Blueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Oh soooo lonesome for you!  Why can't you be blueee over meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?!  Yes, that is LeAnn Rimes' hit 1996 song "Blue" and, yes, I was singing as I wrote, and you wish you could have heard it.  Except you, Dad.  Anyway, I guess a "Blue" reference is a bit random.....unless this blog is about something blue like the Blue Mountains!  Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  I just BLUE your mind!  Get it?  Cause I spelled "blew" like the color "blue"?  It's clever.

                                                                   Nice bangs, LeAnn!

Ok moving on.  Isaac said my homework was actually to contribute to this family by writing a blog.  I guess cooking and replacing the toilet paper roll and cutting him up a mango today (which if you haven't tried before is VERY labor intensive) isn't enough!  Just kidding baby, I love cutting your mangoes for you.  No, that's not a euphemism, Mom!  Jeez, you're so immature.

                                        

Alright, so my blog topic is our trip in Australia to the beautiful Blue Mountains.  We took the train to the blue mountains from Sydney.  Since we knew we were going to "mountains" we were totally prepared for the change of climate from our time in the hot Port Douglas region.  Just kidding, we showed up in shorts and thongs.  Isaac was also wearing flip flops.  Luckliy it was sunny when we arrived.  Oh wait, it was actually raining and about 40 degrees outside.  We decided to eat dinner when we got off the train to warm our hearts and bodies.  We chose an authentic Australian restaurant we like to call "Subway".  Isaac got in an argument with the guy at the counter about whether or not Subways outside of America have mustard.  He obviously didn't know of Isaac's extensive Subway restaurant touring all over Asia.  In case you were wondering, Subways in Malaysia, Japan, and Korea all have mustard available.

After we got kicked out of, er I mean left Subway, we walked to our hostel which was one of the largest hostels I've ever stayed in.  It was pretty nice with a big fireplace in the living room area and tons of games and books and stuff to entertain people.  Unfortunately, Isaac and I had to sleep in separate rooms because all of the double rooms were fully booked.  As fate would have it, there was a snorer in my room.  Snorers, please PLEASE don't stay in shared rooms in hostels!  Or put a bag over your head or something so we don't have to hear you destroying your lungs or doing whatever it is that snoring does.  Have some courtesy!

After a sleepless night, Isaac and I headed to a nice long hike and borrowed some fleece jackets from the hostel.  I guess we weren't the only idiots who had shown up to the place without warm clothes.  We hiked all day and saw some cool birds and waterfalls.  See pictures below:

Leeches love Isaac!

This is the steepest train track in the world!

After hiking we went to a restaurant that reminded me of the Keebler elf tree.  We didn't have any cookies but I did get a delicious hot cocoa while there and a butt cramp from sitting on a stool for an hour.  No, Mom, that's not a euphemism either!

That night the snorer was gone so I had a nice, peaceful sleep.  We went for a morning hike the next day and I spotted some Aggies in the distance.  Those are people who went to Texas A&M, not animals.  Sometimes I wonder if there's a difference.  Joking!  Gig'em Aggies!  WHOOP!  I don't know if I'm allowed to say that.  Translation for all non-Aggies: "Great job team!  Loud noises!".  Isaac was pretty excited to see some ladies from Texas A&M, and they were excited when he stopped bothering them.  Actually, they seemed to enjoy the conversation, as did I.  I liked the part where I didn't know what anyone was talking about.  I guess now I know how my students feel when I talk.

We thought about trying to chase kangaroos after our hike but would have had to take our big backpacks with us so we didn't go.  I was unable to fulfill my lifelong dream of riding a kangaroo.  *sigh  Next time!

We left the Blue Mountains and headed back to the final 5 days of our trip in Sydney. More info on that to come!  Oh wait...this is vacation in reverse, so you can go read about that now!

The 3rd Semi-Annual Cutting of the Curls

I don't get hair cuts in Asia.  It is one of the problems with having curly hair. (The other problems are in order: fending off overly aggressive women, keeping a hat on my head, and being mistaken for Bill Walton or Napoleon Dynamite).

When I first moved overseas, my hair was pretty out of control.  Stupidly, I did not get it cut before leaving for Korea.  I could have let it grow longer, but I wanted to look professional for the first day of school.

With that in mind, I walked to what appeared to be a reputable hair salon.  I quickly knew I was in trouble.  After getting me in the chair and giggling with the other ladies in the shop, my 'stylist' scrunched my hair and said, "Perm?"

"Ha.  No. Ha," I responded nervously. "It's natural."

"Oh, natural perm."

Uh oh.  Needless to say, this was not my best haircut.  That was the last haircut I paid for in Asia.  Basically, I get one or two cuts in the summer and then let it grow to ridiculous afro proportions during the year.  At some point, I get tired of it and shave it all off.  The two years I lived in Korea, the school did a fundraiser for mission trips to let a kid shave my head in the style of their choice. (The First Semi-Annual)  After a one year hiatus, we decided to bring it back this year.  All proceeds from the fund raiser go to a school in Laos.  As part of the deal, I have to keep this 'do for a week.

Ready to go.

Anticipation building.

Now we're having fun.

Becky might be enjoying this a little too much.

Some of the damage.

This is the kid that won.  He was too scared to actually cut my hair, so he asked Becky to do it for him.  He directed Becky (who is photo-bombing this picture).

So what did the administration think of this?  I'll let them speak for themselves.

Mr. Mike - Principal and inspiration.

Ms. Sue - Asst. Principal

How did Becky do?  What would you have done?

Yooooouuuuuuuu, your room is on fire.

Here is a reference for the title of this blog in case you need it.

I was teaching my grade 8 English class yesterday when all of the sudden, a student gasped, shouted something unintelligible and pointed out the window in the back of the classroom.  "What is it," I asked them as I made my way to see what all the commotion was about.  I was greeted with this.

The beginning.

The middle.

The end.

I immediately sent all my kids to the office so that they could alert the principals and sound the fire alarm.  Considering how contained the fire was, and that the entire school is made of concrete, I was not too concerned.  I stayed in the room and waited for the fire extinguisher to be brought in.

The school was evacuated, though.  We have had probably five accidental fire drills this year, so at least we finally had a real one this time.

Sydney

This is our vacation in reverse.  Last stop, Sydney.  And what a great city it is.  I don't know if you will ever meet someone who didn't think Sydney was a great town. (Thats quality use of the double negative there.)  Our experience was magnified because we were there at the height of Sydney tourism, New Years.  The city was packed with people and the energy was awesome leading up to and right after the turn of the calendar.

The highlight had to be the fireworks.  Sydney is one of the first major cities in the world to celebrate the New Year, and they don't hold back.  I made sure to thank all the Aussies I know for spending their tax dollars to entertain me.  The fireworks are shot off of barges all up and down the harbor, but the best seats are overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The city did a great job of publicizing all the different watching spots, so we scouted out a few places that looked good.

Naively, we thought that we would go to the botanical gardens in the morning, get some lunch, and then make our way to one of the watching spots.  This plan was quickly squashed when we saw the cue (line) formed to get into Mrs. Maquarie's Point, our first choice.  We were also told that the gardens were closed.  Hmmmm.

Fortunately, I have a lot of practice working without any semblance of a plan.  We made our way to Circular Quay and hopped on a ferry headed for Luna Park and McMahons Point.  As you can see below, we made a good choice.

Of course, getting this great spot meant that we were hanging out here for about 10 hours.  Good thing we brought sunscreen.  Too bad we forgot the sunscreen at the hotel.  Thats where our incredible good looks came through again.  Actually, people don't usually pity the beautiful, so what happened next must have been an exception to the rule.  Whilst standing around (a garbage can), looking for a place to plop ourselves, but also happy to be under the shade of a big tree, a nice gentleman came up to us and invited us to join him on his and his family's tarp.  With a tent overhead!  Jackpot!

John and Leslie, an awesome couple from America who had recently relocated to Sydney, had the best spot in the whole area, and they had shade.  Not to mention, sitting for 10 hours straight can get a little boring, so getting to know some new folks is always fun.

Becky helping the family take down the tent.  I encouraged.

Finally, the sun fell and the show started.  We took video so you could enjoy, because everyone loves watching videos of fireworks.  Enjoy anyway.

I audibly gasped multiple times, in a 'I'm watching Aggie sports" sort of way.  Yes, this was better than the Cotton Bowl (stupid Arkansas).

Anything Else?


What else is there after that.  Lots more actually.  Manly Beach, Bondi Beach, the botanical gardens, museums, steak, Sydney Opera House, and just checking out the different parts of town.

Here is some of that in picture form.

The bridge is ominous.  You catch glimpses of it throughout the city.

You know what's 'Same Same'...our shorts.  

Bondi Beach.  I loved it.  Packed to the gills.  

The sky-writers were out.  We saw two proposals and this evangelism.

Lorikeets in the botanical gardens.

Pulling into Manly.  Another awesome beach just a short walk after getting off the ferry here.

With that, we left Sydney and headed back to Bangkok.  Thankfully, this is our vacation in reverse, so there are still two more parts to come.

Love iBeck