I was ecstatic to recieve my Brazilian visa in the mail yesterday.  It was cutting things a little close as I fly out in 17 days.  Along with substitute teaching, here are some of the things that I have been doing to get ready:


-Order currency from the bank
-Talk with past Fulbrighters who worked in the same university
-Get started on the reading list
-Plug away at Portuguese
-Make a photo book to represent my life here
-Start packing
-Read up on my location (Ilhéus, BA) and Brazil in general
-Set up banking with HSBC (no international transaction fees)
-Register travel with State.gov
-Gather suggested teaching supplies (games, cultural realia etc.)

I'm very excited to start something new and experience Brazil - I can't wait to go!  Below is a touristy video showcasing a little bit of the city where I will be.  Beware - it's in Portuguese!

The snow has melted which is good because it's getting down to crunch time for Brazil preparations.  The current top cause of anxiety is the fact that I haven't received my visa yet - it is still being 'processed' at the consulate in Chicago.  I'm crossing my fingers that it gets here soon.  Other than that I've been knocking things off the to-do list and running a random, zillion little lame errands that leaving the U.S. for a year requires.  One of my favorite parts of the day, however, is sitting down, drinking some tea and continuing to write about Australia.

Stewie the wombat

I was really excited to be able to feed him

Mom and Dad emu and baby

We did three very touristy things in Oz: a trip down the Great Ocean Road, a visit to the Great Barrier Reef and a tour of Phillip Island.  The only way we could afford to visit Phillip Island was to go with a big group on a tour bus.  The main draw of Phillip Island is the wildlife of course.  Most of the island is a natural reserve and the shores are packed with birds of all kinds, the most famous being the Little Blue Penguin.  While we drove around the island we also saw kangaroos and wallabies.

No touching the koalas, yelling at the koalas or shaking the trees (the sad thing is is that they really need these rules)

In the morning we visited a wildlife sanctuary that had a few tame animals that we could feed and pet.  We met "Stewie" the wombat and I got to feed him a carrot.  We also got up close and personal to several kangaroos snoozing in the shade.  We were able to feed them some treats and watch them go about their business.  It was so cool to see how they used their tail to move around.  We also saw some adult emus along with their tiny, newborn emu - very cute.

The little wallabies were everywhere

After morning tea we stopped at a koala preserve.  In the preserve there were boardwalks high among the trees so you could get a good view of the koalas although you couldn't touch them.  The highlight of the boardwalk was seeing a mother and baby koala snuggling together.  As soon as we moved off the boardwalk and onto a trail we saw curious little wallabies everywhere - they reminded me of squirrels here in the States.

You can see the stadium in the background to watch the penguin parade

The finale of the tour was watching the Little Blue Penguins swim in from a day fishing out at sea.  The whole scene was pretty bizarre - bleachers filled with hundreds of people from around the world all waiting patiently and not-so-quietly for some tiny birds to appear and waddle up the beach to their homes in the rocks on the shore.  As soon as the birds appeared, chaos ensued and everyone jockeyed for the best place to watch.  Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed so I don't have any pictures of my own to share.  Although there were lots of people, there was plenty of room to be able to watch the hundreds of little guys mosey up the beach and then off to their particular burrow. They didn't seem to mind the throngs of people spying on their every move.  Actually, it was also quite entertaining to watch the groups of tourists who were literally tortured by the fact that they couldn't take pictures of the penguins.  We saw quite a few get stern reprimands and/or kicked out by the "Penguin Police."  That in itself was worth the price of admission alone.

This weekend my parents and I really made an effort to get out and enjoy the snow as there are warm temperatures and rain predicted soon.  On Friday night, Mom and I went snowshoeing on torchlit trails at the DeGraaf Nature Center.  We used old wooden snowshoes which were handmade and felt quite different from the ones that I used with Linde in Colorado.  The night was quiet, not too cold and beautiful especially with the torches every few yards.  It cost us $3 to rent the snowshoes and use the trails and there was coffee and hot chocolate afterward as well.  The next time they are going to do it is February 15 if you are interested.  Not a bad idea for a romantic Valentine's date!




Today we went cross country skiing at Pigeon Creek Park.  Although I had run there quite a bit with the Hope cross country team, I had never been there in the snow and was very impressed.  There are miles and miles of trails which are well-labeled with their name, direction and level of difficulty and there are groomed tracks for skiers and a larger area on the trail for ski-skaters.  In addition, there is a lodge where you can rent equipment and a sledding hill nearby. 




I love cross country skiing; it's peaceful, inexpensive and great exercise.  It felt so good to just cruise around in the woods all covered in fresh snow.  Once you get the hang of it, the movement of cross country skiing is fast, smooth and efficient - it's definitely a lot less painful than running can be at times.  I would really like to go out again before heading to Brazil and it would be fun to take advantage of their lighted trails at night.  Here's hoping that the rain and warmer temperatures stay away a little bit longer.

Examples of some art in the alleys and side streets in Melbourne - they were all quite different and creative

Walking through one of the many parks down town

One of the more picturesque churches down town.  While we were there a real wedding was taking place and security was forcibly removing a visiting Chinese bride and groom (with their photography entourage) from the premises - they were trying to sneak in some legit Western wedding pictures during the ceremony

Walking through the vibrant and busy Chinatown in Melbourne

New Zealand and Australia fight over who actually discovered the Pavlova dessert.  We found a Pavlova Slurpee at 7-11. Yum!

The beautiful library down town

"Right turn from left only" Duh.  Melbourne has a very crazy system of turning left called "hook turns."  Reason number #36 why I'm glad that we didn't rent a car in Oz.

Burger King = Hungry Jacks here.  Also, McDonalds recently changed its name to "Macca's" because that's what everybody calls it in NZ and Oz anyway.

Newsflash.  The entire country of Oz shuts down for the Melbourne Cup (a horse race).  We happened to be there for the big day which was not planned but turned out to be both good and bad.

Queen Victoria Market was awesome - tons of fresh stuff and lots of interesting and random kitschy junk to sift through

Sanctuary Woods Park

Trying out some "Yak Trax" - the trendy universal West Michigan stocking stuffer

I had some eccentric seatmates on the plane rides home from Florida to Michigan.  One woman from Kansas was totally convinced that we knew each other from somewhere (we didn't) and on my last puddle-jump flight from Chicago to Grand Rapids the elderly gentlemen next to me stared at my hands quietly for several minutes.  Finally he said, "I've been noticing your extremely long fingers - do you happen to play the piano?"  Thankfully, he shifted gears from appendages to the topic of Michigan.  He had never been to West Michigan before and wondered what all the fuss was about "lake effect" snow.  If there's one thing I feel comfortable and confident talking about it's growing up with an intimate knowledge of lake effect snow.

Lake Effect Snow in action - Photo credit - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Photo of the snowfall in West Michigan a few days ago - Photo credit: AndyByTheLake

Lake effect snow is simply the process when cold air moves across a warmer lake and picks up water vapor which in turn freezes and is then deposited on the shores of the lake.  The conditions for Holland, Michigan, on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan are textbook for prime lake effect snow.  Holland saw this type of snow in action the past few days when cold air moved west across the lake and we got dumped on - about 6 inches worth.  Schools were closed, children were happy and parents sweated their way through shoveling driveways.

Our snow-covered house

Giant wild turkeys under our bird feeder

I arrived last night to a true winter wonderland of white and couldn't believe how much my town had changed since I had left; I couldn't wait to get out and play in it.  I attempted to run out to Sanctuary Woods, a nearby park, but I ended up doing more of a shuffle through the heavy snow.  Neighbors on snowmobiles whizzed by me waving happily and creating clouds of white fluff in their wake.  The hike up and into the park was awesome.  Snow covered everything and it was so quiet I could hear the flakes land on my jacket.

Heading up into the woods

Entrance to Sanctuary Woods

Shuffling back home, the snow was falling faster and thicker by the minute and I thought about how I'll be in sunny, tropical Brazil in a few weeks and how I want to enjoy the beauty and the thrill of the snow while I can.  Pure Michigan!

My brother and his family recently moved from North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida to help with a new church plant there.  For the past few days I have enjoyed spending time with Ben and Ally and my two nieces, Hannah and Sophia.  It has been about a year and a half since I last saw them and I can't believe how much my little nieces have grown.

We went on a bike ride and a hike to see if we could spot some alligators.

Hannah on her new birthday bike in front of their house.

We found one! Can you spot the alligator?

Sophia at gymnastics class.

Having fun on Ben's skateboard.

Hannah at basketball practice.

Playing on the swing that Ben built for them.

Flying kites at the very windy beach at Anastasia State Park.

Picnic lunch at the park.

Walking along the water to visit the old Spanish fort.

Flagler College in the old town of St. Augustine.

Sunset on the drive back.

Dressing up the bears.

I am not often around kids so staying at my brother's house was like stepping into a new world.  We stayed very busy every day and went on lots of fun adventures.  During the mornings the girls were home-schooled by Ally and I even got to give them a few Spanish lessons which was fun.  We went on bike rides, hikes, flew kites at the beach, dressed up bears and spent a day visiting the historic town of St. Augustine.  Today we are going to Hannah's violin lesson and then we might go fishing in the sunny and warm weather.  No snow days here!