I awoke very early this morning to take part in an Aussie tradition. Every year on this day they celebrate ANZAC Day to remember all the soldiers that have died in past wars. ANZAC stands for Australia-New Zealand Army Corp, just so you know, but back to the story.
I awoke at 2:50 am so that I could be on the 3:44 am train, in order to make the 4:20 am mass at the ANZAC temple in ANZAC square, which is in downtown Brisbane. It was a wonderful ceremony. The governor of Queensland gave a short speech and she placed flowers in the Memorial, along with a member of each branch of the service. Then a bugler (a person who plays the bugle) played "The Last Patrol" which is similar to our Taps. After that, people went up to see the temple/memorial and then the festivities were put on hold until 10 am when the parade began.
The parade consisted of former soldiers, their family members or family members marching in honor of departed loved ones. It was a good parade, although almost every division had a group of people that marched, so it went on for a while. I finally left at 11:30, with no end in sight.
It was a great experience and I enjoyed seeing how the Aussies remember those that have fallen in battle. It was moving and I had never seen so many Australia flags before!
One funny part was that some of the old military Jeeps that they drove had the steering wheel on the left side of the car (not the right, which they normally do). Then on some of those vehicles, you could see "USA" stenciled on the side of the vehicle. I smiled.
I hope all is well, Egypt is back on track and looking like a go, so that should be sweet!!
I miss you all, be good and take care,
Bill
Monday, April 24, 2006
The Gabba
On Saturday night I attended a real Aussie past time. I went with my cooperating teacher Jude and her boyfriend Stuart to see the Brisbane Lions take on Richmond in Aussie Rules Football at The Gabba. The Gabba is a local stadium that they play cricket, soccer and Aussie Rules. The sport is amazing and the guys who play it are incredible athletes.
Other than being one of the most brutal sports you could have, these guys can run over 15 miles in a single game (which lasts roughly two hours). I was impressed and amazed.
Other than fighting the temptation to get a one-time-use gift, I managed to purchase a decent t-shirt and an Aussie Rules football so I can show everyone at home and maybe take it to Egypt. We'll see.
On Friday I taught for the entire day, as my teacher was sick. It was awesome. I had 3 students pretend they were sick and when I sent a fourth student to the office, he sprinted out the door and ran around outside for the next 30 minutes until school was out. Good times.
Well, time is almost up and I'm getting up early tomorrow, ANZAC Day. I'll explain it more later.
I hope everyone is well, and as you know, I'm still....
livin' the dream,
Bill
Other than being one of the most brutal sports you could have, these guys can run over 15 miles in a single game (which lasts roughly two hours). I was impressed and amazed.
Other than fighting the temptation to get a one-time-use gift, I managed to purchase a decent t-shirt and an Aussie Rules football so I can show everyone at home and maybe take it to Egypt. We'll see.
On Friday I taught for the entire day, as my teacher was sick. It was awesome. I had 3 students pretend they were sick and when I sent a fourth student to the office, he sprinted out the door and ran around outside for the next 30 minutes until school was out. Good times.
Well, time is almost up and I'm getting up early tomorrow, ANZAC Day. I'll explain it more later.
I hope everyone is well, and as you know, I'm still....
livin' the dream,
Bill
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Quarantine, Prep and sunshine....
Well, I'm back to the grind in the beautiful little city. According to the TV, it's been 13 days since the last time it rained here. Yes, it's been sunny and warm the entire time. I think I even got burnt again, but we'll see.
A funny little story for everyone to enjoy. Australia is very particular about what they let into the country. My mom sent my soccer shoes to me as well as some yummy trail mix. I was really excited when I picked up the box at the Greenslopes post office (about a 30 min walk). On the side of the box in BIG letters said: "QUARANTINE", then in little letters at the bottom it said "passed". I decided to walk around and make it so that everyone could see the quarantine part of the box, just for fun. Back to the point though, the Government has decided that my shoes were too dirty, so they've taken them and have put them in quarantine. AFTER I respond to their letter, it will take 2 weeks to decontaminated them and then they will send them back to me. However, my trail mix, arrived safely.
Other fun news, I was fortunate enough to help decorate a puppet theatre with some Year 1 students yesterday. We painted and painted and painted, while trying not to paint our neighbor. It was fun, but draining. I don't think I could work with 1st Graders.
On Tuesday I went to a meeting about Prep. Prep is basically kindergarten. They have just decided that prep would be a good thing to do in schools, so as of next year, Queensland will begin doing prep. Great Idea.
Other than that, I'm still alive. I've been pretty tired lately. I'm trying to watch the Champions League games here, but they start at 4:30 am!!! It makes for a long day. I'm cheering for Barcelona, only because I hate Arsenal.
I hope all is well for everyone else, be good and God Bless!
Bill
A funny little story for everyone to enjoy. Australia is very particular about what they let into the country. My mom sent my soccer shoes to me as well as some yummy trail mix. I was really excited when I picked up the box at the Greenslopes post office (about a 30 min walk). On the side of the box in BIG letters said: "QUARANTINE", then in little letters at the bottom it said "passed". I decided to walk around and make it so that everyone could see the quarantine part of the box, just for fun. Back to the point though, the Government has decided that my shoes were too dirty, so they've taken them and have put them in quarantine. AFTER I respond to their letter, it will take 2 weeks to decontaminated them and then they will send them back to me. However, my trail mix, arrived safely.
Other fun news, I was fortunate enough to help decorate a puppet theatre with some Year 1 students yesterday. We painted and painted and painted, while trying not to paint our neighbor. It was fun, but draining. I don't think I could work with 1st Graders.
On Tuesday I went to a meeting about Prep. Prep is basically kindergarten. They have just decided that prep would be a good thing to do in schools, so as of next year, Queensland will begin doing prep. Great Idea.
Other than that, I'm still alive. I've been pretty tired lately. I'm trying to watch the Champions League games here, but they start at 4:30 am!!! It makes for a long day. I'm cheering for Barcelona, only because I hate Arsenal.
I hope all is well for everyone else, be good and God Bless!
Bill
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Speechless.....
I arrived in Brisbane safely Friday afternoon after my 1.5 hour flight from Proserpine. I had a blast the last couple of days, although I did get a bit of a sun burn at Whitehaven Beach on Wednesday. Thursday I went out to Hardy Reef, a place 2 hours from the coast and snorkeled a little bit. It was a blast and a great experience.
None of this though can be compared to the shock I had when I went online Friday night in Streets Corner. I saw that Iowa City had been hit by a few tornados. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw some of the pictures this afternoon. I'm completely speechless at the damage. I saw the devastated apartments on Iowa Ave and realized how close that was to where I lived. I saw the Sorority House that was on the corner of Washington and Governor and realized that was about a block from my apartment. I wonder if there was any damage at my old place? I wonder what I would have done?
I'll keep this one short. Thoughts and prayers go out to my friends in Iowa City. I know your safe and hopefully all is well.
God Bless,
Bill
None of this though can be compared to the shock I had when I went online Friday night in Streets Corner. I saw that Iowa City had been hit by a few tornados. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw some of the pictures this afternoon. I'm completely speechless at the damage. I saw the devastated apartments on Iowa Ave and realized how close that was to where I lived. I saw the Sorority House that was on the corner of Washington and Governor and realized that was about a block from my apartment. I wonder if there was any damage at my old place? I wonder what I would have done?
I'll keep this one short. Thoughts and prayers go out to my friends in Iowa City. I know your safe and hopefully all is well.
God Bless,
Bill
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Where's the Beach?
I'm sitting the dining area of the Airlie Beach YHA, a youth Hostel, in Airlie Beach, Australia. My trip here was interesting, as was this first day. I boarded a plan from Brisbane and flew 1.75 hours north to Proserpine (pronounced Pross-a-pin I believe) airport. There was no real airport, just a Morten building with two ticket counters and a sitting area outside to wait for your plane. They pulled our luggage up to the building and let us go nuts getting it off the cart outside.
After a 35 minute car ride with 7 strangers, I was dropped off at the YHA, in a city that is maybe a little bigger than Milo. The main drag is pretty small, but it has a lot of businesses waiting to part you from your money. My key didn't work in the door, so I wondered around while the locksmith came to remove the super-glue from the lock (ha ha).
Today I went on a "Croc Safari" down the Proserpine River. We went on a tractor ride through the flood plains to try and see some wildlife before heading down the river. It was no surprise (to me at least) when we arrived back at the camp an hour later having only seen some Ibis (a bird that is every where), some other birds and a couple of toads. I managed to see the back of a kangaroo briefly as it hopped out of site, but that was it. For a while I felt like Ian Malcolm, the character from Jurassic Park. I almost raised my hand midway through the "safari" and asked, "Now, will there be any actual animals, on the wildlife safari? Any animals? Hello?" This little joke entertained me for the next 2 hours (seriously-I laughed to myself for a while).
After lunch, we jumped on a little boat and went up and down the river looking for crocs. We did see about 5 or 6 and a baby croc, so that was cool. The river we were flows into the ocean, so the guide said that the water also contained sharks, sting rays and jellyfish. Why is everything in this country dangerous??
After my contact fell out half way through the boat ride, I held it in my hand until we returned to Airlie Beach about 2 hours later. It was fun though and the Jurassic Park joke got me through the day. Tomorrow I'm off to see some islands and the reef!
Be good, have fun and God Bless,
Bill
After a 35 minute car ride with 7 strangers, I was dropped off at the YHA, in a city that is maybe a little bigger than Milo. The main drag is pretty small, but it has a lot of businesses waiting to part you from your money. My key didn't work in the door, so I wondered around while the locksmith came to remove the super-glue from the lock (ha ha).
Today I went on a "Croc Safari" down the Proserpine River. We went on a tractor ride through the flood plains to try and see some wildlife before heading down the river. It was no surprise (to me at least) when we arrived back at the camp an hour later having only seen some Ibis (a bird that is every where), some other birds and a couple of toads. I managed to see the back of a kangaroo briefly as it hopped out of site, but that was it. For a while I felt like Ian Malcolm, the character from Jurassic Park. I almost raised my hand midway through the "safari" and asked, "Now, will there be any actual animals, on the wildlife safari? Any animals? Hello?" This little joke entertained me for the next 2 hours (seriously-I laughed to myself for a while).
After lunch, we jumped on a little boat and went up and down the river looking for crocs. We did see about 5 or 6 and a baby croc, so that was cool. The river we were flows into the ocean, so the guide said that the water also contained sharks, sting rays and jellyfish. Why is everything in this country dangerous??
After my contact fell out half way through the boat ride, I held it in my hand until we returned to Airlie Beach about 2 hours later. It was fun though and the Jurassic Park joke got me through the day. Tomorrow I'm off to see some islands and the reef!
Be good, have fun and God Bless,
Bill
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Lessons I've learned....
Here are a few of the lessons I've learned in my first month living down unda....
1. Sunglasses are to be worn at all times.
It doesn't matter if you are indoors, outdoors, cloudy or sunny and even sometimes at night. You should always wear your sunglasses.
2. Flaunt what you got, no matter your age.
It doesn't matter how old you are, you can always look young, or at least try to....when it's obvious to me (who isn't even from here) and everyone else on the street that you should have given up 10 years ago when you were 45 (no offense to anyone 55+ plus intended because you don't dress as though you were 16).
3. Be prepared to sweat
It seems like it's always hot here. Even when the locals say it is "cooling" off, it still gets to around 25 at least during the day, and I still sweat. Sure, at night you may require jeans, but not during the day....which brings me to:
4. The weather is insane
Other than always being hot, I have seen it rain on perfectly sunny days with only a few clouds. I've seen an absolute down-pour 5 minutes after it was sunny. AND the down-pour continued for around 2 hours. Ridiculous!!
5. I have an accent
No matter how many times I try to pronounce something, it's always wrong, thanks to my accent. I have struggled with simple things, like a student's name, to more complicated words (Indooroopily-a city, is pronounce "IN-drew-pilly" not Indoor-opoly as I thought-foolish yank).
6. Some words are only used locally
I don't know who the genious was that decided to call swimming trunks togs, but it confused me beyond belief the first time I was told to bring them to school. I just looked at my teacher with a funny face.
7. Everyone is Nice
Everyone that I have spoken with has been so nice to me. I hope it's this way when I travel to other parts of the country!
More rules will follow later, but my time is up!
God bless,
Bill
1. Sunglasses are to be worn at all times.
It doesn't matter if you are indoors, outdoors, cloudy or sunny and even sometimes at night. You should always wear your sunglasses.
2. Flaunt what you got, no matter your age.
It doesn't matter how old you are, you can always look young, or at least try to....when it's obvious to me (who isn't even from here) and everyone else on the street that you should have given up 10 years ago when you were 45 (no offense to anyone 55+ plus intended because you don't dress as though you were 16).
3. Be prepared to sweat
It seems like it's always hot here. Even when the locals say it is "cooling" off, it still gets to around 25 at least during the day, and I still sweat. Sure, at night you may require jeans, but not during the day....which brings me to:
4. The weather is insane
Other than always being hot, I have seen it rain on perfectly sunny days with only a few clouds. I've seen an absolute down-pour 5 minutes after it was sunny. AND the down-pour continued for around 2 hours. Ridiculous!!
5. I have an accent
No matter how many times I try to pronounce something, it's always wrong, thanks to my accent. I have struggled with simple things, like a student's name, to more complicated words (Indooroopily-a city, is pronounce "IN-drew-pilly" not Indoor-opoly as I thought-foolish yank).
6. Some words are only used locally
I don't know who the genious was that decided to call swimming trunks togs, but it confused me beyond belief the first time I was told to bring them to school. I just looked at my teacher with a funny face.
7. Everyone is Nice
Everyone that I have spoken with has been so nice to me. I hope it's this way when I travel to other parts of the country!
More rules will follow later, but my time is up!
God bless,
Bill
Thursday, April 06, 2006
My Address
Here is my address, in case anyone wanted to know or gets bored!!
Bill Flinn
30 Baron St.
Greenslopes 4120
Queensland
Australia
Bill Flinn
30 Baron St.
Greenslopes 4120
Queensland
Australia
Harmony Day??
I have just been given a break at school and I thought I would put a little post on the board. We just finished our Harmony Day celebration here, which was a lot of fun. The students sang songs about Australia, read some speeches and had a few laughs. Then we ate food from all over the world. It was interesting, but fun. I got to be the DJ, which amounted to me with a boombox on my lap sitting in a chair behind the kids on the stage. Good times.
I know what you're thinking, what on Earth is Harmony Day? That was my question too. It's a day where Australians celebrate unity, harmony and the respect of other cultures and beliefs. They even have a Harmony Day color (orange) and a phrase (You + Me = US).
This past week has been a real blur. I've been a carpet cutter, a babysitter, a gopher (go-get this & that), a coffee maker and I even fit in some time to teach. The kids are getting eager for break to get here, just like the teachers. Next term we're doing a unit on Antarctica, during which we will go see March of the Penguins at a local movie theater. That should be fun.
I leave on Monday for the Whitsundays, so I don't know if I'll be able to post until I return, but we'll see! I'm still just livin' the dream.
Bill
I know what you're thinking, what on Earth is Harmony Day? That was my question too. It's a day where Australians celebrate unity, harmony and the respect of other cultures and beliefs. They even have a Harmony Day color (orange) and a phrase (You + Me = US).
This past week has been a real blur. I've been a carpet cutter, a babysitter, a gopher (go-get this & that), a coffee maker and I even fit in some time to teach. The kids are getting eager for break to get here, just like the teachers. Next term we're doing a unit on Antarctica, during which we will go see March of the Penguins at a local movie theater. That should be fun.
I leave on Monday for the Whitsundays, so I don't know if I'll be able to post until I return, but we'll see! I'm still just livin' the dream.
Bill
Saturday, April 01, 2006
G'day G'day
How is life where ever you are? Things in Oz are hot. It's supposed to be around 28 today, although I'm not sure if it got past that or not. I'm sitting on the deck, procrastinating as usual. This week has been some what of a blur, especially since I've really started getting into things at school. They've started giving me things to do, which keeps me pretty busy (as you could guess). We have a Harmony Day play this week that I have to come up with decorating ideas for and I have to type up and complete some science experiments for our Antarctica unit that starts next term (after Easter).
The kids are finally starting to accept me as an authority figure in the classroom. Most of them did in the first place but I'm finally getting through to one or two of them that were struggling. Hopefully we can keep working on it.
I've got my Easter Break plans lined up. I'm heading to the Whitsundays to check out the Great Barrier Reef. It should be fun. I'll be up there for around 4 days.
I also saw an interesting movie last night. I went to V is for Vendetta at the CBD. It was a pretty good movie. It started out and finished as a movie about challenging a strict government, which I liked. However in the middle it came to the revenge part (which took the whole--question everything feel out of the movie). Fortunately the end dealt with challenging the man, so overall I enjoyed it.
Just livin' the dream.
Bill
The kids are finally starting to accept me as an authority figure in the classroom. Most of them did in the first place but I'm finally getting through to one or two of them that were struggling. Hopefully we can keep working on it.
I've got my Easter Break plans lined up. I'm heading to the Whitsundays to check out the Great Barrier Reef. It should be fun. I'll be up there for around 4 days.
I also saw an interesting movie last night. I went to V is for Vendetta at the CBD. It was a pretty good movie. It started out and finished as a movie about challenging a strict government, which I liked. However in the middle it came to the revenge part (which took the whole--question everything feel out of the movie). Fortunately the end dealt with challenging the man, so overall I enjoyed it.
Just livin' the dream.
Bill
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