I cannot believe that my two weeks of responsible teaching is coming to an end tomorrow. It seems like it has been a month of teaching with all of the lesson planning and various assignments I have due back to UA or "uni" as the Australians like to call it!
Monday, February 27th
After a long weekend, I woke up feeling a bit under the weather. Just very exhausted, and teaching five lessons will definitely wear you out. After school I rushed home and got straight into bed and woke up feeling rather than chipper. I decided I would give a boxing class a shot, I walked quickly to the bus stop only to realize the last bus out leaving would be far too late to travel on by myself. So instead, I opted for a nice workout in the park. Janette, Steve, and Ryan were out for a scholarship dinner for Katherine where she won $4,000! It felt a bit strange having the house all to myself. Fortunately, I was able to get plenty of work done and a good night's rest before another day of school.
Tuesday, February 28th
Tuesdays and Thursdays are always quite nice, only three classes to teach the whole day. However, with a particular student I had some behavior issues. I unfortunately had to stay with him after school which I really didn't want to do, but I think it taught him a lesson.
After school, I was absolutely pooped. I came home for a snack and turned on my TV in my lounge area for the second time since I have been here. Low and behold of all things that could be on in Australia, NASCAR was the first channel I turned to. I giggled a bit to myself thinking how funny it was that I was sitting in Australia watching the Daytona 500. I also had another lovely surprise for me in store- cards from my wonderful Grandbunny. I think she was starting to get worried they would never get here! I absolutely love getting things in the mail, it really does put a smile on my face!
Wednesday, February 29th
Leap Day! Or as my teachers like to call it "another day to work without getting paid" day! Hey, I was just relieved the weekend was almost here. I spent my morning completing some final assessments with my target student "Michael." I was pleasantly surprised with how willing he was to work. I started to skip a couple of the tougher assessments, but he insisted we give them a shot, and we did. Wednesdays are also nice because I only teach one class, which I had my teacher observe and got an A+! You can ask Will and my family how nervous I have been about this observation, so it was quite the relief! I came home and started on more work for school, there really doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day, not even during leap year!
Thursday, March 1st
February flew by quite quickly! I awoke to a new month and nice cool morning, I even threw on a sweatshirt to keep warm. I can already tell this cool weather is going to make it tough to get out of bed in the morning... My teacher is away at a wedding, so today I was flying completely solo. It was nice to see what teaching would be like on my own and everything went extremely well! My student I had trouble with earlier in the week came in with the best attitude and ON TIME!
After teaching, I had the afternoon at school to prepare for my lessons tomorrow which was nice because I was able to get things done and spend the afternoon at the galleria! I was able to find some great things to wear out on the weekends. Oh and I came home to another lovely surprise, a birthday card from Lib. It really is so wonderful to know how many people really do care about you and take the time to send a card halfway around the world. :)
Tomorrow is my last day of responsible teaching which I am shocked to say- I think I am really going to miss it. However, I am anxious to begin my new placement on the 12th with the elementary age students, I love working with the younger students. Tomorrow after school I am riding with my supervisor to pick up Stacey from the airport. We have quite the weekend planned, hopefully she won't be too jet lagged! Hope you all are having a fabulous week back in the U-S-A. Miss you all!!
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Days 27-30 "I'll have a go!"
It's hard to believe another weekend here in Western Australia has come and gone. What's even harder to believe is that I have been away for exactly a month today! It seems like just last week I was bidding a farewell to everyone. Time is flying by!
Thursday, February 23rd
Well it was just another typical weekday morning until I saw a small package sitting on the stairs with my name on it. It was from my wonderful parents! They sent me some clothes that I had forgotten along with a couple of birthday presents and a lovely card. It certainly made my morning much more cheerful. Thursday's can be quite busy in the mornings, I teach three classes in a row with no break. I have got to limit the amount of water and coffee I intake in the morning because I found myself needing to go to the restroom, with no time to go! The afternoon was quite busy as well. I was able to sit in on a couple of IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings with my teacher. It always is interesting to meet your students' parents and get a glimpse of what life is like at home. The meetings are quite different from ours back home and much more relaxed.
After school, the weather was so nice, I decided to get a good workout outside in the park near my house. As I was doing my crunches, two little malteses kept running over to me wanting to play. They must have known I was really missing Andy and wanted to offer a little comfort.
Friday, February 24th
Finally Friday! My day at school went by fairly quick, teaching 6 lessons will do it to you! After running a couple of errands after school, I went into the city to meet Chelsea for dinner and drinks. The first time we went out in the city we saw a lovely Mexican restaurant so we had to try it. Zapatos, was very delish, it was nice to finally feed my craving for Mexican. After all, it had been over a month since I had it!
After dinner, we went to a lovely rooftop bar called The Aviary. The skyline was absolutely gorgeous, we sat and had a glass of wine and looked out into the city. We hung out there for quite a bit and met some really nice locals. One thing I find very funny is when I tell people I am from Alabama they instantly break out the lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama." I guess it's my claim to fame here in WA. No worries, I have taught everyone how to say "roll tide roll" in the chorus!
Saturday, February 25th
After an early evening, I was up quite early and ready to enjoy my day off. Janette, Steve, Ryan, and myself went into town to get groceries. Along the way, Janette dropped me off in the Maylands area. This part of town definitely has a little southern charm with its picturesque downtown scene. I wondered around and visited several odd shops, antique stores, and some clothing boutiques. I also visited their Salvation Army, or Salvo's as they like to call it. I was shocked by how neat everything was, it looked like an actual store! Far from the image that comes to mind when I picture these back home. After a little shopping, I stopped for a quick coffee at a quirky little shop called Milk'd. I still am having trouble learning the lingo, often times when I say that I want something "to go" whoever is serving me will give me the most bizarre look. Here everyone says "take away" which makes perfect sense! I spent my afternoon finishing some homework, making some travel plans, and getting a little workout in. I decided to spend the evening at Chelsea's and took the train into Sorrento.
As soon as I got over to Chelsea's I was quite hungry, no worries I was fed quickly. In PLENTY. Chelsea's host family not only have great taste in wine, but in food as well. We wined and dined over a 12 course meal, that's right I said 12! From brushetta, to pizza, figs filled with feta cheese, fruits, veggies, you name it and we had it! By round five I was ready to throw in the towel. To top it off, we had a lovely dessert and were able to sample a variety of different lemoncellos. One particular bottle that Heather made was very good, but you could only have a tiny bit because it was 98% alcohol! It definitely cleared up my sinuses just with a quick sniff! As we enjoyed dinner, I was able to meet some of their friends and talk about their visits to the states, which was absolutely wonderful.
Thursday, February 23rd
Well it was just another typical weekday morning until I saw a small package sitting on the stairs with my name on it. It was from my wonderful parents! They sent me some clothes that I had forgotten along with a couple of birthday presents and a lovely card. It certainly made my morning much more cheerful. Thursday's can be quite busy in the mornings, I teach three classes in a row with no break. I have got to limit the amount of water and coffee I intake in the morning because I found myself needing to go to the restroom, with no time to go! The afternoon was quite busy as well. I was able to sit in on a couple of IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings with my teacher. It always is interesting to meet your students' parents and get a glimpse of what life is like at home. The meetings are quite different from ours back home and much more relaxed.
After school, the weather was so nice, I decided to get a good workout outside in the park near my house. As I was doing my crunches, two little malteses kept running over to me wanting to play. They must have known I was really missing Andy and wanted to offer a little comfort.
Friday, February 24th
Finally Friday! My day at school went by fairly quick, teaching 6 lessons will do it to you! After running a couple of errands after school, I went into the city to meet Chelsea for dinner and drinks. The first time we went out in the city we saw a lovely Mexican restaurant so we had to try it. Zapatos, was very delish, it was nice to finally feed my craving for Mexican. After all, it had been over a month since I had it!
After dinner, we went to a lovely rooftop bar called The Aviary. The skyline was absolutely gorgeous, we sat and had a glass of wine and looked out into the city. We hung out there for quite a bit and met some really nice locals. One thing I find very funny is when I tell people I am from Alabama they instantly break out the lyrics to "Sweet Home Alabama." I guess it's my claim to fame here in WA. No worries, I have taught everyone how to say "roll tide roll" in the chorus!
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| Mojito- Yummy! |
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| City Lights |
Saturday, February 25th
After an early evening, I was up quite early and ready to enjoy my day off. Janette, Steve, Ryan, and myself went into town to get groceries. Along the way, Janette dropped me off in the Maylands area. This part of town definitely has a little southern charm with its picturesque downtown scene. I wondered around and visited several odd shops, antique stores, and some clothing boutiques. I also visited their Salvation Army, or Salvo's as they like to call it. I was shocked by how neat everything was, it looked like an actual store! Far from the image that comes to mind when I picture these back home. After a little shopping, I stopped for a quick coffee at a quirky little shop called Milk'd. I still am having trouble learning the lingo, often times when I say that I want something "to go" whoever is serving me will give me the most bizarre look. Here everyone says "take away" which makes perfect sense! I spent my afternoon finishing some homework, making some travel plans, and getting a little workout in. I decided to spend the evening at Chelsea's and took the train into Sorrento.
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| Antiquing! |
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| City of Maylands. Reminds me of places back home! |
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| Milk'd Coffee Shop |
As soon as I got over to Chelsea's I was quite hungry, no worries I was fed quickly. In PLENTY. Chelsea's host family not only have great taste in wine, but in food as well. We wined and dined over a 12 course meal, that's right I said 12! From brushetta, to pizza, figs filled with feta cheese, fruits, veggies, you name it and we had it! By round five I was ready to throw in the towel. To top it off, we had a lovely dessert and were able to sample a variety of different lemoncellos. One particular bottle that Heather made was very good, but you could only have a tiny bit because it was 98% alcohol! It definitely cleared up my sinuses just with a quick sniff! As we enjoyed dinner, I was able to meet some of their friends and talk about their visits to the states, which was absolutely wonderful.
After our decadent dinner, Chelsea and I met up with a friend of hers to go check out a night club in the city. Although these experiences are quite interesting, I long for a place I can sit and enjoy a drink without disco lights and loud techno music. Wow, I sound like quite the grandma! Don't get me wrong, it always is fun, especially watching everyone dance. Chelsea and I constantly find ourselves people watching, we really enjoyed this one little Asian guy who was amazing! He looked like he had definitely played his fair share of Dance Dance Revolution! We also met another face from the states! This guy happened to be from Oklahoma and when I shared with him I was from Alabama the first thing out of his mouth was "Congratulations on your national championship, wish it'd been us!" I smiled back and gave him a roll tide, and he gave me one back! What was also relieving, was hearing someone else say "y'all!" I have been trying my best to cut back because some of the students find it hilarious when I say that. It was good to get back to my southern ways!
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| "Clubbing" |
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| Dance floor |
Sunday, February 26th
After a lovely breakfast at Len and Heather's it was back to reality...homework and school. The weekends seem to go by so quickly! I spent the afternoon doing some stuff to prepare for my last week of full time teaching (wahoo!) and getting ready for my roommate to arrive. Stacey, who attends the University of Northern Kentucky, will be here this Friday along with three other COST Students. It will be nice to have someone around to keep me company and explore areas that I have yet to see. We already have made plans with Chelsea, her new roommate from Alabama, and the other student- Bob.
Well here goes the last week of full time teaching! I need all the prayers/support I can get! Another thing to look forward to is our long weekend, we get Monday off for "Labour" day! Yippie! I'll keep y'all posted on my final week of teaching. :)
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Days 24-26 Learning the ropes
Well the first three days of solo teaching certainly have been interesting and have prepared me for what it will be like when I become a full time teacher, which means extremely busy. I am learning more and more why teachers believe they are underpaid. The workload is tremendous! But here is a glimpse into what life is like on the inside...
Monday, February 20
I woke up bright and early, just like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to unwrap their gifts from Santa. As I was walking to meet my ride, the nerves began to set in quickly. A surplus of emotions ran through my mind as I went through all of the possible disasters that could occur.
The first half of the day went wonderful with the students. No behavior issues and for the most part, the kids seemed to understand what I was teaching- which is always a plus! As the afternoon slowly went by, the kids began to get restless and unwilling to learn. One student and I just didn't seem to see eye to eye... Apparently he's quite the challenging kid for the most experienced teachers, so I wasn't too surprised when he began to act out. Fortunately, my mentoring teacher was able to provide me with wonderful feedback and help me work out the kinks of the first day jitters.
As soon as I walked in the door, I immediately wanted to collapse and fall asleep, but there was no time for that. I had to prepare for my lessons for the next day, which meant preparing for my supervisor to come and evaluate me. To ease my worries, I took some time to myself and got a good workout in and had a wonderful meal prepared for me-Brunswick stew! Felt like I was back in the good ole South again!
Tuesday, February 21
Another muggy morning here in Perth, with morning temperatures reaching close to 91 degrees! I was very nervous about having John come evaluate me but as the morning went on, the nerves seemed to go away. We got a call from the front office that he had arrived, as I walked to meet him I felt at peace and the anxiety slowly went away. When I began my lesson, for the first time ever it felt like I really was the teacher. Most of the time in practicum experiences, it's hard to find your place into the classroom without stepping on the mentoring teacher's toes. But Melody let me take it away on my own, which really helped me feel much more comfortable and ready to teach. The lesson I taught was a Science lesson on classifying different objects, we used what was inside the student's pencil case, pictures, and even a soup mix to help understand why scientists classify plants and other living objects. This concept, sorting and classifying, can be an extremely hard skill for students with disabilities to grasp and can take much longer that your typical achieving student. During my lesson, I was writing the different ways we sorted our soup mix and wrote the word "color" on the board. One of my lovely students was quick to raise her hand and say "Miss! Miss! You have spelled colour wrong!" I looked back and saw my supervisor about to fall out of his chair from laughing so hard, which definitely helped relax me. I played it off by telling the student I was just testing her knowledge!
The lesson couldn't have gone anymore perfect. The students were extremely well behaved and John really liked my approach to instruction. His thoughts on the lesson- "It couldn't have been done any better, perfect lesson." Relief instantly set in! After a quick workout, John offered to take me to dinner with Chelsea and her host dad. We went to a lovely restaurant in Sorrento called Frotelli's. The meal was excellent, and the wine even better! Len, Chelsea's host dad, and John are very intelligent when it comes to wine so we only had the best! I had a lovely seafood rigotto which included mussels, fish, oysters, prawns in a rich and creamy pasta sauce. I still think I am a bit full from the large proportion I devoured. As we sat and watched the sunset, John entertained us with more of his magic tricks and taught us some new Aussie lingo. We learned that when people say they are "tired and exhausted" it typically means they have had way too much to drink the night before, haha! After dinner, it was back home to get ready for day three. John drove me home and had tons of questions about collegiate football which he believes is quite confusing. I argued that it really isn't and then he asked that I try and explain. As I was going through the rules, I realized how complicated it really is, especially to teach someone who is completely unfamiliar with it! Who knew?
Wednesday, February 22
After a lovely meal, I was able to get a very good night's rest. Wednesday's are always good, because they're the short day. Technically, students don't start until 9, but faculty starts at 8:30 for staff meetings. With this crew, the meetings aren't bad at all! My workload on Wednesday's is also relatively small. However, I do have my young group at the very end of the hot summer day, for English. Yep, English at 2 o'clock, how fun does that sound if you're twelve years old? We took it pretty easy because the kids seemed so exhausted from the heat, but the lesson went very well. My mentoring teacher was out on professional development, so another teacher filled in for relief. After the lesson he said "you are an amazing teacher, I can't imagine how wonderful you'll be on down the road." That really meant a lot to me seeing that he had never seen me teach before and the lesson was with my students on one of the hottest days of the year (temps topped 100 today).
Since my teacher was out, I had to take the bus home from school. Walking in this heat really puts your blessings into perspective. God sure does have a funny way of showing us how fortunate we are! Later after a quick cat nap in raging temperatures, I attempted to go for a long run but was cut short due to this miserable heat. When I came back in from baking, I was greeted by Janette's deputy principal who came by to fill her in on what's going on while she is away. He also was able to help me prepare for my science lesson tomorrow, which was quite helpful. Katherine, Steve and Janette's daughter, also stopped by for dinner.
Well tomorrow is day four, and quite the busy one. Hopefully I will be able to keep you all updated more frequently than I have been. Until then... :)
Monday, February 20
I woke up bright and early, just like a kid on Christmas morning waiting to unwrap their gifts from Santa. As I was walking to meet my ride, the nerves began to set in quickly. A surplus of emotions ran through my mind as I went through all of the possible disasters that could occur.
The first half of the day went wonderful with the students. No behavior issues and for the most part, the kids seemed to understand what I was teaching- which is always a plus! As the afternoon slowly went by, the kids began to get restless and unwilling to learn. One student and I just didn't seem to see eye to eye... Apparently he's quite the challenging kid for the most experienced teachers, so I wasn't too surprised when he began to act out. Fortunately, my mentoring teacher was able to provide me with wonderful feedback and help me work out the kinks of the first day jitters.
As soon as I walked in the door, I immediately wanted to collapse and fall asleep, but there was no time for that. I had to prepare for my lessons for the next day, which meant preparing for my supervisor to come and evaluate me. To ease my worries, I took some time to myself and got a good workout in and had a wonderful meal prepared for me-Brunswick stew! Felt like I was back in the good ole South again!
Tuesday, February 21
Another muggy morning here in Perth, with morning temperatures reaching close to 91 degrees! I was very nervous about having John come evaluate me but as the morning went on, the nerves seemed to go away. We got a call from the front office that he had arrived, as I walked to meet him I felt at peace and the anxiety slowly went away. When I began my lesson, for the first time ever it felt like I really was the teacher. Most of the time in practicum experiences, it's hard to find your place into the classroom without stepping on the mentoring teacher's toes. But Melody let me take it away on my own, which really helped me feel much more comfortable and ready to teach. The lesson I taught was a Science lesson on classifying different objects, we used what was inside the student's pencil case, pictures, and even a soup mix to help understand why scientists classify plants and other living objects. This concept, sorting and classifying, can be an extremely hard skill for students with disabilities to grasp and can take much longer that your typical achieving student. During my lesson, I was writing the different ways we sorted our soup mix and wrote the word "color" on the board. One of my lovely students was quick to raise her hand and say "Miss! Miss! You have spelled colour wrong!" I looked back and saw my supervisor about to fall out of his chair from laughing so hard, which definitely helped relax me. I played it off by telling the student I was just testing her knowledge!
The lesson couldn't have gone anymore perfect. The students were extremely well behaved and John really liked my approach to instruction. His thoughts on the lesson- "It couldn't have been done any better, perfect lesson." Relief instantly set in! After a quick workout, John offered to take me to dinner with Chelsea and her host dad. We went to a lovely restaurant in Sorrento called Frotelli's. The meal was excellent, and the wine even better! Len, Chelsea's host dad, and John are very intelligent when it comes to wine so we only had the best! I had a lovely seafood rigotto which included mussels, fish, oysters, prawns in a rich and creamy pasta sauce. I still think I am a bit full from the large proportion I devoured. As we sat and watched the sunset, John entertained us with more of his magic tricks and taught us some new Aussie lingo. We learned that when people say they are "tired and exhausted" it typically means they have had way too much to drink the night before, haha! After dinner, it was back home to get ready for day three. John drove me home and had tons of questions about collegiate football which he believes is quite confusing. I argued that it really isn't and then he asked that I try and explain. As I was going through the rules, I realized how complicated it really is, especially to teach someone who is completely unfamiliar with it! Who knew?
Wednesday, February 22
After a lovely meal, I was able to get a very good night's rest. Wednesday's are always good, because they're the short day. Technically, students don't start until 9, but faculty starts at 8:30 for staff meetings. With this crew, the meetings aren't bad at all! My workload on Wednesday's is also relatively small. However, I do have my young group at the very end of the hot summer day, for English. Yep, English at 2 o'clock, how fun does that sound if you're twelve years old? We took it pretty easy because the kids seemed so exhausted from the heat, but the lesson went very well. My mentoring teacher was out on professional development, so another teacher filled in for relief. After the lesson he said "you are an amazing teacher, I can't imagine how wonderful you'll be on down the road." That really meant a lot to me seeing that he had never seen me teach before and the lesson was with my students on one of the hottest days of the year (temps topped 100 today).
Since my teacher was out, I had to take the bus home from school. Walking in this heat really puts your blessings into perspective. God sure does have a funny way of showing us how fortunate we are! Later after a quick cat nap in raging temperatures, I attempted to go for a long run but was cut short due to this miserable heat. When I came back in from baking, I was greeted by Janette's deputy principal who came by to fill her in on what's going on while she is away. He also was able to help me prepare for my science lesson tomorrow, which was quite helpful. Katherine, Steve and Janette's daughter, also stopped by for dinner.
Well tomorrow is day four, and quite the busy one. Hopefully I will be able to keep you all updated more frequently than I have been. Until then... :)
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Days 21-23 A Birthday Down Unda
Another weekend has come and gone here in Western Australia. The time is flying by quicker than I could have ever imagined it would. This weekend was quite the success, I can't believe my birthday has come and gone again...
Saturday, February 18
Later on, our supervisor and Chelsea's host family invited us to an opera in the park. The weather couldn't have been any nicer. Her host family and their friends saved us a lovely spot right in the middle of the gorgeous city park. We were able to have a picnic and a glass of wine as the sun set right before the opera began. Chelsea and I didn't exactly know what we were getting ourselves into... We thought we were going to see a concert, not a opera, in French... I tried my best to follow it and enjoy this rare culture experience, but I ended up following asleep in my chair after intermission. Oops! Oh well, there were many others who were sound asleep as well including Chelsea, so I didn't feel so bad. I am happy to have had the experience, not many others can say they went to an opera in the park in WA!
Friday, February 17
On Friday, I awoke to some wonderful surprises from friends and family. To get my day started off right, my parents skyped me and sang happy birthday and had a lovely poster decorated for me. It was so nice it nearly brought me to tears! Later on at school, several of the students walked in and remembered it was my birthday, then it was their turn to sing their rendition of happy birthday. My teachers, the aids, host family, and Chelsea's host family all helped celebrate my birthday, which made being away from home on my birthday not so bad. After teaching a few lessons, it was time for another weekend to begin. John, my supervisor, came by and gave me a lift to Chelsea's place. We began talking about his appearances on television this past week and he shared some tricks of his that he likes to pull on people who believe in psychics. They were quite entertaining, maybe I'll try some on you guys!
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| Gifts from my host family! |
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| My parents are the best! |
Once I arrived at Chelsea's, her host mum prepared us a delicious dinner and even surprised me with a birthday cake, card, and of course chocolate. It was so thoughtful of her to go out of her way to make my birthday special, which meant so much to me. I feel truly blessed to know that so many people took time to make my birthday down unda a hit! After dinner and chocolate cake, yum, Chelsea and I began to get ready for the night. Heather, her host mum, gave us a lift and we jammed out to American Music the whole way, she even had "Walking in Memphis" on her CD. It felt like I was back home! Our first stop was Subiaco Hotel and then it was off to a dance club called The Red Sea. We had a great time and met some people who can hopefully get us tickets to the West Coast Eagles pre-season games. Keep your fingers crossed, they can get quite expensive. What I find very interesting here is the amount of people who are dying to get over to America, it really is reassuring to know that foreigners still believe that the US is a wonderful place.
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| 24th Birthday |
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| Yummy! |
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| A lovely surprise! |
After sleeping in for a bit at Chelsea's place, I woke up to her new neighbors remodeling their house and blaring music, which at the time seemed quite annoying. I actually ended up happy that they woke us up because it was an absolutely perfect day outside. After breakfast, Chelsea and I lounged by their wonderful pool and soaked up the rays. I even dozed off for a bit on the float, fortunately I had sunscreen on or that could have ended pretty badly. Oh, and a funny story- while I was asleep on the float I was dreaming that pirates were surrounding me on a cruise ship. Needless to say, waking up with water around you after a dream like that can give you a bit of a scare!
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| My favorite pool decoration. Ever. |
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| Exploring downtown before the "concert." |
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| Pearl Fishers and Western Australia Symphony, look to the left and you can see the sun setting! |
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| Pre-nap time |
Sunday, February 19
After a relaxing evening, I was up and at'em bright and early to knock out plenty of school work. I was able to get a lot done, which was relieving. Janette finally is home from the hospital and she, Ryan, and Steve took me out for ice cream for my birthday. I had a wonderful mango sorbet, I definitely will be going back for seconds in the future. Ryan always tickles me how much he enjoys singing in the car, today on our way to the ice cream parlor, "Copperhead Road" came on and Ryan began belting it out like it was nobody's business. It was very entertaining!
Tomorrow I begin my ten consecutive days of solo teaching. I have most of my work planned for the week and my advisor comes to see me on Tuesday to assess me! Say a little prayer for me this week!
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Days 19 & 20- Almost the weekend!
Well since the last time I have written, life here in Western Australia has been pretty blah and even hotter! The weekend temps are supposed to continue to rise, and even get close to 40 degrees Celsius. That's 104 degrees ladies and gentleman. Just in time for my birthday...
Wednesday, February 15
After I last wrote, I went down and had dinner with Steve and Ryan. All of a sudden, I hear a very familiar voice coming from the television. I look up and low and behold, it was my COST Supervisor, Dr. Happs. His wife had sent us an email earlier in the week saying he would be on the news a couple of nights this week, but I had completely forgot. He is commentating on a special the local news station is running on whether or not people can actually have psychic abilities. John is the president of WA Skeptics, an organization that devotes their time to uncover "weird" abilities. It was very interesting to hear what all he had to say, he definitely put one of the woman in her place who seemed to be talking out of her behind the entire time!
The following day it was off to school bright and early for a breakfast party to bid a farewell to one of the educational assistants. I wish I could have taken a picture of the "heaps" (I am getting there with the lingo, no worries, agh there I go again) of food that everyone prepared. Fortunately, I was put on toast duty and only had to bring in a loaf of bread, easy enough for me since I am such a little Betty Crocker in the kitchen! After our huge breakfast, we all needed a nap, but it was time to start our day. I taught another lesson on nouns, this time we worked on sorting the nouns into their categories (i.e., person, place, or thing). The students really seemed to grasp the concept, so I decided to change up my follow up lesson to challenge them a bit more. Tomorrow we are doing common nouns vs. proper nouns. I still find myself struggling to communicate with the one deaf student. He seems so far behind, it's puzzling to determine where to begin with him even for my experienced teacher. Fortunately, the interpreters are wonderful and are very patient with the students which makes instruction a little less chaotic.
After school, I came home to fiddle on my Ipad which I suddenly realized I left at school on my work desk. I felt lost! So instead, I decided to be productive and go on a run. I typically go around 5:30-6, when it is a little bit cooler. Well on this day, I decided to give 4 o'clock a shot because the weather seemed nice. Boy was I wrong... I came in drenched! Hopefully my tolerance of the heat will increase so July and August in Alabama won't seem as big of a deal anymore. Oh and speaking of running, I am following a pacing guide I found online to train for a 5K! I really would like to run one once I get home, maybe not in the summer though... Anyone who is interested, please join! I need all the help/motivation a girl can get, seeing that running is not my forte'.
I am still adjusting to the high costs of everything here. Ryan, Steve, and myself went into town to get a pizza and two mediums cost a little over $40! I was in shock when the cashier rang it up... Another thing that is surprising is the amount of restaurants and cafes that are BYOB, for those of you who are not familiar with that acronym- Bring your own booze. They're everywhere! Also on the way into town, Steve and I chatted about how careful you have to be in another culture not to offend anyone. I have apologized a thousand times for saying "ma'am" and "sir" because here if you say it, it can be taken as an insult, like calling someone an old hag or something. Steve also thinks it's funny how I say "y'all" constantly...
Thursday, February 16
Morning came quite early for me once again. I really do hope I can keep up this nice early bird routine back home. After breakfast, I went out to hang my laundry on the line- something that I am still getting used to. I miss being able to turn on the dryer to keep things from getting wrinkled. Guess I am a little spoiled back home, just a teeny bit! I did have good company while I was out, Tia and Basha, the dogs. They're the sweetest thing and are very protective. I have already noticed how they look at strangers when I am around!
School today went really well. I was able to spend some one on one time with my target student and another student who are both struggling readers. I enjoy doing this sort of work- fluency, literacy skills, etc. Things that seem so basic to us, take time and a lot of frustration for many students. So when I can see I have eased their stress and made what they're doing a little easier for them, I know I am doing my job- which I love! I was also able to plan my 10 days of solo teaching, was a HUGE relief! I cannot believe I am on my own next week! After school, I went down to the Galleria and have discovered so many wonderful shops. I am sure my Dad is just thrilled reading this! :)
Wednesday, February 15
After I last wrote, I went down and had dinner with Steve and Ryan. All of a sudden, I hear a very familiar voice coming from the television. I look up and low and behold, it was my COST Supervisor, Dr. Happs. His wife had sent us an email earlier in the week saying he would be on the news a couple of nights this week, but I had completely forgot. He is commentating on a special the local news station is running on whether or not people can actually have psychic abilities. John is the president of WA Skeptics, an organization that devotes their time to uncover "weird" abilities. It was very interesting to hear what all he had to say, he definitely put one of the woman in her place who seemed to be talking out of her behind the entire time!
The following day it was off to school bright and early for a breakfast party to bid a farewell to one of the educational assistants. I wish I could have taken a picture of the "heaps" (I am getting there with the lingo, no worries, agh there I go again) of food that everyone prepared. Fortunately, I was put on toast duty and only had to bring in a loaf of bread, easy enough for me since I am such a little Betty Crocker in the kitchen! After our huge breakfast, we all needed a nap, but it was time to start our day. I taught another lesson on nouns, this time we worked on sorting the nouns into their categories (i.e., person, place, or thing). The students really seemed to grasp the concept, so I decided to change up my follow up lesson to challenge them a bit more. Tomorrow we are doing common nouns vs. proper nouns. I still find myself struggling to communicate with the one deaf student. He seems so far behind, it's puzzling to determine where to begin with him even for my experienced teacher. Fortunately, the interpreters are wonderful and are very patient with the students which makes instruction a little less chaotic.
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| Student Work- Sorting Nouns |
I am still adjusting to the high costs of everything here. Ryan, Steve, and myself went into town to get a pizza and two mediums cost a little over $40! I was in shock when the cashier rang it up... Another thing that is surprising is the amount of restaurants and cafes that are BYOB, for those of you who are not familiar with that acronym- Bring your own booze. They're everywhere! Also on the way into town, Steve and I chatted about how careful you have to be in another culture not to offend anyone. I have apologized a thousand times for saying "ma'am" and "sir" because here if you say it, it can be taken as an insult, like calling someone an old hag or something. Steve also thinks it's funny how I say "y'all" constantly...
Thursday, February 16
Morning came quite early for me once again. I really do hope I can keep up this nice early bird routine back home. After breakfast, I went out to hang my laundry on the line- something that I am still getting used to. I miss being able to turn on the dryer to keep things from getting wrinkled. Guess I am a little spoiled back home, just a teeny bit! I did have good company while I was out, Tia and Basha, the dogs. They're the sweetest thing and are very protective. I have already noticed how they look at strangers when I am around!
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| Tia, 12 years old, same spunk as my little Andy man! |
Well, technically tomorrow is my birthday here. The big 2-4. This is the first one to spend without my family and friends ever, so it is a bit emotional. I know, wherever they are, they are out celebrating for me! No plans have been set in stone for tomorrow, but I am sure we'll find something to get into. Until then...
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Days 17 & 18- On the grind
After a much needed night of rest from a fun weekend, it was back to the grind again...
Monday, February 13
On Monday morning, bright and early, my teacher asked that I teach the Year 9's English Lesson. This lesson required reading two chapters of the book they are currently reading, summarize what it was about, and identify tough vocabulary. Piece of cake, right? Well I thought so. For the most part, the lesson went pretty well. I am learning though that we put our own meanings to words and definitely say them much differently. So explaining their meanings can sometimes be a bit of an issue. Most of the kids grasped the concept and I was proud of myself. Let's just hope Melody thought I did just as well ;)
After school, I ran over to the post office (for the fifth time) to file my Working With Children background check. This has been quite the headache, so when I walked in and saw the line wrapped halfway around the building, I was praying the Lord would have some mercy on me and not make me wait in this long line for nothing! Fortunately, the lady was finally able to FINALLY accept it! Hooray! Chelsea's host dad, Len, told me the other day out on our wine tasting that this opportunity would "change me as a person." I am definitely starting to see that change, and the change is for the better! For example, if I had been in the states and saw that line I would have been grouchy and probably not stood there the entire time. Instead, I patiently waited and browsed the room of different stationary and office supplies, and of course did a little people watching! I hope my easy going outlook on life comes back with me to the states!
Oh, and I must share these with you. I unfortunately see these hideous little cars everywhere. Apparently they are quite the rave here in Australia! Chelsea and I over the weekend even tried to count the amount we saw, but eventually gave up because they were so many. Every day I walk home or to catch the bus, there these ugly little creatures are! Everyone meet- "The Thunder!" Yikes...
Monday, February 13
On Monday morning, bright and early, my teacher asked that I teach the Year 9's English Lesson. This lesson required reading two chapters of the book they are currently reading, summarize what it was about, and identify tough vocabulary. Piece of cake, right? Well I thought so. For the most part, the lesson went pretty well. I am learning though that we put our own meanings to words and definitely say them much differently. So explaining their meanings can sometimes be a bit of an issue. Most of the kids grasped the concept and I was proud of myself. Let's just hope Melody thought I did just as well ;)
After school, I ran over to the post office (for the fifth time) to file my Working With Children background check. This has been quite the headache, so when I walked in and saw the line wrapped halfway around the building, I was praying the Lord would have some mercy on me and not make me wait in this long line for nothing! Fortunately, the lady was finally able to FINALLY accept it! Hooray! Chelsea's host dad, Len, told me the other day out on our wine tasting that this opportunity would "change me as a person." I am definitely starting to see that change, and the change is for the better! For example, if I had been in the states and saw that line I would have been grouchy and probably not stood there the entire time. Instead, I patiently waited and browsed the room of different stationary and office supplies, and of course did a little people watching! I hope my easy going outlook on life comes back with me to the states!
Oh, and I must share these with you. I unfortunately see these hideous little cars everywhere. Apparently they are quite the rave here in Australia! Chelsea and I over the weekend even tried to count the amount we saw, but eventually gave up because they were so many. Every day I walk home or to catch the bus, there these ugly little creatures are! Everyone meet- "The Thunder!" Yikes...
Any who, back to my marvelous Monday. Janette, my host "mum" is still in the hospital. I was able to talk to her on the phone and she sounds like she is slowly getting better. Turns out she had a terrible infection and it was taking the doctors a while to determine how to treat her. Hopefully she will be out soon! I have been spending a lot of time with the men of the house. Steve, my host dad, has been preparing wonderful meals every night while Janette has been away. Ryan and I always offer to help but he seems to have it all under control. Speaking of Ryan, he is currently looking into moving into a group home for adults with disabilities. He seems really excited about this transition and even was going to look at a place today! He told me the only way he would move in was if there is enough space for all of his caps and as long as the bathroom wasn't pink, haha!
After dinner, it was off to finish some school work and call it an early night. I was able to skype with my parents and Will which is always wonderful. My Dad even told me he ate at Outback over the weekend in honor of muah. I wouldn't dare tell a soul that here because they would be greatly offended, haha! They say the restaurant is a disgrace to their country! Oh well... Oh and another fun fact, turns out one of Chelsea's friends who goes to Kentucky is friends with Angelina Gomez! Isn't it crazy all of the funny connections we have all around the world!?
Tuesday, February 14
Oh Valentine's Day... and my oh my were my kids excited. All I heard all day was "mate, who's your squeeze for the day!?" Luckily, by mid morning the excitement began to wear off! Just a teeny bit...
Later in the morning, I had the Year 8's for a Science Lesson on "What's Inside A Seed." The group is small, five students, so I get to be much more hands on with them. Which is obviously a plus! I think the lesson went really well because after teaching I did a quick review and they could all recall the material, except for my deaf student. This particular student is having a very difficult time in school. His inability to communicate with an interpreter due to his lack of knowledge in AUSLAN signing makes him very difficult to reach. It really becomes hard when you are trying to move forward with a lesson, and this one is behind. I tried my very best to keep him focused and engaged in the lesson. It was definitely one of my more challenging teaching experiences, but one I will keep with me as I continue on. Another area of concern for me, is my lack of content knowledge with this age group. As you all know, I am working towards completing my degree working with children ages 4-12. These children are 12, going on 13 so technically a grade above what I am going to be teaching, so the content is more for me to learn. Also, in our courses at UA for special education, we focus more on how to differentiate instruction and how to modify things to suit our student's needs. So basically, I am having to relearn everything I am teaching my students which may sound silly, but can be quite time consuming!
As for the rest of the day, I am spending it doing school work of course. I keep telling myself that May 5th is right around the corner and for a couple of months I won't have to worry about anything other than finding a job. Keep your ears open for jobs in special education back in the states, because before you know it, I will be a coming home!
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Days 14, 15, 16- Wined Down
Another wonderful weekend here in Western Australia has come and gone! Let's see, let's begin with Friday...
Friday, February 10
After keeping myself up to the wee hours of the morning thinking of everything that could go wrong with my lesson, I was one sleepy girl when 6 AM rolled around. Once I got to school, I perked up and was ready to teach my kids their English Lesson. The lesson didn't go exactly as planned, but I still think it went pretty well. My teacher provided me with wonderful feedback and the students were very well behaved and respectful of me. She was nice enough to give me a lesson to teach every day next week so I can really be prepared for when my COST Supervisor comes to watch me do my ten straight days of teaching which starts in a week, aghhh!!
After school, I rushed home to pack and it was off to the train station. I feel like I am in the movies every time I am catching the train because I am constantly running through trying not to miss my ride! But I do make it every time and I am getting some good jogging in! Once I got over to Chelsea's place, we rode into Subiaco for dinner and drinks. "Subi" is a very trendy sort of place and can get quite pricey. We had a wonderful meal at Jus Burgers and had a couple of cocktails at the Subiaco Hotel, which is absolutely gorgeous. Very vintage Hollywood glamour sort of style. While we were there we began talking to a guy who just got transferred here from work who is a die hard Texas A&M fan. Of course I chatted his ears off about the aggies joining the SEC, it was nice to catch up with someone who actually understood college sports, so many young people here only follow pro sports. He even gave me a big roll tide! Once we left Subi, we went back down to a swanky little bar in Hillary's Harbor and met a nice fellow who knew someone from Ozark, Alabama. I know I have said this before, but really what are the odds, it really is such a small world! One thing that was reassuring to hear was being reminded how wonderful we do have it in America. This little guy would not stop talking about how he would do anything to be able to move to the states but waiting for a VISA is just too time consuming. This experience has allowed me so far to see the up's and down's of living in another country, which I am very thankful for.
Saturday, February 11
Friday, February 10
After keeping myself up to the wee hours of the morning thinking of everything that could go wrong with my lesson, I was one sleepy girl when 6 AM rolled around. Once I got to school, I perked up and was ready to teach my kids their English Lesson. The lesson didn't go exactly as planned, but I still think it went pretty well. My teacher provided me with wonderful feedback and the students were very well behaved and respectful of me. She was nice enough to give me a lesson to teach every day next week so I can really be prepared for when my COST Supervisor comes to watch me do my ten straight days of teaching which starts in a week, aghhh!!
After school, I rushed home to pack and it was off to the train station. I feel like I am in the movies every time I am catching the train because I am constantly running through trying not to miss my ride! But I do make it every time and I am getting some good jogging in! Once I got over to Chelsea's place, we rode into Subiaco for dinner and drinks. "Subi" is a very trendy sort of place and can get quite pricey. We had a wonderful meal at Jus Burgers and had a couple of cocktails at the Subiaco Hotel, which is absolutely gorgeous. Very vintage Hollywood glamour sort of style. While we were there we began talking to a guy who just got transferred here from work who is a die hard Texas A&M fan. Of course I chatted his ears off about the aggies joining the SEC, it was nice to catch up with someone who actually understood college sports, so many young people here only follow pro sports. He even gave me a big roll tide! Once we left Subi, we went back down to a swanky little bar in Hillary's Harbor and met a nice fellow who knew someone from Ozark, Alabama. I know I have said this before, but really what are the odds, it really is such a small world! One thing that was reassuring to hear was being reminded how wonderful we do have it in America. This little guy would not stop talking about how he would do anything to be able to move to the states but waiting for a VISA is just too time consuming. This experience has allowed me so far to see the up's and down's of living in another country, which I am very thankful for.
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| A healthy burger choice that was yummy in our tummy's! |
Saturday was quite a chill day for us. After having a late lunch at Sharky's in Hillary's Harbor, we wondered around and looked at all of the markets that come into the Harbor on Saturday's. It was lovely to see all of the unique jewelry, artwork, toys for children, and everything else you could possibly think of. I found a lovely elephant necklace that I plan on wearing next football season, which seems like years from now, haha! After a little fro-yo, for those of you who might not be familiar with the hip lingo these days, that means frozen yogurt, we wondered down and napped on the beach before heading home to get ready for our BBQ. The BBQ was very relaxed and everything I expected a really Aussie Barbie to be like! We had sausage dogs by the pool and mainly just sat around getting to know people. It was a bit awkward finding out that only one other person there was close to my age, most of the people there were 18-19 and joked with me if I brought my cane along with me! Nonetheless, they were very friendly and invited us out with them to a club near Chelsea's house. They warned us before hand that the club was quite "bogan" aka red neck, low life, that sort of thing and it most certainly lived up to what we expected it to be. We had a great time dancing to music that was far behind what you would hear back home. The atmosphere of bars here is quite different than anything we have in Alabama, but hey it's nice to try new things. After we left, all of the kids we were with insisted on swimming in the ocean. Chelsea and I sat out of this one, there was no way we were getting our cute outfits soaked in the cold water before going home! And not to mention sharks.... not a snowball's chance in Haiti.
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| Lounging by "Breakie" |
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| Out and about |
Sunday, February 12
Once again, Chelsea's family prepared a lovely breakfast for us. I absolutely love spending time with them. They are so intelligent and interesting to listen to, I feel like I learn so much any time I am around them. After a little breakfast, it was off to Swan Valley for a couple of wine tastings. Swan Valley is very unique and has over fifty vineyards that go for miles and miles. No worries, we didn't go to all fifty today, just three! It was wonderful going up to some because they were run out of people's home. My favorite was our second stop where a man sat us down at a nice table and let us sample all of his wonderful wines. Did I mention that Chelsea's host family are quite the wine gurus? They gave us tons of wonderful tips and before you know it, I am going to be an expert just like them! We had lunch at a wonderful little cafe where we sampled anything and everything. It was delicious, but I think I am still full. Not to mention the ice cream I had after at a chocolate factory we stopped at nearby. Once I got home, I went on my usual run and came home to some not so great news. Janette is still in the hospital and won't be out for another week. Fortunately, the doctors determined what type of infection she had and are able to treat her but want to keep an eye on her as she recovers. I talked to her on the phone for a while and she sounded much better! Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
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| Hot Cakes, Mango yogurt, figs, cantaloupe, peaches and bananas :) |
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| The purchases made by Chelsea's family at Swan Valley... |
As I mentioned before, I will be teaching every day for the next three weeks so my apologies if I can't update my blog as frequently as I would like! Hope you all are doing well back in the mainland!!
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