Weird Australia

We're having a great time here, but Adelaide is not without its quirks.

Our first day here, we noticed a playground in the park close to our house. Some trees were blocking our view, but it looked like a small, fun playground. We were a little bewildered, then, when we finally went to explore the playground.. . only to find the "playground" was actually outdoor adult workout equipment instead!

Yep, this little area is located right on the running trail, so you can take a quick break from. . . exercising. . . to. . . do more exercising. 

We've also noticed signs here look the same, but aren't really the same.

Also. Tasty Cheese. What kind of cheese is this? Who cares, as long as it's tasty!

(We've since figured out that Tasty cheese is Cheddar-ish cheese)

Even the boys laughed at this sign, seen at the National Railway Museum:

But the laughed harder at this one:

Oh, Australia!

First Day of School!

The school year has begun for the Bardwell boys!  Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere, they start school in late January/early February, which is the end of their summer. They do 4 terms, with a 2 week break in between each term, before ending the year in December before Christmas. Today started the first day of Term 3 at Brompton Primary School!

As you can see, everyone wears uniforms at this school - taking out the conundrum of what to wear each day.

Micah has started Year 5 - as they call 5th Grade here. The classes at Brompton Primary are 'composite classes' - or mixed grade classes. So Micah is in the Year 5/6 room, and has kids in both Years 5 and 6 in the same room. These types of classrooms seem to be pretty common here. He made 2 new friends on the first day, both of whom I met after school today, who share his love of Minecraft! But don't worry, friends at home, you'll never be replaced :) 

Eli started Year 4, and is in the 4/5 classroom. He has a male teacher this year, which is a first for him! His teacher's name is Leo, and in Australia, students refer to teachers (including the principal) by just their first names. I'm not sure this is something we'll ever get used to! Eli has suddenly decided he'd like to try liking soccer again, and joined a group of students playing as soon as he arrived. Kids start and end the day in the "yard" (the playground) which is where parents pick them up and drop them off.

So - the boys will start school in the 2nd half of their grades here, and when we return to the States in December, will do the 2nd halves of the same grade again. Also, while it will technically be their longest year (since they're starting in July and not ending until June), they will actually probably attend the least amount of days ever, between planned school breaks and our travel/vacation schedule. It will be a very unusual (and, if today was any indication, also a great) year for them.

Port Adelaide and Semaphore

This weekend we ventured to Port Adelaide and Semaphore to explore even more of our city. We had another first with public transportation, when we took the train to Port Adelaide. So now we've ridden the bus, tram, and train; and I thought the train was the best! Big seats, not crowded, smooth ride, and they announce each stop so you don't have to pay attention!

Port Adelaide is home to the National Railway Museum, so of course we had to check that out - as Micah has loved trains since he was a toddler. This was a nice museum with many 'retired' engines on display.

They had trains you could walk inside of, trains you could ride on, and model trains you could watch. If you are a train aficionado, I think this museum would be Sheldon Cooper-approved! And bonus points to anyone who gets that reference :)

Here is our first family photo in Australia!

Thanks to Stacey for taking our pic! Stacey is one of Kedron's students and she was brave enough to accompany us on our little day trip - it was so nice to have her with us!

After the museum, we headed to the 'port' of Port Adelaide. Port Adelaide boasts the world's only urban dolphins - apparently dolphins can sometimes be seen in the waters of the port, since it connects to the ocean. Unfortunately, we didn't see any today; apparently sightings are more common closer to October. We'll just have to come back and try again!

 

While dolphin watching, we stumbled upon yet another cool playground. The playgrounds here are so much cooler than US playgrounds - probably not as safe, but what they lack in safety, the make up for in AWESOME. 

Next we headed to Semaphore. . . specifically the city's beach. These boys love the ocean - it was barely 60 degrees but they stripped down to t-shirts and rolled up pants and played as if it were summer.

 Here's Stacey - we did take a better group shot, but I don't have any on my computer at the moment. Stacey helped me hunt for seashells - we'll have lots to bring home! It was really nice to spend the day talking with another American!

We continue to love the ocean and look forward to visiting it in the warmer months ahead!

So even science is different here.

Earlier this week, we went to a "pop up" (a trendy catchphrase I've heard a lot since we've been here) Science Fair for kids. Basically it is group of travelling exhibits and workshops; most of which focused on Space. The Bardwells all love a good time with Space, so we decided to check it out.

First up: the Starlab! I remember these from Jr High - it's a big bubble that you crawl in and they display the stars inside. So we crawled in and I immediately realized we aren't in the US any more. . . where was the Big Dipper? I didn't see it anywhere. The Little Dipper? North Star? Cassiopeia (the one shaped like a W)? All nowhere to be found. But the narrator guy says, "Does anyone see a constellation they know?" and I'm thinking. . .uhh no. . . but then EVERYONE shouts out, "The Southern Cross!"  Umm, what now?

Turns out - the Southern Hemisphere has different stars visible in their night sky. And the Southern Cross is their version of the Big Dipper; it is the most recognizable constellation, and you can use it to find the South Pole (much like you can use the Big Dipper to find the North Star).

Also turns out - the Australian Flag contains the Southern Cross! How did I not know this?

So, we had a great time at the Science fair, and even Mommy learned something new!

We. Heart. Glenelg.

This afternoon we visited Glenelg, which is one of the Adelaide suburbs along the ocean. We had to take a bus and a tram to get there, and it took us just under an hour to reach Glenelg from our apartment. Glenelg is a popular tourist destination, and is very similar to a US beach town, with lots of food and retail shopping right near the shoreline.

Our boys LOVE the ocean! It is winter here, so air temps were right around 60 degrees, and water temps were very cold! Did that stop our boys??

They played and played just as if it were summer. In fact, Micah was upset he didn't have his swim trunks :)

We walked down the pier,which was quite windy (and thus quite chilly).

Our view from the end of the pier. 

Which ocean is this exactly? Good question: I had initially though the Pacific bordered South Australia, but upon some research, it is actually the Indian Ocean! Although the locals apparently refer to it as the "Southern Ocean." Maps seem to differ:

We finally pulled the boys away from the ocean to explore the other parts of the shoreline. Surprise, surprise, there was a temporary ice skating rink set up - since it is winter after all! We'd never seen ice skating with blue ocean in the background!

Yet again, another cool playground. The boys could have stayed here all day.

Rope swing to a fast slide. The boys ran this circuit for probably 20 minutes:

In-ground trampoline:

In-ground merry-go-round!

The boys begged us not to leave; and then begged us to come back tomorrow! We compromised and said we would try to come twice a month :)

Bubble Soccer = Huge Hit!!

We had a fun afternoon here in North Adelaide today! North Adelaide (where we live) is a suburb just to the north of Adelaide proper. One of the perks of coming to Adelaide in the middle of a school term break is that there are lots of free community activities aimed at kids and families over the next two weeks.We usually have to go into Adelaide to find these activities, but today we didn't have to travel far from home to find a new favorite activity: Bubble Soccer!

We've tried out some activities in our time here that didn't quite meet our expectations, but this was not the case with Bubble Soccer. The boys LOVED it! Even Micah, who is sometimes hesitant to try new things (especially really physical activities) had a blast. I'd say the event was pretty light on the soccer (though there were soccer balls and nets); the kids basically just spent their time flipping around and ramming into one another.

Micah is in the dark blue shirt/grey pants (left) and Eli is in the white/orange shirt with black pants  (right).

And. . .Eli upside down. . .

You kind of wear the ball as a backpack, while gripping the handles in front of you. It seemed fairly easy to get in and out.

Here are the boys smacking into other kids, and each other:

And here they are practicing their flips!

Adelaide Central Market!

Today has had its ups and downs - we tried our first program at the local library - with mixed results. I will say that it has been exhausting to have to deal with so many new and unfamiliar things, every day (especially for Micah and me; Ked and Eli seem to be not as overwhelmed). I think I'll write more on the difficult parts of our adventure later on :)

This afternoon, we visited the Adelaide Central Market for the first time. It won't be the last!  This is sort of like an indoor Farmer's Market that sells everything you might imagine. Most retailers sell food related items, but there were also small lunch restaurants, coffee and smoothie shops, some clothing items, and even a bookstore!

I never thought I'd ever say this, but I wish the US used the metric system. Shopping has been quite difficult when everything is sold by the kilogram! Food overall is more expensive here. We found that this market did have some good deals, if you were willing to shop around.

Need smelly cheese? We found just the place!

There were several places selling sweets and desserts, including chocolate fondue from a fountain!

Of course, the boys wanted (but did not get) these:

 Mmm. . . olives. . .

 

Need a bucket full of curry, anyone?

After our visit, the boys were craving pizza! Pizza is not as popular here as it is in the US. Rather than a pizza place on every corner, you really have to seek one out. Also, pepperoni isn't quite the same here. . . it has more of a half salami/half pepperoni taste. Anyway - we ate supper here, at a restaurant called Australia's Pizza House:

I laughed at the sign - I would have preferred fake prices :)