email number 8 from oz

The final email of my 2003 exchange in Australia.

Well, here I am again.

Before I get into it all - it just wouldn't seem right if this one, the last one, wasn't extremely long. There is so much to say - I won't even bother apologizing for the length. I know you like it.

Hope everyone is doing well. As you are all in the midst of winter, here I am sitting in the beautifully air-conditioned staffroom of my school (I can't imagine what it used to be like inside on 35 degree days before air-con was invented). And, as of this writing, I only have a few days of work left, and then some parties, some cleaning (actually a lot of cleaning) and then I drop my car off, and then up to the airport and I'll be off and up out. But, I am getting ahead of myself  - there are a lot of stories and opinions to share from the past months.

Before I talk about recent stuff, there is one funny story that I forgot about from a long time ago. During the April holidays, I went to Canberra and visited the Parliament. What a spectacular building with a huge grass lawn on the roof and awesome views of the city. I had a small picnic lunch and then packed up my stuff into my knapsack and went in. They checked my bag and the horn thing went off and it sort of freaked me out. It turns out that I had forgotten a butter knife in my lunch stuff. I had to check this item and then get it back in the end. I mean, what harm would I do with a butter knife? I didn't even have any butter with me.

Driving for the year has been easy. Aside from the first few weeks when I had to re-orientate myself to the opposite side of the road and car, it has been a breeze. I am so used to it all, that when I see a TV show or a movie from North America - it looks so weird seeing people on the right side of the road. The one great thing about driving down in the countryside, is it is like a real life video game - especially at night. So, I am driving back from a student's place where I was kindly invited for tea (dinner) at about midnight. And country highways are already a bit narrow and can be windy. You are there, driving along, all relaxed and stuff and then you round a bend and there is a koala sitting in your lane (happens all of the time), you swerve around it and then a kangaroo bounces in front of you. And then there are a few wombats and possibly some rabbits. Then the stupid magpies (birds) swoop out of nowhere in front of you (I’ve had three fly into my car this year). It is a bit scary. Everyone has hit a kangaroo here, and I see at least two dead animals on the side of the road everyday. This morning there was a huge kangaroo on one side and another on the other side, killed overnight as they weren't there last night when I drove home. Very sad, and it makes me wonder how animals can evolve and all of that survival of the fittest stuff and that these species haven't evolved into ones that don't walk in front of these huge shiny things that kill your friends? “Hey remember when Joe got smushed over there last week? Yeah, let’s go this other way instead” Possibly kangaroos are a bit egotistical thinking they are all fast and stuff, and most likely the koalas are ripped on the gum tree leaves, which leaves wombats, foxes and rabbits  -man, they are stupid! Ha ha ha. Just today there was a family of ducks crossing the highway. Ahhh. I stopped. My killing days are over. I joked with the school at the final awards ceremony that they can all come and visit me and we can drive around and kill some Canadian animals like raccoons, skunks, squirrels and moose – it got a big laugh. I’ve killed lots of animals this year, and for that I ask for your forgiveness.

So, as I have already pointed out, I am living in a very small remote area this year, which while being beautiful and peaceful has its drawbacks. It was, and has been, quite a tough acclimation for a city guy like me to get used to. I’m used to the hard streets of Vancouver. Honestly, as much fun as it has been being in Australia (and it has been lots of fun, as you can tell by all of my stories), I am very excited about returning to city life. I have enjoyed the more relaxed nature of the lifestyle and the people down here, but there is very little to do, especially on weekends (that is why I go up to the big city almost every weekend). So, one night in my small country home, I was starting to make dinner. I cut up my veggies, got out my fish, and was already to start cooking, but I had to no gas. The gas cylinders on the outside of the house seemed full-ish, but I couldn't tell and I didn't want to fiddle around with all of the valves as I might explode everything if I did the wrong thing. And, everything that serves prepared food (like take away stands  -they call it "take away" instead of "take out" here) closed at 6pm and it was 7pm. It would take 50 minutes of roundtrip driving to get to the nearest store in the next town over, so I was stuck with no gas and I was starving. I ended up having peanut butter sandwiches for dinner, something similar for brekkie the next morning and then finally, my exchange partner's sister called me back and explained what to do with the dials and it was very easy and I felt stupid and then the gas worked. Every once and a while I have an experience like this that reminds me how different life has been this year (like if my water tanks ran out of water, no water would come out of the taps). Makes it fun. Really makes me impressed with the Aboriginees who lived outside year round and had no appliances.

Now, on the subject of the car, selling the car was quite the experience. My car, first off, is an old car. And a classic car – a Holden Commodore, which is the quintessential Aussie car. Now, to sell a used car in the state of Victoria you need to get your car to pass the “Roadworthy” test. This is one tough test to pass – they are extremely picky and you could have a huge bill to pay before selling it, and consequently no one will buy a car that hasn’t passed the test. If it passes then you know you are buying a good car. I originally advertised a price of $1500 in the local paper and said that I had passed the test, although I hadn’t got it done yet, and because the car is very popular I got lots of calls. But, I had my local mechanic look at it for me, and he said that he thought the test would cost at least $600 dollars. Luckily one person said they would give me $1000 for it and get the test done themselves. I drop it off for them on my way to the airport. I got a good deal with that.

Back on the subject of wildlife – I want to really make it clear to people how cool it is to have so much wildlife just around the place. Aside from the dead stuff, I have had koalas in my trees, ‘roos hopping around and even echidnas on the side of the road (ant-eater-ish creatures). The only thing I haven’t seen in the wild are platypus. And the birds are awesome too. Dingos are only up north, as are crocs and I saw some Tasmanian Devils in, of all places, Tasmania. I heard about the famous, almost revered, Tasmanian Tiger which has been extinct for 100 years now. Lots of great birdcalls first thing in the morning used to wake me up, but I am more than used to it now. Actually, a family of birds has made my roof in the back their home. I little cheeps and lots of noise from the porch all of the time.

“What is up with cork hats?” I asked last weekend when I saw a few people walking around with these wide-brim hats with dangling corks hanging from it. I found out that the corks are for keeping flies away from your face. Obviously an advanced technological improvement to the regular hat, which have next to no fly defenses. My next question was let’s say the fly evolves into some sort of super fly and they learn how to avoid the swinging cork  -what will you do next? This question was appropriately ignored. Pretty funny looking hats though.

Some people asked me after the last big email why I hadn’t mentioned the Rugby world cup. Just forgot I guess. It was a very big event. Canada played, as I’m sure some of you know, and they did win a game. I was cheering for New Zealand to win, but it was exciting that the Aussies did so well and that the final was very exciting. I was up in Queensland for a long weekend and since that is a huge rugby state I had no problem finding an awesome pub to watch the game in. The pub was full of British fans and there was lots of playful heckling amongst the patrons of the pub. It was a fun time. I still don’t love the game of rugby, but the final was awesome. Another huge sporting event was the Davis Cup final that was in Melbourne. I listened to it driving up to the city on the radio. Tennis on the radio is not so great. But, it was very exciting watching the final match on TV. The Aussies love their sport and they love winners. Philippoussis is not everyone’s favourite, but after winning the final match he, and the others, were treated like returning war heroes.

Tasmania was beautiful. I took a few days off at the end of October and hired a car and drove around Tassie. You could easily spend two weeks doing the same trip that I did in 4 ½ days. Tasmania was very different from the rest of Oz. Lots of rolling hills with sheep grazing. A few snow peaked mountains, and much colder weather. I landed in Launceston (in the north) and drove to the very picturesque Cradle Mountain national park. There was this big lake and a snowy mountain in the background (sort of an Aussie Lake Louise). And it was freezing! I went from home, where it wasn’t hot, but I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, to this, where it was like Canadian wintertime. Then, the next day I drove down the east coast and stopped in some quaint seaside towns and then got into Hobart that evening. Hobart was a really nice city with an excellent harbour. I had the best fish and chips that I’ve had this year down there. We don’t get Barramundi (I don’t think) in Vancouver, but it is sooooo good (and so is Gummy Flake). The next morning I drove up to Mount Wellington and it was this really hot 26-degree morning and I was driving up this winding road and I thought I saw a flake of snow, but that would be impossible as it was really hot out. And I kept driving up and up and up and I got to the top and not only was it snowing, but it was amazingly cold and windy. I was in my car in shorts and a t-shirt and I saw people scampering back to their cars bundled up beyond belief and all of my warm stuff was in the trunk. I parked the car, burst out and threw on a millions layers (or 3) and went off to see the view. Wow. This was an incredible panoramic view of the city and the harbour and the national parks. We were really high up and it was cool seeing the snow and then the bright sunny skies below. The weather systems were moving through there very quickly. And the clouds were enveloping the top of the mountain, and then moved through and you saw the view again. I then drove to a national park in a place called Huonville and did an amazing treetop walk. Very awesome trees, including the appropriately named “Big Tree” – it didn’t disappoint. But, snow, it was really snow. I just can’t believe that it was snow.

The next day I woke up and went to the botanical gardens, yes they were “Royal”, and then off to the Cadbury factory. Yes! Lots of free chocolate and Cadbury makes some good stuff. Cadbury is an Australia company – I was wrong earlier in the year when I mocked some students for saying that it was, as I reckoned that everything is American. Cadbury/Schewppes is originally British, but now mostly Australian and the Hobart factory was huge and the tour was informative and yummy. And for those who sort of reckon that Hersheys, Nestle and Cadbury are all very similar, we are wrong – Cadbury kicks ass. Hersheys is not so great. My final day in Tasmania I drove down to Port Arthur and got exposed to convict history. Let me just summarize for you – if you were a petty thief in England in the late 1800s/early 1900s, the threat of being sent to Australia and the horrible life of the convicts there, should have been enough to make you stop your thieving ways. The cells were silly small and it would have been a really bad existence. No loaf of bread would have been worth that. And then back to work…

The bass player from Men At Work teaches bass guitar at my school every Tuesday. That’s cool.

Immunization shots suck. Any type of shots, or anything to do with needles, suck. Then, what sucks even more is being afraid of needles. Really afraid. So, choosing to travel to an area of the world where you need to get shots done to go there, is almost, in my way of thinking, almost a good reason to not go to those areas. But, that would be silly. So to the doctor I went and two things (1) shots are damn expensive - $120!, and (2) I don’t know if it is psychosomatic or what, but those shots REALLY hurt (I didn’t faint like I did at school once) and I couldn’t lift my arms above shoulder height for two days. I didn’t cry, but I was crying inside and my shoulders were crying. That is the most pain I had felt in Australia, but that pain was soon to be beaten by…

So, I took a few days off of work (I work hard, and I might not be in Australia again for a long time) and flew up to the Sunshine Coast (just a few hours north of Brisbane in Queensland). The flights were free as Virgin Blue (the domestic Aussie airline) messed up on some flights early in the school year and gave me two free flights. It was awesome. Great beaches, once again and lots of great walks. I took it pretty easy and just lay around and read and swam and ate good food and got the worst sunburn on my back. I am very careful about that sort of thing and use a lot of sunscreen, and had, in 10+ months not got a real burn. Then, one morning I woke up in Noosa Heads, got a boogie board and down to the beach. Lathered up with sunscreen, lay around, read and then went swimming on the boogie board. Came out and then repeated. It was so much fun. Except, that I forgot one thing – when you are on the boogie board, your back is face-up out of the water, almost the entire time and wholly Christ, my back got burnt. I couldn't lie on, or twist, or even put by backpack on. It really sucked. I took a day off of the beach and then went swimming with a shirt on the day after. I also ran into a particularly unfriendly Aussie!?!?!?  So, not every Aussie is friendly. I was on the beach and wanted a photo with me in it and I asked this lady walking on the beach if she would take the photo and she looked at me and kept on walking. And she had her teenage daughter with her. And they were speaking English. How rude! And what sort of message is that for how to treat people to your daughter (unless they were practicing not talking to strangers). It was beautiful up there, but I sort of felt all travelled out. I just sort of feel like I've seen enough beaches, and that in the end a museum is a museum and a walk is a walk – regardless of how nice they are. And I know that once home I will miss all of this stuff, but at some point it is hard to get totally thrilled by another great view (sorry if there are people reading this who feel jealous of me and are hating my blasé-ness). I do love it all and have loved all of the amazing traveling, but at some point you just get a bit tired. The final note on Northern Australia - bug bites, bug bites, bug bites. Damn bugs. I hate them so much. Great weather the whole time though. “Sick” from school for two days and then back on a Monday with coloured skin (no I didn’t show anyone my back) – a bit suspicious…

Now, I understand the whole post 9-11 security thing as much as the next average person. But, why can’t I store my bags at the airport!?!?! Now I understand that they would want to search them and look for anything bad, but then after only finding non-sharp and non-explosive stuff, then what is the problem, especially if they are locked up and I’m the only one to have a key? What’s the problem? I do understand, really, but all I’m saying is that my life would be easier if I could have done that on the way home. 

Played in a few big and fun Frisbee things and they were great. Melbourne hosted the Mixed National Championships and the Melbourne Hat tournament. For those who don’t know, a hat tournament is where they literally make random teams by drawing names out of a hat. Both weekends were full of lots of games, great parties and a chance to hang out with Frisbee people from around the country. I am impressed that in less than a year, I’ve already met so many cool people, and feel like I have started to make some good friends – considering that I only came up to the city once every two weeks and that there were only 6 tournaments in a year. Our team had a disappointing (to say the least) Mixed Nationals – we didn’t win much, but still had a great time. I played awesome the first day (including dominating a game against that weirdo captain guy from earlier in the year who didn’t respect my game – that felt good), and then as the team’s fortunes vanishes, so did my great play. We ended up losing three games by 1 point. Ouch!

But, after leaving the Frisbee fields for the last time on Sunday, it just made me think about how great the ulti community really is. It is such a great sport, in many ways, but mostly the generosity and warmth of the people. It is also just fun and relaxed and there are so many people with wacko senses of humor. And since it is a uni game by origin, it ends up being a pretty intelligent group as well. I didn’t know anyone really when I got here and now, at the end of the year, I know so many people and when the Aussie national team visits Vancouver on their way to Finland next summer, I should have a bunch of friends coming to stay. I’m having two final parties this weekend before I fly away.

Today was the big end of year finale for school – the end of year mass. Now, as I described earlier in the year, mass is long (and I mean lllloooonnnggggg  -even for the true Catholics.) There is lots of standing and saying “and God be with you” and then sitting and listening to long passages, then standing and hearing the choir sing, and then sitting and then standing and so on. And to top it off (this makes NO sense) the students and teachers have to wear full uniform and it was 34 degrees today and the students were NOT allowed to have a drink bottle!?!??! What!?!?!?! Hey, I’ve got a great idea – how about we make them eat salt the whole time too. Or maybe, we should use heaters, instead of fans, maybe light a big fire, possibly throw water on hot coals the whole time? No water?!?!? And the mass and awards made the whole thing 3 hours! Yeah! But, it was an awesome day still. As the days have been drawing to an end, more and more students have been showing their appreciation for me and the excitement of the end of the year and my leaving made for a fast and fun last few weeks. Today, at the awards thing they said all of this great stuff about my contribution to the school and then I went up and made them all laugh with my quick run down of the year. Not only were all of the students there, but lots of parents too. They gave me some awesome framed photos and a nice book. I got lots of great photos too. Then, to wrap it up, I performed “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys with the school rock band and we were awesome. People were standing and clapping at the end. Then, just before all of the students went home – I had a whole bunch thanking me for an excellent year. It all makes you feel pretty damn special.

So, I keep getting asked how it feels to leave, whether I’ll come back and what I like better Australia or Canada. And these are difficult questions to answer. Plain and simple – home is home. I am very excited to come home. But, I really feel like I’ve lived so much in this one-year and it is sad to leave it behind. People keep asking me if I am sad to leave, and I wasn't really until today when I said goodbye to many people (mostly students) who I may never see again, then I felt sad. Now, I know they are just students  - but my style of teaching has always been a friendly style and even though they are young, they are “friends” at work. Many say they will stay in touch – we’ll have to see  -I hope so, and I’m sure that a small group will. I promised that I would come back and visit – maybe in 2006 when Perth is hosting the World Club Ultimate Frisbee Championships. It is very odd saying goodbye to people you have spent a lot of time with, both at school and in Melbourne and at squash. Unlike leaving Vancouver, when I knew I would see most people again  -and there are a lot of people I really hope to continue to know. In the end – I miss home, I will miss here – which is, I think, the way you’d want it to be. If I didn’t miss home, then that would be depressing as hell to have to go back and if I didn’t miss here, then it would have been a horrible year. Life is about experience and I have experienced so much this year – I would do it again and I hope to a few more years down the road. I am so proud of myself for having finally done this and done it to the fullest. It wasn’t an easy thing to do – going away for a year, to a remote country town where I didn’t know anyone, and leaving everything and everyone I know behind – but not that I have, I have developed a large amount of self-confidence (yes, even more of that), and I have come to even more appreciate things at home. I will 100% come back here someday – and I’ll have a lot of people to visit.

What I won’t miss is the isolation of where I am living (although it is very peaceful and quiet) and I like city life better (although I have come to really appreciate country life this year). I won’t miss the math teaching – that is better at home (I have to yell for quiet at least 5 times a class with my year 7s and 8s – and less than ½ finish their homework and maybe 1/3 study for tests ever). I will miss the fun-ness of the students – great sense of humour, I will miss being the “oddity” for the year, I will miss the laid back nature of everything – it just isn’t that intense here. I miss Vancouver’s restaurants and other options of things to do in the evenings. I will miss the wildlife (seeing kangaroos and koalas on a regular basis still is very exciting), the awesome beaches and the great parks. In a short time, I’ve met so many great people – which will “force” me to stay in touch and “force” me to come back at some point. I would love to do another exchange someday (or find some good reason to be in the Melbourne area for a good period of time again – I have a whole bunch of people who I can stay with now). And I know that there are small nuances and stuff that I won’t notice missing until I’ve been home for a while. I’m sure that I will be thinking about this year and stuff that happened it for the rest of my life. 2003 will always stand out as one incredible year.

I look forward to seeing everyone again in just a few more weeks. I hope that a whole bunch of grads will pop by and say hi in January, if they get a chance. It has been a pleasure writing emails for all of you this year. It has been a great year away. Thanks for all of the excellent emails from all of you. I get home on December 29^th and I hope to see or hear from all of you in the early part of the New Year. It will be nice to be home

Cheers

Tommy