The Weather Down South. No, I mean that literally.

G'day, Beloveds:

Let's talk about weather. This morning it's raining on Phillip Island. This is only the second time since we arrived that it's actually rained. There has been precipitation, but it's largely been of the drizzly, damp, foggy kind. The funny thing is that although it's raining right now, I have no reason to believe that it won't be sunny and (relatively) warm later on today. I also can't promise it won't rain the whole damn day. Oh, well.

That's been the pattern for us here throughout Victoria. You should be prepared for every kind of weather when you head out in the morning. That means your gear should include a raincoat and/or umbrella, sun hat and perhaps sunscreen, and a coat over a lightweight shirt so you can adapt to the temperature ranges.

We covered a lot of kilometers Friday. We visited the Koala Sanctuary, the town of Cowes, the Nobbies, and Pyramid Rock. Bigger pictures of these attractions are on the Grove Street site, but I've included a few samples.

Lesley, April & I talked a lot about education yesterday, which is logical because that's what Lesley does. I assumed there were vast differences between the US educational system and the Australian, and there are. A couple of things that struck me. First, a trivial difference: The most common foreign languages taught in schools in this area are Indonesian and Japanese. I don't know why I assumed that a Commonwealth country would maintain the same ties to Europe that the UK, but it makes sense to learn the languages you're most likely to use. In the Yew Ess, we mostly learn Spanish and French, with some goobers like me learning German and some even more goober-ish goobers learning other languages.

Also, there is somewhat less emphasis in Australian schools on extra-curricular activities like sports, theater, debate, chess club, etc. than in the US. Those are pretty much left to the parents to arrange, while the schools just deal with education. Although my first instinct is to applaud the focus on education, Lesley makes a good observation that, done well, those extracurricular activities give kids the opportunity to learn and use special skills, socialize with others, and all in the context of a communal project.

Anyway, you don't want to read the opinions of someone with no experience or training in education. I'm sure my opinions would change if I had an investment in the educational process.

Today, we are headed out to Churchill Island for a visit, then preparing some Louisiana-style food, and watching the fairy penguins waddle up to their burrows after a long day hunting.

Tomorrow, up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight to Cairns, in Far North Queensland.