epic weekend: Sunday

ciao, Darwin!

Sunday was a late(ish) morning after the night we had. I went from dead asleep to wide awake at about 8:30 am. somehow, Blake had already been to the market, and had come to the house to hang out. I will never know how he does it.

after IMing my parents a little and having some breakfast, I got a hold a Carlee, and we planned to catch a noon ferry out to Mandorah, just across the harbour on the Cox Peninsula.

the ferry itself was wonderful. I love being out on the water. despite the fact that I had to be careful not to flash anyone, skirts and boats are the best combination. we spent less that 20 minutes on the water each way, but I think I can speak for both of us when I say we loved every second.

we could see the pub from the Mandorah jetty, so we started our trek. we bypassed the footpath to walk on the beach. I felt like I was on an island. the water was so beautiful, and the rocks along the shore were amazing. Carlee and I returned to Darwin with heavier handbags due to our rock collecting, but it was well worth it.

drinks were a must after we made it to the pub, and girly ones at that. we sat with our Bacardi Breezers (yes, I said it), and enjoyed the live music, which was perfectly unique. it made me feel moreso like I was on an island, and I loved it.

after we bottomed out on our drinks, we got BLTs for lunch. I haven't had a BLT for years, and it was sublime. straight after lunch we changed into our swimmers to take a dip in the pool (no waiting an hour for us). it was SO hot out and it felt great to cool off for a little while.

we dried off in the sun and listened to some more good vibes from the band before heading back across the beach to catch the ferry, this time along the water. it would have been interesting to explore Mandorah in a bit more depth, but staying right on the beach made for an absolutely perfect day.

later on, we had a delicious Sunday roast - Carlee's last one! it was also Martin's homecoming from his holiday in Columbia. I got about a hundred billion new mozzie bites, but I was likely having too much fun to notice. note to self: bring vats of sunscreen and mozzie repellant to Bali!

wildlife park adventure

clever bird throwing a rock at an egg to
open it

what a wild week it has been. the girls and I went to the Wildlife Park in Berry Springs on Saturday, and had a blast. I loved that all the animals at the park were native to Australia. they were all incredible. we went to a bird show (sounds silly, but actually really cool, even if a lorakeet did fly into my head), snuck into a taped-off dingo exhibit, and saw wild wallabies roaming around.

there was a billabong, a nocturnal house, and an aquarium as well. my students would always tell me how great the park was, so I was under the impression that it was more child-oriented, but it wasn't that way at all.

I'm glad I brought my K-x, because I really got some amazing shots. I feel like I was dragging us along, changing my lenses and taking hundreds of photos, but it was just too easy. the animals were amazing!

the walk-through aviary was very cool too. after some smaller bird exhibits, we came to a big, caged-in area with all sorts of birds walking and flying around. quicker than you can say, "hey, look at that cute little bird," I got pooped on. I quickly realized that what I thought was water (it had rained earlier in the day) was warm, freak-out commenced. it would have been worse had I not been laughing so hard.

when I got back from the Wildlife Park, I found out that my computer had a virus (this explains my lack of updating and the obscene length of this post - apologies). it was so horrible that I couldn't fix it on my own, so after crying for a bit Kaye drove me to a computer store to get it fixed. it's okay now. still a couple of problems,  but all my files and programs are still there, which is a HUGE relief.

Sunday morning we went to the markets at Rapid Creek, and to the craft show after. there was some beautiful stuff, but I didn't buy anything. I had actually left my wallet in the back seat of Roger's car from our trip to the Wildlife Park, so I couldn't have even if I wanted to. I came across the Down Syndrome Association of the Northern Territory at the market! I would have gone in if they were open. I would love to get involved with any events, etc, while I'm here!

my special ed teacher heart is melting

spotted at {Rapid Creek market}

Sunday evening we had our roast. our only guests were Fran, Carlee, and Vanessa, Kaye and Roger's neighbor. as much as I love our big groups at Sunday roast, the smaller group was really nice. we had some champagne, some great food, and we actually all got to talk to each other during our meal :)

veeery mysterious fruits at the market...

the only bad thing is that it has been unbearably hot the past few days. the news says the high today is 33º, but the humidity makes it feel closer to 40º. we usually don't need the air con on throughout the house, but we had to this week, otherwise we would melt.

loved this painting at the craft fair

tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and the whole crew is getting together, including the teachers we are working with. Mara and I get along really well. she marches to the beat of her own drummer, and I love that about her. I am learning a ton, and it makes me sad to think school is out in 3 short weeks!

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 weekend!

loving the Aussie HP covers

my first weekend in Darwin has come and gone. Saturday was pretty lazy. we stayed home all day, but Carlee came over and the 3 of us went for a swim and had some drinks. Kaye came down to the pool with some nibbles for us and we snacked and chatted for a while.

mmm curry at the food court

on Sunday, Hannah and I remedied our laziness with a trip to the mall and we shopped our hearts out. we explored an over-priced book store with a very good selection, some clothes stores, the food court, and a couple grocery stores. as a result, I have two new favorite Aussie clothes shops that I know I will miss once I'm back in The States. I never have such good luck shopping for clothes back home!

rice bubbles & frosties!

later that night was our first big Sunday tea. we had around 15 people at the house, all gathered for a delicious roast leg of lamb (SO GOOD), roast chicken, and about a thousand other things. good food, good wine, good people all around. pretty that it's happening every week!

sultanas, aka raisins

once the week got started, we had a bad experience with getting student IDs at CDU, as well as some more meeting-at-the-bus-stop mishaps today, but we (mostly) survived. today at school, I actually taught a little (about Venn diagrams). I was trying to avoid teaching at first since I've only been in the classroom for 3 full days, but it was nice to actually interact with the kids as their teacher. it definitely made me look forward to going to school more.

teaching about Venn diagrams

oh, and the past couple nights, we have been having the craziest storms! on Sunday night, I woke up at 4am to the loudest wind ever, and this morning I pretty much had a heart attack after lightning hit REALLY close to the house. the ground literally shook. good thing it was 15 minutes until my alarm was supposed to go off, because I was not sleeping again after that.

Sam playing with mice I brought for the kitties

I also found out that the average salary of a teacher here in the Northern Territory (NT) is double what it is in Michigan and the price of living here isn't twice as high. plus, teachers in the NT get 52 weeks of maternity leave, 14 of which are paid (or 28 weeks at half-pay). 14 WEEKS PAID MATERNITY LEAVE! they also get 6 weeks recreational leave each year, and relief teachers (aka substitute teachers) average about $300/day! incredible. step it up, America. for real.


so far, being in Darwin for only a week has made me realize how much more I want to travel, and get to know the different education systems and cultures across the world :)