Half or Whole?

Today was our first day in Sydney. We arrived here around 8 in the morning only to find that our baggage was not flying with us. But we kept up positive attitudes and hopped in the waiting bus to see this city we traveled 60 hours to get to.

Featherdale Park was the first stop. Koalas and kangaroos galore!!! And that is not an exaggeration. I cannot tell you how amazingly charming and gentle these little guys are. I even made friends with an albino kangaroo. I got him to hop next to me as I jogged. I guess I have a way with animals down under.

The cutest surprise was three little dingo puppies chewing everything they could get a hold of.

Everything here is so different and yet not really different at all. Kookaburras are all over the place and it is their song that wakes you in the morning.

After Featherdale Park we headed out to Fairfax View Point. There was a nature trail that continued for some time. I guess we didn't really care about that, just the viewing spot and we stopped there to take it all in. Looking down at the ocean below made me wish I could just jump right in. Of course, common sense stopped me as I kept thinking that almost every thing in Australia is deadly, especially in the water!

Before we made our way from Featherdale to Fairfax, we stopped for a bite to eat in Manly. Of course, bathroom breaks are a must (they are referred to as toilets here, not bathrooms). Katie and I left together to relieve ourselves. As I walked out of the stall we made eye contact and started laughing. Neither one of us knew how to flush the toilet. There were a couple circles on the way above it...but they didn't do anything...and there was no flusher.

Apparently, here in Australia, you have two choices: half flush or whole flush (specifically designated for 1 or 2). There are circles on the walls to be pressed. We found this out later, of course, long after we walked away from our unflushed toilets.

After Fairfax, we caught the ferry across the sea to the train station and made our way to the dorms for the night. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at 6pm and didn't wake again til 6 in the morning. The rest was well deserved!

Here I am in... Vancouver?!?

Yo Party Peoples,

How's it going?
I'm sitting here in Dallas where the temp today reached 102 degrees F and 98% humidity. I don't know how people live here!

So apparently there were some mechanical difficulties with the plane that was supposed to fly from Dallas to Detroit to pick us up so AA had to wait for a different plane that could fly this way. That delayed our original flight 2 hours. We were booked to arrive in Dallas at 9:50p and to run to catch Qantas as 10:00p. However, they flew away without us (we didn't get off the Dallas plane till a quarter past 10 anyhow).

The flight was good. It was full of old people traveling back to Dallas. I don't know what brought them to Michigan, but they seemed to be having the time of their lives. Many of them heard about us having little chance to catch our Sydney flight and they were all rooting for us. You gotta love old people. It felt like a mix between Home Alone and Return to Me LOL. One of the ladies across the aisle even prayed for us to catch our plane. I absolutely love that. Look at Jesus working all the way over here in Dallas. God makes me smile :)

I sat next to Katie on the plane. She hates planes. They make her completely freak out. Halfway through the flight she popped some Benedryl and was relatively calm from that point on (after, of course grabbing my hand several times and keeping her eyes shut the whole trip).

Tomorrow we leave for Vancouver of all places. It's the soonest flight to Sydney that wasn't already booked. I'm pretty excited. I've never been in a part of Canada that can't be seen from Detroit. I don't know how much we will be able to see though, it may just happen that we stay at the airport all day. But, I am going to see what I can do to persuade my traveling posse otherwise.

On the upside, I get more flying miles for the extra trip :) AND- I get my passport stamped in Vancouver. Double Bonus!

Oh yeah, one more thing. I am definitely allergic to misquitos. I keep getting bites that swell up really big a couple days later and are very hot to the touch. I don't know what happened to make it like that, but I hope I don't get bit by stuff in Australia. I don't want to be swollen the whole time I am down under.

I'll upload pictures as soon as I get ahold of my connecting cord packing in my checked baggage. Be safe everyone. Love Jesus. Sleep well.

Waiting on Tomorrow

Hello!

Only one more day until I fly away. I cannot wait. I am flying with 4 other classmates. We fly out of Detroit and have a layover in Dallas and then straight away to Sydney.

During the first two weeks of the program we will be taking class at the Macquarie University in Sydney. After that we will head out to work with our placement schools. I am placed at Arndell Anglican Junior College with Year 6 students. I will be staying at the headmaster's house with him and his family and teaching with one of the Year 6 teachers. The headmaster lives at the base of the Blue Mountains in Kurrajong. I am very excited to live in this part of Sydney. I've always wanted to be in the mountains and this may be the closest I get for some time.

I will post more as my adventures begin. Right now I have to redo one of my assignments as I accidentally deleted it off of my computer :(  Better luck next time I suppose.