Ally The Canalian: November 2011

Since returning from Tassie, life has been pretty busy. It took a little bit to get back into the swing of things at school. It wasn't nearly as bad as the beginning of third term as I was little more sure of what I wanted the kids to do and how to do it. We got right into our new subjects, including creation and how the world changes (i.e. weather, moon phases, day to night, etc.). Not to mention, somewhere near the end of the year, I need to be doing some teaching on Advent and Christmas before we all go on summer holidays. That's so wierd to think. I don't think it has really hit me that it is the end of the school year. This is all wrong. There is supposed to be snow on the ground and a two week holiday at Christmas (not that I'm complaining). The only thing the same is doing reports just before the Christmas break. I'm done those, so less to stress about for one month.

Experiencing and enjoying God's creation

At the end of the first week back, I was picked/volunteered to go to Boorowa for the Netball and Touch Footy (rugby) Carnival. It was a 2 hour bus ride to get there and it was fantastic. It was all young teachers who went and we had walkie-talkies, which meant we were able to entertain ourselves very well. We each had nicknames - Luke was Papa Bear, Levi was Paddlepop Lion (an ice cream mascot), Natalie was Bald Eagle, Miriam was Goldilocks and I (of course) was Bullwinkle. That's the last time I let someone pick my nickname for me. It was also the first gorgeous day of the spring, so we lathered on the sunscreen and watched some sport. It was especially great because the parents were in charge of the teams, so we just kept things running smoothly, as best we could.

The next weekend, I was off to Eden for the Eden Whale Festival. This festival celebrates the Whale migration back to Antarctica as well as Old Tom. Old Tom is a killer whale that used to help the whalers of Eden by herding Humpbacks and Rights into the harbor and then killed them by holding them underwater. This is also Levi's hometown so we were down there with his girlfriend and a few of his mates. They are all teachers, so we had lots to talk about.

It rained most of the morning, so we were off to the pub first chance we got. We watched to harbor from the pub balcony and saw whales jumping and entertaining the tourists. We then made our way down to the wharf while the sun made an appearance. We got some mini pancakes and wandered around some of the market stalls. We then went the tidal pools where we found snails, anenomes and even an octopus! Unfortunately, being safety conscious, I did not bring my camera with me out to the water, I missed a picture of the octopus.
It was then back to the pub for some dinner ;-) and to get out of the rain once again. Next on the agenda was a laser display and bands down at the wharf again, and back to the pub until last call (which was midnight).

We were lucky to spending the weekend in the other half of Levi's sister's duplex, so we stayed up listening to music and chatting until the wee hours of the morning.
The next day we got up and started making the 3 hour journey back to Canberra. As you can see, Levi was tuckered right out from the weekend.

That Monday was Halloween, and as you've seen in another post, I made sure that we carved some pumpkins. It was strange being the only one in the school doing something for Halloween. It was even stranger the next day when everyone went nuts for the Melbourne Cup. This is biggest horse race in Australia. It even used to be a national holiday. All the classes run sweeps, as did the the staff. Basically, you put money in and then get a horse randomly assigned to you. All day, everyone talks about the race and which horse has the best chance. At the end of the day, every class and staff member went to the Hall to watch the race on the big screen. It was kinda exciting, especially when my horse won. I got $28 out of the deal. This was a much bigger deal than Halloween. People even dressed up (see Levi below).

We are now into the 5th week of school. I've finished reports and now we're into the homestretch. I can't believe I'm halfway through my journey here in Australia.

I am now learning how to play the guitar. One song down only 50 000 000 more to go. This has kept me occupied the last couple of nights.

This weekend I am off to Melbourne as a reward for finishing reports and I plan on going to the museum, doing some shopping and visiting some friends.