Days Gone By

It’s already the middle of the 3^rd week of classes (first week for my roommates) and the days are flying by at a phenomenal rate. This raises the stakes in handing in lesson plan assignments, and getting ready for the second teaching practice. The College hasn’t received a reply from the schools they applied me to but it looks like I’ll be spending my second teaching practice in Christchurch. Many of my midyear classmates will be sent abroad to teach, as south as Invercargill and as north as Gibson. Lucky for them, the college will cover their transportation & accommodation costs.

On the 23^rd, I took part in supervising the City of Christchurch Cadet Unit’s (CCCU) swim test at Jellie Park. The corps had the entire outdoor pool booked and, despite the cold windy weather, cadets swum 50 metres & learned how to turn camping backpacks into flotation devices. In Canada, cadets are only allowed to swim in togs (swimsuits) but here, cadets are allowed to swim in their combat uniforms (togs being underneath) minus the heavy boots. My duties for the night were to supervise & jump in should a cadet require first aid. Luckily, there were no emergencies, and everyone had a good time in the heated pool. Some cadets even reenacted the blue whale from the famous Internet video Beached Whale.

Jellie Park also happens to be the place where the game show Top Town is filmed but the pool looks a lot bigger on camera. The outdoor pool is turned into an obstacle course, mirroring America’s Wipeout! series.

A trio of professors from Bangladesh sat in my Professional Studies class for several days, observing our presentations of Māori topics & question based activities. They took part in several presentations/activities, took pictures of classroom behaviour, and learned how to play the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. I’m guessing the College is trying to promote its teaching program to potential overseas clients, and if successful, there will be students from Bangladesh studying here in the near future.

In music class today, the professor wanted us to begin learning an instrument that we previously never touched. The choices were acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and drums. I already play piano, drums, & orchestral percussion so why not give the guitar a try? Holding & attempting to play acoustic guitar for the first time felt daring & even impossible but I stuck through it and learnt four major chords: A, D, E7, & G. By the end of the lesson, my left hand & fingers were aching because of the way they had to be placed. My professor emphasized that all music teachers should know basic guitar before teaching because it’s a popular instrument among young students and it helps with orchestration. More chords & techniques are next for tomorrow’s lecture.

On the international stage, I was glad that Australian actor Heath Ledger received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor of 2008 for his phenomenal role as ‘the Joker’ in the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. Due to his tragic death last year, his parents accepted the award. I was surprised to see Britain & India sweeping the Oscars with 6 awards going to the critically acclaimed film Slumdog Millionaire. This year, the Oscars were all about the great filming achievements of the Commonwealth.

And lastly, it was nice that the sun decided to appear on a Wednesday bringing warm 17-degree weather. At the end of the day, several students & ducks were tanning in Ilam’s green quad area. Nearby, a cat was tanning as well . . . by choosing to lie on the centre of its owner’s paved driveway. I hope the cat will be awake when the owner’s car arrives.

At Home & Away

I’m no longer the sole occupant of my flat; two Americans (Ryan & Heather) and two Kiwis, Ben from Nelson & Rebecca from Christchurch have been added to the mix. A lot of Americans come to study here for a semester via the International Student Exchange (ISE) Program, a great way to see the world considering that the majority of Americans do not hold passports. Unlike me, their classes start at the end of February. We’re thinking of buying a small fridge because the main one is nearing its limits.

Only into the second week, classes are going smoothly and I’ve learned several new names. The new students in my classes are mostly Kiwis & Canadians, but there are students from other nations such as Fiji & India. Like any school, there are assignments to be done & so far, I’m keeping up. I would be ahead of the game if I didn’t have to deal with Canadian tax time.

The weather is taking on the form of autumn with overcasts, & periods of rain. Apparently, there’s a cyclone heading our way so in time, I might be required to batter down the hatches. We did have one sunny day with clear skies but it’ll be a while before we get an encore.

Keeping track of world events, a lot has happened, for better or worse. The southern Australian territory of Victoria has been devastated by a series of intense bushfires (thanks to dry weather) that have turned forests & towns into fields of ash & debris. What is unfortunate is that fire is the Earth’s way of getting rid of the old flora to make way for the new. If the Earth wanted to make new land, it would have been spewing tons of molten lava.

At the beginning of February, I was happy to hear that the transit strike in my hometown of Ottawa finally came to an end after the federal government threatened to legislate the strikers back to work. Even though the strike ended after 53 days, it still took another week before partial service was restored meaning the capital was without buses for 60 days during winter! Although the buses are back, the war of words between city council & the union still continue. I think the conservative mayor is to blame for taking such a stubborn stand but the union has done its share of upsetting citizens by striking during the harsh winter season.

Well, at least the busses were back in time for President Barack Obama’s six-hour visit to the capital. He should stay longer to at least see & greet the throngs of Canadian supporters. It also would be nice for him to address the House of Commons but there is no time apparently. As always, the paranoid police have the final say & Ottawa descends into complete lockdown. When George W. Bush visited the capital, he was greeted by waves of protestors and is remembered for saying, “I'd like to thank the Canadian people who came out to wave . . . with all five fingers.” We were not pleased that it took him 3 years to thank Canada for its help during the September 11^th attacks of 2001.

Semester 2 Begins

Classes resumed on February 9^th at the College of Education, and what better way than to get into the academic spirit by waking up at 7am to catch your 8am Senior History class. Senior History focuses on the high school years 11-13. The tropical resort appearance of the college hadn’t changed, but there were new student faces to recognize & get used to. Because it was the first day, the history class was just an introduction to the course, and to distribute the textbooks. The great thing about this program (Grad Diploma in Secondary Teaching) is that you don’t have to fork out extra money for textbooks – they’re included in the course fees.

The education faculty decided to surprise the midyears by stating that we would be welcoming the new students today before lunch. Because I thought the Maori Welcoming ceremony would be at the end of the first week (previously) I didn’t have my camera to take pictures – that’s twice I’ve been shafted. The Maori ceremony followed the same format as described in my previous post, A Maori Welcome, but the difference was the size of the new student body – at least double the midyear intake! And again, no translations were provided for the Maori speeches that were exchanged. I think I’m going to suggest the College of Ed people to fix that.

In just six months, I’ve become a senior student in my 12-month program. I know it’s expected but it’s surprising that the first six months have gone by so quickly. In my high school & undergrad days, I had to complete three years of study before becoming a senior student. I was glad to see my midyear colleagues after two months and we exchanged many stories, from travelling abroad to getting engaged (it’s not me).

The semester is divided into 2 blocks that are five weeks in length. For these two blocks, I’ll be studying senior history, junior music, professional studies, and exploring language. However, the big test will be my second 7-week teaching practice that commences in mid-March. We haven’t been assigned our schools yet but I’m not as worried as before because I already have a teaching practice under my belt & I know what to expect & how to proceed. Of course, even with prior experience, a new environment still can bring the unexpected.

I'll leave you with the 2008 Platinum Single, Always On My Mind, by solo Maori artist Tiki Taane.

Happy Friday the 13th & Valentines Day!

The Road Home

For my last day in Canberra, my brother took me to one of his favourite restaurants for dinner. The Hog’s Breath Café is located in the city centre and is more of a pub than a café. An added bonus would be the non-existence of hog’s breath, only beer breaths. On the night we attended, the ‘café’ was playing music to hide the emptiness of customers – I suppose we were part of the pre-dinner crowd. Being meat-eaters, Roman & I ordered tender juicy steaks to settle our growling stomachs. Now that I think about it, Roman & I consumed quite an amount of cows during this trip.

My trip back to Middle Earth would not start with an airplane but with a voyageur bus. For $42AUS, and after saying my goodbyes, I caught a two-hour bus trip to Sydney International Airport. (Seats are assigned unlike in North America). I slept for most of the trip but took several pictures of the exotic Australian outback when my eyes were open. The main colours are red, brown, green, and blotches of yellow. If NASA is faking the Mars rover landings then this would be the staging area. There are hills but the majority of the land I saw between Canberra & Sydney was flat – perfect for tank warfare.

I arrived at the airport twenty minutes later than scheduled but I still had three more hours to kill. The bus travelled the final leg of the trip via a very long underground tunnel, similar to Boston’s Big Dig project. If I were the mayor of Toronto, that’s what I would do to the Gardener Expressway – push it underground. After moving through check in & security, all there was to do was walk around the area, eat, and look at the departing planes before my flight was called. It happened to be raining in Sydney that day, but I was still able to see a Boeing 747, 767, and a colossal Airbus 380 (Singapore Airlines) take off into the grey abyss.

Catering to the obsessive Duty Free crowd, getting to your flight means walking through a large DF store that has enough stocked alcohol to put Boris Yeltsin’s private collection to shame. The only thing I was interested in was finding the most expensive item, which turned out to be a cognac set for $3200AUS. Now I know why the world is in a recession.

I flew directly to Christchurch via Air New Zealand and arrived at around 2300hrs. After picking up my suitcase & exchanging my AUS money for NZ, I exited the desolate terminal and caught an evening cab to Ilam Village, driven by a talkative Chinese Falun Gong follower. The following two weeks would be spent cleaning my dirty clothes, buying extra school supplies & clothes, and stocking up on grocery food. In the blink of an eye, the last two weeks of summer break would pass and classes would start once again.

Overall, my Down Under trip turned out quite well. I explored three main cities, snapped 292 digital pictures, ate some good food, drank great beers, flew on three Blue Virgins, and met interesting people along the way. I still marvel at Australia’s 50 cent coin – it’s huge! When I first saw it, I thought it was a coaster! If you’re planning a 2-week trip to the Outback, I recommend bringing $500AUS in spending money – just keep it under close supervision. Should the opportunity arise, I would definitely do it again because I still have yet to see a road train.

End of Australian Vacation series, the first post being Flight of the Kiwi.

The Day Plan

It was a dark & stormy night. Then the sun arrived & it was time to explore more of Australia’s capital while my brother went back to work. I headed towards the Parliament Zone - an area of land shaped as a chess pawn and filled with important buildings & gardens - designed to woo foreign dignitaries & tourists. More closely, the National Gallery & Library, Portrait Gallery, Treasury Building, and Old & New Parliament House are located within this area.

My first stop was the Australians of the Year Walk, a promenade similar to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, except the chosen individuals (starting from 1960) are displayed on concrete tablets. Famous actor/comedian Paul Hogan occupies the year when I was born. There are enough tablets to last well into the 2100s.

Next came the Commonwealth Place, located at the bottom centre of the Zone. It appears as a tribute to the United Nations, with the flags of many world nations flapping happily in the clear blue sky. Black swans are present in this area, swimming and looking for a meal. They are not afraid of humans and will let you get very close, expecting to receive food.

From there, I moved up the centre towards the Old Parliament House, a large white painted structure where the federal government & opposition used to face off. Beyond it lay a mall of green grass (similar to Washington DC) leading to the new & more modern Parliament House. At this time, the mall was being transformed into a concert venue with fences surrounding the grass fields, and a stage had been constructed in front of Parliament. Four slanted metallic pillars hold an Australian flag high & proud above the government structure. A red gravel terrace stands in front of the visitor’s entrance. The four corners of Parliament are covered with freshly mowed grass, giving the impression that the structure is built into a hill. To me, modern Parliament looks like a decorated bomb shelter.

After briefly looking over the Portrait Gallery, I headed back the way I came but crossed a different bridge. Situated on a small island nearby is the National Carillon, a white tower containing bells tuned to different tones, thus allowing music to be played. When tunes are not being played, the Carillon acts as a clock tower.

While walking back to the town centre, an international women marathon was taking place, with several roadways having been closed and marked with pylons. The main area with the finish line, food stalls, and sponsors, were located in a park directly opposite the Commonwealth Monument. After looking over the female runners and photographing the distant War Memorial, I walked through the City Walk once more, stopping into a comic book store, and later buying a kebab, before heading back to my brother’s overly-secure campus residence.

To Be Continued . . .

To Canberra, Comrades!

Packed & still tired, Roman & I checked out of the Brisbane YHA in the early morning and walked to the Transit Centre to catch a train to the airport. Before getting on the train, I bought a copy of Time Magazine that had a portrait of Barack Obama on the cover. The city passed us by as the train smoothly made its way to the airport. After getting through the long line, a VirginBlue clerk informed us that our flight had been cancelled due to an unspecified mechanical problem meaning we would have to fly to Melbourne (past our final destination) then onto Canberra. Our seats were the front row but at least there weren’t any crying babies to deal with. Unfortunately, VB didn’t approve of my alternative: parachuting from the Melbourne flight as it passes over Canberra.

Being diverted to a city that isn’t on the original vacation plan sounds nice, but because of timing constraints, Roman & I could only stay at Melbourne’s airport and watch arriving & departing planes via large glass windows. Lunch & 2 hours later, we were on our way to the nation’s capital. Upon arrival, I picked up my suitcase and we hailed a cab (surprisingly equipped with a camera & microphone) to my brother’s campus residence. The apartment complex is located in the Braddon neighbourhood and is more secure than Fort Knox and Windows Vista. It’s possible to get locked in & out, there are cameras everywhere, and all the refrigerators are secured with heavy-duty locks!

It was already late afternoon so after we dropped off our excess baggage, we walked over to a Pizza Hut for dinner. Roman explained that Canberra is a city of 300,000 where it’s too far to walk anywhere but too close to drive. I suppose that makes it a bicycle city? On the way, Roman showed me one of his off-campus occupations – working as a clerk at a horse/dog-betting place called ACTTAB. Surrounding the many high school desks are digital screens displaying statistics & predictions for upcoming races.

The evening was spent watching episodes of The Boondocks (an American animated TV series), and planning on what to see in the coming days. Unfortunately, Roman wouldn’t be able to play tour guide because of working obligations (ran out of vacation days), thus meaning I would be exploring the city on my own. Should boredom surface, I could exploit the immense collection of movies on my brother’s external hard drive - Wall E, Rambo 4, Hitman, Napoleon Dynamite, A Clockwork Orange, Eurotrip, Hot Fuzz, March Of The Penguins, and Battlefield Earth, just to name a few.

Canberra is a planned city or as I like to call it, a bureaucratic city. Unlike the standard metropolis that emphasizes economic power via skyscraping corporate towers, a planned city focuses on nationalism & government. Monuments of all sizes, flags, museums, grand terraces, and boulevards lined with tall evergreen trees, fountains, man-made lakes, and large parks; it’s all here. It feels like the 2^nd World to me, minus the propaganda posters & the harsh secret police. Images of other planned cities such as Moscow, Washington D.C., & Pyongyang all surface in my mind (even though I’ve only been to DC). Ancient Greek/Roman architecture built with stone, marble, and concrete are used in all planned cities because of long lasting reliability (i.e. Coliseum, Parthenon, & Circus Maximus).

Despite the world economic recession, I was surprised to see Nortel Networks occupying an office building on this side of the world. On a green hill overlooking the city sits the Telstra Tower (like a mini-CN Tower), a communications structure broadcasting media in all directions. The City Walk is an extensive downtown pedestrian street mall where citizens flock to shop, drink, eat, and party. Nearby is a large park where one can watch water being shot up into the air from the middle of a man-made lake.

The Parliament Zone would be explored the next day because it contained many large government offices as well as being prepared for Australia Day celebrations.

To Be Continued . . .

Celebration x2

After visiting the hyperactive Gold Coast, Roman & I continued our exploration of Brisbane on foot. The only difference was that we were scouting potential dinner restaurants to celebrate two important events: my brother’s birthday & the swearing in of Barack Obama. Both happened to be on the same date: January 20^th. Although it was the right day in Australia, we would be celebrating a day early because at the time, it was still January 19^th in North America. Nothing wrong with a two-day celebration.

While scouring the northern side of the city, we also visited & photographed some famous sites such as city hall, Customs House, and the gate to Chinatown. Since this was uncharted territory, at some points I felt lost & didn’t know how to get back – even the city skyline looked confusing. The northern side of Brisbane is mostly residential & to me, the bungalow trend isn’t as established as it is in Middle Earth. On the way, we also spotted a corporate guard dog on duty.

The weather was still hot & humid, but not like the current heat waves, so Roman & I did our best to stay out of the scorching sun. If its one place that could really use a solar shade, it would be Australia. India too.

The lucky restaurant for our celebrations was Pig & Whistles, a traditional British restaurant/pub not to far from Customs House. Even though it was a Tuesday night, the place was quite active – the outside portion was completely full with chatty customers. We had no choice but to eat inside but that wasn’t a problem. Being meat lovers, we went all out & ordered juicy steaks with drinks. To mark both events, I had two beers. I had been fasting all day so the steak & Pure Blonde beer tasted euphoric. Surprisingly, my stomach wasn’t satisfied until I ordered garlic bread after steak.

When Roman guided me back to the hostel, night was firmly established in the sky, and the cityscape & streets were brightly illuminated. Large bats flew over our heads looking for their evening meals.

When I think about it, Barack Obama isn’t the first Black American President – that title should be reserved for Morgan Freeman who played the role of president in the movie Deep Impact. Obama is the first real Black President because Morgan Freeman didn’t have any actual control over American government policies. As I mentioned in a previous post, I always knew there would be a Black American President in my lifetime; I just didn’t expect it to be so soon – 138 years after slavery & at the end of the first decade of the 21^st century.

The election of a Black President in a nation built on slavery sends a powerful message to the world that true change is possible. I think it sends the strongest message to the Vatican. The Vatican has been around for more than two millennia and it has yet to have a Black Pope. When & if it happens, I hope he wishes to be refereed to as Pope Daddy – the establishment could use some comic relief.

To Be Continued . . .

The Gold Coast

To the south of Brisbane, there exists a city that thrives on tourism, water sports, and vacationing. That city is called Surfer’s Paradise and it sits on a stretch of coastline that’s known as the Gold Coast. A combined $14AUS ticket pays for the hour-long train trip and the fifteen-minute bus ride into the city centre. Even though my brother & I don’t surf (yet), we still made the trek down to this tourist hot spot on a sunny day that was peaking in thirty-degree temperatures. Wearing sunscreen is a must.

The train drops you off on the city’s outskirts but you can still see the high towers that make up the coastline cityscape. While on the bus, you pass luxury suburban neighbourhoods, the kind you see next to famous amusement parks like Disneyland. Upon entering the city centre, you notice that every bit of space is not wasted, with palm trees lining the main streets, expansive malls coated with assorted beach colours, and hotels & luxury condos stretching into the clear blue sky. Pedestrians are everywhere, walking alone, with friends, relatives, and/or children, looking at what to buy, where to eat, and when to head to the beaches.

I suggest to wear sunglasses at all times because the sun reflects off everything. The beach setting reminds me of Miami but the tall skyscrapers have me thinking of Dubai. Both thoughts are odd because I have yet to visit those cities.

We dropped into a restaurant/slot machine place for a light lunch – I had a delicious Caesar salad whereas my brother Roman had a steak. From there we explored the beaches. In Australia, you’re only allowed to swim in designated areas marked by flags & patrolled by lifeguards who are heavily sponsored by DHL. Swimmers, surfers, BBQers (tanners), and people playing beach cricket make up the majority users of this vast sandy coastline. As an added form of entertainment for some, the wearing of bikini tops is optional for women.

After walking a good length of the beach, we headed inland, exploring the main streets and its immense wealth of tourist trap merchandise. Anything associated with beach culture can be found on sale, next to the generic hair salons, music stores, and restaurants. There’s even a small amusement park with rides for families & thrillseekers. Surfer’s Paradise boasts the tallest residential tower in the world. Queensland Number One (Q1), a tall clear glass luxury condo structure that’s also the city’s centerpiece, stands at a height of 322.5 metres (1058ft). If I were rich, I would definitely buy a condo in this building.

Upon the arrival of late afternoon, Roman & I decided to find a suitable restaurant for dinner, the lucky winner being Hard Rock Café. I decided to forgo the consumption of alcohol when my plate of beef fajitas arrived, choosing to wait for my brother’s birthday. After happily paying for the meal with our parents’ credit card, we took a bus back to the train station just as the sun began to set on the horizon. We managed to catch the early train by a slim margin. By the time I made it back to the hostel, I was so tired that I just flopped onto my bed and dozed off.

To Be Continued . . .