First Weekend :)

Well the first weekend was a success! I didn't do much, but what we did do was fun. Friday night we went out to eat with Blake to a really cool restaurant, and we ate crocodile and calamari. The Crocodile was a little chewy for my taste, but it did taste like chicken otherwise. I don't think I will have it again, but I am happy I tried it! My next thing to try is kangaroo. 

We then took a picture with the baby crocodile that was at the restaurant so that was fun :)

We went to a bar later and we were doing some wonderful people watching. There was one couple that was a little too aggressive, and I had to snap a picture because we were all so stunned by it!

Later at the end of the night we went to Blake's to meet his new puppy Bruce! He is the cutest little thing :)

Saturday we hung out around our house all day and it was wonderful. We went into the pool and hung out with Carlee! We had some drinks and nibbles throughout the day (snacks), and I took this picture because I think its cool that they have such a variety of mixed drinks already made. Mostly I thought of Dave when I saw all of these, so Dave you better think these are cool!

Saturday night we had a great barbee night and it was delicious! We had so much food and we all just talked and hung out at the house. Perfect relaxing Saturday!

Today Sofia and I went to the Casuarina Mall and we shopped. I didn't buy much, but it was cool to see the different things they sell! I had a spinach and feta pie for lunch and it was very good! We also saw the Harry Potter books, and their different covers! I took a picture below :) There was an awesome restaurant where you can just pick your dish off of a train as it went around, so naturally I took a picture! Last cool thing, the escalators in Australia are just an inclined slope that moves they are pretty cool, and they make you tip a little! Once again picture of Sofia on one today is below :)

 Now we are about to have a our big roast for tea (dinner) that they have every sunday! So I should head out to meet everyone and enjoy the time. A new school week starts tomorrow! I will keep you posted :)

Harry Potter Books!

The slope escalator.

My delicious lunch!

And of course the crazy train restaurant. You can see the train with the dishes right in front of the waitress at the counter :)

Cheers!!!

Cheers!

I am learning how to use the phrases in Darwin, and it is quite fun!

• They like to say "too easy" when you are saying like "its all good" type of idea. 
• They say "no worries" a lot which is self explanatory. 
• "Cheers" when saying goodbye. 

Those are only a few, but they are ones I like!

Sofia is here!! :) Finally and Carlee is here now as well! Carlee is another girl from GVSU that is staying with a lady who is friends with our host family so that worked out well!

Yesterday morning I went to brush my teeth and I screamed as I realized there was a lizard on the wall in front of me. It turned out to be a gecco, and Roger said it was nothing to worry about around here. Today we went an looked at the area where I saw the kangaroos before, but we didnt end up seeing any except for one far away. There were some beautiful trees with flowers on them, so I have pictures posted below :) 

We took the host family dog Sam on a walk, and he is so cute because he has to hold his own leash as we walk (also in a picture below). Sofia and I snapped a few pictures then when we were near the beach! 

It wasn't too hot today. It was only like 88-90 which was nice. I am getting more used to the weather, but I still sweat a lot! Thank goodness for AC down here or the Air Con as they say. 

Well I need to get some stuff ready for tomorrow, but enjoy the pictures! 

Hannah

The money here is so pretty and made of plastic!

Our favorite flowers so far in Darwin, Frangipanis.

Sam walking himself!

The beach with low tide. 

Sofia and I :)

Me and the pretty tree!

My little bud from the bathroom :)

These frogs are all around our house outside.

First Day of School, First Day of School!!!

For those who don't realize it, that title is a Finding Nemo reference. Which I had to use since that movie is based in Australia!

My first day of school today was amazing! It was Melbourne Cup day which in Australia is BIG news. My day consisted of teaching of course, but there was a lot more to this day! I bet on the race with the other teachers, we watched the race after school in the library, we drank alcohol while we watched, we ate snacks, and people won money. Sadly I won nothing. My two horses that I got in the sweep were the Drunken Sailor and Older Than Time, and neither came close to winning. Too bad! But it was fun! I found out on Fridays the teachers drink after school so thats fun :) But everyone is very nice, and the kids all said they loved my accent.

Tonight my host parents get back! I am excited to finally have them in the house :)

This morning I noticed some little bugs scurrying around the floor whenever I opened cupboards, and I stepped on them on accident all over. I asked Blake what they were and it turned out they were all tiny cockroaches! He said they of course get bigger but yes they were big cockroaches in the making until I killed them by walking on them...That will take some getting used to.

Last night I heard some animals in the ceiling and Blake said they could be rats that are HUGE. I am hoping that is not the case, but as he has pointed out many times to me "I am in a tropical place so I need to realize what bugs and animals are around here!"

School overall seems like it will be great, but I do miss my Kindergarteners already!! This will be a fun time, and I can tell I will be learning a lot :)

Sofia gets here soon!!! Counting down until then :)

Fun Facts I Have Learned So Far

• Gambling is legal
• Prostitution is legal
• They drive on the left side of the road
• There are birds that sound like people screaming bloody murder all around
• There are no koalas near Darwin really
• When the tide is really low you can see fossils of a dinosaur in the Harbour/Creek area I was at today
• They have black clown fish on their reefs that are only in Darwin
• Spiders are EVERYWHERE
• The nice spiders are the size of your palm...
• Pythons are around the place I am staying at
• Drinking is BIG here!
• People in Australia do not drink Fosters lol

There is much more but those are just some I could think of now...I will post more as time goes on!

The First Days!!

Well there is a lot to talk about!
I left Los Angeles just in time! My flight was the last flight to take off anywhere that was a Qantas flight. After my flight all Qantas flights were grounded, so I was lucky to take off! I was on the plane for around 15 hours, but it went by really fast! For dinner I had Chicken Cacciatore with orzo, a lot of different veggies, caramel cream cake and mamosas :) Then when I woke up, I had an asparahus omelette, fruit, bacon, muchrooms, and yogurt for breakfast. Overall the flight went great, and I was able to watch a lot of good TV shows and movies on my own personal TV!

I arrived in Sydney at 7:30 am Sydney time, which is 5:00 pm the day before in Michigan! Which is crazy to think about. I was in customs lines for an hour, and then I met my host dad Roger. We went out and saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera house. After that I had my first meal in Australia which was some delicious Fish and Chips! Once we were done there I headed back to the airport to get on a plane to Darwin.

I arrived in Darwin at 5:30 pm Darwin time, which is 4:00 am that morning in Michigan. I got picked up by my host families friend, and I headed to my host families house. I was able to pick my room, take a shower, and then I got ready to head out to eat! Blake (my host brother) took me out to an Italian place on the Darwin Harbour, and we had some amazing food! I once again had some mamosas :) My dinner was spinach and ricotta cheese balls with pine nuts and cheese and sauce :) When we were done there Blake took me to a place called East Point and we used his HUGE flashlights to find kangaroos! We saw a lot of them which was really cool! We also got out and walked around and tried to find some crocodiles, but we didn't see any. We looked from a distance just in case we saw one, so we couldn't get attacked haha. They are 3 to 4 meters in that areas so that is pretty big and scary! Once we were done there Blake took me back home and I finally fell asleep!

Today I have lounged around, and I have been getting settled. Blake took me to get lunch at a cool place on the harbour, and it was delicious! We went and look at the Harbour/Creek area that was in low tide at that point in the day. (Pictures below) I am still waiting for my host parents to get back from Sydney/Melbourne, but they will be here tomorrow! I also am excited for Sofia to finally make it! She was stuck in LA because of the grounding of Qantas flights, so hopefully she will be here soon!

The house here is very cool, and we have a pool which is nice! Very tropical, and cool area. We have coconut trees in the yard, and Blake said the coconuts will be dropping soon!

Pictures are all below to show the house I am staying at, food I have had to eat, and things I have seen!

Vegas as we flew over it!

My first view of the Bridge!

Naval Ships in Sydney

Showing how low the tide was...there is a line you can see on the post where the water usually is. The tide changes 4 times a day!!

 Showing the tide again

My dinner!!

The front of the house

The pool

The bar by the pool under the house

The trees outside my window

The deck

Kitchen and living room