One Week Down!

Week 1 Is Done!

Wow! I honestly cannot believe that a whole week of service has passed. Each day with the Rosellas has been an adventure. This past week has had a lot of staff changes and casuals (the Australian term for substitute teachers) in the classrooms. That means that although I was brand new in the classroom, I was one of the most consistent people for the boys. Since the week was a bit inconsistent, the boys were a bit out of routine and a little wild! But, alas, they are children, so I kind of expected the wildness. 

At St. Lucy's, the children have a lot of opportunities for showing us their strengths and shining where they can shine brightest. The structure of their learning is not one filled with examinations and opportunities to fail. They are encouraged to be their best! Part of circle time in the morning for the Rosellas is listening to a song about not giving up (Give it a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWp6kkz-pnQ ). By having this kind of positive message for the kids, I believe that their learning and anything that may be perceived as a failure can be turned around into a teachable moment. I feel blessed for having this opportunity to find those teachable moments throughout the day for my boys.

A natural landscape made by the students!

This week we spent a lot of time working on learning about landscapes. It was all in preparation for the morning assembly on Friday. Each week a class is in charge of facilitating the morning prayer, song, signs of the day and school rules. This week was the Rosella's turn! On the Friday of each week, the assembly has the added fun of a presentation of what the kids learned and did this week along with recognition awards for some of the kids! On Friday Christian led the assembly which includes selecting another student for the prayer, leading the discussion of our work

The small altar at the front of the assembly room!

for the week, along with introducing the staff that discusses rules. The entire Rosella class came up to show the posters that were made of a natural landscape (pictured) and a built landscape (not pictured). Christian discussed the differences and then a video of all of the fun we had throughout the week learning was shown. The boys were very excited and proud of their hard work, I could see this in the smiles on their faces and the laughter that rung out from them. Super proud of my Rosella boys! 

During the award portion of the assembly, two of the boys in my class received awards! Lachlan received an award for his enthusiasm during dance class that week and Massimo received an award for his participation in activities this week! Super proud of them! Massimo's mom had come to the assembly and she and I spoke briefly. She said that it seemed like Massi really liked working with me in class. This really warmed my heart, because I was very happy to have begun creating a bond with the students. The teacher's aid, Maria sends home picture collages of the boys daily and that must have been how Massi's mom recognized me!

Week 2 has begun. And I can't wait to let you all know about how things go!

While I have your attention....

This weekend Becky and I went down the coast to Gerringong, NSW with the Bells, Becky's host family. It was about two hours away from Sydney. We passed lots of cattle, saw rolling hills and mountains all the while passing the really pretty beaches as we drove South down the coast. Here are some pictures from out trip down the coast!

This was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean as an East Coast native in the States! I also have now officially touched the Pacific as well!

The waves were just wild! Becky and I spent maybe an hour just admiring how grand the ocean was and taking in nature around us!

Some Animals :) 

Becky and I also went to a zoo while we were down the coast! This zoo is really cool because it is a mix of traditional and petting zoo. Some of the animals were in traditional enclosures like the koalas, macaws, wallabies etc. But others you could pet and go into the enclosures with them.

These cuties are not dogs from a Sarah Mclaughlin commercial for the ASPCA, these are dingos! I was really surprised because I couldn't see these dingos eating any sort of baby (like the stereotypical quote says). I was intrigued because they honestly just seemed like puppies! I learned that their diet ranges from fruit to kangaroos to Buffalo!

 I got to meet a kangaroo! Actually, I got to meet and pet and immerse myself with many kangaroos! This one and I hung out for a while, to the point where he put his paws up on my knee. In the kangaroo enclosure, the kangaroos come and go as they please. I thought it was weird because they had emus in the kangaroo enclosure (no pictures of them because they were creepy).

Homesickness Squashed by Beauty

I think the weekends are going to be the hardest for me being away from home. During the week I have my predictable structure of riding the train, serving at St. Lucy's, riding the train again, some host family time, dinner, and then bed. The weekends leave me with time to think and realize just how far away from home I am. This set in quite a bit this weekend, but following mass in Gerringong, I saw this beautiful statue and the flower labyrinth and the ocean in the background. For some reason this really made me smile, take a deep breath and just remind myself to be completely present and go all in on this adventure here in Australia!

I think that's all for now! I am extremely grateful to the Smith Fellowship for making this service that is already challenging the way I think as well as the chance to immerse myself in the Australian culture. Thanks to my family and friends for the love from afar, thanks to my students for being awesome, to the teachers for teaching the ropes and to my host family for making me feel so welcome! Peace, Go Friars!