Tegus in November
I spent my Thanksgiving break in Tegucigalpa, Honduras visiting friends and enjoying the country that I consider my second home. I taught first grade at International School of Tegucigalpa from 2003 to 2006 and love returning every few years to see my friends and former students. Tegucigalpa often gets dogged as not being a very picturesque city (and also having a really short runway, which makes for very adventurous plane landings), but I have to say that through my time there I’ve learned to love good old “Tegus” and the beauty it possesses. This post has some of my favorite photos from the time I spent in the city back in November. I’ll do a separate post soon with some highlights from my time outside the city. Enjoy!
A beautiful morning in the colonia of Las Hadas
This is the church I attended when I lived there. It was so great to be back.
Tegucigalpa, as seen from the drive down from El Hatillo
Tegucigalpa, as seen from the drive down from El Hatillo
Tegucigalpa, as seen from the drive down from El Hatillo
Tegus at night from Lomas de Jacaleapa
A neighborhood park in Lomas de Jacaleapa
Visiting International School, where I taught for three years, and enjoying all the new improvements that have been made there.
The view of local neighborhoods from International School
Visiting International School, where I taught for three years, and enjoying all the new improvements that have been made there.
Visiting International School, where I taught for three years, and enjoying all the new improvements that have been made there.
There’s probably some rule that I’m breaking right now by posting a photo that I took through a car window, but I’m ok with that. It was fun to see new roads and other improvements that have been made to the city since I lived there.
This is taken from the plane about to take off. The black gate shows where a road used to be… the runway has been lengthened a bit since I first went there in 2003.
This is a market near the neighborhood of Satelite that I went to with my friend Ana.
Here is Tegucigalpa from the airplane- the peace statue on the hill and the national stadium at the bottom of the photo. I always try to get a window seat on the right when I fly out because I love this view of the city. 🙂
A Preview of What I’ve Been Up To…
Hey friends!
I’ve been absent from this blog for a bit and have slightly lightened my photography load for the time being to focus on teaching this fall/winter. Here is a sneak peek of a couple shoots I’ve done over the last couple months and the trip from Honduras that I took over Thanksgiving. I’ll be posting more from these soon!
In October, I got to meet the adorable newborn son of a friend from my hometown.
It was so fun to see how this little lady has grown since I took her six month photos in May.
Here’s one of my favorite views from one of my favorite places! Tegucigalpa in November, as seen from the drive from El Hatillo.
A coffee farm in Honduras, outside of Tegucigalpa.
Hope you enjoyed a preview of what I’ll be posting more of soon! Have a great Christmas season!
South Carolina Family Sessions- Sheldon, SC
I had a great privilege a couple weeks ago when I was visiting my brother’s family in South Carolina. Remember that beautiful plantation I photographed? I got to do some family photos for my brother’s family and some family friends of theirs at that same plantation a few weeks ago. Here are some of my favorites!
Here is my new friend with her little girls:
And here are my newest Honduran friends:
And here we have the family of my brother and sister-in-law (with his eight youngest children. Unfortunately his two oldest weren’t in town for this photo shoot):
We love our jumping photos in the Mansell family!
This photo was Maddie’s request. 🙂
Here is the whole crew together:
Since this was my family I was shooting, I got in on the fun too!
Plantation Evening
It’s amazing what I can get done with this blog when I don’t have a full-time job during the day this week! Here are photos from a couple Sundays ago when I went with my brother’s family to a local plantation in Sheldon, SC. Needless to say, it was a magical evening. Enjoy!
That dog really wanted to be in my photos.
Can you spot the white horse?
My new favorite.
This photo feels a big magical to me.
My nephew with some of the local animals. 🙂
My lovely niece who accompanied me all over the plantation chasing the good light. 🙂
Have you ever tried goat milk soap? If not, you should!
My brother, sister-in-law, and eight of their ten kids live on Sheldon Family Farm & Dairy where they manage their many goats, cows, ponies, pigs, bees, chickens, cats, dogs, as well as a goose (or maybe it’s a duck?) and a rabbit. I think I’m still forgetting something. Anyway, using the milk from their goats, they’ve created a fantastic line of goat milk soap available here and various stores in the low country of South Carolina. As I alluded to in a previous post, I had some run-ins with the goats when I tried to capture some photos of their products last week, which is documented in some photos below. You can check out some of the beauty of the farm in my post about the farm after a rainstorm. Here are some photos to entice you to check out their great smelling, high-quality (i.e. leave your hands feeling amazingly soft) soaps. 🙂
I thought photos of the goats by the soap would be cute, like this one. 🙂
… then this happened. Goats really will eat anything!
This was the best I could do to get the babies to pose for me. 🙂
So many options and scents available!
Available in downtown Beaufort at Greenfish.
At the local feed store.
Also available at the local cider store.
Special gift wrap also available.
Some new residents on the front porch.
The bees whose wax/honey is used is some of their products.
If those photos aren’t enough to make you want to check out their great soap products, maybe these adorable kids who help make them will help! 🙂
Sheldon Family Farm & Dairy after a rainstorm
As I mentioned in my trip preview post, I was able to visit my brother’s farm last week in South Carolina. It was so fun to have family time and to get a glimpse of the farm in action. I got some photos after a rainstorm and also tried to capture some of the great things they have going on with their Sheldon Family Farm & Dairy projects, like the bees and goat milk soap. I absolutely love the soap and can attest to how great the scents are and the great feeling on your skin after using it. If you’d like to order some for yourself, check out their website. I’ll post more photos of the soap business in another blog post soon.
Such a great description of my brother’s family.
Here’s my brother, sister-in-law, and their eight youngest children (two others aren’t at home anymore). I’ll post more of this photo shoot soon.
Here are the photos I got after a rainstorm one evening:
After a rainstorm
It started raining when I was out there. Love the glistening raindrops!
Love the chickens through the window.
How I love evening shadows.
Evening light is one of my favorite things.
Rainbow!
Sneak Peek: My Trip Down South
Hey ya’ll! (I know, it just doesn’t work coming from me, but I like to try to fit in with local vernacular when I can.) 🙂 I’ve been hanging out with my brother’s family in South Carolina this week. It’s a beautiful area here in the low country. Here are a few sneak peeks of a post or two I’ll try to share soon of the great things I’ve seen and photographed. Enjoy!
Some of my favorite kids with whom I’ve gotten to spend the week. They also happen to be my nieces and nephews. 🙂
A rainbow AND ponies! Childhood dreams coming true!
Fun on the farm with Charlotte the goat.
One of my favorite things ever- a tree-lined path. 🙂 I took this at a local plantation near my brother’s.
Took a quick trip to Charleston to visit my nephew and his wife.
Visiting my nephew and his wife’s alma mater- The College of Charleston
My brother’s family makes goat milk soap. I was taking photos to go on their website and thought it would be cute to try to get some goats in the photos. Big mistake. Big. Huge. Stay tuned for another blog post detailing that experience. 🙂
Hawaii Revisited- Last Days in Maui
My last post about the Road to Hana wasn’t my final experience in Hawaii and even though it’s taken a long time, I wouldn’t feel ok until I closed up the Hawaii posts with this wrap-up. 🙂 Here are photos from the various places we explored on the last two days Samantha and I spent visiting with Shara and Mike before we returned to the mainland.
Ka’anapali Beach
A view of the island of Lana’i. Shara told me there’s a ferry that you can take over to it. It has one little town and a couple of really nice resorts. It’s owned by Larry Ellison, who owns 98% of the island.
A very scenic walk to Honolua Bay
A very scenic walk to Honolua Bay
Honolua Bay
A very scenic walk at Honolua Bay
A banyan tree in Lahaina
This was some good stuff! Shara and I enjoying Ululani’s Shave Ice, Front Street, Lahaina
The waterfront in Lahaina. This photo just screams America to me. 🙂
Lahaina
Sunset from Lahaina
Lahaina
Maipoina ‘Oe la’u Beach Park (aka Veterans Park in Kihei)- Hanging out with Bandit and cooking out. A great way to spend our last night on Maui!
The West Maui Mountains view from Maui Lani Pkwy in Wailuku
Iao Valley
Iao Valley
Shara, Samantha, and I enjoying our last day together in Maui, hiking in Iao Valley before flying out that evening.
Iao Valley
The Road to Hana, Maui
If you’re just tuning in, I’m finishing up posts of the beauty I experienced on my spring break trip to Maui with my high school friends Samantha and Shara. Near the end of our trip, Samantha and I took a day to explore the Road to Hana on Maui (Shara and Mike have done that trip quite a few times, so they sat this one out). Sadly, the weather didn’t cooperate with us for spectacular blue sky photos, but it was still a memorable day exploring such a gorgeous area.
The Road to Hana is a remarkable road full of twists and turns and over 45 one-lane bridges (which usually coincided with a beautiful waterfall right next to it) that leads to the town of Hana on the east side of Maui. It took a few hours to get to our destination, Kipahulu in Haleakala National Park, with many stops along the way to enjoy the gorgeous beaches, waterfalls, and other unique sights.
The end of our trip (before we took the road back in the evening) included a four mile hike through the National Park (and a breathtaking bamboo forest) in POURING rain (hence the lack of amazing bamboo and waterfall photos since I wanted my camera to survive) to Waimoku Falls. They were pretty spectacular, especially with all the recent rain to make them more powerful… totally worth the rainstorm hike. As Sam and I lamented the weather initially, we decided to embrace the day we were given and the chance to make so many memories. Check out the sights below!
Taro fields
The Three Bears falls
Three Bears Falls
Just a random waterfall seen on the side of the road during our drive. I almost got tired of them!
An entrance into some lava tubes that we explored. We were thankful to run into people with flashlights… it was dark in there!
Inside the lava tubes.
Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach
Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach
A different perspective of Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach
Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach
A blow hole in action at Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach
I sort of enjoyed taking photos here. 🙂
Near Hana- this was the non-treacherous part of the hike to the red sand beach.
Red Sand Beach on Kaihalulu Bay
Red Sand Beach on Kaihalulu Bay
Red Sand Beach on Kaihalulu Bay
Red Sand Beach on Kaihalulu Bay
Red Sand Beach on Kaihalulu Bay- I love the red and turquoise.
With one of many waterfalls along the road.
Pools of ‘Ohe’o (aka Seven Sacred Pools) inside the National Park
On the hike on Pipiwai Trail
The best pic I could get of the bamboo forest on Pipiwai Trail- if it wasn’t for the rain, I’d have some really gorgeous pics from there.
After a two mile hike in the pounding rain, this was our reward- Waimoku Falls.
Proof that we made it (taken with the camera I’m less attached to).
The “trail” on the way back. There was a lot of rain that day (taken with the camera I was ok with drenching) .
On the hike back
After our four mile hike in pouring rain, the sky finally decided to do this before the sunset. 🙂
Sunrise to Sunset in Maui
Welcome to another day from my trip in Maui. This one happened to be a very long and full day. We work up around 3:30 A.M. to head up to the Haleakala summit to watch the sunrise. My friends who live there have seen much more spectacular displays of the sun rising over the clouds, but I was content to see the sun break through a few times. I was amazed at how different the landscape is up by the Haleakala Crater… it eerily felt a bit like Mars up there! On the way down the mountain we saw a rainbow… there’s a reason Hawaii is known as the Rainbow State!
Since we were already on that side of the island, we decided to explore a couple of the early stops on the Road to Hana (I’ll be doing a separate post on our Road to Hana journey which happened the day after this one). We stopped to see the rainbow bark on some eucalyptus trees and then we explored a bamboo forest. Both sites were really beautiful.
That evening, Shara and I decided to go to a beach not too far from their place in hopes that there would be a pretty sunset. God didn’t disappoint us at Keawakapu Beach near Wailea. Check out His beautiful creation as seen on this great day in Maui back in March!
Shara, Mike and I waiting for the sun to rise on the Haleakala Summit. It was cold at 10,000 feet (hence the reason Sam was staying warm in the overlook shelter).
The sunlight starting to peek through over the Haleakala crater.
Good morning!
Standing on top of the world!
Here I am near near the summit with the rest of Maui below.
The Haleakala Observatory
A Haleakala Silversword plant
It’s a really unique plant- check out more info on Wikipedia.
On the way down from the summit.
Rainbow State!
The Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta)
This was on the other side of the hill by the rainbow eucalyptus trees… the coast was everywhere. Got to love islands! (Thanks for this shot of me, Mike!)
A closeup of the bark
Entering the bamboo forest off of the Hana highway.
Exploring with Samantha and Mike ahead.
I love this.
We happened upon this little waterfall in the bamboo forest. It had been raining a lot recently. 🙂
The view from the road
The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
Shara let me borrow her tripod for this shot- The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
Shara let me borrow her tripod for this shot- The sunset at Keawakapu Beach
Such a great evening hanging out with Shara. Can’t believe we’ve been friends for twenty-two years now!
Paddle Boarding and a Luau
I had hoped to combine events so I wouldn’t bombard you with Hawaii posts, but I’m having trouble because it was such a beautiful trip. I have way too many fun things to show you here, so bear with me. 🙂 Today I’m going to show you pics from the day that epitomizes a Hawaiian vacation- adventures at the beach and a luau.
We went to Ukumehame Park in Lahaina on a gorgeous afternoon for some water adventures. I decided to attempt paddle boarding because it looked a little easier than surfing. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite easy enough for me to master in a mere 20 minutes on the water, but it was fun to try it! Shara’s husband, Mike, was incredibly patient with me and my meager attempt to balance on that large board. And Shara and Samantha did a great job cheering me on from shore and capturing a few photos that made me look relatively skilled at staying up on the board! They also captured my failed attempt to stay up on the board for any prolonged amount of time. (See photos below).
After the paddle boarding/sitting on the beautiful beach adventure, Sam and I went to the quintessential Hawaiian tourist experience- the Old Lahaina Luau. They have that thing down to a science- complete with a mid-meal light rain shower with a double rainbow for our enjoyment! 😉 It was a fun, educational experience with some delicious Hawaiian food, leis, a pig roast, hula dancing lessons, cultural demonstrations and hula show topped off with a beautiful beach sunset. Sometimes you just got to embrace the whole tourist thing and go all out! It was a fun time and gave me all sorts of flashbacks to TV shows that filmed Hawaii episodes like The Brady Bunch and Saved by the Bell. 🙂
Here is the photographic evidence of all the fun!
Ukumehame Park- the view from the paddle board of the West Maui mountains was seriously spectacular.
I’m doing it!
… and then this happened.
Ukumehame Park, Maui
Luau time!
Coconut being shaved, Hawaiian food to try, cultural demonstrations, and the pig roast (that buried thing)
Do any of you also think of the Brady Bunch when you see these?
Our double rainbow present!
Samantha and I embracing tourism. 🙂
Hula dancing and dessert (passion fruit cake and lavender-iced cookies were my favorite)
There’s just something about palm trees and a sunset. Felt like I was in a postcard. 🙂
Farmland in Hawaii
When I was on my way to Maui, walking around farmland wasn’t the first thing I thought about doing. I think that was one of the most surprising things about my trip- Maui has so many different types of land and sites… there was so much more to see than just beaches!
On one of our first days there, Shara, Samantha, and I explored a few different areas of eastern Maui. We started out with a visit to the Upcountry Farmers Market in Pukalani. It was definitely the most picturesque farmers market I’ve ever seen! We tried some Kombucha tea and lilikoi (passion fruit) butter while picking up some avocados and veggies. We followed that with a delicious brunch at a french restaurant. Then we visited the farmlands off of Thompson Road… farmlands that happen to belong to Oprah! I had no idea she owned so much farmland on Maui. It was a beautiful road with great sites going uphill and looking out at the coast below.
From there we went to the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm and got to explore a bit before the downpour. See the photo below taken after we made it back to the car… should’ve brought a raincoat!
We finished off the adventure by stopping at a couple picturesque spots on the journey home- the Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center in Makawao and the Makawao Union Church. Check out the photos below!
Visiting the Upcountry Farmers Market in Pukalani.
http://www.upcountryfarmersmarket.com/index.html
La Provence french restaurant in Kula for brunch- eggs benedict and a lilikoi (passion fruit) crepe… fantastic!
Exploring Thompson Rd. farmlands up in the hills.
The view from Thompson Road
High school friends (me, Shara, and Sam) still having adventures together 15 years later!
The view from Thompson Road
The view from Thompson Road
The view from Thompson Road
Thompson Road- Hawaiian Cows!
Visiting the Ali`i Kula Lavender Farm as the rain started to come in.
Ali`i Kula Lavender Farm
Great view from the Ali`i Kula Lavender Farm… note the dark clouds up above.
Ah, lavender, such great stuff.
Some of the vegetation around the lavender farm and our next stops on the trip.
You could say we weren’t exactly prepared for the rainy run to the car from the lavender farm. 🙂
Some artwork outside the Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center, Makawao
Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center, Makawao
Outside the Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center, Makawao
I love trees like this.
We had to stop the car to check out this beautiful church- Makawao Union Church
makawaounionchurch.org
Makawao Union Church
Makawao Union Church
Maui Whale Watch
I haven’t had much time since my return from spring break to get my photos posted (it’s testing season at school), but don’t worry, there are many to come! This trip was a pseudo high school reunion for my friends Samantha, Shara and me. Samantha and I set off from Ohio to spend a week visiting Shara and her husband who live in Maui and I couldn’t have asked for a better spring break adventure. I’ll start with our first day in Maui for this blog post, which I posted a preview of while I was there.. Our first morning there, (with jet-lag’s assistance for a somewhat early wake-up) we went to Maaelea Bay and took a whale watch cruise with the Pacific Whale Foundation. I was very impressed with how they do tours and how informative the guides are throughout the watch. I think my favorite part was when they put a microphone into the water below us and we were able to hear the whales singing below the surface of where we were. I also enjoyed that we saw a brand new calf often (though he/she didn’t show off much for photos) and quite a few pairs of whales. I just found this video someone took in February in the same area (silly me forgot my drone equipment to better capture the event!), so check this guy’s video out if you’d like to see what it looks like from above. A big thank you goes out to Shara and Mike for loaning me their zoom lens and polarized filter so I could get optimal photos of the whales!
Here are a few highlights from the expedition. Hope you enjoy them!
Our Mode of Transport that morning
Samantha and I hanging out on the boat.
View of the sugar cane field burning as we left the bay.
The only whale spout that I captured that day.
Oh how I love sunbeams.
I love how her white side flipper looks turquoise underwater.
Here’s a glimpse of the itty-bitty baby (that probably weighed about a ton when we saw it!).
I loved the background of this. The mountains in Western Maui are really beautiful.
Love seeing the details on the tail fin.
I already posted this one in the preview, but since it’s my favorite from the day, I’m posting it again. 🙂
God does good work.
I’m still in Hawaii visiting a friend of mine from high school and we were able to enjoy this sight the other night. I couldn’t help but think of this verse from Psalms while we soaked in the beauty of it all. God does good work.
Wailea Beach, Maui
Coming Soon…
Guess who’s traveling again! Get ready for some beautiful photos from Maui coming your way soon. 🙂
A humpback whale in the Pacific. This was taken yesterday on a whale watch off the coast of Maui.
Winter Wonderlands
I’m sure most of you have had your fill of snow pictures over the last couple days, but I had to find something productive to do with my snow day home from teaching… so here’s my blog post of snow pictures! 🙂 Since Thanksgiving, I’ve had my share of snowy days in both Pennsylvania and Indiana. Yesterday was a one-of-a-kind day. Over 11 inches fell in one day here in Indianapolis before the arctic chill set in. I took a walk over near the White River to enjoy the tree-lined snowy roads and get some photos. It felt so strange to be all alone on these city streets. I couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful it all was. God made a lot of beauty in this world. I enjoyed the beauty yesterday and today I’m enjoying (and feeling very grateful for) the invention of electricity and heat to keep me warm inside in this -9 degree weather! In stark contrast to my last blog post, I give you the recent winter wonderlands I’ve experienced:
Thanksgiving weekend in Western Pennsylvania
Christmastime in Western Pennsylvania
A snowy day in Western PA
My parents’ backyard in PA in the new year.
Love the shimmery snow.
On my drive out of town on the road I grew up on.
Western Pennsylvania is such a beautiful place. 🙂
Back in Indianapolis- The infamous snow of January 5. Here is a view from my patio in the midst of it all.
View from my patio.
Walking toward the river.
A hill! Hard to come by here in Indy.
A tree canopy- going closer to the river.
One of my favorites from the day.
The White River- I have to say it wasn’t quite as picturesque as I’d imagined, but beautiful to see, nonetheless.
White River
The trek back to my place
I was drenched with snow by this point.
I obviously couldn’t get enough of these tree-lined roads. They’re one of my favorite things.
And one last shot with a pop of color.
Panama
When I went to visit my friend Ali in Costa Rica in October, we took a side trip to Panama, a country I hadn’t been to before. We walked across a rickety bridge and caught a taxi to another part of the coast to get a water taxi to Bocas del Toro. Bocas del Toro are islands northeast of Panama where Christopher Columbus visited in 1502. We stayed on the main island called Isla Colón and we were able to take some tours and water taxis around to other nearby islands. It was a great, relaxing adventure. Here are a few highlights from our fun time!
The first night on the island- we took advantage of the hammocks at our hotel and took in the sunset.
The view from our hotel’s pier.
There were kids playing under the hut next door.
I couldn’t get enough of this view!
We went to the other side of the island and walked to Starfish Beach. It was a gorgeous day!
Starfish Beach (Playa de las estrellas) delivered!
Not a bad way to spend the afternoon!
On the walk back.
The busito ride back to the main town.
On an uninhabited island enjoying Playa Zapatilla. It felt like Castaway!
Sad that visiting this island ended up being on a rainy day. It was still a great spot to visit!
This was how I spent the last afternoon there.
Taking a water taxi to the neighboring island for dinner.
Pulling up to the pier- the restaurant is on the right.
Celebrating Ali’s birthday with a fun dinner out. I loved that we took a boat to get there! 🙂
The water taxi ride back to the mainland.
Costa Rica- October 2013
It’s Christmas break from teaching, which means I get to catch up on my blog posts! I had the fantastic opportunity to go to Costa Rica over my fall break in October and visit my friend Ali, who lives just outside of San Jose. Here are some photos from my time there. It was so fun to see some of the sights of the area and to see Ali’s life in action. We finished the trip with a fun trip to Panama, which I’ll post about soon.
The fantastic view of San Jose from Ali’s place.
On the drive up the mountain to the Poas Volcano.
The walk up to the volcano which was sadly covered by clouds the whole time we were up there. 🙂
Love the details on this leaf!
What the leaf looks like when it’s not spread out.
At the La Paz Waterfall Gardens
A toucan at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Hummingbirds at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Those creatures are not easy to capture in photos!
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
The park by the national theater in San Jose.
The National Theater in San Jose.
Inside the national theater in San Jose.
Puerto Viejo- checking out a Costa Rican beach before we headed into Panama.
Aussie word differences
Hello there!
The return to teaching has put photo posting on hold for a bit, but I did want to check in and say hello. While I was in Australia last month, I kept a list of words and phrases that I noticed as being different from the way we talk in the U.S. I’ve already forgotten what a few of them mean. I thought it might be fun to share the list here. Feel free to correct any mistakes or add to the list in the comments section!
- Running writing- cursive
- Excursion – Field trip
- Maths- Math
- Lego- Legos
- Overtake- Pass
- That’s ok- You’re welcome
- Wally- Waldo
- Baddies, meanies, goodies- Bad guys, good guys
- Wind screen- Windshield
- Jumper- Sweater/sweatshirt
- Dummy- Pacifier
- Cot- Crib
- Pram- Stroller
- Nappies- Diapers
- Duna- Comforter
- Dobbing- Tattling
- Whinge- Whine
- Slice- Cookie bars
- Tick- Check mark
- Made redundant- Layed-off
- Postie- Postal worker
- Sook- ?
- Packing up- Putting away
- Drink driving- Drunk driving
- Needles- Vaccines
- Capsules- Infant Carseats
- Good on you- Good job
- Windy- Gassy
- Arvo- Afternoon
- Brekky- Breakfast
- Cuppa- Cup of tea
- Bin- Trash can
- Textas- Markers
- Yabbies- ?
- Love heart- Heart
- Macca’s- McDonald’s
- Capsicum- Peppers
- Vegemite- really strong flavored yeast spread
- Pavlova- Delicious meringue dessert
- Prawn- shrimp
- Chuck a sickie- Take a sick day
- Sunnies- Sunglasses
- Caravan park- Trailer park
- Suss- ?
- Shouted- ?
- Bush-walking- Hiking
- Sultanas- Raisins
- Fringe- Bangs
- Scrum- Rugby huddle
- Try- Rugby touchdown
- Piggy in the middle- Monkey in the middle
- PowerPoint- Electrical outlet
- How you going?- How are you?
- Physio- Physical Therapist
- Torch- Flashlight
- Salvos- Salvation Army
- A lead- Leash
- Health cover- Health insurance
- Barrack- Cheer for
- Fairy floss- Cotton candy
- Hundreds and thousands- Sprinkles
- Fairy bread- bread, butter, & sprinkles
- Uni- University
- Infants- Primary grades
- Supper- Tea
- Footpaths- Sidewalks
- H (pronounced hache)- H (pronounced a-ch)
- Pokies- Gambling game
- Cruzy- ?
- Plaits- braids
- Zed- Z
- Serviettes- Napkins
- Kindie- Kindergarten
- Singlet- Undershirt
- Petrol- Gas
- Toilet- Bathroom
- Lounge room- Living room
- Coriander- Cilantro
- Hire- Rent
- Caught out- ?
- Boot- Trunk
- Tip- Tag
- Indicator/ blinker- Turn signal
- Pegs- ?
- Telly- TV
- Ta- Thank you
- G’day- Hi
And here are some words they use more often than we do:
- Swap
- Heaps
- Nearly
- Keen
- Whilst
- Sorted
- Muck it up
- As
- Gorgeous
- Cheeky
UPDATE:
After posting this the first time, my sister filled in some of the holes I left.
And because no post is complete without a photo- here’s a throw-back photo that I rediscovered from my trip to Australia three years ago. It was taken at a park in Toowoomba.
I have lots of amazing photos to post in the next few weeks. Stop by again soon!
The Blue Mountains, Australia
On Wednesday the whole crew (my sister and brother-in-law, their kids, my brother and sister-in-law, and I) went to the Blue Mountains, located west of Sydney. It was a gorgeous day and the kids did great! We had a morning tea picnic before hiking down for a view of Wentworth Falls. Then we had a delicious lunch, play in a park in Leura, and we made it to Echo Point just in time to see the sunset on The Three Sisters formation. Enjoy the photos!
Wentworth Falls
Wentworth Falls
Wentworth Falls
The quaint little town of Leura where we stopped for lunch.
The Three Sisters at Echo Point
The Three Sisters at Echo Point- proof that we weren’t the only ones there.
Echo Point
Not sure what kind of bird those are…
Echo Point
Loved seeing The Three Sisters at sunset!
Three Sisters with the Three Sisters! 🙂
Three siblings with the Three Sisters
And finally, the whole crew at Echo Point
Iconic Sydney
On Monday, my brother, sister-in-law and I took three of our nephews down to Circular Quay to explore the Sydney Harbour Bridge/Opera House/Botanic Gardens area. We dealt with the bright midday sun for photos of these iconic sights, but I thought I’d share them anyway. The highlight of the day for my nephews happened during our picnic lunch. The six of us were sitting eating our food on a hillside when all of a sudden a kookaburra swooped down right beside us and landed in front of us with a piece of ham in its mouth. My seven-year-old nephew, John, called out, “Ouch!” and held his sandwich up to us. The kookaburra had taken the piece of ham out of his sandwich that John was holding up beside him between bites! It was unbelievable! Thankfully John wasn’t hurt badly and now he has a good story to tell. 🙂
In the afternoon, my brother Lee and I did the Bridge Climb on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was a once-in-a-lifetime memorable experience. The only bad part was that I couldn’t take a camera with me, but at the same time I was forced to just take it all in and not worry about camera settings. 🙂 We had perfect weather for the trek- the sun lit up the opera house and city skyline perfectly. It’s hard to describe how beautiful it was up there with a 360 degree view. They gave us lots of time to drink it all in. It was great to see the bridge construction from so many angles by climbing through it and above it. At one point we were climbing a ladder with cars driving past on both sides of us. The view was honestly breathtaking- the harbor out to the coast, the opera house, the city buildings and suburbs sprawling all the way out to the blue mountains.
Here are some photo highlights from the day.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
A close-up of the opera house roof tiles.
View from the Botanic Gardens
With my nephews by the opera house
My brother and sister-in-law with our nephews.
The kookaburra that stole John’s ham in the tree.
My brother Lee and I on our bridge climb.
Walking back to the train after the climb- this was a great walkway off of Cumberland St.
View from Circular Quay
Sydney at night
Just in case you haven’t seen enough pics of the opera house, here’s one more. 🙂
Aussie Animals
G’day!
I’m finding it challenging to post much in the midst of these busy days here, but I did want to check in here on the blog. I got my Australian animal fix last week when I went to the Koala Park with my friend Jen and her family. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.
There was a koala escaping from its home… I, of course, turned into paparazzi when I saw it coming our way.
Ready to make a break for it.
The American’s turn to pat the koala.
Kangaroo time!
My turn to feed the kangaroo.
An emu
And a couple wildlife shots- A Rainbow Lorikeet at my nephews’ school.
This is why I can’t be a wildlife photographer- getting moving animals in focus is a challenge! Here’s one of many cockatoos that have visited the backyard.
Hello from the Land Down Under!
Hello all! Greetings from chilly, rainy Sydney! I arrived safely on Friday after a relatively uneventful trip… 36 hours door to door (and an extra 24 hours for my suitcase), save the two extra hours it took to take off from LAX due to an incident that removed two people from our flight. The delayed arrival in Auckland allowed me the chance to watch the sunrise in New Zealand before I headed to Sydney.
I was greeted at the airport by my brother-in-law and a running hug from my two-year-old nephew that lasted until we arrived at the car. Since then, I’ve been busy catching up with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting and subsequently snuggling with my newest nieces who are almost three months old now. I would forget that I’m in Australia if it wasn’t for the Opera House sighting on the drive from the airport and the kookaburras who’ve enjoyed laughing outside my window in the morning (they sound like monkeys, so I wake up thinking I’m in the jungle). I’ve also had some great treats including lots and lots of tea, sticky fig pudding, and the chance to chat with my sister’s friends, allowing me the fun of noticing differences in pronunciation and word usage. I’m keeping busy holding babies and playing with nephews, which is just what I’ve been wanting to do as I anticipated this trip. I’m sure there are many more adventures to come, but I did want to check in and share a few pics from my time so far in the southern hemisphere. Plus I have no idea when I’ll have time again to post some photos, though I’ll do my best. 🙂
The sunrise over Auckland, New Zealand
My adorable nephews and nieces… all six of them!
A present left outside my door from my nephews.
First attempt (and probably the last) at a pic of the girls and me.
How I spend much of my day… it’s pretty great. 🙂
Something to prove I’m in Australia- kookaburras hanging out by the house.
Daughters Project- Center for Global Impact, Cambodia
As mentioned in previous posts about my time in Cambodia last year, I had the chance to see some really great projects in action. One such project is Daughters, a project for young women located just outside of Phnom Penh and run by the Center for Global Impact. They are doing some great things in providing training and opportunity for work and personal growth for women who may not otherwise have the opportunity. Here is what the CGI website has to say about the project:
CGIDaughters is a division of Center For Global Impact, a U.S. faith-based relief and development organization. It is a two-year residential program. We offer life-skills training, education, health care, money management and professional seamstress training all through the lens of Jesus Christ. Our product line is handmade with fair-trade principles.
I had a great time visiting the project on a few different days. My friends are involved in it on many levels, so I was able to experience the project in a variety of ways. From running errands for fabric and picking up labels for purses to playing a role in English classes and seeing my friend, Katy, lead them in Bible study. I also saw them meet their goal of making 100 clutch purses to receive a reward of Dairy Queen ice cream. It was great motivation for them! CGI is doing some great things to help women succeed in Cambodia!
The daughters’ workshop
The women at work
One of the many purses made during my time there.
Katy leading English class
They reached their goal!
Katy and I with some of the Daughters after English class.
I also had the chance to visit the home where the Daughters live on another side of the city.
jenni mansell photography 