The Final Count Down....

Week 6 (Last week of teaching!)

Oh sadness...to leave all those beautiful children...but what a fun week we had! My teacher actually gave me monday morning off because I am such a hard worker :) That was nice! It was great to sleep in and get caught up on some of my GVSU final evaluations and surveys. I took over full time on Tuesday, got to plan all the activities, and my teacher was out of the room the whole time! We started doing christmas activities, games, reef and card making, and playing christmas music! We made reefs out of coat hangers and wire...simple...but sooo cute! I showed the kids some cool youtube videos of christmas light shows that were synchronized to music...gosh I love youtube!

On Wednesday I taught my last science lesson to Miss Onn's 6/7th grade class on Solids, liquids, and Gases. We played a game of tag outside simulating the ways the molecules move in the various states...they loved it! I also did an experiment with hot and cold water, showing how they wont mix when the hot water is on top because it is less dense. And finally the students did an experiment using candles, water, glass cup and fire, using the difference in air pressure that is created when the fame is extinguished by the cup to draw the water from the bowl up into the cup. Overall they were pretty wicked sweet!Thursday my students threw me a party! SURPRISE! They were all hiding under their tables when I came in, and popped up! ( They actually had "spies" that were on the look out for me...which I pretended I didn't see of course :) ) I was sooo overwellemed with how awesome my teacher was! They sat me down in a "chair of honor", and gave me a huge bag of "Aussie mementos!" (I don't know what I'll do with 5 stuffed kangeroos...but hey, it's the thought right?) I got this great hat which all the kids signed, LOTS of chocolate, pins, key chains, ornaments, cards, flags...pretty much anything you could want! Some kids made me special cards and I got this cool doll made out of jenga pieces!

During lunch time we had special food that all the kids had brought in, and they had me eat at each table as the guest of honor :) I showed the kids my "science sista" music video...and at the end one of the looks me straight in the eye and goes..."Miss Gonsior...I didn't know you were a rapper?!" It was pretty priceless:) And if that wasn't enough...at the end of the day they bestowed me with a huge life size card that the students had put together themselves with all their photos, and next to each photo was a heart from that student with a personalized note from them to me :) It was so lovely. I actually cried when I took it home to read that night! I gave the students all christmas card photos of me and them as well as Fruit tingles (my fav aussie candy!), and a customized star ornament I made them. All in all it was great :) I got sooo many hugs! I will have to go back because the students there are just tooo fantastic!

Well its true...I am back now...and I still have one last post to write about my Excursion up North! So stay tuned....!

Week 4 and 5 recap!

Wow...time is flying by...and I'm not writing! Sorry!

Ok so i'll try to give you some details....

Week 4

So I finally made it to Kings Park! I'd been wanting to hit that up and if you read my morning message to my kindergartners I have a sweet photo of me with the Perth Skyline behind me. Gorgeous! Prolly one of my favorite spots of been! Just like this huge park you can walk around in. I found out they have outdoor movies starting up this week which is a pretty popular thing to do now that summer is here!

I taught my second lesson on electricity to the 6/7th graders and it went really well! I had them make circuits with their bodies and they came up with some pretty interesting results...

I also taught a math lesson on division with remainders this week. I used "Fredo Frogs" which are the chocolate candy that ALL the kids love! They thought it was pretty much amazing...well...because it was.

Friday I went to the city opera and saw Handel's Messiah. It was beautiful and I got all dressed up. You've prolly heard the song "Hallelujah" from it...its pretty popular. Saturday the American girls did a thanksgiving dinner for our host families and teacher coordinator. It turned out really nice! I cooked cheesy potatoes from scratch! yeah for my first dish! We had turkey, pumpkin, and peacon pie, lots of stuffing, chicken, sweet potatoes...the works! Each girl took one of their family favorite recipes and cooked it up! Finding some of the ingredients was a little tricky, but all in all the audiences gave us 5 star ratings! It was nice to feel like a big family :) Check out those Cheesy Potatos!!!! Sunday I went to Fremantle with the girls...which everyone here calls Freo. It was quite exciting for me because I actually ran into a guy I knew on the train, and then another girl I had met at the New Moon premier while we were shopping in the markets. I felt like I was home, running into friends where ever I go. My family plays this game where if your in a location and spot someone you know you get a point. Since I'm at a disadvantage, I would get tripple points for anyone I ran into that I knew...so Sunday was a winning day for me! I really enjoyed Freo...there were street preformers (I saw a guy do a back flip through a flaming hula hoop off a ladder...wicked I know!) and we went to the prison! Very interesting to see the cells and set up with the tall walls and such. Random funny thing...so people here call cell phones "mobile phones", so when I asked a girl for her "cell number", she started laughing and the guy next to her was like, "what are we, in prison?" haha guess I never thought of how that could be funny...crazy huh?

Week 5!

This week was a blast! I got to teach an English lesson on the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!" I taught my kids about synonyms and antonyms and had them write their own story about Alex but where he has a perfect, fantastic, fabulous, wonderful day. They had soo much fun with the story...especially because there is a reference where Alexander wants to move to Australia...so I thought that was quite witty of my to bring and read to them :)

Wednesday I taught dance again...we reviewed the cotton eye joe, cupid shuffle, something else, and taught them some of the classics such as shopping cart, sprinkler, making the pizza, wii remote, lawn mower...ya know...the good stuff. We did it all to the YMCA so you know it was quality. Check out us grooving to the cotton eye joe! (P.S. I just kind of figured out how to insert pictures recently so I'm going a little pic crazy)

Thursday was a great day...I went beach swimming with the 6/7th graders! Thats right...I went to the beach during school hours. Part of their curriuculum for 2 weeks is go swimming at the beach every morning! I know...way jello. Except apparently its pretty common to get stung by Jelly fish. I did not...which was good! That reminds me of another funny thing..."jelly" here is considered "jello". Their "jam" is like our jelly...so when people in America say they eat peanut butter and jelly...Aussi's think Ewwwww! cause they think its peanut butter and Jello! funny huh?

The Week END!!!
This was offically a weekend of no sleep. We had our class sleepover friday...which was amazing! It was like being a camp counselor...only better! I got to lead all the games...put a bit of Camp O'Malley style into Australia. We did fox tails, heads and tails tag, Princess/Jester, Dragon tail tag, and more! The kids thought it was so great I was running around and playing with them...quote "I've never seen a teacher go down a slide!" We had a talent show where I made an appearance preforming the popular Hanah Montana, "Hoe Down Thrown Down!" (cam would be so proud!) Four of the girls here had learned it and asked me to join....Heck Yes! I was also able to impart some of my newly aquired magic skills from the summer (yeah BW!) and pass those on to the youth of tomorrow. I taught them how to send a torch (which is what they call a flash light...BA, I know!) through a table! I was actually quite impressed with their presentation. They dressed up in top hats and capes, they even had a sweet "magic table" that they decorated and put together. We had a dance party to "So What" by Pink, and i gave out glow sticks...so pretty much it was a Rave. We watch "The flight before Christmas"....you can tell by the title it was Awesome. And we played this chocolate game where you have to dress up and eat chocolate everytime you roll a six, and then if someone else does they get to come in the middle and put on the dress up clothes and start cutting pieces of chocolate that they can then eat. It was WAY intense...lots of screaming going on.
Only downside of the night was some highschoolers decided to break in and vandalize...apparently thats the cool thing to do for teens here. I woke up at 2:30am after not going to sleep to around midnight to profanities and the sounds of windows being smashed. Now you may have thought I would be scared. Actually, my first thoughts were that a cricket game was going on....then when I finally came to I was ready to run outside and give those kids a run for their money...ya know, show em a few muscels...but then I was told I had to stay inside and let the police and security deal with it because the kids had cricket bats....oh...prolly not the safest thing. Didn't get back to sleep till 4:30am....BOO! The kids woke up at 5:30am and thought it completely necessary to all come and jump on top of me...not a lie. So no sleep that night....but it was still good, and the kids didn't wake up/know about the vandel thing so it was all good.


Saturday Night I got to go out with a REALLY cute Aussi boy...my teacher set me up. haha. He had a sweet black truck which they call a "ute" here. (pronounced..."youte") He was real cool and introduced me to a bunch of his friends. We went over to "his mates" house for drinks (still think that phrase is hilarious!) and he lived right on the water with a balcony overlooking the Ocean. I had my first experience of playing Pool with Aussi rules. So get this...they don't call the balls "solids and stripes" like they should be called, they call 'em "Bigs, and Smalls", because apparently all the solids have small numbers, and the stripes have big. They have some other crazy rules that i wont get into. So they we went out on the town and they took me to a place called "Gold Bar" in Subi, and Connections in North Bridge. Another thing I learned...a Hookah there is called a "Shu Shing"....some of the guys got one of those at Gold Bar. These clubs were seriously like movie type clubs...way hot! It is just soo crazy to me how dressed up people get here! Seriously, every girl you see is in a dress, hair all did, and crazy high heels. But this time i was prepared...wore a new dress I bought here so you know I was looking good :) Kids here stay out till like 5/6 in the morning though....luckily they brought me home by 4am...but it was a crazy night!

Sunday:
I finally got to a church! I had to wake up at 6am though...so really...no sleep. It was small...like 35 people but kinda like a rock concert. The band was jamming and the paster was jumping up and down during songs. It was pretty ridiculous. It was funny though cause I didn't know what to expect...last minute connection through my families son's girlfriends brother who is in the band there...but they meet in a school building...and the church I go to in Grand Rapids meets in a school building...so that was kinda funny. I helped them set things up and got to hangout and meet most of the people before hand. It was really good...like a big family. First time I've gotten to church since I've been here....my previous rides kept falling through! But definitely worth it!

Arvo (afternoon)
I went to this place called the "Garden". Its a hip new place for "Sunday Sessions", which is basicially what most Aussi's do on Sunday...they go somewhere and have drinks all afternoon. I went to Leederville and met up with some teachers from my school. While I waited for them I was at a coffee shop and guess what I found? A PAC MAN MACHINE!!! So instantly I was playing. I found a nice pair of guys playing pool nearby to take my photo. Struck up some convo with them and found out the one guy had been to NY! small world! P.S. that reminds me...I met a girl from Midland, MI earlier this week when I went shopping down at Hilary's Harbor! (real small world) But yeah, the Garden was sweet...all outdoors, trees, a cool balcony we sat up on and talked and hung out. I just love how everything is so outdoorsy here! I did end up crashing when I got home....7pm I was out! Woke up at 7am the next day so I'm doing well now! Time to sleep though again....prolly my last blog till after my trip up North....Love you all thanks for keeping up with my crazy adventures....

Two More Weeks Till I See Your Lovely Faces!!!

Ray Ray

Morning Message 12-4-09

Dear Kindergartners, 12-4-09

Greetings! I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving vacation :) This week I went swimming at the beach with the 6/7th grade students. It was so nice! Every morning for two weeks the 6/7th graders go to the beach to work on their swimming skills...how fun! Today I heard it snowed in Michigan. Guess what...it is 90 degrees here today! We are having a sleepover with my class tonight because they earned 1000 stars for good behavior! I am in charge of the games. I can't wait. Hope you are having a great week. I only have one week left of teaching! Miss you!

Love,

Miss Gonsior

Friday Morning Message! 11-27-09

Dear Kindergartners, 11-27-09

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you had a great meal and enjoyed your time off school. Guess what? I still had school! That don't have thanksgiving over here...that's only an American Holiday. I had a great weekend! I went to Caversham Wildlife Park and guess what? I got to pet Kangeroos and Koalas! They are soo cute!

I also went to this science museum where I saw this show that looks like the night sky and they tell you all about the stars and the planets, and its all in this dome shaped room. This week I went to Kings Park for a walk around and you can see the whole city of Perth from there! Remember those photos I showed you of the big skyline with all the tall buildings? That's the view I saw! It was gorgeous!


I've been seeing christmas decorations and hearing christmas music here! Its so crazy to think that christmas is comming up when its not cold or snowy! Its about 80 degrees and sunny right now! Benny Bear would need to put on his swimsuit! Remember Miss G misses you and loves you! Have a great week!

Love, Miss Gonsior

Friday Morning Message! 11-20-09

Dear Class,

Today is Friday, November 20th, or 20-11-09 as they write it here! They do a variety of things different in Australia! For example, the cars here drive on the left side of the road, and the driver sits on the right side of the car! Also, the schools here have uniforms the students have to wear!

This weekend I went on a trip to a place called Margaret river and got to see emu's (a type of animal), kangaroos jumping by our car, and humpback wales jumping out of the water! Here is a picture of one of the beaches I was at.

Today I went on a "excursion" with my class, which is what we call a field trip here. We went to an aquarium, where there are lots of different types of fish, coral, sharks, sting rays, and octopus! It was almost as fun as our pumpkin patch field trip, but not quite because you guys were not there!

Hope you are all doing well :) Miss you lots! Bet you are staying warmer than me (it's been cold and rainy the past couple of day :(

Love,
Miss Gonsior

Week 3 Excursions!

Well I am just doing a terrible time keeping up to date...ahhh!

Recap of the Weekend:

I went on a trip with my host dad, Len, and two of the other American teachers, Megan and Kendal to Margaret River. Margaret River is about a 5 hour drive south of Perth into a beautiful farming country filled with beaches and wineries and lots of wild life.


I had my first wine tasting at a real classy winery! There were beautiful lush gardens outside, and then you walk in up to this bar type thing, and they have a list of 6 different wines,(3 white, 3 red), and then the wine tender pours you one at a time in a nice glass, telling you information about the wine and asking your opinion. I learned about why people swirl the wine first and then smell it before drinking...apparently when you swirl it the wine mixes with the air and gives off smells that you can start to distinguish the variety flavors present in your glass. All part of the experience :)

We journeyed around to some beaches, a chocolate factory and went out for dinner in main strip of town...which is basically one street :) I also went shopping...early of course cause they all close at 5pm...but I got this killer hot pick dress so I'm pretty stoked about that!

We went to a couple of other wineries...one that was pretty much in the back of a shed (such a variety of styles!) as well as this beach where we ended up seeing humpback wales jumping out of the water! We also drove by a grove with emus, this random place where they have these huge huge trees, and had kangeroos jump out along side of our car! I felt like I was in Michigan...but w/o the deer :) I actually tried a Kangeroo Burger at a restaurant...not too bad! Returned Sunday night at 8pm...all in all a very relaxing weekend!

Week Lessons:
I started my research MI project! We did an art project today for the cover where the kids painted a background blue/green and then dipped their hands in paint and did hand prints to make a MI map picture! So cute :)

I taught my lesson on electricity to 6/7th graders and had a blast. I was amazed at how fast they got through things, could think critically, come up with new ways to change their experiment, and work together as a team. I had them build circuits and was told by one girl that my lesson was the funnest science she's done all year! It was great cause I had all this freedom to essentially do whatever I wanted, so we had a lot of conversing together, and exploring how electricity works.

Social Activities:
Monday night...I learned how to play this game with my family that is similar to the card game "liar" or "B.S." but you play with dice and have to raise your bets each time about what you think people rolled, and then people can loose die and the last person with die left wins. So we had some good quality family game night time!
Last night I went to the World Premier of NEW MOON...starting with a dinner trip to the pub, followed by a showing of the first movie, "Twilight" at 9pm...and then the second movie at 12:30...needless to say I didn't get to bed till 3:30am...but it was sooo worth it! the second movie is wayyy better, funnier, and the atmosphere of premiers are just the best. People clap and cheer when the main characters come out...and I met a few new girls so my friend base is going up! yeah new fb friends!

Upcoming excitements!
Tomorrow I teach a lesson on water density...where the kids test various objects whether they sink or float in water. Also they are making boats and seeing how much weight they can hold!
Going on an EXCURSION (still love saying that word) to Aqua, an aquiarum nearby with cool water creatures and such. I get to be in charge of a group so watch out!

P.S. Some of the kids have started to give me going away presents already...like make me books and such, and I LOVE it! This one girl made me a friendship eraser (didn't know these things existed...so heidi...if you wanna get on that?) She also gave me one of her butterfly hair clips...hmmm well ya know what ev.

Saturday I am going shopping with my teacher! she is super awesome and I can't wait! Hopefully some killer new clothes to bring home:)

Next weekend us American Girls are doing a Thanksgiving dinner that we all put together...so I can test out my new cooking skills! horah!

K well that's all for now...sleep is calling my name! Peace Love and warm :) Keep rocking out and I'll ttys!

Week 2...Teaching!

Week 2...Day 13 in the Land Down Under :)

Hello! This week has been very fun for me socially, as well as somewhat stressful as I have begun my MI unit in the class!

I've begun making a list of differences I notice between the lifestyles and schools here, and back home...so allow me to list a few before you go on and read about my week:

Differences
*Full Stop=period (yeah, apparently the don't call that 'dot' at the end of a sentence a period like we do...my kids gave me the weirdest looks when I tried to make them add "periods"...not called that here apparently!
*Z= Zed...yup...they really call it "zed"...not a joke
*Everything closes at 5pm....other than Thursday night which is 'late night shopping' till 9pm...ohhhhh...(oh Taco Bell...I miss those 2am runs :()
*Cheers,g'day mate, no worries= common phrases
*That's alright= your welcome (people always say this when I say thank you...makes me think I did something wrong)
*Cricket and Netball= like baseball and basketball, but both different...netball you can't dribble...cricket has a flat fat bat and is just weird
*Kangeroo crossing signs...they seriously are like our deer (we had one run across in front of our car!)
*Use Metric system...kinda confusing...although it was pretty funny to see a school zone sign with a speed limit sign for 60! (KM per Hour)...but still
*Hungry Jacks= Burger King (exact same restaurant...but that name was already copyrighted or something like that over hear so they had to use a different one!)

Ok that's all I feel like writing for now...on to my week of teaching experiences!

Teaching Experience:

I had the kids come up with questions about Michigan, and make a concept map about what they know, or think they know about our State...boy did I get some interesting ideas! Funny questions:
1) What is the name of Michigan's President (the same as every other US state's president...lol)
2) Do they have X-box 360s there? (Yes...they came from America)
3) Do people catch crocodiles? (ummm maybe in the zoos??)

Misconceptions
Michigan is in South America
USA, AMERICA, and UNITED STATES are all different places
Michigan has a president
Michigan is as big or bigger than their state of Western Australia (really MI could fit in WA 17 times!)

We did an activity on Tuesday where the kids traced their hands to make the two peninsulas and then wrote in facts from a song I played about Michigan. They are soo artistic! I set up for penpals with a 3rd grade class at my old school I taught at previously. I brought in a puppet cardnial named Connie, who traveled from MI with a letter from the other class, asking if they would be penpals(I know..I'm awesome). The kids were sooo excited! We wrote letters back today and they received letters from their penpals friday morning.

Thursday I went on an excursion to Penguin Island with the year 5's. We saw Fairy Penguins, which I've included a picture of on the side. They are the smallest penguins in the World...about 1 1/2 ft tall! We also went on a seal lion cruise, found them laying on an island, sunbathing...living the good life ya know :) The boat we were on had a clear bottom pane that you could look through and see the Ocean below. So pretty! When we returned from the Island we played a mock game of the Olympics, where the students were split up representing 10 different countries (w/o the American flag represented I might add...prolly cause we would dominate.)
I also got to see a ventriloquist that night! He was super funny and used a bunch of different puppets...including a Scottish rabbit.

Social Activities
Before coming to Perth I got connected with a girl named Anna who had stayed with a guy who is a children's author in Grand Rapids, who I just so happened to buy a book from about MI, mention I was coming here...and whala, connection made! We went out to dinner and the movies Monday night in Leederville...saw 500 days of summer! (which I had seen before..but actually really liked the 2nd time ) I met four of her girlfriends and they are all soo cool/fun. One of them actually live quite close to me:) I actually am starting to have a social life now! They invited me to to the premier of New Moon...the second Twilight movie next wednesday. They are showing Twilight at 9pm...and then New Moon at 12:30pm. We couldn't get the midnight showing cause guess how much the tickets were?...$40!!! (crazy right?) Movies here are really expensive anyway...like 15$ to go...hello student prices?? (I miss my $6 movies :() But yeah...I might die that night cause I prolly wont get home till three...then up at 6am for school. Responsible choice? no. Once in a life time experience with cool Aussi girls? yes! (its only sleep people)

I Haven't been good about posting this week...sooo busy! So that's all for now...and I'll tell you about my weekend soon...w/in the next two days for sure! Love you Love you Love you! TILL NEXT TIME...STAY WARM!

Rachael

Morning Message- Miss G's Favorite Kindergarten Class :)

Dear Friends,

Greetings! I think about you all often and hope you are doing well and learning lots! I can't wait to come visit you all when I return! This week I started teaching my students a unit on Michigan. They have been so excited to learn about where we are from. Guess what? Most of them have never seen snow! (They asked me what it tastes like!) The state I live in over here is really big...Michigan could fit into this state 17 times! I went on a field trip with the 5th graders today up to Penguin Island and saw the cutest little penguins...they couldn't have been more than 1 1/2 ft tall. Did you know there were penguins here? I didn't! I hear you are having nice weather! Hope you are having fun at recess :) Until next time...Miss G Love you :)

Love,

Miss Gonsior

Weekend Festivites

Week One Down...Six to Go!

I can't believe how quick the week went by :) I am having a blast! and now for the weekend update you've all been waiting for I'm sure...

Thursday Night (we'll count this as part of the weekend)

So Len and Heather have a wine tasting group they meet up with on Thursday nights...they go to this Thai restaurant in Subiaco(cool suburb in Perth) and everyone brings wines and they are all in coverings and then we have our own little wine tasting/game show guessing night experience, while the waiters just bring us dish after dish of food...we don't order anything! (It reminded me of Nick's rehearsal dinner Heidi) Here's a sample of the questions people would ask during each "tasting" experience.
Question 1: Is it from Australia, France, or somewhere else?
Question 2: What kind is it? (Sauvignon Blanc, chardonnay,Merlot, Shiraz, etc)
Question 3: What part of the country (N,S,E,W)
Question 4: What vineyard? (choices given)
What's crazy is that some people could get all of these things right! I was pretty bad, but sometimes got a few questions right. I think I tried about 9 wines...and was told later none were less than $40 a bottle. I only didn't like one...and apparently it was the most expensive ($150 from France!) At least I'm a cheap date? lol. I think I'm liking the shiraz wines...they are a red wine with a big bold taste. The Australian wine is really good...it has more of a fruity taste than other countries.

Friday Night

I met other Americans! We went out to a food court type place, where they had lots of different food types and the host parents brought (surprise surprise)wine and wine glasses...its so funny...I guess its pretty typical to go out to eat but to bring your own wine versus buy drinks there...and most restaurants are cool with it. Its like a super common thing. I got to meet the four other COST students here...Lauren,Kendal,Megan,and Mary...all from the US! We got Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan represented now here in Perth :)

I love all the girls...they are fantastic! We went out to Mullaloo bar and I had my first Perth night club experience. This was just a small place, kinda chill atmosphere, balcony outside, dance floor, couches, tables, one bar. I was so surprised though by the music! They were playing stuff that was popular freshman year...even some stuff from highschool! I loved it though...hadn't heard a lot of that stuff in a while. Got to do the soldier boy dance at one point lol. They mixed alot of the music with techno undertones so it had kinda an interesting edge. The first thing I noticed when I entered the bar though was...cute aussi boys. OMG. Seriously...they are like all good looking. And then they start talking to you...and your like...wow.

Exciting things
*the boys here totally dance with each other. Not like how girls do...but almost in a silly funny way...but it was soo cute. They aren't all uptight or self conscious
*most boys were pretty impressed I was from the US and was told I apparently have a sweet accent
*I taught a guy the rocketship pound it...and he LOVED it! (to be fair...who wouldn't...and if you don't know what that is...I'll have to show you!)
*I got to wip out the MI "hand" map and show people where I'm from...oh good times
*Afterwords we all went back and had a girls sleepover! It was super fun...seriously haven't had one of those in ages :)

Saturday
I went Shopping in the city! Bought souvenirs for people and spent like $170...opps! but I got some SWEET sunglasses and earrings...just wait till you see them...they are totally ridiculous (heidi...you may pretend not to be my friend when I wear them). Prices are a bit more expensive...but with the exchange rate, its a bit less...like my earrings were 17 AUs, which is about 15 US dollars...just depends where you shop! We were supposed to go out again Saturday night, but one of the girls got sick this weekend, so that was a no go...just hung out...did a little hot tub in the backyard :)

Sunday Party!
I was supposed to go to a church called Riverview, which is apparently a huge "singy dancy" gathering of young people I was told, but my ride there fell through at the last moment...sad face :( On a brighter note it was Len's 50th birthday celebration! (he's actually 63 and has been celebrating his "50th" for the last 13 years...lol)We ate on the large table outside and there were about 16 people present. Len and Heather had been preparing food the night and morning prior and we had like 10 courses I swear...lots of little appetizers and then "the meal" and deserts...I'm pretty sure I'm going to come back like 30lbs heavier...its ridiculous...but seriously, how can you pass up food that literally looks like it came off of "Top Chef?" (I feel like one of the judges!) And the presentation was flawless! We had "rhombus" shaped plates (which I made the mistake of calling 'diamond'...apparently you don't do that around math professors...my bad)

People came at 1:30...and we chatted and ate until 7pm! By the end we had gone through 17 different wines! (now you may be thinking I must have got super drunk...but no...everyone just takes a little taste of each kind, and its spread out with water and juice in between...so yeah, its not like crazy 17 shots of wine in a row...don't get ridiculous) I met doctors and lawyers, and engineers...ya know...the normal crowd I hangout with. At the end we had ice cream and then you poured coffee and a shot of something over it and it was delicious! (definitely a must try!)

Upcoming excitements
I'm teaching about MI this week, so I've been finding out interesting facts and making some comparisons to the area to put things in perspective for the kids...so I found out today that Perth is a city of 1.56 million people!!! compared to Grand Rapids...which is about 193,000..so yeah...talk about big! (that's like 8x the size of GR! I also figured out that the state of MI could fit in Western Australia (the state Perth is in) about 17 times!

I'm going to the movies tomorrow night...so I'll let ya know how that compares. Apparently they have these "Gold Passes" you can get...which is like first class VIP status. You get a reclining chair like a couch and food and beverage service brought to you. Man...sounds like my kinda movie!

Well now I'm off to bed...love you all and miss you miss you! Till next time...stay warm! XOXO

Rachael

Morning Message 11-6-09

November 6, 2009

G'day Mates! That means, "Hello Friends" in Australia! I made it safely here and miss you all already. It is 80 degrees here because they are going into their summertime. The school I am at is mostly outdoors, so I get to walk outside to go from one building to the next! I go for a run to the beach in the morning and it is so pretty! I ride a bus and a train to school each morning! My first night here I saw a bunch of Kangaroos and included a picture I took of a mommy and her joey (baby). Hope you are doing well and learning lots :) Until next week, kiss your brain! Miss G Loves you!

Love, Miss Gonsior

P.S. The students and teachers here can't pronounce my last name! Its funny to hear them try :)

First Days of School

Day 4 in Australia...

So I've officially been at my school for two and a half days...and I LOVE it :) Our principal is super fantastic and all the staff are soo soo nice and helpful. I love my cooperating teacher...her name is Gemma Brown. We are going to go on a shopping trip in two weekends! It's funny because the staff think its so exciting I'm here from MI...like that's some cool place...and I've had a couple teachers tell me that I have a beautiful accent...haha it's weird to think of myself as the one with the accent.

Funny Happenings:
So they say words here that I understand but just aren't really used in everyday talk that always make me smile. And then they say things that I have no idea what they are talking about...so that is fun times:) List of words below:

picture kids saying:
"I've just come back from Holiday" ie vacation...haha so cute!
"We are planning an excursion". ie field trip...
"I'm going to write in my diary"- i.e. planner
"Can I have a tick?"- Check mark
"Miss Gonsior, I need a rubber." -really...are you sure? ie..eraser! lol

Differences I noticed:
* They raise one finger versus the whole hand
* Children sing "Good Morning (insert teacher name)" as a way to show respect when ever a teacher comes in, or at an assembly...when a new person comes up to talk
* My school is kindy (4 year olds)- year 7 (7th grade).
*School is split into different buildings/blocks, 3-5 together, 6-7 together, etc, and open walkways outdoors in between...kinda like being in a mini college
*Lots of independent work in booklets
* Use of "Beautiful"...such as "look at these children sitting beautifully"...pretty common

Highlights:
*My kids are awesome...they think its so cool that I've made a snowman before and tasted snow :) cute huh?
*They all have the cutest smiles and accents...they really are the definition of "lovely"
*They first day one of the students tried to set me up with another teacher assistant...although hes only 17...seriously...I hate looking so young!
*There is another teacher assistant in my class named James who is the same age as me and super fun to talk with
*I saw a fifth grader wearing shutter shades...enough said :)
*student gave me a nickname (basketball girl), and I call him "Goldfish"
*None of them can pronounce my name...too funny
*Teacher asked a student "where are the penguins?" in regards to a book cover, looking for a location...and the student answered, "on the book"...oh how obvious... :)
* When I told students my name was Miss, not MRS because I'm not married yet...one boy goes, "Well you will be soon!" (oh 3rd grade match makers...too funny)

Upcoming Excitements:

I am going to be teaching a unit on MI next week which should be fun. Except that I need to do research on MI...and i feel dumb that i don't know more...but everyone expects that because I'm from MI I know all the facts, population, history, symbols, what its famous for...etc. Lets calm down...I had MI history in 5th grade. Oh well..should be fun??

I am really excited because my teacher is letting me observe some different grade levels and the 6th/7th grade teacher named Ashley is going to have me teach a science lesson...or couple of lessons on Electricity! So I can't wait to actually teach to a middle school setting...always have wanted..what a cool opportunity!

Ok....so if you made it this far I'm impressed...sorry for so much...everything is just super exciting! And I'm not even covering half of it all :) Miss and love you...and until next time...stay warm :) you know I am :)

G'day mates! (Which is Australian for Hello Friends!)

Well I made it! 26 hours of plane fun and air port security...but it was worth it! I am writing Monday morning, about 9am cause last night...well Jet lag is kinda tough. But I stayed up all day and made it through so we're doing good.

Now for the details...which is what you all want right?

My Flight Experience:
Was pretty fantastic...I guess when I booked my tickets I also picked my meals, so I always received my meals on the plane before the other passengers...so pretty much VIP status :) On my first flight I met this cool guy named Pete whose a newspaper editor in San Francisco (I told him about you Jay!) and he taught me how to play Sudoku. Which...I always thought was a waste of time...and still kinda do...but I'm not gonna lie, I kept the magazine with the one I finished by myself :) I know...too cool for you. On my flight to Sydney I heard my first native Australian speak...and I pretty much knew we were meant for each other at that moment. Ok...jk...but kinda. (never got to meet him though) On my flight to Perth I met a girl named Connie born and raised in Chile but has been living in Perth for the last two years. I'll let you know we are now facebook friends and plan to go see New Moon when it comes out in November together! Horah :)

Arriving in Perth:
It is SOOOOOO pretty here...seriously, like a dream. If you've ever been to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina...reminds me of that style with the palm trees and beaches. My family is fantastic :) My coordinator and family over here as well as another COST student named Megan met me at the airport. We piled into Len's (my host dad) ORANGE car and I just about freaked out when he started driving down the wrong side of the road. Now I would expect that from a girl named Heidi Be...but not an Australian. Except...that they drive on the left side of the road here! and the steering wheel is on the RIGHT side as well! I got a tour of the city and the water and beaches...OMG...amazing! I think I might move here. Except that I would miss all of you too much! The houses around here could all be on cribs...they are HUGE! There are lots of parks, wild life and animals. There are people everywhere, picnicking, running, biking, surfing....yeah :) Pictures soon to come!

Sunday with the Family:
When I arrived at the house I met Heather, my host mom and she gave me a tour of the place. I came to find that my host family is actually British! haha soo funny if you know me :) My two favorite kinds of accents...British, and Australia....and I get to experience both on a daily basis. They have a pool and hot tub in the back...their house has a GORGEOUS balcony that overlooks the Indian Ocean! There are soo many flowers and trees and birds...I seriously think I'm in my own little paradise :) Heather and Len took me shopping for food and we went to Pinnaroo Cemetery (which they call, "sem i try") lol and guess what...I SAW KANGEROOOSSSS!! it was sooo sooo cool! I got to get out of the car andgo up close :) I even saw a baby joey jump into his mommy's pouch! I was soo excited I went immediately into my bunny voice. I got some pics with the kangaroos and a video clip of one jumping around.

Afterwards we went home and Len taught me how to cook the dinner...apparently I'm going to be a sue chef before I leave :) We had chicken wrapped in thyme and some other meat, asparagus, peas, and tea....they LOVE tea :) I've already had more tea in the day I've been here, than I usually do in a week :) They also are experienced wine drinkers, so they made me try four different kinds! (just small portions, calm down). I've never liked wine before...but they informed me that obviously I'd never tried the good stuff...and this was all pretty good.

I got to meet their son Kit (I know...check out that name...love it!) who is 23...haha yeah boy :) He's a film and video graduate and is working on filming some music videos at the moment. He's really cool, we chatted this morning over a cup of tea (haha yeah British families) and he offered to show me around if I need anything. Everyone is sooo nice here!

Well I have to get going...I'm going into school today to meet my teacher, class, and staff in two hours! I'll keep you updated! Until next time....stay warm...you know I am :)

Rachael