epic weekend: Saturday

this past weekend was by far the best I've had in Darwin yet. thanks to our willingness to explore and Carlee's expert time management skills (we had an itinerary and everything!) we hit up a few of the must-see Darwin landmarks.

Saturday morning started early with a trip to Parap market. I love going to the market. I make a point to go to the farmers' market in GR every weekend, and going to the markets here really makes me feel at home. the point of the market this week, however, was to find the guy selling hot sauce that we tasted on our very first trip to Parap. we haven't been able to find him for weeks, and our luck didn't change this week. we've been all around to different markets, looking for him. I will find him before I leave!

from there, we walked to the museum. it was a friendly 2.5 km - not too bad. the museum was really interesting, way too good to be free. lots of aboriginal art, and animals native to the NT, but the cyclone tracy exhibit was my favorite. it was so sad to see all the damage it caused and lives it destroyed, but it was so fascinating at the same time.

we also saw Sweetheart, a 5.1 m saltwater croc that attacked many boats on the Finnis River. they wanted to capture him because he was hurting people, but he drowned accidentally. so they stuffed him and threw him in the museum. the NT's infamous immortal croc.

after we soaked up all the air con we could, we ventured out again on a 1.5 km walk to the casino. I spent $2 and won $3 before security kicked us out for not having our passports. really? if the bars accept my Michigan ID, why can't a casino? ah well, we got some free coffee out of it anyway.

once the fuzz gave us the boot, we caught a bus to the wave pool (too far to walk and it was HOT). I honestly did not see what the big deal about a wave pool was before we went (we have one in Michigan that I used to go to all the time as a kid), but it was really relaxing, and we ended up having a lot of fun.

for dinner, Kaye, Roger, Fran, Carlee, Hannah and I went to the wharf. I knew that I loved barramundi since we had it at a Sunday roast, but slap some breading on it and fry it up, and I'm in heaven (how American of me, no?). I also learned that when a burger comes with "salad," it means they put the "salad" on the burger. at any rate, it was such a great meal. I also discovered that I love Cooper's pale ale. no beer will ever replace Michigan beers in my heart (which, incidentally, leads to my bloodstream), but we're getting closer.

after dinner, Fran dropped Carlee and I off at a bar, and we hung out downtown for a while. we met some very drunk nice locals and enjoyed their company for a while before hopping bars and meeting up with Blake. he and his friends Alycea and Tait took us to a club where we had a great time, had a few drinks and literally danced the night away. it was a really great night, and just what the doctor ordered after a long week at school.

markets, footie, and crocs, oh my!

Darwin bars: I approve

awesome photo courtesy of Carlee

we had an eventful past few days - so happy to finally be out and doing stuff and getting ot know the city. on Friday after school, I walked over to Hannah's school and we had some wine (yes, at school in the staff room. America, eat your heart out).

later that night, we met up with Carlee at the house and took the bus to a bar called the Tap. they had enormous drinks, appropriately named fishbowls, and we shared 2 between the three of us. honestly, two was all we needed. it's just nice to go out for a drink and have a chat and meet people. and Darwin is a wonderful city for just that.

on Saturday morning, Hannah, Carlee and I went to the Parap markets. It reminded me of the farmers' markets in GR, but with so much more than produce. I had an avocado, cheese, and salsa crepe that was made before my eyes. there were clothes, you could get a massages, there were all different cuisines, smoothies, produce, and everything else under the sun. truly amazing. there are several different markets in the area, and I hope to experience them all before I leave.

the "up-yours claw."

a few hours after we got home, Roger, Kaye, Hannah, Carlee and I went to a footie match, which was a lot of fun. it was the Tiwi Bombers vs the Wanderers. I, of course, didn't understand all the rules after seeing just one match, but I'll get it eventually. the footie season is over everywhere but in the NT right now, so there aren't many games, but still a good time to go, and cheap!

footie + sunset

early this morning, I video chatted with my parents, and then Blake took us to the Adelaide River to the jumping crocs cruise - one of the coolest things we have done so far. raw water buffalo meat is dangled from a string over the side of the boat, and the crocs jump out of the water to grab it. we chose to sit by the open window, of course. it was both horrifying and fascinating. I only wish I had brought my K-x instead of my little Canon P&S, but the pictures came out alright.

settling.

thanks Hannah :)

after the Jumping Crocs, I crashed in bed for a couple hours. I was awake for maybe 30 minutes when Blake called and said he was going to meet some friends for drinks, so we tagged along. he took us to a spot by the water where we sat in the back of his truck, chatted with his friends Darren and Michael (and Blake's puppy Bruce!) and had some drinks. it was so beautiful. perfect weather, good company, a cute puppy, and a few drinks. can't beat it! we came back fashionably late for Sunday tea, and had a wonderful end to our night.

I recently had a realization that I'm only in Australia for 5 more weeks. I know that I've only been here for less than 2 full weeks, so I'm hoping the next 5 will go by veeery slowly :)

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first night out!

full stop!!!

all is well in Aussie land. the second day of school was great. Hannah and I had a little more trouble finding each other at the bus station, the mosquitoes finally discovered me (they attacked me in the night), and I have huge, awful blisters from walking to the bus stop, but other than that everything is as amazing as ever.

baramundi sculpture outside the school

today at school the kids wrote poems. their focus was rhyming couplets. they loved it! I can't imagine my students in the States ever loving poetry. I have only been at school here for 2 days, and I'm already coming up with and gathering a bunch of good ideas.

haha, I found "Sober Bob" funny

after school, Hannah and I had a drink to remedy our public transport woes, and then my host brother Blake came over. he is just as nice as everyone says, and he even made time in his busy schedule to take us out for dinner, and show us around the city a bit.

scurrying around the house

Hannah and I had crocodile (!!!) and calamari for dinner, which Blake said was probably caught earlier the same day. everything was so good! then, we went to a park by the harbour and spotted a few (CREEPY) spiders, lots of wallabies, and a croc!!! it was in the water, and we only saw its creepy, beady orange eyes with our flashlights (aka torches).

for a post-croc hunting treat, we went to a bar called Beachfront that had the best people-watching. we had another drink before going to Blake's and playing with his new puppy! he is SO CUTE and his name is Bruce, and I am going to steal him and bring him back to the States with me :)

it was a good night! my first weekend in Darwin is just beginning, but it's going to be a fun one :)