No pictures!!!

No pictures this week. Sorry to my adoring fans reading the blog. You'll just have to use your imagination this week. ;)

Went to the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary today and saw "heaps" of Australian animals: super venomous snakes, sleeping wombats, sleeping flying foxes (huge bats that my Driffill students have read about!!!), sleeping koalas...ok, these animals are sleeping because they are nocturnal mostly. The koalas sleep a ton, like yours truly. I felt a kinship with them. :) Also saw some kangaroos trying to mate (I use the word "trying" because the male was most likely fixed). Was surprised at how tiny the platypus was (just about a foot or a foot and a half, really). I got to pet another kangaroo today! Not one of the mating ones of course. I think I would have been kicked in the chest if I tried to get in the middle of that! Pet an emu, but was very jerky as I thought it was going to peck at me. They have this prehistoric quality about them that makes me uneasy. ;)

I hope to get some pictures up this weekend, maybe next week though. Until then...keep reading! :)

Kanga and Roo!!!!

We began our professional & cultural exchange program today. The morning started off with a chat from the Sergeant of Police at Diamond Creek Police Station. No, I wasn't in trouble for anything! He spoke about emergency response systems in place for the state of Victoria (the state in which Melbourne lies...pronounced Mel-bun ;) ). After a quick trip to the "Female Amenities" room (aka toilet), we were on our way to King Lake, an area that had been destroyed by wildfires in February 2009 (Australian summer). The climate and landscape are very similar to California so it's interesting to see the similar effects of the wildfires as well. The Californian trees that had grown there before are not growing back, but the native red gum trees are. Interesting to see how nature heals and restores balance to itself.

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We visited the Wilhaven Wildlife Shelter (http://www.wildhavenstandrews.com.au/) where we giddily pet a pair of 8-month-old joeys (baby kangaroos). So soft!

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The Shelter was burned to the ground and they are currently rebuilding their main house. Of the few items Alan & Stella (the owners of the shelter) were able to salvage from the charred weckage, they found silverware that Stella's mother had brought from England all melted together. It is estimated that it would take over 3,000 degrees F.

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The above photos were taken just after the fires. From top left going clockwise: an echidna (lke a porcupine), a lace monitor (giant lizard), and kangaroos. Few animals survived the fires. In spite of the traumatic events of Black Saturday back in '09, people are rebuilding and plants are growing back...it's a positive step, but this natural disaster has definitely made an impression on Australians and they are working hard to educate people and hopefully avoid so many casualties and losses of property in future fires.

After a long blogging break...

I've finally reemerged on the blogspot! Just a quick one though. We've arrived in Melbourne, Australia after three flights (the longest of which was over 14 hours!) and my sister will be glad to know that I am the one who had cankles yesterday! :)

My host Kira and her husband Paul are a lot of fun and I'm already having a great time with them and their cavoodles (King Charles Cavalier & Poodle) Max and Matilda. Kira drove me around a bit yesterday and I saw cockatoos and parrots flying around in the wild as well as some kangaroos! They were just hanging out under the shade of some eucalyptus trees (which are everywhere!) since it was so hot and humid yesterday. Too far away for me to get good shots though (pictures, that is!). Actually, kangaroo is sold in the stores as regular old red meat! Kind of crazy. I'll let you know when I try some.
















My host Kira driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the road. When I walked to the right side she gently reminded me that I would have to sit on the other side. So far I've only tried to get in on the wrong side twice now. :)





















This is a dessert called Pavlova that we enjoyed at our welcome barbie (bbq) today. It's a meringue-based dessert named after a Russian ballet dancer who toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920's. Kira tells me there's still much discussion as to who actually created the dessert: the Aussies or the Kiwis ;)


More to come!!!