Second tournament of the year and into the Round of 16 at the Australian Open! Justine Henin has been tested by Dementiava (5th seed) on Rod Laver Arena and then gritted her teeth to beat Kleybanova (27th seed) on Hisense Arena.
Looking forward to a great match against Wickmayer in the Round of 16 at the [...]
It’s that time of year where Melbourne, Australia comes alive with day and night action with the Australian Tennis Open.
If your first thought is, oh I don’t like watching tennis, think again! It is an event not to be missed, not only because of the great tennis you can watch but also just for the [...]
Continue reading about Australian Open – Tennis, Melbourne, Australia, 2010
I was listening to a choir singing carols in Melbourne last week and one of the songs that we were able to sing along to was Jingle Bells (Aussie Style) and after having a good laugh, I thought I would share it with you!
“Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute,
Kicking up the dust, [...]
Australia: we have the top 4 most deadly venoms, the worst snakes and spiders, PLUS crocs and sharks — but what you really have to fear are the BIRDS!
IEEEEE! Sept 1st marked the onset of spring and I received a terrible reminder! Be careful which paths you take– UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you take a walk [...]
Continue reading about Magpies and Minors: Australian birds of terror
As a teacher, it helps to be ‘in the know’ about social ‘faux-pas’. Some things are said in Australian classrooms that are never used in Canadian classrooms, such as “rubber” and “nice as” (which sounds like “nice ass” in the Aussie accent!).
As a teacher, and a sportsperson, I’m also big on nicknames as terms of [...]
Continue reading about Naming Your Kids: Australian Nicknames
There’s a book I’m reading that I can’t put down.
It has descriptions that make me re-trace my steps, tells of the extreme previous conditions of the landscapes I walk everyday, involves both imagination and historical fact–and on top of all this, it’s funny.
The only way I knew the name Bearbrass, was because of the cafe in Southbank. [...]
Continue reading about Want to Know What Early Melbourne was like?
After many trips to the Yarra Valley wineries, I think I have a fantastic route from Melbourne where you can get a bit of everything.
Leave Melbourne and head past Yarra Glen to De Bortoli. Here you taste cheeses with your wines. Try the garlic goat cheese, yum! Don’t forget to experience the Sparkling Shiraz (yes [...]
Getting to your first teaching job doesn’t have to be stressful–but if you don’t know where to look and how to find what you’re looking for, it really can be stressful.
Don’t make more work for yourself; when you move to Melbourne invest in two things:
A Melways: this is a train, tram, street (even bike path!) [...]
Continue reading about Getting to Your Teaching Jobs in Melbourne
“Foxtel” is the Australian form of Canada’s “cable”, and you’re certainly not going to see any ice hockey, baseball or basketball on “telly” unless you have it.
But whether or not you’re a sports addict, you might want to think of budgeting for a TV package because the TV in Australia is kind of crap.
I’m sorry, [...]
The Aussie are so hardcore at Customs, they even attempted to capture the drama in a reality TV show called “Border Control“.
Why the Drama?
You see, Australia’s had a bad run of importing foreign material. In the past, it was thought ‘harmless’ to bring in certain comforts from ‘home shores’.
Anyone who’s been up North to Cairns [...]
Continue reading about Coming through Customs: Into Australia
The leaves that once strewn the sidewalks have now been kicked to the gutter! Or have they?
That’s the Melbourne winter difference–the leaves get to stick around.
After Autumn, the weather doesn’t change that much. The roses will still be in bloom and lemons will be growing on backyard trees.
It is dark now around 5 pm, light [...]
When I moved to Australia with my partner we had no one on the other side to help us. Even though we had each lived abroad internationally previously—and
even though we were moving to an English-Speaking country—it was extremely intimidating. (But that’s another story you can read about in About the Teach’N’Traveller Blog!) We wanted to [...]
Continue reading about How Much Money do you need to Move to Australia?
As we all know (and you’ll soon learn) Melbournians love their food. And even if you’re not a “foodie” (DEFINITION: Aussie slang for “someone who loves food”), you’ll soon become one.
Eating out is incredibly popular, but so is cooking from home.
Although I was eventually Kitchen Manager at my summer camp in Ontario, my largely-known secret [...]
Hey, Teacher: What are you Doing with your Life?
Are you tired and overworked? Do you feel drained in January? Do you look forward one week off in March to return in March and feel exhausted? Has a 20-week term got you down? Here’s the answer: MOVE TO AUSTRALIA!
WARNING: this is not a sales pitch, this [...]
Continue reading about Thinking of Moving to Australia? RE: Teaching Holidays
The CBD explained:
CBD: Central Business District.
The CBD is a neatly grafted square of streets. Most of the hills have been levelled. The city was once very muddy as it slid down into the banks of the Yarra River/swap. There were the Yarra Falls (which can’t really be seen anymore) and the Docklands made the area [...]
Continue reading about What is the “CBD”? (Part 10: 10 Things to Know Before Moving to Melbourne)
The Internet works totally different in Australia compared to the rest of the world.
In Singapore and Vietnam, you get free internet in the airports and hotels—which best articulates of how prolific our dependence, and expectations, are of the internet.
However, in Australia, they have managed to make people pay per/download. It is ludicrous I assure you.
How [...]
The Australian Dollar vs. The Canadian Dollar
The market keeps fluctuating with the Australian dollar recently decreasing significantly below the Canadian dollar. Previously the two were quite even. Canada has always had a bit of an upper edge on the Australian dollar, but for 2006-2008, this has been less than a 10 cent difference on average.
If [...]
This is in continuation of a pervious post in which I discussed the feasbility of eating out in Melbourne every night.
Australian Groceries: A Bit of Background
Canadian grocery prices are significantly lower than Australia’s. It seems a bit strange since we can’t even grow citrus in Canada and Aussies can grow anything from avocados to mangoes [...]
Eating Out vs. Buying Groceries:
The tricky thing about Melbourne is that everyone eats out! Sure, this doesn’t seem so tricky, except when you see the prices and the frequency and your bank account…and you start to wonder, how the heck does everyone afford it?!
However, the trickiness doesn’t end there. Groceries will seem expensive to the [...]
Considering there is a water-shortage in Australia, and the Australian press has made citizens very worried about water usage, the prices of water hasn’t really increased. I would think that if they really wanted people to cut down on their water use, they would start charging more for it…but that’s for another discussion.
You Want to [...]
Although it’s sometimes hard for us to face it (myself included) teachers are more than their job. If you don’t think teachers struggle with this, go out for dinner with a bunch—what do we talk about?? Teaching!)
RULE #1:
The good news about using a mobile phone in Melbourne is that you don’t have to pay for receiving calls—somebody with a brain (not just a wallet) developed that one. However, the drawback is that there isn’t free calling after weeknights and on weekends.
Similar to Canada, you can get a “pay-as-you-go” phone (Aussie for “pre-paid”) [...]
This post marks the start of a 10-post series that Leading Out has asked me to write for you. These posts will appear once a week, over the Australian summer months, to give you time to get ready for 2009.
Part 1: Public Transportation in Melbourne
More good news on public transport in Melbourne—
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