About this Page:
Aside from my standard characters, I am delighted to say that everything on this page was illustrated by myself. If you’ve been reading from the start, you can probably tell that I have a thing for Australia. I refer to it a lot with my students because it shares so many cultural patterns with the U.S., but is different enough in physical geography that makes it super interesting. U.S. history and Australian history have a multitude of parallels. We both have similar early colonization stories, a not-so-kind history with our indigenous, problematic immigration issues, racism, a diverse population, a transitioned economy, and a civil rights movement that is still evolving today. Though we may not have gone through each of these phases at exactly the same time, we can see how a British colonial history played out on a different stage, in the opposite corner of the world.
Here is the image of Ayer’s Rock that I used for reference. It is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I’ve yet to see. The sun rising over the rock in the morning desert is a geographer’s (or a geography teacher’s) dream come true. If you are ever in need of a romantic expedition, a walk around the base of Ayer’s with your loved one is the absolute best. It doesn’t get much better than that.
