fun doing this and have gained another experience! I don't know, maybe I could be that house-wife that has a clothes line! Ha.... (Nope, sorry Matt... no fresh outdoor scent for you!)

So, overall it was a fantastic day! I definitely think the next opportunity I have to surf, I will do an OK job at it.. At least now I have the basics and I can keep practicing! Hopefully, I will get it down one day! Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day too... We are picking the little girls up from their Halloween sleep-over at their Gymnastics place heading to a place where there is Tree-Top walking! I'm pretty pumped about this because I hear it is just beautiful every where you look! I am looking forward to these pictures!!!!

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween (and save me some candy!) and can you believe it has almost been a month since I left! (That's right... November 9th- two days after my birthday.... still in the birthday week though!) I can't believe that it has already gone by the fast... Geesh- before you know it I will be back home! Can't wait to see everyone in December! Much Love from Down Under!!

Bellaire Primary School

My first days at Bellaire were very interesting.. I observed the PREPS classroom, which is Kindergarten in the states (ages 5-6). It was interesting to observe because I was able to relate to what I know about kindergarten in the states and compare that to what I was seeing. The Preps' classroom consists of 38 (5-6 year olds) combined in two open classrooms. The two teachers, Blanche and Nigel team teach during the day.

Of course as I was talking and getting to know the kids, I get corrected about fifty times a day and always get asked silly questions like; "Why do you talk so funny?" The kids were very interested in knowing how long it took me to get to Australia from where I lived and they enjoyed the slide-show of pictures I put together of family, friends, puppies, vacations, Kentucky, etc... They especially loved the picture of Zadeh on my back and loved hearing about her piggy back rides! :)

The daily words that they use has been a bit hard for me to catch onto right away. I try to listen to words they use after they say things that I don't understand just to see if I can figure out what a word means. I do this at "home" too with the Wilkens', I like to try and figure out what it means before I jump right to asking them. It makes it a bit more fun! Shane tells me that Americans cannot spell or speak.... for example- the way they spell color (colour), or organization (organisation)... I look at these and think- "You all don't know how to spell!" It is getting a bit easier though, I'm starting to pick up on everyday words and trying to use these words such as zooms, textas, and rubbers during the school day. I really don't like using the last one, just doesn't sound right with PREPS! If you need help figuring these out:

Zooms= crayons

Textas= markers

Rubbers= erasers

Rubbish= trash

Z (as in the letter)= zed

H= hay-ch (sound it out? Yup, try remembering to say it like that everyday!)

Funny story about the letter Z : Actually, I was working one on one with two students the other day on their handwriting. Both of them had a hard time making the letter Z... so I traced it out for them in their writing books and said "Ok, trace out the capital letter Z and the lower case letter Z and then write them a few times for me on your own." They both gave me this stare, like (the letter z????) and then repeated "Z" like hmm.... I didn't catch on to that at first and after school we rushed to the bank to make it there before they closed to exchange some money and the bank is called ANZ (Carol said "I will run in and meet you inside, the bank is right over there... see the sign? It's A.. N.. Zed" So, as I was walking with the little girls into the bank I asked "What Zed was?" and Shani told me "It's just Zed." So, I finally put 2 &2 together and said "So, when you say your alphabet you say, W..X.. Y.. and Zed??" She said YES! No wonder why those poor little PREPS had no idea what Z was!

It is interesting seeing how the schools across the USA are run. They certainly do save a lot of money here at Bellaire because students pack their lunches everyday, except they can order from the Canteen on Monday's and Friday's (which the student pays for up front)... so you have no students that never go without eating or having to worry about borrowing money for lunch and racking up a lunch charge! They have specialists teachers (such as music, art, and religion teachers) and the students in the PREPS at least see them once a week and the classroom teacher works as the librarian and computer teacher as well. We went to the library the other day and I was waiting to meet the librarian, but no one ever came in. Blanche worked the book scanner as the children were checking out their books and got them all settled to go! It was amazing to me to see what all goes into their day of planning because not only are they planning their classroom activities but also library time, computer time, sport time (which isn't taught in the Preps) but they basically do it all.

Another thing that caught my eye, was that the students eat snack and lunch in their classrooms. No cafeteria here! There are picnic tables set up outside, if the bell rings before they are finished but generally they like the students to be done before they go outside (at least in my room, that is).

My schedule goes by pretty fast, there is a lot that goes into a day but it sure does fly....

8:55am : Morning Music/Bell

9:00am: Students check their name on Smartboard for attendance (which I love seeing this age group use the SmartBoard)!

9:00-10:00: Morning Circle/Reading/Centers & Reading groups

10:00-11:00: Writing

11:00-11:30: Fresh Fruit/Vegetable time/Show & Share/ Outside play (which the students do all themselves.... of course there are yard duty teachers outside... Our day is Monday! And the fresh fruit thing.. My favorite... I think this should be in every school system! 11:30-12:30: Maths 12:30-1:30: Specialists class (computers/religion/art/music/science, etc...) 1:30-2:3o: Students eat lunch in classroom 2:30-3:30: Any follow up work/Assembly (every Friday)/ GO HOME! Pretty fairly easy day but a lot that goes into it! I am really enjoying my time here at Bellaire and I'm so glad that I took on this experience! It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I really am learning a lot!