Mud + Push bikes + Teenaged kids = Memories. :)

Setting the yabby traps. :)

Outback adventures!

For the past few days we spent in Nymagee, NSW. Nymagee is a little shanty town out in the middle of nowhere. It was so different to Gilgandra. There was lots of red dust, lots of animals. We saw many different wild animals like goats, sheep, kangaroos, emus, deer, lizards, and yabbies. On Tuesday we went yabbying for a couple hours. Yabbies are like out crawfish. We went out to a damn and set our traps with using rabbit and kangaroo meat as bait. We spent about four hours there and had a picnic and the boys and I went out exploring. It was really cool, took lots of photos and we caught about eighty yabbies. We kept them and ate them the next day for lunch. And another fun thing we did was go exploring on the push bikes. Nymagee is like a ghost town, it used to be bigger and more people but now there are deserted houses and rundown buildings that are really cool to look in. Nymagee is a town of twentyfive people. There was a pub there and thats about it. It rained hard there on Wednesday so the boys and I went mudding and we came back absolutely soaked and full of dust and we were just filthy! It was so much fun! And well yeah the outback life is definately different, but it was a good experiance. Also I got like two feet away from a wild kangaroo that was trying to hop the fence and I was on the pushbike, it was amazing. So over all my holidays have been good so far. This past weekend I had the Rotary weekend and it was great. :)
So still loving life. Enjoying holiday break. Looking forward to go see koalas Monday.
Life is good. :)
Ill write soon!
Love:Bailee
xx

Turtle. :) On our way home from the outback of New South Wales.

Australia continued.. :)

Well gee, havent wrote for a while. Sorry! Been real busy. :) So last week was the Big Exo Day. It was SO MUCH FUN! Exo day is a huge Christian concert in Sydney. A bunch of kids from school went, we took two big buses. Six hours both ways worth of driving, but it was totally worth it. There was lots of different music spots, a skatepark thing, rides, tons of food, little shops. a big stage for the concert, and tents set up with djs and tons of crazy dancing people. It was great! We ended up getting home at five in the morning on Sunday, everyone was sleep deprived but it was absolutely worth it.
So then school has been real good, still enjoying it alot. :) Its been good. And actually the other day I got a letter home from the school saying that I got some maths award for doing well and trying. So thats a plus! Hoping all these classes Im taking will transfer over.
Were now on holiday break for two weeks. :) For school here we go to school for ten weeks at a time with a two week break. Its real nice.
So on Friday I had to leave school a bit early to drive to Dubbo, and from Dubbo me and two other exchange students rode with Rotarians to Tocal... five hours away about. The drive was heaps fun actually, ate tons of Belgium candy till we were sick. Haha. Friday night Annick, Karolina, and I stayed in our own motel room and stayed up way later than we should have. That night was so fun, my abbs hurt so bad from laughing too much. Definately memories I will remember.
Then in the morning we had to wake up super early have tea and then go to the Tocal college where the Rotary weekend was being held. We each got our own dorm rooms which was pretty cool. My Rotary jacket is getting really full! Its awesome! It weighs like eight pounds!
So yeah we met all the outbounds which was nice, and we hung out and had briefing and more stuff like that to help prepare the outbounds and then we played a fun game of footie, and after dinner we had an Aussie Bush Dance. Haha its almost like square dancing with a partner. Everyone had a blast we were all exhausted after that was over. And then Annick and I were getting ready for bed and I locked my key in my room. :/ Haha, so we had to walk around for like a half hour in the dark looking for some one to open it. We got that all solved thank god! Then Sunday we had more briefing and hanging out with students and then the weekend was over, no one wanted it to end. We are all like a family. :) A Rotary family. :) So then I had another five hours back to Dubbo and then an hour from Dubbo to Gilgandra.
Since its holidays were going to the outback tomorrow! :) I cant wait! Go along on some rooing, and yabbying, and go on the pushbikes see the outback, explore, visit family, take a million more photos. :) Cant wait. Then we will get home on Thursday. Will let you know how the outback goes!
Will write again soon.
Bailee Jo
xx

P.s. Ive been here for just over a month and Ive already taken over 2000 photos! Thats crazy! But yeah having a wonderful time, love it here so much, love my family here, love my friends here, love my town. Couldnt ask for anything more! :) Thanks so much Rotary!

Its official... one month. :)

This past month Ive had the time of my life. I absolutely love it here and its just been so great. Best month of my life Id reckon. :) Its great.
Last weekend had my first Australian bonfire with family friends at our place. It was a good time, we had sausages, and potato bake, and I introduced the family to smores. These are the smores that travel thousands of miles with me to Australia. Haha. But they all liked them alot.
I absolutely love the style of clothes here and so yesterday Stevie, Annick, and my host mum went shopping in Dubbo. It was alot of fun. I bought alot of stuff and my mom would be proud of me I got most of the clothes on sale. Haha. But yeah I really like the clothes. :) Tuesday I had my presentation in Narromine, it lasted about fifteen minutes and I think the Rotarians liked it. I just have a few minor changes to make to the presentation. But anyways school is going good, Im still enjoying it. Everyone is really nice and I think Im getting more comfortable around school friends and more of my personality is showing, which is a good thing. The other day in cooking class my teacher got real mad at me cause i was holding my fork wrong while we were eating the pizza we made. Haha that was embarassing, but kinda just didnt pay too much attention to it. I realized how Americans barely ever use knives, and here they use them with every meal. So Im slowly trying to get used to that. Tonight there is a dance at school so Im pretty excited for that. And on Saturday Im going to The Big Exo Day in Sydney, its like a big concert thing thats all day and we go to hang out and listen to christian music and such. Very keen for that. :) I went to the gym monday and Im still sore from it! I went with Stevie and Jess and we did this big boxing circuit workout which actually was quite fun! I was up late last night editing my drama movie with Brenton, I think everyone liked it so thats a plus. :) Well thats just an update on life in Australia. Enjoying it alot.
Never coming home. :P
So thats all! Will write soon!
Love you all. <3
xx

Rotary exchange student friends!

Aussie Brothers. :)

Time is flying by!

Ive been in Australia for about two and a half weeks now. :) Still all is well, Im having a blast. School is well ya know, school. On Tuesday we had softball for gym and that was a lot of fun, the school is actually starting up a softball team cause im there. Ill be their pitcher. :) Ive been pretty excited about that. Last weekend was the Rotary weeked in Newcastle, that was good too. We went on a yacht and went through and adventure park where we went on ziplines and stuff. :) It was great. But what is weird is that last weekend i got homesick a little for the first time. Not homesick for america, but homesick for gilgandra and the gardiners. <3 Thats the only homesickness ive had so far. Also last weekend i had to do a speech, it was a three minute speech and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. It was in front of Rotarians and host families. On our way back from Newcastle, which was like a 5 hour drive we stopped in Singleton to get a bit to eat and they wanted to show me the park. At the park I saw TONS of bats in the trees! They were so gross and all just hanging up in the trees. :/ I was running back to the car fast cause i didnt want to get pooped on and Brenton trips me! I went down hard, they were laughing their butts off. Haha. And then i had bat crap all over my arm! It was so gross! :/ But now its pretty funny to think of. Wednesday we left school a little early ( I got to skip lawnbowls! :) Haha ) and we went shopping in Dubbo. That was good. And Ive still been running every week night. Sometimes I do abb workouts, and Vikki just laughs at me. Friday night i helped out at the Grease play that Gilgandra community put on. The play was really good. And today i woke up and showered, had Stevie over last night, but anyways got a call from Annick and her host parents. Shes from Belgium. They asked if i wanted to come on a picnic and see kangaroos, cows, sheep, lizards, etc. :) It was alot of fun. Now Im really tired and have a big maths assignment to do. :/ Well thats all that happened this week! Cant believe ive already only been here for two weeks. Time is going by way too fast! But Im definately enjoying every second of it.
Will write soon! :)
Love:Bailee
xxx