The birds give Australia a character of it's own.

Seagull not so unusual

 Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, merry, merry king of the beast is he!!!
(Actually this is not a gum tree, but you know the song)

I love the Pink Galahs

Magpie

More Pink Galahs

I think these are Cockatoos or White Galahs

There were about 100 of these in the tree. Most were in pairs like this.

I also saw some kind of green parrot fly by but couldn't get his photo that quick!

I am very happy to be staying with such a nice family!!!

 Gavin and Joyce and their kids Hazel and Miranda.

20% of Australians are not born in Australia.

Gavin was born in England and has been in AU for 16 years,
and Joyce was born in Brazil and has lived in AU for 10 years.

There will be more ocean pictures to come!  It is BEAUTIFUL here!!!!!

I am staying with a family at their home in Hamersley

 

The house is an 17 sided Deltec house that they had shipped from the USA a couple of years ago.

This is the park across from the house

It is fantastic to be here in Australia!!!

My host family is very nice and welcoming!  Their house and my room are also very nice.

I love the birds here.  They sing songs I've never heard before.   I love the weather too!  It's actually cooler than normal here today. 

Maybe only 75 because there was a light shower this morning.

Today's headline - "Coldest Air Of Season To Hit Wisconsin".

Weather forecast for Perth, Australia - 90 degrees!!!

I'm outta here!!!

"One Doesn't Discover New Lands Without Consenting To Lose Sight Of The Shore For A Very Long Time"

                                                                                Andre Gide

Western Australia

Western Australia is on the opposite side of the world from Wisconsin.  I will be in a suburb of Perth for at least the first 7 weeks.  It will be summer there when I arrive.  Average high temperature in February, 88 degrees!

I will be volunteering at Koondoola Primary School in Wannaro!

The organization that placed me in Koodoola School is called Travellers Worldwide.

Here is some information about Koondoola Primary School.

Koondoola Primary School is located approximately 17 kilometres (10 miles) from the Perth Central Business District in the City of Wanneroo and has an enrollment of 326 students. The school consists of two sections, the 'mainstream' part of the school, and the Intensive English Centre (IEC), which caters for the needs of recently arrived migrant children who have a limited or no understanding of English. This provides the school with a rich multicultural environment that is built on to show how different groups can work and play together in harmony.