The Mountains we Climb
Through all the years I've spent climbing mountains, I've learned one thing. Reaching a peak means you are halfway done. It doesn't mean that it is "all downhill from here," as that downhill trek can be some of the toughest parts of the hike. Your knees hurt. Your muscles are shaky. Sometimes you take a step, and find that it is unstable and fall. That doesn't happen as much on the way up. On the way up you sweat. You push. It is hot - no matter what the temperature is outside. They are totally different experiences - going up... and going down. I'm at the part of the trail where I can see the peak. I know I'm almost there, and that all I have to do is keep pushing. My mountain climbing friends, do you know that point? That point where your last reserve of adrenaline kicks in and doesn't make you go faster, just keeps you taking the next step? Where your legs feel like they're a bit disconnected from the rest of your body, yet the burn is all too real? Where you stop talking to your hiking partner, because... you.... just... need... to... get.... to... the... top. I'm there. I can see the peak. I'm going to make it. Hell. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get there. Probably sit down and find my water bottle (or glass of wine). Take a drink, and look around, admire the view, and reflect on what an absolutely awesome hike it was to get there. Really, that's the way you feel when you are hiking in the mountains. Something about the challenge and the burn is.....good. You ask for it when you lace up your shoes and drive to a trail head. You are looking for a challenge. Tough love Tonight at dinner Olin let us know that his low point for the day was when his teacher singled him out in front of the entire bus line for something he did in class, and let everyone know that his class wouldn't be getting a certain privilege because of it. (He was supposed to wait until he got home before he ate this chocolate treat that they made in class. Olin saw another boy eat his, so Olin ate his.... and got caught.) Since the first day at school I've noticed that Aussies have a "tough love" approach to discipline. If a student is talking during morning assembly, the teacher with the microphone makes the student stand up and stay standing in front of all 1000 kids for the remainder of the assembly. When leaders were chosen for each grade level's house (Harry Potter stuff her folks) each student that wanted to be a leader got up in front of their whole grade and gave an impromptu speech. Then all the students that wanted to be leader stood on stage with their backs to the audience. The Lead Teacher put their hand over each student's head while the students in the audience raised their hands to vote. The winner was then announced, while the loser candidates retreated to the audience. I've not ever seen anything like that at home. Americans are a bit different. We often have the whole "everyone gets a trophy" approach to competition. It hurts me sometimes to watch the kids in such a vulnerable position. The empathy in me kicks in, and I forget that they either chose to make themselves vulnerable or were being naughty and probably deserved it. At the same time, though... I've tried the "stand up" approach in class, and it works pretty well on those kids that just won't shut up! Passion Fruit and other treats of life Have I mentioned how much I like the celery here? Man, it just keeps getting better. I ate a whole 3 stalks of it during morning recess today while on duty supervising the basketball court. Celery must be at its peak in June in the Southern Hemisphere. It is full of moisture, super crunchy, and the little stringy parts in it are really easy to bite through. I never ate celery in Alaska. Well, maybe like twice in 12 years. Passion fruit is another treat that we have come to love while living in Australia. Might I even say we are getting to be passion fruit snobs? We now know that the wrinkled ones are older (and it doesn't take too long for them to start getting wrinkled) and are good, but just not quite as juicy. We've decided that since we are only here for 6 more month that we have got to start eating passion fruit every day, because we can't get it back in AK! Sound bites 1. I offered advice on teaching at Narara to a 'practical teacher' (student teacher) here. She was so nervous and overwhelmed with the environment and expectations, so I gave her a few tips. It felt really strange to listen to myself. All the advice that has been passed on to me by all the wonderful teachers here (thank you!) was to coming out of my own mouth. And it all made perfect sense, despite how hard I know it is to do it. 2. Alta and Olin played FANTASTIC soccer games on Saturday. They are really starting to understand their positions. (Olin is right mid, and Alta is center defense.) 3. Tom spent the day making three different batches of sour kraut. Woop Woop! Now, if we could only get the kids to like sour kraut as much as they like passion fruit. 4. I just found out my 96 year old grandma is moving into assisted living. Man, I hope I can live an independent life like that until I'm 96. She's a total bad ass! 5. Last Friday I spent a fabulous evening hanging out with co-workers having drinks at a glorious restaurant on Brisbane Waters. Great folks and great conversation. It was the perfect way to end a fortnight. 6. I did not run the half marathon. I REALLY wanted to. Everyone in our house (except Alta so far) has been experiencing yucky sicky symptoms that are basically just massive low energy. I spent ALL of Saturday AND Sunday on the couch grading Year 10 assessment (50 down, 50 more to go!) Running 13 miles just didn't seem possible when I didn't even want to get up to go to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. 7. Yesterday I walked across the campus green to the parking lot where Tom picks me up. I felt like I was in a mini-Jurassic Park savannah scene. You know, where all the different herbivore dinosaurs are all grazing in the field in herds of their own species? The only difference was that it was instead of dinosaurs, it was flocks of ibis, corella, sulphur crested cockatoo, and some strange kind of duck all grazing on grass in flocks on the green. I just walked right through the middle. Because I could. 8. Thank you Ola for the new shirt! My wardrobe selection is so small. Vielen Dank!
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Ah.....
I have just returned home from them most wonderful two hours. I just spent the last two hours with die Deutche Mammas at the Box Cafe in Ettalong. With the clinking of forks, the conversations of Aussies, and the laughter from a baby shower as background sounds, I engaged in two hours of conversation all in German. It has been 15 years since I have spoken conversational German for any period of time. My brain was slow at times and I used words that I wasn't sure I remembered the meanings of. I also was comic entertainment for the three Germans at the table when instead of saying "Was macht euere Männer für arbeit?" I said, "Was macht deine Männer für arbeit?" My intention was to ask two of the women what their husbands did for work, but instead it came out singular in that I was asking one of the women what her husbands (plural) did for work. Another moment of comic relief was when I tried to tell the women that my town in Seward had no fast food restaurants. I didn't know the word for 'fast food restaurants' so I said that my town had "kein schnelles Essen" which I'm sure put images in their minds of really slow spaghetti or grapefruit. About a month ago I was at the Umina Skate Park watching Olin navigating all the ramps and skilled older boys on their scooters and skateboards. Amongst the chaos was a little itty bitty boy, who I found later is 4 years old, rolling around on his 3 wheeled scooter. He looked like he felt like such a big boy at the ramps and he reminded me so much of Olin at that age. I also noticed his mother, who wore a brown wool sweater and Birkenstocks. She allowed her boy to fall without coddling him, and just had an overall hands off approach to supervising. She reminded me of... well, me! I also thought she looked particularly German. They eventually moved towards me and I heard her say something to her son, all in German. "I thought so!" So the little boy came over and started scootering near me. He looked like he was trying to show off for me, so I said "Oh, du bist schnell!" His mom heard me and we started talking. Towards the end of our conversation she invited me to come hang out with her and some other German and Swiss women at their 'German Mammas' next get together. They get together every month or so to hang out and speak German. So tonight was it. There were only 4 of us, but it was so much fun. Two of the women were very easy to understand and the third was a little harder. One woman was so amazingly clear that I felt I could have listened to her all night. While I chatted inside the warm café, Tom, Alta, Olin, Naomi, and Shan Shan hung out on the beach outside in the rain. The girls played in the ocean while Tom and Olin fished. It was cold and wet, but they seemed to have a good time. They found shells and rocks, and Olin caught a fish. My friend Naomi and her daughter have been visiting us from Alaska for the last two weeks. It has been so fun to have them here. I took Naomi to my school and showed her some of the classrooms and introduced her to some of my co-workers. She walked home with me from school so was able to experience parts of my 'school day routine.' We took a big trip out to the Hunter Valley where we saw wild kangaroo and ran through vineyards at sunset. We also did some wine tasting at the Cock Fighter's Ghost vineyard. We are having the expensive bottle of wine we bought there tonight for their end-of-adventure dinner. Naomi, Tom and Shan Shan spent a day at the Reptile Park where they were able to pet different kinds of animals. Shan Shan even got to hold a dingo puppy and a boa! We also spent a day together in Sydney and visited the Aquarium there, and we spent another day exploring the Old Convict Trail at Wiseman's Ferry. We pulled Alta out of school for a day of adventure with Shan Shan and they all went on a ferry ride from Ettalong to Palm Beach. They also played at the beach and had fish and chips in Terrigal. On another day, we pulled Olin out of school for a day of adventure with Shan Shan and they went to "Flip Out" (a tramp park), Somersby Falls, and to Bulgandry Aboriginal art walk. When we aren't busy with adventures, we have been enjoying our time together at home. The kids created a roundabout today at the end of the road and roll played going to the store. They even had gates for entrance to the store parking garage. The kids have made forts, played Uno, and have done a lot of playing in the rain. It is unfortunate that Naomi's trip landed right when we've had rainy weather, but we've all been making the best of it. Tom has enjoyed having company while Olin, Alta, and I have been at school. He has been playing 'tour guide" and has been feeding us all well while they've been here. Home-made flatbread pizza (thank you Ola for teaching us how to make it.), paella, and tonight we are having Korean Short ribs. We are currently enjoying a three day weekend (I'm so thankful for the Queen's birthday! It is one of the few days off here.) Naomi and Shan Shan fly out early Monday morning, so we have decided to all head to Sydney tomorrow (Sunday) and stay at a hotel so that we can go to Vivid! Vivid is a massive light show- the world's largest festival of light - throughout the city of Sydney. We are all excited to get to see it. Pictures to come. On another note, I'm not walking to and from school anymore. The day after Mother's Day one of the students at my school was attacked on her way to school. She was walking on a path very close to one of the paths that I walk on. I'll avoid any details here, but will say that it made my walks to school a lot more tense. Last week, at 4:30 in the afternoon another young woman was attacked by the same man not far from the first attack. Luckily she got away by fighting him off and didn't suffer any harm. As a result, though, it has become very clear that my walks to school in the morning and home from school in the afternoon are not safe anymore. I'm very bummed. Those walks were so important for me. They allowed me to decompress and to process without distraction. I don't, however, want to be a victim, so am now getting rides. Walk to Work Tally Term 2 - 171 miles |
AuthorThe Liljemark's enjoy exploring the world. This blog chronicles our adventures. Archives
December 2017
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