“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping”. Bo Derek

It never ceases to amaze me, the generosity and hospitality we are receiving from our American counterparts. Not only are they letting us into their homes, cooking us meals, providing us with comfy beds and giving us an insight into their lifestyles but we are also enjoying the chance to just sit down and chat (the boys are actually getting better at the latter).  It’s interesting to learn that not everything we see on American sitcoms is 100% factual – it seems that Happy Days was not as a true to life as I thought.

Today, after a great night with our homestays, we returned to La Conner High School to spend a little bit of extra time with our American buddies. The students had the chance to go to first period with their homestay friends, and the aim was for them to get another taste of life in an American school. Änd a taste they got. Emmason learnt how to say her name in Spanish, AJ, Oli and Oscar read a book in English, Oscar fell asleep in English (possibly because of the book) and Emma watched the Grinch in sign language. Even Ciaran was out enjoying the lessons, he had PE with Coach Novak and his Grade 6 class – although I’m not quite so sure the class enjoyed it as much as Ciaran did. It seems Coach Novak thought Dodgeball would be a good inter-cultural lesson, but I don’t think he was aware of Ciaran’s white line fever. It was Ciaran, Joel Duncan, Kayleigh, Ellen and two ring ins against Grade 6 PE. With a glint in his eyes, Ciaran “take no prisoners” Buckley was primed and ready from the start. Grade 6 knew they were in trouble when the whistle started and Ciaran “in for the kill” Buckley tried to divert their attention and get a head start on the run in to grab the ball – it worked. Ciaran “no mercy” Buckley eyed off a gentle, kind-hearted lass who stood there and watched as he threw the ball up in the air, the lass stood there casting her eyes upward as she watched the ball, and as she did, Ciaran “win at all costs” Buckley pelted her with the second ball he had hidden behind his back. Well played Ciaran, well played. We left shortly after this. 😊

With everyone feeling a little tired from the busy schedule, there’s nothing better than a bit of retail therapy to clear the mind. So, after 5 hours at the Seattle Premium Outlets, there were a lot of refreshed minds (and slightly lighter bank balances). With the words of “pace yourself and “only buy it if you love it” ringing in their ears, they bolted out of the gates. Five hours later they returned, bedraggled, tired, but delirious with their bags of purchases. Early front runners for shoppers-anon are Emmason Ilsley and Matt Black, special mention to Emmason for bruising her wrist from carrying all her purchases – however, in true Titans spirit though she managed to push through the shopping pain.

With the bus loaded with purchases, we headed into Seattle. Seattle is surrounded by water, mountains and evergreen forests, and contains thousands of acres of parkland. Washington State’s largest city, it’s home to a large tech industry, with Microsoft and Amazon headquartered in its metropolitan area. The futuristic Space Needle, a 1962 World’s Fair legacy, is its most iconic landmark. According to U.S. Census data released in 2018, the Seattle metropolitan area’s population stands at 3.94 million, and ranks as the 15th largest in the United States.

Fun Facts:

• Seattle is the birthplace of Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain
• The bridge that connects Seattle and Medina across Lake Washington is the world’s longest floating bridge
• The land that is now the city of Seattle has been inhabited for at least 4000 years.
• Seattle is home to the world’s first gas station, opened on East Marginal Way in 1907.
• People in Seattle buy the most sunglasses per capita than any other US city.
• Seattle was the first city to have police on bicycles.

Varsity Girls:

There was no rest for the girls tonight as they took on Jackson High School. Built in 1994, Henry M Jackson High School is the district’s newest high school, located in the fastest growing region of the school district, Approximately 2500 Timberwolves in Grades 9-12 attend Henry M Jackson High School.

With the boys having a night off they were put to good use as the guard of honour for the girls on-court entrance. With the lads seated back in the stands with the job of our cheerleaders, the girls got to work on the court. Sarah got us on the board putting the first 6 points on the board. Emilia was working hard under the basket with dogged support from Emily. The girls fought hard to finish off the quarter 4 points up (10-14). Kayleigh started strong in the second with a steal and score to get us on our way. There was some tough work by our girls on defence to restrict Jackson High’s scoring, and a 3 pointer by Ellen at the end of the half put us 9 points up (12-21). A scrappy start to the third quarter saw Jackson High level the scores half way through the third. Gabby was battling hard against the tall opposition. Ellen brought us back into the game with a quick 5 points to see us 2 points up at the third quarter break (26-28). Jackson High started strong scoring a quick 5 points in the opening minutes. Emily narrowed the lead with 2 points and converting a foul shot. Emmason was applying great defensive pressure so help send the ball back our way. With scores going back and forth our team work was keeping us in the game. The girls battled hard ended up going down by 7 points (45-38).

The Flag!

We always knew this recipient was going to earn a flag – it was just a matter of when.  Welcome Ella McIntyre to the flag foray. In our navy tracksuits we are drawing quite a bit of attention, people like to stop and chat, ask questions about who we are, where we’re from and what we’re doing. We even had a gent today ask us if we were from Tacoma (not sure what their accent sounds like?). Well anyway, it seems while walking the corridors of La Conner High School, Ella was stopped by an inquisitive staff member.  He asked the standard questions but he hit a stumbling block when he asked her “where are you going next”. I believe he was a little unsure where to head with the conversation after Ella replied with “to the gym”. Possibly a little too exact in her response, I think he was curious about more than the next couple of minutes.