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I am excited to share my journey through the vast lands of Australia. We will visit local schools, swim in the Great Barrier Reef, visit a camel farm, watch penguins waddle to shore, experience an authentic Australian BBQ, and much much more! Follow along and live vicariously through me!!!!

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I don’t think Australia will look as good in waffle form. 

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I don’t think Australia will look as good in waffle form. 

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We are boarding the plane! Just a quick 16 hours..... nbd. 

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We are boarding the plane! Just a quick 16 hours..... nbd. 

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It is June 4th at 8:30. The 16 hour plane ride only felt like 16 hours on a plane. The food was better than cat food but I was thankful I packed snacks.  We are currently waiting to exchange money, grab our luggage, scan passports and then we will begin a full day exploring the cultural diversity!!

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Update: Australian money is so pretty!!!! 

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Update: Australian money is so pretty!!!! 

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“Burgers” does not mean hamburgers
"Chips” are French fries (probably should have known this)
and “lemonade” is sparkling water with lemon flavor.

Learning so much already!!!

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Today we met a sweet friend named Tom. He showed us alleys and alleys of street art,  the best views, the best places to get coffee, food arcades, lots of statues, buildings, history and even some hidden bars around downtown. We walked a total of 6 miles and got a whole new list of must-do’s before we leave.

Day one was a good day!!!

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First off... it was a 55 min sprint walk to the school. I was not mentally prepared for this, so I am sure you can imagine how that went... Upon arrival we were greeted with “howdy” and Trump impressions.  Fitzroy is definitely a different one. As you can see in the picture, it looks like a town home. That’s because it is. The school is 3 houses connected together through “breeze ways.” They write all of their own workbooks, reading material, and curriculum. They have snack time and 5 minute breaks between each class. Students can arrive at 8:00 but school does not start until 9:20. During this time they have complete freedom. They can play, read, do art, make breakfast, play games, and play music. Each student works at their own pace and never get graded. Lunch is community style, meaning all of the lunch options are placed on a table and students are welcome to pick and choose how and what they would like to eat. They had options like sandwiches, pasta, fruit, and homemade bread. The older students have tea parties every day where they learn proper tea etiquette. Conversation and creativity is always encouraged. During “sport” they played “animal ball” the only rules were “don’t hurt others. don’t get hurt.” It was very aggressive. The day ended with a school wide clean up. 5/7 students picked a room to clean and then then day was over.

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Big trees and pretty parks only mean one thing... 

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Big trees and pretty parks only mean one thing... 

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We started at the beach....

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And then to the nature center where THIS HAPPENED.

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Then to a koala sanctuary where this little guy was awake!!! This was especially awesome because we saw about 20 koalas but they were all sleeping.

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THEN we went to the penguin conservation center.  This was outside of the center and was the prettiest view I think I have ever seen.

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The day ended with the penguin parade. These cute little penguins are not even a foot tall!!!!! 100,000 penguins came out of the water to get in their burrows and sleep. (Pictures were NOT allowed, so don’t tell anyone)

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We snuck into a fancy hotel and went to the top floor to take a picture from the bathroom!!!

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I’ve got a big head and tiny arms!!!!!!!!

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I’ve got a big head and tiny arms!!!!!!!!

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I went to the State Library of Victoria!!!! Unlike the Lake View Library, we had to be really quiet.... obviously the Librarian there isn’t as cool as you.

Miss you! ❤️

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This sweet man gave us free doughnuts because our accents were “very texan” and that deserved a free Krispy Kreme.

It’s funny because the whole time we have been here no one has referred to us as American.... #wearetexan

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We are the symbols of the wet season!!

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“night fire” was no joke

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Crocodile rib was my favorite!!! (tasted like chicken)
Kangaroo was not so good but I don’t typically like meat. (tasted like meat)
Emu (not pictured) had the texture of pulled pork but did not taste like it.

The bulk of my meal was veggies and fruit. #yummmmm

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I promise we are here for school and not just vacation!

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Sunday morning we rode a gondola through the Australian rainforest. It was frightening being so high off the ground but the view was BEAUTIFUL!!!

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once we were at the top of the mountain we rode a train all the way back down!!

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Yesterday we spent the whole morning visiting schools. After all of that, we went down to the lagoon for a very cold swim. This is the first sunset we have seen while in Australia.

Evan and Finley, if y’all are reading this, you were right!!!! They have scary crocodiles and jellyfish that will KILL YOU if you go into the ocean!!!!!

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The Great Barrier Reef and valuable lessons. 

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The Great Barrier Reef and valuable lessons. 

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Australia taught me another very valuable lesson today. If you want to scuba dive like you had planned, I highly suggest you lie on your medical forms. Like the rule follower I am, I answered all of the questions truthfully. BIG MISTAKE. I was not allowed to scuba dive because of my heart murmur..... something that has never bothered or caused me any problems for my past 19 years and 10 months.

However, that was just a small disappointment because I DID get to see THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!!!!!!!!!! And I DID get to swim amoung 780 different species of fish and 1,600 different species of coral!!! And I even got to swim with a SHARK!!!!!(which no one else in the group got to do, so special me)

There is no photographic evidence of me in the water so here is a picture of the reef from the bottom of a glass boat. STILL. FREAKING. AWESOME!!!!!

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what are those black bird looking things? 

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what are those black bird looking things? 

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I’m glad you asked!!! Those are BATS!!!!!! Cairns has millions and millions and millions of these things casually flying around.

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a sweet sweet note and a sweet sweet paper airplane from two of the sweetest boys. I would really like to move to Cairns and teach, but I don’t think my momma will let me :(

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I didn’t think procrastination could get easier... then I tried to do homework in Australia. 

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I didn’t think procrastination could get easier... then I tried to do homework in Australia. 

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we are tired and hungry and tired of being hungry & obviously procrastinating. So, instead of writing our reflections we’re going to eat. Pray for us because we have done this more than once meaning our vacation is turning into a load of homework. BUT HEY, WE ARE IN AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!!

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⬇️⬇️ Here are some more picture updates ⬇️⬇️

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If you have to post this sign in EVERY SINGLE public bathroom..... you have a nation wide problem. Because you only have to post a picture if you have had an issue in the past...

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here is another amazing view from the gondola

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and from the train

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Alice Springs has definitely lived up to the stereotypical “australia” I had prepared myslef for.

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off the plane and already in the action 

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off the plane and already in the action 

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Aboriginal people will ground up these rocks and use them as paint on their bodies.

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another pic of the ochre pits

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These Lime and Black Pepper chips are the only thing saving me at this point.

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I am getting tired of coca-cola.... #needdp!!!!!

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in daylight!!

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It was really sunny & we are really dysfunctional

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I didn’t know this app existed but now that I do.... I cannot quit checking it. This was yesterday and I can’t even imagine what the other days look like.

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We started out by hitting up all of the local Saturday markets. If you’re into vintage clothing, australia is the place for you. We navigated public transportation. As in “we” I mean “I” & I don’t want to brag but I am a pro. Then to Manly Beach where people swim in the middle of winter. We were not this brave. We walked down to Shelly beach where the whole entire “beach” part is covered, not in sand, but in sea shells. It is the most amazing thing. THEN we ended our night on a sunset fairy ride home! It was magical.

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don’t worry my shell loving amigos... I hand picked all of the best ones.

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Australia, you were incredible. I am a better person and better teacher because of you. You have given me some amazing friends and lifelong memories. You have allowed me to check things off my bucket list I didn’t even know I had on there. However, you have crappy “tomato sauce” and you have the audacity to call it ketchup. You do not sweeten ANYTHING and this sista lives off sugar. Your bacon is ham and, for some reason, I was disappointed everytime. Your citizens drive on the wrong side of the road & after 3 weeks I still don’t know if I should look left, right, left or right, left, right????

See you later, crocogator. ❤️