Day Four– This morning we left Sydney to head north, towards the home stay portion of our trip abroad. It was a long day on the bus, but we were making good time and before lunch we decided to stop at a park and play some get-to-know-you games. Sounds like a good idea right? I thought so too, until I saw this sign next to the road where our bus pulled up to stop.
I like to think of myself as pretty fearless, but there are a few things that really give me the heebie-jeebies. One of those things are mice, and the other are birds. They both make me scream like a frightened little girl (as some of the students had already noticed, because of those darn seagulls flying around Sydney) and as soon as we stepped out of the bus, I knew I couldn’t do it, all I could hear in the air was the sound of bats. No, they aren’t mice, they aren’t birds, but I like to think of bats as the crossbreed of those two nasty animals. The warning sign, the sounds, and this sight was all I needed to run crying back into the bus.
Bats were hanging from every tree, every tree branch. and the students took their beach ball under those trees and yelled and clapped and sent those bats aflutter. Sure, we’ve all heard that bats are nocturnal, that they are blind but won’t fly into you because of their amazing sonar capabilities, and our tour manager even told us that bats in Australia don’t have rabies; only later did I find out that a child had recently died from a bat scratch that gave him a fatal infection, but I was terrified. However, I decided that I would attempt bravery and get off the bus and join the kids. When I stepped off the bus (putting my hood over my head and always looking at the ground) the kids began applauding, which just made the bats more angry, and I could see their shadows on the ground, flying and swooping all over the place. It became too much for even the students, and luckily we made our way back to the bus and headed to lunch.
Later on in the drive we stopped and saw another Australian tourist attraction, the Golden Guitar, a 40-foot tall guitar in Tamworth, the Nashville of Australia (though the town looks tiny and is certainly not very attractive of a town), where there is an Australian country award ceremony every year.
Several more hours on the bus, and we arrived in Armidale, pulling into O’Connor Catholic College, the school that our host families attended. Now, the students are always nervous going into a home stay, so the leaders and I gave encouraging words and advice, reassuring them that this would be their favorite part of their time in Australia, but the truth was, this was my first home stay, and I was nervous at it as well. All these thoughts about “what if my family doesn’t like me? What if we don’t have anything to talk about? What if they try to poison my food because they are tired of my stories of Ohio?”, but the truth is, after it was all over, it was one of my favorite moments on the trip as well.
So the leaders and I watched the students get greeted by their families and taken away, and I was quickly greeted by my host, Vicki Channon, who told me that she had plans for the evening and her husband, Tim, would be entertaining me, that lucky guy. So Tim packed up my suitcase, and drove me to their home. Once there, I had about 30 minutes to settle in before we headed off to a party that the teachers were hosting in our honor. Tim was very kind, and gave me a glass of wine for the road, though I ended up wearing some of the wine from his crazy driving (though we did go down some gravel roads, so I could perhaps blame that) before showing up at another teachers house, where we boarded a bus to go and pick up the other leaders on my trip.
We spent the evening at a beautiful home, meeting and greeting other teachers and spouses of the O’Connor staff, and it was there that I had some of the best tasting food I’ve had EVER. The first was an amazing homemade soup, I believe it was a sweet potato curry soup, and I couldn’t get enough of it. It was the kind of soup that I would want served as my last meal ever, that’s how good it was. And the dessert, PAVLOVA. We had a lot more pavlova throughout the trip, but I tell you, it wasn’t near as good as this pavlova. If you haven’t had pavlova, its like a meringue, with a whipped topping and served with fruit, sweet but not TOO sweet, and absolutely amazing, you have to try it.
One of the nicest things about the evening was that there was a rugby match on, not just any rugby game either, but the second game of a three-series match between major Australian rivals Queensland and New South Wales. We were staying in a part of New South Wales, so most people at the party were fans of that team, though there were a few rebels in attendance. And though the men especially were really into the game, they took the time and patience to explain the rules and significance of that match to us pesky, curious (and probably over-burdensome with our questions) women, to which I will be eternally grateful; and I will say, I am definitely now a fan of rugby, they made a convert out of me, and I’ll say that our football (those wussy men with all their pads) have got nothing on Australian rugby players (except for the OSU Buckeyes of course.
O-H!). And, I also now know that Australian teachers know how to have a good time.
Day 5– Today I went to school. I started off the day not excited about going, but once again, my thoughts proved to be completely preposterous because it was, yet again, amazing. So off to O’Connor Vicki and I went. And what a lovely school it was, as I saw when she gave me a quick tour around the school grounds. 
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| Leaders Ray and Doug say hello! |
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| Some of my delegates hanging out with the O’Connor students |
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| The staff room |
Part of my day was spent in Vicki’s classroom, where I was able to observe her teaching and the students, and I learned a lot about how Australian schools are run. First off, Vicki, and her husband Tim, were technology teachers. Though in the US everyone would think that that means they taught computer classes, there are many technology classes in Australia that are offered at all schools, like our electives. Vicki taught textiles, Tim taught shop, and schools offered languages, computer, electrical and construction classes, and even agricultural classes. Some other things that I learned about Australian schools are:
*there are 4 terms in a year with a two week break in between each term, and a longer summer break.
*instead of going to the same classes every day, at the same time, there is a different schedule every day that the students follow, in two week cycles.
*students all wear uniforms.
*public school parents pay about $80, though it is still voluntary, then there are private schools where students pay a lot more, just like in the US, and independent (religious) schools. In Armidale, there are two public schools with about 600 students each, two other private schools with around 200 students each and O’Connor Catholic College, with 484 students.
*High school is called college, and it is grade 7-12.
*Homeroom is called pastoral.
*Teachers get sick days, and also accumulate “long service leave” in which they are encouraged take at least two weeks of in a year. Vicki told me she is planning on taking a trip to the west coast of Australia and taking two months off. She will still get paid, and there will be a substitute teacher who will also get paid.
*After two periods in a day, they have a 20 minute tea-time.
*45-50 minute class periods, but some double periods for “prac” (practical) classes where they can focus more on getting projects done.
*7-8 grade take all “electives”, changing each term, then in year nine they choose what classes they want.
*O’Connor Catholic College only had Indonesian as a language class.
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| Vicki’s textile class |
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| Vicki had the American students make bookmarks as a classroom project for the day |
Being a French teacher, I was extremely impressed about the electives that are offered in Australian schools. So instead of there being a push towards and the expectation that every student should attend college, there are classes that help students learn a trade. Plus, what a nice break from the usual rigor that can accompany classes such as math and science.
Observing the textiles class was amazing, now there was a class that I would definitely had enjoyed had it been offered at my school growing up. I also wanted to go to a “regular” classroom and see what that was like, so leader Ray and I went to his host families classroom so we could see an English class. Though, because Ray and I were in the room, it didn’t end up being a regular class. After the teacher got the students started on their assignment, he told Ray and I we could walk around and talk to the kids, and I ended up spending most of my time with a group of funny boys, and though I wanted to learn as much as I could about Australia, they were WAY more fascinated about learning about America, and asked me all the questions. I had a great time, and they were very entertaining and sweet, and before they left for their next class, one of the boys asked for a high-five, and I obliged of course, though the funny part was that as he ran out the door I heard him say “Awesome, I just high-fived a real AMERICAN!” See what I mean? Adorable!
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| The English class I observed, and you can see the boys hamming it up in the background. |
Next Ray, Karen and I visited the Ag classroom, which isn’t a classroom because we were outdoors. We learned that the kids get to learn how to care for animals, and later on in the day there was even an Agricultural Olympics that I didn’t get to see, but I loved seeing all the animals and learning about this awesome class; again, another class I would’ve loved taking when I was in school.
After Ag class, there was an assembly with the entire school, where we welcomed officially to the school, and the Deputy Mayor gave us all certificates making us honorary citizens of Armidale for the day. That was followed by a lunch for the American students, because in Australia, lunch isn’t provided, you can bring it or buy snacks from a snack bar.
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| Getting my certificate as honorary citizen from the Mayor |
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| Our hosted lunch at O’Connor School |
After lunch I got an official tour of Armidale when Vicki took the students of her foods class (another elective offered to students) on a “field trip” visiting the cafes in town. It was a great way to end the day at the school, talking to students and the other chaperons while we walked around the town
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Vicki’s food class
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As awful timing would have it, that night Vicki and the other teachers had parent-teacher conferences, but to my luck Vicki had a wonderful husband, Tim, and daughter, Emma, who offered to entertain me for a few hours until the school-sponsored dinner. I wanted to see some kangaroo, so that’s where they took me, to the University in town that had a bunch of kangaroo in a fenced-in area.
They also took me to Dangars Gorge, where I was able to see a waterfall. Tim talked to me about poisonous snakes, bushwalking (which just means hiking), and later that evening we hopped on the Internet and he told me all about different areas of Australia, showing me maps and photos. It was an amazing time, and I definitely know that I want to travel again to Australia, and explore many of the places that I learned about.
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| Emma and Tim Channon |
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| Me and Tim Channon |
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| The entrance to the Channon property |
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| Emma told me all about her love of textiles, and she wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps. Check out this amazing dress she made! |
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| The Channon family knows how to do it! |
The next morning, unfortunately I had to say goodbye to the Channon family, but I had an amazing time and hopefully some new friends for life. Thanks for everything!
