Byron Bay and the Gold Coast

Before I start, I have to post this picture of the purple flowers. We all love this bush as it bursts out from amidst the lush green forests and from the edges of people's yards everywhere we turn. I have no idea what they are called. Aren't they gorgeous?


Okay, about Byron Bay. Just to let you know, we researched Waldorf schools in Byron Bay and found out that there is one (established in 1988) with a very good reputation for its music department and we've been looking at real estate there. Now THIS is a place I could live.

I'll start from the beginning. We drove about 9 hours up the coast leaving at 4:00am because we were warned that the only highway that goes north/south narrows into one lane at a certain point and because it was Easter weekend, we'd have quite a bit of company if we didn't leave really early. The one lane was not because of "road works" (construction). That's just as big as the highways get in many places here. We did beat the traffic, if in fact there ever was anything that could be compared to American traffic. We were warned that the whole weekend would be a madhouse up north but other than saying excuse me a few times as I ran past people on the bike path by the beach at noon on a Saturday, we were not remotely overwhelmed by crowds, even as sensitive as we are to them.

We stopped in Coff's Harbor on our way up where Gabe and Mark got out and played 9 holes. Mark told me later that this was the first time that playing with Gabe was just as good as playing with "the boys." He said Gabe's behavior on the golf course was more mature and appropriate than ever before. And he shot a true 60 on a regulation course. And Gabe shot a 41. Oh, okay. Mark had 41 and Gabe had 60. Did I get you? Even for a second?

This picture is not of their round at Coff's Harbor Golf Course. This is Gabe and Mark playing a serious game of putt-putt at the petting zoo you'll hear about in a bit.

While Mark and Gabe played golf, Jordan and I went for a treasure hunt on the beach (shells and rocks) and had a lovely time. I'll talk more about the water and beaches in a moment but I just have to tell you that we are often rendered speechless by the turquoise water and light sand and vastness of this coastline. Truly remarkable. Mark keeps saying just about every time we visit a new beach, "Now this is what an Australia beach is all about."

We drove up the coast some more until we reached Byron Bay. I have to say that we didn't actually spend much time here because it was the weekend of the Blues Festival. It was packed with pedestrians and cars from all over, wall to wall festival-goers like Telluride gets. What we did was drive through the town on our way up and stop there for lunch and a quick beach visit on our way back home. You can just tell that it is a liberal, hippie, alternative, casual, outdoorsy kind of town (admittedly more my speed than Mark's but I'm sure they have a golf course.) And there was the weather. It was 30 degrees (about 80) and sunny with a bit of rain in the mornings and at night to keep the rainforests flourishing. And then there's the water temperature which was significantly warmer than the ocean in Newcastle. So warm that I could have played in those waves for days. Heaven, I tell ya.

So we passed through Byron Bay and made our way a bit inland to a town called, hold on, this always takes me a minute, Murwillumbah. That's it. Murwillumbah. In that town is a house. And in that house is an exchange teacher from Colorado Springs and her boyfriend, Amy and Dave. We stayed there with them.

They directed us to a beach on the Gold Coast that we visited on Saturday called Rainbow Bay. We didn't realize we were going all the way up to the Gold Coast when we left home. I didn't really have a desire to visit that part of the country as I heard that it was built up with high rise resorts. Well, let's just say they don't put high rise resorts in just any ol' place. The high rise developers did well sniffing out this coast. And where we were, it wasn't quite as overdone as Cancun or places like that.

Rainbow Beach was gorgeous. All these beaches are, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to convey that there is something about the color of this water, the size of the waves, the feel and color of the sand and the expansiveness of the stretches of beach that just never ceases to please us. But how many ways can one talk about turquoise water and expansive white sand? I think I ran out a while back.

We are all significantly more comfortable in the ocean than probably any of us have ever been before. Gabe is daring himself to go out farther and farther into the water with his boogie board. He will still only boogie on the breaking white water. He's not quite up to venturing out to the real waves one row back but he'll go out to get the white water where it starts now which entails getting thrown about a bit and it is fun to watch him pop up and smile after his little black head disappears for a second or two. You have to remember or know that this is a kid who gets very excited about go-carts and can't wait to drive them all by himself so he can go speeding around the race track. But when we send him off into his own car and wish him god's speed, he consistently gets lapped by all the other drivers and putts along at 5-10 mph and then gets out of the car and comes running over to us saying, "did you see how fast I went?" We trust his ability to be cautious when necessary.

Jordan is now allowing me to carry her out "past the waves" where we can bob along with the undulating water that breaks between us and the beach. She will boogie right near the edge of the water as long as there is absolutely no chance that any of the white water will come remotely close to splashing up over her head. The other day, Mark convinced her to boogie a bit farther out than she would choose to and she told him that she really didn't want to go under water or get thrown around by the waves. Her board got away from him and she fell off and comletely submerged, coming up gasping. Mark scooped her up and she said, "THAT'S why I don't want to be in the big waves." Case in point.

Mark is getting better able to read the waves which I think was most important to him. He is having much more fun on the boogie board now as he can find fun waves and is learning how to ride them in without getting pummeled.

I am learning how to surf, slowly but surely. What a hard sport that is. I'll write more about it another time because I didn't surf while we were up north. What I did was swim in the waves diving beneath them like a dolphin. I wanted to swim to California and felt like I could. What an amazing feeling of freedom to watch a huge 6-foot wave about to break right on top of you and then dive smack-dab into the middle of it, knowing that it is crashing directly on top of you but all you feel is a gentle lift and lowering. Brilliant.

After Rainbow Bay, we made our way back up to the house, about 20 minutes from the coast, because there were Easter eggs to paint and sleep to be had to get ready for our double whammie day: Easter and Gabe's 8th birthday. I hate to write about every detail as I know you have other things you need to get to today, but I just need to tell you that Australia does not seem to sell white eggs. Dying brown eggs is nothing if not anti-climactic. For me anyway. The kids were very pleased with their muted yellows and blues that all sort of looked the same to me.

We woke up on Sunday morning to find that the Easter Bunny had found us all the way on the other side of the world. I am still trying to figure out how Australian parents explain to their children why we celebrate the coming of spring in autumn. Baby ducks and bunnies are six months away. Strangest thing. But I suppose since Jesus lived in the northern hemisphere and apparently resurrected right around the same time the chicks were hatching and bunnies were multiplying, the Aussies just have to make do. On the other hand, don't chickens and rabbits reproduce all year round? Oh, the life questions we have come up with on our world travels...

So we found jelly beans and eggs and baskets. And we opened birthday presents. And then we ventured out to follow Gabe's plan for our day. The first stop he picked was the Tropical Fruit Farm, believe it or not. Because I was only impressed with one part, I will breeze past the bus tour, the 10-minute jungle boat ride and the petting farm and take you right to the fruit tasting. We got to taste fruit I'd never seen nor heard of before in my life. There's this one called the Jakfruit which is the biggest fruit in the world. It is the size of a watermelon--hey, wait a minute. Isn't watermelon a fruit? They lied. Or maybe Jakfruit are a bit bigger than a watermelon. Or maybe it is that they grow on trees and watermelon grow in the ground. Anyway, they are yellow, spikey, bulbous growths hanging heavy off the pour trees who bear them. Every stitch of them is edible and the pods inside taste like bananas. In case you ever run across one, you should try it. We ate mangoes and papaya and passionfruit and dragonfruit and grapefruit that wasn't bitter and watermelon and star fruit and some of the more common fruits as well. What a mouth-watering time we had.

Our next stop was the beach. Surprise! We spent the afternoon at a more remote beach than Rainbow Bay. The unique thing about that beach was watching a few guys kite surf. It's big down here. They have a big surfboard that looks more like a snowboard with straps for your feet and a parachute they attach to a harness around their waist. Then after about a half hour of preparation to make sure everything is attached correctly (which was enough to help me come to the decision NOT to take up kite surfing) they basically ride their surf board with the parachute carrying them all over the ocean waves like they are on a boat or jet ski. They steer themselves, using the wind, up over the front of waves and sideways along the waves and out past the waves where the sea is calmer. It looks more like water skiing but they are steering themselves wherever they can convince the wind to take them. It looks like a lot of fun--once they get going.

From the beach, we sanded off, put our clothes back on, had birthday dinner and headed to the grand finale of the day. It was a nocturnal wildlife sanctuary where they take in small guided groups of 12 people from 7;15-10:00pm and show you the nocturnal animals at their most active. The woman who sold us on this excursion seemed to have enjoyed it a bit more than Mark and I did but the kids were thrilled. We walked through a mob of kangaroos, watched and listened to tasmanian devils rip apart their evening meal, and stood a few dozen feet above a 17 foot, one ton salt water crocodile as he, you know, just laid there. We walked through an enclosure with possums, gliders, frogmouth birds, water dragons, and some other nighttime creatures all doing their thing at our feet and within arms reach. On the outside of this enclosure which looked a lot like an aviary--a fenced in dome-like room that allowed us to be inside the habitat with the inhabitants--there lay a python coiled up and completely still. The guide told us that this guy was a wild snake who had gotten oh so close to all this potential food but hadn't found its way in yet. She said it had been hanging out on the outside of the nocturnal enclosure for a few days. I'm thinking close but no cigar might be the story of this snake's life.

Here is me with a boa constrictor around my neck. Jordan was just a bit braver than Gabe and Mark who were standing safely about 10 feet away. Jordan was interested in it but was real clear that she didn't want that thing around her neck.



Here is a 2 1/2 year old fresh water crocodile with its mouth taped shut. I felt bad for it and not too threatened by its little mouth. I wish they didn't have to tape it shut. But it was one of the few things they did to ensure safety for the visitors. Australia is much more laxed about protecting itself against frivolous lawsuits. We have seen many situations that would never be allowed in the US because of liability issues. For instance, they had us walking around in the pitch black, downhill, on a trail with only the flashlight of the guide way up at the front of the group. There were poisonous creatures out there, not to mention bumps in the trail. Someone could have tripped and stubbed a toe. Just think of what Americans would have done with that! So I suppose taping this little guy's mouth shut was something.

We drove 30 minutes back to the house we were staying at and at 11:00pm, you know the kids fell asleep in the car within seconds. Even Jordan who said she wasn't going to.

On Monday, we woke up and started making our way back down toward home again, stopping halfway this time and spending the night in a hotel in Port Macquarie. Of the four potential matches we had before we got matched with Prue in Newcastle, Port Macquarie was number two. We were interested in this town because it was almost our home for a year. It was a nice town, much more touristy than Newcastle and gorgeous coastline. I think I'm glad we didn't end up there as it is much smaller than Newcastle and far from any larger area. Short of being matched in Byron Bay, I'm more and more aware of how lucky we are to be in Newcastle.

We had more beach time and more driving until we made it back home on Tuesday afternoon. It was a good trip and Mark and I were very intrigued by the northern coast of New South Wales. We hope to return there again. It was the first time, including while we were in New Zealand, we visited a place to where we would consider moving. But all that means is that we really like it up there. It doesn't mean we are seriously looking. We love our friends and family way too much to do that. Unless, any of you mates would want to join us!!

Nana and Poppy come to visit

We were graced with our first visitors a week ago. Mark drove down to Sydney on a Saturday morning and picked up his parents, Helene and Sydney (no relation to the metropolis) who stayed in Newcastle for 6 days.

Here's the sad part: Three of us were sick and the fourth one of us left town for 3 days while they were here.

Here's the happy part: we all got better throughout the week and Mark returned from his camping trip with the Year Seven class with fabulous stories about his time at the Great Aussie Bush Camp.






It was very unfortunate that we were all sick when Helene and Sydney were here but who can time these things? There were one or two days when I am sure that they were wondering why they flew half-way across the world to hang out in a hotel with no car and no family to take them places. They were troopers though as they chatted up bus drivers and made their own way around Newcastle waiting for us all to stop coughing so much.

Once we were better and Mark came home, we were able to spend some wonderful time with them. Gabe said at one point that having them here made it feel more like home.
We introduced them to our friends the koalas, kangaroos and all of our resident birds and bats down the street at Blackbutt Reserve. Though it bears an unfortunate name, it is a place we'd like to share with any and all of you who make it down here for a visit.
We also got to sample some of Newcastle's dining establishments with Helene and Syd which was quite a treat for us.

Mark had an absolute blast on his trip. He said it was the most fun he'd had since New Zealand. It was one of those team building camps with ropes courses and all kinds of challenging activities. They fed the teachers like royalty, he slept in his own room in a 4-bedroom house with 2 other teachers, his team won most events they entered (shock). He successfully executed several activities that tested his concentration, skills, strength and willingness to face fears. I would be hard pressed to describe them to you but if you all send him an email asking him to blog about that experience, I think you'd enjoy hearing about it. (markgood3@comcast.net)

At the end of that week of sickness, which was pretty much identical to a week of sickness in America so I won't go into details there, Helene and Sydney made their way back to Sydney (no relation to the man) and boarded a ship bound for New Zealand. Simultaneously, we packed up all kinds of clothes and toys and headed up north for the 5-day Easter weekend. I wonder if Syd and Helene will start a blog about their trip...I'll be sure to post one about ours.




Some miscellany:
This is a piece of mail. All of our mail looks like this when we retrieve it from the mailbox. Snails chew on the paper while it sits in there waiting for us to come home. Sometimes we get home and there is no mail in the box, only a few snails and some tiny bits of paper in the corners of the mailbox. We wonder what we've missed. The Ultimate Snail Mail.

















If you look closely, you'll see one of our local cockatoos having avo (afternoon) tea in our backyard tree.


This other bird is a king parrot and we have them living in our backyard as well though this was taken at Blackbutt.

Social Australia

Here's a snippet of social commentary about Newcastle, New South Wales. Please take my opinions with a grain of salt as I am just one person with one perspective.

At 3:15 every day, I wait with all the other parents at the gate at the Newcastle Waldorf School for them to let our kids out. At the gate, I get to meet people, find out about goings on and start to make friends. There are some very good people at this school and I'm enjoying getting to know them.

Truth be told, however, it is a very tame group. I'm missing the irreverence of my friends in Colorado. I haven't laughed uproariously in a very long time. Everyone is very friendly here but you can smell the British influence in the air. Hard to get past the:
"How ya goin'?"
"Yeah, good (rhymes with lewd) And yourself?"
"Good, yeah."
"Beautiful weatha?"
"Yeah, gorgeous. How an Australian summa is supposed to be?" (most of their sentences end like a question) "Yeah?"
"How are your kids finding it he-ah?"
"Good, this is a wonderful school."
"Yeah, good."

Smiles all around. And that's about it. I try to tell stories about things and I'll get people to listen and then they'll tell stories too. But the energy feels like it's being held back by some omniscient parent instructing it to stand by quietly and politely. Shhh. Just smile.

Mark has a much more animated experience with the 5 other men and one woman in his math department. They, apparently, laugh most of the day. Because Mark understands their accent and language much better now, he isn't a wall flower any longer. I'm glad Mark has that.

On Fridays, we have been joining a couple families at the beach after school and we stay and have dinner together. That's been the highlight of our social lives. That's, actually, been the extent of our social lives.

People here are really, truly friendly. But they are very distant. I was expecting something very different. I was expecting back-slapping and beer sloshing. You know--Aussies, rebellious and party, party, party. But it feels much more like England here to me than Australia with significantly betta weatha.

We were talking to this dad from the kids' school a week ago. He says he is very fond of Americans and that he chats with them quite a bit online. So he feels like he has a good sense of the differences between the cultures. It was quite interesting listening to his take on things.

He agreed with me when I shared my experience with Aussies as having this invisible wall up. You have to somehow get their attention before they will engage but once you've knocked, they're happy to talk or help if you ask. But where Americans will ask if you need anything just because you look a little lost (excet in New York), Aussies will ignore you until you come right up to them and say, "I'm lost, can you help me?" It's as though they didn't even see you there until you said something and then suddenly, no worries mate, what can I do for you? Funniest thing.

He said he imagines the people I pass on the running paths must see me coming at this point and think, "Oh, no, here comes that crazy lady who's going to say g'day," and then they must hide their faces and try to run by me unnoticed. I haven't actually seen anyone do that but I have tempered my enthusiasm out there and have learned how to spot the ones who will say hello back to me and let the rest go on their way without pressure.

He says it has a lot to do with the concept of "mateship." It's all about the mates. If you are someone's mate, then you are "in" and they will go to the ends of the earth for you--including taking the heat for you if you get stuck in a bind. (The convict mentality is still apparent in some circles.) And it isn't hard to become someone's mate. All you really have to do is say hello and start a conversation and suddenly you are old pals. But if you aren't in the door yet, you basically don't exist.

Another interesting difference he notices is that Americans are extremists while Aussies are much more happy with mediocre. He pointed out that in America, you have the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor but in socialized Australia, you don't have much of either extreme. Even the families "on the dole" are still watching satelite TV, he said. And doctors aren't making millions. He said that Australians are happy with mediocrity--no tall poppies--and that may be some of what Mark is seeing in the schools. The goal isn't to outshine one's peers and fight for admission into Harvard but to stand by your mate, get through year 10 and find a blue collar job that will allow you to get by. This is just one man's take on things but I don't find it far-fetched.

I asked if there were any Type A personalities in Australia and he said, "Yeah, they're the ones running everything. But the rest of us are happy to just do what we need to do to get by."

He actually said that 'liberals' like the families who send their kids to the Waldorf school (the one our kids go to) were the ones most likely to hate Americans because of our materialism, extremism and capitalism. He, personally, thought it was actually an issue of political envy but again, one man's opinion.

He'd asked if everyone had been welcoming to us and I told him that interestingly enough, everyone was very friendly, once we got to talking, but that no one had invited us to get together. I said I was planning on inviting people to our house but that I was, frankly, surprised that no one had attempted to welcome us in that way. In America, I said again, we'd be so interested in having an Australian around that we'd be inviting them over and finding out if they needed anything, etc. (I think Prue is having a bit more active of a social life than we are.) But here, not so much. Not a week later, he called and invited us over--very kind. However, it was the weekend Mark's parents arrived so we couldn't make it but I'm sure we'll get together with them soon.

I also want to make sure to note that I'm not complaining about any of this, just observing and finding the whole experience fascinating. Like I said when I first got here, I feel like I'm in the perfect position--I would love to make friends with people here but I'm not going to be here forever. I have the most amazing friends I could ever ask for back home both in Colorado and around the country so my social life does not depend on making close friends here. If feels similar to when one goes on a job interview for a job one doesn't really need. It's a good position to be in. So please read all this as observation and reporting rather than whinging (whining) about how I wish it were different.

There is one woman who feels like an angel sent here to help me find my way. She is a mom at the kids' school and she has done what most Aussies don't seem to do. I think she is very intrigued with the adventure we are on. She gave me free hand-made hair conditioner when mine ran out and our shipping hadn't arrived yet, invited me to a Japanese drumming performance, told me about the women's night out, gave me craft supplies to make some Easter presents for the kids, invited me to the Friday avo (afternoon) beach get together, gave me the number of her herbalist (pronounced with an audible "h" like the man's name) when the kids got sick, showed me a way to get to another more secluded beach and the tracks (hiking trails) up the hill from there, and a number of other little things. She has been wonderful to me. And when I have questions--like how to invite kids to Gabe's birthday party when Gabe doesn't know their last names, the school doesn't provide phone lists as it is illegal to give out personal information in a school, and I don't know all the parents at the gate yet--she tells me how to go about it.

Our social life is interesting--never a shortage of conversation about the differences between how people behave in America vs. down here in Oz. I'm grateful for my family, once again, as I know some of the single people who are here on exchange have let it slip that they are a bit lonely. I can only imagine. And, all of this makes me ever more grateful for the friends we will be returning home to at the end of it all.

Mark update

I need to write about Mark because frankly, he is having the roughest time. All four of us came here with slightly different expectations of how we'd be spending our time. But the one expectation we all shared is that we'd find a way to enjoy ourselves for the year. Mark has landed in a new teaching culture which is what he was after. But sadly, he is struggling daily with finding ways to enjoy himself. He would probably never tell you all this himself (though I will get an okay from him before I post) but it seems crucial that this story be told. He is working in a system that still "tracks" or streams students. Therefore, by the beginning of 8th grade, each student is put in classes according to their test scores the year before. And the students are all labeled as such (8-1, 8-2, 8-3, and so on) so everyone knows whether they are in a high class (lowest numbers) or a low class (higher numbers). Including the students. The kids in classes one and possibly two will be tracked to go on through Year 12, graduate high school and go to "Uni." The kids in the lower classes will not be expected to go past Year Ten and will never darken the doors of a University. Mark says 400 of the 700 students at his school are seen as throw-away students.

Teachers are expected to teach something, anything to these kids in the lower classes even though the students have very little motivation to succeed, as you might imagine. They'd have to buck the very system charged with educating them to move up a class or more in order to get a better education. The system doesn't believe they can do it so you can imagine what they believe about themselves. Therefore, most of Mark's classes are students who, while incredibly polite and friendly, are out of control behaviorally. Many exchange teachers who Mark has commiserated with have used the word "feral" to describe these kids. They throw things out windows, get up and leave class right in the middle, talk non-stop through the entire period, throw spitballs up at the ceiling during class and get precious little done. Mark is testing every classroom management technique he's ever heard or thought of.

The feedback he gets from other teachers when he asks for ideas is to lighten up, don't lose sleep over these kids, focus on the ones who want to learn, don't expect the "bludgers" to do a thing. We Americans take ourselves way too seriously, he's been told. When he was talking to a teacher at another school about his theory that all kids are capable of learning but he was having a hard time reaching these kids, the teacher said, "Ah, such naivete. So refreshing. Go on."

What breaks my heart, and why I am writing about this (since Mark probably won't) is because Mark's phenomenal teaching skills are not being utilized to the extent that they could be. These people have no idea what they have in their building and it may be that, at the end of the year, they will have missed him completely. Who knows, though. A year is a long time and I've never seen Mark work so hard to try to figure out a seemingly unworkable problem. I'm always eager to hear at the end of each day what he's done and how it's gone.

There are successes, he will want me to tell you that. There are quite a few, actually. He has reached many students already and is seeing learning happening in all of his classes. One of his hardest classes--Year 10-4--have responded remarkably to an idea someone gave him. He gives them packets of handouts for each unit and then offers certificates to students as they finish each unit. They are so eager for their certificates that they are actually working. And demanding those certificates when they've finished. Even the most troublesome ones are engaged more than they had been. He has one class--Year 8-1--who are the most studious and motivated kids he's ever taught. "If I don't finish this in class, canI bring it home, sir?" He loves those guys. Sometimes he has to tell them to put their pencils down about 5 minutes before the end of class because he wants to chat with them.

Currently, as I write this, Mark is on a camping trip with the Year 7s. They went about an hour north on the coast to a Bush Camp/team building camp with about 150 12- and 13-year-olds and a handful of teachers. Mark was hopeful that this would be a good experience but was willing to go just to have the experience regardless. He is leaving me voice messages about what an amazingly well organized and executed adventure this is for the students and how much he is enjoying getting to know them better. He has done some of his own fear-facing this week, apparently, by jumping off and swinging from things from very high heights. I am hopeful that these few good days with these kids will generalize into the classroom some the rest of the year. Time will tell.

Outside of school, Mark is enjoying the time we are all together since he's not running to golf practice or golf tournaments or golf with his buddies. And we're enjoying being a foursome more often than ever before. He's tan from the beach, fit from his morning runs and very, very happy that our shipping FINALLY arrived only 8 weeks late because in that delivery were his bike and golf clubs. Hey, wait, does that mean we're not going to have him around so much anymore???

So, if you happen to have a moment, and you are so inclined, please put a good thought out there that Mark has just the right intuitive thought about who he is as a teacher in the classrooms of Australia. I'm enjoying my front row seat as I watch Mark adapt and adjust and possibly affect a nearly unbearable situation to turn it into an enjoyable and successful experience for himself and his students. We'll see!

The kids

Gabe and Jordan are having a great time--credit given to their ability to live almost completley in the moment. As long as what is happening right now is working out for them, it's all good. And for the most part, other than having to put their dishes away, get their shoes on or go to bed, activities clearly not unique to Australia, their life is pretty much good for them most of the time.

One thing happening that has nothing to do with Australia is that their school back in Colorado is not going to be in existence next fall. They will not return to their old school in January as we'd hoped. And to make matters worse, Jordan's two closest friends will not be attending the school we are considering sending them to. Gabe's closest friends will be. We haven't talked to them about this yet. I'm thinking we'll wait until we get home next year before we break any of that news. No use ruining their moment with bad news from the future. Childhood is a sacred time, I believe. So when they aren't listening, Mark and I are having tough conversations about where they may be attending school come next January. Not an easy discussion to have while the schools we are considering are on the other side of the globe.

The school here, on the other hand, is a gold mine. We take a lot more baths here in Australia than we ever did in Colorado as they come home just filthy most days--covered in mud, dirt, sand, water, and brown butterflies painted on faces from natural, plant-derived face paint that they pick and mash and paint with all right there in their "playground." When I pick them up in the afternoon, Jordan sometimes comes to the gate munching on fresh beans picked from the garden. They both will bring me treats of hand made rolls they baked with their classes. Gabe is working on a breadboard in his woodworking class. They like to tell stories of the resident cow, Dulcie and her calf, Daisy and where the two of them ended up laying that day--smack dab in front of the house Gabe and his friends were building was the funniest. They had to find somewhere else to play that day.

Gabe came up with a list of 8 friends from school he'd like to invite to his birthday party in a few weeks. We'll have the party in this big open space in Blackbutt Reserve, right down the street from our house where the koalas and kangaroos and a huge array of local birds live. And we'll play sports, he says. Games and sports. So he invited only the boys in his class who like to do that. No one standing around, he says. I look forward to getting to know these kids a bit more and their parents.

Jordan continues to talk about her designated friends--PollyAnna and Elsa. She's added Altea to the list though she reportedly plays with many different girls, she just won't call them "friends'. This morning she told me that Asha has been pinching her and that she'd like some help to get her to stop so we'll deal with that. She is quite fond of her three teachers and enjoys the friends she has grown to like. She still struggles with parting from me in the mornings but we talk a lot about that and we're working on building courage. One of these days she's going to run away from me without looking back so I'm in no hurry for her to "get over" this one; though it is tough to watch her teachers have to physically move her away from me and try to distract her while I go.

Both kids are speaking Australian but very subtly. They will come home from school using the same rhythm as the kids in their classes with the lift at the end of each sentence. Sometimes you'll hear a word come out of their mouth said with an Aussie accent. They sometimes notice themselves speaking differently and find that entertaining. "Did you hear me? I just said "hhh" instead of "her". Or, "Nor" instead of "No". The Aussies have the strangest way of saying the word "no". They say it without really finishing the word. No. Period. Americans have a beginning and end to that little word. Aussies sort of let it fade away and often add an 'r' sound to the end. You have to almost let your bottom lip just hang there after you are done saying the word. They definitely don't pucker their lips into the shape of an 'o' like we do when we say 'no'. It is nearly impossible for me to describe it, as I'm still trying to master that one. The kids' favorite Aussie word that they hear all the time at school is "heaps" as in "We need heaps of sticks to build this house. " But of course, it is pronounced, "hipes".
That's Susie, by the way. She's 20 years old and very picky about what she eats. That's why they hand feed her. She was completley unimpressed by us but we were very excited to pet a koala and find out that they really are as soft as they look.

One of the things that just thrills me is to listen to them talk about all the things they know becaues of their time here. Things that at their age, or even at my age, I would have never known because I hadn't been exposed. I hear them think about what country is directly on the other side of Australia. I hear them naming birds and spiders and bugs and plants that I've never heard of. They teach me about the habits of some of the bugs that they've learned about from their friends at school. Detailed and fascinating stuff. Who knows if any of it is true, mind you, but it could very well be! They know about cultural differences and language differences. Just today Gabe asked which country was founded first, Australia or America. I said I thought it was America (hoping I was right and obviously not bringing up the issue of native peoples being here long before any place was "founded") and he said, "then why do Australians use the right words for things and America uses the wrong words?"
"Like what, sweetheart?" I asked.
"Like 'maths' and 'math'. Since maths comes from mathematics and there is an 's' at the end of mathematics, then maths is right and math is wrong."
It was a good opportunity to talk about how America actually has it right and anything Australia does differently is wrong. Okay, kidding. We talked about how everything is open to interpretation and different cultures look at things differently and that there are no rights and wrongs. For example, who is right, the countries who drive on the right side of the road or those who drive on the wrong, I mean left side of the road. Kidding again, I didn't say that to him.

Okay, my point being that it is wonderful to be having these serious conversations with my kids about things that I would never have given any thought to at that age. Jordan asked me the other night if we were going to travel to every country in the world. I asked, "would you like to?" She said, "I don't know. Sure." Then she said, "It might take until the rest of our lives." Indeed. She's grasping the concept.

So the summary here, in case you are skimming, is that the kids are good and I am really glad that we've taken them to Australia this year. Periodically, we check in with each other and ask each other how we are liking this experience and how we feel about not being home. Recently, I asked the kids if they were to chose right now where they would live, here or Colorado, what would they choose and they both didn't hesitate to say, "Colorado." When I asked why they both said because of their friends.