Artis Zoo- Amsterdam

Artis Zoo is the oldest zoo in The Netherlands. It was built in the 1800's on the outskirts of the city and thanks to urban sprawl the Zoo today stands in the centre of the city. For Oma Eda's birthday the Family and i took her on a family outing. It was a lovely warm autumn day and the kids had the day of school. The zoo has undergone huge refurbishment but they original parts have been turned into a museum, an aquarium and a permanent Darwin exhibition.
before we started our wandering we stopped for lunch and i had a traditional dutch cuisine. PANKCAKES WITH BACON AND CHEESE :) my oh my i love living here haha.

They also drizzle syrup and sugar all over the pancake and then fold it and cut it into bite size peices. I must admit it improves the taste 10 fold haha. But this was not the most exciting part of the day. not by far.
we walked around looking at all the exhibits and laughing as i tried to pronounce the names of all the animals when we came upon my new favourite animal!!!

These guys are too cool!!! they  walk like the swamp rats out of Princess Bride haha. kind of between a waddle and a shuffle :) AND they carry their babies on their rumps. I mean whats not to love hehe
Next stop was the aquarium where i found this cool cat. i felt sorry for him cause the other fish wouldnt go near him :( poor lonely fish.

 Also in the aquarium bulding was the darwin exhibit. it was quite interesting although a little unnerving. The exhibit mainly featured on the early stages of Charles Darwins theory of evoloution because when Artis zoo was first opened it was originally plagued by artists sketching the animals but also by scientist and intellectuals attempting to learn more about the animal kingdom. the zoo'z primary function was actually as a place of learning with its huge libraries and study centres as well as a hall that was used for lectures and the odd shindig haha.

This is one of the exhibits, its all types of birds and lizards taxidermied and arranged according to size and colour and stuff. i really hope that they were fake. it was quite sad to see all these creatures like this :(

On a happier note haha by far the best part of the day was when we went to the girraffee exhibit. at first i was quite annoyed because it was feeding time and the girraffes left to go into a separate part of the exhibit. but then i discovered that i could go and watch them AND oh my god, i was so close i could have given the baby girraffe a butterfly kiss! i wanted to reach out and stroke his chest so badly. but i didnt because i knew it would scare him. gosh they were amazing! i was quite proud of my self restraint haha.

After my

Howard Thurman

"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

:) i think this quote best explains my intentions here. how can we be at our best if we never challenge ourselves enough to acheive our dreams? whats the point in telling ourselves something is impossible, everything in this life is acheiveable. Why  be capable of dreaming big if we dont have the ability to acheive the dreams?

Lord Chesterfield

"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."

 

E.B White

I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.

confused? i am.

i dont know about anyone else. but in my life i always aspire to be better, to do something new, to re-invent myself, to try new things. but where does this inspiration stem from? Mostly from my books, magazines, tv, movies, news and on a grander scale. the world/ people around me.
BUT what annoys and moreso confuses me is that of all the images we are subjected to- of all the images we process. Things like this are deemed worthy of our aspirations :(
it annoys me that some of the most amazingly beautiful and animated people fall into the way of being fake- they buy the right clothes, there wear the fake tan, they cake on make- up. THEY BECOME A CARBON COPY OF SOMEONE THAT IS PAID TO BE PRETTY and YET IS STILL DIGITALLY ALTERED.
i wish more people were like Patch Adams. Happy, a little bit odd. But mostly brave enough to be different, to follow what they believe and to do good for others. i wish more people were concerened about something other than the face staring back at them in the mirror.

'how embarassment!'

Today i had to ride to the next time to buy myself an alarm clock. Feeling pretty darn spiffy on my bike riding along the road , all was going swell until I began to here a whirring noise. As it gets louder i realise its the sound of another bike fast approaching. I already knew i was a bit unfit, but Im adament i can hold my own. So imagine my suprise when a woman who couldnt have been younger than 70 cycled on past, as fresh as a daisy. LOOKING BORED. I meanwhile was breaking a sweat and would have easily been going faster than average.
yet here i was being out cycled by an old lady! talk about shame haha.

workum cheese

There is a traditional dutch farm that has been converted into a cheese factory not far from where i live... IT IS TO DIE FOR. they have every type of cheese imaginable and more. rich, full bodied, creamy cheese; laced with spices, chives and nuts. MY GOODNESS. it was amazing :)

i want one :)

,,,

I like living here- if you like something. you do it. being liberal is quite a good feeling. No wonder all these dutchies are some of the happiest people on earth :)

Voor de Kunst- For Art

Delft

Delft- home of the blue and white china that is so famous around the world. It houses two chruches- one on a lean haha. it houses the royal familys burial grounds and the other houses famous dutchies. The day was a get together of au pairs- a meet and greet whilst exploring a part of the country.
I managed not only to get lost a million times but i also managed to get three lovely south african girls lost aswell haha. i met so many lovely girls, Iris, Marian, Diana and Willemijn to name a few.
We had the chance to either Kickerbike (giant yellow Scooters) or Canal boat around delft waterways. I was in the group that got to go in the boats :) it was so relaxing and so interesting just to sail about. some of the bridges were over 500 YEARS old! and one bridge had even been converted into a house haha. talk about awesome. after our outing we went disco bowling- many of the girls had bowled only once before so we had a ball being silly and chatting about our host families and lives back home.
it is amazing how lovely these four girls are. i hope i get to seem them all again :)

around the world and back

 

who knew these little blue shoes that ive loved so much would take me so far.

they were with me in canberra AFS all those years ago, they have taken me to countless gigs and soundwave 08, i wear them to work interviews, when im running to the store, trekking through germany and the netherlands, and now.  they are sitting at the end of my bed waiting for the next adventure. what a good investment they turned out to be:)

Life in Stavoren

Ive been in Stavoren for 5 days now. and life here is much the same as wauchope. Its a small town, everyone waves to you as you drive by and everyone knows your business. ive had people stop me in the street and talk to me like they've known me forever. everyone knows about the de Vries' auPair haha.
The family are very warm and welcoming. i feel at home already. The towns are in the Friesland Province, which was its own country until a few years back. They have there own language and flag and are very proud of there heritage. Most of the towns around here relied on the fishing industry to survive, however now they are largely more tourist based. In summer hundreds of toursists flock here for watersports. wind surfind, kite boarding, leisure cruises, sailing and the quaint little towns.
Im yet to try any of these... but its only a matter of time.
I have my own bicycle. and Yes. it is a cliche as they come. but i love it :) everything is close by and mondays and tuesdays i will attend a language class in Sneek- a larger town half hour away. ive already discovered some art supply shops, a place to develop photos and a shop called The Sting- with my kind of fashion: band shirts meet classic jeans and cutesy dresses.
i tell you the fashion in europe is a big deal. everyone looks 'fierce' as they say in meangirls. and they look it all the time. i feel a bit like a country bumpkin with my casual clothes and converses. but i plan to bring back the Casual haha.
Its cold here now. not as cold as it gets. but think winter time australia. thats there autumn here haha. hopefully it will snow more than rain this year. my fingers are crossed for a white christmas. but its The Netherlands, ive been advised rain is more commen than not. :)
anyways i miss you all and i cant wait to update you with more happenings. This weekend we are off to a family members birthday party and then i have an outing in Delft- near Den Haag. Im very excited.

Tulipes

These are the Tulips (Tulipes in Dutch) that my host mother gave me when i arrived in Amsterdam.
shes lovely. actually the whole family is amazing. Im pretty darn lucky and i cant wait to see what this year holds.

Home away from Home

STAVOREN is bliss :)

p.s i now own clogs!

shopping with sophia, stephan, andy and kirra

today was all about the good things in life. bargain shopping, good food, boys who can outshop girls, singing to the radio, laughing about mario kart and the simple pleasure of being in the company of four lovely people.

Good people are not so hard to find here :)

Frankfurt am Main

Today Kirra and I caught the train into Frankfurt for some retail therapy and for a 'suprise'!! Let me just say WOW, the shopping in Frankfurt= HEAVEN haha. Its cheap, its pretty and its good quality. Kirra and i rode the longest escalator in Europe and we watched as people qued up for half hour to get into the american 'Hollister shop'. Who knew that the Germans love America. After spending some money it was time for my suprise!! I wasnt really paying attention and before i knew it i could see australian flags everywhere... yep. kirra took me to the AUSTRALIAN BAR :) it was the best cure for homesickness. i drank a fosters beer and had the Mels platter- Mad max inspired.
The menu was hilarious with its australian inspired dishes and sayings. things that no one would honestly say.

After lunch we took a walk to the Old city centre, we posed for photos and then went on to the old church and roman ruins. It was nice to take in a bit of german history after an aussie lunch and globalised shopping. We then trekked over to the Main, where my foot got caught and i tripped and freaked out a couple kissing near by haha.
Then on the old bridge we were approached by a good looking man who asked us out on a date... not speaking german i was caught like a deer in headlight haha. the things people do.
Last but not least we took a leisurley stroll to the old Opera house and then caught the train home to feast on the huge BBQ kirras host family had prepared for us.

LIFE IS BLISS :)

Our night on the town

Club SKY. it plays house music and has a bartender that plays jokes on english speaking tourists. After getting tired of the non stop 'bopping' these trendy kids call dancing i decided to get on stage and dance with the performer- a cross between tina turner and beyonce. Shortly after this birlliant brainwave i was kicked off by a cross looking glass collector. I stand by the fact that after 3 tequila shots every idea is a good idea.

Kirra's 19th Birthday

Happy Birthday to the lovely Kirra Anderson... boy did we celebrate haha. There was 5 or 6 cakes, cookies, 2 different slices, endless coffee, salads, breads dips and fish. I couldnt get enough! Kirra's extended host family are so lovely and many of them spoke english which was a bonus. The above cake was made my Sophia. the loveliest girl you will ever meet. when i met her she said to me: 'I will speak in english for you to understand'... what an angel! :)
Earlier this day i had been at school with Kirra for the first time. It was crazy to see all these nice Fiats, Mercs and other cars in the parking lot. No Bombs! haha. and then there was the fashion, EVERYONE was perfectly attired, neat hair and faces. not like me who used to put my hair up and brush my teeth as my school attire haha. We had to Role play in English for the book the class was reading, and i go the task of being the father of kirra's child. apparently i was abusive and had to look morose about something haha. not my best angle for sure!

Day 3: Budingen after school

Budingen is the town where kirra goes to school. She has her favourite cafe there, i forget what its called but its a lovely vintage cafe with fake witches all through out it :) we sat in the comfiest lounge and i had a Caffe Machiatto with Bailey's in it haha. alcohol at 11 in the morning? only in Europe! haha.

we walked around for a while just taking in the old buildings built in the 1400's. we had a look in a few shops and the chocolate factory! Yum YUM! we then had to meet Kirras Host sister Katha who was taking me back home while Kirra finished school. halfway to the parking lot i noticed these mini plaques on the pavement. Kirra explained to me that you find them all over Germany, they are dedicated to the people from the town that were taken to concerntration camps. it was incredibly emotive. pondering on the fate of these poor people. things like this are real here, not just a part of history.

Tourists. they are easy to spot

Im eating a pretzel. IN GERMANY. this is a first for me :) hence the need for photographic evidence. none of this blending in with the local shit for me haha

day 1

i have missed this girl more than i thought possible! this was us exploring her home town. with the quaint german houses, cobblestone streets and church tower... it was like stepping into a grimm's brothers fairytale! how lucky she is haha.

Kuala Lumpar

Thank goodness for nice people. this is Adam. Adam from Poland. He had dinnner with me and sat with me until our connecting flight. neither of us new where to go. haha. he also helped me when my bag broke :) what a nice kid

The Begginning

The last thing i saw when i left Australia... i was a little sad but i was more so excited. i must have looked like a huge fool because i swear i had a massive grin on my face for most of the plane trip :)

Ty

This morning as i was driving to Port Macqaurie the enormity of moving country suddenly hit me. As i was beginning to cry a damn bus pulled out infront of me infuriating me even more.

My first thought was 'Here we go, teenage boys mucking about and asking me to flash'.

Instead, this one boy wrote on a peice of paper Hi, My names Ty... Are you ok?

So all i could do was smile and nod.

'Hows your day?' he wrote...

I wanted to tell him 'a lot better now that i met you'. Instead all i could do was laugh.

If ever i find you Ty from ATC 2010, im going to give you the biggest hug ever. Thanks for making me smile.

Bucket List: Visit all the Beaches

Imagine life in a rock pool...

Bucket List: Be Suprised

It was unexpected and one day i'll tell you all about it... maybe :)

Bucket List: Camden Head

Camden Head. 

I discovered this place by accident with todd. i was talking about a 'big hill' i.e Bonny Hill and he was talking about Camden Head. Needless to say he was driving so it was Camden head we arrived at. After a short hike through scrub you arrive at a platform that overlooks crystal clear water, Dunbogan and Middle Brother. We tried to throw rocks into the water to see the splash, but im weak so they kinda just fell off the edge haha.

Bucket List: Karaoke

all the single ladies! now put your hands up! wuh uh ohhhh.

My auntie is the best karaoke partner, she even did the beyonce moves with me haha. Im glad to have someone as cool as her as a friend and family member

Bucket List: TURKEY

:) Turkey Hunting was a phenominal success. Although these ones were rather quiet, much to my dismay. I like them because of their Turkey sounds

Bucket List: Go to work with Dad

I couldnt go to work with him. so i gave him the camera. This is my favourite shot because he is unsure about how to pose. I can always count on my dad to remind me that what other people think of you isnt important. That the only thing we need in life is each other. And that things will always get rough, but nothing is impossible to beat.

Bucket List: Canoe Settlement city

Todd and I rented a canoe for the hour and decided to see how far we could make it along the settlement city section of the hastings river. how hard could it be right?

WRONG haha. Todd insisted in being in the front which threw of the whole balance of the canoe and resulted in uncorrectable circling... i must admit i didnt help. i was having more fun deliberately paddling the wrong way to worry about gaining any ground haha. We eventually switched places and managed to get our syncronised rowing on. Just in time to show the Yuppie couple who rowed past earlier just what us freaks are made of...

Life is Bliss

Bucket List: BBQ/ Farewell Party

:) afternoons like this should be part of everyday life

Bucket List: Pull an all nighter

.

'The' most amazing bunch of people you will ever meet.

We talk shit, we say the politically incorect, vulgar and often impossible things that form in our mind. We dance, We love, We party, We talk, We create.

Its easy to be yourself amongst them. Thats all i ask for

Bucket List: The Port Warf

The warf. It was freezing and one of the best feelings in the world... Although i dont recomend watching any movies with Pirahnas in it before hand :)