I can't believe May is gone! I have been busy teaching all over Sydney, grades K-6! It's been a little crazy at times: some days I teach up to 5 different classes of different grade levels: talk about having to be flexible! Overall it has been a good experience so far, and I am really glad to be working again!
The schools here are very different than in Calgary. The classrooms are built around outdoor play areas, and the school grounds usually have a variety of gardens and play structures. The kids all wear uniforms and matching hats every day. But, kids are kids wherever you go in the world! I have learned some new games and some different things to do in the classroom. The one thing I really miss is the hands-on learning that we did at JSM! There are a lot of worksheets here and book learning, rather than centres and experiments.
At home, our apartment was really busy in May! On the 4th Kurtis and I went to the Opera House for dinner to celebrate our "official" one year. We had a friend come from Calgary for the first week of May, and later in the month a couple came through for a few days. Though we couldn't spend time at the beach, there were other exciting things happening. I went to my first AFL game - also known as Ozzie Rules! It was one of the most exciting sports I have ever seen, with tackling, kicking, dribbling and what seemed to be way too many players on the field! There is a Canadian on the Sydney team so a few people in the crowd were waving Canadian flags - it almost felt like home! We had a crazy flash flood down our street at one point, which was neat to see (thank goodness we are on the second floor!). My favourite movie store didn't fare so well in the flood though: the carpets still smell. Anyways, it was fun to show our friends all around our new fun city! Now that we have been here a little while, I think we are pretty good tour guides. :) It was nice to see some familiar faces, and we can't wait for our next visit from friends or family!
This past weekend we headed out of the city on a day trip to the Blue Mountains! Now, for those of us who are used to seeing the Rocky Mountains I should say that they are very different... I think in Calgary we would say that the Blue Mountains are more like really big hills! Either way, they were very beautiful and we enjoyed some fabulous views and a eucalyptus rainforest hike at "Scenic World". This is the site of an old mining area and we learned a lot about local mining! At one point we took the world's steepest railway from the top straight down into the rainforest - the whole time my brain was thinking, "You should be falling right now!" but the way the train seats are built you don't fall! It was a very weird feeling. We saw the famous "Three Sisters" mountain formation. Aboriginal legends believe that three aboriginal princesses, sisters, once ruled over the Blue Mountains until one day an evil witch doctor came and turned them into stone!
From there we headed to the "Jenolan Caves." We did 2 cave tours and saw some really neat crystal formations. I had no idea crystals could form in so many ways! Some actually looked like blankets hanging from the cave ceilings. There were stalagmites (points coming up from the floor of the cave) and stalactites (hanging on tight at the top!), everywhere. Some of the caverns were so small we head to duck, while others were at least 3 stories high! It was quite beautiful and certainly unlike anything I've ever seen! I think my favourite part was the underground river. The river runs through the very bottom cave, and is the original river that formed the caves hundreds of thousands of years ago! In some ways the whole tour seemed very magical. The only down side was that we had the same tour guide for both caves and had to listen to his cutesy shtick twice... We actually saw layers of rock that were formed before the time of the dinosaurs! Though it was a cold day (hats and scarves came out of hiding!), it was worth the chill to see such amazing sights! Oddly enough we only saw one animal the whole day: a little bushy tailed possum out to check the garbages for scraps... cute little guy.
Next weekend: Hunter Valley!!! Stay tuned...
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