I'm not a primary teacher! Even grade 6. To my elementary school teacher friends, to youse, I tip my hat. I mean sure they're cute and they love you, but do they ever shut up!? I did have some 9s and even some 10s that were similar. But, I can reason with those noisy pukes.
All in all though, it was a good experience. Enjoyed the staff, the kids were fun in a non classroom context, gained some Aussie references- all good things.
Took some fun pictures with the kids
Had some drinks with my coworkers
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Just kidding, they were a pretty tame bunch.
Following the end of the term, I moved from my cozy (cosy, if you're in Australia... ridiculous,) suburb of Gardenvale, further from the city center, out to the suburb of Aspendale, which is far closer to work. No more 5:30 wake up calls!
Picture from my bedroom. Yeah, that's water. Yeah, there's a beach there. Yeah, my roommate and neighbours like to have fires. So good! Worthwhile move for sure.
Oh and in the brief window between the end of term and my move date, I got to let loose, Canadian style, with a new Canadian friend of mine, at a Canada Day celebration down at the Wharf Hotel. Air hockey, fooseball, caesars and poutine. Oh yeah.... !
Ok, so I moved and had a relatively quiet week before jetting off to Brisbane for a hostel stay at "Banana Benders."
Surprisingly, I wasn't concerned about the name. I was concerned about bunking it with a bunch of twenty year olds.
Not the case. There was quite an age range. Multiple nationalities too. It was a good experience and as annoying as the top bunk was, I really enjoyed meeting these new people. Basically being forced into social situations. My ambiverted self can be a little resistant to socializing at times.
Day One
One of my favorite days. I woke up, made breakfast, got a coffee (chai turmeric- it was ok,) asked the girl working there for directions to the city, and just started walking.
I first happened upon the Roma Street Parkland. Basically a massive garden/lizard sanctuary off of one of the biggest streets. I got lost in there for a few hours. Had a glass of wine while charging my phone.
Unfortunately, a number of my pictures didnt save properly :(
Once I made my way out of the Parkland, I continued to explore and ended up at a French Festival in Southbank. There I ate a bunch of cheese out of a bread bowl and listened to French music.
I left the festival and just walked through the beautiful Southbank region. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Just frickin' beautiful.
That's probably the shittiest picture I have, but it saved. So, you get what you get.
Made it back to the hostel in one piece.
I guess I should mention that I arrived Friday evening and enjoyed some drinks with my new hostel friends and the above meanderings happened Saturday.
Day One- After Dark
So my new friends invited me out on the town. Two 19 year old German girls, a 26 year old Finnish girl, 31 year old French guy, and we met up with a 24 year old Canadian girl.
Most clubs will not accept international drivers licenses as a proper form of identification. So I'm about to get belligerent with my passport in the my pocket of my jacket/sweater thing.
I can actually feel people cringe after writing that.
Just wait, I'm not done yet.
The drinks went down. The music was classic 2000-2010 hits. Right up my alley. We are dancing and singing and drinking and having fun. In the middle of all of the fun, I get warm.
I say to my new Canadian friend,
"Man, I want to take my jacket off, but my passport is in the pocket."
Guess what? She offers to put it in her purse for me! I said it before and I'll say it again: Canadian Camaraderie is real.
So we got into the piss and have a great time. Memories of the night are a little spotty, but the next morning I wake up without my passport. I was smart enough to get her contact information. I message her and she still has my passport, thank goodness. She sends it over to the hostel with another girl that we went out with who is staying at the same hostel.
Was it stupid of me to give my passport to someone that I'd just met that night?
Yes it was, luckily, what should have happened happened. She was a good, honest person and did exactly what she said she would. Take care of my passport for me. She could have been a criminal or a delinquent of some kind, but she behaved how a decent person should have.
You cringed again, didn't you?
Another incident of absolute trust in a stranger occurred that weekend. I was the stranger this time. My hostel roommate ran into a problem in that she lost her debit card while traveling and couldn't access her accounts. Since I have an Australian account she asked if she could transfer $400 to me and I would withdraw it for her.
Sure, no problem.
So this woman that I met only a couple days prior, transfers $400 into my account. It arrives the evening before I leave. Who's to say I wouldn't have just lied about receiving the money and taken the money and left.
Was it kind of stupid to transfer a complete stranger money? Yeah, I think so. However, I acted as a good, honest person and gave her her money. As a reasonable, good person should.
Being suspicious of everyone you meet is no way to live. Intuition isn't infallible.
Had I lost my passport that night, I would have kicked myself for being stupid and not protecting an important document better.
For not making a smarter decision.
I'm sure people would have chastised my new friend for transferring money to someone she barely knew had I run off with it.
Does it feel like I'm leading up to something?
I am.
I'm about to tread on thin ice in lead boots.
Bad people exist and bad things happen. We need to take precautionary measures and protect ourselves.
This is an issue I have with the argument people have for, specifically, women wearing provactive clothing in vulnerable situations.
I'm not perpetuating rape culture.
I'm simply saying that bad people exist. People that aren't in control of the mental faculties. Sexual deviants. People on drugs.
A woman should be able to wear whatever she wants and be left alone.
A family should be able to leave their home unlocked and not have to worry about being robbed.
A traveler should be able to hold money and their passport in their pockets without worrying about being pickpocketed.
I should be able to ask a fellow traveler to hold my passport safely for me and have it returned to me.
My friend should be able to transfer money to someone and have them withdraw it and give it to her. Without fear of being ripped off.
Unfortunately, criminals exist. Crimes are committed against good people.
My van was stolen from me years ago. One of the first questions the police asked me was if the doors were locked.
Apparently, if they were unlocked, it could have affected my insurance claim. Isn't that blaming the victim?
Anyways, I just worry that while women are taking a stand, they're making some risky decisions. There's a reason I put my hood up and wear tattered grey sweats if I venture out alone at night.
I've made some dodgy decisions in my day and have been fortunate. Had something gone wrong, I would surely have assigned some blame to myself. I know better and should take proper precautions.
Ok I'm done with that now.
Anyways for real this time. I'm continuing this post two weeks later. School has been busy, but good! These are quite brilliant students and there are high expectations put on them. I did a homework check one day and 90% of my students had completed the work!!!! I can assign after school detentions! Ah discipline instead of empty threats.
I've been settling into my new place and I'm really enjoying life! The days are starting to warm up! It was 18 degrees on Sunday. A nice warm, winter day :)
With spotty internet access and limited data, I've found my thoughts wandering on the daily.
Playing out hypothetical situations that will likely never happen.
Indulging in day dreams.
Thinking instead of scrolling.
The process has been nostalgic. I revel in nostalgia. It's even been overwhelming at times. We so often forget about the world around us. Sometimes, when the day to day monotony sets in, even though I'm in Australia, I forget to look around. To appreciate where I am.
I took a walk along the beach a couple of days ago. The reality of where I am became very apparent. The fact that I'm walking in a beach that's located 10 meters from my home. Looking up at the unfamiliar constellations in the sky, yet the same moon I'd see back home. The unending water.
Now, I'm not an emotional person. Maybe at one time I was, but I'm not anymore. This extended moment gave me that bubbly feeling in my stomach. Like I finally understood. Understood what? I don't know. It was like a lightbulb went on and I got it.
I love where I live and I'm grateful for everyone that helped me and supported me on this adventure.
I'm gonna cut this post "short," so I can start another fresh this weekend.
When panoramics go wrong.
I'm actually into this picture
