Lonliness

There are hundreds of good things about moving to the country.

The people are eager to know you, and it isn't long before you call the local chemist, shop assistant, firewood guy, pub owner and post office personnel by name. You know their stories and what's been happening in their lives. And for us, it was awesome just to be able to make a completely fresh start.

In turn, they know what kind of car you drive, what time you come home at night, how late you were at the pub and what you wear to bum around the yard. In fact, we live across the street from some of our students. Needless to say, when we first got here we were closing the curtains every second of the day and night.

Initially I was really worried about feeling isolated and lonely. How could I, a girl with 'hip' interests, ever find someone to connect with in a country town so small?

Pretty easily, actually.

We made some close friends extremely quickly. It's really a matter of urgency out here. You have to be social. You have to make the effort. If you don't, you have no one to talk to. An no one really wants to be in that situation.

No, I don't get to see all the latest arthouse films. No, I don't get to wander the shops for hours on end. And no, I don't get to go to the newest trendy cafe. I had to make friends with online shopping. And I had to come up with something other than lazing away the hours shopping or sipping soy lattes.

The Head Teacher of TAS is a really cool guy. He and his girlfriend broke the ice and invited us for breakfast. We had a great time, and now we've taken up cycling with them. (Hey, you have to do something to stay fit when there isn't a gym!) It's been nice to take up a new hobby.

And you know what? Being hip is WAY over-rated.

Anyway, we were feeling a little dwarfed by our large home and yard. So we got some company.

Meet Starbuck. (The Sci-Fi character, not the coffee.)

Bad Literature

Some Inspiring Words

Midwinter Medieval Feast

In my absolute madness I've decided to host a Medieval Feast.

My Year 7 History class just started a unit on Medieval Europe. After a few lessons sitting with them in a classroom reading through books, internet sites and worksheets, I decided on a whim to ask them if they would be keen to organise a feast. Of course, they were thrilled with the idea of getting out of the classroom and doing some real History stuff with their hands.

I moved things around in the program enough to allow for the summative assessment to be in the form of a portfolio of work. This portfolio is intended to be completed using group-work skills.

The components of the portfolio are as follows:

• two posters about two Medieval persons.
• each group had approximately four members, so the students were able to work on the posters in pairs.
• one gigantic banner depicting scenes and text describing an aspect of Medieval life.
• one 'black death survival guide' (per student).
• the research and preparation of two Medieval recipes.
• the individual group-work reflection.
• this was intended to provide a method by which students could reflect on their own learning and their group-work skills.

I won't go into marking criteria and all of that right here.

Now for the things to do for the feast:

• make decorations
• design costumes
• order ingredients
• enlist the help of some other insanely eager teachers
• find some money
• panic.

Can someone remind me why a Temporary Teacher on a one-year contract would go to all this effort?

Only on an Excursion in the Bush

Our 20-seater bus was held up for a few minutes at a stock crossing.

Staff Lunches

Well, staff lunches are of a different breed out here.

Instead of stopping at Woolies in a rush on the way into school in the morning (we don't even have a Woolies), everyone seems to make something from scratch at home. Cookies, slices, quiche, muffins, pizza, pasta - you name it.

So - in an effort to fit in, I've made Guinness Stew.

I like that everything is done by hand out here. People are more human in a place where everybody knows everyone.

I'm also really enjoying the small class sizes. I think I can come up with some really good stuff for these kids...

My brain feels...

...how my desk looks right now.