Three Months Later

Well, I can hardly believe it but it's been almost three months now since I left Adelaide.  I clearly remember saying goodbye to Danni and Teigan at the Adelaide Airport and how unreal it felt getting on that plane and leaving Adelaide.  What was even more unreal, though, was coming home.  I couldn't help but smile seeing the sign in Los Angeles that said "Welcome to the United States" and when I walked past the Dunkin Donuts at Logan Airport, I thought: "I'm back."  It all really hit home, though, when I saw my mom and brother waiting for me just past the security checkpoint.  That was what I had been waiting for.  Hugging them for the first time in over a month and a half was just beyond words.  When my cousin popped out from behind a pillar and ran over to me, that really capped it off.  I was truly back, and I couldn't have been happier.

I'm back

I left Adelaide with a heavy heart, and anyone who read my last blog entry from Australia probably saw that.  I'll admit: my eyes weren't exactly dry as I typed up that entry on my last night in Adelaide.  But my eyes have dried and my head has cleared.  I re-read all of my posts the other day and was able to put myself back in my shoes and relive all the joys and excitements of my trip: everything from playing footy with the Year 4's to watching the Lion King with the Year 2's, from seeing the World's Biggest Rocking Horse to holding a koala. 

This trip was truly both life-changing and life-affirming, and on so many different levels.  It really opened my eyes to the fact that there's a lot more to the world than my little corner of Massachusetts.  But I also know that as much as I love being able to venture out into the world, I can never deny my New England roots, and I would really never want to.  This trip taught me a lot about myself and how I can still be myself even on the other side of the world.  I learned a lot about my faith, and how I can live out a Christian life beyond the walls of Campus Ministry at PC, how I can rely on and serve God in so many ways out in the world.  Above all of these things, though, my trip taught me how much I love to teach and work with kids.  The students I worked with at Blackfriars really made my trip what it was, and they showed me that I want to go into teaching (hopefully back at Blacks someday!).

My time in Adelaide was truly unforgettable.  Not only do I have reminders of it all around me in the form of Australian flags and koalas on the wall, but it seems to have imprinted itself in my mind as well.  I still look up into the trees every now and then, hoping to catch a glimpse of a koala.  And every time I see a deer crossing sign, I secretly hope to see the shape of a kangaroo on it instead.  A lone tree in a field reminds me of the gum trees I saw all over Adelaide, and my ears are always searching to pick up an Australian accent to remind me of my folks Down Under. 

But then again, I still get excited when I can order a medium regular at Dunkin Donuts without having to guess what it might be, or try to explain what I think coffee is supposed to be like.  When I can call my family without having to guess what time it is on the other side of the world, or hop in the car and drive down 495 (on the right side of the road), it's one of those great reminders that I'm back home.

As I continue to reflect on everything that has happened since May 26th when I first left for Australia, it's still hard to believe.  All of that actually happened!?  But it did.  And I am so grateful for that, and so blessed to have had the opportunity that I did. 

Hard to Believe

It's hard to believe that in just 12 hours I'll be on a plane to take me home.  What's even harder to believe is how difficult it's going to be to get on that plane and leave Adelaide.  I would never have imagined how truly life-changing this trip would be and how many amazing people I would meet.  Leaving home six weeks ago was hard, but this may be even harder because I know that I won't be back in a few short weeks.  Everyone from year 2's to year 10's to the principal of Blackfriars have asked me when I'm going to come back, and I hope that I will have a chance to return here.  It's been my home for six weeks and has meant so much to me that, as excited as I am to get back to the US, I will leave a part of my heart in Australia.

Today, though, was really a great last day at the school.  Christian and Adam came in to see me first thing this morning, and Christian kept hugging me and saying how much he loved having me here and was going to miss me --  I know that I've loved getting to know him and will definitely miss him too.  I went in with my year 5's for the first three lessons after this (longer than I intended, but I just didn't want to leave), and had some really good chats with the boys.  During prayer, a bunch of the boys mentioned me again in their intentions, and it really meant a lot.  I hope that I was able to make a lasting impact on them because they certainly have on me.  Of course, there were still plenty of questions about American food and what our money looks like, and I was happy to answer them all.  Near the end of the lesson, I got a visit from Tommy and Anton, who had both been out sick for the day.  Tommy proudly showed me the cross I gave him, and both of them wrote letters for me and put them in envelopes covered in scratch-n-sniff stickers.  Tommy asked for my address, my home phone number, and my mobile phone number; they both seem intent on staying in touch with me, and I hope to keep in touch with them too.  I've had a blast getting to know them, and will be sure to follow up with them once I'm back home.

This picture tells all the difference between the two boys

During recess, I went up to the staff room, where Maria mentioned me in front of the staff, thanking me for what I've done here and presenting me with some gifts.  It was really nice to hear her talk about me like that -- I have such a respect for her and all that she's done for me here, and so her words really meant a lot to me.  There was only an hour of school left after recess, so I made sure to visit the year 4's and 2's before the end of the day.  In the year 4 class, the boys all clapped for me and shouted out "Three cheers for TJ!" followed by three "hip-hip-hoorays".  They are great!  I stopped in with the year 2's for a bit afterwards, where I watched "Cars" and helped one of the boys color in football flags.  A great relaxing last lesson with them.  Before the day ended, I stopped back in with the year 5's to say good-bye.  As they were getting ready to head out, a few of the boys asked for my email address, one of them running across the room to get some paper and grinning from ear to ear when I gave it to him.  It really will be great to stay in touch with them!

Once the day ended, I said goodbye to Gregoire and got my last look around the school before we headed off for the staff lunch at a local pub.  It was nice to sit around with the people I've gotten to know so well these past weeks.  Saying goodbye to Maria, though, really made it hit home that I'm about to leave.  She hugged me twice, and told me that she was going to be the mom and make me let her know when I get home safely.  I will really miss her!  And everyone else I've come to know -- staff, students, and friends.  They've been so great to me, and it will be nice to know that I've got a group of people back in Australia who mean so much to me.

Looking back, this trip has been nothing like I expected and yet everything I hoped for.  I didn't do the work I thought I would with the chaplain, but through Learning Enrichment I made my way into so many great classes and formed close bonds with some really great boys.  I didn't end up living in the priory and instead got to become a part of two separate families as they welcomed me into their homes.  I didn't see any kangaroos hopping down the sidewalk, but I did get to hold a koala (possibly one of the highlights of my trip).  And I have been able to see God guiding me along this whole time, taking me halfway across the world and helping me to discover His will for my life as I met so many great people, discovered some amazing places, and had countless experiences that I'll never forget.

Reflecting on these past six weeks, it is hard to believe that my time in Australia is over; but it's easy to believe that there's a reason I came here and that God will continue to help me learn from all that I've done and all the people I've met.  At the end of this all, I can only look forward with hope and know that this is just another great beginning -- and that I am truly, truly blessed.

So long, Blackfriars -- until next time!

Yikes!

Tomorrow is my last day at Blackfriars and on Saturday I'll be leaving Australia -- I'm still in shock that my time here is almost up and am slightly unwilling to believe it.  Today was definitely a great last full day at the school, though. I spent the whole morning in the year 5 class; as soon as I walked in, one of the boys (Dylan) walked up and handed me a card he had made and then the whole class signed.  He included the Blackfriars crest and American flag and then a picture of me crossing the International Date Line, with plenty of well-wishes for my trip.  It really made my morning!  When the boys were doing their morning prayer and sharing their prayer intentions, a bunch of them mentioned me, asking that I have a good last two days at Blacks and a safe trip home.  I couldn't help but smile every time.

Mr Richardson gave the boys a lesson on Dominican prayer today, which was really interesting.  I always love to hear what young kids have to say about prayer, and it was an awesome lesson to be around for.  I moved around the room, asking the boys about their prayers and seeing what they wrote.  Since it's the end of the term, though, there was plenty of mucking around mixed in with the actual working.  Anton had a bit of a giggling fit and decided to practice smacking me with his ruler, and then had fun making faces at me behind the teacher's back to try and get me to laugh (it definitely worked).  

After recess, I went into the year 4 class for two lessons.  They were watching that show "Mortified" again and doing some work to put their portfolios together.  I didn't do too much with them, but at the end of class they were really keen on throwing those balls at me again.  For whatever reason, they love when you whip the balls at them (they're small enough that they don't hurt), and so I had plenty of fun doing that at the end of class.  For lunch, Anton and his friend Christopher came over to the office.  Tommy was out sick again, so I have Anton a note to take home for him, along with my blue cross necklace that he loves (I had promised to get him one, and the one I ordered online never came).  It was my last lunch at the school and was really enjoyable -- Anton and Christopher are both great kids, and they seemed thrilled to come over for lunch two days in a row.

For the last two lessons of the day, I went in with the year 2's.  They were getting ready to lead the afternoon's assembly and were a mix of nervous and excited to speak in front of the rest of the primary school.  I watched proudly as they all read at the assembly, and then gave them all a little card afterwards with the class picture I took and a small message with an American flag on it (I couldn't find any pennies, but they still really seemed to like the pictures).  One boy told me that he'll always remember me with it! 

The day was just about over by this point, and when I went back to the office I made plans with Maria to go to the hospital and visit Reegan and the new baby.  What a great way to spend one of my last afternoons here -- with the baby girl Leni Eden.  She's only two days old, and it was so peaceful to hold her and think about the new life that I was holding in my arms.  

The youngest baby I've ever held

I've only got two nights left Down Under, and tomorrow is my last day at Blackfriars -- all I can say is: yikes!

Nearing the End

During my first week here, Christian asked me if I would want to stay in Adelaide and at Blackfriars long-term.  I told him "Nah, I don't think so."  Five weeks later, I have another boy ask me almost every day and my response is always, "I wish I could."  It's been a great six weeks at Blackfriars, and I can't believe that my time here is almost up!  Today a lot of that really started to sink in.  I started off my day with the year 5's (I was supposed to be with the year 7's, but I'm basically ignoring my schedule and just going where I want to at this point).  Before I left the room, I got a class picture with them, and they all thought it was my last day.  I was relieved to tell them that I still had two left, and it was great to see them smile and say "Oh good!" when I told them.  It will definitely be hard to say goodbye on Friday, but as everyone keeps telling me, I'll just have to come back again someday!  

  

My year 5's

After my time with the year 5's, I went to my last year 10 RE class.  That class has been really good to get me thinking about what and how I'd like to teach after college.  Today I talked with a few of the boys and learned my random fact for the day: Australian dollars don't rip.  They're made of some sort of plastic, and won't rip the way American dollars will.  As cool as this is though, AU dollars are too colorful for me; it'll be nice to have good ol' American money back in my wallet!

I spent two lesson with the year 4's after recess, and then went back to the office for lunch.  It was really cool -- Danni threw a little party for me!  She brought in a bunch of snacks and all the Games Club boys came, along with Gregoire.  Tommy was out sick today and couldn't make it, but his brother Anton was there (they're awesome kids -- easily two of my favorites), and I always love talking with him.  There was also an unwelcome guest -- an Australian redback spider.  Danni's husband Nigel found it in their shed to show me, and apparently they're really common -- and also deadly.  I was warned that there are lots of deadly creatures in Australia, and apparently they lurk right in your house!  Besides the spider though, it was really a great time!  I didn't realize I'd make such great connections in Australia and find such awesome people here.

Gregoire and me

with Danni, Leane, and Maria

with Adam, Brian, Anton, and Chris

For the last two lessons of the day, I went with the year 2's.  They were doing show-and-tell and then had some free time.  I'm ashamed to say that I was beaten in Connect Four by an eight-year old.  Although in my defense, he was really good!  After the boys left for PE, I stuck around to help their stressed out teacher out some work away in their portfolios before the day ended.  When the final bell had gone, I stopped by the office for a minute then wandered back out to the primary section.  On my way through, I was attacked by a couple year 4's who decided to throw some balls at me -- what else could I do but throw them back?  I spent the next twenty minutes running around with the year 4's, dodging and throwing the balls -- a great way to end the day!

Well, tomorrow is my last full day at Blackfriars and then Friday is a half day (since schools will be on holiday the next two weeks) -- exciting, but definitely sad to think that six weeks have already passed!

Philosophy? How 'bout Games?

Before I started working around Blackfriars, I was expecting to do a lot of work with the older students, teaching some theology and trudging through philosophy.  Well, that's not exactly how things have turned out -- or at least not exactly.  And honestly, I'm really happy about that.  I do love studying theology, but philosophy is nothing better than a necessary evil and I can only take so much of it.  I think that's why I went into the year 12 philosophy class this morning for 20 minutes before walking out as they turned on Inception and prepared to talk about epistemology (I made sure that the teacher wouldn't mind me leaving, though).  

I went to the year 5's after that, which was a breath of fresh air.  The teacher asked me to come up with a fitness lesson for them, so I racked my brain to think back to middle school gym class.  I came up with one of my favorite games, which is kind of like dodgeball but in teams of 4.  The boys really seemed to like it -- there's nothing better than running around and chucking stuff stuff at each other!  I hung around with them for about an hour after that, checking out their art projects and talking with their teacher about what it's like teaching in primary school.  On my way back to the office, I ran into Tommy, who was talking about how much fun he had at lunch yesterday and asking if he could come back again today.  I told him that the Games Club lunch wasn't until tomorrow, but that still didn't stop him from shouting out, "Okay, see you at lunch TJ!" as he ran off to the playground.

After a quick recess, I went with Maria to her RE class.  I do really enjoy doing stuff in that class, even if it is a lot different than working with the younger kids.  Sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get the year 10's to participate, but I think you just need to find the best way to get the teeth out.  It's a bit tough balancing control of the class with Maria, since we have such different approaches to teaching, but we found a good balance today (I'm not very good at sharing teaching).  I did get to tell off two kids who were really annoying me, and then Maria made them move (telling kids off is always good fun).  Teaching seems to be all about balance, and this experience has been great to observe how other teachers function and to learn from that so I can bring it into my own classroom someday.

I went back to the office for lunch, and within five minutes I heard a door open and little feet walking down the hall.  I look up, and there's Tommy walking into the room: "See, I promised I'd come!"  He wasn't technically supposed to be there, but he was so excited to come and I was more than happy to spend time with him.  He brought his Harry Potter posters to show me, and was rocking back and forth in his chair excitedly the whole time he was chatting with me.  We fixed up the little Mr Potato Heads in the office that I had rearranged a couple weeks ago, and then drew a bit before we went back to his class.  

Within ten minutes of being with the year 2's, I had five boys all asking me for help with their spelling, and so I spent a bit of time being pulled (literally) in five different directions to help the boys out.  Afterwards, they had some free time and Tommy was not shy about grabbing my hand and leading me over to the play area.  I laughed as another boy said, "Tommy, he isn't you brother."  I definitely see him as a little brother or cousin, and it was really funny to hear one of the year 2's say that.  Instead of going to the year 7 class (which I've kind of forgotten about by now) I hung around with the year 2's and built stuff with them, probably having just as much fun as they were. 

Hard to believe that I only have three days left at Blackfriars -- but you can be assured that I'll be spending plenty of time with my primary kids and far away from studying philosophy!

With my year 2's

And the year 4's!

Happy Independence Day!

Every year, I look forward to the Fourth of July -- it's one of my favorite days of the summer.  The only problem this year is that I'm in Australia.  I tried my best to compensate for this: I drew a picture of an American flag to hang up on the LE white board, along with a large red, white, and blue Fourth of July greeting.  And I had a hot dog for lunch!  That's about as patriotic as I could be for the day...

 

Desperate to feel like a true American

Fourth of July (or lack thereof) aside though, today was actually a really good day.  I started off with Maria's RE class, where the boys were working on their term assignments and I wandered around to help them out.  They're lucky I'm not the one grading them -- I'd like to push them  a bit harder than Maria does, but I suppose it's all good experience.  After RE, I went to the year 4 class.  They're a really fun lot -- a bit crazy though.  At one point, the teacher left the room and asked me to watch over the class.  That was a bit intimidating -- no one killed anyone else though, so I suppose that was a success! 

When I left the year 4's, I saw my year 2's out on the playground so I went over to see them.  They started asking me to play tag with them and before I knew it, I was "it."  The boys were all chanting "TJ's It, throw him in the bin!"  I chased them around for about 10 minutes, and it was wicked fun.  I was always It though; as soon as I tagged someone, they'd just tag me right back and run away.  I was scheduled to go to the year 12 class after that, but I didn't particularly feel like it (I popped in for a second, but then left and went right back to the year 2's).  That always seems to be a good choice.  I helped them out with math for a bit, then played around with them for their free time.  

When it came time for lunch, Tommy didn't seem to want to leave me, so I took him along back to the office for Games Club.  He was so excited!  He kept asking, "Am I really allowed to go with you there?" and then was thrilled when we got there and he saw the cupboard full of games.  We built a marble obstacle course, and he talked my ear off the whole time.  Very fun!  Once we went back to his class, he didn't leave my side the whole time.  The boys were working in the computer room, and every time another boy called my name, Tommy wasn't far behind.  At the end of the day (after racing back to the classroom with Tommy holding onto my hand), we saw his brother Anton, who's in the year 5 class.  Talking with the both of them was really great -- they remind me a lot of me and my brother, with the older calmer one and the younger crazy one.  That must be why I like them so much!

Such a fun kid!

After school, I went into the city with Teigan.  I want to make a little American souvenir for all my primary school kids and attach an American penny to it.  We searched all over the city for somewhere to get American change, but they all said they don't handle coins.  I'm going to call up a few places tomorrow to see what I can manage -- who knew finding a penny could be so hard!

One Last Aussie Weekend

Hard to believe that this is my last weekend Down Under!  It's been quite the journey, but Danni assures me that they have a jam-packed week planned for me, and this weekend was the beginning of that.  Saturday was a bit of a washout, so we didn't get to do too much.  We started the morning off at Teigan's netball game, a not-so-riveting girls sport that's pretty popular here.  To warm up and dry off afterwards, we headed to a local coffee shop for breakfast.  I tried an Australian bacon and egg sandwich -- pretty similar to an American one, except with barbeque sauce.  It sounded really weird when I first heard that, but it was actually pretty good.

We had to cancel our waterfall trip because of the rain, but Fr Mannes had invited me to the priory for the day, so I went there later in the afternoon.  We went out to a steakhouse in North Adelaide for lunch -- Outback Jacks.  It was really good -- they had some pretty typical steaks, but the kangaroo meatballs reminded me that I'm definitely in Australia.  After lunch, we headed back to the priory for Mass and evening prayer, which were both very Dominican.  It was really nice to spend an afternoon at the priory, but I am so glad that I didn't end up living there -- these past few weeks have shown me a lot, and yesterday confirmed that the priory isn't meant to be my home.

Today, I went with Danni, Teigan, and Jake (her son) to Monarto Zoo and Murray Bridge, just on the other side of the Adelaide Hills.  Monarto is really cool -- it's like a mini Africa in South Australia, with lions, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, and the like.  You can hop on a tour bus that takes you all around the zoo, through the different animal enclosures.  I felt like I was in the Lion King!  I had never seen so many African animals in one place, so it was really exciting.  The zoo was huge, and it was great seeing the animals in something more than just a small cage.  The African wild dogs seemed to like the extra leg room -- the whole pack went flying when the trainer put out the kangaroo carcass for them! (not exactly the prettiest site when they started ripping that apart).

The giraffes were so cool

After the zoo, we went up to Murray Bridge, a popular nearby town on the Murray River.  I had my first Australian meat pie (something I was told should have happened a long time ago), and we got to see the bunyip!  Danni has been telling me about it for a while, so it was really funny to finally see.  The bunyip is an Aboriginal mythical monster, and in Murray Bridge they have a mechanical bunyip replica that pops up out of the water and roars at you (when you put a dollar into the machine).  It's the quirky little things like this that really make a trip memorable!

Watch out for the bunyip!

On the river with Jake, Tiegan, and Danni

On the ride back home, I managed to accomplish one of my Australia goals -- take a picture with a koala crossing sign.  We had to search a bit to find a good one because most of them are right on the freeway, but we succeeded -- twice!  There was one type of sign with the koala climbing that we found on an old side road, and then another with the koala running.  The only problem with the running koala sign is that it was at the busy start of the freeway, right along with median strip.  I was determined, though -- I can only imagine what the people driving by where thinking!

Sign #1

Sign #2 (with busy traffic in the background)

Having survived my freeway side photo shoot, I can safely prepare for my last week at Blackfriars!

Bittersweet Fun

Last night, I was trying to figure out how I wanted to spend my day Friday at school.  Should I stick to my schedule, which has me in two year 10 math classes, a philosophy class, and then with the year 7’s for a double lesson (and the year 2’s at the end of the day)?  Or should I do something a bit more enjoyable?  Naturally, I chose the latter.  I did go to the first year 10 math class, but then went straight to the primary school section.  I saw one of the year 2’s walking towards his class and took that as a sign that I should follow him there.  Definitely a good choice.  A few of the boys were asking why I was there earlier than usual, and then they just grinned when I told them I wanted to come and spend more time in their class.  They tend to do more work in the morning and then have fun in the afternoon, but I’m happy with both.  I helped the boys out with their writing and maths, which was actually kind of fun – they all know me really well by now and are great to work with. 

After recess, I headed to the year 4 class to give them a presentation about America.  I always enjoy talking to the kids about America, and the year 4’s are a really fun class.  They were intrigued when I told them about marshmallow Fluff and the Dollar Menu, and of course I got a wide range of questions: anything from “What do you do if you see a bear in the woods?” to “How big are your burgers?”  When I finished, they all clapped and cheered, and before I knew it there was a group of boys surrounding me, all asking questions – I felt like I had a posse!  I hung around the class for another hour, and I was talking with the boys almost non-stop!

I went back to LE for a Games Club lunch, where the boys were lamenting the fact that I leave next week, and then went back to my year 2’s (which was actually a part of my schedule).  They were having a free afternoon, so they got to draw, play, or do whatever they liked.  I was with this boy Thomas for the first half hour or so, and he wanted to play chess – I don’t know much more about chess than what I’ve seen on Harry Potter, so there wasn’t much hope there.  Especially because the 8 year-olds knew how to play it better than me.  I decided to leave that to the experts and went to play with Lego’s instead (much more up my alley).  Tommy and a few other boys were at that table, so I had some fun chatting with them as we played with the Lego’s.  After that, we had a few good rounds of Uno before it was time to clean up.  As they were getting ready to head home, Tommy wanted to create a secret handshake with me, so he was all excited to practice it a bit before the day ended. 

One of the most common questions I got today was, “When are you going back to America?”  When I told them that it was after next week, their faces fell and many of them kept saying how they want me to stay longer.  As flattering as it was, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad every time that happened.  When I walk out of the primary school next Friday, I’ll probably be a wreck; it will certainly be bittersweet.  As sad as I am to go, though, I am excited for one more weekend Down Under and another week at Blackfriars before I get to head home!

Change Is in the Air

I still can't believe that I'm almost finished with my second to last week Down Under!  It's really starting to hit home, though, because I'm getting ready to move.  Reegan is having her baby next week (I think I forgot to mention that she's pregnant...), and Brett will be taking the week off from school; to make things a little easier, I'm moving to Danni's for my final week, since she lives right near Blackfriars.  I've got a suitcase and a duffel bag sitting near me, just waiting to be packed...they might need to keep waiting though, because I have no motivation to fill them.  I've accumulated a lot of stuff while I've been here, and I'm in no hurry to pack it up.  Seeing as how I need to be in bed soon to get up at 6 tomorrow morning, I might want to get on that...

Before I do, though, I can take a minute to reflect on what was going on at Blackfriars today.  I started off the day with the year 5's and got to spend over two hours with them throughout the morning.  They're always really fun to be around.  I helped them out gluing their math projects together, and then observed  a bit during their reading assignment.  While I was talking to one boy, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and then felt a ruler across my butt -- I turn around, and what do you know, it's Tommy's older brother Anton.  I've been talking with him a bit ever since I met Tommy, and I suppose he likes me enough now to hit me with a ruler (he's a lot different than his brother, but a really nice kid, all rulers aside).

I also did an America presentation to the year 5's today.  It was a slightly more mature version than the one I did for the year 2's, and the boys really seemed to like it.  They asked almost as many questions as the year 2's did; the only difference was that they raised their hands.  They were obsessed with the fact that I have a big back yard (houses are all pretty cramped around Adelaide), and they were really keen on Walmart.  I tried to explain to them how big and crazy it can be, but I suppose only a true Wally World experience will work for that. 

While we were on recess, Danni told me something that got me all excited: she wants to do a pen-pal program with me and the reading group boys after I leave!  I was actually going to suggest something like that, but she beat me to it; I can't wait to start getting letters from my Blackfriars mates! Later in the day, I went to see my year 2's, who I hadn't seen since Tuesday.  As soon as I went in, I heard my name being called from three different directions at once -- it always puts me in a good mood to walk into that room.  I checked out what some of the boys were drawing, and then went to sit at Tommy's table when they watched Spongebob.  Continuing with my new responsible streak, though (which I know won't last, as my time with the primary kids draws to a close), I left to go to the year 12 class at the end of the lesson.  Since they were still watching Inception (and I didn't feel like I'd be of much use there -- and would just get a headache besides), I headed back to the year 2's and finished off my day with them.

Well, I suppose my packing can't wait much longer.  This might be a good test run to see how well I can fit everything when I need to pack it for the long haul home. 

One last night playing with Cooper :-)

It's All Fun and Games

During lunch today, I was playing Jenga with Adam, one of the year 9 boys, when Danni joked that she should take a picture of me playing games to put in my presentation at PC in the fall: "Look what I did with my Smith Fellowship -- learned how to play games!"  It really does seem like that's a lot of what I've been doing, but I promise I'm doing legitmate work too! 

This morning was actually one of those times.  One of the RE teachers, Allison, asked me to come into her year 10 class to lead a double lesson on the Reformation.  I'm doing similar stuff with Maria and her class, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  It went pretty well -- we definitely covered a lot of information (looking at the Church and how it's changed over time), but the boys seemed pretty engaged (or as engaged as any 16 year olds can be), and no one feel asleep on me.  After the lesson, Allison let the boys ask me questions about myself, which was pretty fun.  I had one of them call me out for not following the NBA (he's the second one to do that -- the first one told me I'm not a true American because of it), and another wanted to know if they really play beer pong at college -- definitely different questions than the year 2's ask!  After this lesson, I did another one that was pretty similar with Maria's class.  Her class has a much different dynamic, so it's interesting to see how is best to work with them.  Definitely something I'll work on learning!

These first three lessons were pretty draining, so it was a relief to move into the year 4 class afterwards.  They were watching a show called "Mortified":  it follows the struggles of a 12 year old girl, which was a bit Disney-esque but not actually all that bad.  My buddy Christian pulled a chair up for me, right next to him, and chatted with me a bit while we watched it.  He told me I'm one of the best teachers here and that he'll really miss me when I leave -- I couldn't help but smile, and assure him that we can still stay in touch once I'm back in America.  At the end of the lesson, the boys took out a dodgeball, and I had to think fast when I suddenly saw it flying at my head.  I played around with them for a bit, enjoying the fact that I'm taller than all of them and can easily grab the ball when it's over their heads. 

After a Jenga-filled lunch, I made my way back to the primary school.  My year 2's were out on an excursion, but the year 4's were all out on the playground, playing with jumpropes and handballs.  Thinking about what Danni had just said about playing games, I figured "why not?"and joined in with them.  It was a lot of fun!  Some of the boys taught me how to play their version of handball, and another group had me join in with them playing skip-rope.  After spinning around like a top with a rope in my hand and then making it through the whole alphabet while two boys swung the rope, I was feeling pretty drained.  It was definitely a blast though! 

When the bell rang, I was torn -- should I stay with the year 4's or go to the year 7's like I'm supposed to?  Seeing as how I've skipped out on the year 7's the past few days, I decided I would go -- I can be responsible after all!

A Bit of Everything

Hard to believe that today marks a full month in Australia!  It feels like I just got here yesterday, and yet like I've been here forever.  I had two year 5 boys asking me today if I'm going to be coming back after I leave, and it was honestly hard to answer.  I would love to come back here, but I don't know that my future lies in Australia; at least not permanently.  It is strange to think, though, what it would be like if I did come back -- all the year 2's, 4's, and 5's would have grown up on me and a new batch of primary school kids would have moved in.  Getting the chance to work with boys in all different levels (from reception to year 12, basically) really gets me thinking about what it's like to grow up and what these younger boys will be like a few years from now.  But if I tried to put all my thoughts into this blog it would probably crash my computer...

I progressed downwards through the grade levels today, starting off in year 12 and ending in year 2 (I actually should have ended in year 7, but I "forgot" to go...woops).  The year 12's are studying epistemology (how we know what we know), so they were watching Inception today.  That movie gave me a headache when I saw it last summer, and today was no different -- it was definitely a relief to move on to year 5!  They were working on their Jesus pictures and a math design project, so I got to move around the room and see what they were up to.  They're really a great class.  This one boy Angus (an unfortunate name but a great kid) was talking to me for a while, about anything from wetting the bed to Chuck E Cheese to Jesus.  I spent two lessons with that class and had plenty of laughs with them, as I served as part helper and part distraction, which always suits me well there.

After year 5, I had a double lesson with the year 10's for religion.  They were pretty much just working on an assignment the whole lesson; that's not how I would prefer to have them spend the class (I'd rather keep it more active, teaching the kids and talking with them, not having them sit there and do busywork), but I think it will work out.  I'm going to do a lesson with them tomorrow to expand on everything they worked on today, so hopefully that'll go well.  They're not a bad class -- except for the two that I've named Dumb and Dumber, they're pretty good kids (just not always all that motivated).  Even though I have a lot more fun with the primary school kids, I do enjoy working with the older ones, and will definitely be looking more into the PACT (post-grad teaching) program when I get back to PC.

Lesson 6 came around, and I headed to my year 2 class.  I prepared a slideshow for them about America, and they were all excited to see what I had to share with them.  I did a mini history lesson and then talked about stuff like American sports, weather, and my dog.  They were thrilled with the pictures of the snow (it never gets below freezing in Adelaide) and were definitely confused about driving on the other side of the road.  I forgot how much 8 year olds want to share with you, though!  Every 5 seconds another hand was going up, and I got a whole host of questions and comments that only little kids could think of.  You never know what they're going to come out with!  

Tomorrow I'm going to be doing two separate year 10 religion lessons, so let's hope those go well! 

Two of Four and Four of Two

I spent almost my whole day today in the primary school, and it was a blast!  Two lessons with the year 2's, and then four lessons with the year 2's.  I started off with the year 4's, who I hadn't seen in over a week.  They were having a Japanese lesson, so I sat in for that and then went around and checked out the family trees they were making, using Japanese family words.  It was pretty cool to see 10 year olds learning Japanese.  After that, they had a PE lesson so I went along with them for that.  They were practicing handball, which is a move in "footy" to pass the ball to the next player.  It was my first time playing with an Australian football, but I don't think I did too badly -- I'm definitely better with one of them than with an American football.  I might have done it a bit too hard though; the boy I was handballing to was tiny, and he reeled back a few times when I passed it to him.  But he never fell over, and only flinched a little bit!  When the class was over, I was left holding a ball and one of the boys decided to try and tackle me for it -- it was great practice at running with the footy and passing it off to someone to get tackled!

I had a quick meeting during recess with the deputy principal to touch base about everything for my last two weeks.  After the meeting, I was set to go to the year 12 philosophy class; when I got there, though, the teacher said the boys were just going to do quiet work the whole lesson and I wouldn't need to stay.  Feeling a bit relieved (I didn't feel much like philosophizing today), I went back to the primary classes to see if anyone needed some extra help.  And so I found myself with the year 2's!  They were working on a maths (they have an 's' in math here) assignment, so I meandered around and helped them out.  I had a nice chat with one of the boys, Dylan, who always seems kind of shy and surly -- I always keep a bit of an eye on him, and he really was warming up to me today!  When they finished with maths, they had a guided reading activity, so I was paired with my buddy Tommy and another great kid, Morteza. They both need a bit of a push and some guidance in their work, but it was really rewarding to help them out and see them smiling when they finished.

After two lessons with the year 2's, it was time for lunch.  I made my way back to LE, where they were having the Monday Games Club.  There were a couple really nice year 8 boys there who I talked with for a while as they devoured my pretzels (they're not a very common Australian snack, but I buy them whenever I can -- and prepare to have them get eaten on me at Games Club).  When lunch was over, I went back to year 2 for my usual time slot there.  They were in the computer lab for the lesson, reading some stories and then doing maths practice on the computers.  It was really fun, but definitely hectic!  I would hear my name being called by at least 3 different boys at a time all over the room, one boy kept coming up and tugging at my sleeve to ask for help, and then Tommy kept would wheel his chair over to me every few minutes to check in.  A very crazy, but a lot of fun.  I got so caught up in it that I lost track of time and conveniently missed my year 7 lesson! (only partially on purpose). 

After several high-fives and even a hug, the day came to a close.  

Now I’m preparing a powerpoint for the year 2’s about America, a task much more daunting than I first thought – there’s a lot more to America than I used to think! 

A Down Under Weekend

After my Friday excursion, I definitely felt like I needed the weekend.  I made the mistake of agreeing to go on another year 9 excursion -- not a good idea!  Fortunately, Gregoire went on the trip too, so he was a bit of a saving grace for the day.  I just really don't like 14 year olds.  Gregoire called this group "not very intelligent" and one of the teachers referred to them as "disgraceful creatures."  I happen to agree with both of them.  The day wasn't all that bad, though -- we went to the Kuitpo Forest, a recreational forest plantation just south of the city.  It was pretty cool to see the combination of native trees with American pine trees.  I was definitely confused though when I was walking through an American-style forest and a kangaroo went hopping by!  

On Saturday, I planned to meet Danni in the city to go to the movies with her family and then spend the night at their house.  I left for the city around noon and figured I would take the grand tour and check out every corner of the city.  It's a pretty simple square-mile layout, with five squares and parklands all around.  I wanted to make sure that I took pictures of everything so that I'd remember all my Adelaide adventures.  I must have looked such a tourist -- my Australia sweatshirt, my giant Red Sox backpack, and my camera snapping photos every 10 feet.  It was a lot of fun though -- I checked out every square, had lunch in the park, and just enjoyed the beautiful winter day (which means 62 degrees and sunny).  

Danni picked me up around 4, and we went to a local coffee shop before heading to her house, where I had my first Australian iced coffee.  It was a bit like a Frappe from McDonalds -- definitely different than American iced coffee!  They think our iced coffee is junk, but I much prefer ours to theirs; the Australian stuff is too milky.  We made our way to her house to pick up her husband and daughter, and then went out to dinner at Fasta Pasta and to the move theater to see Cars 2.  It was a pretty good movie (I love Tow Mater -- it was good to hear Larry the Cable Guy again!) and cool to go to the movies in Australia -- it felt very American.

Today, we journeyed up into the Adelaide Hills and took a tour around.  It's a beautiful area, and only a half hour outside the city.  It feels like a whole nother world there -- rolling hills and vineyards, all surrounded by Australian bushland.  I reached my goal of taking a picture with a Kangaroo Crossing sign (and an Echidna Crossing -- just the Koala Crossing to go!), and even saw a kangaroo hopping along the side of the road.  We went to Gumeracha to see the world's largest rocking horse, a 60 foot tall wooden rocking horse that you can climb up to the top of -- it was really cool!  We went to the "Whispering Wall" too; it's a 300 foot dam where you can stand on one end and listen to someone talking on the other -- really bizarre, but very cool.  I stood on one end and Danni and her daughter Teigan were on the other -- I could barely see them but heard them perfectly.  We drove up into the Barossa Valley afterwards, and saw some of the small towns and vineyards.  A great area!

It would be interesting if it started rocking!

I wanted to go climb those hills!

I only felt a bit of a fool, posing with a road sign...

Well, I'm about to start my second-to-last week at Blackfriars tomorrow -- hard to imagine that I have such a short time left!  I'll be sure to make the most of it though!

The Circle of Life

The past two days at Blackfriars have been pretty great.  Yesterday I spent some time between years 12, 10, 7, 2, and reception, and then today I spent mostly with years 5 and 2.  The first part of the day was really cool -- I was with the year 5''s for over two hours and got to know them pretty well.  It's so interesting observing the differences between the various years -- I've had some experience with almost every grade here and I'm starting to notice a lot of the differences.  The year 5's are still young and innocent and willing to chat, but they're also more mature than the younger grades.  I had a great time with them as they worked on poems called "I Used to Believe," all about things they believed when they were younger.  They were pretty imaginative!  One boy believed in vampires, ghosts, zombies, and that his dad was Bigfoot -- I don't know how he slept at night!  The same with the boy who was convinced that a fat man lived under his bed and wanted to eat him when he went to the toilet!  It was really fun talking with them about these things as they looked back and laughed a bit.

After a bit of a break and some time with the year 10's (where one boy asked for my last name so that he could friend request me on facebook tonight), I made my way back to the year 2's for the last two lessons of the day.  They were finishing up watching The Lion King, and I was just as excited as they were to see the rest of it.  Little Tommy was sitting right by my side the whole time, giving me some commentary about the movie and doing imitations of Simba and Rafiki.  They had an assembly afterwards, which I hadn't planned on going to until Tommy asked where I was sitting so that he could sit next to me.  I followed along with the class, Tommy holding onto my sleeve the whole time, and saw all the primary classes gathered for their assembly.  The year 3 boys led everyone in prayer, and then some teachers came up to hand out different awards to some of the boys.  It was really neat to watch -- they have such a great community here at Blackfriars and having all the little kids waving to me and yelling out my name really made me feel a part of it.

Once the day had ended, I made my way back to the learning enrichment office.  Everybody was out and I had to wait a bit for Brett to finish up with footy training, so I took some time to think.  My mind was reeling, and I came to realize that I am so blessed to be here.  I have met so many amazing people and had the chance to start forming some great relationships, both with fellow teachers and with the students.  Then it hit me: it seems like I really do just get to start forming those relationships before it comes time to leave.  I've been here at Blackfriars for less than 4 weeks, and so much more has happened than I could ever have imagined -- but just over 2 weeks from now I'll be on a plane back to the States.

I've had more than one boy and a few of the teachers ask me if I'm going to stay here permanently, or at least come back someday.  Part of me wants to (don't worry Mom, I'll still be coming home on July 11 ;-) ).  It almost seems unfair that I get to come here and do so much, but then have to leave.  It was then that something came back to me: "The Circle of Life."  A few lines were making their way through my head, and they really struck me:

There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
...
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding

 There really is too much to see, too much to do, more to find than can ever be found.  But maybe we're not meant to find it all, because we all have our place -- we just need to wait for that path to unwind before us.  Be it in despair or hope, we must never lose that faith or love. 

Well, I suppose things really do go full circle.  I was able to relive my childhood by watching The Lion King, and now it is helping me to understand my present and look forward to my future.  I can only place my trust in God, that He will guide me both now and always, along this circle of life.

Another Aussie Day

Today was one of those days where I definitely feel like I'm in Australia, and feel so blessed to be here.  It was Refugee Day at the school, where they celebrate their refugee student population with a lunch-time school carnival.  It was also casual day for the students, and any teachers that wanted to go along with it.  It was definitely different seeing all the boys wearing normal clothes.  Unfortunately, I forgot and still wore dressier clothes, but this might have been a good thing -- without their uniforms, there'd be no telling me apart from the students (except by my accent, which one of the year 5's made a point to mention to me this morning).  

I spent most of my morning in the year 5 class, where they were working on a religion project.  They had to come up with their idea of what Jesus would be like if he were to come into the world today.  I couldn't help but think of the Alan Jackson song, which has a chorus saying, "If Jesus walked the world today, he'd probably be a hillbilly."  None of the boys chose to make Jesus a hillbilly, but it was interesting to see Him wearing a baseball cap bearing the label "God", a jersey for the Adelaide '36ers soccer team, and then riding a scooter.  I followed up this class with one that was a bit more orthodox -- I'm working with Maria to teach her year 10 RE class for the next 3 weeks.  Today was the second day of the class, and Maria and I split the teaching.  It went pretty well; the boys are still on the unresponsive side since the new semester just started, but I think it will be good.  I really enjoy teaching the older kids; it's a lot different than the primary classes, but I do like the challenge.

Lesson five ended early so that the school could head outside for the extended-lunch festivities.  The main part of it was an Australian "sausage sizzle" and they had some foreign foods around as well.  All over the soccer field they had a bunch of different events going on -- soccer games, taekwondo, and different types of dancing.  It was so funny watching all the reception/kindergarten boys having a blast dancing together!  Probably the coolest part of the event was seeing how all the students and teachers got along -- this day definitely shows how great a community Blackfriars has.  There's such a vast age range at the school, and yet everyone came out and got together to have some fun today.  I'm so glad that I get to be a part of this community for my time here!

I finished off my school day in the year 2 class.  They were all excited to see me, and I was just as excited to see them.  For the first part of the lesson, they were watching The Lion King again, which I was more than happy to watch with them.  After a bit, they headed to the gym with the other primary school boys to practice for their arts performance tonight.  The year 2's were performing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which was really fun to watch.  The boys were all really into it, singing along and doing all the sound effects and their own little dance motions.  So great!  I also got to spend some time with my year 2 buddy Tommy.  He's such an awesome kid!  He loves to drag me all around the class and hang by my side every time I'm in the room. The fact that we have the same first name and favorite color makes him really excited, too -- and he loves my cross necklace, hinting that I should give it to him.  I don't know about that, but I am searching around to buy one for him...

After school, I made my way around the Adelaide Central Market and then headed home.  I got a bit of an Australian surprise with dinner: what else were we eating but kangaroo!  I had mentioned to Brett that I might like to try it, so Reegan went to the supermarket and bought some (yup, you can do that).  I felt a bit strange eating an animal that I've been so excited to see down here, but I figured I had to try it.  It was actually pretty good -- a lot like steak but with its own unique kick. 

It's certainly been a busy day, but a lot of fun; now let's see what tomorrow brings!