Sunday 19 February 2012

Reality bites

{EAV:b74e191340ab0f34}
What can I say about life here?  Never dull...our second weekend was spent unpacking and having a bit of a look around.  We spotted 2 wolf spiders, a white tailed nasty spider and another redback, all poisonous.  All in or around the house, despite Matt and Bec's efforts to have the place sprayed for insects for us before they left.  Kookaburras laugh like maniacal monkeys in the trees outside our window each morning, but are very reasonable about never starting before 5 a.m. Gina has enrolled in high school, smug about skipping directly into Year 11 and signing up for a welding class, but not so keen on her phys. ed. class.  She had hoped for exercise 5/5 days, but it's actually theory of human anatomy 4/5 days and 1 day a week she does sports. Hmmm...but last week a visiting coach really impressed her.  He'd coached olympic athletes and is currently working with the state's premier footy team...taught them a few things about sprinting. Despite having to work outside in +35C, she learned a lot!  Also, despite the infected spider bite on her ankle....yes, it's never dull! Gina awoke last Friday with a bite of some sort. Mosquito?  Apparently not! It grew. And it grew...by Saturday it was distractingly red, infected and painful.  We didn't realize how bad it was getting while we drove to Fremantle to pick up a campervan that Kees had purchased for us. Checking in to a chemist shop for antihistamines and antiseptic cream was not the best move, but we were pressed for time, as the van dealer was due to close at noon, or so we thought.We planned to find her a doctor after getting the van.  Luckily, an employee at the van dealer's was also a nurse.  He had a good look at it, drained it and dressed it well.Despite the initial excruciating pain, Gina said she felt better, then slept through a lot of the day due to the antihistamine. We all had a chance to dip our toes in the ocean at Ports Beach, but 37C made the intensity of the sun dangerous. Cool breezes and crashing waves weren't enough to charm us. We headed back to Williams in 2 vehicles and hoped that Gina's infection would stabilize.  She's a tough kid! Made it through to Sunday before we took her to the emergency room at Narrogin Hospital. Nasty bite! Antibiotics and peace of mind are really priceless, aren't they? By Monday it was a disturbingly dark purple mess, but she made it through the day and was delighted to report that the swelling was going down after the wound had burst and drained through the day. Antibiotics were doing the trick.  It took a full 10 days before the bite seemed to almost completely disappear, just as Matt's dad had predicted. Everyone we knew had
had a look at it and asked about it, making Gina feel a whole lot better about her unfortunate experience. Within the first 2 weeks of school here, she confronted her worst fears about poisonous bugs in this country and found the courage and strength to overcome them. Happy ending to this one!

Educating Mrs. denHartigh

The first three weeks have been a blur.  Without air con due to a power failure on the first weekend before classes began, I felt I would perish. Thankfully, it has been reliably cool in my classroom ever since, but temperatures have been usually into the mid thirties, with a few days in the upper thirties. My energy level has been weak. Concentration is frustratingly NOT THERE.  Sweat soaks my clothes even as I guzzle liters of water each day. Dehydrated contacts make it tough to read for long, or to focus on details. Accents made for a few interesting misunderstandings, mostly on my part, complicated by a zillion acronyms, as many as 4 different ones for the Department of Education alone(true!), much new vocabulary (textas? zoomas? A3 or A4 sized folders? Did I enjoy the "bitch?"...whaaaT??!! oh, the BEACH...she asked if I had been enjoying the beach...) a mountain of good intentions and precious little real ability to absorb, prepare or respond....
I must say, support has been amazing.  Everyone on staff has made me feel welcome, cared about and empathized with.  The collaborative design of the school program, as well as the integrated approach and continuity of resources across grade levels, combined with the clear focus on teaching to the NAPLAN standardized tests in May, has left me with quite a clear path for instruction.  Even in my numbed state, I am beginning to see a path.  Relying on pure intuition, I have managed to organize what is currently passing for teaching. Students have only had a couple of instances where they seem to have sensed my lack of response to their increasing volume as they test me. It hasn't lasted long, as I have an excellent group with quite good behaviors. I've been able to regain their focus, if not really mine! Defaulting to storytime works well, as do action-packed body breaks to counteract the very looong periods,  I must rework my timetable to avoid that! After all , these are 8 and 9 year olds who need to be active.  The classroom is much smaller than I 'm used to, with no area to gather the group on the floor for teachable moments.  It's very hard to stay in their seats all day!! I don't teach that way!
Our first trip outdoors to shady areas for a nature hunt produced relief from the 4 walls, but a wall of heat that  felt like the searing high setting on a hair dryer. While about 3 boys ran amock, most students were very  intent on sketching 4 specimens of flora or fauna that I had assigned.  Clipboards in hand, we hunted with our eyes and aimed to record observations. First, Peter found a dead bird, headless, under a nest. OK, we'll try not to touch it kids, just sketch what you see. Let's consider how it may have become headless.... Five minutes later the missing head was produced with glee by Bayley, who was sent to wash his hands after depositing the wee skull at the foot of slightly hysterical girls.  I decided we'd move on from that area. The contained raised flower beds near our new library entrance seemed innocuous enough.  Let's sketch the "kangaroo paws", that are blossoming here, class...Redback? Deadly poisonous spider, you say? OK, everyone take a big step baaaaaaaaaaaack.......yup, our librarian came out to confirm that it was a fine big female, spinning a rather lifeless looking grasshopper up in her web. Juicy dinner, indeed. Luckily, another staff member zipped off to find both my camera and our deputy principal, Johan Van Wyk, who doubles as a poisonous insect remover...., but not before we got both great pics and sketches! Of course, our lovely librarian, Jenny O'dea, handed me the perfect book on venomous creatures of Australia right on cue, so we sat down in the cool shade, on benches to read about redbacks.  I'd call that an unforgettable first Science lesson in Oz, wouldn't you? Quite a collaborative dance!
It can only get better.

Weeks Later:Adaptations

Lucky for us, we were met by Gail and Greg Melvin, Bec's lovely parents.  They trundled us off in 2 cars to Phil and Chook Melvin's place, Bec's aunt and uncle. We have since come to know and love these two couples for their extraordinary generosity and warm welcome to this overheated land.  We had arrived during the hottest heat wave in decades, which pushed temperatures above 40C for most off the first week that we were here.  Aside from one predawn walk through the neighborhood, we all hid indoors from the scorching sun.  Even with air con, it was difficult to acclimatize. A family bbq, where we were introduced to tasty kangaburgers and roo sausages, was a good chance to meet Bec's extended family in Perth. I liked it all, but was really not myself, fading into the cool dimness of my room, seeking any air flow from fans that I could. I slept a lot for the first few days. We went out at night, treated to a view from the 43rd floor of a downtown building and a stroll through King's Park, but all I could really do was try to remain polite and keep rewetting the scarf at my neck to keep cool. I still find it infinitely more tolerable to adapt to the cold by dressing warmly than to adapt to living with high  temperatures using fans and air con.  My brain just would not absorb or retain much. Fried!
January 26th was Australia Day, so we joined in the exchange teacher events in the heart of Perth. Getting there in Bec's car would have been very tricky without the loan of Phil's gps.That little piece of technology is perfect for navigating in cities! My iPhone is fine for highways and basic directions in town, but is often not specific enough to get  us to our goal.  That gps never fails!
Well, between the approaching thunderstorm and the evening fireworks, we felt like we were in the middle of a cosmic duel.  Violent lightening strikes, boiling dark clouds  and thunder approached from behind us as a great display of explosions vied for our attention ahead. Inevitably, the downpour won out as it brought cool relief and a quick end to our Australia Day event.
The next morning, our real adventure began.  We couldn't thank our awesome hosts,  Chook and Phil, enough for providing a cool haven for our first few days in Perth.  They have graciously offered the keys to their home for any time we need to return to the big city. How wonderful is that? Better yet, we enjoyed their company and friendship so much that we will certainly be back.
Bec's folks, Gail and Greg, were kind enough to drive with us on our first trip to our new home in Williams.  Except for the stop in Armadale to get groceries, we completed the trip from Perth to Williams within 2 hours.
It was greener than I had imagined, with ghost gums lining the highway much of the way.  The fields and paddocks were dry brown and either loaded with sheep or wheat stubble. We saw little evidence of water; a few watering holes for livestock seemed it. It is a very arid landscape at this time of year, but we've been told that come the winter, all turns cool and green, like our summers back home.About 8000 varieties of plants and animals are evident in Western Australia  with about  6000 of them occurring nowhere else.  They say the wildflowers in season are astonishingly beautiful. Sounds good to me!
Our home for the year is a lovely house on an acre of land, 2 km outside of the town of Williams.  There are a few olive, apple, cherry, and fig trees on the property, with some decent corn in the garden still and a few tomato plants that are done and crispy. Parrots, magpies and flocks of rosy galahs are evident daily and have stripped most trees of fruit. Did I mention the clusters of green hard marbles on grapevines around the yard, as well?  Much water would be needed for them, but as tight restrictions are enforced on the most precious of commodities, I guess we'll never taste their sweet ripe crunch. Further south an hour or two, where the vineyards beckon, there must be much irrigation or much more precipitation.
Even so, the roses are lovely and Matt's landscaping does much to draw the eye past trees and bushes, rockwork and vines, to the golden hills beyond us to the north.  With pure hot country air and an absence of wind, the clarity of the atmosphere makes it look and feel like it might be Tuscany. We have a beaut of a covered patio, ready for warm nights of bbqs and forming friendships. It has a fridge and sink as well as seating for 10 around teak tables, a hammock and other comfy lounge seating.  Now if it were just cool enough outdoors to enjoy it!!
Our first impressions of the night sky are breathtaking. Absence of light pollution makes for the clearest stars and brightest moonlight I've ever seen. Indoors, the loving craftsmanship of a talented woodworking artisan is evident in the gorgeous handmade furniture, cabinetry, bed and centerpiece stairway. Matt has built this starter home himself. Clearly, for one so young, he has talent to burn!
We are grateful for the air con recently installed in the master bedroom.  Gina is delighted with the whole main floor to herself once we retire for the night. We think this is a well appointed home that we can all feel comfortable  and happy in for the year.
Next stop: to the school.

Saturday 11 February 2012

First Week in Perth

I hid from the heat.
OK, so there was plenty of air con at Chook and Phil's home where we stayed, but 42c was dang hot. Disorienting.
We did get out one fine morning before sunrise, for a leisurely stroll through Chook's neighborhood, but headed straight in once those burning rays pierced the atmosphere. Humidity seemed hard to cope with, although I had hoped the tropics might have prepared me for this heat.
It did not.
In retrospect, it was all a haze that week. I spent a couple of lackluster attempts at mall shopping, but bought nothing. One highlight was when I tagged along with Chook for a visit to her mom's place. We took her lunch and spent a couple of hours chatting while Chook attended to some errands for her, as she'd been housebound with illness for some time. I was quite amazed to find such a fine collection of aboriginal artifacts in her home, casually stored in shelves, closets and umbrella stands! After pulling out dozens of spears, boomerangs, clubs, digeridoos and canes, I was proudly shown many samples of Chook's mom's own artwork. Beautiful talent! Paintings and sculptures indoors and out kept me in awe and wonder. I was very impressed and asked such a lot of questions that I may have tired the poor lady out, although Chook figures the visit did her a world of good. I sure enjoyed it!

Thursday 9 February 2012

First day in Oz January 23

We had a quick 8 hours in Sydney before our connector flight departed to Perth, so we checked our bags through and hopped a train into the city. Wandering through Circular Quay led us to The Rocks, an area that we recalled as being much more vibrant t thirty years earlier. There were shops of all sorts and plenty of small cafes, but without a guide, we felt a bit like we may have been missing the heart of things. When in doubt, always stop to eat! After a pricey lunch of sandwiches and coffees, we found The Rocks Museum and enjoyed an hour or so of learning the historical beginnings, Aboriginal roots, first contact and in to more recent developments. We all took the opportunity to catch 40 winks during the interpretive films! Although they were really interesting, we had been up at 4 am in Auckland and lost a day crossing the International Dateline. Time zone shifts and heat took a toll.
Our stroll around the Harbour Bridge and back to the Opera House left us thirsty, so we foolishly succumbed to the charm of a quayside restaurant, where we lightened our wallets on beverages that ought to have cost one third of that charged. To balance that expense, I admit that we used three times the megabytes of normal wifi users as we enjoyed skyping Edmonton and chatting with folks at home, while using the excellent free wifi inside the Sydney Opera House. With better planning, we could have gone on a tour or even watched a performance that evening. Marvelling at Street performers and watching the throngs of tourists kept us entertaines for a bit. Really, our thoughts were already on Perth and imaginings of our new life in WA. We all seemed a wee bit homesick as well, so the real charms of Sydney would have to wait.