Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

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!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

first day of school & more exploration!

an ibis, I think!
today was my first day in an Aussie year 3/4 classroom. I loooved it. all the kids were just so interested in where I was from, how long it took me to fly here, and how I "have an accent." definitely not used to so much attention.

lots of pretty cliffs
wow, do I have a lot to learn about procedures. schools are alarmingly different here. the entire school is one huge open area with different sections, but no rooms are closed off... definitely different than schools in the states, but I love it! they begged me to stay in their room the whole day, so you can imagine their excitement when I told them I would be staying for 6 weeks!


forgot the name of the tree but so pretty
after school, Hannah and I had an adventure and took the bus home. it was fine, if we hadn't been waiting for each other in different areas of the bus station, but fine nonetheless once we found each other after about... an hour and a half.

my host dog Sammy, walking himself
after school, we went with Roger and Kaye to for a walk by the beach... we didn't actually go down to the beach, but it was still beautiful. and we saw a wallaby!!! not at the beach, but at a different part of the park. Roger pulled over and Hannah and I got out of the car to stalk it down, but it saw us and ran :(

I have to say... I am loving Australia and I have only been here for a day and a half. it's only going to get better!