I have a lot to write, but because we are about to take off for two weeks on our big holiday road trip, I can't get too descriptive. So here are some sound bites to help us remember all the fun times we've had over the last couple weeks.
1. Happy Birthday Alta - and yes, a cake can be made at a campground kitchen! All the other campers kept coming by to ask when I was going to invite them to afternoon tea because it smelled so good. Strawberry Shortcake with hand whipped (with a fork) whipped cream. Alta enjoyed her 8th birthday surrounded by our Polish friends. 2. Thank you Grace for the epic dune buggy experience. It has been a highlight of our adventures. I loved watching Olin and Alta driving their own dune buggies and sliding down the dunes on sand boards. 3. Kids got to walk out with the Premiere League Gosford City Football Club team and stand on the field for the Aussie National Anthem before the game. 4. "Dob" means to snitch or to rat somebody out. No matter how much you think you have won over your students they will NEVER dob on their peers. 5. During Term 3, Alta did pottery in her art class. 6. It is starting to warm up. The familiar summer birds are returning. The blue fairy wrens are brilliantly coloured. 7. I saw my first red backed spider. It was crawling across the pavement at school. 8. Saw another red bellied black snake while on a run in the Rumbalara Reserve behind our house. It was basking in the sun. 9. "Mom, I wish I had a time machine so that on Sunday night I could go back to Alaska and it would be Saturday. I'd have a whole extra day in my weekend. Then on Sunday in Alaska I could get back in my time machine and come back to Australia and it will be Tuesday. I'll have one less day in the week that I have to go to school!" The logic of a 9 year old world traveller. 10. I'm currently reading "Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing up Among Worlds." I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone that is going on or has gone on exchange - especially with kids. I also recommend it for Adult Third Culture Kids. I'm learning a lot not only about myself as a ATCK but also about how I am processing being overseas again - especially now that we are 3 months from moving again. I think anyone that has lived between worlds can find tools in this book to help them come to terms with how they feel, what they think, and how they deal with things. 11. I had a student put gum in another student's hair yesterday. 12. Walk to Work Tally - 230 miles (370km). We are off on our trip! Leaving in 45 minutes. Outback, sheep shearing station, Great Ocean Road, and hours and hours of Lord of the Rings on audiobook planned for the trip I've been looking forward to since we got here.
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Australia throws curve balls. Just when you think you've got a pretty good handle on the country, you find out just how much you still have to learn. Take magpies for example. Of all the amazing birds we've seen here in Australia, they aren't one of the prettiest, but their tuxedo look gives them a respectable dapper appearance that I appreciate. That is, however, until Monday. Seems that magpies know exactly when spring starts in Australia. It's like a little internal beacon inside them starts blinking and makes them go all 'James Bond.' Instead of simply sitting on a branch watching you walk by (imagine James Bond sipping a cocktail at a bar), they suddenly flex their muscles, adjust their scopes, take aim, and dive at your head with precision and stealth. I know I probably shouldn't have run - you know that's what everyone says to not do when a bear is chasing you... don't run - but I did (with arms waving), which not only increased the severity of the attack, but probably increased the comedy of the scene for anyone watching. Apparently magpies, like many birds, nest in the spring. They prefer large, open, grassy areas...well at least the one that attacked me does, so I've had to reroute my walk to and from school. All this time, I was worried about being attacked by a man wearing camo and wielding a hunting knife (he was caught by the way). Little did I know the attack would come from above by a crow-size winged tuxedoed torpedo.
There are 10 odd-timed attacks you should be aware of when you visit Australia. This is what I've learned so far: 1. After it's rained: Don't go hiking after it has rained or the leeches will get you. 2. In the morning: Dump out your shoes before you put them on or the funnel web spiders that climbed in will get you 3. When the waves are big and coming from the north: Don't go in the ocean or the blue bottles will get you 4. When the sun is out in the spring, summer, and fall: Be careful about sunbathing snakes 5. At night after it has rained: Wear shoes in the yard or the funnel web spiders will get you 6. Spring: Don't walk alone by ovals (fields) or the magpies will get you 7. Anytime you are having a bad day: Don't walk by kookaburras or they will mockingly laugh at your misery - or at least that's what it feels like. 8. And I'm not sure when the ticks prefer to get you.... but I'm sure it is just about anytime they can find you. 9. Summer: We don't live by jellyfish (oh thank goodness) but I think you can't swim in the ocean or the jellies will get you. 10. At night: Don't swim in the ocean at night or the great white sharks will get you. Keep those little tips in mind, and everything will be just fine! On another note, our family had an adventurous weekend. Our soccer season is now over, but Alta's team decided to do a end-of-season party. The plan was to have dinner and then go to Clip and Climb, a local kids rock climbing center. Clip and Climb was awesome! We had a little dilemma with dinner though. Dinner was to be held at Macca's, which for anyone that doesn't know, is Aussie slang for McDonalds. Believe it or not, our kids have never been to McDonalds. Honestly, I think my last time there was in 1995 in Ansbach, Germany when I seventeen. I couldn't bear the thought of Ronald McDonald, yellow and red plastic seating, and gross ball pits that kids slide into in the playground area. And that smell... Augh..... But, I also couldn't be the snob that kept my kids from their end-of season soccer party. So, we went! The kids loved it. I was pleasantly surprised. No red and yellow plastic seats. Everything was a soft brown and silver. They even had these cool touch screen menus that you could order form. It felt just like a cafe... with Happy Meals. I will say though, the burgers didn't look like they'd changed at all. |
AuthorThe Liljemark's enjoy exploring the world. This blog chronicles our adventures. Archives
December 2017
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