It is a beautiful day here and has been for the past two weeks with probably one rainy day. I know you think I am trying to rub in the hot weather here but I am just keeping you up to date with life in Australia. Not trying to rub it in. I explain the weather here as the opposite of our winter wind chills. In Canada when its -25 and its windy it feels like -50, here when its 21 the sun makes it feel like 30. Almost too uncomfortable. Humans never happy with our weathers...too hot, too cold.
Anyways, I am so proud of myself that I am actually able to blog with things that are bloggable and not boring! Since I have been accredited to teach in NSW I thought I would call Kristin and let her know so that she could call me if she ever needed a sub or tell others about me. She has a very busy month coming up with all her bike races on the weekends and weddings. She had yesterday free so we decided to get together before I went away to Perth.
We met her at Warringah Mall (by Manly) and I picked up some teacher goodies. (oh, before I go on...Jon and Jenny read forcasts for rain all weekend and were not optomistic about my trip to the Northern Beaches. I was hoping that they were wrong and kept a positive attitude!) After the teacher shopping we headed to Kristin's to figure out what to do for the day. As we were sitting her in lounge the sun came out and it was nice and hot! We decided to go to West Head which has a nice view of Palm Beach and Pearl Beach, hopefully you remember them from previous blogs. Anyways, beautiful views all around. We then walked through some bush down to West Head...the walk up was a work out! Very steep. I realized that I am only in shape for City Walking....not bush walking! Yikes
After an afternoon of beautiful scenery and warm weather we headed over to Steve's house to pop in and say hi to him and his dad. It was so great to catch up with some proper Aussies. I have missed that part. Driving through the Northern Beaches has also made me miss that part of Australia. I think I will definitely be considering living up there when I come back from Perth. It is far from the city but it is soo much more laid back and just more my style. I do not like big cities. Don't get me wrong there is always lots of fun stuff to do and beautiful sites to see but there is just something about being right next to the ocean and living in a life style where everyone is laid back.
I took some pictures of yesterday but the internet is slow and wonky at the moment..so the will get here eventually.
Oh, also, I don't know if I blogged a week or two ago about when I totally biffed when I was walking home the other day. Flat on my stomach, legs and arms sprawled out, right next to a bus stop with many gasps and shocks hoping I was okay. I got up...shook myself off and just said "no worries, just hurt my pride" giggled and kept walking. Well, yesterday, Jon and David and I were going out of the house and I forgot something back at the house so I ran back to get it and stubbed my foot on some on even growned and biffed it again. Flat on tummy, sprawled. This time I lost a shoe and it was right outside a house party of one of our neighbours. So everyone on the balcony was like "whoa what was that noise," they see me and the shoe, "oh hey you lost your shoe." My pride hurt once again, I ran and said "I'll be back." Got my stuff and ran to get the shoe as I ran to back to Jon and David there was a bunch of clapping to cheer me on. How embarassing. I do not think there can be someone else who falls so hard in public as much as I do!
Toodles!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Big News!
So, the photoshoot was as I thought. Free everything but rediculous expensive photos. So in the end we can pick out one 5x7 for free. haha. But the experience was super fun and I am glad that we went and did it. We had a free stylist session where she talked about what we wanted to wear and what we could use for backgrounds and poses. Then I got my hair and make up done by another hair and makeup stylist. She did an amazing job on my make up! and the she touched David up a little bit. Our photographer has been to London to do film and photography. She was very nice and funny and wanted to know so much about Canada. She was very helpful as when it came to poses I was very indecisive! All in all it was a super fun!!! We took some amateur pictures after.....hahaha.
So now, the big news, I thought I should tell my parents before putting it up in a blog as they may have heart attacks! haha. But I have decided that I am going to apply for my second year visa. I finally got approved to teach and have had an opportunity to get some day to day work for a couple schools in the area. So. September 16 David and I will be taking the Indian Pacific Train (click on that to see the website) all the way to Perth. This is a four day journey but you get to see the beauty of the Outback! So excited! Then on the 20th we will take a train from Perth to another part of Western Australia where a lady that we will be working with for the next three months will meet us. In order to obtain your second year visa here you need to do three months of season work.
There is a program here called WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). So you stay a week or up to a month on a farm with a family and you work for them for free and they supply a place to stay and food. In return you get to see a remote area of Australia that is probably amazing and beautiful and the perks of living with that family. In the end, this lady can sign our papers for 3 months of seasonal work for our three month visa.
The name of the place is Regans Ridge. It is an Olive Grove with 23,000 olive trees. So we will do the work from picking the olives to the process of turning them into oil to putting them in bottles, labelling them and selling them at a market. There are also some sheep there that we will help maintain. We will be working 4-6 hours a day about 4 days a week. On our days off she will drive us to Perth where we can do whatever touristy thing we like.
The plan is to come back after our 3 months work there and spend Christmas with friends in Sydney. Then take off to New Zealand for a few weeks and then head back home to start teaching when school starts.
It has been a stressful, brain is full last couple of weeks trying to figure out what I should do with the next year of my life. Especially after I started working in a classroom. I really wanted to come home to be with friends and family but I really wanted to stay here more and have some cool teaching experiences over here in Australia (and the weather of course....I sit on my balcony in the warm sun as I write this on a WINTER?! day?!)
Anyways, there is my big update,
Holly
So now, the big news, I thought I should tell my parents before putting it up in a blog as they may have heart attacks! haha. But I have decided that I am going to apply for my second year visa. I finally got approved to teach and have had an opportunity to get some day to day work for a couple schools in the area. So. September 16 David and I will be taking the Indian Pacific Train (click on that to see the website) all the way to Perth. This is a four day journey but you get to see the beauty of the Outback! So excited! Then on the 20th we will take a train from Perth to another part of Western Australia where a lady that we will be working with for the next three months will meet us. In order to obtain your second year visa here you need to do three months of season work.
There is a program here called WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). So you stay a week or up to a month on a farm with a family and you work for them for free and they supply a place to stay and food. In return you get to see a remote area of Australia that is probably amazing and beautiful and the perks of living with that family. In the end, this lady can sign our papers for 3 months of seasonal work for our three month visa.
The name of the place is Regans Ridge. It is an Olive Grove with 23,000 olive trees. So we will do the work from picking the olives to the process of turning them into oil to putting them in bottles, labelling them and selling them at a market. There are also some sheep there that we will help maintain. We will be working 4-6 hours a day about 4 days a week. On our days off she will drive us to Perth where we can do whatever touristy thing we like.
The plan is to come back after our 3 months work there and spend Christmas with friends in Sydney. Then take off to New Zealand for a few weeks and then head back home to start teaching when school starts.
It has been a stressful, brain is full last couple of weeks trying to figure out what I should do with the next year of my life. Especially after I started working in a classroom. I really wanted to come home to be with friends and family but I really wanted to stay here more and have some cool teaching experiences over here in Australia (and the weather of course....I sit on my balcony in the warm sun as I write this on a WINTER?! day?!)
Anyways, there is my big update,
Holly
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
City to Surf Photos
To see some more photos check the album out on facebook (i am having problems with this one at the moment.
OR go to the actual website and see me finishing and watch a video. City2Surf
Look at me...two blogs in one day....4 blogs in a week...Can you keep up?! Ha
Holly
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
phooootoshoooot!
Okay so a few things have happened...Thought they would be fun to share with you all.
First of all. I went to church on sunday night and one of the volunteers who has been volunteering since I can remember turned out to be the teacher that I did my overseas trained teacher that I worked with all last week. I had seen him as a volunteer every week but did not recognize him as the teacher. Small world.
Second, at the end of last week I started to get a really sore tooth. I know have a swollen left side of my face and the gum above the tooth is a big bubble. I went to my friend GOutham, who is a dentist, and he hooked me up with some meds. Unfortunately, they face has not settled down yet for my INTERVIEW that is today. It is the last part of the Overseas trained teacher program. Hopefully the pain will go down around the interview time.
Finally! haha an even funnier thing happened. Today when I was getting ready for the interview I got a phone call. I had entered a draw at the local shopping center to win a photoshoot. Didn't think I would actually win but it was free to enter so I did anyways. Well, I won!! haha. They wanted me to come in as early as possible. If you remember from the previous paragraph, I look like a chipmunk at the moment. I told him that and asked if we could do it sometime next week. He told me that it would be no problem and I could bring a family member or friend along. So David and I will be going for a photoshoot tomorrow. We are getting are make up done and eveerything. We will see how well they can fix my face! Man, of all the times they could call me...I wish it was a week earlier or later. LOL...oh well. here is the website of the studio we are going to. VAIG
Anyways, must leave to catch the train for the interview!!! :)
Holly
First of all. I went to church on sunday night and one of the volunteers who has been volunteering since I can remember turned out to be the teacher that I did my overseas trained teacher that I worked with all last week. I had seen him as a volunteer every week but did not recognize him as the teacher. Small world.
Second, at the end of last week I started to get a really sore tooth. I know have a swollen left side of my face and the gum above the tooth is a big bubble. I went to my friend GOutham, who is a dentist, and he hooked me up with some meds. Unfortunately, they face has not settled down yet for my INTERVIEW that is today. It is the last part of the Overseas trained teacher program. Hopefully the pain will go down around the interview time.
Finally! haha an even funnier thing happened. Today when I was getting ready for the interview I got a phone call. I had entered a draw at the local shopping center to win a photoshoot. Didn't think I would actually win but it was free to enter so I did anyways. Well, I won!! haha. They wanted me to come in as early as possible. If you remember from the previous paragraph, I look like a chipmunk at the moment. I told him that and asked if we could do it sometime next week. He told me that it would be no problem and I could bring a family member or friend along. So David and I will be going for a photoshoot tomorrow. We are getting are make up done and eveerything. We will see how well they can fix my face! Man, of all the times they could call me...I wish it was a week earlier or later. LOL...oh well. here is the website of the studio we are going to. VAIG
Anyways, must leave to catch the train for the interview!!! :)
Holly
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Almost There!!!!
What a week! I spent all week trying to write down things that I needed to blog! Hopefully this blog doesn't get too long. I spent my week doing my in school placement at Ultimo Public School. So this blog will be all about my comparing this school to schools I have worked in back home. So, if that does not interest you maybe stop while you are ahead. haha.
First I want to say that I had a wonderful week. The teachers were all soo lovely to me. The class I was in are crazy kids but it was fun! Most of the kids in the school are from China and they actually have a Chinese Language Class. The teacher that I worked with was also the Assistant Principal of the school. That works to an advantage later on. Let me tell you some things about the school. If you have any other questions about schooling here feel free to ask.
Math does not seem to be as important here as it is back home. Different reading/writing programs take up most of the time and then they get about as much math as they do language and Fitness. Their days are also split up a little differently. Their day starts at 9:00 and lunch time starts at 11:15 with recess beginning at 11:30 and finishing at 12:20. They then have a second recess at 1:30 and that goes until 2. After recess they have one hour of class and then its home time at 3:00. Teachers all take turns doing Recess duties and they do not get paid for it. But teachers also get paid a lot better here than they do back home.
One thing I noticed on the schedule that caught my eye was scripture and non-scripture on thursdays right before lunch time. A few churches in the area come to the school and teach scripture for half an hour to students whose parents want them in scripture. The rest of the students go to the hall (an equivelent to a small gym) and sing folk songs. I found this very interesting as we are not even allowed to have Christmas Concerts anymore. Jim, the teacher I was with for the week, told me that the churches in the community offer to go to the schools once a week and they are allowed in the school if the community wants it. Students are also not allowed to skip scripture time for band practice and other stuff like that. In other schools they will have scripture reading for different religions too. This one was just Catholic and Anglican. But the Jewish communities will have Jewish Scripture and usually Christian.
My first day we got together and planned out what I would be teaching.....and what do I usually get stuck teaching when doing some kind of placement in schools.....MATH! One of the lessons I had to teach was on the Seasons. As you know, they have opposite seasons as us. So I had to remember that when adding the months in. To me its summer and spring all year round here. haha. I got some pictures of kids playing in the snow back home and put it into a powerpoint for them to see. They loved it. I was actually shocked at how much they had already known about Canada. Some of the parents told me that their child had come home saying they wanted to go to Canada to see snow they day after I had shown them the pictures. haha.
All went well and I passed the placement. The staff all go out for drinks after work on Friday. I was invited so I decided it would be a good idea for getting my foot in the door. Oh, I should mention, 3 of the teachers there got their jobs after doing the same program as I did...at that school. So the teachers of the school cannot wait for me to get my interview over and done with next wednesday so that they can start calling me up. Anyways, last night I went out for drinks and supper with them and got to know them all pretty well. They are a wonderful bunch. They all left saying to me see you in a week or so. Ah, schools here all have their own casuals. So when looking for jobs you apply to the schools. So, I have a school that will be calling me in for casual work whenever I can. The school is also a k-6 school. So I can teach for all of the teachers. There was a casual teacher who was working all week in the school while I was there. She sounds like a regular there.
Some more things I found interesting....Homework is actually apart of the curriculum. Teachers don't assign homework from different classes. Students have workbooks and are given worksheets at the beginning of the week to have done for the end of the week. This is something that parents in New South Wales want....to have a visual of how their students are doing. This is even in kindergarten. Also, they have a Child Protection and safety unit. I think it is sometimes seen like health is seen back home....a class that can be skipped to catch up in math or english...but a teacher mentioned at the staff meeting..." a student won't die if they dont have enough math but they could die from not having health and safety." So after I heard that comment we had a Child Protection and safety class. I was SHOCKED at what was learned in this class....We watched a video about a boy being raped by his uncle. You didn't seen inappropriate things but you knew what was going on and the dialogue in the video...It was mainly to teach students how to get out of a situation if it ever happens to them. I could not believe they were teaching this in a year 2 class. I asked Jim about that and he said it used to be optional and parents could pull their kids from the class but its now a manditory class. I guess some students go through that kind of stuff as young as that. Just crazy how young students have to hear that kind of dialogue if they are sheltered from it.
That is all the main stuff that I can think of at the moment. I have never felt so welcomed in a school before. Even when I was at my internship, the teachers were all very nice and friendly but it was nothing like here. On my second last day I had a teacher come up to me, that I had only said hi to all week, and started asking me about my time in Australia and told me not to get too carried up in teaching because I should enjoy my time in Australia. She then told me if I ever needed any advice teaching or not that I could email her. I thought that was so sweet but it was a common thing that was told to me by all the teachers in the school.
Okay...pretty long! I will also put up some pictures for everyone from City to Surf as well as the school!
First I want to say that I had a wonderful week. The teachers were all soo lovely to me. The class I was in are crazy kids but it was fun! Most of the kids in the school are from China and they actually have a Chinese Language Class. The teacher that I worked with was also the Assistant Principal of the school. That works to an advantage later on. Let me tell you some things about the school. If you have any other questions about schooling here feel free to ask.
Math does not seem to be as important here as it is back home. Different reading/writing programs take up most of the time and then they get about as much math as they do language and Fitness. Their days are also split up a little differently. Their day starts at 9:00 and lunch time starts at 11:15 with recess beginning at 11:30 and finishing at 12:20. They then have a second recess at 1:30 and that goes until 2. After recess they have one hour of class and then its home time at 3:00. Teachers all take turns doing Recess duties and they do not get paid for it. But teachers also get paid a lot better here than they do back home.
One thing I noticed on the schedule that caught my eye was scripture and non-scripture on thursdays right before lunch time. A few churches in the area come to the school and teach scripture for half an hour to students whose parents want them in scripture. The rest of the students go to the hall (an equivelent to a small gym) and sing folk songs. I found this very interesting as we are not even allowed to have Christmas Concerts anymore. Jim, the teacher I was with for the week, told me that the churches in the community offer to go to the schools once a week and they are allowed in the school if the community wants it. Students are also not allowed to skip scripture time for band practice and other stuff like that. In other schools they will have scripture reading for different religions too. This one was just Catholic and Anglican. But the Jewish communities will have Jewish Scripture and usually Christian.
My first day we got together and planned out what I would be teaching.....and what do I usually get stuck teaching when doing some kind of placement in schools.....MATH! One of the lessons I had to teach was on the Seasons. As you know, they have opposite seasons as us. So I had to remember that when adding the months in. To me its summer and spring all year round here. haha. I got some pictures of kids playing in the snow back home and put it into a powerpoint for them to see. They loved it. I was actually shocked at how much they had already known about Canada. Some of the parents told me that their child had come home saying they wanted to go to Canada to see snow they day after I had shown them the pictures. haha.
All went well and I passed the placement. The staff all go out for drinks after work on Friday. I was invited so I decided it would be a good idea for getting my foot in the door. Oh, I should mention, 3 of the teachers there got their jobs after doing the same program as I did...at that school. So the teachers of the school cannot wait for me to get my interview over and done with next wednesday so that they can start calling me up. Anyways, last night I went out for drinks and supper with them and got to know them all pretty well. They are a wonderful bunch. They all left saying to me see you in a week or so. Ah, schools here all have their own casuals. So when looking for jobs you apply to the schools. So, I have a school that will be calling me in for casual work whenever I can. The school is also a k-6 school. So I can teach for all of the teachers. There was a casual teacher who was working all week in the school while I was there. She sounds like a regular there.
Some more things I found interesting....Homework is actually apart of the curriculum. Teachers don't assign homework from different classes. Students have workbooks and are given worksheets at the beginning of the week to have done for the end of the week. This is something that parents in New South Wales want....to have a visual of how their students are doing. This is even in kindergarten. Also, they have a Child Protection and safety unit. I think it is sometimes seen like health is seen back home....a class that can be skipped to catch up in math or english...but a teacher mentioned at the staff meeting..." a student won't die if they dont have enough math but they could die from not having health and safety." So after I heard that comment we had a Child Protection and safety class. I was SHOCKED at what was learned in this class....We watched a video about a boy being raped by his uncle. You didn't seen inappropriate things but you knew what was going on and the dialogue in the video...It was mainly to teach students how to get out of a situation if it ever happens to them. I could not believe they were teaching this in a year 2 class. I asked Jim about that and he said it used to be optional and parents could pull their kids from the class but its now a manditory class. I guess some students go through that kind of stuff as young as that. Just crazy how young students have to hear that kind of dialogue if they are sheltered from it.
That is all the main stuff that I can think of at the moment. I have never felt so welcomed in a school before. Even when I was at my internship, the teachers were all very nice and friendly but it was nothing like here. On my second last day I had a teacher come up to me, that I had only said hi to all week, and started asking me about my time in Australia and told me not to get too carried up in teaching because I should enjoy my time in Australia. She then told me if I ever needed any advice teaching or not that I could email her. I thought that was so sweet but it was a common thing that was told to me by all the teachers in the school.
Okay...pretty long! I will also put up some pictures for everyone from City to Surf as well as the school!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
City2Surf Pt. 2
Well, I survived the City 2 Surf! It was huge. I ended up feeling not the greatest but I was able to walk with a bit of running throughout the race. It was really not that bad at all. The hills were a bit tiring but I had a ton of energy. David and I found time to stop and take a few breath taking views of the city! When I get the photos on here I will put some up on the blog for you. I am uable to find the chord at this moment to put the photos up.
On Thursday and Friday I had an Orientation type thing for teaching. It is for overseas teachers that want to teach in New South Wales. I got to meet a lot of people from all over. There was a girl there named Hayley Johnson and she was from South Africa. She came up to me and told me that her husband and her talked about names for if they had a daughter and one of the names was Holly. She thought it was sort of weird that she had met me. Obviously, she will name her daughter Holly for sure. lol. It went really well. It was nice to hang out with teachers. We can always find something to talk about. I learned that Australia is a bit behind on the times compared to Canada when it comes to teaching. Next week I will be teaching in the classroom for a week. It will get my foot in the door! It is getting me so excited! No more nappie changing and crying babies. It will be a nice break. The school I will be working in is close to my house. It is an ESL school. I believe 80 percent of the students are Asian. We will see how it goes. I am excited. The class I am in is Year 2 (grade 2) and the teacher is a man. His name is Jim. Nice name for a grade 2 teacher.
Today was beautiful outside. Tomorrow is supposed to get to 28, let's see if it actually gets that warm. David, Jon and I went to Manly and walked around, enjoying the beauty of the ocean and all the scenery. It was the first time I have worn my bathing suit in awhile. It got very cold at night though.
I will try my best to find the chord tomorrow and put up some pictures from today and the race.
tata,
Holly
On Thursday and Friday I had an Orientation type thing for teaching. It is for overseas teachers that want to teach in New South Wales. I got to meet a lot of people from all over. There was a girl there named Hayley Johnson and she was from South Africa. She came up to me and told me that her husband and her talked about names for if they had a daughter and one of the names was Holly. She thought it was sort of weird that she had met me. Obviously, she will name her daughter Holly for sure. lol. It went really well. It was nice to hang out with teachers. We can always find something to talk about. I learned that Australia is a bit behind on the times compared to Canada when it comes to teaching. Next week I will be teaching in the classroom for a week. It will get my foot in the door! It is getting me so excited! No more nappie changing and crying babies. It will be a nice break. The school I will be working in is close to my house. It is an ESL school. I believe 80 percent of the students are Asian. We will see how it goes. I am excited. The class I am in is Year 2 (grade 2) and the teacher is a man. His name is Jim. Nice name for a grade 2 teacher.
Today was beautiful outside. Tomorrow is supposed to get to 28, let's see if it actually gets that warm. David, Jon and I went to Manly and walked around, enjoying the beauty of the ocean and all the scenery. It was the first time I have worn my bathing suit in awhile. It got very cold at night though.
I will try my best to find the chord tomorrow and put up some pictures from today and the race.
tata,
Holly
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