One week to go

Sorry for not putting any updates on here for a while, I’m working on trying to get everything done in the next week.

I spent last week at the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef.  It was amazing.  One of the islands there has been rated the best beach in the world several times.  It had the whitest, finest sand and the clearest water that I have ever seen, oh and it was sunny and hot the whole time except for the first day we were there.  I went with 3 other people from MN and we had a blast.

On the day we went to the award-winning beach, we took a jet boat to the reef and went snorkeling on the reef, saw lots of fish and got a foot cramp from my swim flippers.  We then went to an island to go on a bush walk and take pictures and then finally to the beach.

I have been putting on heaps of sunscreen, SPF50 to be exact.  I am trying to get some sort of color but that Scandinavian heritage of mine doesn’t seem to want to.

Today was ANZAC Day – which stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is one of Australia's most important national occasions and very similar to our Veterans Day. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War and was established as a national day of commemoration for the 60,000 Australians who died during the war. Once again, throughout Australia stores and shops are closed down for the entire day while many rituals – such as dawn ceremonies, marches, memorial services, reunions, and games – are celebrated through various cities and locations.

Last night I stayed at the Gold Coast at Surfer’s Paradise with most of the group. I woke at 5:30am to watch the dawn ceremony, which literally started on the street where my hotel was located – very cool. The dawn service is very serious and considered a time to reflect. I learned that during battles, the half-light of dawn was one of the most common times for an attack. Soldiers would wake up in the dark, so by the time they reached the battlefields they were awake, alert, and ready to fire – that is why the dawn service is so significant.

The ceremony starts in a parade fashion, where ex-servicemen and woman are led into the city by a drum line. Then gunshots are fired and speeches are made. After this, we walked to the beach – which was just a few steps – away and watched the sun rise. It was very peaceful and we were surrounded by families sitting and sharing stories together. It reminded me of home. It was great to see how so many people still get together to reflect and remember the meaning of the holiday.

I leave Australia in a week and I still have heaps to do activity wise as well as school wise.  Wish me luck.

 

If you want to see some of the pictures I’ve been taking, check this out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nchenevert/

 

-Nolan

She'll be right

I’m still alive and in Australia, I can’t believe that it has already been 2 weeks.  I think that I am adjusting rather well but there are still some things that I am working on.

First things first, we drive on the other side of the road. During my first car trip I sat in the passenger seat - which is our typical driver seat. As we drove I talked to the driver and every time I looked forward it was the most surreal feeling. My mind was telling me that I should be focusing on driving while my eyes and body language were not following. I literally stepped out of the car the first time and felt queasy. Very strange.

Next difference, we push a button to flush the toilet. And there is not just one button, but two. They give us options here! One is for a full flush and the other is just a half flush. Hopefully you can figure when to push what – although, I didn’t understand the purpose for them until day four. So I spent the week randomly pushing one of the two buttons. Hey, we learn something new everyday. And that is one of the things I learned that day.

Also, before I came, I heard from numerous people that the toilet flushes in a different direction. So...strangely enough I was really excited to see this. Well, I hate to tell all you hopefuls, but this is NOT true at all. The toilets flush straight down. They actually don't spiral at all! Well every one that I have experienced anyway! I think it has to do with thier difference shape, size, and depth - there's are shaped deeper and with less water. Besides, the Coriolis Effect, (which causes storms spin in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres; I ASSUME people thought the water moved in the opposite direction as well), would probably not be powerful enough to effect toilets and bath tubs! But anyways, enough about those dang water closets!

Moving on to more important matters...Australia has very tight water restrictions. It is all about conserving – which is a good thing! But it also means I have to conserve water while I shower – a lot of water! I can use 4 minutes of water. Which is quite a task when I am used to taking 7-10 minute showers.  I have learned to just stand under the water, turn off the water, shampoo and soap, and then rinse off.  It is definitely different, but I am adjusting rather well.

On the note of conserving we also turn on and turn off our outlets – just the same as we turn and turn off our lights. So there is literally a switch on every outlet. Half the time I go to charge things I just stick them into my converter and walk away, only to discover that I didn’t flip that handy little switch. Not cool.

Okay, and finally for the part that a lot of you have been inquiring about. Do I understand them?! And the answer is yes. A lot of the Aussie terminology that we hear in movies or on the television, isn’t used that frequently. They call people that still talk like that (comparable to Steve Irwin) “True Blue Aussies.”

But there are SOME interesting terms that I have heard and/or learned about in interesting ways. Here are a few examples:

Trunk = Boot

How I Learned: My teacher asked me to put my bags in the boot.

Eraser = Rubber

How I Learned: I heard one of the kids asking another for a rubber and I knew something about that couldn’t be right!

Flip-Flops = thongs

How I Learned: We were talking about dress attire for going out and one of the restrictions was “No Thongs Allowed.”

Skip School = Wag

How I learned: A lot of kids were missing from school and I asked the teacher if there was a bug, or sickness, going around and she said they were probably just wagging.

Side Ache = Stitch

How I learned: The kids were running outside for cross country and the kids kept complaining that they had a stitch.

 

Other terminology that I have heard:

Markers = Texters

Cookie = Bikkie

Insects = Bities

Funny person = Dag

Period (in grammar) – Full Stop

The Letter Z = Pronounced as “Z”ed

Everything is good = She’ll be Apples or She’ll be Right

Mate = Man

Yabber = Someone who talks a lot

Restroom/Bathroom = Toilet/Loo

College = Uni

Excellent/Exclamation = Strewth!

Barbeque = Barbie

 

On a final note, here are some more things that I have done. I have ridden on a train or a bus for hundreds of miles (kilometers), sold my guitar, borrowed a new one, went to the Australia Zoo, went to a beach on the Sunshine Coast, went to another birthday party, booked my spring break to the Whitsunday Islands, had Baskin Robbins for the first time, and plenty more.

Finally here. Finally on a computer.

Well, it's official, I'm in Australia.
Go ahead be jealous. It is amazing here so far. It has been 75-85 degrees everyday and sunny.
I flew out of MN Monday night, landed in LA, flew out Monday night/Tuesday morning, landed in Brisbane Wednesday morning. During the flight, I only got to experience about 6 hours of Tuesday because of all of the time changes.
Once we landed in Brisbane at 6:45 am, still in the same clothes from when we left, we took a bus tour of the city and then a walking tour of the city. I couldn't wait until 4:00 because be would get to check into our accommodations (hotel) and get to shower. Once checked in to the hotel, my roommates and I made it up to the 20th floor, after waiting 15 minutes for an elevator, and found out that we had the wrong key.....awesome.
Not wanting to wait for the elevator, I decided it would be a good idea to take the stairs down, which I did, and I ended up in some underground parking garage. Eventually I made it to the desk, got the correct key, and got to take a shower.
Since then, I have been to QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Kelvin Grove and Caboolture campuses, I visited my year 4 classroom, rode on several busses and trains, walked alot, bought a cell phone, bought a guitar, went swimming, attended several sausage sizzles (BBQs), slept a little, ate a little, and moved into a new house.

It has been great so far and I have not been disappointed yet. (Except for not being able to call home enough)

I go into the classroom on Monday to begin teaching and will let you know how it goes.

I miss you and hope that you are enjoying all of the snow.

-Nolan

(the internet is slow here so I will put up some pictures when I get a chance)

Packing Woes

Other than having to pay, I think the worst thing about traveling is packing.  I always feel like I'm bringing too much but also not enough.  I'm sure that in the next day and a half, I'll go through and re-pack several more times.

During my experiences teaching thusfar, I have gotten used to wearing a shirt and tie everyday but am really looking forward to the difference in teacher attire in Australia.  Polo shirts, tennis shoes, shorts.  I've been told that if I were to show up wearing a tie, the class would wonder who was in trouble and who the new Principal was and also that I would probably pass out because of the humidity.

I am anticipating on putting some pretty sweet stories and pictures on here in the near future and can't wait to hear from you.

~Nolan

Getting Ready

Tomorrow is my final day of student teaching in the US.  It is going to be a bittersweet day because I am looking forward to getting done so that I can get to Australia but I've had such a great experience so far that I do not want to leave.

I do not fly out until March 23rd so until that time I will just be getting myself ready and spending some time with family and friends.  

If you have any advice or recommendations for my packing or traveling, please let me know.

(Also, if you are confused as to how this was written in the future, I have it set to Australian time already.)

 

We're looking forward to getting rid of our winter coats.

~Nolan