Greetings and Salutations,
I trust this email finds everyone busy with “life” and all that entails… The overseas Tebo clan has been doing well, so I wanted to share with you some of our adventures since the last update…
We went home to Bremerton, WA in June for around thirty-five days. We wanted to stay longer, but if we did then we’d lose are foreign residency status and have to pay taxes. We spent some time in Victoria, B.C. for a couple of days to ensure this didn’t happen. It’s a gorgeous place and we had awesome weather but its way too expensive. 14% tax- are you kidding me? It was great being home and having all the conveniences! People drive normal and follow the rules. I can actually find clothes that fit and they’re not badly made knock-offs. Things are just so clean back home- restaurants, toilets, stores. Every time Travis and I went into a grocery store, we were there for an hour just looking at stuff. I think what struck me the most were all the choices and flavors… Reduced-fat, non-fat, sugar-free, cholesterol free, sodium free, etc. And of course Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. What the hell is that all about? And where can you get just Diet Vanilla Coke that’s not in a 2 liter bottle? But I digress… I do have to say that Diet Coke is WAY better in China, though. And all the flavors of Doritos! Mmmm…This is my personal favorite junk food, although I’m waiting for them to come back out with Jumpin’ Jack cheese flavored. I didn’t miss all the commercialization, and especially all the ads on television- and the media in general. It’s so annoying. All in all, it was a great trip back home. I’m glad we got to see Washington in summer because it’s my favorite season there. I didn’t miss all the tipping, paying tax, and the over-priced meals. We spent so much money and we don’t really know what we spent it on. It was probably on gas- I was shocked by how much it is. Have you noticed that people talk about that a lot too? The best part was seeing our friends and family... Travis and I completely surprised my parents, which was hilarious. If I didn’t see you- just know that I was thinking about you… There’s always next time.
We left home in the middle of July to head for Europe. Check this out. We flew from Seattle to San Francisco (2 hours), then to Beijing (11 hours). By the way, we had to pay 200 bucks extra in Seattle because our bags were overweight- however we got bumped up to business class which was a whole new, amazing world. The seats reclined all the way back!!! Anyway, we got into Beijing around 4 pm and took off the next day around 8 am and flew to Amsterdam (10 hours) and then flew to London (1.5 hours). We had to take a one hour bus to another airport, where we stayed-up the entire night playing rummy because we had a 6 am flight to Dublin, Ireland the following day. When we got into Dublin our hotel room wasn’t ready so we went to the Guinness Factory and then walked around the city a bit. We finally got into our hotel room around 3pm. I slept from 4 pm until 6 am the next day. It was a crazy couple of days, but we were too cheap to by a hotel room in London. Dublin is really cool, but it doesn’t look like a big city. Although there are a lot of people, the buildings aren’t very tall but they look really cool. We came during the heat wave- so the weather was great. Travis and I went on a tour, called “The Shamrocker.” We drove around in a yellow bus with about fifteen other people (all around the same age). I can’t truly describe to you how much fun we had. We met-up in Dublin and drove west and then down south and back up again to Dublin. We saw lots of castles, amazing countryside, and drank Guinness all along the way. It’s true, the Guinness is better in Ireland. I’ve been there before when I was young, but it’s much better as an adult. It really is a very green-looking country. They have lots of hills and mountains, but it’s covered with green grass. My favorite town was Westport. It was right on the water and really cute. You hear this a lot, but it’s also true. The people are so awesome and genuinely friendly. This older fellow, who’s a regular at the local pub (by the way, I’ve never seen so many pubs!!!), started to sing Irish folk songs and everyone followed along- it was magical. Irish people tell great stories, love to sing, and the guys are really flirtatious. Even an old married woman like me was getting hit on. One guy actually kept winking at me across from the bar. I don’t know why, but getting winked at by an Irish guy is just funny to me. And yup, they do seem to really enjoy drinking, especially their Guinness. As one of our tour guides said, “It’s the sweet nectar of the Gods.” The tour we got, through “Haggis Tours.” paid for the transportation, tour guide, and it guarantees a room in a hostel. You can request a private room but not all of the hostels have them. We sometimes had to sleep in mixed dorms, which was weird but you don’t spend a lot of time in there. Just sleep. It was six days and a total blast. We met so many people and had good conversations about traveling, politics, and just life in general… These are now great memories...
Our next stop was London. As you may know, I lived in London for four years growing up (aged 7-11). I have always wanted to go back, so this was a different trip for me than Travis because he’s never been there. I was reminiscing the whole time and even visited both of my old houses and elementary school (which, by the way, closed down that June). I also went to my old, favorite candy store and bought some sweets. It’s owned by a different family but it looked the same. On one of the days we went to the Tower of London, London Bridge, and Big Ben. I loved that! I think British history and the royal family is really interesting. Since we went on a previous Haggis tour, we got a discount off the next one, so we decided to do the Cornwall trip around southwest England. We saw Stonehenge, lots of castles, beautiful scenery, Merlin’s caves, the Roman Baths and Lands End. We learned the story about the Knights of the Roundtable and we ate Cornish pasties and had the best scones and clotted cream ever. My favorite place was Newquay. It reminds me of a surfer town in California. They had a place with the best fish and chips too. Plus, all these cute stores that were right above a cliff looking over the ocean. It had a very fun-loving vibe to it and a great place to visit in the summer. The beach was gorgeous! I never knew England had beaches like that. We met some cool people on this trip too, but since it was four days we didn’t really bond like we did with the first tour group we went one. However, we still had a good time, although it was expensive. If you didn’t know, the pound is almost double Travis the American dollar. We pretty much ate sandwiches the whole time. After our two and a half week trip, we flew back to Beijing because I had to start work the very next day. It was great coming back to China and feasting for five bucks.
CHINESE LESSON: The first week of October is a national holiday, so we get a week off. It’s also the time of the Moon Festival or mid-Autumn festival. The Chinese Moon Festival is on the 15th of the 8th lunar month on the Chinese calendar. Legend says that Chang Er (Goddess of the moon) flew to the moon after stealing some elixir from her husband, where she has lived ever since. It is said that you might see her dancing on the moon during the Moon Festival. They celebrate it by making “moon cakes” and you’re supposed to eat these under a full moon. It’s also a time when there are family reunions where you eat moon cakes under the moon and think about how wonderful the world is. Moon cakes are these nasty round cakes with bean paste in them. To be fair, I did have a coconut one which was pretty good. The tradition reminds me a lot of fruit cake at Christmas. People give fruit cake as a gift during Christmas time, expecting that the other person is going to enjoy eating it- very much like moon cakes. Travis and I both got tons of them from our parents. They’re so popular, even Starbucks makes them.
The second year around is so much better… I’m working with a new counselor this year and showing her the ropes, which cracks me up because I was completely lost last year. I’m enjoying my job and keeping busy with parent workshops (I’m organizing a Career Coaching one this year with my colleague) and preparing to run a social skills group for boys. I’m also one of the co-advisors to the Student Council group (we call it STUCO). It’s fun because the kids are amazing, but it’s definitely a time commitment. I have to attend all the school events and chaperone them. My friend is doing it with me, so it’s not that bad and it’s a good chance to get-to-know some kids better. Travis still loves his job and is getting more involved with leadership stuff at the school. We also got a car! Oh man, the quality of life has improved 1000%. It’s a 2003 Great Wall SAFE. The body looks like a Toyota 4-Runner and it’s crimson and gray (go cougs!). We’re SO HAPPY we gave in and bought one. We’ve already had some mini adventures, including going to where the Great Wall meets the ocean and some other towns along the way. In addition, we’re almost settled now in our new place. We just got our furniture (we got stuff made) last week. We’ve been sleeping on a mattress since July and I’ve been dreaming of the day when we could finally have our own bed. This year I’ll be able to finally nest and make a home.
Travis and I are going to Shanghai for the weekend at the end of October to celebrate our birthdays, so that’ll be fun. We’re also coming home for Winter break. I’m looking forward to the smell of Christmas, rainy weather, watching “A Christmas Story,” and shopping. Last year we went to Australia and it was super hot and didn’t feel like Christmas at all.
I hope all is well on your end… Like I always say at the end of these updates, we love hearing from you even if it’s just to say hello…
Cheers,
Cara
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Thursday, May 4, 2006
China Update and Thailand Trip
Sawatdi ka (“hello” in Thai),
Things are rockin’ along here in Beijing. I don’t know about you, but time has just flown by and the end of the school year and our first year in China is almost here...
Spring has sprung, so it’s starting to warm up a bit- which means that it’s green now instead of gray, which is always good for the spirits. This season is also termed as the “fluffy” season because there are bits of white fluff all over the place, seeming to come from nowhere but the sky. They look like dandelion fluffs, but I have no idea where they are coming from. If you have allergies, it’s not a good place to be. We also had our first sand storm. The sand from the Gobi desert and the high winds blow sand over everything. It was pretty strange... it looked as if it snowed sand and it covered everything in its path. We’ve had a couple of bad pollution days too. If it’s a level five, then no kids can go out to recess and all of the outside activities, like track and field, are cancelled. My poor elementary teacher friends have to deal with squirrely kids all day because they don’t have an outlet for their energy. I haven’t been affected by it, but some people get sore throats and stuff. Hard to imagine, eh? Its days like that when I really miss the Evergreen trees and mountains of Washington. It’s funny how you easily take for granted clean air. I especially miss seeing Mt. Rainer in the distance.... that’s my real home.
Work is going well for both Travis and I. My counseling buddies will appreciate this... Michael Thompson came to speak to our school. He was here for a couple of days and did some workshops for teachers and families. He’s the author of “Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys” and “Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social World’s of Children”. He’s written a lot of other books and has been on Oprah and 60 Minutes. Anyway, the other school counselors and I got a chance to talk to him and stuff. That was really cool. He’s very down-to-earth and we all learned a lot. He helped me out with a boy I’m working with that has some anger issues. At the end of the year, all the high schoolers go on a China Link trip; my tenth graders and I are going to Qingdao. It’s in southern China where it’s warm. The students are excited because it’s by a beach (I guess I am too, though). We’ll be visiting some local places, including going to some homes in the village and learning how to cook authentic Chinese food. From my experience, authentic Chinese food is not that great but whatever. The kids will be able to practice their Chinese, while I just say thank you and hello in my Americanized Chinese. No, I still can’t speak the language but my goal is to start taking lessons with a tutor next year. The last day of school is June 9th, so Travis and I will be leaving on the 10th to do some traveling. We haven’t solidified where we’re going- probably Europe and Turkey. We’re also moving into a bigger place and out of our compound. It’s actually a house in a place called “Modern Home.” It has four bedrooms, a sauna (yes, a sauna in the master bathroom), walk-in closet, satellite and broadband cable, and a stereo and sound system for the whole house. We’ll be the first renters, so it’ll be nice and new and not too far from school. By the 2008 Olympics, there will be a subway stop that goes to downtown and a Holiday Inn right next door. We also have some good friends that live two buildings over, which is convenient. It won’t be completely furnished, so we’ll need to get some furniture. It’s actually pretty cool here. You can get furniture made pretty cheap. We got a book case and two sets of dresser drawers made. I just showed them a Pottery Barn catalog, told them what color, and gave them the measurements. I think they turned out pretty okay.
For spring break Travis and I went to Thailand. WE LOVE THIS PLACE! I mean LOVE THIS PLACE! The people are so nice and the culture is beautiful. A little trivia for you... Per capita, Thailand has the most Trans-gendered/Transsexual people living there. They are gorgeous too! Anyway, back to our trip... After school on a Friday we flew into Bangkok (about a five hour plane ride) and spent the night at the airport (actually at the bar, hee-hee) because we had a 6 am flight to the island of Koh Samui the following morning. The airport was like a resort because it was all outside. Then we took an hour and a half boat ride to Koh Tao (another island off the gulf of Thailand). Koh Tao means Turtle Island, but I didn’t see any turtles so I’m not sure why it’s called that. Anyway, we stayed at a resort there and had the time of our life... white sand beaches, clear blue water, beautiful green hills/mountains in the distant. We stayed in a cottage that was two minutes from the beach and restaurant/bar. While there, Travis and I decided to become certified scuba divers. This was pretty full-on. We spent three days doing this, watching videos, taking quizzes, studying at night, and practicing maneuvers in the pool during the day. We had to take a final test at the end as well. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Studying wasn’t something I had bargained for when signing-up for this so I was a little bummed about that, but anyways, I digress. Now, I like the water or whatever, but I didn’t realize doing this would take-up so much of our vacation time. However, as with most things that are hard work- it paid off. For our first dive, we went 11 m and the second dive for 18 m. When we got to the bottom I looked up and couldn’t see the surface, so I started freaking out a bit. Travis, on the other hand, was living it up- doing summersaults and enjoying the fish and getting all excited. Like most normal people, I’m afraid of drowning so it was a challenge for me. I was like, “Oh my gawd, I’m breathing underwater. Am I okay? What if I swallow water? What if something bad happens?” I’m one of those people who always hold their nose when I jump in water because I’m paranoid about getting water in my nose. We then practiced some maneuvers; one of them was taking off your mask and then putting it back on. Once I did all that, I was fine. It really was cool. Travis and I now want to scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia someday. In regards to Thailand the country... It is an amazing place. The people are SO NICE and the food is awesome. What’s even more fun is that things are cheap there. We bought some chicken satay from a vendor and it was only 25 cents a stick and it was some of the best satay I’ve ever had. We love spicy food so we were in heaven. My favorite thing was the fresh fruit and mango shakes. I’ve never had fresh pineapple and mangos like here... Bangkok reminded me a lot like Beijing, lots of markets, a little dirty, some beggars and shacks amongst some modern buildings. We didn’t do a lot of sight-seeing because we know we’ll be back. We did go shopping which is always good. Thailand reminded me a lot of Mexico because it’s a close place that’s cheap and has nice beaches. There are some teaching couples from ISB that own places in Thailand. They have some good deals right now for some really cool houses if you’re in the market. I have to say, though. The sand and beaches on the Yucatan peninsula are better. I think Trav would disagree, but I still do like Thailand better. Where we went was not touristy. It had that remote island feel for sure. In fact, we were the only Americans. Oh man, people hate Americans now! Or maybe they always did, but I definitely feel it when I tell people where we’re from. When we first meet other foreigners and we tell them we’re American, there’s a sort of “Hmmm, what kind of American are you?” look that we get. Once they find out we didn’t vote for Bush there’s a relief that sweeps over them, like “Okay, we can respect you or tolerate you, or whatever.” I just found this out. When I first got to the school, the other parents asked if I was American and Jenny (Aussie counseling colleague) had to reassure them that I’m okay and that I do a good job. She always says to me that I’m not really American- I’m really an Aussie. I’m not totally clear on why- something about being laid back or whatever. Now Bush voting friends and family... I’m not trying to get political so keep your views to yourself. And while I’m at it, I delete all your forwards that are pro-Bush, so there.
In other exciting Tebo news... We have a new nephew!!! His name is Stuart Leodore Tebo and he was born on May 2, 2006. It’s Toby (Trav’s brother) and his wife Debbie’s first child. So we are all obviously thrilled!
All in all, the China-living Tebos are well, but more importantly- how are you guys doing? We love getting your emails, even if it’s just to say hello- so keep them coming!
Dang, these really are long updates. Thanks for reading these, I hope it didn’t bore you too much!
We miss you! Until the next episode...
Cheers,
Cara and Travis
P.S. Notice the new zip code; it is 101318 now.
P.P.S. We get American Idol! So I’m getting my cheesy reality show fix.
Things are rockin’ along here in Beijing. I don’t know about you, but time has just flown by and the end of the school year and our first year in China is almost here...
Spring has sprung, so it’s starting to warm up a bit- which means that it’s green now instead of gray, which is always good for the spirits. This season is also termed as the “fluffy” season because there are bits of white fluff all over the place, seeming to come from nowhere but the sky. They look like dandelion fluffs, but I have no idea where they are coming from. If you have allergies, it’s not a good place to be. We also had our first sand storm. The sand from the Gobi desert and the high winds blow sand over everything. It was pretty strange... it looked as if it snowed sand and it covered everything in its path. We’ve had a couple of bad pollution days too. If it’s a level five, then no kids can go out to recess and all of the outside activities, like track and field, are cancelled. My poor elementary teacher friends have to deal with squirrely kids all day because they don’t have an outlet for their energy. I haven’t been affected by it, but some people get sore throats and stuff. Hard to imagine, eh? Its days like that when I really miss the Evergreen trees and mountains of Washington. It’s funny how you easily take for granted clean air. I especially miss seeing Mt. Rainer in the distance.... that’s my real home.
Work is going well for both Travis and I. My counseling buddies will appreciate this... Michael Thompson came to speak to our school. He was here for a couple of days and did some workshops for teachers and families. He’s the author of “Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys” and “Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social World’s of Children”. He’s written a lot of other books and has been on Oprah and 60 Minutes. Anyway, the other school counselors and I got a chance to talk to him and stuff. That was really cool. He’s very down-to-earth and we all learned a lot. He helped me out with a boy I’m working with that has some anger issues. At the end of the year, all the high schoolers go on a China Link trip; my tenth graders and I are going to Qingdao. It’s in southern China where it’s warm. The students are excited because it’s by a beach (I guess I am too, though). We’ll be visiting some local places, including going to some homes in the village and learning how to cook authentic Chinese food. From my experience, authentic Chinese food is not that great but whatever. The kids will be able to practice their Chinese, while I just say thank you and hello in my Americanized Chinese. No, I still can’t speak the language but my goal is to start taking lessons with a tutor next year. The last day of school is June 9th, so Travis and I will be leaving on the 10th to do some traveling. We haven’t solidified where we’re going- probably Europe and Turkey. We’re also moving into a bigger place and out of our compound. It’s actually a house in a place called “Modern Home.” It has four bedrooms, a sauna (yes, a sauna in the master bathroom), walk-in closet, satellite and broadband cable, and a stereo and sound system for the whole house. We’ll be the first renters, so it’ll be nice and new and not too far from school. By the 2008 Olympics, there will be a subway stop that goes to downtown and a Holiday Inn right next door. We also have some good friends that live two buildings over, which is convenient. It won’t be completely furnished, so we’ll need to get some furniture. It’s actually pretty cool here. You can get furniture made pretty cheap. We got a book case and two sets of dresser drawers made. I just showed them a Pottery Barn catalog, told them what color, and gave them the measurements. I think they turned out pretty okay.
For spring break Travis and I went to Thailand. WE LOVE THIS PLACE! I mean LOVE THIS PLACE! The people are so nice and the culture is beautiful. A little trivia for you... Per capita, Thailand has the most Trans-gendered/Transsexual people living there. They are gorgeous too! Anyway, back to our trip... After school on a Friday we flew into Bangkok (about a five hour plane ride) and spent the night at the airport (actually at the bar, hee-hee) because we had a 6 am flight to the island of Koh Samui the following morning. The airport was like a resort because it was all outside. Then we took an hour and a half boat ride to Koh Tao (another island off the gulf of Thailand). Koh Tao means Turtle Island, but I didn’t see any turtles so I’m not sure why it’s called that. Anyway, we stayed at a resort there and had the time of our life... white sand beaches, clear blue water, beautiful green hills/mountains in the distant. We stayed in a cottage that was two minutes from the beach and restaurant/bar. While there, Travis and I decided to become certified scuba divers. This was pretty full-on. We spent three days doing this, watching videos, taking quizzes, studying at night, and practicing maneuvers in the pool during the day. We had to take a final test at the end as well. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Studying wasn’t something I had bargained for when signing-up for this so I was a little bummed about that, but anyways, I digress. Now, I like the water or whatever, but I didn’t realize doing this would take-up so much of our vacation time. However, as with most things that are hard work- it paid off. For our first dive, we went 11 m and the second dive for 18 m. When we got to the bottom I looked up and couldn’t see the surface, so I started freaking out a bit. Travis, on the other hand, was living it up- doing summersaults and enjoying the fish and getting all excited. Like most normal people, I’m afraid of drowning so it was a challenge for me. I was like, “Oh my gawd, I’m breathing underwater. Am I okay? What if I swallow water? What if something bad happens?” I’m one of those people who always hold their nose when I jump in water because I’m paranoid about getting water in my nose. We then practiced some maneuvers; one of them was taking off your mask and then putting it back on. Once I did all that, I was fine. It really was cool. Travis and I now want to scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia someday. In regards to Thailand the country... It is an amazing place. The people are SO NICE and the food is awesome. What’s even more fun is that things are cheap there. We bought some chicken satay from a vendor and it was only 25 cents a stick and it was some of the best satay I’ve ever had. We love spicy food so we were in heaven. My favorite thing was the fresh fruit and mango shakes. I’ve never had fresh pineapple and mangos like here... Bangkok reminded me a lot like Beijing, lots of markets, a little dirty, some beggars and shacks amongst some modern buildings. We didn’t do a lot of sight-seeing because we know we’ll be back. We did go shopping which is always good. Thailand reminded me a lot of Mexico because it’s a close place that’s cheap and has nice beaches. There are some teaching couples from ISB that own places in Thailand. They have some good deals right now for some really cool houses if you’re in the market. I have to say, though. The sand and beaches on the Yucatan peninsula are better. I think Trav would disagree, but I still do like Thailand better. Where we went was not touristy. It had that remote island feel for sure. In fact, we were the only Americans. Oh man, people hate Americans now! Or maybe they always did, but I definitely feel it when I tell people where we’re from. When we first meet other foreigners and we tell them we’re American, there’s a sort of “Hmmm, what kind of American are you?” look that we get. Once they find out we didn’t vote for Bush there’s a relief that sweeps over them, like “Okay, we can respect you or tolerate you, or whatever.” I just found this out. When I first got to the school, the other parents asked if I was American and Jenny (Aussie counseling colleague) had to reassure them that I’m okay and that I do a good job. She always says to me that I’m not really American- I’m really an Aussie. I’m not totally clear on why- something about being laid back or whatever. Now Bush voting friends and family... I’m not trying to get political so keep your views to yourself. And while I’m at it, I delete all your forwards that are pro-Bush, so there.
In other exciting Tebo news... We have a new nephew!!! His name is Stuart Leodore Tebo and he was born on May 2, 2006. It’s Toby (Trav’s brother) and his wife Debbie’s first child. So we are all obviously thrilled!
All in all, the China-living Tebos are well, but more importantly- how are you guys doing? We love getting your emails, even if it’s just to say hello- so keep them coming!
Dang, these really are long updates. Thanks for reading these, I hope it didn’t bore you too much!
We miss you! Until the next episode...
Cheers,
Cara and Travis
P.S. Notice the new zip code; it is 101318 now.
P.P.S. We get American Idol! So I’m getting my cheesy reality show fix.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
New Years, Australia, and Singapore Trip Update
Happy New Year of the Dog! There’s nothing like celebrating New Year’s twice, and that’s what we got to do this year. We have this week off for the Chinese New Year celebration, minus Thursday and Friday because we have professional development days. Our school celebrated with a dragon parade around the school and a Chinese Carnival for the first half of the day. Perhaps you’ve seen the dragons before? There’s a huge head with a pole connected to it that someone holds then there are several people who have poles connected to cloth, so it looks like the dragon’s body? Anyway, it was really fun. The school was completely decorated with red lanterns, red signs, and red banners. Red is symbolic because it chases away the bad spirits. It’s also part of the custom to pay your ayi (maid) double the amount in a red envelope and give her the week of Chinese New Year off. Apparently, we’re rather nice. We gave her two and half weeks off, so now we actually have to clean and pick-up after ourselves. I know-I know, poor us. Our ayi lives in the country and will have to ride a train for twenty-two hours straight. There are no seats, so she’ll have to stand the whole time. The counseling secretary says that the price of adult diapers goes up this time of year. Yah, I know. Kind of weird. I hadn’t seen the ayi in about a month, but when we saw each other we gave each other huge hugs. Anyway, she’s starting to become apart of our family. The fireworks are crazy here and go off all the time. It was the first time in fifteen years that fireworks haven’t been banned in the city, so it was chaos on Saturday. We went to a party at a friend’s house and just watched all the fireworks go off. It was really cool, the city looked awesome. Of course, it was straight-up “China” style- which means there were fire hazards everywhere. We saw little kids in the street setting-off fireworks, right next to boxes. I guess the fireworks will be going off for the next month, but I’ve been able to sleep through it fine.
As you probably remember, we went to Singapore and Australia for winter break. We had three weeks off and it flew by, but it was such a good time! Our flight left on Friday, the last day of school before break, so we didn’t mess around in getting out of here. It took about six hours to fly to Singapore and another six hours to fly to Adelaide, Australia. We flew Thai Air, which was pretty good. Singapore was okay, but very expensive. The city is rather clean and VERY humid. Of course, it’s close to the Ecuador Line so it would obviously be hot. Our favorite place we visited was the Night Safari, that’s one of Singapore’s famous attractions. You get there around 9 or 10 at night and go on a train to see all the animals. We saw some hippos, tigers, and lions, and a whole bunch of other animals. They have light that is similar to moonlight, so you can see everything. Then there was a reptile show that was pretty funny and entertaining. I held a python and got my picture taken. The skin of the snake was dry and it was flaking-off on me which was pretty nasty. On one of the days, we took a tram to Sentosa Island and went to a Dolphin show- it’s famous for having pink dolphins from Hong Kong. I love dolphins, so I enjoyed that. We also went to the underwater aquarium and saw some sharks. There’s not a whole lot to do there, but three days was perfect. We ate at some good restaurants and did some shopping. It rained on the last day, so we watched “King Kong” in the movie theater. We got a good deal because it was a stop-over trip with lots of freebies and discounts- but if you wanted to visit Asia, don’t just see Singapore.
As for Australia… That was an incredible place. We flew into Adelaide, which is in southern Australia, and stayed there for a couple of days. We rented a car for the entire time and I’m glad we did because it was nice to have some freedom. One of our friends threw a BBQ party on the beach, which was fun. Adelaide is famous for their wineries, so we drove around a place called, McClaren Vale, and did some wine and cheese tasting. The wine was great, so we bought a couple of bottles here and there. We also went to Cleland National Park. That was awesome! You walk into a huge pasture where there are tons of kangaroos just hanging out. We got to feed and pet them. They were pretty tame and used to people touching them. We also got to pet a koala bear. They are super cute! I guess they can be mean, but these ones were just adorable. We also saw the other typical Australian animals, such as wombats, emus (I’m not a big fan of those), echidnas, dingoes (wild dogs), and some birds. After Adelaide, we drove to Melbourne. On the way, we stayed a night at Mt. Gambier (famous for their blue lake) and Warnambool (famous for their 2 million dollar light show about a famous ship wreck). Our main purpose was to drive The Great Ocean Road. It’s a popular sight made famous by some cool rock formations, such as the Twelve Apostles. It was also where the first ship from England came. Did you know Australia was settled by a bunch of British convicts? The prisons in England were overcrowded, so they brought them to Australia. It used to be a source of embarrassment for the Aussies, but now people take pride in the fact that their ancestors were convicts. One lady we met traced here heritage back to an ancestor who was on one of the first convict ships, she boasted, “Yup, I’m part convict!” I got a kick out of that. On the drive to Melbourne we saw five wild koalas on the side of the road. One of them had a baby koala on its back. That was really cool and we took tons of pictures of that. On Christmas Eve, we drove for most of the day and stayed at a hotel room in Melbourne. Trav made a mixed CD of Christmas songs, so we sang along to them while we were driving. It totally didn’t feel like Christmas, though. The Aussies think that too. That night we ordered Pizza Hut, did laundry, and watched, “The Grinch.” Pretty exciting. On Christmas day we ate lunch with our friend from ISB and her family. That was a riot and it was our first time eating Christmas pudding. It’s this stuff, I’m not entirely sure what’s in it, except for booze and some other ingredients, but it sits for five months in a cloth bag. It was pretty good with hot custard on it. We stayed at another friend’s place for a couple of days and did some shopping in the city, checked out the observation tower, and visited the Old Melbourne Gaol (pronounced jail, I have no idea why they spell it like that). On the 28th of December, we flew to Sydney. Now that is a really cool city! There’s a lot to do there and the weather was perfect. We stayed at a hostel for the week. It was our first hostel experience and it was so much fun! You share a kitchen, common room, toilet, and shower, but it wasn’t a big deal and we had our own room. We met some really neat people and the place was a two minute walk to Coogee Beach and all the shops and restaurants. Bondi Beach is probably the most common beach, but we liked Coogee better. It was less crowded and it just had a better vibe. On one of the days, our friends took us snorkeling and then Travis and I walked to Bondi Beach. It was a beautiful morning and the walk was excellent- very scenic and gorgeous. The beaches are so amazing! It felt like Southern California, but I swear the water felt warmer. For some of the time, we did an obscene amount of shopping and laid on the beach and relaxed. On one of the first days we got there, we drove up to the Blue Mountains and toured and hiked that area. It’s famous for the Three Sisters rock formation. The Aborigines believe that a witch doctor turned his three daughters to stone to try and save them from a giant centipede. But the witch doctor lost his magic bone, so the three sisters are still waiting to be turned into their former selves. There are a lot of folklore stories like that; they remind me a lot of the Native American ones. The Blue Mountains are beautiful and they really do look blue, it’s because of the Eucalyptus oil on the trees. It gives off a bluish glow. For New Year’s Eve, we met-up with a couple who were also staying at the hostel with us. We watched the fireworks at a park that overlooked the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The show was fantastic! I couldn’t believe we were all wearing tank-tops, shorts, and flip-flops for a New Year’s party. On New Year’s Day it was a record-breaking 115 degrees. We went to a BBQ that day at our friend’s house. Luckily, they have a pool so we cooled off there when we got too hot. We swam in the ocean at 9 pm because it was so hot in our hostel. One of the most memorable things we did was climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It’s a three hour long process, but they put you in jump-suits and you’re attached to the bridge by a cable, so you feel completely safe. The tour guide takes you up tons of stairs and tells you about the history of the bridge. The view was incredible! We went at night, so the opera house was all lit up and the city looked awesome. On another day, we went on an Aboriginal Walk-About around the Blue Mountains. It was a five and half mile hike that was full on vertical climbing, but it was a really cool experience. The tour guide was Aborigine and he told us about his culture and stuff. It rained practically the whole time, so we had a camp fire lunch to get dried off. On the last day, we walked around Sydney and went to the Sydney Aquarium. Apparently, it’s one of the best in the world. It was okay. I’m not too keen on aquariums, but seeing the crocodile was kind of cool.
All in all, Australia was our favorite place we’ve visited so far… It was nice to be able to get around without a language barrier. Although, they do have their own kind of language… They shorten everything and put a ‘y’ or ‘ie’ at the end. For example, breakfast is called breaky, pictures are called pikies, and chocolate is called choc-ies. The country people have a very thick Aussie accent, so you have to really pay attention to what they’re saying. For the most part, the people are really down-to-earth and welcoming, much like our Aussie friends from here. But they also have there fair share of racism and homophobia. Aborigines are generally not well respected and for some reason, we met a lot of ignorant folks that said some weird things. I reckon those people are just everywhere, eh? Besides all that, we want to go back and visit Western and Northern Australia. There’s so much to see, you just can’t do it all in three weeks. We had such a good time; it was really hard coming back. Lucky for us, adjusting wasn’t too bad because Sydney is only two and a half hours ahead, so we didn’t suffer any jet lag.
I hope all is well with you! As always, we love to hear how life is going in your neck of the woods… Take care and keep in touch.
Warm Regards,
Cara
As you probably remember, we went to Singapore and Australia for winter break. We had three weeks off and it flew by, but it was such a good time! Our flight left on Friday, the last day of school before break, so we didn’t mess around in getting out of here. It took about six hours to fly to Singapore and another six hours to fly to Adelaide, Australia. We flew Thai Air, which was pretty good. Singapore was okay, but very expensive. The city is rather clean and VERY humid. Of course, it’s close to the Ecuador Line so it would obviously be hot. Our favorite place we visited was the Night Safari, that’s one of Singapore’s famous attractions. You get there around 9 or 10 at night and go on a train to see all the animals. We saw some hippos, tigers, and lions, and a whole bunch of other animals. They have light that is similar to moonlight, so you can see everything. Then there was a reptile show that was pretty funny and entertaining. I held a python and got my picture taken. The skin of the snake was dry and it was flaking-off on me which was pretty nasty. On one of the days, we took a tram to Sentosa Island and went to a Dolphin show- it’s famous for having pink dolphins from Hong Kong. I love dolphins, so I enjoyed that. We also went to the underwater aquarium and saw some sharks. There’s not a whole lot to do there, but three days was perfect. We ate at some good restaurants and did some shopping. It rained on the last day, so we watched “King Kong” in the movie theater. We got a good deal because it was a stop-over trip with lots of freebies and discounts- but if you wanted to visit Asia, don’t just see Singapore.
As for Australia… That was an incredible place. We flew into Adelaide, which is in southern Australia, and stayed there for a couple of days. We rented a car for the entire time and I’m glad we did because it was nice to have some freedom. One of our friends threw a BBQ party on the beach, which was fun. Adelaide is famous for their wineries, so we drove around a place called, McClaren Vale, and did some wine and cheese tasting. The wine was great, so we bought a couple of bottles here and there. We also went to Cleland National Park. That was awesome! You walk into a huge pasture where there are tons of kangaroos just hanging out. We got to feed and pet them. They were pretty tame and used to people touching them. We also got to pet a koala bear. They are super cute! I guess they can be mean, but these ones were just adorable. We also saw the other typical Australian animals, such as wombats, emus (I’m not a big fan of those), echidnas, dingoes (wild dogs), and some birds. After Adelaide, we drove to Melbourne. On the way, we stayed a night at Mt. Gambier (famous for their blue lake) and Warnambool (famous for their 2 million dollar light show about a famous ship wreck). Our main purpose was to drive The Great Ocean Road. It’s a popular sight made famous by some cool rock formations, such as the Twelve Apostles. It was also where the first ship from England came. Did you know Australia was settled by a bunch of British convicts? The prisons in England were overcrowded, so they brought them to Australia. It used to be a source of embarrassment for the Aussies, but now people take pride in the fact that their ancestors were convicts. One lady we met traced here heritage back to an ancestor who was on one of the first convict ships, she boasted, “Yup, I’m part convict!” I got a kick out of that. On the drive to Melbourne we saw five wild koalas on the side of the road. One of them had a baby koala on its back. That was really cool and we took tons of pictures of that. On Christmas Eve, we drove for most of the day and stayed at a hotel room in Melbourne. Trav made a mixed CD of Christmas songs, so we sang along to them while we were driving. It totally didn’t feel like Christmas, though. The Aussies think that too. That night we ordered Pizza Hut, did laundry, and watched, “The Grinch.” Pretty exciting. On Christmas day we ate lunch with our friend from ISB and her family. That was a riot and it was our first time eating Christmas pudding. It’s this stuff, I’m not entirely sure what’s in it, except for booze and some other ingredients, but it sits for five months in a cloth bag. It was pretty good with hot custard on it. We stayed at another friend’s place for a couple of days and did some shopping in the city, checked out the observation tower, and visited the Old Melbourne Gaol (pronounced jail, I have no idea why they spell it like that). On the 28th of December, we flew to Sydney. Now that is a really cool city! There’s a lot to do there and the weather was perfect. We stayed at a hostel for the week. It was our first hostel experience and it was so much fun! You share a kitchen, common room, toilet, and shower, but it wasn’t a big deal and we had our own room. We met some really neat people and the place was a two minute walk to Coogee Beach and all the shops and restaurants. Bondi Beach is probably the most common beach, but we liked Coogee better. It was less crowded and it just had a better vibe. On one of the days, our friends took us snorkeling and then Travis and I walked to Bondi Beach. It was a beautiful morning and the walk was excellent- very scenic and gorgeous. The beaches are so amazing! It felt like Southern California, but I swear the water felt warmer. For some of the time, we did an obscene amount of shopping and laid on the beach and relaxed. On one of the first days we got there, we drove up to the Blue Mountains and toured and hiked that area. It’s famous for the Three Sisters rock formation. The Aborigines believe that a witch doctor turned his three daughters to stone to try and save them from a giant centipede. But the witch doctor lost his magic bone, so the three sisters are still waiting to be turned into their former selves. There are a lot of folklore stories like that; they remind me a lot of the Native American ones. The Blue Mountains are beautiful and they really do look blue, it’s because of the Eucalyptus oil on the trees. It gives off a bluish glow. For New Year’s Eve, we met-up with a couple who were also staying at the hostel with us. We watched the fireworks at a park that overlooked the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The show was fantastic! I couldn’t believe we were all wearing tank-tops, shorts, and flip-flops for a New Year’s party. On New Year’s Day it was a record-breaking 115 degrees. We went to a BBQ that day at our friend’s house. Luckily, they have a pool so we cooled off there when we got too hot. We swam in the ocean at 9 pm because it was so hot in our hostel. One of the most memorable things we did was climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It’s a three hour long process, but they put you in jump-suits and you’re attached to the bridge by a cable, so you feel completely safe. The tour guide takes you up tons of stairs and tells you about the history of the bridge. The view was incredible! We went at night, so the opera house was all lit up and the city looked awesome. On another day, we went on an Aboriginal Walk-About around the Blue Mountains. It was a five and half mile hike that was full on vertical climbing, but it was a really cool experience. The tour guide was Aborigine and he told us about his culture and stuff. It rained practically the whole time, so we had a camp fire lunch to get dried off. On the last day, we walked around Sydney and went to the Sydney Aquarium. Apparently, it’s one of the best in the world. It was okay. I’m not too keen on aquariums, but seeing the crocodile was kind of cool.
All in all, Australia was our favorite place we’ve visited so far… It was nice to be able to get around without a language barrier. Although, they do have their own kind of language… They shorten everything and put a ‘y’ or ‘ie’ at the end. For example, breakfast is called breaky, pictures are called pikies, and chocolate is called choc-ies. The country people have a very thick Aussie accent, so you have to really pay attention to what they’re saying. For the most part, the people are really down-to-earth and welcoming, much like our Aussie friends from here. But they also have there fair share of racism and homophobia. Aborigines are generally not well respected and for some reason, we met a lot of ignorant folks that said some weird things. I reckon those people are just everywhere, eh? Besides all that, we want to go back and visit Western and Northern Australia. There’s so much to see, you just can’t do it all in three weeks. We had such a good time; it was really hard coming back. Lucky for us, adjusting wasn’t too bad because Sydney is only two and a half hours ahead, so we didn’t suffer any jet lag.
I hope all is well with you! As always, we love to hear how life is going in your neck of the woods… Take care and keep in touch.
Warm Regards,
Cara
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