Spring Break 2011

This year I was very lucky to have two weeks off at Spring Break instead of the usual one week.  With two weeks off I packed my bags and headed to Australia.  Back to Australia you may ask? But why?

When I left Melbourne in December 2009 I was in a pretty bad state.  The experience I had at the Aussie school I was in was nothing short of awful.  Yes, the people and my students were great, but the extremely poor communication, and lack of so many things made 2009 my absolute worst teaching year of my career.  So why go back to the place that was so awful?

While I lived and worked in Melbourne I made a lot of good friends, and had a really good time outside of the work environment.  This trip back was to remind me of how great the city is, and how many wonderful people I know that live there.  It was about getting rid of the bad memories once and for all and focusing all that was positive about 2009.

I am happy to report the trip was a success!  After spending the first few days with a good friend (and her family) in Wellington Point, Queensland I arrived in Melbourne to be greeted by my friend Julie.  Julie and her family are truly my Melbourne family so it was so nice to be back with them.

My time in Melbourne was spent visiting old stomping grounds, and catching up with friends.  Almost every moment of my trip was booked with visits, and each visit was special.  I did visit my former Aus school and as much as things have changed with stable administration it is still a school that I would never want to work at.  While it hits the mark in many areas, there are still far too many areas I have serious professional issues with.  Teaching kids how to read, write, and do math is important, but in my opinion it’s just a part of what’s important for a school to do.

While visiting my former school I did not get the chance to meet my exchange partner as she was away at a sports event.  I did e-mail, and bring letters and cards for her from her former Canadian students, but she did not reply or attempt to contact me.  I’ve washed my hands of her now and I’ll just chalk it up to the fact that it takes all types of people to make this world run.  She and I are obviously different people.

While visiting my former school I was able to catch up with staff members, students, and even some of their parents.  That part of the visit was really wonderful and helped me remember some of the good times I had while I worked there.  As much as I WILL keep in contact with my former students and friends at the school I doubt if I’ll ever visit it again.

I want to thank Julie, Valerie, Jodie, Kate, and Andrea for allowing me to spend time in their classrooms and schools (and quick visits in Vesna, Monica, and Lee-Anne's rooms visiting my former students).  Those classroom/school visits helped confirm that I’m on the right track with my class here in Canada.

It was great to spend quality time with Samantha, Tim, Chris, Monica, Kay, Kylie, Tracey (and her family), Jodie (in Bendigo), Ruth, Mary, Valerie, Naomi, Seir, Di, and the Jetson, Margaris, Stevens, and Arvanitis families.  But most of all I owe a huge thank you to Julie, Steve, and Ella for hosting me the entire time.  It’s a bit weird to be back in my own home and not surrounded by your love and craziness. 

Thanks everyone in Melbourne for helping me get rid of the awful memories by replacing them with positive ones.  Onwards and upwards they say….