Good Bye...

This past week has been awesome! Monday night I played bball in a rec league with Alex, who is one of Gav and Ness' friends. We won by 12 and I had a blast. Here at Govo there is a USA vs. AUS bball game every year. Ours was on Tuesday night where I bet Gav we would win. The penalty of a loss meant a shaved head for him or I. Well the score was 20-13, I came out with a sprained ankle and a shaved head, better luck next year USA. I can't complain, it was awesome.

On Wednesday Tim Allie and I went to John Forrest Tavern, which is just a few miles away from our school. At this tavern you sit and feed, pet and take pictures of Kangaroos. Yes I said pet. They are wild and just come up to the back patio of the place and expect you to enjoy their company. It was surreal, I can't explain it.

Thursday was our last seminar ever. We met at the Guildford Hotel and turned in all of our projects and final evaluations. We took dozens of pictures with everyone and just had one last laugh.

But today is my "Good Bye" day.

Good bye Governor Stirling Senior High School. Good bye CMU. Good bye 2008 Australian Student Teachers. Good Bye Tom and Lois.

Today is my last day here at GOVO, it is my last day as a CMU undergrad student, it is the last day I will see dozens of people who have had a huge impact on my life. It may very well be the last day I see my fellow CMU students who are on this trip with me. Not too sad and not too bad. I've enjoyed my many days here at GOVO. I've enjoyed my many laughs and experiences with my peers. I have had an amazing experience during both of my student teaching placements. Absolutely no regrets, no complaints and "no worries."

Tonight most of our group flies out of Perth to venture off on their trips. That is, if Qantas (our airline) can find some way to curb the strike the engineers have started today. Qantas is saying the strike will only disrupt the flights by about a half hour, but we will see how real it is tonight. I am going to the airport to say my good byes to many people who I have experienced a great deal with. Those strangers have become amazing friends. Our introductions have turned into emotional farewells. We have become connected forever. I can't say enough about how awesome this group is. Our professors Tom and Lois Kromer were better than I could have ever imagined. Doing so much so often I will miss them.

I fly out Sunday night for Cairns. You can track my trip after Perth at the bottom of this page, just scroll down. I will not be able to post before then, and I am unsure of when I will be able to post during my trip. I will have my original phone back in action(517-526-0072) as soon as I get to Honolulu. Until then, I will be relying on pay phones and my trusty phone card my uncle Louie gave to me, thanks! I will be camping in a tent a friend named Jesse lent me. I will be riding my bicycle for transportation and taking as many photos as possible. I have 6 GB's of memory which I sure hope lasts for the remainder of the trip. I'll try and keep in good contact with people and not be totally isolated from everything. I plan to meet up with people from CMU and others I have met during my experiences here. I feel pretty planned for this next couple weeks, so wish me luck.

When I return home I will post, and hopefully fill in any gaps that I have left in the past couple of weeks. I will get *hopefully* all of my pictures online and let everyone know. Thank you for reading and your interest in my trip. I look forward to hearing your opinions and stories that have happened while I have been away. Once again, thank you and talk/see you soon!

Some pics...

I placed a few pictures up on my flickr account. Check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11362236@N05/?saved=1

This is my last week of student teaching here at GOVO. I'll be sure to have a good post before I leave Perth.

Daily turns into Weekly?

The lack of updates is killing me, sorry they have been so slack. I could name a number of excuses but it isn't worth our time. I have uploaded a number of photos for your viewing pleasure to my flickr account, click HERE to access them. I have done so many things since the last post, and I hate saying that without posting, but hopefully the pictures help out. Last night I went to an Australia Boomers basketball game. They beat Iran's national team by about 20 points. I was able to meet Luc Longley, which was awesome. He was actually very nice and interested in my situation. Then Gav got a number of signatures from the team.

School has been very good, it is sad it is coming to an end. I've learned a great deal about my teaching here and how it holds up in stressful and tough enviroments. It definitely has helped me become more of a professional. Not over yet though.

Less than two weeks left, and so much to do here in Perth. I'll try and post more.

Quick update

I have added photos to my flickr.com photo stream. You can access them and their descriptions here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11362236@N05/

Sorry for the short and quick update, class starts soon. I will update more later.

Thanks for looking!!!

More Pictures

Although dated, these are some pictures that our Coordinator has taken over the course of our trip
Thanks Tom!



Our Surf Group With Instructors After The Surf



Tom's Picture Of A Close Sunset On Rottnest Island



Abseil Group Before Our Plunge



50 Meter (164ft) Abseil (repel) Down A Cliff With The Indian Ocean In The Background



In Margaret River



Our Group After The Dolphin Swim In Rockingham



My First Ever Surf!

In The Course Of An Hour And A Half I Got Up Three Times. You Can See How Big The Boards Are! Surfing Is Much Harder Than I Thought, Yet So Much Fun!

Finally an Update!

It is Tuesday, and it has been ages since I have updated, sorry! But to make it up to you I have some photos! We had a 4 day weekend due to holidays, which was a good little break. As I left you with the weather dilemma, we got hit hard on Saturday. It stormed hard. All day we had thunder and lightening. We even experienced some hail, which was crazy. It was dark and rainy all day, which meant it was relax time. We sat around, watched some tele and took naps throughout the day. It was good to relax.

We needed to relax because Friday was the Govo (Governor Sterling) school ball. (prom) It was cool to experience a ceremony like this overseas. It was much better then any prom I have ever had in terms of the dinner, lights and DJ. I had a great time chaperoning and helping Gav take pictures. Most of all though, it was good to interact with the students outside of the classroom.

Sunday, Tim, (CMU student) Gav, Ness and I went to Cottesloe and walked through their city hall park. Cottesloe is a very well off suburb of Perth, and it shows. It was breath taking to see what things money and hard work can create. Their gardens were amazing. If you click the link to my pictures you can see one snap of one garden.

From their we drove down along the beach side and planned to go swimming but it started sprinkling so we drove a bit further to Freo. (Fremantle) There we walked around the city and got a quick lunch. Then Gav had a spur of the moment idea to get tickets to the footy. So we went up to Subiaco Oval and got four tickets and went to the game. It was amazing to experience a footy game. Australian Rules Football is a mix between soccer, football and rugby. I can't really explain it. To gain a better understanding click HERE it explains most of the rules.

On Monday, Gav, Ness, Tim and I experienced a true completely homemade Italian meal from Gav's Mother and her husband. I have never eaten a meal so well done. There were 5 courses, all of which tied together so well. It took a few hours to eat and was totally worth it. Their house was built by them and is done so perfectly. I can't really put it into words, but they are both hard workers and perfectionist. Both of which show in their home, their gardens and their food. Thank you!

Today, I am back to school, which is good. I enjoy getting back into the teaching part of this trip. It is tough to realize my student teaching will be finished in four weeks. The CMU students and I are just over half way through our experience, which is mind boggling. I have had a great first half and look forward to the next month here.

Oh I can't believe the Wings lost! 3OT isn't enough time?! Well I guess there are still a couple games left, and #7 is at home. I'll tolerate my odds. I had the whole PE department here at GOVO watching it live online. I had a live update going on the extra computer, it was intense. I think my excitement has rubbed off onto these Aussies. Good on them for it too. My cooperating teacher was letting me pop into the PE office for a look every so often, thanks Brian! Following American sports is pretty tough without cable tele or the Internet at home, but I've been managing, using the school's computers and getting updates from other CMU students.

Not having a computer at home is another topic that I have brfore just brushed over. I thought at first it would be terrible, but I have learned to work around it. It really makes you more active and get out and about. I've done so many different things just because I don't have a computer at home. I have learned to enjoy walks and bike rides. I've learned to think outside the box in terms of management. Having to multitask and make every trip away from home useful. I can't just get on the Internet to look things up or spell check everything. It was interesting at first, but now I have started to enjoy what I have around me. A lesson that I don't think I could have learned back home. If some thing would have went wrong with my computer, I would easily find a way around it. I am sorry to those people who I promised a daily updated blog, more frequent emails and those who just expected more communication. I'm not happy these people have been let down, but I do feel fortunate to learn new lessons.

Enjoy the pictures by clicking HERE