Picnic and Palm Tree

Does there have to be a reason for picnics under palm trees in Geelong?

I made Latkes and Menorah cupcakes (yes Jewish recipes) and very delicious!

happy hour

Across from my place of part-time employment is a bar where I watch people having their happy hour drinks. On this particular Monday, with no school or work to tie me down, we organized to meet for some much needed beer in the sun.

present from nyc

New York New York

Look what my lovely boyfriend sent me from New York….

Sunday Sessions

Melbourne I love you

It was a lovely Sunday, I packed a lunch and hopped a train into Melbourne with my friend Rhiannon. I was determined to explore Brunswick street in Fitzroy. Every time I go to Melbourne I end up on my way to this area and am determined to explore every nook and cranny of the place. I want to sit in every café and browse every vintage shop in the eclectic area. However, only lemons and limes grow on the trees in this Australian backyard. Walking down Brunswick street was incredibly exciting and the most difficult decision of the day was choosing which café we should try. We finally picked one with a delightful patio with beautiful paintings on the walls outside the building. I got my usual “Skinny Flat White” and Rhiannon had a strawberry and cream tea which smelled divine.

Hunter Gatherer was a shop I couldn’t walk past no matter how pressed for time we were that afternoon. I found a dress that had been waiting for me for who knows how long. It’s a kimono style, brown and white poka dots and happens to have been only $15. The most pleasant part of purchasing my new love was that my $15 is all given to a local charitable organization. This made buying feel so good^^

Rhiannon and I rushed to catch a tram outside the Korean food store (where I bought a red bean ice cream) to Parliament station where we met Erini and her friends to make our way over to the infamous Madame Brussels. Upon arrival in Madame Brussels I thought “Alice in Wonderland?” It was beyond fabulous and everything it had been talked up to be and more. The waiters were incredibly trendy guys dressed in tennis uniforms and the girls had little tennis skirts with knee highs. All of us shared a “doubles” of PIMMS punch. Yum Yum.

It was so colourful outside on the patio, due to the complimentary sun umbrellas. The customers were dressed up in “high tea” style outfits and the whole scene was just very fabulous. I am excited to return!

Out of Madame Brussels and onto the next patio drinking spot. We went down to the Docklands (which might as well have been a trip down to the Toronto Harbour) and went into Lombardo’s. I feel that the pictures don’t do this Buddha Bar justice. It was very chic and even at 6pm girls were dressed up like they were off for a huge night on the town.

I love Sunday sessions!

Zuccini and Lemon Zest Loaf

I know it might not sound very delicious but I have confirmation from over ten people that it was. However they are friends and they may have just been being kind...This loaf was made with yogurt insead of butter and I felt it was one of the most deliciooouuus baked goods I've baked thus far.

Going Surfing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4g2AZwBrhs

Going Surfing Going Surfing



Two evenings ago I came home fairly earlier than usual from work to find the Surf instructors in our kitchen playing drinking games. It’s become a bit of a weekend ritual and they are always highly entertaining and very noisy. They said we could join a class the next day and get free rental of boards and wetsuits.


So yesterday we (the roommates) piled into Tara’s convenient red rental and made our way to Ocean Grove Beach. It was beautiful; the waves were super high and strong. After about 30 minutes I was completely bored! My other two roommates are very enthusiastic surfers and go just about every day! I on the other hand find it tediously boring to exert the energy needed to walk out to sea, catch a wave, fall off my board and then go back out to sea to repeat the process again. I think I’m like that about most sports (sorry dad I’ll probably never go snowboarding again). However, I could walk or do yoga all day. I took off my wet suit and joined my other roommate for a nap on the beach (the best nap I’ve had in forever) It wasn’t very hot yesterday so I bundled up in full clothing to enjoy the warm sun and the cool breeze. We got back home just in time for me to get all the sand off of me and head to work.

Second Hand Finds

Kids Stuff

My Empty Number Line

Part of our math assignment was to create an interesting type of number line using decimals or fractions. Since I still can't quite understand fractions (except for following baking recipes) I decided I would use decimals. I wanted to create a "clothing empty number line." The kids would have to hang out the laundry in the correct place. To be honest, I just had a lot of fun making it and wanted to hang it on my wall instead of dropping it at school for marks.

Primary School

The first two mornings of vacation I volunteered at a Primary School where I will be doing my teaching rounds in the New Year. I thought it would be a good idea to go in and get myself familiar with the daily routines and different teaching styles. Since the kids are about to go on break I mostly assisted with Christmas crafts, which was fun for me:)

This is supposed to look like a Christmas Tree! According to the instructions, you add green food colouring to the coconut and mix it in until the coconut is green. However, this for some reason didn't happen and the kids had to settle for lightly green speckled snow! They put marshmallows on a stick and poured melted chocolate on top and then added the coconut. Looks fairly festive though..don't you think!?

Rudolph!

An Ethiopian Dinner

I had the most delicious dinner of my life at an Ethiopian restaurant. My friend Erini took me after an afternoon spent in an area outside Melbourne called Footscray. It's actually got a reputation for being a touch sketchy and scarry, but I found it a delight with the two massive asian food markets and bubble tea shops. We spent sometime in a second hand shop called "savers" and I left with my bag bursting of granny nighties and wear a new hat.
                   After visiting every Halal and Chinese food shop, we made our way to "siagon" market. I almost lost my breath when I saw Kimchi being sold! There were fruits I'd never tried before and samples cut up. Erini and I helped ourselves to a fruit salad by walking around and trying every sample offered. We were actually quite full after the experience but had to meet other friends at the Ethiopian restaurant.

             The restaurant was incredibly authentic and felt as though you'd walked into your Ethiopian grandmothers dining room. The food was so delicious i even ate the lamb! We made sure to wash our hands really well since there are no utensils used to eat the cuisine. I was so full and satisfied when i left!

The bread was heaven in your mouth!

Schools out for Summer!

After only three short weeks of being at school, we've already made it to our three week vacation time. To celebrate we had our classmates over for a bbq:)

Palm trees and christmas decorations

It doesn't feel like Christmas is around the corner in Geelong...however, it probably won't feel like Christmas when I arrive in Bangkok and my family and I are drinking Whiskey and coke out of buckets:) ho ho ho

Fruit Shack!

I was knitting some slippers the other day, while sitting on the couch and listening to the Australian news. The topic was food. It said that Australia has the most expensive grocery stores in the world. I could believe it since I had just made a trip to the local big chain food store which had a single mango priced at $4. Who can afford that? And apparently there is no good reason for the astronomical prices except for the fact that the stores keep raising the prices because people will pay them.They suggested boycotting the big chains in favour of growing your own gardens.

Well I can’t quite grow my own garden! So I did what I thought was second best, I went in search of some sort of alternative boutique food shop. Low and behold I found my little treasure!

It is a fruit and veggie place that takes cash only and the prices are almost unreasonably cheap! It's called FRUIT SHACK and i love it! It takes me an hour round trip to walk up the hill to get there and back but it's well worth it. I've recently gotten into the habbit of going everyday after a grueling 9-4pm of lectures just to buy some watermelon and go home and eat all of it^.^

The other day I couldn't wait to get home to eat my Watermelong so I pulled out a spoon that was living in my bag from the beach the day before and began to eat. YUM. (yes I got alot of strange looks from jealous people passing by)

I find myself complimenting the staff and always saying such things as “oh my that’s a bargain!” You’d think now  I would be over it, but it ceases to amaze me!

The best part is, after I discovered the Fruit Shack, I found another for cheap store that also has cheap alcohol. Wine and beer and anything alcoholic for that matter is so expensive in Australia that any person with a drinking problem should move here, it’s unaffordable! However, at this shop I found wine for $4! But on this particular day those bottles had been wiped off the shelves. I was excited to see a $6 bottle with my mom’s name on it. I bought it and drank it out of the excitement of seeing her name on a product she loves.

The Kimchi and Cookies exchange

I feel so lucky! A Korean lady who is in the same program as me at school has given me some of the kimchi her mother has made while visiting her in Australia. I was extatic and my classmates were less than pleased about the smell. It is honestly some of the best Kimchi I've ever tried. I ate half the bag already standing up in the kitchen with some chop sticks. YUM!

I made her rasin oatmeal cookies in return for her kindness and helping me keep up with my humble Korean conversation.

“I’m riding the Donkey, while I wait for the horse.”

My old roommate from my first home I stayed at in Geelong has become quite a lovely friend. He has recently moved to Geelong to study at the same University as me and has managed to grasp the English language very well in the past few months he has stayed here. Jason drives me back and forth to work when I need it and I correct his essays.

While driving me home from work one late Saturday night, Jason told me that he really wanted to quit his job because his boss speaks in a nasty tone and with out saying “please” or “thank you.” He works as a delivery guy for a Chinese take out restaurant in Geelong.

I asked him “are you going to quit your job?”
He replied, “I’m riding the donkey while waiting for the horse.”

He explained that he would keep his present job with the rude boss until he finds another part time job elsewhere.

I am excited to hear how many other Chinese proverbs he tells me throughout my stay here.

A sunny sunday afternoon

Spent a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon by the waterfront in Geelong enjoying coffee and sorbet with my friend:)

Carrot Cake with Pinapples and Rasins oh my!

i've made it a goal to attempt to bake at least once a week, last week was banana bread^^

This past weekend I was trying to think of a creative way to thank the British guys I work with for all of the rides home at the wee hours of the morning. They feel uncomfortable with getting gas money so I decided I would give them food. I baked a carrot cake with nuts, raisins and pineapple. It actually tasted a lot like a fruit cake, according to a classmate of mine. I ate half the pan and went to work waddling around with the peices I had managed to save for the guys. In addition, I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch and the boys were delighted! Apparently it was yum! horray!

look at these happy eggs with smiles on them! It's because they're free range i guess...

granny nighty

Anyone who knows me well understands or at least accepts the fact that i love to wear old lady nighties outdoors. This whole obession probably started when i watched the movie "Annie" for the first time. I thought   Miss Hannigan was terribly glamourous stumbling around drunk in the orphanage in her lace night wear and pearls. This influence came into practice during the summer I lived in Halifax. Emily and I would spend afternoons in second hand shops creating outfits for the evenings event. This passion of mine was lost for a while but was rekindled when I found this little gem in a second hand store in Geelong and paid a whole $2 for it. I took it home, cut it up and tada I have a new dress to prance around in this summer heat!

the perfect glasses

I don't need glasses but if i did these would be the perfect pair. From the movie "An Education." I don't know how to find them?

school? or arts and crafts?

The past week and a half we have been given time during our tutourials to create a poster presentation. Our group chose to do our topic on the Physcial Space of the classroom and how it is critcal to enable an engaging learning enviroment. Look at the floor plan of our poster!

We made a little tepee for quiet reading time^^

and a role play corner for the kids to use puppets to act out what they have learned in lessons. Our aim was to lessen the amount of classroom worksheets, while still being able to assess the childrens understanding of the materials taught in class:)

and a class schedule^0^