I think the birds say it all - big, bold, brash and beautiful. That's Australia (and Australians!). I mean that in the best of ways.

I'm still loving it here! Never mind that a group of those pink and gray parrots (see photo in earlier blog - they are about the size of wood pigeons) come to sit in the sun at about 5:30am on my window ledge, and their noisy chatter wakes me up. There are other gorgeous parrots as well - a brilliant red and deep blue one, and a red, yellow and green one - but they are not as common as my freindly pink and grey ones. There are crows whose call is a slow "aa...uh oh". Cockatoos are really raucous, as are the magpies, who are not as pretty but much bigger than the ones in the UK.

Today I had some free time and walked about a mile to a lake, along a path lined with enormous gum trees (eucalyptus). I was familiar with these trees from my time in the mountains of Peru, where they have been planted as a source of fast-growing wood. There are so many different varieties here. One kind is just as pictured - almost entirely silver!

Still having great conversations with both students and staffworkers. I'm enjoying it so much - am I really getting paid to do this?!