Edumacation & Roo Steak

so i finally got to fulfill my "o'captain my captain" dream today (* dead poet's society reference, guideline for every starry eyed teacher wannabe).

i was sitting at the computer last night and wanted to put together a one-pager on things my students should keep in mind as they head into their second week of the homestay. i started it off with a gem i learned when i went skydiving. "the most important lesson i learned skydiving was to remember to take it all in. whether it be over 7 seconds or 2 weeks, your memories are based on what you actually take note of the experience." i then threw on a few basic questions i wanted the students to ask themselves to make sure they were actually conscious of this great learning experience. i then capped it off with the poem from thoreau.

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately,
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,
To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die
Discover that I had not lived.

as romantic was the vision i had in my head as i typed it all out at 1am, the reality of its actual execution was a tad more pedestrian. i gathered the group between sessions, sat us down in the school kitchen (hard up on common areas as it was pouring outside) and passed it out (forcing them into the hands of the kids who were afraid they were the national anthem lyrics i had vowed they would sing at the school closing assembly. those would come later heh heh...). we only had a few minutes before the assembly was to start so i blurted something like "okayguysthetripisalmostover, readthislistofstuffandkeepitinmindsoyoucanmakethemostofyourtrip, k?"

* silence *

then, "i hate poetry!"

somehow, i didn't quite feel moved to jump onto the nearest desk and yell carpe diem.

~~~
so at the assembly we sang the australian, american, and --get this-- the chinese anthem. the lone Chinese student (from China) stood up in front of 200 ppl and led us through the anthem (she had written it out earlier). it was such an inspiring moment -- this was from the girl who felt lonely because of the language barrier. in loud, clear, and commanding English, she explained the anthem and had us sing it with her (or rather, murmur, since we didn't quite know the tune). we then cheered wildly afterward.

that's when i wanted to jump on a desk. not finding one, i just grabbed my half eaten hot dog and chomped away as the assembly continued.

~~~
ate some roo tonight. we went over to the neighboring town of pekina and ate at the only pub in town (well, it's really the only establishment of any sort except for the neighboring fire station). the roo is like a medium rare steak with a tinge of gamey lambness. not too shabby. had a citrus sauce on it. not too shabby - the kids even took a bite. we're making progress!
held my host brother (ryan, the 4 year old) in my lap as we played cards at the pub. that was when he decided to let one rip. i felt this weird fluttering on my leg and then the smell enveloped my head. criminy. almost dropped the kid i did.

good times, mates. good times!
~~~~
Quotable of the day:

Girl 1: My relatives were so mean. Another cousin visited their home and my aunt locked the fridge. Can you believe that?! He was so hungry!
Girl 2: But wait, wasn't there food in the fridge?
Girl 1: She didn't lock him in the fridge.
Girl 2: Ah.

Tales from the Land Down Unda

ok, so it's been a random summer, to say the least.

i'm in orroroo right now, a small town in south australia with a population of 600. we held an assembly where i introduced my international students to the local school (k-12, 120 students). we went for an echidna walk (track down porcupinish guys, only succeeded in spotting two wild roos), spoke to different classes (Q to my chinese student from a 3rd grader: are there schools in china?), and ate and drank cool diff-dimensional stuff (sour watermelon FAN-ta! and chicken satay pies).

yes, yes, the above is your run-of-the-mill visit small town in australia type stuff, you say. and i would tend to agree. save for today.

it started normally enough. walked to the local school to meet w my kids (ran late, oops!). it started to sink in that i was halfway around the world, walking to school w a backpack, waving to neighbors that i've never met before. i was still chomping on my toast & marmalade (vegemite spread was the day before, not too bad for yeast jam) when i thought to myself, this is AWESOME! the air was pure, the peeps were nice, and hey, i was going to school where we would play some cricket, make some kids do some embarrassing ice breakers and call it a day.

i met w the kids, did some one-on-one check ins, walked around town (got sour apple fanta today, yum, + honey soy chicken chips), served up some hot chocolate for a local fundraiser and even got in some community service planting trees with the 8th graders. oh, and one student found his missing passport (thank gawd, woulda sucked to deal w that one - prolly would have to ride back to adelaide and fly to sydney - the equivalent of driving from sf to tahoe, flying to la, and back).

after tree planting, i went back to my host family's house. i'm staying with danny (sole policeman in orroroo -- we live in the police station and ride in the police truck), fiona (a nurse), and their two adorable kids (ryan -4, casey - 3). i hang w the kids some (sleeping beauty dvd, play w their rabbit floppy), chat w fi, and chat more with random neighbors that swing by (this one guy was in the aust navy and who spent some time in seattle where they would rent cars and simply see how far they could drive in a weekend and make it back before monday 8am, another guy was a woodworker guy who grew up on a farm). so far, so good.

then i step outside of the house for a breather and see the camels.

weird.

they were on a trailer attached to the police truck. apparently a car had overturned and danny had to cart back the camel trailer back home. it was soooo strange to see the camels in small town suburbia - and even weirder to note that everyone else didn't really bat an eye that we had a circus act in the front yard. anyway, i ride shotgun with danny as we pick up the camels' owner (frank?) who was not hurt in the accident and bring them to the local pen (free of use to anyone with something to stick in it). apparently frank is a bit of a nomad and races camels throughout australia. danny chats it up w him and i may be able to bring my kids over to ride em a bit. giddy up!

after that, we head back and stop by the local firehouse. i meet the 6 local volunteer firemen/firewomen and grab a cold aussie beer w them. we chat about random stuff in the firehouse headquarters (danny once killed a roo w a tire jack, one girl's driving the fire truck for the first time next wkd, one guy made a racist aboriginal joke -- awkward!).

then we get back home and have tea (=meal) that fiona prepared. mm, thai stir fry. very awesome. wash it down w more aussie beer and then i read some bedtime stories to the kiddos. then get a call from home base and learn that the grandparent of one of my students passed away and that i should prepare for some counseling tomorrow morning. poor girl - i just had a one-on-one w her today and she's having an incredibly fun time. ah, unpredictable life.

another student had mentioned earlier that he was afraid of losing one of his friends this summer. i'm crossing my fingers i don't get a call from home base about that one.

hope everything is going well back home for everyone!
rog