Family fun time!!

If you have been reading for a while, you have heard me discuss my big Italian family.  Well, a small slice of them came down under to visit me!! Aside from having some friendly faces around for a change, I got to play tour guide to the cousins who normally take me around town.  We started our journey in Canberra.  We hit the regular sights, Mount Ainslie, The Australian War Memorial, Old Bus Depot Markets and Canberra Glassworks.  We also did some stuff out of the norm.  We headed out to Bungendore to the Lark Hills Winery and then had a walk around the town.  They had a beautiful wood works shop there but everything was WELL out of my price range.  We didnt have too much time to fiddle around in Canberra before we hit the road.

Top of Mount Ainslie

The first stop was Cairns.  If you are saying to yourself, "But Tracey, you already went to Cairns this year"  well, you are correct.  But that actually worked to our favor because I was able to get us a hotel closer to where we would be going and able to book events that we would enjoy.  Our first day, we took a cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef.  The cruise stopped at Green Island and I was able to enjoy the reef by doing the Seawalker.

Welcome to Cairns!

This is Gavin, the photo bombing fish

 It was on to the outer reef where everyone else got to snorkel or scuba dive.  Some went on the semi-sub and saw two sharks!!

The next day took us up to the Tropical rainforest of North Queensland.  We took the Skyrail up to the town of Kuranda where...drum roll please....we got to hold koalas!  This had been my little cousin's dream since she was 7 years old.  Her excitement could barely be contained.

Hanging out in the Tropical Rainforest of North Queensland

Getting closer....

Within range now.  Excitement can hardly be contained.

Touchdown!

 Of course, after she did it, we wanted to do it also.  As soon as they handed Fred the Koala to Jason, it pooped on him.

Gross, it just pooped on me!

We had one more day in Cairns and found that there was a indigenous experience near the Skyrail which we did on our last day.  It was worth it!

Dig demonstration

Tjapakui Indigenous Experience

Jason getting private dig lessons

 After Cairns, we went to Sydney.  We had the weekend there before they headed off to New Zealand for a week.  We did some sight seeing and got a voucher for a cruise the next weekend.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Ferry

 After they returned to Sydney from New Zealand, we headed to Manly Beach to soak up some sun.  We also took our lunch cruise that we planned the week before.  We headed to the top of the Sydney Tower Eye and got a view of the whole city, As quickly as they got here they were gone.  We crammed a lot into their time here!

Spending the day at Manly Beach

Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it....

Living in a foreign country is a different experience.  Each country is different and has different provisions for those working for the G.  Some countries provide "American" schools for the dependents of those serving and working overseas, others have completely acceptable alternatives on the local that meet the US education standards.  What is generally missing from the latter is American History.  Here in Australia, most children attend Australian schools in town, however they do not get exposure to American History as that's not covered.  The Embassy put together a class, no credit is awarded, but to keep the kids in the loop so to speak so when they rotate back to the US they are not so far behind.  This is where I come in!

I saw the ad in our community newsletter looking for a teacher for the Junior American History course.  Since I have studied history, I felt qualified to cover some of the highlights at least.  I have zero teaching experience but I didn't let a little thing like that stop me.  We got started a little late, the Senior class had already had at least one or two sessions by the time I signed up.  I used the syllabus from that class and adapted it to meet our needs.  My class was the 2nd graders through the 6th graders.  Quite a large gap, but I thought I could make it work.

We had varying skill levels in the class.  From the kids who had not ever lived in the States to those who just arrived from the US, the knowledge base was wide. I started with the 13 colonies and we went from there.  Each week we built on the last, and I was hoping that they actually learned something.  Along the way, these kids impressed me with their willingness to learn and participate.  I also got a kick out of them!  The answers they came up with sometimes were absolutely hilarious.  For example as we discussed things so I could get a feel for what they knew, one of the kids told me that John F. Kennedy ended the cold war.  Later as we were going back over the regulations surrounding the office of President, one of my students recalled that the President could "get peached".  I really had good time as the answers they gave were completely unpredictable.

As we worked our way through the history of our country, I found that the local schools dont really assign homework (much to the chagrin of the parents who dont think they are learning enough).  I had been holding back and not giving work to take home because I didnt want to interfere with their other school work.  After I found that out I hit them with a project.  Each student was to choose one of the Presidents and do a report.  Because I didnt want to hear 15 presentations on George Washington, I made them all chose different ones.  Their choices were very interesting.  Some made safe choices, others really stepped outside the box.  Once of my younger students was disappointed that the President she wanted had already been chosen.  She said, "But I dont know anything about any of these!"  After I stopped laughing, I told her that was actually the point of doing a report-to learn something you didnt know before.  Week before last, their projects were due.  Some wrote me a one-page paper (not pictured) while others did posters.  Everyone had to get up and tell about their project and what they learned.  One of the options I gave them was to dress as their President or First Lady and do their presentation.  Only one took me up on that but she completely SMASHED her project out of the park.  She completed her project on Richard Nixon and she discussed the food stamp program as well as medicaid and the Watergate scandal.  She even did the "I AM NOT A CROOK" speech,  It was exactly what I was hoping they would do!  Below are some of the poster projects that were submitted, I didnt take photos of the papers because, well, it was just a paper.

This is the outside of the project

This was the inside.

This past Friday we had our last class of the term.  It seemed to FLY!  As a reward for their hard work I organized a little party and we played Jeopardy! with all of the stuff we learned over the term. The kids got points for their project that started their Jeopardy! score, from 100 to 500 points.  At the end of the day I think that helped a little but it was not the deal breaker I thought it would be.

Once the game was over, they found out their final scores and got to pick a prize.  I picked up pencils, markers and some little games, nothing extravagant.  I had told them the previous week that there would be prizes and one student asked "Is it a cruise?"  After I picked myself up off the floor, I explained that there was no budget for that sort of stuff, that she needed to lower her bar a little.  They all seemed pleased and I think they may have learned something!  What was even nicer was the surprise waiting for me!

One of my students made me this bracelet!

The class got together (well, Im pretty sure that a couple of the moms were solely responsible) and gave me some "thank you" gifts!  This Outback Santa and door wreath were absolutely unexpected.  I made notes on them so I will always remember the time I taught that class in Australia.  

My New Zealand birthday experience

This year's birthday adventure took me to the land of the long white cloud-New Zealand.  You may recall this is my second trip to New Zealand this year (Wellington) but this time was strictly for fun.  I started in Queenstown which is the adventure capital of New Zealand.  The bungee jump was invented there and the ski fields are always busy during the season.  This time of year there is about a week of skiing left but I left that to the pros.  I did take a ride up the Skyline Gondola where the views of Queenstown were absolutely breathtaking.  From there I could see the Remarkables mountain range, Lake Wakatipu and the whole city of Queenstown.

It is much steeper than it looks

Views from the top

That afternoon, I went to a performance of a Haka.  For those of you who are asking yourself, "What the heck is a Haka?" well let me tell you.  It is a dance performed on special occasions by the Maori people.  The most famous Haka you may have seen is the one performed by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team before a match.  Its fierce.

All Blacks vs Wallabies

I sort of knew what to expect because I have seen the haka performed before, mostly on TV but also at Waitangi Day celebrations.  This was more in depth and featured "maiden warriors".  They did not allow photos for several reasons, not the least of which is cultural.  They did take photos with us after and allowed people to take pictures during the "audience participation" portion.  I turned my camera over to one of the maiden warriors but I guess she is better at fighting than photography because every single picture turned out blurry.  Then she tried to take a video, which is nearly un-watchable because it is all over the place.  Oh well, maybe next time.

KA MATE!

 The next day I got up and started out to Milford Sound.  The roads in New Zealand are narrow and winding.  Not just a little bit either, but there were some hairpin turns there that concerned me.  Fortunately, Mac our bus driver was pretty skilled at getting the bus down the road.  We made several stops along the way because the bus had no facilities on it and the drive was a little over three and a half hours long.  The stops were plenty good on their own!

This is where a glacier once passed hundreds of years ago!

 At one point we stopped and got water from a mountain stream.  It was, as Bobby Boucher would say some, "High quality H2O!"  So crisp and clear and clean and COLD!  Straight off the glacier.  Not something I would normally do but Im pretty certain this is actually where bottled water comes from.

Mirror Lake

Squint at this rock...what do you see??

After what seemed like FOREVER on the bus, we finally arrived to board our Milford Sound cruise.  I boarded the boat and we started out toward the Tasman.

This is not photoshop!  This is REAL LIFE.

This is what happens when a glacier moves between two mountains.  A river would make a deep, pointed "v" rather than the "u" shape seen here.

The edge of the Tasman Sea

 While on our cruise, we encountered some of New Zealand's wild life.  These seals were catching some rays.  Ahh to be fat and lazy.....

This is a Kea bird!  They are native to New Zealand.

We saw a Kea bird on the way back from Milford.  The Kea is a parrot and is very intelligent and curious.  This little fella walked the length of our bus, looking up at us in the windows.  Then he and a buddy went to check out a vehicle behind us.  So cool.

The next day I jumped a bus to the other side of the island.  (LOADS of time on the bus.....)  This bus also made stops along the way but it was also to pick up and drop off other passengers.  I didnt have quite as much fun on this bus ride as I did on the way to Milford.  "Lawrence" was not super friendly and really must have been in a hurry because the ride was rough.  Ironically, the lone "rest" stop we made was in a little town called Lawrence.  It was SO SMALL!! I actually walked from one end of town to the other in less than 5 minutes.

This is main street Lawrence.

This makes me a little sad.  The town hall is for lease!

This is an old bank, not sure what it is now.

 After Lawrence, it was back on the road.  It took us just over four hours to get to Dunedin.  The last hour or so, I really thought I was going to be sick.  Every now and then, I was able to look up and out the window to catch sights of rolling green hills and the spring lambs chasing the bus.

How pastoral!

 When I finally got to my hotel in Dunedin, I checked in and they told me that I would have to take an elevator then a flight of stairs to get to my room.  I thought that was pretty weird until I saw the elevator.  The building is a Victorian era building so they have obviously made upgrades but there are some things they left untouched.  The elevator is one of them.  I LOVED this elevator.  It was like a time machine!  Every time I got in the elevator, I felt compelled to shout out "FIRST FLOOR- HABERDASHERY" but I didnt.

The outside of the hotel.  Beautiful old building.

 I took my time machine up to the top and then up the stairs to the addition where my room was (hence the reason to have to take the stairs in the first place), dropped off my bags and started looking for something to do.  Because it was rather late in the day I decided on a walkabout.

Another beautiful old building.  This is the old Bus Station

Entrance to the Dunedin Chinese Gardens

 The Dunedin Railway Station is a beautiful old building.  The joke is that it looks like a gingerbread house and it does in a way.  The train still runs through there but more for a novelty than necessity.  The building is also now home to an art gallery and the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.  It is also a fabulously preserved historical building with gorgeous mosaic tile work.  The craftsmanship in buildings like this impresses me.

Entrance to the Dunedin Railway Station

The mosaic in the middle of the lobby of the Dunedin Railway Station

 Because Dunedin has a big Scottish heritage, there are Scottish influences all over the city.  Here, we have a statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns.  There is also a castle near by, the only one in the Southern hemisphere.  I didnt get a chance to tour that...maybe next time.

Robert Burns

 My last full day in New Zealand has me taking the tastiest tour I have ever taken.  The Cadbury Chocolate factory tour!  Much like Charlie Bucket, I rocked up to the doors of the Cadbury factory, complete with golden ticket (or rather, my tour booking reference number).  They brought us inside and we watched a health and safety video so no one fell into the chocolate river like Augustus... then they gave us hair nets, took our phones and off we went.

I got to see how they made all kinds of chocolate such as chocolate buttons, hollow eggs, Roses (a candy brand here, sort of like individually wrapped Whitmans Samplers) and Chocolate Santas.  Along the tour, they gave us candy!  I suspect its so we didnt try to nick it from the factory floor but none the less, I got quite a haul.  By the end, of the tour, I was even carrying it out in my mouth Lucille Ball style.

Original delivery trucks.  The one on the right is a model T and had a tank on the back to carry the milk to the factory!

Well, they are not Oompa Loompas but it was fun anyway.

Then it was back on the bus with grumpy Lawrence and back to Queenstown for one more sleep before I flew back to Oz.  I absolutely love New Zealand and think I can say that aside from home this may be my most favorite place on earth.