Wallaby, WallaBYE

I forgot to mention that I ate fried kangaroo my first night here. It was actually surprisingly good. Can’t compare it to much. It was on the chewy side but otherwise looked like a pork chop.

Australians write the date all mixed up: August 27, 2011 = 27/08/11

So, on 27/08/11 at 11:34am, I saw my first wallaby!

Sadly, on 28/08/11 at 7:24am, I killed my first wallaby...

The very first wallaby that I saw in the wild

Well, technically it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t driving the van that smashed into the three-foot tall bouncing beast, I was just the passenger who felt the destruction and jolting as it was drug under our wheels and trailer. I could have sworn we ran over a steel log for as much jarring as the whole thing caused. It was as dumb as a deer; just hopped right out of the trees and into our front bumper. Maybe they aren’t dumb but it was just a successful suicide attempt?!?! Our bumper broke off and the air filter fell out of the underside of the hood of the van. We were still able to drive, but that wallaby split open and its guts fell out–a speedy death. Oh, and then I saw two huge crocks! They were in the river we drove over and must have been a minimum of ten feet long. There are signs all over the place saying “Don’t swim. It’s not worth your life.” Touche.

Croc warning signs

Respecting Privacy

I just wanted to throw out here that since a majority of my time will be spent working with students, I will want to be very selective about what I post on here. Some things that take place are personal or would be ethically irresponsible of me to share publicly.

That being said, I will selectively omit a lot of things to protect the identity and reputation of certain people/businesses/etc. No big deal, but that probably means less posts. I hope you understand!

First Impressions

The Locals

My first impressions are that the Aboriginal people of Australia aren’t like any other people I’ve ever seen in my life. They are a completely new race of people to me—like Martians. I'm not just speaking about their physical attributes, either. Culturally, I am in for a serious adventure and I am super-excited about it!

It’s almost impossible not to stare. Their skin ranges from a high yellow all the way to the darkest black you can imagine. 

A few of my girls :)

They hardly ever wear shoes (even when playing sports). Pedicures are of NO concern here. Save your money! I’m telling you—If you think your feet are offensive in America, come here to feel good about yourself. Basically, what I'm saying is that Indigenous Australians' feet are to American feet as Miami beach is to bikini wearers; it gives you perspective.

Some feet I sat across from on the public bus

The craziest part isn’t even the depth of their skin tone but that Aboriginal/Indigenous Peoples' hair is a cross between White and American Indian hair. Black people in America would pay insane amounts of cash for this hair! Wash n' go on black skin! I’m still adjusting to it and I see it every single day. They think my fuzzy edges (AKA "kitchens") are beautiful…I’m serious. Confidence booster all around!