ELIZA!!!!!!

Caroline: Did I mention that we had a Typhoon?  Yeah...we did.  And it just happened to be the same day that Eliza (my friend from the States) was flying in to visit me.  I had been nervously tracking her flight, and bugging my co-workers all the time with my questions about the weather.  And, there I sat at the airport 1.5hrs early staring at the arrivals board and worrying my little head off.

As it turns out, every flight on the board was either cancelled or delayed, EXCEPT for ELIZAAA'SSSSS!  :-)  Now that is a God thing.

Eliza: OMG I was so excited to visit Caroline!! but I was also very nervous at the same time.  This was my first time flying outside of the United States.  My airport experience has been traveling with a friend to Maine and with a group to New Mexico.  Now, I was traveling to South Korea all by myself!!!  I would never imagine a year ago that I would be doing this!!  Everything went well for the most part.  I got really worried when I was waiting in Tokyo for my flight to Busan because I was told that it may be cancelled or may have to land at another airport.  That darn Typhoon!! Like Caroline said, my flight came without any real trouble (we had to wait about 10 minutes to land).  I was pretty lucky!!

Caroline: I waited at the arrivals gate for those extra 10mins...still worried.  But Eliza came through the doors and I gave her many many hugs.  Then I, just maybe, maybe, had a teeny tear...that came in multiples....maybe.

Eliza: Yeah, she cried...it was intense.

Caroline: ANYWAY, we got safely back to the apartment.  I prepped lunch for school the next day and we hit the sack.

At school, Eliza is quite popular.  I think I have only taught half of a class since she's been here (minus my Business English Class every morning.)  Manly the kids love having "Free Talk English" with her, which means Q&A.  But it's good practice for them to be vocal in English.  And Eliza is a good sport about it all.  :-)

Eliza: I am so happy that I did have any jet lag! I went to Caroline's classes thinking and planning to sit in the back.  Yeah, didn't happen.  All the girls wanted to talk with me.  It was fun though, I really enjoyed it.  I was getting a big head due to the fact that they all were talking about how beautiful I was.  It feels nice to feel pretty lol.  Everyone here is really nice from the students (though many are shy) to Caroline's co-teachers.  Everyone has been very welcoming!

Caroline: After school yesterday, my best co-worker Kim took Eliza and I to YongKung Temple (the dragon temple by the sea) and out for a traditional Korean meal.  It was so nice.

Yongkung Temple

Eliza: Kim is great!  I have never been to a Buddhist Temple before and it was beautiful!  It is so hard to describe the intricate details of the temple by the East Sea (known as the Sea of Japan).  I loved the traditional dinner even though one of Caroline's co-teachers laughed at me because of the way I used my chopsticks.  I need more practice but I had so many new foods like Kimchi (fermented cabbage), Pacheon (seafood and green onion pancake), Bibimbap (mixed veggies and rice), Patbingsu (shaved ice with redbeans, fruit, and condensed milk), and many more!  I love eating new foods! :)

Caroline: The plan for tonight is to go to Nampo-Dong (our international shopping area) to look around and get some gifts for the folks back home.  Also, dinner at the famous fish market, and some much needed time at the spa.  Lastly, we want to pop by Busan Tower (because it's famous...well in Busan it's famous.)  :-P

Anyway...you will hear from us soon...with photos and smiles.  :-)

Back into the Swing of Things

I am safely back in Korea sitting at my desk at work.  I am reminded of how confusing life is here...but luckily, I have prepared myself this time.  I still don't know what is going on around me.  I have two different teachers and a coordinator giving me three different schedules.  I am not sure exactly what I am doing.  But I have lesson plans to last me until tomorrow.  Hopefully I will know more by tonight.

Great Ocean Road

These are some more photos that my team leader took in Canberra.  Sorry that they are so late...but ya know!

Anyway, we are planting trees here....  This is one of the hills in Jerrabomberra.  :-)









So Now in the lovely land of Geelong.  As, I said in my last post, I was going to the Great Ocean Road.  And believe me...it is GREAT!  The place is so beautiful.  We are working on a hillside with a view outside the city of Lorne.

We are weeding out a few invasives, including Potosporun and Broom Bush.  These are harder to get, so though we can hand pull the smaller ones, we have to use "Loppers" (hedge trimmers) and poison.  I try to avoid poison where possible, but you have to do what you have to do.  We want a healthy bush full of native Australian Wildlife.

The weather here is dreadful though.  It has rained everyday...but it's okay with me.  Because that rain made me a beautiful rainbow right over one of the beautiful beaches on the Great Ocean Road. Trust me..there will be photos to come.  :-)

I am slightly bummed that tomorrow is my last day with CVA.  I head to Melbourne on the train after work.  Then I will fly to Korea on Saturday Morning.  I will miss this place.  I really enjoyed Western Food, English Language, and Countryside.  This place makes my heart ache for home.  But, only 2.5 more months in Korea.  I can do this.  :-)

Another City

After my free time in Melbourne I met with the CVA office.  We spent Monday weeding out the Cape Ivy at a beach in Melbourne.  This ivy was from South Africa and it will climb anything it can and smother it out.  It has no predators in this new environment and thus is quite an invasive species.  I would gently unwrap it from poor native plants that were being strangled, and for those who know me...you know I sweetly chatted with the natives reassuring them that it's all okay now and encouraging them to grow.  :-P

 Anyway, that afternoon they drove me to the city of Geelong, where I will be staying for the remainder of my time here.  This is the along the Great Ocean Road and is said to have some amazing little towns around it with great views of the ocean.  I didn't get to one today, but I have been told that we will do tomorrow's project out that way.

Today however, we spent the day in a town called Ocean Grove.  We were weeding out a bush by the name of Polygala.  This bush is not as nasty as Cape Ivy, but it does grow rampant on the dunes here.  I also found us an other invasive "Box Thorn", but unfortunately I found it by way of sitting on it...but I weeded that one out with vengeance!!  I was happy to find myself with a group leader who was a botanist and he pointed out and named the natives on the dune.  It will be lovely when those beautiful beach peas and succulents take over the dune again.

Mom and I got my email working again and someone from Jerrabomberra sent me a photo of us working on the duck boxes.  So I will post it below.

Melbourne

Hello All!

I am in Melbourne now which I like.  It's a bit easier to navigate than Sydney but has better public transit than Canberra.  I have the rest of tonight free and then I will go on a fun tour tomorrow.  Monday morning I will meet my new CVA team of Volunteers and we will get to work on whatever project CVA Melbourne decides we need to do.  (Secretly, I am tired of planting trees so I am hoping for a change.)

Melbourne is lovely.  It has a very European feel to it.  I just finished up the chocolate tour before checking into my hostel....WOW!  Chocolate is so good!  I am afraid though, that my body will take a while to get used to all this rich western food.  :-(


On a sad note, I have been blocked out from my email account.  Apparently someone was trying to use it the same time as I was.  I tried to unblock it but they won't allow me too.  I don't know if this is something I can do while traveling.  I just hate thinking about it.

If anyone is familiar with the film, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", they will understand my next reference.  I am having bouts of feeling "the mean reds"...I have no reason to be anxious because God is so good to me...but sometimes I can't help how I feel.  I am just trying to stay busy.  Thank you guys for being patient.

Jerrabomberra Wetlands

I am sitting in the Public Library enjoying the free public internet service.  I love Australia!

As you can see by the title of this post, I am working in Jerrabomberra Wetlands.  These wetlands are important because the migratory birds that come down from Asia nest here.  We are close to nesting season and these wetlands need a lot of help.  You see, Australia has a sensitive ecosystem.  It is basically a large island, so when an invasive species gets here, it takes off and destroys the dynamics of the environment here.  There is an African Thornbush that had made itself at home in these wetlands.  A CVA (Conservation Volunteers Australia) team came in here before ours and killed a good deal of it.  So our task for the week is to plant native plants to reclaim this ecosystem.

On Monday, we planted 100 native species (and this is no easy task).  It starts with digging, then planting, then securing with a box guard for protection from rabbits and roos, then watering, and lastly mulching.  (The mulch is made from the chipped African Thornbush...a fitting end to the invaders I think.)

On Tuesday, we planted 133 native species of trees and shrubs.  We also painted some duck nesting boxes for weatherproofing.  After work that day, a teamate and I went for a hike to see if we could see some wild Kangaroos.  TASK ACCOMPLISHED!  Those things are running around as common as rabbits once you are up in the hills. (But they are easier to see than rabbits because they are huge!)

And today, we planted 70 natives and also prepared and placed 3 of the duck boxes in the marsh.  I really enjoyed this part because I got to wear rubber waders and operate a power drill.

I am having a good time but I am finding myself really tired.  We are working from 8:00am to 4:00pm everyday.  And when you are swinging a Maddock all day digging, you find yourself rather beat at the end of it.

Church family, please pray for my team, we spend so much time with each other that sometimes we need to get away for a bit.  Also, please pray big time for my health.  I hurt my foot and have been fighting with it...trying not to get infected.  I have been keeping it clean, but it hurts.  And it kept me up a good part of last night.  So Caroline is sleepy today.  Also, I am wind-burned and sunburned at the same time, and my hands have taken quite a beating.

I will try to get back on the internet when I finish here and head to Melbourne.  Wish me the best!!!

Canberra

Hello all from Down Under....

So I arrived in Sydney after a really long flight.  I got off the plane and on the bus.  It feels like November here weather-wise and it has gotten me all in the spirit of the inpending holidays (which are not really inpending...but don't break my spirit folks...haha).
The bus drivers here don't drive crazy enough.  I miss Korean buses...they are fast and they announce the next stop.  Luckly, everyone speaks my language here, so I just asked random people on the bus and they told me when to get off.  I got off at Centenial Park, which is FLIPPING HUGE!  I wandered around for 45 mins lost and found myself at a gas station asking for directions.  This older man overheard me and said he knew the place I was going to.  He offered me a lift.  Normally, I don't get into cars with strangers...but I had to get there, and the guy was old, so I could probably take him if there was any funny business.

I approach his car to get in and found myself on the driver's side.  "Sir, I didn't mean to get in on the driver's side, but Australia is backwards....haha". Yes folks, they have the drivers seat on the right and they drive on the left side of the road.  Te he..silly American.

Needless to say, he got me there safely and quickly.  He was pleasant conversation too.  I was there early enough to check in and found time to do my bible study in the park with all the crazy Australian birds.  (And I mean there are a TON of crazy looking birds here...black swans, wild cockatoos, etc.) After a few house of orientation they drove me to the bus stop and sent me to Canberra on a Greyhound.  It's the political capital of Australia (4 hours out of Sydney) and it's right in the middle of many different types of ecosystems. 

I met up with my group, who are all Asian (execpt a girl from Denmark that I will meet tonight).  Anyway, there are 3 Koreans and 2 people from Taiwan.  They had dinner on the table for me when I got there.  :-)  YAY Taiwanese food!!!

Anyway, we have today and tomorrow off to get settled and we will start our service project on Monday in the Marshland.  We went to a few museams today and I think I might try to go to the Mint or the Parliment house tomorrow.  Who knows?

Thanks guys for reading this...I know it is not as interesting as an exotic blog about Laos or Thailand...but hey, Australia IS pleasant.