Bennies and Johnnies Run for a Reason

This past Sunday, May 27th, 10 Bennies and Johnnies got up at 5:30 AM to head to Perth for the annual HBF Run for a Reason 4K/14K race. It all started when one of the house members expressed interest in running a race in Australia. Who knew that so many people wanted to also run a race!! We decided that since we hadn't been training we should just all run the 4K together. Since we all have varying paces, we'd just set a nice gentle pace and run the entire thing, together. Well, at least the girls did!

At 6:30 AM we boarded the free train to Perth for the big race!! There were over 20,000 competitors running that day and we were all very excited and nervous for the race. We checked our bags and then had to wait 15 minutes in line to use the toilet! Then it was race time. The 14 K start was first and as the horn blew there was a constant stream of competitors for a solid 10 minutes!! SO. MANY. PEOPLE. It was amazing to see how many people, both competitors and supports, got up for the big day. The 4K was next and the boys were in the Start Set B, and the girls were in the Start Set C. Had we known more, we would have chosen to be in Set B because the Set C was a lot of parents with strollers and people walking. We were like a line of ducks weaving our way through the walkers to try to find a patch where we could all stick together and run with each other. After a little bit we finally worked our way up to the start (yes, we hadn't even started the race at that point) and then we started our run!

As we ran down the hill at the start of the race we could see a Joe, Kelsey, and Annie cheering us on! They had woken up early on one of the rare sleep-in days to come cheer us on and I could not have been happier. As we all stuck together we got towards the end of the race and heard some of the race music playing. They must have known we liked to have a good time because Teenage Dream was blasting and there was a giant Red fuzzy heart on the side of the road. As we ran down the final hill we were all dancing and singing at the top of our lungs. People probably thought we were crazy, but hey, we were having the time of our lives!

As we neared the finish we all held hands and crossed together. If we're gonna look to the papers for the photo finish results, Riley would be the technical winner; however, we all crossed relatively together in our bright Bennie RED attire! (We definitely stuck out amongst the sea of blue HBF shirts).** My time ended up being 28:06....not bad for a 4K that I ran at a VERY slow pace for myself so we could all stick together! It was such a rewarding day and we even got free fruit and Powerade at the end!

**We were supposed to get free HBF Run For A Reason shirts but since we registered too late we missed out....until we may or may not have taken some from the Lost and Found section after the race, thanks to Danny's bravery in starting the trend!

All in all, it was one of the coolest experiences we've had here in Australia!! I love races like that!! Here's a few pics from the event!

Early morning train ride....so tired.

The sea of people

Our race numbers were in the 17,000s

What's YOUR Reason?

SOOOOO many people

All the Bennies after the race

Bennies and Johnnies represent!

FINISH LINE

Mid race right after the downhill!

Kaylee and Christine Go to Kindie

On Wednesday, Kaylee and I went to Kindie, better known as Kindergarten in the U.S. We've been trying to figure out a school to go volunteer at all semester and after lots of looking and praying, God blessed us with the greatest opportunity.

One night I was working at Joe's Fish Shack, and I was serving a table with a mom, dad, two young adult male children, and one of their girlfriends. I was chatting with the table, as I often do, and somehow we got on the topic of my educational choices with primary education (elementary education). The mom ended up informing me that she was a school teacher at a local elementary and that she would love to have me come help in her classroom. I was absolutely ELATED! I mentioned that my roommate was also an education major and she said to bring her along as well. She also said that her son goes to Uni (University) at Notre Dame as well, and that she should have us over for dinner some evening. Needless to say I ran home (literally) after work to tell Kaylee the good news. After a little happy dance we figured out the details. We would go to volunteer the following Wednesday.

A few things first. Kaylee has never taken the public bus. This was hilarious to me. I don't have any real public transportation experience either because people are usually driving their lawnmower around town where I'm from (haha, hope you enjoy that one dad!), but I have ridden the bus in Freo a few times. HOWEVER, I did not have a clue where Attadale elementary school was. After not having enough fare for the bus (because my card didn't work) a nice lady helped me out with the needed change -- God bless random acts of kindness!--we were on our way....to where we thought would be a well marked bus stop where we would eventually disembark to go to the school. Surprise, we ended up disembarking at some random neighborhood stop, that surprisingly turned out to be correct! Yes, Kaylee and Christine once again successfully navigated the public transport systems (remember way back in Sydney when we rode the trains...yeah.)

We found the building and were greeted by Renie Allen (aka Mrs. Allen). She teaches the Kindie class the latter half of the week, and there's another woman that teaches the first half of the week. She also has a few assistants in her room. There were so many differences from a regular classroom. First of all, the Kindie was just its own building, entirely separate from a school. Renie told us that kids ages 3, 4, and 5 are all in Kindie together. She started telling us all about this program that she had written to incorporate values into the system, and then showed us a book that she wrote and got published. This woman is a saint, pretty certain.

The kids started to show up, and if you thought that Australian accents were hot, then just wait until you have 20+ little Australian children chattering in their Australian accents. Pretty much the cutest thing ever. "Dahddy I don't want you to go yet. Mum I love you. Mum, come do a puzzle with me." Seriously, I loved these little nuggets. At the start, the parents all stuck around to do puzzles with the kids and after a little bit we had "quiet music" to signal "pack-away" time. Then the kids all gathered on the carpet. Renie does such a magnificent job with the kids. She constantly calls them "gorgeous" and "love", it is amazing to see how much love she pours onto these kids.

So, I know what you're thinking, that's great and all, but anything funny happen? Yes, thanks for asking. So we're in the middle of morning meeting and Renie is introducing Kaylee and I, and all of a sudden she starts going into how she's going to have us over for dinner, and asking if we like roast lamb, and then she asks all her kindie students if they like roast lamb. It was quite humorous. (Yes, Kaylee and I did take her up on the dinner invite to have on her ocean-front property with her sons and their friends). Can't wait. But here is the better story....

It was time to sing the alphabet song. You remember it, don't you? A, B, C, D ♪ WRONG!!!!! Remember how Australians speak differently from Americans? Yeah, they pronounce their letters differently too. Kaylee and I were not off to a strong start in the Kindie room when we mispronounced the very first letter of the alphabet. haha Quite humorous! But, I'd say it's safe to say we redeemed ourselves when we got the final letter right. Instead of calling 'Z' Zee, they call it Zed, and we knew it too!

Renie put Kaylee and I in charge of a station for art and craft time, and after some quick bonding with the kids, Sara, one of the little girls sent us home with her picture. We only stayed for an hour because I had to hurry back for work, but Kaylee and I are super excited to go back soon!!! We seriously cannot wait for next week! Such a great experience.

Sara's drawing for Kaylee and I

In other news....

For my children's literature course we read a book by world-renown author, Morris Gleitzman. On Tuesday night, he came to UNDA to present on campus!!!! I got him to sign my book "Give Peas a Chance"....I was geeking out a little.

Morris Gleitzman, the author

My signed copy!!! "G'day Christine."

As I've been working at the restaurant, I've really been picking up on the Australian lingo. So much, that today in Theology, I was chatting with my friend and instead of saying "How are ya?" I, without hesitation said "How ya goin'?" After immediately covering my mouth with wide eyes I couldn't help but laugh at what had just escaped my mouth. Was I starting to speak Australian without even realizing it? Better watch out America, pretty soon you won't be able to understand what I say when I'm putting shrimp on the barbie and heading down to the shops to hang with my mates. :)

I'll be excited to come home, but sad to leave.

Love and God Bless,
Christine

Margaret River and Other Updates

Well folks, a lot has been happening down under in Australia. I know, you're all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for some pretty great updates, so here they come...

Job Update:

Remember way back when I first got my job?!! Yeah, it was almost a month ago now! Well, when you ask God for something, He sure listens! Not only did I get a job, I've been working close to 20 hours a week! Really great for getting the hours and getting money; however, it's lead to me having to miss out on group activities. Since I don't like missing out on stuff, I'll probably be quitting soon. We also have finals coming up so that's another big factor.

Each day I'm at work I typically get asked about my nationality, and the few tables that don't ask me about it are definitely thinking about asking but are too afraid. Usually it goes like this,

Scenario #1: "Hello, my name is Christine and I'll be one of your servers today."
                   Response: "SERVER? You must be Canadian, eh?"
                   "Ummm....no. But you are close, I'm from MN in the United States."
Scenario #2: "Would you like some water?" (pronounced wAter ...'A' sounds like the 'A' in cAt)
                   Response: "You mean , wAHter?" (pronounced 'AH' like you're opening your mouth at the              dentist)
Scenario #3: They just cut right to the chase with "Where in Canada are ya from?"
Scenario #4: "Oh, you must be (insert nationality here) ..... (so far I've gotten, Welsch, Irish, British, Canadian, and on rare occasions...American)

.....and the list goes on and on, but I think you get the point. Needless to say, not a day goes by that I haven't been drilled about my nationality. I've started to make it a game, and tables have started putting cash bets on it (ok well, not actually cash, but close, they have been betting to see who guesses correctly.)

Another thing about work. I know I mentioned that people don't leave tips in Australia. HOWEVER, I have found that when you use your MN nice, you are able to get tips. Let's just say that people appreciate American style service (aka, you actually check up on the tables to see how they're doing) and they reward my efforts for doing so.

Well, I haven't only been working. I have been managing to have some fun mixed in as well. The other weekend (May 11-13) a large group of us St. Ben's girls went down South to Margaret River. This area of the country is about 3 hours south of Fremantle in Western Australia. It is known for its rad surfing and divine wine country. The area is absolutely gorgeous. Just picture that scene from 'The Parent Trap' (new version) when they are on the dad's vineyard property. Pretty much describes how I felt all weekend!

These are shots from two different vineyards, but there were rows upon rows of grape vines. Such an amazing process. It takes around 4 years to grow established plants that are even capable of producing wine!

 We road tripped down south in 3 cars and Kaylee was once again our faithful driver leading the pact (and I was the handy dandy navigator...mind you we made 0 U-turns while I was in command!)
We ended up staying in a few little Holiday Cottages tucked away in the heart of wine country and we enjoyed that alone time quite a bit in the evenings. It was a nice break to sit back and relax (haha with a little drama mixed in as well!)

On Saturday, the big group went on a wine tour which took us to 3 vineyards, 1 brewery, a cheese tasting, as well as a chocolate tasting, and it finished off the day with a cocktail tasting. Each vineyard had their own style of wines, both red and white, and with a little lesson in wine appreciation, we were well on our way to an enjoyable day after the tasting began. I realized that I am a white wine drinker because they are typically sweeter in taste, and we all know I like my sweets!! The dessert wines were especially tasty! We got to take this bus around all day that drove us from place to place which was extremely convenient, especially for keeping all 20 girls together and on track.

All the wine glasses lined up for our tasting (20 girls)

The woman at this winery was a bit crazy...see below

She told us to listen to the wine, it would "speak" to us...aka it was a fizzy wine that had bubbles haha

We got to have lunch overlooking one of the vineyards....that is Kangaroo meat on the far left!

Kaylee and I split a beer tasting at the brewery. It is amazing to taste all the variations on the brewing of beer. Makes you appreciate the art of brewing a lot more.

CHEEEEEEESE sampling :) (one of my favorite foods!)

At the chocolate factory they had these bowls of chocolate samplings. Needless to say, the Bennies got their pockets full of samples :)

Dad, I almost bought this for you!

Kaylee and I at the Chocolate Co.

This was the guy who was kind of a pain in the caboose because he was really sexist; HOWEVER, he had us taste some mighty fine cocktails!

While we were at the many wineries, us being girls, had to take some time for a few photo shoots. We all dressed extra cute for the occasion, so naturally we had to thoroughly document it.

The next day was Sunday, which meant it was time to head back up to school. We really wanted to see the ocean before we left. Since it had been kind of chilly we had decided not to go to the beach just to lay out, but we really wanted to go at least see it because we had heard that the coastline was absolutely gorgeous. After a few wrong turns, we were driving over the hill and literally were overtaken by the beauty of the breathtaking coastline. Out of nowhere came these amazing views of the ocean. We stopped and all ran out to the water and watched as wave after wave crashed onto the rocky terrain. The tide was moving in, but that didn't stop are young, wild, and free spirits as we climbed out to edge of the rockface. Seriously, these pictures only begin to capture the immense feeling of freedom we felt as the oceanic mist sprayed our faces. One of the most memorable moments of our trip thus far. See for yourself...

Alright, so here's some proof that I was actually there!!!

Contemplating the beauty

Young, Wild, and Free!!!

We made our way back to Fremantle, and after a brief call home, I hit the hay, completely exhausted.

These past few weeks since Margaret River have mostly been filled with work and school. We played a netball game last week in which we achieved our first win!! As Joe Pekarna (a member of our team) said, "The P&O Netball Team (our team)...beating Australians at their own game since 2012." I thought he was awfully clever with that one. We lost our final game tonight; however, we played a great season. Picking up and learning to play a game that we hadn't even heard of before Australia is quite the accomplishment. I am proud to say that I was in charge of planning the team and organising it along with the help of my roommate Kaylee. It was a great effort on everyone's parts and we had quite the dedicated team of players as well as supporters cheering us on week after week.

Well everyone this post is getting lengthy so I think I'll cap it off there for now.  Today Kaylee and I volunteered in a Kindie (aka Kindergarten class) and it was an amazing experience!! I think I will make one more additional post about it though because I know this one is a bit long now.

Look forward to that in the next few hours :)

Love and miss you all!!!
~Christine bean

My Life is a Sitcom

Filled with moments of laughter, tears, stress, and the unexpected, my time in Freo has been a few laughs short of a quality sitcom. I think ABC is going to be picking it up next fall (ahem, autumn for those of you who claim to be Australian J .) However, in all seriousness I think that I am finally starting to experience some culture shock which has been leading to feelings of.....homesickness. I hate to say it, but I am missing home a little at times. I think it is a combination of everyone back home finishing up school and preparing for finals when I am in the middle of my busy semester, and the end of the chaos isn’t quite in sight.

Reasons for my culture shock:

*I am finally starting to realize how difficult it is to find good guys to talk to when you are sick of being around women.

*Australian prices are leading me to a diet of ramen and other various pasta assortments.

*I have lots of homework, and by homework I mean papers, and by papers I mean 3000 word long papers.

*Although not entirely required, the dress code for going out is typically skirts, and I am ready to return to my St. Joe fashion of skinny jeans, boots, and a t-shirt. Enough of this dressing up business.

* I would really like to walk down the street without getting called at.

*I miss being able to call my family without having to use Skype’s phone services, and then praying that it goes through....oy to dropped calls.

*Finally, sometimes you just need a hug and you want it to be from your mom.

*A “house” that is falling to shambles, literally

About the P&O...one day we awoke to find that one of the toilets in the girl’s bathroom had actually fallen off the wall! This led to some flooding in the bathroom which led to some leaking of the floor, aka the ceiling in our kitchen downstairs. The leakage led to big chunks of the sheetrock falling down which led to the closure of the kitchen. PLUS all the rain has led to some minor flooding of a few of our walkways, and now some nasty smells that are coming in turn because of that. I am starting to feel like Australia may have a few tricks of nature up its sleeve. The weather lately has not quite been what I expected, and I am starting to sense the need to invest in some more long sleeved shirts because it gets a tad chilly in the evenings.

The fallen sheetrock

The chunk of the ceiling that fell....the whole is much larger now because they had to remove it for safety reasons

I wasn't kidding when I said we walked in and it had just fallen off the wall...possibly rusty screws finally gave way

But, despite the feelings of homesickness, I have to say that this week has been filled with many wonderful things. We got to participate in the local Anzac Day festivities this past Wednesday. This included waking up at 4:15 AM to be at a 5:30 AM Dawn Service; the whole thing reminded me a lot of our Memorial Day or Flag Day...maybe even the Fourth of July. It all seemed a bit strange though to be standing and partaking in a celebration for a country that is not technically “yours.” But, as strange as it sounds I am starting to feel like I am a part of this country. I am starting to use Australian phrases and words such as “cheers” and “mate” without feeling too much like a poser.

Dawn Service at the Memorial

Australian Flag

 Anzac Day also proved to be quite the extravagant holiday in terms of restaurant business as well. Joe’s Fish Shack was hoppin’ with business, and yours truly was bussing tables and serving food. That’s right; yours truly got her a job (finally!!!) at Joe’s Fish Shack. It is only a short walk from the P&O, and I have been enjoying the past three shifts I have worked there. I have been learning a lot of differences between the Australian and American restaurant styles now that I have been working in them.

This is where I work!! It's right on the harbour and the back of the restaurant opens up on to the water!

Some of the differences....

*The pace is generally a lot slower, probably because

*You don’t tip so there is really no need to provide “great” service, but I still try to

*When hustling to a table, you pass the oncoming foot traffic on the left, not the right side...it’s harder than it sounds to remember

*Learn your types of fish (Mackerel, Snapper, Salmon, and Barramundi)

*Silverware goes on the left side of the place setting

*Everyone goes to the table to provide service....kitchen runners for food, the wait staff, the hostesses, bar tenders, just everyone!!

There are just a lot of differences.

To celebrate, well I’m not entirely certain, but just for fun I suppose, The Orient had a mechanical bull on Thursday night. So naturally, a huge crew of us P&O folk went down to support the local economy and take a spin or two or three (in my case) on the mechanical bull. They had it set up in the back room, and everyone was taking a turn on the crazy thing. I had a few tries at it, and each time built up my time. The first ride was around 60 seconds, the second was around 100, and then the third time I was trying to go for the record. Well, low and behold, I got it! With a ride time of 140 seconds, you can now proudly say that you are friends with the Mechanical Bull Riding Champion of Fremantle, Western Australia! (Oh the crazy titles a person will give themself just to sound a tad cooler.) ;)

The Champion for the night!

Mechanical Bull riding

Part of our study abroad group out at bull riding!

Our Anzac Day marine!!

 That night, we also learned a little more about the culture of Australia. We have been noticing that there are not a lot of moments when we hear country music. Typically Australia has its own genre of music, and then they play the other random popular music from the states, but you never really hear much country music. The local talent was taking suggestions, so naturally we suggested “Sweet Home Alabama.” The man looked at us for a VERY long time, and finally explained that he’d have to do some thorough searching to find it. He eventually located the tune, and played it for us, but I thought it was so ironic how he almost refused to play it for us. We also requested that he play “Piano Man” at bar close in true Bennie/Johnnie style. I rounded up the locals and explained how in the states we get in a circle and the guys drop their pants (ONLY THEIR PANTS - NOT THEIR BOXERS.) Apparently that was a misunderstanding because the guy next to me dropped his pants (mind you he was around 60) and then some young kid dropped his, and fell to the ground as his friend pantsed his boxers as well. He managed to cover himself a little, but it was definitely an embarrassing moment for everyone at the bar!! I think it’s obvious that Australians don’t quite understand our Minnesotan waysJ.

This past Saturday a small group drove to Serpentine Falls National Park, where we got to go on this beautiful (and steep) hike. There is so much beauty that lies within the heart of Australia that I have been missing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Freo, but sometimes there is so much to be offered if you put yourself in situations that branch out of the familiarity of Freo. There was a really beautiful waterfall that fed into a spring pool. It had a really strange scent, but I think that just had to do with the time of year. Joe, Brenna, Kelsey, Sydney, Amanda G., Amanda W., Greg, Janelle, and I all enjoyed a nice cookout in true Australian style, making (no, not sausages for a sausage sizzle), but burgers and all the fixins’. We were joined by a few wild kangaroos as well! Yes, these kangaroos were so tame that they came right up to us and ate these big carrots that we had for them. I even put a carrot in my mouth and the little Joey was nibbling off the other end! It was so cool to see these kangaroos that were in the wild, definitely a lot less tame than the ones from Caversham Wildlife Park, but much more tame then the ones in the outback. They would just bound away using their tails and feet, and with such ease just move around. I was so impressed by them. I probably could have stayed there and looked at these iconic creatures all day. Proof, yet again, that I am still American, and am still impressed by these Australian creatures.

The fall at Serpentine Falls where a few of the girls went for a chilly swim...I was not so brave.

Also, as I complete this entry I have to say that I am being lulled to sleep (NOT) by the torrential downpours that have been occurring outside my window for the past few days. When it rains, it pours....and that is the honest to God truth!

That’s all for now, but I hope I can get through this marathon called a week!!! Wish me luck!