Bells Beach Surf Competition

An afternoon at the Rip Curl Pro

I had no idea who the surfers were, but I'm so happy we went!

It was $5 to go down to the beach and watch the men's competition.

so funny!

The Cottage on Packington st.

The cottage

There is something cute in Geelong...it's a hidden little cottage on Packington Street

The menus are printed inside adorable children's books. Very suitable for teachers!

Peppermint tea and my next hat

little black hat

It's a first for me! a knitted hat!

I followed a pattern with two needles and stiched up the side.

I get very shocked looks from more advanced knitters who have only heard of making a hat with four needles or at least two needles and a round wire.

I am feeling pretty excited about the fact that the mistakes throughout the head decor are unable to be seen by the untrained eye and thanks to the dark choice in yarn.

It's all finished just in time for me to take off to Hanoi, where I've heard the weather is a touch cold, as it is beginning to get here.

Hip-Hip-Horray!

Eco Friendly

Saving the enviroment one pedal push at a time!

This fabulous bike is charged by battery and gives you the option of pedalling or using the power to force you along. Miss Wall is a touch of an inspiration for the rest of us.

She is also responsible for introducing me to the Aussie novel, "The Ethics of What We Eat" The book that is responsible for why I can no longer look at or eat chicken!

This picture was taken before our evening at the Chinese Restaurant where we ate oily prawn crackers for an hour and a half, while waiting for our incredibly late and small portioned food :(

An Egypitan Afternoon

 let's begin with a few of the decadent Egyptian deserts Eirini and her mom crafted!

Eirini and her mom spent the whole morning preparing these traditional Egyptian deserts!

Just as soon as I was started to feel like an accomplished baker, I see this and realize I'm completely amature!

Babaganoush made by Eirini!

The eggplant was cooked on an open flame (not a pot or pan used) which gave the dip an amazing smokey flavour.

Eirini and Julie looking at the delicious handmade falafals made with sesame seeds, chickpeas, parsely, cilantro and so much more! These were made by Eirini's mama.

Peppers, zucinnis and eggplants, stuffed with rice.

Eaten by and adorable couple with fabulous neck decor.

Grape vine leaves steamed and used to wrap up minced beef and veggie rice.

One of the most traditional Egyptian delights.

Also one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten! definately not like the canned stuff in the supermarket!

The family/The cutest

My humble contribution...date squares with maple syurp

(Canadian syrup sent by mama Wilson -thank you mom!)

yogurt, cucumber and mint! made a beautiful salad dressing!

Made by Eirini

Sharmeens nails need a pause of admiration!

shall we have some more desert? Yes!

My favourite were the baked oranges Eirni's brother made- dipped in chocolate-

 Tasted like a Terry's chocolate orange but better!

cups of coffee and some chocolate pots

A lovely Sunday afternoon!

Crazy Hair Day!

It was the last week of my five weeks of teaching rounds and crazy hair day!

It was so fun to see all the kids pile into the hallways with all kinds of creative hair styles! It was also a little sad because I have really enjoyed teaching the class I was placed with and it was difficult to sad goodbye to them. I got lots of cute cards, sweet words and big hugs. I’m happy to be on vacation for three weeks now but it is a little sad to no longer see them every morning.

crazy hair attempt

(I have to walk to school and I really don't need to feel much more silly than i usually do on a daily basis!)

Miss Souza/my roommate^^

(I take full credit for this hair creation, she later went on to win the teacher with the craziest hair!)

walk to school

Miss Catherine and her Easter basket creations

(I also take credit for her "Kayla just not too crazy" hair)

cutest bunny ever!

Math

a little present for me:)

Mapping and Measuring

My mission for three days was to introduce orientation (NESW, 90 degrees right, 45 degrees left) bird’s eye view and mapping to the children. I wanted every activity to be fun and creative and managed to pull it off quite successfully (meaning the kids were smiling, learning and understanding!)

I’ve really gotten the hang of using all the visual cue cards for almost all of my instructions (this really helps the Autistic children in the class) and helps reinforce what the expectations are.

I have also learned a lot of the hand signals that I use while I’m talking to those children. It’s incredible how effective they are at communicating with them^^ I want to learn more!

The third lesson was conducted outside. Their missing was to create an obstacle course for their friend by drawing a birds eye view map of the playground and writing out instructions that their partner would follow (walk North, turn 90 degrees to your left). It was an effective method of assessing the students knowledge of what had been learned within those lessons.

The best part was, when the kids found out that was the last maths lesson I would be teaching them, they all made a disappointed “ooohhhhhhhh” I couldn’t help but be so pleased with myself! Hehe.