It's been a while since I was last able to post anything or even check my email. I finally did last night and again today at my CTs house. First off, thank you for your thoughts and prayers as I have finally found a place to stay. I'm staying with my CTs neighbor John, a great guy that is fixing up his basement. I'm staying in one of the rooms in the basement and I have my own bathroom/shower and a little hang out area. He's pretty cool and he really enjoys being out in nature, so he's going to take me on a bushwalk tomorrow. I think we're going to go and see a waterfall and some other cool things, so that should be fun.
I've had some requests for pictures and I just talked to a guy that works in the arcade I usually check my email at. He said that I can post them using these computers, so once I load them onto my flash drive (assuming I brought that) I should be able to put up some pictures of Australia. I'm only in one of them (since I'm usually traveling solo at this point) but there will be some great pics of the countryside and maybe a kangaroo (a very tame one).
I've started working in the school here. The room is a little small and pretty tight with 24 students, a teacher and me all packed inside. We are connected to another room where Jude (my other CT) and her class are. There are some challenging kids, but you have those at every school, so it should be fun.
Our Easter break is coming up soon and I'm trying to plan a trip up to the Whitsunday Islands with a girl that goes to Iowa. She's student teaching in Canberra, down in Southeastern Australia. If I can find a cheap flight, it should be fun. We'd check out the Great Barrier Reef and some other things.
Well, I hope all is going well for all of you. I miss you all and I'll try to get some pictures up soon, but in the meantime I'm just livin' the dream.
Bill
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Two quick things...
First off, congrats to my buddy Dustin and his lovely fiancee (did I spell that right?) Sara on their engagement. I'm really excited for the two of you!!
Secondly, I screwed up with my phone number. Here is the way to dial it from the States:
011 61 4489-366-74
That should do, sorry for the short note, but I'm in a shady arcade and the time is running out! Hope to find permanent lodging soon!
Bill
Secondly, I screwed up with my phone number. Here is the way to dial it from the States:
011 61 4489-366-74
That should do, sorry for the short note, but I'm in a shady arcade and the time is running out! Hope to find permanent lodging soon!
Bill
Sunday, March 19, 2006
WHAT???
I haven't seen a thing on the NCAA tourny over here and in fact I forgot all about it. Did the Hawkeyes seriously lose to Northwestern St.????
Heat, Farms and a hotel
Well, it's been a little while since I've been able to post anything. I'm still in the hotel. I went to check out an apartment yesterday, but the kitchen was full of ants and he wanted to charge me $100 instead of $80. So, I said no thanks and I'm going to continue to look.
The zoo was a lot of fun! I didn't get to see Steve, but they had some cool shows and I got to see where he had been chased around. They also allow you to book experiences with some of the animals, so if I have any money left near the end of the trip, I might go up and hang out with a wombat and an echidna for a little while. Another cool thing is that they have a turtle that was captured by Darwin himself and has been in captivity ever since (that's the story at least). It is some sort of land tortise and it looks to old! I'll try to upload a picture when I can.
I had an amazing experience with Julia yesterday. She took me out to see some of her friends that live about an hour SW of Brisbane. I went to a mid-19th century farm that was really cool. One of the children had a bday party, so I got to see that. Then we went to where she used to live to visit some of her other friends. The husband took me out in his 4x4 on a tour of his property. It was awesome! There were some incredible views of the Great Dividing Range and the surrounding countryside. The drawback is that it was over 90 degrees! I was burning up!
I'm still looking for a place to stay. I'm getting some info off the web tonight and tomorrow and I'm going to make some calls tomorrow, so hopefully something will happen soon.
Other than all this, I've seen huge fruit bats in the city (at night) and I received my first ripped off feeling when I went to a movie last night (it cost me $25 for the ticket, a large drink and a small popcorn, and to be honest the movie wasn't even that good, and no Dustin, the prices weren't posted or else I would have left and not considered the movie).
OH! One more thing, I went to a dancing lesson with Julia on Friday night. She helps teach dance with this dude and I was allowed to tag along. It was fun! I may do it again another night, we'll see.
Hope all is well where ever you are. I'm exhausted from the heat. Take care,
Cheers,
Bill
The zoo was a lot of fun! I didn't get to see Steve, but they had some cool shows and I got to see where he had been chased around. They also allow you to book experiences with some of the animals, so if I have any money left near the end of the trip, I might go up and hang out with a wombat and an echidna for a little while. Another cool thing is that they have a turtle that was captured by Darwin himself and has been in captivity ever since (that's the story at least). It is some sort of land tortise and it looks to old! I'll try to upload a picture when I can.
I had an amazing experience with Julia yesterday. She took me out to see some of her friends that live about an hour SW of Brisbane. I went to a mid-19th century farm that was really cool. One of the children had a bday party, so I got to see that. Then we went to where she used to live to visit some of her other friends. The husband took me out in his 4x4 on a tour of his property. It was awesome! There were some incredible views of the Great Dividing Range and the surrounding countryside. The drawback is that it was over 90 degrees! I was burning up!
I'm still looking for a place to stay. I'm getting some info off the web tonight and tomorrow and I'm going to make some calls tomorrow, so hopefully something will happen soon.
Other than all this, I've seen huge fruit bats in the city (at night) and I received my first ripped off feeling when I went to a movie last night (it cost me $25 for the ticket, a large drink and a small popcorn, and to be honest the movie wasn't even that good, and no Dustin, the prices weren't posted or else I would have left and not considered the movie).
OH! One more thing, I went to a dancing lesson with Julia on Friday night. She helps teach dance with this dude and I was allowed to tag along. It was fun! I may do it again another night, we'll see.
Hope all is well where ever you are. I'm exhausted from the heat. Take care,
Cheers,
Bill
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Morningside
I got the ppportunity to visit my school today. It is very different than any I've seen in the states. First off--it's extremely hot! No air conditioners in the classrooms here. The temp today was 30 degrees celsius (times that by 2.2 and add 22 for the US equivalent). I'm not used to the heat. It's killing me. Not to mention that the fan in my hotel room is blowing the hot air around quite nicely.
I also got to spend some time with my cooperating teacher (Julie) and the other teacher that I will be helping out with (Jude). They're awesome! They helped me look on-line for some places to live and they are asking folks they know if they have anything available. They even said they might take me out into the country for a little hiking and sight-seeing. I'm pretty excited about that, there were even whispers of maybe going to a waterfall that is nearby.
I spent most of my day at the school, and tomorrow I have big plans. I know this may sound sad, but I'm taking the train up to Beerwha to see Australia Zoo, home of the US famous Crocidile Hunter. Crickey!--That'll be sweeeet!
Cheers,
Bill
I also got to spend some time with my cooperating teacher (Julie) and the other teacher that I will be helping out with (Jude). They're awesome! They helped me look on-line for some places to live and they are asking folks they know if they have anything available. They even said they might take me out into the country for a little hiking and sight-seeing. I'm pretty excited about that, there were even whispers of maybe going to a waterfall that is nearby.
I spent most of my day at the school, and tomorrow I have big plans. I know this may sound sad, but I'm taking the train up to Beerwha to see Australia Zoo, home of the US famous Crocidile Hunter. Crickey!--That'll be sweeeet!
Cheers,
Bill
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Brisbane
Well, I'm in Brisbane. I'm staying in a little hotel about 1 km from the city center (CBD). It's not a bad walk at all. The city is pretty interesting, some places are a little dirty and then you come to this huge garden area along the river that is beautiful. It's an odd mix.
Tomorrow I'm going to visit my school and possibly beg one more time for a place to live. If that doesn't work, I'm going to use my cell phone to call some churches and try that route.
If you want to give me a ring some time feel free. Here's my cell number:
011-61-0448-936-674
If you dial in that order, you should be able to reach me. WARNING- I'm 16 hours ahead of you in time, so please, do the math and don't call me when it's 2 am here. I'll be asleep.
Cheers,
Bill
Tomorrow I'm going to visit my school and possibly beg one more time for a place to live. If that doesn't work, I'm going to use my cell phone to call some churches and try that route.
If you want to give me a ring some time feel free. Here's my cell number:
011-61-0448-936-674
If you dial in that order, you should be able to reach me. WARNING- I'm 16 hours ahead of you in time, so please, do the math and don't call me when it's 2 am here. I'll be asleep.
Cheers,
Bill
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Alive in Oz
Hello all! I'm alive and well in Brisbane. I'll post more when I have a chance, but my 10 minutes are running out!!
Monday, March 13, 2006
The End is Only the Beginning
The last week of my life has been insane. I quickly scrambled to get my eportfolio finished on Wednesday night (and truth be told, a little on Friday too). I finished student teaching, said good-bye to BASP, moved everything to DM and cleaned my apartment, packed and attempted to prepare for the next step in my life. I truly haven't got more than 6 hours of sleep any night in the last week (partially due to sleeping on an air mattress in the middle of a living room-which caused the current neck pains I'm having).
I said good-bye to my students and the staff at Prairie View on Thursday. That was a sad day. The kids all made cards for me, one of the parents made cupcakes, and I fought back the tears. Mr. G got a sweet cake for me that had the continent of Australia on it, and the words Congratulations and Good Luck Bill written on it.
That was a great day. I had a ton of fun working at Prairie View with the staff and the students. The kids were awesome and my cooperating teacher was great. He really let me try out what I wanted to do with few questions, even if he thought it might fail (which occasionally it did--but that's apart of the learning process).
On Friday, I said good-bye to Lemme BASP and Lemme Elementary. I had worked at BASP for nearly 3 years and had the opportunity to watch some kids grow from little Kindergarteners to big 2nd graders. The kids made me a huge card and everyone signed it. We grilled hot dogs and played outside most of the day. To be honest, I had to fight back tears almost the entire 2 hours that I was there. I truly felt loved by the kids. The staff even got together and got me a book and a few cards, which were awesome.
I had to leave early because I couldn't do it anymore, the tears were really starting to come. As I tried to sneak away quietly, the kids saw me trying to go and swarmed me in a great big group hug. 25 kids and me in the middle. I'm getting misty eyed just remembering that moment. I truly loved them and will miss them being apart of my life. Their hug, card, gifts and the day caused me to cry for 45 minutes on the way home.
In other news, I've booked a hotel in Brisbane. I fly out tomorrow (Monday) at 7 pm from Chicago. I'll try to post more from there.
Until then.....
Bill
I said good-bye to my students and the staff at Prairie View on Thursday. That was a sad day. The kids all made cards for me, one of the parents made cupcakes, and I fought back the tears. Mr. G got a sweet cake for me that had the continent of Australia on it, and the words Congratulations and Good Luck Bill written on it.
That was a great day. I had a ton of fun working at Prairie View with the staff and the students. The kids were awesome and my cooperating teacher was great. He really let me try out what I wanted to do with few questions, even if he thought it might fail (which occasionally it did--but that's apart of the learning process).
On Friday, I said good-bye to Lemme BASP and Lemme Elementary. I had worked at BASP for nearly 3 years and had the opportunity to watch some kids grow from little Kindergarteners to big 2nd graders. The kids made me a huge card and everyone signed it. We grilled hot dogs and played outside most of the day. To be honest, I had to fight back tears almost the entire 2 hours that I was there. I truly felt loved by the kids. The staff even got together and got me a book and a few cards, which were awesome.
I had to leave early because I couldn't do it anymore, the tears were really starting to come. As I tried to sneak away quietly, the kids saw me trying to go and swarmed me in a great big group hug. 25 kids and me in the middle. I'm getting misty eyed just remembering that moment. I truly loved them and will miss them being apart of my life. Their hug, card, gifts and the day caused me to cry for 45 minutes on the way home.
In other news, I've booked a hotel in Brisbane. I fly out tomorrow (Monday) at 7 pm from Chicago. I'll try to post more from there.
Until then.....
Bill
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Classy....
This shouldn't be a long one, but something occurred yesterday that many people didn't see that I thought I would bring up. The U.S. Men's National Team (soccer) played against Poland yesterday in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The US won the game 1-0 on a goal in the 49th minute by Clint Dempsey, a young midfielder that plays for the New England Revolution of MLS and is known for his unique celebrations.
The reason for the post is this: A major US Air Force base is located near Kaiserslautern (Ramstein AF base) and a majority of the 13,400 fans at the game were from the base. Astonishingly in Europe, the US played in front of a pro-American crowd, something that doesn't even happen here at home.
To get to the point, Dempsey scored on a diving header in the 49th minute. Great Effort, Great Goal. Dempsey then walks to the end line, looks up to the crowd and salutes the soldiers. Eddie Johnson and another player then joined in with him. What a class act.
To see the video and highlights, go to www.ussoccer.com and click on the USA-Poland Highlights on the video screen.
God Bless,
Bill
The reason for the post is this: A major US Air Force base is located near Kaiserslautern (Ramstein AF base) and a majority of the 13,400 fans at the game were from the base. Astonishingly in Europe, the US played in front of a pro-American crowd, something that doesn't even happen here at home.
To get to the point, Dempsey scored on a diving header in the 49th minute. Great Effort, Great Goal. Dempsey then walks to the end line, looks up to the crowd and salutes the soldiers. Eddie Johnson and another player then joined in with him. What a class act.
To see the video and highlights, go to www.ussoccer.com and click on the USA-Poland Highlights on the video screen.
God Bless,
Bill
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