My life as a student teacher

This is the view I see every day when I go to student teach. This was taken from the parking lot. The view is even better from the PE staff room!

Coffs Harbour High School was built in the 30's(i think).

This is what I did from 9am until 2pm this past Friday. My entire day was spent at the International Sport Complex in this spot, making sure the sand was level and measuring the long jumps(and doing a bit of cheering for my students). We were isolated from all the other events, but I managed to keep myself entertained by taking some photos and doing some gardening. Gail (the lady on the left) kept herself busy by recording the scores and talking about when the next break was (check out her hat! she's representing San Diego). The reason we were here, was for the school's track and field competition. The whole school gets to miss a day of classes to come out and qualify for an even larger competition at the end of the month. That's the thing about Australia. All the sporting events are held within school time. So, if you play a variety of sports and belong to clubs, you rarely attend classes. Bizarre. This also means that the classes I am supposed to teach are cancelled. I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing. All I know is that I enjoyed soaking up the sunshine!

Here are some of my students in action.

This is a portion of the girls soccer team that I am coaching. They are the nicest group of girls. I think one of the best perks of teaching is coaching. I get to live vicariously through them. Last week, since the 11th graders were using the sport hall and it was raining, we took three 9th grade classes bowling. They needed an extra player, so I jumped right in. These are the things that make me love teaching. If only there were sporting events every day!

It's clouds illusions that I recall

Pics taken while driving home from school (no, I wasn't the driver). I love clouds, they make a beautiful day even more spectacular.
Each afternoon, I am saved by the bell. Exhausted after a long day of student teaching, I slowly make my way up the highway towards home sweet home. As the endless rows of trees alongside the road send me into another world of thought, I lose track of the drive and make it home wondering how I got there. Scary, I know. Today was one of those days. My day consisted of coaching our school's girl's soccer team (which we won!), having my supervisor come and observe one of my classes (of course he had to watch the class that climbs up the walls like a bunch of ferrell monkeys-no joke), crying after class in front of the supervisor (one of my finer moments), and taking 40 students bowling (probably the best part of the day). This was one of the easiest days I've had during this student teaching, but nonetheless, I am still left exhausted after the long day. Today, instead of driving home, working on lesson plans and writing papers, I drove down to the beach. As I made my way to the beach, I was baffled by how surreal the skyline looked. Clouds of all forms and colors clustered and spread as far as the eye could see. Amazing. I parked my car (which of course I bottomed out, lovely) and started to walk onto the beach. I felt like I was in a painting. I was the only person on the beach (which is more like a large cove). The water was empty, yet glowed a color similar to a swimming pool. The backdrop of trees silently stood without a hint of movement. Two birds harmoniously dove into the water. Time stood still. As my feet hit the water I felt renewed. There wasn't any difference in temperature between the water and the air. That luke warm feel, that almost feels of nothing. And even though the sun was setting to the west(inland), the colors were seaping through the clouds over the ocean. The clouds created an illusion that reminded me of the Joni Mitchell song that goes, "i've looked at clouds from both sides now...but it's cloud's illusions that i recall". Anyways, the moral amongst this endless novel is that..... no matter how exhausted you are, remember to take time for yourself and be renewed (or smell the flowers).

yeeehaw...

Californian's on a bit of a walkabout (Garrett, me, Rachel and Acacia)
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention why I went to the city... We were invited to attend a theme party named "cowboys and indians". I would like to point out how politically correct and culturally sensitive Rachel was about the whole occasion (the rest of us Californian's took the easy way out and stuck with the cowboy theme). The fact that we are in Australia attending a "cowboy and indian" party is somewhat comical to me. First of all, if they are referring to the original inhabiters of North America, then they need to say "cowboys and Native American's". Secondly, we are in Australia. They don't have Native American's here. They would then be called Native Australian's. But if you are referring to the Native Australian's, they would be called Aboriginal Australian's. So, I feel that it is safe to say that Rachel dressed in the most logical way given these circumstances. Plus, I think the Punjabi only cost her 5 bucks. What a bargain! We all had a good laugh about it anyway:)

a trip to brisbane

I went to the city. The process of preparing myself to go to the city took about a week, given the fact that I am afraid of cities. Loud construction, drilling noises, smells of exhaust and horns honking are enough to make me crawl out of my skin. Add a heaping mass of people who don't understand my personal space bubble, and I am ready to scream. So, a week before the journey I began my zen breathing exercises(yes, I am embellishing again). When the day was upon us, I contemplated backing out and spending a day on a semi-secluded beach. The zen exercises must have helped because I gave in and decided to embark upon this new adventure. As we left the countryside, the buildings began to rise out of nowhere. I shut my eyes and tried to hide from it, but there was no escaping. When I opened my eyes we were in the thick of it. A stream of sounds burst into the silence. We were there. However, to my surprise, we continued on. Driving up a small mountain and across two streets, the noises somewhat disappeared as we parked at a victorian house situated upon stilts, overlooking the valley. We had arrived in the most beautiful area of Brisbane, Red Hill ( i think). An amazing sanctuary for someone as manic about the city as me. We did end up going down to the city for a few hours (which was more than enough for me), but my wonderful friends were there to guide me through. So, I thought I would share some pictures of the peaceful side of the city of Brisbane. Enjoy!

A view from where we stayed. Australian's are so hospitable!

We better get on the road, a storm is a brewin'


This is only part of the wall. I love the colors.

This violin shop was outside of the city, and again, I love the vibrant colors.

Just imagine this church without the sky scraper and buildings behind it and suddenly you feel like you are back in the old country (wherever that may be)
On our way out of the city. This was the actual color of the sky before the two massive storms merged for a lightning show that filled up the sky during our two hour drive home. I tried to take photos of the lightning, but it's really hard to figure out where the lightning will strike next. We actually saw a bolt on the other side of the freeway. It burned my retinas. But I am okay.

Photos from the journey...

Here's a good look at what I see on the way home from school.
It's just beautiful wherever you look.

Wouldn't mind living in this house
Or sitting under this tree reading a book.

sunrise, sunrise

A bit of peace before the light fully beckons the daily hustle

and bustle of the most easterly city of Australia, good old Byron Bay

Now, why am I awake at this hour, you ask (5:30am)? To see the sun beaming its rays over the horizon? To greet each day with sunny optimism(no pun intended)? To feel the sheer joy of the calm before the storm(tourists, that is, which I am one as well I guess)? To go on one of my jaunts out to sea in search of the big one(fish that is or it could even mean waves too)? These are all really wonderful reasons to get up this early, but no. I am crazy enough to interrupt a joyous, deep slumber in a cozy bed to go to BOOTCAMP!!!! What is bootcamp you ask? It's unlike anything I have ever experienced. You pay to be yelled at and treated like you are in the military. As I was carrying large, heavy rocks from one end of the beach to the other, I came to the conclusion that I was actually enjoying every moment of it. Sick, I know, but what a great motivation.

Missing Mexico

Taco night in action. Look at all those happy faces!

I miss Mexico.

I miss Mexican food.

I miss speaking Spanish.

I miss beans.

I miss good tortillas.

I miss taco tuesday.

SO.... I attempted, accidentally on cinco de mayo, to make my own fish taco night. This attempt was well received, especially by my amigos from California who are also longing for some of the good stuff. I have become efficient (when you make it once a week this will happen) at making salsa fresca and dazzled the Australian's with their first taste of the "real stuff". I concocted an assortment of taco toppings and cooked up some fish we caught recently to create what I was missing so much. Although the beans here are called borlotti(which is an italian bean) and the tortillas here are pretty ordinary (well, that may be an overstatement) I must say that the whole night was a success. It wasn't Fidel's or Tony's Jacal, but it sure did the trick for that craving. Oh, Mexico...sounds so sweet i got to go home.