Teach’N'Traveller

The following list is a compilation of day trips all within a day’s comfortable reach, and return, from Melbourne. Victoria certainly has much more to offer; but I won’t even delve into the delights of Port Fairy, Wilson’s Prom and the Murray River here.

My focus is primarily the places I’ve been, for instance Mount Buller (‘Bulla’ = Aussie pronunciation, see here for more giggles) is loved by many, but I’m waiting until I return to Canada to alpine ski.

Although, on the note of skiing, Read the rest of this entry →

When you move to Australia, be prepared to give up Tim Horton’s—and surprisingly (for any true Canadian Patriot) I don’t think you’ll miss it! But never fear teachers who tend-to-use-your-coffee-mug-like-a-cane, you will never have to look far for caffeine in Melbourne.

Melbourne is so well-regarded for its coffee (with the Italians making their mark—and brews—early in the establishment of the city) that it has become its own genre. Driving in country Victoria, if a cafe advertises proper “Melbourne coffee” you can trust that it will be righteously frothed and not the Mc-Cafe press-a-button-and-let-the-milk-and-coffee-drip-together kind which you want to avoid unless desperate.

(Seriously, Read the rest of this entry →

1. The Yarra River:

There is so much to say I will use sub-headings.

Orientation: the paths that border the Yarra on both sides take you down to the Botanical Gardens on the south side, or to Melbourne Olympic Park (site of the Australian Open in January) and on the northern side, the MCG (cricket and footy ground).

What’s There: Southgate’s restaurants, stores and art centres (National Gallery of Victoria and Hamer Hall—there is even an art market on Sundays) and Federation Square edge the city’s main water feature.

When to check it out: Read the rest of this entry →

 After previously teaching 25 Essential Australian Words and Phrases, I felt it was only fair to show you the language of academia in Australia as well.

Here is an example of an Australian report card:

“In English, Sarah is having a rip snorter. Sure, she had a barry crocker on her recent exam, but if she doesn’t drop her bundle, she’ll be apples.”

 Aussie Slang Translation:

Read the rest of this entry →

Hot Honey. Breakfast and lunch? This is my—and probably the whole of suburb of Middle Park’s—favourite place for it. You can choose from the cooler (your mouth will be watering) or from the menu. The coffees are divine. Emphasis is on heart-healthy delicious cuisine, and the name comes from the owner’s bee-keeper’s father’s best stash. Experience excellent friendly name-remembering service. Prices are very reasonable. Outdoor and indoor dining.

Shanghai Dumplings. There was Read the rest of this entry →

The puke piles in the streets on Monday mornings are very telling. There is a whole troop of zamboni-cleaners who are given fulltime work in an effort to keep up with the consecutive every-20-metre splatters, yet weekend after weekend, their jobs still exist.

The newspapers distress about teenage binge drinking, parents wage war with letter writing their complaints, and commercials edge emotions with an adult culture that relies upon alcohol in every setting.

I am the first to admit that Canadians Read the rest of this entry →

I’m working my way around Australia vineyard by vineyard. Victoria has four major holidays throughout the year and in the past two years I have spent each holiday discovering a different wine region.

The great thing about Australia Read the rest of this entry →

Aussies Do it Better:

Are you tired and overworked? Do you feel drained in January? Do you look forward to one week off in March to return in March and feel exhausted? Has a 20-week term got you down?
MOVE TO AUSTRALIA!

Is there a catch? The first thing on your mind is salary: Read the rest of this entry →

I previously wrote about the unique pronunciation of Australians. Today I’m going to take a look at words or phrases that will confuse the hell out of you.

1. fairdinkum. I’m not kidding, this is a word. It means ‘authentic’. For example, “was $3.49 really the price of that mango?” “Fairdinkum!”
2. far out. This is not only said by surfers but middle-aged people, too. (Actually those two categories are not mutually exclusive, but you get the point.) This phrase has nothing to do with swimming or life-saving, as in, “did you get to that surfer before the shark?” “no, he was too far out” = incorrect. “Far Out” is said when you really can’t believe something.
3. shocking. This is not usually a good thing. It is Read the rest of this entry →

North Americans will find it abrasive coming to Australia given that Australians tend to “take the piss out” (mock) of everything. There is a history of humour between Australians and Australia’s Aboriginal Peoples (not that I purport to be an expert on history) that goes something like this:

 Moomba was the word given. The translation, revealed years later, means something closer to “up your bum”. Look who’s having the last laugh.Three things I’m pointing out with this conversation. Read the rest of this entry →

Read the rest of this entry →

It’s Day 4 of my three-week Vietnam tour during the September holidays — just one of the four term-break holidays during the school year in Australia. Read the rest of this entry →

Fights broke out regularly in our playground, and I was lucky if it didn’t happen in my classroom. My class was a sort of bike-crashed, cut-up and scabbed lot with teeth, and uniform going everywhere, suggesting that they were neither well supervised, nor cared for, at home.

Read the rest of this entry →

He looked familiar.

Of course, that sort of thing happens to me all of the time. Once, in Kingston, working the counter of the LCBO I greeted a woman from the cafe I used to work in Orangeville like an old friend.

It turned out I didn’t know her at all.

Read the rest of this entry →

‘Nigger’ is a word white people don’t get to use. My Year 8 students ask me why: “Black people call each other that all the time, Miss!”

I stammer: “There’s connotations—meanings—in that word that suggests ‘hate’, when white people say it to black people.”

My students constantly voice their disgust for things by saying, “That’s gay!”

As a female teacher, who also happens to be married to a woman, Read the rest of this entry →

After any day of teaching, I feel exhausted. I worked three jobs at a time throughout the five years I went to university full-time and I’ve never found myself so exhausted as the years since I’ve been teaching–and I’m getting so much more sleep now!

Add to this, the fact that everyone commutes to work in big sprawly Melbourne (even though I agree the sprawl factor makes it more interesting). Taking the tram from Richmond to the CBD (side-by-side subburbs) takes 45 minutes.

I also have someone in my life, my partner, whom I love to spend time with.

Needless to say, exercise is usually the first thing to get dropped when I get home 12 hours later. Read the rest of this entry →

As you start out learning to blog, I have three pieces of advice: Read the rest of this entry →

Is the term “gay” changing, yet again? Is it a homophobic comment? Should teachers, teach students not to say it? Here’s what I’ve found…

Read the rest of this entry →

1. Add your spices one at a time, tasting after each.
2. Burnt toast can be salvaged with lots of butter.

Read the rest of this entry →

Hey,

For those of you new or old to blogging, I came across a great post on ProBlogger. There’s a really helpful video that explains how you can track traffic. Then on the comments Read the rest of this entry →

Here’s my Favourite Thing in Each Australian State: 

Read the rest of this entry →

At a car dealership recently, a salesman admitted to me that when he sees teachers coming, “he runs”.  As a waitress, a colleague once stiffed, “bloody teachers never tip”.

We have long been regarded as stingy. And most sales people that we have to deal with dislike our supposed thriftiness. So what I’m wondering is–where does it come from? Is it just a stereotype of a poor few or is there a reason behind this (over?) statement? Read the rest of this entry →

If you have colleagues who are ready to give up on the laptop program at your school–you need to try this software!
I went to a PD on it last year, and it was great! DyKnow is the most classroom-friendly program I have seen so far.

 I’m going to write all the reasons why you might benefit from investigating its usefulness in your school. But first, 

A bit of Background on the Discourse of Laptop Use in Schools…

I’ve found that there are two bodies of teacher thought on student laptop use:

Read the rest of this entry →

1. Number One has to includean authentic Melbourne Coffee Experience. There’s no other choice for me: Vittoria coffee.

Walking down Desgraves Street towards a class I was taking at the CAE, I ordered a strong latte from the little cafe across the road. (A safe way to tell who serves this grind by the very Italian-looking sign they stick out of their cafes).  I’m not kidding–it was the best coffee I’ve had yet. I didn’t even have sugar in it! Read the rest of this entry →