Australia Day, also known as Foundation Day and Invasion Day, is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated on the 26th of January each year, it marks the arrival of the first British fleet in 1788. It’s a bit controversial to celebrate what was a brutal beginning in the history books. Sadly, the story is similar to the way newcomers [...]
Author Archives: jennifer
Winner in the Global eBook Awards Contest!
An American in Oz – Discovering the Island Continent of AUSTRALIA won first place in Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards Contest Action/Adventure Non-Fiction category! Thanks to everyone who voted, commented, and sent good vibes on the contest page. Click here to read more. Post comments here.
Aussie Podcasts
First and foremost, what is a podcast? There are many different kinds of podcasts, and for the purpose of this blog, I’ll describe the one mentioned below. A podcast is a digital audio recording of a radio interview that can be downloaded onto an iPod or mp3 player, saved indefinitely, and listened to anywhere at any time of day as [...]
School of the Air
Education is the path to living a joyful, prosperous, healthy, and peaceful life. It also played a leading role in the life of my grandfather, Meredith G. Williams Sr. He was an educator and high school principal. Today, there’s a middle school named after him in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. When I learned about Australia’s “School of the Air,” [...]
Oz Book Nominated for Global eBook Award!
An American in Oz – Discovering the Island Continent of AUSTRALIA has been nominated for a Global eBook Award in the “Action/Adventure Non-Fiction” category!! To vote, comment, connect to Facebook, Tweet, or simply visit the official website, click here. I really appreciate your support. Winners will be announced in August! Stay tuned….
Snorkeler Left Behind
An American visiting Oz, Ian Cole, was snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef last Saturday when he was left behind by tour boat operators. The crew either forgot to take the all-important head count, or they counted wrong, and they left without him. When I was planning to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, I knew it was going [...]
Texas vs. Australia
Populations tell a lot about a place. How many live in a specific area gives us an idea how easy and pleasant it is to live there. Looking at Australia’s population compared to the population of Texas puts the outback into perspective. Here’s how: Australia is a continent nearly the same size as the continental [...]
Coach Captains
In Australia, the term “Coach Captain” has nothing to do with sports and everything to do with tourism. A coach captain is a tour bus driver, and the post garners a great amount of respect. The coach captain’s uniform includes stripes on the shoulders, and the best tour operators know the value of a good captain. Here’s an article if you’d [...]
A Talk with Dr. Doolittle
Dr. Doolittle’s pushmi-pullyu was among the many stuffed animals I kept piled in a corner of my room when I was a child. This two-headed gentle and friendly creature was one of my favorites. Maybe it’s time to add it back into my collection, thanks to the Internet where anything and everything can be found. In September 2010, while [...]
Rotary in the Outback
While driving through the Northern Territory in the “Red Center” of Australia, I stayed in Alice Springs for three days. It’s a place made famous by the book A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (1950), but there are other reasons it’s getting noticed these days. Rotary International holds an annual event that is one-of-a-kind. Aussies have a great [...]
