falling in love with this city.

The schools are on a two week holiday starting today which means heaps of time for venturing around Melbourne. I have enjoyed living here the last two months but until these past few days, I did not understand why Melbourne was named The World's Most Livable City. (Don't just take my word for it read ABC News Melbourne Named Worlds Most Livable City. What What.) Here are some snapshots from a great couple days of exploring.

What does a flag really mean once you take all of the symbols and color away? That was the point the artist of this display was trying to get across. We still think flags are pretty cool, but we hung a flag to be a part of his artwork anyway. Melbourne always has different festivals going on. For the next couple of weeks, the Fringe Festival is taking place. This festival supports and explores the local independent  artist. This is one of the many things going on for the festival. 

 Hot wedding dress right?! This lovely bloke is celebrating his Buck Party. A buck party is what they do for their bachelor party. The men usually all dress up as the bride and bridesmaids and then have to parade around the city. It was explained to us that most grooms have to do something to earn money before the nights over. The girls bachelorette party is called a Hen's Night.  Silly stuff.

 Kinfolk is a fantastic nonprofit coffee shop/cafe in the city. Not only is it super cute but it also gives 100% of its proceeds to four different charities.The charities support: 1. literacy and education in Palm Island, 2. primary schools in Rwanda, 3.  anti-slavery in Ghana and 4. homeless in Melbourne. Every time you purchase something at Kinfolk, you get a coffee bean that you place in a jug that represents a charity. I chose to put my coffee bean in the Rwanda jug. Another awesome thing is that all of there workers are volunteer and most of the food and coffee is donated. I pray that although it is not a Christian organization, the Lord's name can still be glorified through these people being helped. 

There are some pretty awesome graffiti places in Melbourne. This little alleyway we found was completely covered in graffiti and to add a little something special, an artist had put up his photography everywhere and graffitied over it as well. It was definitely a fun find. Graffiti is art.

How fun are these beach houses? Brighton Beach is only a train ride from the city and the coast is lined with these colorful houses. I absolutely loved seeing them all!! 

This is only the beginning of our time off so be prepared for tons of new pictures and blog updates. 

heaps and heaps of love from the most livable city.  :)

"so netball isn't basketball?"

Megan, Melanie and I ventured to Geelong last weekend to watch our fourth housemate, Sarah, in her final netball game. If you are wondering what netball is, don't worry I am still kinda wondering. 

Each member has a certain job. Each job has a certain area that they can be in and things that they can do. Only a few girls can make the goals. Also, they don't dribble the ball.... And that's about all I can tell you.

 net·ball

noun /ˈnetˌbôl/ netballs, plural A game with seven players on a side, similar to basketball except that a player receiving the ball must stand still until they have passed it to another player The ball used in this game.                                                                                                               http://www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=netball+definition&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=5h13TszsF-KdmQXDpZz_DA#hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=netball&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=5h13TqbOL-r0mAWkiMxO&ved=0CB0QkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=8603e2d1663f9477&biw=1277&bih=593

Pretty much a basketball goal with out the backboard. 

Netball is mainly played by girls... Note those skirts. That's what all girl netball players wear. It is VERY different uniform than basketball. 

I have been told that the pictures from my list of things I miss in America don't work. So here is the list:

1. Low Prices
2.College Football. Wreck 'Em.
3.Hazelnut Coffee-Mate.
4.Malt-O-Meal.
5.Ovaltine
6.Forever 21
7.Dunkin' Donuts Coffee
8. Tex-Mex
9. A Dryer

The list could probably continue but those were the things on my mind at the time. Some may be strange but I guess you can't help what you miss. ha.

Well that was short and simple. I'll post more updates soon!

heaps of love.

Alright America, there are some things I miss about you.

A few things I'm missing from the Land of The Free and Home of The Brave:

  It is absolutely so expensive here! I mean I heard that before I came but I never thought I would be paying $18 to see a movie or $13 on face wash. So ridiculous. 

  Seeing everyone's facebook statuses and tweets about the beginning of college football season, sure can make me wish I was at a game. A year without wearing my black and red, singing the matador song and dancing with the Goin' Band from Raiderland in the stands is going to be rough. Footy will have to do for now. 

 What's a good cup of coffee without some hazelnut coffee- mate? The coffee is incredible here, but that doesn't mean I don't wish I could have some hazelnut creamer every morning, night and all the other times through out the day I have coffee.    

 

 Yes, I know this is such a weird thing to miss, but I DO. It was the best breakfast ever. Well I can't limit it to just breakfast. It was a staple for me. 

 Don't judge! I love my Ovaltine. Milk disgust me but add a few scoops of this and I'll finish

the whole cup. They actually do have "Ovaltine" here but its made from malt and absolutely horrible. I spent

 $7 on their so called ovaltine only to be disappointed. It's currently in the back corner of my cabinet where it will stay until moved to the bin.

Where am I going to go for a cheap, last minute outfit? Or honestly, to fill my closet? There is no place near as cheap and cute on this continent.  

 America Runs On Dunkin' (Australia does not...). This is the best coffee to make at home. I have found a substitute here but it's just not the same. 

 There is some great food here, but I can't help missing a great plate of Tex- Mex. This will probably be my first meal when I return.  

 I took for granted the quickness of poppin' the clothes in the dryer and taking them out an hour later completely ready to be worn. Two days of leaving the clothes out to dry as taught me patients.   

AND OF COURSE I MISS ALL OF YOU:)

I also wanted to show y'all some of Melbourne's beauty.

We had Thursday off work so we went exploring. The Shrine is memorial for people who have fought in a war for Australia. I love history so it was fun reading about the wars and stories of people involved. I really never hear much about Australia's part in wars, so it was interesting to see.

After our history lesson, we went to the Botanic Gardens to have a picnic for lunch. There is nothing  better than enjoying the outdoors while having a pb&j.




Cheers. 

happy australian father's day! (and some footy.)

It's Fathers's Day in Australia so I wanted to give a little shout out to the best daddy ever. Mine of course.:)

Five things that make me miss and think of you the most:

5. Emu Oil... your cure-all. Don't worry though, I found an Emu Oil lotion at Big W and bought it.
(My skin should be in perfect condition when I return.)

4. Hearing about the goats, cattle, peanuts... and all the rest of the farm business. Everyone has definitely come to realize I'm a small town, country girl.

3. Your rough hands from working all day.

2. Sunday mornings without your famous, yummy chocolate chip pancakes.

1. The quirky things you find funny and the most perfect, heart-warming smile that comes when you laugh at your own joke.

I LOVE YOU.



I went to my first footy game friday night! It's not near as incredible as a high school friday night or college game, but it was fun and won't be my last!

The game is completely different than American Football. Honestly, I can't explain how to play it at all. It really just looked like a lot of chaos on the field and then someone would make a goal. I figured out enough to cheer at the rights times and know when we were doing well and scoring. However, there is no way I could tell you strategies, positions or plays.

These scarves are a must have for the game. Pretty much everyone has one to support their team. The first week here I did some footy research and decided to go for the Geelong Cats. 1. They are cats. 2. Some of my friends are from Geelong. 3. Their colors are navy and white. and 4. They were #2 behind a really prideful, annoying team, Collingwood. So GO CATS!!

 This disgusting looking thing is a meat pie. Supposedly, eating a meat pie at a footy game is "one the of the most Aussie things you can do." So even though it took quite a bit of convincing to actually take a bite, I had to at least try it. The pie actually wasn't too bad, especially covered in tomato sauce.

  The game we went to was Collingwood, the #1 team, against Geelong, the #2 team. So it was an AWESOME game. The stadium was completely packed and everyone there was diehard fans for their team. It was a fun environment for my first footy game. Geelong ended up destroying Collingwood! The score was 143 to 53. WhooHoo. I picked the right team!!! After the game each team has their own song that they sing if they win. It was kinda cheesy but I enjoyed hearing it.

"We are Geelong, the greatest team of all
We are Geelong; we’re always on the ball
We play the game as it should be played
At home or far away
Our banners fly high, from dawn to dark
Down at Kardinia Park"

So Go Cats. Reerr. Hiss. 

Sydney.

I absolutely LOVED Sydney. I was excited about going but definitely underestimated how beautiful and fun it would be. Even going with the flu didn't take away from the wonderful city.

 I never got over the amazingness of the Sydney Harbor Bridge!! The first night we were there we took a ferry to Manly Beach and got to see the sunset behind the bridge. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Monday we biked over the bridge which was equally awesome. I would go back just to see it again.

 Favorite part of the trip... biking through the rocks, over the bridge, through the botanical garden, riding up to the the opera house. I just love riding bikes and doing it in a wonderful city made it better.

The other big thing was the Opera House. It was really pretty too but I still think the bridge is my favorite. We ended up going inside for about 5 seconds before we got kicked out.... whoops. But now we can say we have been inside:)

Shocking part of the trip...this is the Kirribilli House where the Prime Minister of Australia lives. So the shocking part was that there was only two security guards. That would never fly in America. We talked to the guards about how there are so many more guards with the president at all times and they said "Well we keep it pretty low key in Australia." I guess the "no worries" attitude even goes with the government. What a trusting country.   

There was no way we were going to Sydney without visiting the Olympic Park. It was so fun walking around and reading all about the different events. We were able to see the plaques of the medalist in the base of the cauldron. I think we spent 30 minutes walking up and down the line of plaques looking for America. The US definitely dominated basketball and track in 2000. 

Freakiest part of the trip... we were walking through the Royal Botanical Gardens and look up and we see BATS! HUGE, UGLY, AWAKE BATS. There were sooo many of them and way larger than any I have seen in Texas. 

So there are a few highlights from one of the most wonderful places in the World. 

Vegemite and Kangaroo.

Megan and I are probably two of the pickiest eaters, but surprisingly we enjoyed these typical Aussie foods.  

We tried Vegemite and unexpectedly liked it! It is super salty but if you put just a little bit of it on toast or crackers it taste really good! The mistake most people make is using a lot like peanut butter instead of just a little layer like butter. 

Well, we also tried kangaroo. Some of the girls down the street love kangaroo burgers so we decided we would have a girls night with kangaroo burgers and cider. 

It actually took me awhile to take a bite of my burger. I would pick it up, put it close to my mouth and then put it down again. When I eventually took a bite (which had to be documented), I really liked the kangaroo. However, when I thought about what I was eating it kinda grossed me out. The moment someone would say kangaroo, I would gag a little bit. It's something I will probably eat again but it might take me awhile to get over the fact that its kangaroo meat. The weirdest part about it is that the meat is really red even after being cooked. I'm not one to eat rare beef and that's what it looked like. It's definitely not the most appealing thing to eat.  So I guess if I don't look at the meat or think about what it is, I will enjoy eating kangaroo. ha.

cheers.

a sunny, winter weekend.

This weekend was so incredible. The weather was in the high teens! So like 65-70ish Fahrenheit.(I'm trying to work on using Celsius) We spent it finding cafes, shops and being outdoors as much as possible. 

 Saturday we decided to go to Sydney road and find a fun cafe for lunch. Sydney Rd is a really popular, funky, hippyish road that is about a twenty minute walk from our house! We had a heard about a really fun, trendy cafe and were determined to find it. On the way to where we thought the cafe would be, we came across an American Biker Cafe. It was right across the street from a Harley Davidson shop, of course. Once we failed finding the cafe we wanted, we decided it would be a great idea to go to the biker cafe. It was perfect. The people loved talking to us about America, the food was great and the environment was definitely entertaining. It was a perfect start to the weekend.

 Saturday night the CRU (Lemon Tree House) girls had a Geeks and Freaks party at their house. As Megan said, " Who said you had to grow up when you graduate college?" It was heaps of fun putting together a cheap outfit with things I mainly already owned and then getting to have a huge dance party in the living room. Plus, I got a Australian " bum bag"! Why carry your phone around when it can so conveniently be carried around your waist. Pictured: Nina(the clean freak), Michelle(geek), me(geek) and Megan(freak)

This little bird a Magpie. Megan and I have been fascinated with them since the day we landed. The are really cool looking black and white birds. We discovered this weekend they are the mascot for the #1 Footy team right now, Collingwood. Such a random mascot. In two weekends we will be going to a Geelong Cats (the team we "barrack"  for) vs. Collingwood Magpies game. I can't wait to see how Australia Rules Football (footy) actually works. 

Sunday after church was the perfect day for a picnic by the Yarra. We ate lunch and laid in the sun for a good while. It was been very rainy and cold the last couple of weeks in Melbourne, so the sunny weekend did not go unappreciated. 

Here is the view of the other side of the river. A little part of downtown. 

We also found a fun, Sunday afternoon market downtown. There were tons of local crafts, art work, lotions. etc. I will be going back there as many Sundays as I can. 

This was my favorite thing we saw! Just wanted to share the panda love with everyone. 

A sneak peak inside the tram. Nothing special but a huge part of my everyday life. The big box overpowering the pictures is for Metlink Cards (one of the ways you pay to use public transportation).

And I couldn't end this blog without sharing the public transportation stories from today....

Many of the school I teach at are a few suburbs away so I may take a bus then train then another bus to get there. I always map out exactly how to get to each school and pretty much only know that way. If I ever miss a bus or train that is usually a guarantee I will be a little late to work. Well today, on the train going to my school, the train stops for about ten minutes at the station before my stop. I kinda start to worry but don't let myself get too worked up until I hear, " Passengers this is your captain. This train will not being going any further due to.... There are buses waiting to take everyone to the next stations." Ok, not ideal but at least there are buses right.... Well 45 minutes goes by, I am already about 20 minutes late to work and there is still no bus. So I start asking all of the workers around me what I should do and they all give me different answers so I become flustered and immediately bust out in tears(embarrassing). Well the workers see me crying and start running to look at all the maps to help me. One man finds the best way and takes me to the bus stop. I am still crying as I get on the bus. Luckily the man across from me is nice enough to help me figure out where to get off!... Then tonight we are on a tram and all of a sudden it stops going and we are told the brakes are a jammed and it could be a long wait. After 45 minutes another tram comes to pick us up. This tram goes to stops and then ends up stopping for about 20 minutes for an unknown reason. A very interesting day with transportation. Hopefully, it was a once in a lifetime type of situation. Oh the picture is from the tram tonight. 

We are going to Sydney Sunday- Wednesday! Can't wait to tell everyone all about that adventure. 

Love y'all heaps. 

New Slang:
Fanny pack- Bum Bag ( fanny pack means something dirty here... who knew.)
Skipping Rope- Jump Rope
Barrack- cheer for a team.