Our guide, Justine.  She had a lot of energy.

Our first afternoon in Sydney we just wandered around and checked out the Visitor Center.  While there, we were recommended to take an "I'm Free" walking tour of the city the next day.  I was skeptical of an actual free tour in such a pricey city as Sydney but I was also intruiged.  So Sean and I showed up at the meeting point the next morning and looked for our guide in the neon green shirt.

Town Hall

The business district

The tour turned out to be exactly what it was promoted to be - free.  It was a start-up project by a graduate student in architecture who wanted to share some facts and stories about the history of the city with tourists.  It has now turned into a full-time job with additional staff and has also spread to Melbourne.  Our guide who was also the owner and entrepreneur of the business is completely supported by the tours she gives - one every morning covering the modern part of Sydney and one every evening in "The Rocks" area which explains the harbor's history.  She works on donations only.  At the beginning of the tour she explains this and says that at the end of the tour she hopes that you will donate whatever you think the tour was worth.  A very interesting and brave concept - I immediately wondered if she had kept track of her earnings as it would make a cool sociological study as well.

If you stood in the right place this little dog statue would talk to you

Artsy bird cages in an alley or as Justine said, "Just Sydney trying to be creative like Melbourne."

The tour itself was fantastic.  Our guide, Justine, was an expert in all things Sydney.  She was also our age and generous in information regarding budget travel and entertainment around Australia.  At the beginning of our tour she handed out maps to everyone (designed by her company) that covered the area we would visit and her personal favorite places to eat and drink.  The morning tour lasted about 3 hours and we learned a LOT.  Also, it was fun.  Justine made the tour interactive, kept us guessing and made us laugh.  I was impressed.  If you're in Sydney or Melbourne and have a morning or evening to spare, I highly suggest looking for the guides in the bright neon shirts.  Thanks Justine!

Some pictures from walking through Hyde Park on the way to downtown from our hostel

When we arrived in Sydney, I remember wondering aloud to Sean, "What do they call people from this city? Sydnites? Sydnians?"  We learned quickly that people from Sydney are called "Sydneysiders" and that they are quite proud of where they live.  Almost all of them think their city is superior to Melbourne in every way possible. 

These crazy birds (Ibis) were huge and all over the parks

I should also point out that while traveling in Australia and New Zealand, Sean and I were constantly appreciative of how easy, safe and efficient it was to travel.  After spending a combined four months traveling around southeast Asia, spending time in NZ and Oz was like another world entirely.  Everything was easy to do or figure out, things were organized, safe and streamlined infrastructure was in place,  the cities were amazingly clean, and the public transport was fast.  Sean and I moved between public ferries, buses, and trains with no problem at all.  The one downfall? The expense.

Harbor Bridge

Requisite didgeridoo tourist trap

The opera house

 We knew that Australia was going to be expensive but the prices in Sydney were through the roof.  To give you an idea, we stayed in a very cramped but clean YMCA hostel with shared bathrooms a little ways outside of the downtown and we paid over $100 USD/night.  A pint of beer at a pub ran you at least $11 USD - and that was a cheap brew.  For the most part we stuck to cooking in the hostel and packing lunches since we were visiting Oz with our weak NZ dollars.  Minimum wage in NZ? About $11 USD.  Minimum wage in Oz? About $18 USD.  Ouch.

Public Library

Entrance to Kings Cross district - lots of bars and restaurants

It was so fun to see all of the horses! Some of the handlers would even let you pet them.

Sean and I were not super organized about booking our trip to Australia.  We just figured out how long we could afford to be there, glanced at the calendar to see when my sister was flying into New Zealand and checked to see if we could be in the north for the solar eclipse.  When we arrived in Melbourne we quickly realized why some hostels had been completely booked and unusually expensive - we were going to be in the city for one of the biggest events in Australia - a horse race called the Melbourne Cup.

There's the Cup!

The Melbourne Cup is a very, very big deal in Australia (and also in New Zealand).  In Oz it is a public holiday and everything shuts down completely.  It is known as "The race that stops a nation" which is pretty apt because everything came to a standstill in the city.  On the actual race day there was a parade full of horses that were past winners, jockeys and stable owners.  The city showed a live broadcast of the race on a giant TV in the center plaza and bars and restaurants all over hosted extravagant parties.

I love the mini stuffed horses underfoot of the drummers

Cool fascinators!

More interesting to watch, however, were the spectators who were dressed in amazing race-day finery.  Australians love to go to the races because it's a chance to get dressed up and party outdoors.  Being on the subway before the race started was quite entertaining as we got to watch thousands of people in dramatic, crazy and elaborate costumes all push and shove to get on the next train.  One of the biggest issues for women is what kind of hat or fascinator to wear.  There's even a separate competition for best dressed called "Myers Fashion on the Field."  It's safe to say that most women in attendance spend at least hundreds and usually thousands on their outfits.  Whoa.

Best dressed winners (Google images)

Melbourne Cup aftermath (Google images)

 Since there was absolutely no way that Sean and I could go to the races (though I really wanted to), we watched the race from the TV in the airport.  Our flight to Sydney left right after the race ended.  In hindsight it makes sense why that particular flight was crazy cheap compared to all the others.  Nobody in their right mind would leave the city of Melbourne on Cup Day.  Oops.

I have been Skyping with the two Fulbright participants who were in my city last year.  Their names are Sondi and Giuseppe and they both have been extremely helpful in knowing what to bring and what to expect for the next nine months.  They also gave us contact information for some of their Brazilian friends who have already started corresponding with us and welcoming us to Brazil.  Here is a video that Sondi and Giuseppe right before they left at the end of their time there:

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.