People, Places and Photographs

The town that I will be living in while I'm in Australia is Naracoorte. That's Nar-a-court. There are about 5,000 people living in the town of Naracoorte, the elevation is roughly 63 meters(190 feet). That is NOTHING compared to the ~2,200 meters (6,500 feet) of my home town. And there are roughly 500 kids at my school. That's years 8 through 12. There were 1,500 kids at my old high school and that was only years 9 through 12. I am currently living in a tiny town just outside of Naracoorte. It's called Kybybolite (ky-be-bo-light) or Kyby (ky-be) for short. It's two shacks and a footy oval. Or a couple houses (enough for 50 people) and a footy oval that HAS it's own footy team. Impressive, I know :) This first photo is of my first Host family's (the Bartoseks) house in Kybybolite. The window to the right is my bedroom.

This is a picture of Nicola and Marilyn on the Glenelg Pier in Adelaide. Nicola is my 14 year old host sister and Marilyn is my host mum. Nicola is applying for the short term exchange to New Zealand.

This is Claudia and I blowing bubbles with the chewy (gum) that my mom sent me from America. Claudia is my 10 year old host sister. I love having a little sister. It's amazing!!!!

This Fran feeding a wallaby. She is my 17 year old host sister (I'm the middle child for once in my life!!!! haha). She went on exchange to Germany last year.

This is a photo of my second host family's (the Evans's) house, they live in Naracoorte. I will move into this house at the start of December. They are the family that I went to Sydney with when I first got to Australia in July.

This is Karen in front of a cake shop in St. Kilda in Melbourne. She is my second Host mom.

This is a photo of Andrew and Lea on Manly Beach in Sydney. Andrew will be my second Host dad and Lea (19) is a veteran exchange student. She came to Australia from Germany two years ago and was coming back to visit the Evans's. This is Jacqulyn (20) and I on the Mordiallic Pier in Melbourne. She is my second host sister, she lives in Melbourne and is training to be a chef. She is also an ex-exchange student. In 2006, she went to Poland for a year. This is Duncan in the hotel we stayed at when we were in Sydney. He is 18 and and will be my host brother in December. He too went on exchange although it was only a three month exchange to New Zealand (the same one Nicola is applying to go on next year).

This is the big red bus that we took all the way to Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and back. It's roomie but somehow we managed to fill it up with crap. hahaha :)

This is a photo of my high school here in Australia. I thought it looked like a prision when I first saw it. Ironic isn't it?? :) It is called Naracoorte High School.

This is the creek that runs through Naracoorte. There is a path all the way along it. It's called the Creek Walk. It was put in by my hosting Rotary club. That first tree is a gum tree.

This is the main street of Naracoorte. I don't like the look of my town. I hate the overhanging things they have to provide shade. I guess that's because I come from such a beautiful place. But I love the Australian countryside. It's beautiful.

This is a post box. You can receive mail in a mail box at your house but you can't send mail out from it. You have to walk down the street to the nearest one of these. Everything to do with the Australian post office is bright red, so they aren't hard to miss :) This is a gum tree. They are all over the place in Australia. Their branches fall of in the spring and summer months.

This is kangaroo sign. They are placed along the highways to warn drivers of kangaroo crossings. It is in front of Mount Arrapilies near Horsham.

This is a paddock (field) on the outskirts of Kyby. There are lots of sheep here in Australia. I don't think I've ever seen so many bloody sheep in all my life :)

This is a mosaic on the back of a building near the Naracoorte Swimming Lake. The swimming lake is a giant version of an Australian outdoor swimming pool. It is only filled up in the summer months.

This is the church on the hill. I walk past it most times I go to the Evans house but it depends on which route I take. I was very suprised today when I went around taking all these photos of Naracoorte. I actually know my way around fairly well. I was very impressed.

This is a sign post near the swimming lake. They actually do that thing where the name of the place points in the direction it is at. I was very amused by this. Cause when there is a lot of places to go from that point, there are about a zillion signs on one post. It's quite amusing.