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!

A Weekend on Kangaroo Island

I spent this past weekend on Kangaroo Island, Australia's third largest island located just off the coast of Cape Jervis and Adelaide.  I've been waiting to go there since I first started planning this trip, so it was pretty exciting when the time came to go!  I booked a tour through one of the major island tour groups -- I'm not saying this was a bad idea, but it probably wasn't the best.  I was on the old people's tour.  I figured that I should book a tour with a reputable company, since I don't know the area at all and don't want any mishaps; and I didn't want anything too crazy (although I would have loved to spend a week adventuring around the island), but figured a quiet weekend would be best.  I didn't realize that "quiet weekend" meant being on a bus with 3 couples all three times my age.  

On the ferry ride over, looking back to the mainland

I really can't complain though -- it was quite the weekend!  The ferry ride over was the perfect opportunity for me to reflect on my time here so far Down Under -- this weekend marked the half-way point for my fellowship (I'll be home in three weeks!), and what a time it's been!  Standing on my little corner of the upper deck, feeling the wind blowing over my face and looking back to the mainland while the ferry approached the island was a really refreshing time.  Once we got to the island, I boarded the little tour bus and embarked on a Kangaroo Island adventure.  Within five minutes of driving, we saw a pack of kangaroos hopping along in the fields, and there were plenty of Kangaroo Crossing signs.  The island is really beautiful -- more than 1/3 of it is natural old-growth vegetation, and the rest is open farmland and bushland, with a few small towns around the coast.  

 Our first stop was a beach on the south coast of the island.  It looked out on the open ocean, all the way to Antarctica -- I really felt like I was looking out to the edge of the world! (I couldn't see Aslan's Country though...).  After that, we visited a local Eucalyptus Distillery and sheep farm.  The eucalyptus was really cool, but I'm not exactly a fan of sheep's milk.  We went to a local wildlife park, too -- it wasn't quite as nice as Cleland from a couple weeks ago, but I did get to pet a couple snoozing koalas and hold a baby kangaroo! 

He even licked my nose!

Next stop -- the South Pole!

From there, we went to Seal Bay, where we came within feet of colony of rare sea lions spread out on the beach.  We checked out a few more scenic beach spots, and then headed to Kingscote, the town where we spent the night.  My hotel was far from luxury, but it suited well enough.  I got to take a Little Penguins Tour that night near the town's harbor, where I saw over 30 of the world's smallest penguins in their natural habitat!  They were just coming in from a day at the sea and enjoying the cool, clear night (we even saw two of them mating...they might have been enjoying the night a little too much).  I got my first full look of the Australian night sky too -- so different from the Northern Hemisphere!

Also called the "Fairy Penguin"

Right after a rainstorm on the coast

On Sunday morning, I was overjoyed to see a pot of coffee in the hotel dining room -- real coffee!  It was the first real coffee I'd had in weeks, and tasted all the better for it (it probably wasn't actually that great).  The day's tour headed out just before 9:00.  After a quick cave tour (where I had to pin my hands to my sides to keep from touching all the cool stuff hanging from the ceiling -- the guide threatened us beforehand), we went off to the west coast.  This was probably one of the coolest areas I have ever seen -- it was like the like the kind of place that you see on TV but never actually get to go to.  The first of these was the Remarkable Rocks, a granite rock formation on a cliff overlooking the sea.  The wind was howling and the waves were crashing into the rocks far below -- it was so cool!  I clung to the rocks a bit for fear of falling off, but enjoyed every second of it.  The next stop was Admirals Arch, about half a mile further up the coast.  The wind and waves were even stronger here, and the cliffs were  higher.  This time, though, we walked down the cliffs and got to see the arch that is formed there.  It was really an amazing site!

Standing around by the Remarkable Rocks

They really are 'remarkable'!

Looking out on the cliffs by Admirals Arch

Admirals Arch

The tour started to wind down a bit after that.  We stopped off at the National Park visitor center -- the old people sat inside and drank coffee, while I went out and explored the trails.  Unfortunately, we only got a half hour there, and as much as I tried to hurry, the driver still had to come looking for me when I didn't get back to the bus on time (I was only 5 minutes late, though, and didn't get lost -- I just didn't want to leave!).  We went back to Kingscote afterwards and watched a really neat pelican feeding session.  They're some pretty weird birds, but really entertaining to watch!  It was a great way to end the weekend on the Island.

There were over 50 pelicans there, all waiting for Steve to show up and feed them

Now that I'm over the half-way mark of my trip, I'm sure time will be flying by -- it certainly has been so far!

Mentor Day (and Kangaroos!)

Today was the Male Mentor Day for the year 10 boys.  It's a day for the boys and their dads (or other male mentors) to come together and engage in some fun bonding activities.  The camp that it was at is up in the Adelaide Hills, just east of town; it's a wicked nice area!  The ride there was beautiful -- all woods (or bush, as they call it) and hills, with narrow windy roads.  The best part of the ride was that I saw my first kangaroo crossing sign!  I was so excited when I saw it that Brett just kind of laughed at me; he grew up in Eastern Australia, where they have kangaroos everywhere.  It was definitely a good sign to start off the day.

When we got to the camp, it was actually pretty chilly out.  I refuse to admit that anything is cold here, preferring to laugh at the Australians complaining about 50 degrees being freezing, but I was a bit chilled today.  It was cloudy and windy, which makes for a tough combination.  There were over 100 boys and their mentors there.  As we were walking down, Brett was joking that anyone who didn't know us would think we were a father-son team, rather than a teacher and a mentor-for-the-day.  I think some of the dads did think I was a student...although I can't really blame them (I don't exactly look old).

I met up with Gregoire, and we waited around to start off the day.  It turned out to be really cool -- they had three different major activities: a low ropes course, a high ropes course, and a pilot-rescue scenario.  We started off with the low ropes, where I had plenty of Pastoral Council training flashbacks.  Then we moved onto the high ropes, which are my favorite.  On the first one, we had to climb up about 50 feet into a pine tree and then walk across the balance wires to the next tree over.  It was really fun, but my legs were definitely shaking as I crossed the wires!  Even though he's more of a friend than a "mentee", I definitely felt like a bit of a proud dad as Gregor volunteered to go first for the climbing, even though he didn't know anybody there.  The final activity was pretty involved: we had to get a pilot dummy out of a tree, construct a stretcher, and then make a pulley system to get him across a pretend chasm.  Now it was time for Boy Scout flashbacks!  I got to know this boy Tyler really well, though, as the two of us built the shelter and pulleys.  All in all, it was a really fun day!

The best part of the day, though, was on the ride home: we had just passed the kangaroo crossing sign again when I looked out the window, down into the valley.  There were wild kangaroos down there!  All excited, I told this to Brett, so he pulled over and I jumped out to go watch the kangaroos.  They were so cool!  There were 12 of them, all hopping around in a pack, just like I imagined they would.  It was definitely the highlight of my day.  And now, fittingly, I'm packing up to head to Kangaroo Island for the weekend -- where I'll be sure to see heaps more kangaroos!

Look at them all down there!

Crossing Cultures

Today was probably one of the most oddly cultural I've ever had.  I started off the day in the LE office, where Reading Group was cancelled, but the boys showed up anyways.  They all wanted to stick around before class, so I had some fun just hanging out with three of them before lessons started.  I spent the first lesson in the year 5 class, and then I prepared to go off into the city.  Elanour, the head of the International Student Dept (who is Chinese), wanted me to come along with her and Gregoire (the French student) as she showed him around the Central Market so we could get to know eachother a bit before Mentor Day tomorrow.  We made for quite the cultural combination -- a Chinese woman, a French boy, and an American all wandering around an Australian city (which could probably start off a really good joke).

Our first stop was the Language School of Australia, where international students go to learn English before attending school in Adelaide.  We met a couple more French students and some Chinese students as well.  At one point, I was sitting in the middle as Elanour chatted in Chinese on my left and Gregoire was talking in French on my right -- my ears were so confused!  After that, Elanour dropped Gregoire and I off at Rundle Mall, which he had never been to before.  It felt a bit like the blind leading the blind, since I've been in Adelaide the same amount of time as him, but I did know a bit from my earlier teenage tour guides.  He got a kick out of the Mall's Balls and the brass pigs (two Rundle Mall landmarks), and he seemed to really enjoy the Mall.  He's a great kid -- really funny and great to talk with about the different cultures in France, America, and Australia.  

When we met back up with Elanour, we headed to Chinatown.  She seems to know it like the back of her hand, so it was great having her as a guide there.  She showed us where to find the best shops and even managed to bargain down some stuff I bought at a souvenir shop there (the Chinatown shops have a lot of the same stuff as the main ones in the Mall, but way cheaper because it all pretty much comes from China anyways).  We had lunch at a really good dumpling restaurant -- it almost felt like a Chinese culture shock, and yet we were in the middle of Australia.  After our Chinatown adventures, we went to this French Pettiserie on the other side of town -- the workers were all French, and so were the desserts.  Gregoire said that it was pretty authentic, which made my first real French experience too -- in Australia!

When we got back to the school, I headed off to the year 2 class.  They're realling growing on me -- their art teacher was in the middle of explaining something to them, and when they saw me they all turned around and were yelling out hello (most of them also shouting "TJ the DJ!").  They were working on painting Aboriginal designs, which gave me some more culture for the day -- this time Australian!  I helped them out with cleaning their boards and got to talk with them as they came up to the sink -- they're such cute kids and all have something interesting to say.  When the lesson 7 bell rang, they thought I would have to leave and got all excited when I told them I was staying longer today -- such a fun class!

To cap off my day, I went to the Bar Nine cafe, where they have French Press coffee, which is almost  like American style coffee -- I managed to add a little Yankee to my day Down Under!  On the ride home, I started to compile a list of "Aussie-isms" to keep track of all the funky things that Australians say, so I'll be sure to share some of that soon!

A Fairly Un-Wacky Wednesday

Every morning, Learning Enrichment hosts something called Reading Group, where boys who need a little extra help come in and do reading practice.  I'm normally around to help out with them, and that is how I started off today.  There are a few boys there, from year 9, 6, 5, and 4.  They read some pretty simple books and then go through worksheets; it's pretty fun because the boys are always trying to get sidetracked, which I'm more than happy to go along with.  Today I brought in some Sour Patch Kids for them -- they had never tried them before, and I still had some left over that I brought from home.  It was so funny to see their reactions -- they cringed as soon as they put them in their mouth.  I guess they're not too used to sour candies! (or "lollies," as they call them)

After Reading Group, I went off to a year 7 class (not exactly my favorite grade).  They were doing some stuff on the computers, so I wandered around and helped, trying to engage them a little.  They're just so unresponsive!  I love working with the primary school kids, and the high school kids are great -- but the in-betweens are just a challenge!  I suppose it is good experience to get, though -- who knows, I might wind up teaching in a middle school someday.

I got a bit of a break, then sat through a year 8 science class, then went to the year 2's.  I was greeted with a chorus of "TJ the DJ," which even included DJ hand motions.  They all seem to love calling me that -- I suppose that'll have to be my nickname in there!   They were doing show-and-tell, so I got to sit in and watch what they were all presenting.  It was really funny to see them present and then ask questions and comment about each other's presentation.  One boy talked all about measurement, and said how he thought it was crazy that some countries don't go along with the metric system -- I'll stick with my feet and inches, thank you.  After show-and-tell, they watched a snippet of "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King.  Three of the boys were hanging all over me during it, and I was probably even more engrossed in it than they were -- I was supposed to have left for a year 7 class already, but I had to stick around a bit longer!  The boys in that class are so much fun, and I can never pass up watching The Lion King.

My day ended with a year 7 class, but it went much better than this morning.  I think I managed to click with two of them, so it might just be a longer process than with other levels.  I'm up for the challenge though!  Tomorrow I'll be going into the city markets with Gregor, Friday is the male mentor day, and then this weekend I'll be headed to Kangaroo Island -- I've got a busy few days up ahead!

From Koalas to Marxism

Well, I suppose I should start by explaining the absurd title of this post.  It came from a conversation I had with Reegan's dad, Dave (my Australian grandfather, you could say).  He really enjoys talking, and after chatting for about 30 minutes, I traced the train of our conversation: it began with my koala experience at Cleland and ended with the effects of Marxist thought in China.  I pointed this out to him, and he thought it was great to see how the conversation progressed and how seemingly random things can eventually come together.  I thought about it a little more (mostly because I love the combination of words there) and realized that this is one of the ways to describe my experiences so far at Blackfriars.   I've been moving all over the place and doing a little bit of everything, but in all of that chaos there is some rhyme and reason that will make itself known in the end.  

After a conversation with Brett, Reegan and Dave which ranged from horrific Adelaide crime stories (which they assure me haven't happened for 15 years) to how different swears can be combined in a sentence, I turned in for the night to prepare for my third week at BPS.  I started off the day by meeting Gregori, a 17-year old from France who is studying at Blackfriars.  He'll be attending the Year 10 Male Mentor Day this Friday, and I was asked to be his mentor, since he doesn't have anyone else here to fill that role.  He seems like a great kid, and I'm really excited to get to know him.


Since this week is exam week for years 10, 11, and 12, all of my work for the next few days is with the younger grades.  I had some middle school flashbacks with the year 8's, who were working with microscopes, and then sat in on a fairly boring year 9 class (which I hopefully won't be returning to).  Afterwards, though, I got to go to the year 4 class, which is easily one of my favorites.  I seem to be part teacher and part distraction in that class, which is really fun.  The boys love to ask me questions about America (Justin Bieber is a popular subject), and I get to just "muck around" with them a bit as I help them do their work.  


Later in the day, I made my way over to the year 2 class.  On my way, I ran into Tyson, my first year buddy.  He had some fun sounding out my name, and then after I fixed his tie and showed him how to tuck in his shirt, he asked me if I would come play with him at lunch tomorrow.  He's such a funny little kid!  I wanted to follow him in with the year 1's, but I went on into year 2.  They seem so much older than the first years, but they're still a fun group.  They were drawing endangered animals and explaining to me all about the Tasmanian tiger and the platypus.  I miss those days!


I ended my day in the year 7 class, which I thought might be interesting.  They're definitely a lot different than the year 10's or the year 2's, but good in their own way.  When I started talking to one of the boys, he said "Oh good, you sound American."  I'm not quite sure what he expected, but I'm glad to know I have my "American" accent.  I wandered around the class a bit as they designed their bookmarks for the children's story project they're working on, and talked with a bunch the boys.  The teacher was right: those kids are weird.  They are a really good class though, and it'll be cool to spend some more time in there over the next few weeks and see how everything goes.


After school tomorrow I plan on searching out a coffee shop that says it has the American style coffee I'm looking for, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

An Awesome Aussie Day

Well, today was the day!  Maria came to pick me up at the house, and we went to Mass at her parish and then over to her house for coffee.  Her husband and 15 year-old son came with us to meet up with Danni and her husband, and we headed out to Cleland Wildlife Park!  It seemed to be the first time that any of them had been there too, and so it was really exciting.  They knew how much I had been waiting for this day, to go and hold a koala, and so they were all really excited for me, too. 

We got there around 1, and the koala-holding starts at 2, so we had a bit of time to walk around first.  The park was really cool -- it's pretty big, and there are huge open areas where you can go and wander freely around with kangaroos, emus, and potaroos (little mice-like critters).  I had a small bag of animal feed which you're able to give to the kangaroos, so I gave it a shot.  I crouched down near a small one, held out my hand, and called it over -- it hopped right to me!  I'm always fascinated by the way they hop around, and I couldn't believe how it came right over!  I even got to pet him on the head as he ate from my hand.  After the small one, I moved over to one of the bigger kangaroos.  This guy was really cool; he stood up right next to me and tried to grab the bag from me! 

As soon as 2 o'clock approached, we made our way to the koala area.  We saw a big forest-like structure that seemed to be somethink like koala condos (kondos), where a bunch of them were sleeping in the trees.  Nearby was the hands-on exhibit.  A few people were lined up for the free session where you get to pet the koala, but I made my way to the Koala holding -- and was first in line!  The Park trainer came out carrying one of the cutest critters I've ever seen -- a fluffy 8-year old koala named Belle.  Then I got to hold her -- she wrapped her arm right around my shoulder, and I got to pet and hold her as she clung to me.  It was awesome; she had really thick, soft fur and was chewing on a eucalyptus branch as she nuzzled my face.  It was really a dream come true!

with Belle the koala

After my koala experience, we made our way around the rest of the park.  There were pelicans, wallabies, and plenty more kangaroos.  It was really great!  Once we left the park (and I spent a good deal of money in the gift shop), we drove up to Mount Lofty, the highest point in Adelaide.  The mountain is probably about 2000 ft tall, and it has some great views of the city!  They had a nice (but expensive) cafe on top, and so we all spent a bit of time up there before heading home.  Maria invited me to stay over for dinner, and so I got to experience my first Aussie barbeque.  It was really good -- a bunch of different meats all grilled up (although no kangaroo meat).  I really enjoyed spending time with the family, they're a really great group of people.

Having now met one of my life goals, I think I can call it a very successful day!

looking out on Adelaide from Mt Lofty

Beaches and Brawls (well, almost)

Today was another day to go off exploring the area.  I decided to to Port Noarlunga, a beach town just south of where I'm staying.  I walked up to the bus stop and was surprised by the huge crowd of people waiting around -- apparently they were all waiting for the bus to the city for the Adelaide Crows football match.  They looked like some diehard fans -- the football games are supposed to be really fun here!  I waited around for about 20 minutes before my bus showed up, which was running late.  I hopped on, and we started to pull out of the lot.  As the bus was pulling out onto the road, the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, and everyone went flying forward.  Unfortunately, so did the older foreign lady sitting in front of me -- she shrieked as she fell forward, and it didn't sound good.  The thug in the back of the bus wasn't too happy either...he started spouting off some expletive-laced tirades at the top of his voice, calling out the driver and shouting about the late bus and his troubles with his bipolar girlfriend.  Ouch.  he even threatened to kick in the face of the old man who helped the lady!  The woman seemed more shaken than anything, but we had to wait around for an ambulance to come get her.  The thug was not happy, and he let us all know it.  After about a half hour, another bus showed up -- the woman was able to go odd with an ambulance, and the thug was threatened with a phone call to the "coppers."

After this incident, I finally made it down to Noarlunga.  As I started to head to the transfer bus, I saw some pretty weird people (both weird looking and weird smelling) and was starting to second-guess my choice of destination.  I got on the next bus, which took me down the road towards the sea.  I got off at a local bakery, and then started searching for the beach.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that I picked the right place to spend the day.  It was wicked nice looking!  There was a long jetty that a bunch of people were fishing off of, high red cliffs, and turquiose-blue water.  I walked to the end of the jetty and then explored the cliffs a bit.  The sun was shining down through the clouds -- "God-clouds," we've always called them, and they definitely looked like it.  Walking along the beach was the perfect way to take in the beauty of the area and relax after a crazy week Down Under.

Looking out from the jetty

Walking along the beach

Tonight seems to be shaping up as a mock-American night.  I had some Campbells soup and Kraft grilled cheese, but both were made in Australia and tasted just different enough to notice.  Then I put on AFV -- Australia's Funniest Home Videos.  It's definitely different than America's Funniest Home Videos; the commentary isn't quite as good but some of the videos are really funny.  I saw a commercial for an all new episode of The Biggest Loser, too -- the only problem is that it aired in the US two years ago.  It's funny how Australian culture is so similar to American, and yet so different.

After spending today on the beach, I'll be off for the hills tomorrow to go to Cleland Wildlife Park, home of the "Koala Experience!"

Friday Craziness

I finally managed to work up a schedule!  I met with John, the deputy principal, and Maria, the head of Learning Enrichment who I've been doing a lot of work with.  My days are going to be pretty busy, which is actually just what I wanted -- I'll be moving around between years 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12, doing things from learning enrichment aid to math to religion.  I'm also going to be attending the year 10 male mentor day, the year 9 retreat, and possibly the year 12 retreat.  It's going to be a busy 4 weeks, but I can't wait for it all! 

It's really been great getting to move around the school and experience so much there, and today was no exception.  After my meeting, I headed over to the primary school section to see what class I should go in with.  I saw a group of first year boys, who were all yelling and waving to me as they headed off to their music lesson.  Then I popped into year 4, where Christian was all excited to see me again (he's probably one of my favorites!), and then I settled down in the reception, or kindergarten, class.  All I can say is: yikes!  That reception teacher has got a lot in her to handle that class.  Twenty five year olds in one room!  I was paired to be buddies with this boy Isaac, who has a hyperactivity disorder.  I held his hand as we walked around outside and guided him along a bit in the class, when he wasn't jumping up and down and running all over the place.  He's got some energy!  After two hours in that class my head was spinning -- it was a lot of fun, but thank God I don't have to be a kindergarten teacher!

I got a bit of a break after that before going back to the year 10 math class.  I helped out a few of the boys on their exam practice again, and worked with one of them for almost 40 minutes.  Afterwards, Brett told me that no one can ever get that one to stay focused for so long, so it was pretty cool to see that he worked so well with me!  After math and lunch, I went with Maria to her Religion class.  I did a bit with them about Pentecost, and then we did something a bit different -- button sewing.  I remembered from my 7th grade Home Ec class how to do this, so I taught a few of the boys how to as well.  It was a strange way to spend class, but actually kind of enjoyable -- a low key way to end the week.

Once school got out, I went into the city to meet up with the daughter of Danni, the other woman from learning enrichment.  She wanted to show me around some of the city, so I figured that would be something fun to do -- Adelaide through the lens of a 15 year old girl. It wasn't as bad as I feared -- I imagined a gaggle of teeny boppers storming all around me through the city, but there were only 2 and they were really friendly.  We checked out the Central Market, Chinatown, and Rundle Mall.  It was cool to meet Teigan (Danni's daughter) after hearing so much about her from her mother at school; I seem to know half her family history already, and there were a few times when she'd say something and then follow it up with, "Don't tell Mum I said that!"  After walking around the city I came back to the house, which I have to myself again for the weekend.  Although if I'm going to see the koalas on Sunday, maybe I can find some new furry friends to take home with me...I'll have to be sure to take a big backpack that day!

From Year 1 to 12 in One Day

I don't really have any sort of schedule at the school yet, so every day is still a bit of a surprise.  Today, I got to start off in Year 1.  I had been in that class once before, and it was really fun -- the kids are all wicked cute and full of questions.  When I got to the class, they were finishing up an art project where they were creating a bunyip, a mythical Aboriginal monster.  I saw crayons and feathers scattered all over the room, and one little boy names Tyson walked right up to me with glue all over his fingers.  He was the first to show me his bunyip, and then a bunch of other boys followed suit -- I'm not sure what the monster is supposed to look like, but most of theirs were feathery and covered in googly eyes.  After they finished, we did some group reading.  The three boys I was with were all great, and we worked through until snack time.  Then I started to get some questions, anything from "What's the name of your school?" to "Do you have an evil cousin?"  Really a great group!

After year 1, I prepared to do a year 10 math lesson.  It's a foundations math class, so not exactly rocket science...which I didn't mind a bit.  I've been working in the class for a bit now, helping out the boys with their work, and today I led them in a review.  It all went really well -- the teacher that was in the room (a sub, since the regular teacher was out) kind of kep the boys in order and let me handle the rest, so it worked out nicely. 

I continued to work my way up the grades by ending the day in a year 12 philosophy class.  They were reading some Hume, Anselm, and Kant...I blanked out on the Hume, just as I did in Civ, enjoyed the Anselm (like I did in Civ), and then the teacher skipped the Kant (just like I did in Civ).  It is interesting to see how he teaches all of this stuff to high school age students.  I don't know that it's the way I would do it, but the boys still seem to get a lot out of it.  The second half of the class they spent in discussion of different issues, and some of the boys actually sounded surprisingly intelligent.  I think it's so interesting to hear about the different cultural and politcal issues in Australia, and how some of them are so similar to what we have in the US -- before this I never thought much about Australia beyond exotic animals and cool accents. 

I think tomorrow might finally be the day that I meet with the deputy principal and nail down a schedule, and this weekend might be when I finally get to hold a koala!

P.S. -- I've been having trouble with my internet, and it isn't letting me load pictures -- but as soon as I get it figured out, I will be sure to post some!

Another Day, Another Adventure

Every day down here is truly different, and today was no exception.  I started off the day in a year 8 math class when I got a visit from the deputy principal, inviting me to go on an excursion (or field trip) with a class of year 9’s to a local Leonardo da Vinci exhibition.  I hadn’t done too much with the year 9’s before this, so I figured I’d give it a go.  We went to the Adelaide Showgrounds, a really nice exhibition center just outside the main city.  The people there gave us an overview about da Vinci and then showed us around some of his different inventions.  It was pretty cool!  If the trip taught me anything, though, it was how different all the grades are from each other – it’s really noticeable.  The year 9’s are too old to be open and friendly, but too young to be mature and friendly.  I definitely prefer the younger and older grades.  They weren’t at all a bad group, but just not the easiest to talk with.  I’m still working on the best way to relate to some of the boys, and that year 7,8,9 age group seems to be the toughest.  It has been really cool though, when I do get to know the boys a bit better – it’s always nice to get a hello (or a “G’ day”) as I’m walking around the campus.

We got back from the excursion just in time for lunch, which I spent in the Learning Enrichment office.  They have this thing called “Game Group” that they hold every day during lunch, so I jung around for that – only 2 boys came today, but we had some fun playing Jenga and Connect Four.  I won 4 out of the 5 games, which was pretty satisfying – the boys were 13 and 14, so I didn’t feel bad about beating them.  It was really fun though!

I talked with Maria a bit after that about helping out in her religion class after next week; we’re going to work together planning lessons and then teaching the class, so I’m really excited for that.  And then tomorrow I’m going to semi-run a review lesson for a year 10 math class.  Although I wasn’t sure it would be, my time so far has seemed like a great way to get teaching experience.  It’s really getting me thinking about going into teaching after college.  Hopefully I’ll still think that in 4 and a half weeks!

On a side note, my Australia coffee hunt is about to go into full-swing.  I feel like a fool every time I go into a different coffee shop, trying to figure out how and what to order, so I did some research.  Apparently, my problem is pretty common – a lot of Americans have trouble finding suitable coffee Down Under.  Americans prefer drip-style coffee, whereas Aussies like it espresso style.  Everyone online said that drip-coffee is near impossible to find down here, and the three people I’ve talked to here have never heard of it – but I will find it!  I’m going to check out every “Macca’s” I see, and look in every city coffee shop – they’re bound to have it somewhere!  And if not, my search will end just in time to get back to Dunkin’s.