Simply Life.: Catching up....

March 11, 2011

So I know I am a bit behind on the blogging, but I am going to try to catch everyone up as much as possible…

I will start with Arthurs Pass…

So we left Franz Josef and headed for Arthurs Pass. It was literally the smallest town I have ever seen. There was the hostel along with approximately 10 other buildings, all tucked away in a valley. It was just a beautiful location. Unfortunately for us, it rained almost the entire time we were there. We spent a lot of time indoors, getting ready to fly over to Sydney, playing games (like cribbage!!!) and just hanging out. We also had our lovely fashion show… Let me explain, every year it has been tradition for the students who are on Pacific Challenge to dress up for their flight from Christchurch to Sydney. The way it works is that each person’s name is placed in a hat, and then everyone draws a name and that is the person that they get to dress for the flight… We all found the clothing at different thrift stores in the towns that we stopped in. Finally, in Arthurs Pass we had our fashion show. This entailed each person picking their “runway” song, and modeling his or her outfit to the group, and telling everyone who gets to wear the attire. It was a blast!

While we were in Arthurs Pass I noticed there were children across the street. The building they were hanging out was an Outdoor Education Center. I decided to walk over and have a look. The students greeted me with friendly smiles, and I asked if their teacher was around. They led me to Mr. B., who was helping clean up the dining room. I had asked him if it was a school, and he filled me in on what the center was all about. Basically, students from schools all around can rent it out for a few days or a week and stay and learn about the environment, go on nature walks, utilize a small ropes course, and practice survival skills and safety skills. His class was leaving the day that I stopped over. They had spent the week at the center, and they seemed to have really enjoyed their time. I found out that they come from a small school outside of Dunedin. They were a class of 3rd graders, and had a five-hour bus ride home! Mr. B was very thankful that his class was able to do this type of activity, and says that the students look forward to it each and every year.

After two nights in Arthurs Pass, we headed to Christchurch, which is what my last blog was about… So skipping into when we arrived in Sydney!

Arriving in Sydney was great; it was the last day of the Mardi Gras, so there were lots of people walking about. We arrived and spent approximately 45 minutes in Manly. We ate while we were there, then headed to our accommodation for the next three nights… South Curl Curl Beach Surf Club… It was amazing! We stayed RIGHT on the beach. Literally, we could just walk down a staircase and boom you were on the beach. It did get very sandy, but it was well worth it! Since there were no Internet accommodations, we spent most of our time enjoying the beach. It was gorgeous. The sun rose each morning over the ocean, making the sand glow its golden color. The windows in the surf club looked right to the beach, so we would feel the sun rise as we were sleeping on the floor. We had an absolutely wonderful time at Curl Curl, and we were sad to leave. Our next destination was The Blue Mountains…

After driving for a couple hours we arrived at The Blue Mountains. They were magnificent. We stopped to take a look at “The Three Sisters” (Look at pictures below…) and just walked around looking at all of the cliffs and rain forest. It was awesome! There was also an aboriginal man who was there; he was playing an instrument. We stopped to watch for a while, and it was interesting to hear the sounds he could make. We only stopped in The Blue Mountains for a short time, then continued on to Blackheath.

In Blackheath we spent the night in a Scout Hall. It was a small building with just one room. The floor was wooden, and there was one girl’s bathroom and one boy’s bathroom. In Blackheath we went rock climbing and rappelling. The views were absolutely gorgeous! While in Blackheath, I met a very nice couple that was out walking their dog. I explained that I was an education major, and they said that the Primary School in Blackheath was absolutely wonderful, and that I should just stop in. So instead of canyoning with the group, I decided to check out the school.

When I arrived at the school, I was greeted and able to meet with the principal , Mr. Mark Rudd, right away. He was fairly new to the school, but was very proud of it. It was great to be welcomed so much into the school. I learned a lot about the educational system in New South Whales. It made me very excited to do student teaching here. He explained to me that the Australian government is currently trying to move more towards the standards that the American government has on schools. For example, right now we do standardized testing, and if our elementary schools don’t meet the AYP (annual yearly progress), they have a potential to lose students, and possibly even shut down. In NSW, testing is done just to look for a means of where to improve. It is not looked at as a negative thing. Also, the testing scores are not available for everyone to see; only the administrators of the school can see them.

We also talked about the culture of the school. Mr. Rudd explained that the school was very community based. They have multiple parent volunteers that come in each and every day (approximately 5 per day!), and they welcome volunteers whenever! The school “café” has a spot where parents, or anyone in the community, can sit down and enjoy a “cuppa” (cup of tea), and order snacks from the kitchen. When showing me the kitchen area, I learned that all of the students pack their own lunches. If they don’t pack a lunch, they are able to buy lunch at the school. They are able to order off a menu in the morning, to have their meal prepared by lunch. The meals are all home cooked, and they are all healthy meals. I asked if the state regulated the serving sizes, or what the students could or could not eat. That gave Mr. Rudd a little chuckle, which made me realize how funny that does sound. Thinking that, it made me come up with the question about their programs being cut. He explained that at the moment, no programs are being cut, however, with the government moving towards the USA standards, he is afraid that the teachers will start having to teach to the standards, or teach to the test that will be given, rather than teaching all subjects. Currently, the students have physical education each and every day! They also have art every day. They are not being taken out of certain classes, in order to be taught what the test will be about. Also, the students with disabilities are all mainstreamed (or placed in the regular education classes). If the student has severe needs, there are schools that they can go to that will better suit their needs.

Mr. Rudd took me on a tour of the school. Again, just like in Kaikoura, all the classrooms in their own individual buildings. Each classroom had the students sitting in groups. He explained to me that the students were grouped based on ability. The students with higher abilities sat together, and the students with lower abilities sat together. (Just to clarify, the classrooms weren’t grouped by ability, just the students inside each classroom).

After the tour, Mr. Rudd and I sat down to talk again. Luckily for me, I am able to go back to Blackheath, and am able to do a few weeks of student teaching their if it works out! I am very excited about this, as the school was very unique and interesting. After the Pacific Challenge trip ends, I am going back to Blackheath to talk to a community group about Minnesota, and possibly make some contacts from that area. I am very exited about this, and am looking forward to going back!

After leaving Blackheath we had a three-hour drive to Wisemans Ferry. Here we camped for one night. It was a lot of fun, but it was short, as we arrived after 6pm, and were on the road again the next morning by 8:30am.

We had a seven-hour drive to Cascade! It was a long drive on the bus to say the least! We stopped along the way, where I saw my very first wild kangaroos! They were just hanging out in someone’s front yard! We stopped and took a few photographs, and then continued on our journey! We finally got to Cascade, where we were staying in what used to be an old school, but was now an Environmental Center. Getting here, we were told that there would be leeches, spiders, and other creepy crawly critters around, and to just keep a look out for them. Mainly, watch out for the Funnel Web spider (the deadliest spider in the world!) Since it was dark out when we arrived, we were all kind of freaked out about the critters. Spiders were spotted immediately and two leeches were on one of my group members within minutes! Needless to say, I didn’t think I would sleep through the night. Fortunately, not having a mattress for the past few nights helped me to fall asleep fast on the mattress here, and I survived the night without any spiders!

Today was our first full day at Cascade. We went on an interpretive nature walk through the rainforest. I was told that there would be leeches, but I had no idea the extent of it. They were everywhere!!! Within minutes everyone was trying to swat them off. We were told that it was a competition to see who could have the most, and who could get the biggest one… While we were walking, I didn’t noticed a couple leeches attaching to a scratch I had on my ankle from rock climbing… Next thing I know they are tripling in size, and sucking the blood right out of me (literally!). I was not a fan, however, I figured I would probably win the competition at least. When we finally got out of the woods I ended up with three leeches that ate and fell off because they got “too full” and one bloody mess on my ankle! It was not a pretty sight, and it was not my idea of “fun”, but I guess it was a good experience! The best part was, when we got back, after getting all the leeches off (far away from where we are sleeping), dinner was ready for us, and it was an Aussie meal! We had emu, crocodile, kangaroo, salad, some type of Australian bread, juice made from an Australian flower, and ice cream that was missed with an Australian leaf. It was so good! It made the leech hike almost worth it. J

Tonight is the last night in Cascade, then we’re off to Byron Bay! Byron Bay, I have been told, is a favorite! We get to go scuba diving, and get surf lessons while we stay there for the next 4 nights. I am pretty excited, except, I hear we are more likely to see spiders up there… I guess I will just have to see!

Hopefully you all are up to date on my experiences now, and I apologize for the delay!!! I miss you all, love you all, and hope you all are doing well!

Something crazy to think about really quick… There are only 10 days left of this trip…. TEN DAYS! Then, I begin student teaching… Where in the world has time gone? It goes by so fast, so don’t ever think it won’t. Embrace every single moment you have, don’t let any moment slip past you. If I could start this trip over, I would in a heartbeat! I can’t believe that it is almost finished. Just remember; things happen very quickly, so don’t miss a beat! J

This was in New Zealand - we stopped to do a short caving experience, and this was the surrounding view!

South Curl Curl Beach in Sydney! This was the balcony in the surf club we stayed at... Yes, we had this view the WHOLE time we stayed there. Absolutely wonderful!

This was inside of the surf club we stayed at.

South Curl Curl Beach.

Again, inside of the Surf Club.

The Blue Mountains!

The views were breathtaking!

This is an Aboriginal man who was in The Blue Moutains, playing the unique Digerido. Makes a VERY cool noise!

Myself with the beautiful scenic Australia behind me!

The "Three Sisters" mountains in The Blue Moutains.

This is where we went rock climbing.

So beautiful!!!

Its my first Kangaroo... :)

This was our home while in the Cascades. We were a bit concerned about spiders, as one girl in our group found two Huntsman spiders in the shower with her (THEY ARE HUGE ONES!!!) but we made it ok :)