I (Carly) started working yesterday on my first teaching assignment in Australia! It was in Sunshine, Victoria at the Sunshine College on the West Campus. Sounds very hoity toity so I was expecting to see clean cut stuck up kids in a prestigious secondary school. It was about an hour journey to get there on a tram and a long distance train, but still in Zone 1 so I don't have to pay any extra than my monthly unlimited transport card I already have. Anyways, I made it on time and it was not what I was expecting. It reminded me a lot of my time teaching in the Bronx when I did Teach For America. One of the teachers told me 80% of the kids parents are unemployed. The school is very old and in an industrial and residential area. I had about a 25 min walk from the train station to the school. This was the first time since I've been in Australia where I really felt like I was in a different country. Although, the country could have been in Africa or Asia. The houses looked different and it just felt different for some reason.
My role is filling in for an intervention teacher who is out on leave for 3 weeks taking her mother to Croatia to see her ill sister. An intervention teacher is a lot like a resource room aide or any aid in a school who pushes in and pulls out kids with disabilities or learning challenges to help. I worked with Marko on Math for the first hour. He has Aspergers and is very behind in school. I was quite impressed with his Math skills once he got going. He told me he was from somewhere in Eastern Europe close to Bosnia but told me I had to get up and look at the map to see what country that would be. He was testing me! It was Yugoslavia. He was very well mannered having a conversation about world travel. Then we had a lot of kids absent so we looked for a class that needed help to push in to. We ended up helping a couple kids on their History projects. Oh, they call the room the Lighthouse Room and that's where the kids go for help when they leave class. There is a sink, fridge, microwave and office in there. For morning recess they busted out the tea and crumpets before I could say "Tim Tam!"
The best part of the day is when I went in to a History and Geography class to help Marko and the other kids in the class. So many kids in the school are performing well below grade level. That was a big wake up call being they are in grades 7-9 and still not reading and writing properly. I was so worried about my second graders back home! I didn't want Marko to feel embarassed by having me and the other aide crowd him so I just walked around helping everyone. They have a week where they get to work in any field they want to get some real world experience. For this they need a tax number so they have to fill out forms, and sign them. Well they are still young and don't have a signature yet so they were creating one and writing it 20 times. They took this very seriously and were getting stressed out about it. I tried to tell them it really didn't matter what it looked like just that they can re-create it and no one else can. So the kids would hear me talking and start whispering amongst themselves. Then one would muster up the courage to say "Miss, are you from America?" I said "Yes" and that would create some more buzz followed by a brave student asking me the group elected question usually about a celebrity or famous place. "Miss, do you know Miley Cyrus? The Jonas Brothers? Eminem?" I told them my sister had see Eminem's house back in the day in Romeo and it was funny later in the day, hours later I was walking in the hallway and a girl came running up to me yelling "Miss, miss, do you know Eminem?" Haha, how fast rumors spread. They also asked if I had been to a WWE match or to LA. They were very curious and interested in America. Many of them are very eager to go there. I'm really excited to work with the kids for the next 3 weeks then I go to the senior campus at the same school for another 3 weeks to fill in for someone else.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
FBI and Mario Kart
Helloooooooo!
Things are still good down under. Nate's a little sick...probably a sinus infection. Don't worry, it's NOT Swine Flu. He's feeling better today than the past couple of days.
We are both still not working, but looking. I thought I would have been assigned some outside school hours care time, but nothing yet. I can't work as a sub until I get my Victorian Institute of Teaching Registration. The paperwork is all in process for this. I had to send my fingerprints to the FBI. I went to the local Police Station and they had to look hard to dig up some ink to do prints the "old fashioned way". They have switched to all digital processing now. I was glad they found some ink and pretty much took prints of my entire hand front, back, and side. I spent 20 mins in the bathroom trying to scrub it off with soap and water. Not very effective. All of the paperwork is done on my end...just waiting for it to be processed.
We went for a long walk around the lake in Albert Park today. It was a really nice day. We saw lots of interesting birds, ducks, and black swans. They make some pretty funny noises.
On Friday we went to the Melbourne Museum. It was really neat! We learned a lot about the histroy of Melbourne and aboriginal culture. Nate liked the Bugs Alive exhibit where they had lots of spiders. Eww! I think he just liked it because he tortured me and made me jump every time there was a spider.
Coco the cat from next door makes his daily visits sometimes staying for a while. He is a very cute little Siamese kitty who belongs to our neighbor April. She is our age, from Cananda and also on a Work and Holiday Visa. We went to the local market on Saturday and downtown to get an extra Wii remote so we can all play Mario Kart! Yay! We are having dinner at her place with her boyfriend on Friday. She's making Thai green curry....mmmm. We are glad to have a friend.
We hope you all had a great Memorial Day!
Things are still good down under. Nate's a little sick...probably a sinus infection. Don't worry, it's NOT Swine Flu. He's feeling better today than the past couple of days.
We are both still not working, but looking. I thought I would have been assigned some outside school hours care time, but nothing yet. I can't work as a sub until I get my Victorian Institute of Teaching Registration. The paperwork is all in process for this. I had to send my fingerprints to the FBI. I went to the local Police Station and they had to look hard to dig up some ink to do prints the "old fashioned way". They have switched to all digital processing now. I was glad they found some ink and pretty much took prints of my entire hand front, back, and side. I spent 20 mins in the bathroom trying to scrub it off with soap and water. Not very effective. All of the paperwork is done on my end...just waiting for it to be processed.
We went for a long walk around the lake in Albert Park today. It was a really nice day. We saw lots of interesting birds, ducks, and black swans. They make some pretty funny noises.
On Friday we went to the Melbourne Museum. It was really neat! We learned a lot about the histroy of Melbourne and aboriginal culture. Nate liked the Bugs Alive exhibit where they had lots of spiders. Eww! I think he just liked it because he tortured me and made me jump every time there was a spider.
Coco the cat from next door makes his daily visits sometimes staying for a while. He is a very cute little Siamese kitty who belongs to our neighbor April. She is our age, from Cananda and also on a Work and Holiday Visa. We went to the local market on Saturday and downtown to get an extra Wii remote so we can all play Mario Kart! Yay! We are having dinner at her place with her boyfriend on Friday. She's making Thai green curry....mmmm. We are glad to have a friend.
We hope you all had a great Memorial Day!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Human Sign
This morning we went to an event at St. Kilda Beach. A group called L.I.V.E (locals into Victoria's environment) was organizing a human sign to spell out "CLIMATE CHANGE - ITS IN YOUR HANDS" in the sand on the beach using 10,000 people to form the letters.
We walked down to the beach at around 10:40 this morning, the event was supposed to start at 11. Everyone was just milling around, there were several school classes that had signed up to come to the event. We saw some of the volunteers outlining the letters in the sand with ribbons tied to sandbags.
After they had everything set up they let everyone start filling in the letters. We sat in the letter A in CHANGE. We sat at the bottom of the bridge going across the A. I hope that makes sense. You can see us in the pictures on the website I linked in the title of the post. Carly is in a white fleece and I have a gray sweatshirt on. There was a plane that took several passes overhead and photographed the beach. The sign changed from "in your hands" to "in our hands". There were also some helicopters from the local news that flew by taking shots of the beach.
There were some crazies out at the event too. There were 3 women doing some sort of interpretive dance along the boardwalk that everyone was getting a chuckle out of. Carly was narrating the story for them, she thought they were supposed to be trees fighting against people trying to cut them down.
There was also a crazy lady in our letter that had a little dog, either a greyhound or whippet, it was wearing a coat and she kept holding it up in the air for the cameras when the plane went overhead and the helicopters went by. Carly got a good shot of her holding it up. After the plane went over everyone was supposed to walk to the water to "draw a line in the sand against climate change". I don't think that some people knew about this because they only stayed there for a minute and then everyone just started to leave.
The pictures came out pretty well, they didn't post a total number of people that showed up but they said over 5000 RSVP'd. Check out the website I linked and the photos on our site too.
We walked down to the beach at around 10:40 this morning, the event was supposed to start at 11. Everyone was just milling around, there were several school classes that had signed up to come to the event. We saw some of the volunteers outlining the letters in the sand with ribbons tied to sandbags.
After they had everything set up they let everyone start filling in the letters. We sat in the letter A in CHANGE. We sat at the bottom of the bridge going across the A. I hope that makes sense. You can see us in the pictures on the website I linked in the title of the post. Carly is in a white fleece and I have a gray sweatshirt on. There was a plane that took several passes overhead and photographed the beach. The sign changed from "in your hands" to "in our hands". There were also some helicopters from the local news that flew by taking shots of the beach.
There were some crazies out at the event too. There were 3 women doing some sort of interpretive dance along the boardwalk that everyone was getting a chuckle out of. Carly was narrating the story for them, she thought they were supposed to be trees fighting against people trying to cut them down.
There was also a crazy lady in our letter that had a little dog, either a greyhound or whippet, it was wearing a coat and she kept holding it up in the air for the cameras when the plane went overhead and the helicopters went by. Carly got a good shot of her holding it up. After the plane went over everyone was supposed to walk to the water to "draw a line in the sand against climate change". I don't think that some people knew about this because they only stayed there for a minute and then everyone just started to leave.
The pictures came out pretty well, they didn't post a total number of people that showed up but they said over 5000 RSVP'd. Check out the website I linked and the photos on our site too.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Culinary Adventures in Australia
We did go to the Pancake Parlour in search of delicious bacon and pancakes. We were half successful. However this was not an enjoyable dining experience.
The restaurant was said to be in the Bourke Street Mall. Well, malls here are not what you or I would call a mall. In Melbourne they are composed of Arcades, which are not what you are thinking either, and don't necessarily connect. So, we headed down one Arcade, which is just a walk through of stores, restaurants and cafes, but we just came out on the other side and no Pancake Parlour. So, we went back and into another, still no pancakes. We walked further down Bourke and saw a sign for the place but couldn't find it. Finally, we went down an escalator and there it was.
We sat down and began studying the menu. Although I had already studied it online and picked out my choice. The waiter came and I ordered. Well, it was 12:01 and what I wanted was a special that lasted until 12. No blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon for me. UGH He suggested the lunch version which had fried eggs, regular pancakes and bacon. Apparently they don't scramble eggs after noon. Whatever, I just wanted bacon so I said fine. Oh, and I ordered some coffee. This was fun. He asked "short black, long black, latte" and some other versions I was not too familiar with. We ordered a short black. He brought it, but no cream was in sight. So, I asked for cream. He returned several minutes later with a bowl of whipped cream. We explained we were looking for something closer to resembling MILK and he was nice enough to swap it out for some. Then came the "bacon". Our faces must have looked disappointed and I'm pretty sure Nate sighed out loud because the waiter just stood there and asked if everything was OK. We explained what we were looking for and he said that was something we would have to look for at the market. The bacon here is more like Canadian bacon or ham even. They call it rasher bacon. The pacakes were delicious though and we stumbled upon "The Reject Shop" where we bought lots of odds and ends for our apartment. It is kind of like the dollar store.
It's funny when you get something in your head, like bacon, you start obsessing over it and become determined to find it. Thank goodness it was at the Queen Victoria Market or I think Nate was going to find a pig and slaughter it himself.
We haven't found Macaroni and Cheese here. They had something that looked promising in a bag that looked like Rice a Roni, but it tasted like chlorine. I would love a box of the good stuff, of course probably because I can't find it!
Also, ranch and peanut butter. You were right Suzanne. They just don't get it! We are happy with Nutella for now.
There isn't half and half in any grocery store we have been to either. I did find some Coffeemate, which they call "Coffee Whitener" here.
Beer is expensive, but good. Coffee is good. They call raisins Sultanas, pepper is like a dust or powder, any kind of squash is called Pumpkin, peppers are Capsicum, and turkey is really expensive. Just a few observations relating to food so far. They do love food here in Melbourne. There are lots of restaurants all over with a wide range of genres to choose from. I knew I would love it here (even when they don't have real bacon)!
The restaurant was said to be in the Bourke Street Mall. Well, malls here are not what you or I would call a mall. In Melbourne they are composed of Arcades, which are not what you are thinking either, and don't necessarily connect. So, we headed down one Arcade, which is just a walk through of stores, restaurants and cafes, but we just came out on the other side and no Pancake Parlour. So, we went back and into another, still no pancakes. We walked further down Bourke and saw a sign for the place but couldn't find it. Finally, we went down an escalator and there it was.
We sat down and began studying the menu. Although I had already studied it online and picked out my choice. The waiter came and I ordered. Well, it was 12:01 and what I wanted was a special that lasted until 12. No blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon for me. UGH He suggested the lunch version which had fried eggs, regular pancakes and bacon. Apparently they don't scramble eggs after noon. Whatever, I just wanted bacon so I said fine. Oh, and I ordered some coffee. This was fun. He asked "short black, long black, latte" and some other versions I was not too familiar with. We ordered a short black. He brought it, but no cream was in sight. So, I asked for cream. He returned several minutes later with a bowl of whipped cream. We explained we were looking for something closer to resembling MILK and he was nice enough to swap it out for some. Then came the "bacon". Our faces must have looked disappointed and I'm pretty sure Nate sighed out loud because the waiter just stood there and asked if everything was OK. We explained what we were looking for and he said that was something we would have to look for at the market. The bacon here is more like Canadian bacon or ham even. They call it rasher bacon. The pacakes were delicious though and we stumbled upon "The Reject Shop" where we bought lots of odds and ends for our apartment. It is kind of like the dollar store.
It's funny when you get something in your head, like bacon, you start obsessing over it and become determined to find it. Thank goodness it was at the Queen Victoria Market or I think Nate was going to find a pig and slaughter it himself.
We haven't found Macaroni and Cheese here. They had something that looked promising in a bag that looked like Rice a Roni, but it tasted like chlorine. I would love a box of the good stuff, of course probably because I can't find it!
Also, ranch and peanut butter. You were right Suzanne. They just don't get it! We are happy with Nutella for now.
There isn't half and half in any grocery store we have been to either. I did find some Coffeemate, which they call "Coffee Whitener" here.
Beer is expensive, but good. Coffee is good. They call raisins Sultanas, pepper is like a dust or powder, any kind of squash is called Pumpkin, peppers are Capsicum, and turkey is really expensive. Just a few observations relating to food so far. They do love food here in Melbourne. There are lots of restaurants all over with a wide range of genres to choose from. I knew I would love it here (even when they don't have real bacon)!
Happy In Our New Home
Ello everyone! Sorry for not posting for two weeks. We didn't have Internet hooked up for one of them.
Yesterday marked 3 weeks in Australia! It feels like much longer than that. We have accomplished a lot in a short time. We are settled in to our new apartment now and I have a job...sort of.
First, the apartment. We now live in St. Kilda which is a town/city outside of Melbourne central. It's a 25 minute ride on the tram to downtown. It goes by quick. St. Kilda is a beachy backpacker town. It used to have a bad reputation for drugs and being generally sketchy. It still lives up to that in some areas, but is "up and coming". Just like Spanish Harlem! We know how to find 'em. The apartment was partly furnished with bed, tv, couch, nightstand, and coffee table. We love it. We have one frying pan, one sauce pan, and one baking pan. Also, some mis matched dishes and silverware. We are getting by fine. We really don't need that much.
It's a 5 minute walk to the beach. We went for a walk today and saw around 20 kite surfers out. It was super windy! Tomorrow we are participating in an event to speak out against climate change and global warming along with 10,000+ other people. We will be in an aerial photo on the beach as part of phrases against climate changed spelled using people as the letters. Does that make sense? We will post pictures. It should be a lot of fun, an interesting experience I'm sure.
Next, my job. I am going to be a "Casual Relief" teacher which is like a substitute teacher in Melbourne. But, I can't do that until I have the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) look over a bunch of paperwork I have to submit and basically have them say, yup, she can teach. So, while I wait for the VIT OK I can be a before and after school worker, kindergarten assistant, and day time integration worker pulling out disabled kids and helping them with whatever they need. All of that sounds great but I just haven't been assigned anything yet. I did get a badge in the mail with my name on it. Hopefully I will get something soon. I am taking First Aid and Anaphylaxis training here as well. I already submitted a "Working With Children" check and need a Criminal Check. I understand the reasoning for it all, but man it's a pain!
Nate is hunting online for some kind of insurance related position. We met our neighbor yesterday, April, and she gave him a card of a temp agency that she used and liked. Maybe something will come of that. She is also the confirmed owner of the little Siamese kitty that has been visiting us. It's a boy and his name is Coco. He is very sweet and likes to come in the kitchen window. She just leaves her window open and he comes as he pleases. She is from Ottawa, Canada and brought him to Australia with her. We were asking all about that process since we considered bringing Izzy. She said it was very drawn out with lots of paperwork and Coco had to be in quarantine for a month. I didn't think a month was bad, but I'm glad that my cousin Ryan could take care of Izzy while we are gone. Thanks Ryan!
The weather has been pretty fair. It's usually around 60. Some days it feels very humid. Our towels don't seem to ever dry. They are in a drought here and have been for 7 years or something but it seems to rain a lot. Winter is coming! The locals say it will get a little colder, but not much. I can deal with that. They have no clue what winter is like in Michigan!
We were talking about taking a weekend trip to Sydney soon. I am eager to travel around and see more of Australia. There is a lot to explore, even in Melbourne.
Nate found a volleyball league online and we went to observe them playing last Monday. They play at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Center which is about 3-4 stops away on the tram (not far) and is very impressive. It's HUGE! They had at least 3 pools that I saw, one of them was outdoor with a cool overhang and lots of viewing space. One of the teams was going to have to forfeit because they were short a player. Nate brought his stuff in anticipation of a situation like this so he quickly changed and played with them. They won all three games. They exchanged information and he is going to try and play with them again before next season starts in June when he can get on a team and play every week. Maybe I will join the gym and get some exercise while he plays.
Well I am sampling a new Pale Ale we picked up at the IGA down the street (yes an IGA) and Nate is in the kitchen making a delicious dinner. We went to the Queen Victoria Market again today and this time we had a plan and a list. We did good. It's crazy there. Lots of people and walking through the meat/fish building the butchers just yell out "The whole tray, $10" or "Two for one" or anything they want to broadcast to everyone walking by. I can't understand them half of the time. It was elbow to elbow in there today and I had to take some deep breaths to make it through without punching someone. Nate is making Orange Roughy (fish), couscous, and green beans. Yummmy. We have lots of food now. We have been doing good at budgeting out food and eating what we buy. I am sick of carrots though.
Okay, this post is long enough. We will be more frequent now the Internet is all hooked up. I'll post about tomorrows event!
Have a great day everyone. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LISA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you guys.
Yesterday marked 3 weeks in Australia! It feels like much longer than that. We have accomplished a lot in a short time. We are settled in to our new apartment now and I have a job...sort of.
First, the apartment. We now live in St. Kilda which is a town/city outside of Melbourne central. It's a 25 minute ride on the tram to downtown. It goes by quick. St. Kilda is a beachy backpacker town. It used to have a bad reputation for drugs and being generally sketchy. It still lives up to that in some areas, but is "up and coming". Just like Spanish Harlem! We know how to find 'em. The apartment was partly furnished with bed, tv, couch, nightstand, and coffee table. We love it. We have one frying pan, one sauce pan, and one baking pan. Also, some mis matched dishes and silverware. We are getting by fine. We really don't need that much.
It's a 5 minute walk to the beach. We went for a walk today and saw around 20 kite surfers out. It was super windy! Tomorrow we are participating in an event to speak out against climate change and global warming along with 10,000+ other people. We will be in an aerial photo on the beach as part of phrases against climate changed spelled using people as the letters. Does that make sense? We will post pictures. It should be a lot of fun, an interesting experience I'm sure.
Next, my job. I am going to be a "Casual Relief" teacher which is like a substitute teacher in Melbourne. But, I can't do that until I have the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) look over a bunch of paperwork I have to submit and basically have them say, yup, she can teach. So, while I wait for the VIT OK I can be a before and after school worker, kindergarten assistant, and day time integration worker pulling out disabled kids and helping them with whatever they need. All of that sounds great but I just haven't been assigned anything yet. I did get a badge in the mail with my name on it. Hopefully I will get something soon. I am taking First Aid and Anaphylaxis training here as well. I already submitted a "Working With Children" check and need a Criminal Check. I understand the reasoning for it all, but man it's a pain!
Nate is hunting online for some kind of insurance related position. We met our neighbor yesterday, April, and she gave him a card of a temp agency that she used and liked. Maybe something will come of that. She is also the confirmed owner of the little Siamese kitty that has been visiting us. It's a boy and his name is Coco. He is very sweet and likes to come in the kitchen window. She just leaves her window open and he comes as he pleases. She is from Ottawa, Canada and brought him to Australia with her. We were asking all about that process since we considered bringing Izzy. She said it was very drawn out with lots of paperwork and Coco had to be in quarantine for a month. I didn't think a month was bad, but I'm glad that my cousin Ryan could take care of Izzy while we are gone. Thanks Ryan!
The weather has been pretty fair. It's usually around 60. Some days it feels very humid. Our towels don't seem to ever dry. They are in a drought here and have been for 7 years or something but it seems to rain a lot. Winter is coming! The locals say it will get a little colder, but not much. I can deal with that. They have no clue what winter is like in Michigan!
We were talking about taking a weekend trip to Sydney soon. I am eager to travel around and see more of Australia. There is a lot to explore, even in Melbourne.
Nate found a volleyball league online and we went to observe them playing last Monday. They play at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Center which is about 3-4 stops away on the tram (not far) and is very impressive. It's HUGE! They had at least 3 pools that I saw, one of them was outdoor with a cool overhang and lots of viewing space. One of the teams was going to have to forfeit because they were short a player. Nate brought his stuff in anticipation of a situation like this so he quickly changed and played with them. They won all three games. They exchanged information and he is going to try and play with them again before next season starts in June when he can get on a team and play every week. Maybe I will join the gym and get some exercise while he plays.
Well I am sampling a new Pale Ale we picked up at the IGA down the street (yes an IGA) and Nate is in the kitchen making a delicious dinner. We went to the Queen Victoria Market again today and this time we had a plan and a list. We did good. It's crazy there. Lots of people and walking through the meat/fish building the butchers just yell out "The whole tray, $10" or "Two for one" or anything they want to broadcast to everyone walking by. I can't understand them half of the time. It was elbow to elbow in there today and I had to take some deep breaths to make it through without punching someone. Nate is making Orange Roughy (fish), couscous, and green beans. Yummmy. We have lots of food now. We have been doing good at budgeting out food and eating what we buy. I am sick of carrots though.
Okay, this post is long enough. We will be more frequent now the Internet is all hooked up. I'll post about tomorrows event!
Have a great day everyone. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LISA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you guys.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
No Worries
Today will be our 9th day in Australia. It feels like it's been much longer than that. I think we have accomplished quite a lot. It only took me 3 days before I could sleep through the night and about 5 days before I could actually stay up past 9:30. Last night we watched Transformers and I stayed up until 11! That movie is crazy. I had lots of questions and I think Nate was getting a little annoyed with answering them. I'm just curious :-)
We stumbled upon a Target here in the CBD (Central Business District) last night. Didn't get to go in though because it was closed. Everything closes early on Saturdays. Around 4/5 and many places are closed on Sundays. Banks and post offices are closed on the weekends.
We are going to a Footie game today. That's Australian Rules Football. Ethiad Stadium where they play is just a stone's throw away from Sam's apartment where we are staying. One of the teams that's playing today is the St. Kilda team, where our new apartment is, so I will be rooting for them. I even went and got a Saints scarf to wear. Their colors are black and red. Everyone wears scarves to show their team spirit. Sort of European I'd say.
On a different note, we hear that real bacon is called streakie bacon here and there are rumors that they serve it at the Pancake Parlour. We will have to go check it out! It will remind me of my Tuesday dates with Emily at the Pancake House back home. Mmmmm Pancake House.
All of the Aussies that I have had the chance to talk to are super nice. I love how they say "No Worries" all the time. Sort of sums up their lifestyle and state of mind. Nice for a change. Kind of reminds me of being in Costa Rica where they say "Pura Vida" all the time.
The Tram service has been really nice and conenient. The trick is getting on the correct side of the road for whichever direction you want to go. Since they run alligned with traffic, that would be the opposite side than what our instincts would tell us. We are getting used to it now. Although yesterday we were on our way to a Backpackers Center to look at the job board and we got on a really busy tram. Nate went one way and thoght I was following him and I went the other way and thought he was following me. Needless to say I was starting to panic a little because he had the directions and I didn't know exactly where we were going. Glad our phones are working, I called him and I managed to shove my way through to get off just before the doors closed. City life!
I am looking forward to exploring the new location of our apartment in St. Kilda. I have never lived that close to a beach (except for my mom's in Emerald Lakes). It's only a 5 min walk and your there. It's definitely more laid back than the CBD and there's more nautre around. Can't wait til we move in on Tuesday!
We stumbled upon a Target here in the CBD (Central Business District) last night. Didn't get to go in though because it was closed. Everything closes early on Saturdays. Around 4/5 and many places are closed on Sundays. Banks and post offices are closed on the weekends.
We are going to a Footie game today. That's Australian Rules Football. Ethiad Stadium where they play is just a stone's throw away from Sam's apartment where we are staying. One of the teams that's playing today is the St. Kilda team, where our new apartment is, so I will be rooting for them. I even went and got a Saints scarf to wear. Their colors are black and red. Everyone wears scarves to show their team spirit. Sort of European I'd say.
On a different note, we hear that real bacon is called streakie bacon here and there are rumors that they serve it at the Pancake Parlour. We will have to go check it out! It will remind me of my Tuesday dates with Emily at the Pancake House back home. Mmmmm Pancake House.
All of the Aussies that I have had the chance to talk to are super nice. I love how they say "No Worries" all the time. Sort of sums up their lifestyle and state of mind. Nice for a change. Kind of reminds me of being in Costa Rica where they say "Pura Vida" all the time.
The Tram service has been really nice and conenient. The trick is getting on the correct side of the road for whichever direction you want to go. Since they run alligned with traffic, that would be the opposite side than what our instincts would tell us. We are getting used to it now. Although yesterday we were on our way to a Backpackers Center to look at the job board and we got on a really busy tram. Nate went one way and thoght I was following him and I went the other way and thought he was following me. Needless to say I was starting to panic a little because he had the directions and I didn't know exactly where we were going. Glad our phones are working, I called him and I managed to shove my way through to get off just before the doors closed. City life!
I am looking forward to exploring the new location of our apartment in St. Kilda. I have never lived that close to a beach (except for my mom's in Emerald Lakes). It's only a 5 min walk and your there. It's definitely more laid back than the CBD and there's more nautre around. Can't wait til we move in on Tuesday!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Text here, Pictures on Picasa
Just to clarify, we will be blogging and writing up everything we have to say here on our blog. All of our pictures are on Picasa because they don't fit on the blog.
Read about us here
See pictures of us on Picasa
http://picasaweb.google.com/carlyandnatedownunder
Read about us here
See pictures of us on Picasa
http://picasaweb.google.com/carlyandnatedownunder
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Catching Up
In all of the excitement of the last couple weeks there are some events and observations that have been left out so I'll catch everybody up to date.
When we were still in Canada we went spelunking in some really cool caves near the Spirit Spheres. There were the 4 of us, our guide Laura and another young couple that came in our group. Getting to the caves was harder than anything we had to do inside of them! We had to hike up a really steep hill to get to the entrance of the first cave we went into. Everyone was huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top. Our guide showed us some of the signs for how to spot where caves are likely to be on the way up.
The first cave we went in was the biggest and most open of the 3 we explored. In order to get in we all had to climb through a 2x2ft metal door and down a ladder with about 15 steps. Once inside we all went deeper and Laura showed us some cool rock formations and explained how stalactites and stalagmites are formed. She also explained how people can stain them just by touching the surface and we weren't allowed to touch any of the calcite in this cave. Once we went deeper into the cave we all turned out our head lamps and experienced absolute darkness. Its the darkest place in the universe, there are many places equally as dark but none darker. Absolutely no light could reach to where we were. Turns out you do have a kind of sixth sense because your brain still "sees" your hand when you wave it in front of your face in the dark.
After that we left that cave and went down the hill to 2 smaller caves that involved more climbing and squeezing through cracks. We got to climb up a waterfall in the cave and we all had to fit through some pretty narrow holes. There were a few times where you look at the hole you're supposed to fit through and you're like uh-uh, my butt is not fitting through that hole. But then you wiggle and suck in and make it through and see some really neat stuff on the other side.
There are some pictures of the caves up on picasa that you can take a look at.
Some funny/interesting observations here in Melbourne.
Hungry Jacks. This is a local fast food chain that is the Burger King of Australia. BK actually owns it and their logo looks just like the Burger King logo just with Hungry Jacks inside the bun instead. The one we went into had a flock of birds inside munching on fries left behind. It might have been my imagination but I think they looked a little fat.
Burgers in Australia - I've had 2 now and on each one it has come with an egg and "bacon" the bacon here is different, its kind of in between real bacon and Canadian bacon. It tastes pretty good but if I can't get some nice crunchy bacon here at some point I'm going to come home early. As for the egg on the burger I still haven't made up my mind, its not bad but I don't think its really necessary.
Some sayings - How you going? = How are you doing?
no worries = no problem or you're welcome depending on the context
to stay or take away? = for here or to go?
they like to add Es to the end of things too, breaky for breakfast, bikee gangs instead of biker (I still can't think of a bikee gang as intimidating in the least, it sounds like they're riding tricycles)
They love American television here! From the Daily Show to American Idol and everything in between can be found here. The only all Australian shows I've seen are the talk shows and soap operas.
Speaking of entertainment, we were wandering around last Saturday and ended up in Melbourne Central which is this mall with a gigantic domed ceiling with an old building going straight up the dome. They also have a movie theater in there and we went to see Monsters vs Aliens. The movie was pretty good, the unusual thing though is that they give you assigned seats! We're at the counter buying our tickets and the guy asks us where we'd like to sit. It was actually pretty nice, we didn't have to worry about being inside the second the theater opened up but I could see how it would be annoying in a full movie.
Melbourne is famous for its arcades, but not the video game kind. There are many alleyways between buildings that are full of cafes and little shops and only open to foot traffic.
That's all for now.
When we were still in Canada we went spelunking in some really cool caves near the Spirit Spheres. There were the 4 of us, our guide Laura and another young couple that came in our group. Getting to the caves was harder than anything we had to do inside of them! We had to hike up a really steep hill to get to the entrance of the first cave we went into. Everyone was huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top. Our guide showed us some of the signs for how to spot where caves are likely to be on the way up.
The first cave we went in was the biggest and most open of the 3 we explored. In order to get in we all had to climb through a 2x2ft metal door and down a ladder with about 15 steps. Once inside we all went deeper and Laura showed us some cool rock formations and explained how stalactites and stalagmites are formed. She also explained how people can stain them just by touching the surface and we weren't allowed to touch any of the calcite in this cave. Once we went deeper into the cave we all turned out our head lamps and experienced absolute darkness. Its the darkest place in the universe, there are many places equally as dark but none darker. Absolutely no light could reach to where we were. Turns out you do have a kind of sixth sense because your brain still "sees" your hand when you wave it in front of your face in the dark.
After that we left that cave and went down the hill to 2 smaller caves that involved more climbing and squeezing through cracks. We got to climb up a waterfall in the cave and we all had to fit through some pretty narrow holes. There were a few times where you look at the hole you're supposed to fit through and you're like uh-uh, my butt is not fitting through that hole. But then you wiggle and suck in and make it through and see some really neat stuff on the other side.
There are some pictures of the caves up on picasa that you can take a look at.
Some funny/interesting observations here in Melbourne.
Hungry Jacks. This is a local fast food chain that is the Burger King of Australia. BK actually owns it and their logo looks just like the Burger King logo just with Hungry Jacks inside the bun instead. The one we went into had a flock of birds inside munching on fries left behind. It might have been my imagination but I think they looked a little fat.
Burgers in Australia - I've had 2 now and on each one it has come with an egg and "bacon" the bacon here is different, its kind of in between real bacon and Canadian bacon. It tastes pretty good but if I can't get some nice crunchy bacon here at some point I'm going to come home early. As for the egg on the burger I still haven't made up my mind, its not bad but I don't think its really necessary.
Some sayings - How you going? = How are you doing?
no worries = no problem or you're welcome depending on the context
to stay or take away? = for here or to go?
they like to add Es to the end of things too, breaky for breakfast, bikee gangs instead of biker (I still can't think of a bikee gang as intimidating in the least, it sounds like they're riding tricycles)
They love American television here! From the Daily Show to American Idol and everything in between can be found here. The only all Australian shows I've seen are the talk shows and soap operas.
Speaking of entertainment, we were wandering around last Saturday and ended up in Melbourne Central which is this mall with a gigantic domed ceiling with an old building going straight up the dome. They also have a movie theater in there and we went to see Monsters vs Aliens. The movie was pretty good, the unusual thing though is that they give you assigned seats! We're at the counter buying our tickets and the guy asks us where we'd like to sit. It was actually pretty nice, we didn't have to worry about being inside the second the theater opened up but I could see how it would be annoying in a full movie.
Melbourne is famous for its arcades, but not the video game kind. There are many alleyways between buildings that are full of cafes and little shops and only open to foot traffic.
That's all for now.
Our New Home
We have a new apartment!
We found it on Tuesday, were approved on Wednesday, and signed the lease today, Thursday. We are very excited about it. The apartment is furnished with nice furniture and there is lots of closet space which I'm pretty happy about. There is also a TV in the kitchen. Bonus. We move in next Tuesday the 5th.
Here is a link to google maps to see where in the world we will be living
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=4%2F44+Fitzroy+St.+Kilda+Victoria+Australia&sll=-37.863979,144.974062&sspn=0.008826,0.019312&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.863318,144.974062&spn=0.008826,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=A
Our new address is:
4/44 Fitzroy St
St. Kilda 3182
Victoria Australia
So things are moving along pretty quickly. We both have cell phones and a bank account as well. Getting settled. Next on the list are JOBS. Minor detail :-)
We found it on Tuesday, were approved on Wednesday, and signed the lease today, Thursday. We are very excited about it. The apartment is furnished with nice furniture and there is lots of closet space which I'm pretty happy about. There is also a TV in the kitchen. Bonus. We move in next Tuesday the 5th.
Here is a link to google maps to see where in the world we will be living
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=4%2F44+Fitzroy+St.+Kilda+Victoria+Australia&sll=-37.863979,144.974062&sspn=0.008826,0.019312&ie=UTF8&ll=-37.863318,144.974062&spn=0.008826,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=A
Our new address is:
4/44 Fitzroy St
St. Kilda 3182
Victoria Australia
So things are moving along pretty quickly. We both have cell phones and a bank account as well. Getting settled. Next on the list are JOBS. Minor detail :-)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
House Hunting
Ahh house hunting, everyone's favorite chore... So we're starting to become a lot more knowledgeable about Melbourne's neighborhoods, and boy are there a lot of them. Right now we're focusing on St Kilda, Prahran, Toorak, and Melbourne itself. Its still hard for me to grasp exactly how far apart these places are in relation to downtown Melbourne, we've taken the trams to all of the apartments we're viewing but if we wanted to we could probably walk to them.
So we've seen 3 apartments so far out of the five we have attempted to see. First I'll explain the process with most of these "inspections" as they like to call it. Each apartment that is being shown gets a window of 15 minutes that the agent will be there to show it. If you're late, you're out of luck. If you're early, you have to wait until they get there. The first one we tried to see yesterday, we arrived in the middle of the time period and there was a guy there with his baby that said nobody showed up to show the apartment...strike one. This morning we were late getting to the inspection...strike 2. That one stunk because we had to schlep out pretty far from where we're staying to get there. On the other hand we saw some pretty shady things on the way there so we weren't too disappointed in the end. This is a PG blog so I won't get into it here!
Third try was the charm, sort of...at least we got to see this one. What we saw wasn't very appealing though. This was advertised as a 2 bedroom, fully furnished apartment. Well it had some furnishings... 2 crappy twin beds, a couch that looked like they got it off of the street that morning, a desk and a couple chairs that looked like they would break if you sneezed on them too hard. Not what we're looking for.
The next one we saw was a studio in St Kilda this afternoon. Same 15 minute time limit but at least this one was on time. There were about 15 people there to see the apartment, all at the same time, in a studio...needless to say, it was a bit cramped in there. The view was really nice, looking at the city in the distance and over a park right below. This one was unfurnished though, and when they say unfurnished, they mean unfurnished. Not even a refrigerator is included!
After that one, we went to see one nearby that the tenants are leaving early to go back home to Ireland. This one is perfect! Its a 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment in a good location and it fits our price range. We called the real estate office to let them know we really want it so keep your fingers crossed for us! The tenants that are leaving are leaving all of their stuff too, TV, dishes, you name it, they're not taking it.
We've got a busy day on Thursday. I have an interview of sorts, they don't have any specific openings but hopefully I'll be able to blow their socks off with my charm and wit...(better keep your fingers crossed for me on this one too) After that we have several apartment inspections right in a row, just in case the one we saw today doesn't come through. Its gonna be a looooooong day, but once we're settled it'll all be worth it.
Oh and I have an Australian cell phone now if you need to get in contact with us quickly. You'll be calling on international rates so I wouldn't recommend any calls unless its an emergency. One nice thing about this number is that I don't take any charges for incoming calls so its all on you! 61 04 1588 0379
So we've seen 3 apartments so far out of the five we have attempted to see. First I'll explain the process with most of these "inspections" as they like to call it. Each apartment that is being shown gets a window of 15 minutes that the agent will be there to show it. If you're late, you're out of luck. If you're early, you have to wait until they get there. The first one we tried to see yesterday, we arrived in the middle of the time period and there was a guy there with his baby that said nobody showed up to show the apartment...strike one. This morning we were late getting to the inspection...strike 2. That one stunk because we had to schlep out pretty far from where we're staying to get there. On the other hand we saw some pretty shady things on the way there so we weren't too disappointed in the end. This is a PG blog so I won't get into it here!
Third try was the charm, sort of...at least we got to see this one. What we saw wasn't very appealing though. This was advertised as a 2 bedroom, fully furnished apartment. Well it had some furnishings... 2 crappy twin beds, a couch that looked like they got it off of the street that morning, a desk and a couple chairs that looked like they would break if you sneezed on them too hard. Not what we're looking for.
The next one we saw was a studio in St Kilda this afternoon. Same 15 minute time limit but at least this one was on time. There were about 15 people there to see the apartment, all at the same time, in a studio...needless to say, it was a bit cramped in there. The view was really nice, looking at the city in the distance and over a park right below. This one was unfurnished though, and when they say unfurnished, they mean unfurnished. Not even a refrigerator is included!
After that one, we went to see one nearby that the tenants are leaving early to go back home to Ireland. This one is perfect! Its a 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment in a good location and it fits our price range. We called the real estate office to let them know we really want it so keep your fingers crossed for us! The tenants that are leaving are leaving all of their stuff too, TV, dishes, you name it, they're not taking it.
We've got a busy day on Thursday. I have an interview of sorts, they don't have any specific openings but hopefully I'll be able to blow their socks off with my charm and wit...(better keep your fingers crossed for me on this one too) After that we have several apartment inspections right in a row, just in case the one we saw today doesn't come through. Its gonna be a looooooong day, but once we're settled it'll all be worth it.
Oh and I have an Australian cell phone now if you need to get in contact with us quickly. You'll be calling on international rates so I wouldn't recommend any calls unless its an emergency. One nice thing about this number is that I don't take any charges for incoming calls so its all on you! 61 04 1588 0379
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