sharky waters

Main Beach Byron Bay at sunset
I am still alive (in case you were curious). I am busy trying to keep my head above water and avoiding being buried by school work. Once the torture of creating websites and student workbooks is over (three more weeks), I can relax and start my student teaching (well, maybe that will be a bit more torture in itself, yikes). I will be teaching a stones throw from my house in Byron bay (which will help me contribute to saving the environment, which I have single handedly destroyed by driving an hour in each direction to school this semester). The school is similar to the Waldorf schools in California (they call it a Steiner school) and I am looking forward to the experience. I am hoping that this round of teaching is less like a boxing ring than the last school. I don't think that any desks or swear words will be thrown at me this semester, but I'll get back to you on that one. The weather is getting warmer and people are beginning to come out of hibernation for the long awaited summer (this also means its getting crowded). Since I am solar powered, this has been an advantage for me (except for the fact that it lowers my desire and patience to sit inside a classroom on a computer). I have been running salt water through my veins on a regular basis, and a little bit of adrenaline as well. Sharks are becoming a frequent occurence in the water this last month, but I still can't get used to them. Today, while fishing with mom and dad, a 3 foot shark mozied on up to the boat to check out what was going on. He gave the boat a little nudge with his ferocious teeth and hung out for a while. I fed him a bit and he was happy. I made sure that he got a good look at me, so that when he is 8 feet long, and swimming alongside me, he will remember. Hopefully he will tell his friends too. Becky is not food! oh wait...i fed him, so now he associates me with food....Great! Other than that, life is good and I hope it is the same for all of you. I have a summer break coming up, you are welcome to come visit:) Until then, take care of yourselves and have wonderful days!

Triathlon

Although these photos have nothing to do with my triathlon, I think that lifting this little guy has given me some of the strength training necessary to give me that extra edge. When conditioning, it is important to be able to laugh. Making a baby laugh, while holding them and snapping a photo, takes that conditioning to a whole different level.

Half way through the triathlon (if you look to the right of my head, you are looking at where I live. Just a short path from that beach). I'm just living the dream:)
Acacia is really excited in this picture because she has just spotted a whale.

I am off and running again. Well, except for this annoying cold that hit me like a Mac truck last night. But I refuse to let it stop me. I have settled into a new home in Byron bay with 3 wonderful boys, a new bed, a new bike (at a bargain price of $20) and a trail leading to the beach (which I can proudly walk by myself even though my eyes are constantly on the lookout for snakes). What else could I ask for. I have already jumped into the thick of things in the school portion of my life, but have decided that it will not keep me from my sanity. So, I am literally up and running again. I have devised a scheme in which I can be a focused student as well as getting back into my triathlon training (not your traditional triathlon, but it does involve trails, biking and my most favorite thing of all, the ocean). This won't be difficult due to the fact that the boys I live with are even more active than I am. I know this is hard for some of you to believe, but it's true. Although, I am attempting to keep up to some extent. So...yesterday, Acacia and I took our bikes, rode to the trailhead (not like the trails in California, but it will have to do), hiked to the lighthouse, rode home, went longboarding (I have finally gotten over my fear of them) and then hiked in to a little secret spot to shortboard. Being the adventurist that I am, I tried to pull the stunt that whatever the boys can do, I can do. Bad move, but I got a laugh out of it. My roommate, jumped off the rocks onto his board and did some fancy trick. So, I followed him, not realizing that the water was only a couple of feet deep. Nice one Beck. Landing on my knee in the sand felt amazing, but I quickly bit my lip and started paddling out. One of my finer moments, no doubt. I forget that I am no longer ten years old and invincible. Well, live and learn. I hope you are all happy and healthy! Much Love, Beck.

Safe and Sound

Just a note to let you all know that I have arrived back in Coffs Harbour relatively unscathed (except that my body no longer wants to be in a seated position, it wants to be in a straight line/horizontal and in a proper bed).

My flight from San Francisco to Sydney was delayed 24 hours due to an engineer strike. I have learned to find the humour in these types of situations and to remember to just go with the flow. Plus, it takes a few bad flights and delays to apreciate the really great flights. In February, on my flight to Australia, I was running to the restroom every couple of minutes to be sick (for 13 hours). On my flight home, I scored three seats and lots of sleep. Two very contrasting experiences. This flight was uneventful except for the 24 hour delay part. And the interesting people watching. People do crazy things when things don't go their way. One woman even yelled at the flight attendants and complained about waiting for 24 hours(which everyone else on the flight did as well) and not getting the exit row seat she wanted. I guess you can learn a lot from people like that. I wonder what my next flight will be like:)


And just one more thing....just so all of you who are enjoying the warm summer weather know...it is really cold here!! BRRRRRRRRRR........ So enjoy it and take care of yourselves.
Lots of love, Becky

What I did on my summer vacation

I can't believe how quickly the time passes.  I still feel a bit jet lagged and I am already starting to pack for my return to Australia.  It is a strange feeling to only be a visitor here.  I have had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends whom I have missed so much.  Here are some fun pictures of my dad's birthday party yesterday.  

Grace loves the baby bjorn backpack.  And I sure adore Grace.

Nothing says summer like a dip in the pool with G'pa.  Harry's 8th pool session of the day.  He learned to swim this last week and has now grown gills.   

Everyone taking a break after swimming with Harry.

Jennie was on duty for the next swim session.

Harry after eating a Haagen Daz ice cream bar.  Need I say more.

Even Grace is a bit tired from all of Harry's swimming. 

Grace is laughing at how old her G'pa is. 

Haagen Daz bars, the secret behind the fastest swimmers.

Yes, he did just learn how to swim last week.  I told you he is part fish.  Or dolphin.

Not only has Harry grown gills, but he has become the world's strongest 4 year old.  He can even carry his own mother.

He still has time to stop swimming and give his baby sister a little love.

No summer is complete without building at least one fort.

the countdown begins

One more week. 5 more days of student teaching, a 3000 word research paper and then I will be home free (until next semester). AND THEN....... I am visiting my beautiful hometown and all of my amazing friends and family! I have missed you all soooooo much, you don't even understand. I will be in San Diego from the 24th of June until the 13th of July. If you want to find me, I will be the girl parked on the beach with an umbrella, a smashball set, my board, lots of sunscreen and a bean burrito. Rain or shine, that is where I want to be (well unless I go hiking and when it gets dark). I look forward to seeing all your wonderful faces. Hope you are all well and happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My life as a student teacher

This is the view I see every day when I go to student teach. This was taken from the parking lot. The view is even better from the PE staff room!

Coffs Harbour High School was built in the 30's(i think).

This is what I did from 9am until 2pm this past Friday. My entire day was spent at the International Sport Complex in this spot, making sure the sand was level and measuring the long jumps(and doing a bit of cheering for my students). We were isolated from all the other events, but I managed to keep myself entertained by taking some photos and doing some gardening. Gail (the lady on the left) kept herself busy by recording the scores and talking about when the next break was (check out her hat! she's representing San Diego). The reason we were here, was for the school's track and field competition. The whole school gets to miss a day of classes to come out and qualify for an even larger competition at the end of the month. That's the thing about Australia. All the sporting events are held within school time. So, if you play a variety of sports and belong to clubs, you rarely attend classes. Bizarre. This also means that the classes I am supposed to teach are cancelled. I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing. All I know is that I enjoyed soaking up the sunshine!

Here are some of my students in action.

This is a portion of the girls soccer team that I am coaching. They are the nicest group of girls. I think one of the best perks of teaching is coaching. I get to live vicariously through them. Last week, since the 11th graders were using the sport hall and it was raining, we took three 9th grade classes bowling. They needed an extra player, so I jumped right in. These are the things that make me love teaching. If only there were sporting events every day!

It's clouds illusions that I recall

Pics taken while driving home from school (no, I wasn't the driver). I love clouds, they make a beautiful day even more spectacular.
Each afternoon, I am saved by the bell. Exhausted after a long day of student teaching, I slowly make my way up the highway towards home sweet home. As the endless rows of trees alongside the road send me into another world of thought, I lose track of the drive and make it home wondering how I got there. Scary, I know. Today was one of those days. My day consisted of coaching our school's girl's soccer team (which we won!), having my supervisor come and observe one of my classes (of course he had to watch the class that climbs up the walls like a bunch of ferrell monkeys-no joke), crying after class in front of the supervisor (one of my finer moments), and taking 40 students bowling (probably the best part of the day). This was one of the easiest days I've had during this student teaching, but nonetheless, I am still left exhausted after the long day. Today, instead of driving home, working on lesson plans and writing papers, I drove down to the beach. As I made my way to the beach, I was baffled by how surreal the skyline looked. Clouds of all forms and colors clustered and spread as far as the eye could see. Amazing. I parked my car (which of course I bottomed out, lovely) and started to walk onto the beach. I felt like I was in a painting. I was the only person on the beach (which is more like a large cove). The water was empty, yet glowed a color similar to a swimming pool. The backdrop of trees silently stood without a hint of movement. Two birds harmoniously dove into the water. Time stood still. As my feet hit the water I felt renewed. There wasn't any difference in temperature between the water and the air. That luke warm feel, that almost feels of nothing. And even though the sun was setting to the west(inland), the colors were seaping through the clouds over the ocean. The clouds created an illusion that reminded me of the Joni Mitchell song that goes, "i've looked at clouds from both sides now...but it's cloud's illusions that i recall". Anyways, the moral amongst this endless novel is that..... no matter how exhausted you are, remember to take time for yourself and be renewed (or smell the flowers).