HAVE ALL MY STORIES BEEN TOLD?

I like to think that I don't have many fears. I've jumped from a plane, sat with a wild cheetah, held pythons... the list of "fear-testing" examples goes on. But the stories I have from experiences like these has developed into a fear of mine.

It may sound rather silly, but I'm sure one thing that truly scares me is having my stories grow old. My mind and heart are filled with stories of foreign countries, sunrises, wild animals, extreme experiences, finding friends, places of happiness and humor. Will these memories and moments become a burden to me? Will anyone listen to my stories? When I am old, will I be able to remember my own stories? Will I remember how I felt?

The real reason I've thought of this seemingly odd fear I have developed is because I constantly get asked the same question. One a have grown to despise: "What's new?" I used to enjoy that question because I would have many fresh stories to tell about recent experiences. Now, it's a guarantee that I can answer that question in one word rather than in a series of stories strung together. That word is: nothing.

In the last three months, literally nothing 'is new'. I drive to and from work each day. My excitement comes from passing the same guy on the highway each day before and after school. I get excited to come home before it's dark out. I look forward to cutting our jungle lawn. If I'm lucky, I might have time to watch a show on Netflix. 

This is my life now. I love my job, but as for a personal life, things are pretty bleak. It can't help that I live in a desolate town. Maybe it only seems this way as I have gone from one extreme (living in a city with four-point-some million people) to another (living in Saskatchewan). 

Whoops, let's get back on track here. My fear, ah yes. Another way I have discovered that this is a fear of mine are moments I have where it's a perfect time to tell a story. I can jump into that conversation with "that reminds me of when I was living in Melbourne and..." or "We did something similar to that in New Zealand..." Recently, I have found that those who are listening don't really seem to care. Perhaps I'm a bad story-teller or maybe the listeners find it hard to connect with my stories. Maybe I have already told them this story? Are they annoyed that I keep starting sentences with "This time in Australia"? I have suddenly developed a guilt and a bit of anxiety to tell my stories. I feel bad for sharing them instead of being excited and happy. I'm finding that I am keeping more of my stories to myself these days so that I don't have to feel the guilt of sharing or mask my distress of their disinterest. 

I have twenty-something years worth of stories. Even if no one wants to listen to my stories or briefly share in my experiences, the great thing is that I have had these experiences. My stories are special and unique. No one else has them. I won't let my stories be a burden. I will not fell guilty for sharing a story. I will enjoy the fact that at this moment, I can remember all my stories and they ways I felt through each story and experience. 

The most precious thing I have are all my stories. It's maybe all I have. Without my stories, what would I really have. I am so grateful to have all my stories. The fear of loosing my stories comes from the very fact that without my stories, I am nothing.

RED CENTRE TO REEF

I just wanted to quickly share a video that I made about a week ago. It was a bit delayed, but it brings together some of my highlights of July when I was travelling around Australia one last time. There are times in my daily life recently, where a memory from Australia floods my entire brain and senses and I have to take a moment to smile and remember how I felt in those moments.

Some of the greatest moments I had on this trip took place in the Outback. Who knew how stunning and magnificent heaps of rusty rocks could be!? Uluru was wonderful and it was a time where I really got to feel how small I am in comparison to the world. The Olgas had me experiencing a breathtaking hike through the curves and valleys of sacred stones. Kings Canyon had to be my favourite though. It was spectacular. One memory that often floods my mind is the moment I stood on the edge of a cliff at Kings Canyon at half six in the morning after hiking up through the darkness. I stood there watching as the sun rose over the beautifully rustic, red rocks. It's just one of those moments that are hard to explain, but I will never forget it. In moments like those, I remember the feeling of being so ALIVE and so extremely grateful to have such experiences. 

So here it is, a bit of a summary of my last Australian experience. I can't wait to go back one day.

LAST WEEK IN MELBOURNE AND COMING HOME

It's never easy leaving a place, especially one that you call home. The transition from living in Melbourne to living back in Saskatchewan has be tough for me. For most of July, I travelled to the Outback and more of the East Coast. It's funny when I meet people, often the initial conversation revolves around where 'home' is for everyone. I would have never guessed that I would struggle to answer this question, but I did. After a year of living in Melbourne, I can't help but consider it my home although I would never leave Canada out of the conversation. 

Maybe you're wondering, what made Melbourne home and why was it hard to part with? You see, the strange things about clichés is that they are often clichés for a reason; they either work or are completely true. Here's my cliché: Home is where the heart it. Where family is. You name it. Melbourne is my home because of this. My family was there. My heart was there. 

Sure, I miss the pace of the city, the fact that no one knew my name or could recognize me. I miss Bourke Street filled with buskers, lane-way short cuts and cute cafes. I miss being able to sit on my balcony and admire the sunrise or the city night lights. I miss my independence and freedom which I gratefully admired and exhausted in my time away. But, in our year together, Jenna and Eric, have become my family and they are solely what I miss most about living in Melbourne. 

Possibly the worst thing about being home is that nothing has changed. While I've gone off, explored many gorgeous parts of the world, made a life in Melbourne, changed the way I thought of certain things, grown as an individual and began my first teaching career, I came home only to find that everything is familiar and in a year, has gone unchanged. I reckon that was my biggest disappointment aside from the fact that no one here can truly relate to my experiences, the feelings I've felt or my love for adventure.

Our last week in  Melbourne as a family was possibly one of the best weeks we had. We took in the beauty of our city, ate out, went to a musical, went to our last Woodlock show, admired the talent on Bourke Street and hung out with all our mates! Here's a video with a few clips that showcase what we were up to. I miss Melbourne and my mates!

Cheers,

x x x

CARDS AND TRAVELLING AND TRAVELLING AND CARDS

For some reason, my entire time in Australia has been very nostalgic. There are many times that good memories pop up in my head and I am able to reflect on that time in my life and how I felt. It's funny that travelling and living abroad had brought these memories and feelings all back to me. I would say that living in Australia has changed me in many ways, but one thing that has always remained constant is my love of a good card game. 

The other day I had another nostalgic moment where I was thinking of a time when I was surrounding a picnic table with some friends and family in a campsite back at home. The fire was crackling in the dark and we each held a hand of cards which we could only see by nonchalantly shifting our hands into the stream of the propane light. This memory flooded my brain with other memories where I would be holding a hand of cards and it brought a feeling of warmth to me. As I reflected on these experiences, I came to realize how important playing cards are to me in my lived experiences and who I am as a person. 

Like I mentioned, travelling and living abroad has changed me in many ways. Not to be egotistical, but I feel like it has benefited me by making me a better person - more awesome, if you will. I have become more social, confident, adaptable, adventurous and perhaps even a little smarter. The more I travel, the more universal my thoughts, ideas and conversations become. Like playing cards, travelling has a large influence on my everyday learning and who I have become not only as a person but also as a teacher. It just so happens that travelling and playing cards have almost always gone hand in hand.

Through my travels around Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, I have come to realize that travelling, and in particular - staying in hostels, is the best way to meet new people each and every day. These people come from all around the world, all with stories just as unique as mine to share. There is something so profound about sitting at a table surrounded by people who came from each edge of the Earth with a willingness to share their stories and listen to others. I'm sure that a hand of cards is one of the best ways to be able to connect and get to know new friends. 

More often than not while we were travelling, we would find ourselves sitting around a table each with a hand of cards that had been dealt to us. In everyone's hand - a different combination of cards. I like to think of the cards as metaphor of our lives; possibly representing our pasts, our presents, or our futures. Whether they represent one thing or another, the truth is, those very cards are what brought everyone sitting around the table together. The cards engaged everyone in conversation and sparked the enthusiasm of some to lay their cards on the table for everyone else to see. 

Whether my metaphoric interpretation of playing cards engages you or not - the fact is that I realized that playing cards - a standard pile of 52 plastic-coated, distinguishably marked pieces of paper - have come to mean a whole lot more to me that I ever expected and have been a part of my own learning experiences since the very beginning. Now that I have looked back on many different memories, I have come to the realization that for the most part, playing cards have been the foundation for much of my learning. It’s not one specific place that has taught me some of the most valuable lessons in life; rather, it is the numerous hands of cards that I have held in different spaces that has guided my learning. These lessons have shaped my learning, molded me as a teacher, constructed me into a lifelong learner, and guided me as a curriculum-maker.

This friendship all started with a game of cards!

Besides the obvious, such as learning how to count and to add numbers, playing cards have taught me some bigger life lessons. Allow me  to put this into perspective.

Sense of Belonging

I said it earlier and I’ll say it again: playing cards brings people together. Looking back, I don’t think there was ever a family gathering where the good old casino quality deck of cards wasn’t brought out for a game of some sort. A simple game of cards can bring people together and as I have recently experienced, a game can bring people from all over the world together. The cards give you a sense of belonging or a reason why you are suddenly surrounded by the people around you. Whether I played cards on the red marble covered table at my grandparents, on a plane meal tray flying over Africa, on a rickety picnic table somewhere in Australia or gathered around a coffee table in a cozy cabin nestled by a creek in New Zealand; a deck of cards has always given me a sense of belonging and a reason to believe that I am where I am for a purpose.

Don’t Expect an Easy Way Out

If you’ve ever played cards with me, perhaps you have witnessed me with a hand full of jokers – for some reason they always wind up in my hand (I swear I don’t cheat), sometimes allowing me to easily win a round – or two. BUT, you aren’t always dealt the jokers or the wild cards, so there isn’t always going to be an easy way out. My Grandpa taught me this lesson best. Even though I was his granddaughter and he loved me, there was no way he would ever let me win. I never realized at the time (and maybe he didn’t either) but my grandpa was teaching me a whole lot about life in a single card game. There were times, I wanted to give up and not play cards against him because the probability of me winning a hand was never in my favour! He played to win and he was merciless when there were cards on the table. However, he taught me that it is alright to lose as long as I continue to give it my best the next time to try and win. Even when things are hard, don’t throw in your cards and give up. Just try again.

Pass Your Knowledge onto Others

If you’re a frequent card player, or frequently find yourself around card players, you’ll notice that each person knows different rules to some games, such as Rummy, where there are many versions to be played. You’ll hear, “We play it this way,” or “I’ve never heard of those rules before!” I enjoy the diversity each player is able to bring to the table. It allows for us to pass along our knowledge of the game while being able to absorb others knowledge of the same game. It’s fun to sometimes combine rules of different games to make a new game, as long as all the players agree on the rules! There are also times when some people may not know a particular game and you have to opportunity to teach them the rules and how to play the game. It’s all about collaboration and passing on what you know to others.

Always Be Present or You’ll Miss Something

In my early days of playing cards, I’m sure my family can testify to me never really being present in a game. I was off making sounds that annoyed them, I wasn’t thinking of how to play my cards before it got to my turn and I would have to be reminded that, in fact, it is my turn and so on. I would miss the fact that someone laid a wild card for me as they simply had too many or I would unknowingly have my opponents take advantage of me because I was not present in the game. I would miss something that was right in front of my eyes. Over time, I ditched the sound making and the wandering eyes and mind and learned how to focus on a game and to strategize, planning out my next move. In the long run, this has taught me about life. To live in the present. To not dwell on the past and to not worry about what may or may not happen in the future. Just to simply be present, where you are in each moment of the day. To look where your feet are planted, love every minute of it and don't miss out on the little things. 

You Can Still Win With a Bad Hand

The funny thing about playing cards is that you can be dealt really, really bad hands. You might not have anything you can work with or you might have nothing at all to play. This can go one of two ways. No matter what strategy you have in place or how strong your strategy might be - sometimes the cards just don't go your way. This happens in life too. You could have the best laid plan in the world, but things don't always turn out the way you imagined. And just like in a game of cards, you find out it's going to all be all right in the end. The same situation can go the other way as well. Maybe you're dealt a poor hand but there still a chance, even just a small chance, that if you play your cards right, you can come out winning - even against all odds. And really, is there a better feeling than being able to win with a bad hand?

DON'T WANNA LEAVE BUT I GOT A JOB!

It's crazy to think that this is my last week left of my year long stay in Australia. It has gone by so fast and to be honest, I am slightly nervous to move back to Canada. My life and experiences have been so incredible here that, at the moment, I don't want to begin picturing how everything will change when I move back. I am really going to miss my life in Melbourne. I love this city!

These last two month has been amazing for work! I have only had four days where I went without working. It has been very busy but I am grateful to have the opportunity to experience different classrooms and connect with so many people. 

Yesterday I was at a school that I have been to quite regularly. I've always enjoyed going to this school as the staff is absolutely amazing! I found it strange how a bulletin didn't make it to me before the first break so I went into the staffroom to check out if I had a yard duty. As I was checking the bulletin, the vice principal spotted me looking and added , "Nope, no duties for you today Kaitlyn!" This came as quite a surprise because as a CRT, you almost always have at least one yard duty a day, if not two. This is because we are paid to do a yard duty, so the school will swap us places with a teacher who would normally be on duty. I don't mind at all because I know the regular teachers would have heaps of things they could accomplish in their break whereas I don't have much to do.

I grabbed a seat in the staffroom, made a coffee and was ready to settle in for the next 40 minutes. There were mini muffins set out on a plate in front of each seat at the table. I began talking to the vice principal about my plans for next year as a kindergarten teacher and how I have so much enjoyed teaching in Australia, especially at this school. Once more of the staff had settled into their seats, the vice principal got up and began to explain why they were having a morning tea with mini muffins. One of the teachers got a full time job so they were celebrating, then he mention the two high school boys (who I was working with in PE) who had been volunteering their time in the sport program and that it was their last day at the school. All three of them were presented with big shortbread smiley face cookies. Then he continued as he brought out a massive jam and custard filled Lamington, "And, I have this typical Aussie dessert for our Canadian friend who has been a great addition to our school on occasion and is returning home shortly." I was completely shocked! I had no idea and I nearly cried out of the genuine gesture and for realizing my time here is down to the last few days. He said so many other kind, meaningful words to me but I forget most of them as I was completely surprised by all this happening. He explained to the rest of the staff where I come from and what the weather was doing there and then had me explain what I would be doing when I get back home. 

Which brings me to my latest news... I GOT A TEACHING JOB FOR THE FALL! Yessss, I woke up one morning at the beginning of the month to a job offer! I was absolutely thrilled because I had been feverishly applying to jobs all over Canada since March! This was another big surprise to me because I did not even interview for the position - I was just offered it. I accepted the offer because it was in Saskatchewan and because it is temporary (I will be covering a maternity leave!) I think it will be the perfect opportunity for when I get home and I will have the chance to move onto another adventure come January when my temporary contract is up! 

Meanwhile, I am so sad that my time here is coming to an end. I keep doing regular things that I have done for the last year and think, "This is the LAST time I will be doing this." It's going to be so hard to leave this place. I already miss it and I haven't even left yet. This Sunday Jenna and I did our last South Melbourne Market trip - something we have done nearly every Sunday for the last year. Today, I went to the Queen Victoria market and just took it all in being it would be last time there. The weather has been rainy and cold, I'm thinking it's mocking my feelings about leaving. 

Before I return home, I will be doing some final Australian travelling. On the first of July, I head off to the Red Centre, the heart of Australia...the OUTBACK and I am going solo! I am so so excited about this because I will get to explore Uluru, Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon and more! I will meet up with Alannah in Sydney where we will continue to do a sailing adventure through the Whitsundays Islands, head up to Magnetic Island, Mission Beach and Cairns! I'm glad I get to end my time off in the warm and tropical areas of Australia.

COOPERATIVE COLLABORATION

Just as I thought I wasn't going to get a call to work this morning, my phone rang and I was happy to accept my assignment for the day. My assignment was to teach Phys. Ed. - something I haven't done since before Christmas, so I was rather excited. 

I was lucky enough to have the first session of the day to have time to plan (and have a cup or two of coffee) and figure out what I should teach for the day. There was no plan left for me and no one seemed to know what the students have been doing in Phys. Ed. Although not having a plan of any kind would normally slightly stress me out, I was excited to have control of what I got to teach. 

It was a 'wet day' today meaning it was very rainy. Generally, schools have all of their Phys. Ed. lessons outside on the ovals or on the courts, but on days like today, we are left with the hall - a small space that is only used for after school care and the odd wet day. After seeing the space, I realized that getting 30 students in grades 5 and 6 could get quite crowded and rowdy. 

The hall is quite a small space.

Instead of planning to do a bunch of games, I thought it would be exciting to focus my lessons on the idea of cooperation and collaboration. As I planned, I thought of games and activities to do (with minimal running due to space constrictions) that would promote working together as a group for the same outcome. The students enjoyed the activities we did and they liked it even more when I added in a little challenge component by recording the time it took to complete the challenge or splitting the students into teams and racing. 

After having a discussion about what cooperation and collaboration is and what it looks like, I began my activities. The first challenge I called Wall Ball. I had the students lay with their backs on the floor and putting their feet up against the wall. Their task was to pass the ball from the first person to the last using only their feet. Not only did I notice that the students were helping each other out (with their feet) while the ball was passed from person to person but also they began motivating each other and positively cheering their classmates on. 

The second challenge was my favourite - The Hula Hoop challenge. To start, the biggest challenge was getting all the students to hold hands. I've never had this problem before since I generally teach preps and the younger grades, so I didn't anticipate this situation with the 3/4 and 5/6 classes. We had a spontaneous, quick lesson on holding hands and once again - the idea of team work. Unfortunately, I had a few students choose to sit out because their fear of holding the hand of an opposite gender was just too much. Basically, the students needed to all hold hands and pass a hula hoop all the way around the circle by going through the hoop and staying connected. It was a lot of fun and the challenge heated up when I split the students into teams of boys and girls. 

I had another game planned out to play, but as it turns out, we were short on hula hoops for this activity. I was so excited to play it so I will have to save it for another day at another school. It's called Caterpillar Riot - the name itself it so exciting! 

With the remaining time, I decided to do a silent vote for which game we should play. I let the students choose the games and we went from there. I despise dogdeball entirely - as a student and as a teacher, but every single student voted for it. There was no way I could skew the results to play a different game so we ended off the day with a game of dodgeball.

YOU CAN BE BATMAN IF YOU WANT TO BE

As a CRT, yard duty (supervision) can be rather stressful at times. I actually don’t mind yard duty at all, in fact, I will even offer to take a yard duty from teachers who look like they just might need an extra break. There are many things that I enjoy about doing yard duty such as being outside and having the opportunity to observe students in their natural habitat of play and exploration. However, we all know that there is a tendency for many things to go wrong at recess. Being a CRT does not help in these situations. It’s not that I can’t solve problems, break up fights or reason with tempered students, it’s that I don’t KNOW any of the students very well, including their names, especially at  schools I don’t go to often. I'm never sure which students I should be keeping a watchful eye on or the ones who tend to over exaggerate conflicts with friends.

With that being said, today was what I consider to be a good yard duty day. While the playground was still bustling with busy students at play, boys getting more footy balls stuck in the tree tops while trying to get one ball down and major girl drama under the play structure, I had what I would consider to be a really great moment with a student.

“Excuse me, miss” I hear as one student comes running up to me. I get to be decked out in a lovely florescent orange vest, which makes me an easy spot for anyone within a few kilometres. At this particular school, we also carry around a first aid kit and a clipboard with a paper to record any serious situations on the playground. No matter who you are, you will always be followed by a posy of preppies (kindergartens) who beg to carry all these things around for you. It’s insanely cute.

“My friend has been punched and I think he’s hurt!” I get him to lead me to his friend. On the way over, I ask, “So do you know what happened?”

“Yeah, I punched him.”

I stopped and looked at him saying, “Dude, why would you punch your friend?” and I thought, this has to be to most incredibly unique situation where someone punches their friend only to feel really bad about it and go to retrieve help.

When I arrived at the scene of the crime, there was a boy laying on his back with tears rolling down his cheeks. A group of students hovered over him speculating him like a foreign subject. As soon as I approached, all the witnesses wanted to share their take on the story at once. There were names being thrown around, fingers being pointed and nearly a dozen voices explaining everything in discord.

“Jude took my batman mask and I can’t find it.” This was part of the story that I had heard before I stopped everyone, “Woah, woah, woah. Let’s break this down.” I pointed to the student who came to retrieve my help, “So, you’re Jude?” “No, Miss. Jude is a boy who doesn’t go to our school anymore.”

Alright, let me get this straight. This entire brawl got started by a student who doesn't even attend this school?! What is going on? While I'm still not sure I understand exactly what happened on the playground this afternoon, here are the facts I do know.

One student wants to be batman. He lent someone his batman mask..in grade 3 (we're dealing with grade 6 boys)..to a student who no longer attends this school. However, said student lent it to someone else who still does go to this school. He just wants to find his batman mask. If Ben Affleck can be the new Batman, he can just as well be Batman if he moves to America. In his search, his friend told him he could, in fact, not ever become Batman. In frustration of having a friend not believe in his dream, he punched him. Complicated, right? RIGHT.

Even though I have only ever seen one Batman flick, I can relate to this student. He understandably became upset because someone didn't believe in him and let me tell you, that kind of stuff hurts. It doesn't matter who you are, if you have the ability to tell someone their dream is stupid, you probably have no heart.

After getting all the students involved sorted out, making sure everyone was feeling at par again, I asked the student if he wanted to take a walk and hang out with me. He agreed.  I had him explain to me what his dreams were, what he wanted to do and how he would achieve this dream. He had it all figured out. At the end of our talk, I turned to face him. “Now, if you have a dream, I don’t want you to think that anyone can stop you from achieving it. Just stay positive, do what makes you happy and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do what you set your mind to..but let’s not use violence if someone does tell you that.”

It has nothing to do with becoming the next Batman or not. Who knows, the odds could be in his favour. But I wanted him to know that if he has a dream and if he believes in himself - that is all he needs. And it felt good being, perhaps, one of the few people to believe in his dreams and let him know that anything is possible. If even for a moment I gave him the courage to go after everything he has dreamed about, it made my little heart smile. I am always the happiest when I can make other people happy and I know after our talk, he was feeling pretty happy too.

We high fived it out before I headed up to the staff room for lunch and he went off running in the opposite direction, chasing his dreams. 

THE FEEL GOOD TEACHER POST

Even though I have loved travelling for what was pretty well two full months, I was ready to get back to teaching again. I missed it. Since it was the beginning of the second term when we returned from New Zealand, the calls were few and far in between. I had worked one day out of a possible six for the first week and a half. I was beginning to wonder if my agency had forgotten about me since I had been away. Finally, I got a call on Wednesday which lead me back to one of my favourite schools to teach! Luckily for me (and not so lucky for the very ill teacher), I got to continue teaching there for the remainder of the week. It's funny how, as CRT's, we are always hoping for someone to get sick. Not that we truly want them to be sick, we just appreciate the work that comes along with it. In the staffroom today, a teacher was talking about how she thought she was coming down with a cold of some sort. I leaned over and said "If you ever need to take a day, I'd be happy to take your class!"

For the last three days, I've been teaching a group of 3/4's. I love this school in particular, but there is one class, with one student, that everyone is afraid of taking. Since I hadn't been back to the school since Term 4 last year, I wasn't sure which class was the 'scary class' as all the students would have moved up a grade and swapped classrooms. On the train to school Wednesday morning, I found myself mentally preparing for the odd chance that this particular class would be my assignment. As I signed in at the office and chit-chatted with the ladies, one of the secretaries handed me my schedule for the day saying "You've got 3/4D" with a look that could only mean one thing: 3/4D was the class I wanted to avoid. 

As I made my way down the corridor to the classroom, I passed by the other 3/4 teachers. "Now Kaitlyn, listen," the first one said. "If James* does anything at all today, you bring him straight to my class." Alright, good to know that I've got back up going into this. "Kaitlyn, how you going? Have you got 3/4D today?" the second teacher asked. She continued apologetically, "You'll be okay but let me know if you need anything." She then patted me on the back and looked at me, with her eyebrows raised, as if she had just left me heartbroken.

It's not that this student is a terrible child, he is just extremely loud and usually takes pride in disturbing the entire class. I flash backed to last term when I was teaching in year two. He was cartwheeling through the classroom in the middle of the reading lesson, stomping on others' reading books only to cuss at them when they kindly asked him to stop. These things were only the mild. 

I entered the classroom and began preparing for the day with a positive mind set. What could I do to avoid possible problems with James*? How will I get him to pay attention in my lesson? I knew that if he wasn't paying attention during the sessions, it would be hard for the rest of the class to learn. He was going to be my focus so that I could deliver quality lessons throughout the day. 

The morning bell rang and students began making their way into the classroom, noticing that I am, in fact, not their regular teacher. The girls were around my waist immediately showing me their darling loom bracelets and all trying to tell me everything all at once. The boys gathered around some car book at the back of the room and collectively asked only one question,"Are you our teacher today?" Yep. "Cool." Then, in walks James* and the moment he realizes I am the teacher for the day, his eyes light up. "WHOOOOHOOOO! Mr. A isn't here today! We can do whatever we want! Guys how awesome is this!" and then he looks at me and I go, "WHOOOOOHOOOOO! Miss. Kaitlyn is here today and we are going to have the most awesome day and learn so much!" I'll admit, it was a risk to copy his behaviour, but it worked. He came up to me, pointed his finger and said "Yeah, I remember you from last time Kaitlyn." "Alright, go put your bag away and come join us on the floor." And he did. There wasn't a dispute, there were no interruptions, he just sat calmly on the floor - ready to learn. Awesome!

We started our morning Maths lesson talking about symmetry. "CEMETERY!! Why are we learning about where dead people get buried!" After explaining what symmetry is (and the difference between the two words) I asked James*, "Now, can you think of anything in a cemetery that could be symmetrical?" "A GRAVESTONE!" and I drew an oblong semi-circle with a flat bottom on the board. He loved it! He started finding other things in the room that had a line of symmetry. He was participating in the lesson and actually motivating the other students to help him find more symmetrical items! 

Recess time came and a grabbed myself a cup of coffee in the staffroom. One of the other 3/4 teacher's walked in and asked how James* had been. "I was expecting him to be in my room by 9:02!" she stated. "Oh no, he's been great and he is participating really well in class!" I exclaimed. I watched as both 3/4 teachers' jaws dropped and in replied in unison, "Wow!" I went on to explain how the morning had been great and how there were no disruptions or disputes of any kind and each teacher in the staffroom was shocked. To be quite honest, I was just as shocked myself but I couldn't help feeling proud of myself for doing something 'right.' 

Following recess, a teacher who was on yard duty came to the classroom door. "Can I speak with James*?" she asked. My mind immediately wondered if recess had been a turning point for him. Had he misbehaved on the playground? Get into another fight? She looked at me in disbelief as she whispered, "I actually have to tell James* how great this recess was and commend him on his behaviour." I smiled.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. As the class ate lunch, he asked me to share a story about a time when I was his age. I told the class about the time I had caught a garter snake and kept it as a pet and named it Joe. I shared about how I later caught what I thought would be his 'best friend,' a juicy frog named Blake. I had the class guess about how their friendship together in my small fish bowl worked out. James* guessed it, Joe swallowed Blake whole! He was so intrigued with my story and began asking me more questions. 

Thursday was just the same! A great day with lots of learning and a James* with a positive behaviour! I noticed another student purposely doing things that would irritate James* to 'set him off.' Even the other students weren't used to this behaviour. Thankfully, I recognized the attempts of the other student trying to throw him off and diverted the situations before they amounted to anything! James* was absent on Friday but part of me wished he had been there because he was doing so well the previous days. 

I was asked to write a certificate for the Pupil of the Week. Each classroom teacher chooses one student and on Monday morning at the assembly, the students will receive their certificate in front of the entire school. Without a doubt, I wrote James'* name on that certificate stating that he had been making good choices with a positive behaviour. I wish I could be there on Monday to see his reaction to getting a Pupil of the Week certificate because he deserves it! 

It could be that James* was just having a good week, but I can't help but feel that I was doing something right. The key is always being positive, even when going into tough situations. I believe that positivity breeds positivity and creativity and that the outcome can be nothing but awesome! It feels really great to have experiences like this and I have to say, I am no longer afraid of 3/4D. I walked out of school today with a smile on my face, hoping that I will get another chance to teach 3/4D this term!


*James is a pseudonym to conceal identity.

Great Ocean Road & Grampians

On Monday morning, we got up to hire a car so that we could start our little adventure! We got to the rental place nice and early and loaded our belongings and selves into the car. I turn the car on and I was about to throw it into drive when I realized we had gotten a STANDARD car! We went back in to ask for a automatic car, but the last one just drove off with other excited adventure seekers. Well, now was the time to put all my standard driving lessons to the test. I didn't feel overly confident, but I knew it was something I could do. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't realize the emergency break was on while becoming frustrated that I couldn't even get the car into first in a parking lot. Once I realized that that was the problem, we were off. But not for long. The stop and go traffic, combined with my sisters inability to give directions left us stalling at green lights and creating some sort of traffic drama. 

I got her all figured out on our way to the Great Ocean Road. Not the easiest thing to on my first time driving standard, but I did well on the first day. I got some old man towing a camper really revved up when I accidentally stalled going up a hill. He knocked on our window (the one that didn't roll down) and tried to be angry at us. That's the funny thing about people. They often waste too much of their energy being angry at little things instead of choosing to avoid it and be happy instead.

Getting some pictures near Angelsea Lighthouse!

I was able to show my sister many sights along the way. We stopped at Torquay Beach, Erskine Falls, Angelsea, Lorne and spotted some cute koalas along the way! Johanna Beach was our last stop of the day which is where we set up camp for the night. It was easy enough to just pull the ladder of our tent down and it just pops up on top of the car roof. It's rather silly looking but mega easy to set up and take down. We watched the sunset on the beach. It was spectacular! 

Our little Wicked Campervan set up in Johanna Beach.

Johanna Beach sunset!

After a long night of not sleeping, but shivering instead, we cranked the heat in the car and drove off making stops at the Twelve Apostles and walking the trails of Loch Ard Gorge and Thunder Cave!

The Twelve Apostles!

We got to Warrnambool around noon and hadn't eaten yet as we needed propane for our camp stove. We found a K-Mart and stocked up on some propane and a proper blanket for the following nights. We cooked our brekky sandwiches right in the parking lot and stole the nearby Hungry Jack's WiFi to Facetime! 

We decided to head up to the Grampians next. We had seen a lot of coast and were looking forward to get into the "mountians." Which, in Australia, the mountains are no Rockies and in comparison, quite small. Beautiful nonetheless. 

Once again, my navigator had gotten us lost, but it was all about the adventure! Siri lead us back to the main road after we ventured off onto a few farm roads with gravel as orange as, well, an orange! 

Heading into the Grampians, we got some awesome views of mountains and it was nice being one of the very few people travelling along the road! 

We made our way through the bottom half of the Grampians swerving to avoid Kangaroos, Emus, Possums and other miscellaneous wildlife along the road. When we arrived at a campsite called Jimmy's Creek, we decided we would set up our little tent there for the night. After the two minute set up, we took off on an adventure walk, which basically ended up being an unmarked path to no where - but it was 2km straight up hill in the 32 degree heat! Some killer views though! When we got to the other side of the path, we were completely lost since all the landmarks we noticed were not on the map! So, we just started walking - eventually finding a 4x4 track and making our way back. We returned to find a few guests in our campsite! To take a shower, we filled up an old metal pail that had a shower head on it, filled it up with river water and hoisted it up on the chain for it to pour down. It was funny but made me realize how much water only a quick shower uses. 

One of our camp site visitors!

Up early the next day to explore more of the Grampians! We really wanted to see the falls that were near by, which by how the map had it laid out meant it was only a short drive on an unsealed (gravel) road. Well, the gravel road ended and turned to sticks and stones. After twenty minutes of driving on that, we decided to turn around and forget those falls. Luckily, we found some others. I like to climb rocks and anything that looks remotely climbable. In no time I was up on top of the Silverhead Falls with my sister on my should saying "get down now!" No thank you. 

From there, we ventured on to Halls Gap and many popular lookout places such as Boroka Lookout and The Balconies. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see Mackenzie Falls (although we tried) as they had it completely blocked off since a fire recently wiped through the area causing a lot of damage. At all the lookouts, they had fences that acted as safety boundaries and although my safety guru sister yelled at me, I like to think of them more as suggestions. It's really a lot nicer if you just step a smidgen outside the fence and take a look at a view that everyone else is missing from standing inside the boundary. You can't dangle your feet off a cliff from a walking path! 

Views from Boroka Lookout!

We ended up hiking to the top of another mountain later on in the evening after trying to find a place to camp out, but failing and going through another series of dirt roads and getting the car awfully dirty! All the views were 10/10 and completely and totally awesome! I hope I will get another chance to visit the Grampains again before my time in the area expires!

We ended up camping back at Jimmy's Creek again and our guest came back just as we sat down for some dinner. Perfect timing dude!

The entire trip was quite the adventure and provided some great sister time! This morning as we drove back down a quiet highway, we past about five small "one-horse towns" - all without gas stations. We rode on the fuel light for a good half an hour. I was starting to get slightly worried as my phone had little service and I wasn't exactly sure of our location. Luckily, we found a fuel station and filled her up. The whole time we were riding with little fuel, I just knew we would find a "servo" because I didn't feel like having bad luck today. Ha Ha! Always think happy thoughts!!

Thanks for following along on my adventure. In a few days we are headed up to Sydney to meet with the rest of my family! 

MY FAVOURITES!

I have had plenty of "free-time" in the last month as I haven't been getting much work. That is kind of the down fall of being a Casual Relief Teacher, you are not necessarily guaranteed work. I knew this month would be slow as it is the start of a new school year and CRT's aren't usually required in the first month or so. 

With the amount of free-time I've had, I try to keep myself relatively busy - without spending much money. I have found a few of my new favourite things that I would like to share with "yous" (as they say here in Australia.)

FRENCH VANILLA COFFEE CREAMER

The coffee game isn't the same as it is in Canada. Brewed coffee? What is that. There certainly aren't any "Double Double's." As a matter of fact, people don't even use cream in their coffee. The closest thing you can get to a North American coffee is an Americano at the Starbucks down the way or opt for a "Long Black" at any other nearby cafe. In Melbourne, coffee is taken very seriously and perhaps that is why it is named the coffee capital of Australia and maybe even world. I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

As of lately, I've been skipping the coffee shops as I have paid for WiFi on my at home modem. Therefore, I really have no excuse to go out for a coffee so I have been making the coffee myself. Of course, it's not that great as I just have Woolies Brand (similar to "No Name") instant coffee. With that being said, I needed something to make it a little more tasty. As I said earlier, coffee cream is unheard of here so as a DIY-er I set out to make my own. The recipe is rather simple and the outcome is delicious! All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz of milk and some vanilla flavour. That's it! Easy, right? The funny thing is I had no container to hold my new French Vanilla Coffee Creamer so I had to empty the carton of milk into bowls to mix it and keep it in the carton. Ha Ha! 

SMOOTHIE MAKING

Smoothies are my new addiction. They are 100% my favourite-est thing EVER! On Boxing Day a friend of mine, who was getting ready to travel and then return back to Canada, gave me her blender because she simply did not need it any longer. Was I ever excited! This is where my addiction was born! Smoothies are great because they are light, filling, and amazingly delicious! I enjoy coming up with new recipes after just throwing heaps of fruit and vegetables into the blender. As I type this I am enjoying a mixture I just threw together including Passion Fruit, Peaches, Strawberries, Raspberries and of course, Almond Milk. MMMM mmmm! 

As always, Sundays are market days where I can pick up some relatively cheap fruits and vegetables. I then spend the better half of the day creating "smoothie packages" to keep in the freezer or fridge so that I can throw a quick smoothie together in the morning. I love bananas in my smoothies and the BEST deal I got was last week, when I got about 15 bananas for $1.05 (normally they are $4/kg!!) Oh, I was so happy! 

PANCAKES, PANCAKES, PANCAKES!

I love pancakes so much. Pancakes for breakfast, pancakes for lunch! The blender has also helped me out in the pancake department. It makes it too easy to just toss my ingredients in and blend it up quick. Now that I'm an adult, I can make whatever I want for dinner. And what's better than breakfast for dinner? Especially when steamy, delicious flapjacks are on the menu! 

These babies aren't just any pancakes, no. They are healthy, two ingredient pancakes! WHAT?! Yes. A banana and two eggs are all you need for these bad boys. They are beyond delicious, but I sometimes like to spruce things up by adding in a swirl of my Coconut & Peanut spread OR by blending some rolled oats into the mixture. Easy, delicious and healthy. Could you ask for much more! YUM!

DOODLING 

Like I said, at the moment teaching days are few and far in between but that isn't an excuse for not getting up in the morning. Part of the job means you need to be ready to go at a moments notice. So, after waking up shortly after 5am to get ready, making a smoothie for brekky, and waiting around for a phone call that just might come, I sit with a cuppa coffee (with homemade French Vanilla Creamer), turn up the tunes and doodle away. Before I know it, the time has passed and it's nearly 9am - where the chances of getting a call are slim.

AWESOME TABS HOMEPAGE

I'm not sure what the heck I was doing yesterday, but I somehow, stumbled across this extension for Google Chrome! I was pretty excited because since iGoogle homepage was no more, I didn't have a homepage - besides the Google page. And that was boring. It's called Awesome New Tab Page which I have to be honest is a pretty lame name for this extension. But, I've been enjoying customizing it and adding all the buttons to pages I visit daily. I like it for a homepage because everything I need is just a click away and I can do a Google search by just hovering over the Google icon. I liked being able to completely customize it, so I added the chalkboard like background and made my images transparent.  

Well, that about sums up most of my current favourite things. During the last few weeks, I haven't been able to go to the beach on my days off (bummer!) because the weather hasn't been great. A few weeks ago it was between 40*C-45*C every day. Which brought on bush fires. Which made a thick smoke haze that didn't allow the sun to shine. Which is basically no fun. Melbourne was looking like a sad, sad city for a while. Luckily we've had some rain and the skies have cleared but we are down to 23*C weather now.

If you have some favourite things, please share them in the comments. With work this slow, I'll need to be trying new things in my future days off! 

I'M JUST A LITTLE DREAMER

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I have been living in Australia for the last seven months. It has been a crazy, incredible adventure. I look back to just about a year ago when I received the email stating that I was accepted to come teach in Australia. As I read that email, I didn't know how much this opportunity would change my entire life. In that moment, I had no clue what my responsibilities were even going to be once I got here. All I knew is that I was going to a place that I had always dreamed to visit and to pursue my first teaching job and a chance to travel a beautiful country.

I can't even imagine what my life would be like had I stayed in Canada to teach. I do miss Canada and all the beautiful faces back at home, but right now, I can't even picture myself anywhere else but in Australia. It is an amazing country of discovery, exploration and complete happiness. I know that one day, I will defiantly miss living here. There are nights where I have to ask myself, "am I seriously living in Australia right now?" because for me, Australia had only ever been a dream. It had always been "over there" or "too far away." 

Noosa Beach, Australia, 2014

I am young. I am a young person with dreams. I am baffled by the fact that two of my biggest dreams that I had as a child have already been realities for me. Ever since a young age, I was fascinated by The Big Five, or the famous African animals. I dreamed for a chance to some day go on a safari to see those animals in their natural environments. I dreamed of the opportunity to be submerged into a vibrant African culture and do work that would benefit the lives of others. Next to Africa was always Australia. I desperately wanted go to the Sydney Opera House since the first time I saw it on TV. I dreamed of swimming alongside the marine life in the Great Barrier Reef. I dreamed of learning to surf somewhere on a beautiful Australian beach. Who would have thought that in my short twenty-two years of life, I have completely fulfilled these dreams. 

Emdoneni Cat Sanctuary, South Africa, 2012

Just because these dreams are fulfilled, I will never stop dreaming. I have a long list of dreams big and small wandering around somewhere inside of my head, waiting to be fulfilled. Mark my words, I WILL step foot on each continent. Antarctica might be tricky, it isn't entirely outside the realm of possibility, so I'll try my very best.

I have five months left in Australia. My feelings are completely mixed. There are days where I wish I could go home early to see everyone and get back to a 'regular' life and then there are days where I wouldn't change a single thing! I'm most excited that my sister arrives in Melbourne in FOUR days which will commence an unreal sister road trip! Shortly after, we will meet with my parents and little sister in Sydney to head off and do some more travelling!  I can't wait to experience the Cairns area with them and to show them Noosa and Sydney. 

The way I see it, you are given one life. Dream as big as possible and do what you want. Go after your dreams, work hard, be courageous and never take 'no' for an answer. Don't let your dreams only ever be dreams. Make them come alive and live them! 

EAST COAST ADVENTURES!

After having been gone travelling for a month, I'm finding it hard to settle back into the regular lifestyle back here in Melbourne. I won't have to settle for long though as my sister comes in just a few weeks and we will be off travelling and meeting up with my family later!

Our East Coast trips was completely amazing and filled so many wonderful memories. We started the journey in Sydney where we took in the sights of the city. My favourite part was definitely walking the Harbour Bridge at night and taking this picture, which is probably the best picture I have ever taken! 

From Sydney, we had a crazy night out in Brisbane before hopping on a ten hour bus ride to get us up to the small town of 1770. This is where we learned to surf and exchanged our innocent teacher looks for a bad as bikers look.

 

The rest of the trip kinda speaks for itself in this video I made of all our little clips put together. I can't even watch this video without laughing at least twice! I feel so grateful to have these opportunities to travel and experience so much! I'm even so lucky to have the best mates to travel with! Check it out:

Lessons from a Wonderful Year

It is officially the last day of the year. While I'm not one to pick and choose favourite seasons, I do reserve a soft spot in my heart for December because of the holidays. This December though was unlike all other, and though I don't necessarily miss the cold, I sometimes wish I could wake up to frosted windows and falling snow. Even though Melbourne weather is highly unpredictable, snow just isn't in the cards. 

I started 2013 in a completely different atmosphere than I am ending it, which leaves me to wonder what is in store for the year to ahead. At the beginning of the year, I had no idea I would be living and teaching in Australia or that the experiences I am having would be real. 

I feel like nearly everything I did this year was wonderful and caulked full of new experiences so I thought I could leave you with some lessons that I've learned through the year! 

You can do anything you set your mind to (and don't let anyone tell you that you can't!) This isn't necessarily something I've only learnt this year, but it was a big part of my year. If you want something, get after it, it will probably take hard work and persistence, it may challenge you, but always keep in mind the outcome. And, if someone has the nerve to tell you that you can't, let that be your fire to prove them all wrong! 

Someday doesn't exist. If you are given an opportunity to do something, do it! There are too many times in conversation where I will hear people promise themselves "someday I will." The truth is that the "someday" that they are banking on doesn't exist; never has, never will. Don't make excuses to push an opportunity beside, don't promise yourself a day that has not come. Get out there and do it now! 

Always choose happiness. Sure, at times happiness isn't always the easiest choice, I get that, but if you aim to choose happiness in the morning and in a bad situation, you may be likely to live a happier life. You can't go back and un-do whatever it is that's got you down, so why be mad about it? Be happy, enjoy life and don't waste your time being grouchy!

Smile. I can bet that a smile signifies the same this worldwide: happiness. Smiling is contagious, makes you happy, makes others happy, makes you look good and had the possibility of evolving into laugher. That's a serious win, win situation. (I'm smiling now, are you?)

Get your butt out of bed! Although I used to always sleep in on the weekends, I never enjoyed it, I just enjoyed sleeping. I'm up everyday, no matter what, by 5:30-6am and it feels great! You can get so much accomplished all before noon and still have an entire day of unlimited possibilities ahead of you. And, when you wake up, begin with a smile! 

Travel. Do it. Go near, go far. Just go! Experience something new. Meet new people. Listen to others stories. Eat. Drink. Emerge yourself in a new culture. Dance with waves of he ocean. See the world. Stand in awe at the edge of a cliff wondering if there could ever be anything more beautiful. Reward yourself be feeling more alive than you thought possible. 

Perhaps you could say my lessons could be a little advice to anyone. Maybe they sound like cliches, but cliches are cliches for a reason - they work. 2013 has been a wonderful year, but I'm so excited to welcome 2014! Five days from now I will be off the travel the East Coast of Australia, a month after that my sister will arrive for some long overdue sister time, followed by my family. Shortly after that, my mates and I may head off to New Zealand. I hope for a chance to see Uluru and Tassie before I leave. 

With all this excitement, the year is bound to fly by. Before I know it, I will be back in Canada seeing all the beautiful faces that I left behind, and that is something else I am totally looking forward to! 

It's Christmas Time!

Although a bit of Christmas lives inside of me year round, it is now officially the holiday season, my favourite time of the year! This Christmas is defiantly going to be different for me as there is no need for cozy sweaters, warming up near the fireplace or family time. It is quite strange to think of summer and Christmas together, but that is how it is here in Australia! Rather than shopping with a Christmas Latte in hand, I am walking to the beach in the hot hot heat with an iced coffee! 

A few weekends back, the girls and I went to the opening of Christmas Square in Melbourne! This is actually known as City Square, however it transforms into a magical Christmas square in December. We watched as the real Christmas tree was lit for the first time this year. They also did a projection show onto the Town Hall building! It was amazing!

Check out the video of our Christmas Square experience: 


Melbourne has gone all out in Christmas decorations. The Myer (a department store) windows are decked out and play a puppet show from Jan Brett's book "Gingerbread Friends." People actually queue up for up to two hours to see the amazing window! I was lucky enough to go for a walk early in the morning and see them without waiting in a massive line.

Although I'm not sure what we are actually doing for Christmas, I've heard that the norm is BBQ and Beach so we just might have to do that!

Other than Christmas I am SO looking forward to January as the girls and I have booked in a 25 day adventure along the East Coast of Australia!!

Five Day Weekend?!

Yes, this past weekend was a glorious five days long! I only worked Thursday and Friday. But why the heck did I get a five day weekend?

Well, Tuesday was a public holiday due to the Melbourne Cup! Yes, a horse race so BIG that it is it's very own holiday. Because the Cup was on a Tuesday, many schools were not open for the students, so we got the day off as well! And as for Wednesday, I just didn't get a call so it extended my weekend a bit longer!

Last Saturday, Chelsea and I decided to go on a day long adventure! I was so excited because we were renting a car and we didn't need to take any public transportation! I felt so alive again to be out on the open road, with some tunes on and the windows down! AHH!

Our first stop was in Mornington where we went to the Peninsula Hot Springs! It was absolutely fabulous, all though it was a little hot out to be submerged into some of the hotter pools. My favourite thing there was the Turkish Steam Bath, it like a sauna but much better and it just felt delightful! When we were finished at the springs, we toured around Sorrento, a small Melbourne suburb and we also went to Portsea Ocean Surf Beach! Out there it was exactly what you think of when you think Australia! We were able to watch some surfies catch some waves and exlpore the beach a little! 

We headed to the Portsea Hotel for supper as we heard it was the place to be! We ended up sharing a Strawberry Goat Cheese salad and 'Fish' and Chips. The fish was actually a shark fillet and let me tell you something, if you haven't had shark, you need to try it because it was so GOOD! That was probably the best meal I've had since I've been here!

The day trip was really good and it felt wonderful to get out of the city and see something new! I even got to drive the car we rented, so that was fun and exciting as well!

The Melbourne Cup was AMAZING! It is a huge event and everyone gets quite fancy for it. The ladies are to wear fascinators or fancy hats along with cute dresses and the gentlemen are done up in suits and for some, top hats. Personally, I think my fascinator was the best! It is so darling and I still want to wear it where ever I go! It was also a fabulous deal as it was half-off the day before the race! 

As it turns out, I've lost my knack for picking the winning horses (not that I had much of one anyway!) BUT, I sure do know how to pick the last place finishers. There should be bets for that! It was a beautiful day out for the races and we all came home with a little extra colour! 

On Wednesday when we didn't get a call, Jenna and I headed to the beach as it was another glorious day in Melbourne! It was also Jenna's birthday! How lucky for her to have a November birthday in the sun on the beach! In the evening, the celebration continued as we went out to Greek Street for some delicious lamb giros! MMmm!

I surprised Jenna back at our apartment with a cake I made with our very favourite Aussie cookie - The Tim Tam. It was so yum and I think we all enjoyed it very muchly! 

Kaits!