A Life Changing Brush with Life

Hi guys,

As you very well know, I haven't been on here to blog. I was struggling to deal with the cultural difference in Tasmania even though I went there with high hopes and aspirations. Came back in January and was immediately put to work the next day. How absolutely disorientating! I felt so sorry for the students because I could not for the life of me remember ANY of their names.

But I learned one thing, there is a HUMONGOUS difference teaching dance and teaching geography. A gap so big it could swallow me up. Literally... Think about it. In dance class they're allowed freedom of movement and are allowed to play. In geography class? Ha! You must be kidding.

I mean I developed the program to be as interesting as possible with activities you wouldn't even dream of seeing as part of a geography syllabus. But it's the teaching and the holding of the students attention that is a major struggle.

Today's S.E.E.D.S workshop run by Greg Evans was such a godsend. It was a workshop that I never felt bored of being in and I was energetic and motivated coming out of it. Imagine that! I am feeling a level of confidence that I never thought to see at a high level again after two months of teaching. It gave me hope that trying to make them love learning - after six years of our government schools killing that love - was not an impossible mission anymore.

Think of it, we turn the childrens' behaviour around at ACE. But the workshop taught us a way of doing that while maintaining the connection with the students and how to use positive reinforcement more effectively. The most important thing was that he gave us tools so we won't need to fight for the attention of students anymore! We teachers will grab it whether they like it or not.

I guess the most important thing about the workshop was his story at the end. It made such and impact. In a nutshell, even if we teachers make a difference to even one students it is a HUGE accomplishment because we have made a difference to their lives. That is truly a victory to celebrate.

Pictures to come!

Up

Yes, my first post in a long time. But I just had to write about this movie. I know what you're thinking. It was probably the same thing, along the lines of, "Oh no, another animated movie." Let me tell you though... It was AMAZING!!!

It wasn't just all cutesy and kiddy. It had more mature themes like being able to let go and life is not JUST one journey or adventure. I must say that this is one of the more touching animated movies I have ever watched. I was quite literally crying a river in the cinema. The story line was well developed and took the audiences on an emotional roller coaster ride. And ooh! I absolutely LOVED the dogs! Especially Doug the pointer dog shaking hands with the kid in the picture above.

Okay, a brief little synopsis to tempt you. Up is about a 78 year old man, Carl Fredrickson who ties balloons to his house in order to get it to Angel Falls in South America in keeping a promise to his late wife, Ellie. He is aided by Russell, a Junior Wilderness Explorer from Tribe 54, out looking to get his final badge that'll get him promoted to Senior Wilderness Explorer - Assisting the Elderly. Little does poor Russell know that the assistance Mr. Fredrickson requires goes far beyond mundane routines like crossing the road.

Oh Happy Day... =)

Well, let's see. What has been happening thus far... Ah yes, I need replacement body parts. Some one please replace my aching limbs! LOL. Makes it a pain to walk around. Getting up from a chair will be the hardest thing I'll do these next few days - three hours of dance class with vigorous warm up exercises tend to do that to you.

The other update (and I feel so honoured you wouldn't believe) is that Jennifer Fallon herself has posted a book review that I made of her book The Immortal Prince up on her official site blog and commented on it. Check it out! I was thrilled yet super embarassed (I was blushing the entire time!) while reading what she had to say about it.

So yeah. It's totally exciting! Makes me want to write more book reviews. Do check it out because our aim is to guide people to finding good books to read. Especially if you can't afford to experiment by just picking out a book. It becomes really annoying and frustrating if you're on a budget and on a whim you randomly decide to pick out a book to buy and you read it... and it turns out it's not to your liking. So our book blog plans to eliminate that hassle!

Effective Immediately

I reckon it would be really cool if people found a cure for laziness or procrastination. Maybe it will come in the form of a pill or a patch. So, whenever you're feeling lazy but you have work to do just take one after food and you'll be alright to do work. Though, I reckon our parents have found the cure - yelling or caning us.

Yes, these Easter holidays in Tasmania have really taken its toll on me. I have done nothing but enjoy it to the fullest. Doesn't sound to bad right? But it is bad to me, I'm thinking, due to the workload I will inevitably face when the deadlines start smacking you in the face.

But then, I can't really bear the thought of 'working' during my holidays. I mean, if working days are meant for people to work, why aren't holidays meant for people to holiday. There are many who can't afford to do some holidaying during the holidays and there are some people like my mum who don't seem to be able to distinguish work day and holiday. It's just really sad. Over here in Aussieland, you never, ever mess around with people's holidays.

Being a student here is really relaxing. It's not so hectic like our programme back home. Our coursemates can afford to work part time while studying! It's disgusting. Try that back home and you'll end up not sleeping and in the hospital. And that, is probably why I feel a bit guilty for not doing my work. I'm guessing it has something to do with me having work to do back home during the holidays - courtesy of mum. So maybe I'm not used to having time totally free to do anything I want.

With that in mind, I guess I'll really enjoy and savor the feeling of being free to do what I want, when I want... Yay!

Validation

I absolutely love this video. It is cleverly written. And like the video, I shall validate my readers. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate it.

Finishing Strong

This guy is so inspiring! People always talk about how you have to get back up on your feet if you fall down. But they never tell you that you can still fall trying to get back up. It make you think all you have to do is get back up and it sounds so simple doesn't it? Well, it's not. And that's why I'm sharing this video with all of you who read my blog. It's a reminder for me and I hope it can be a reminder for you to keep trying no matter what.

Eat Out of a Toilet Anyone?

There are so many unusual things in this world. If I had the money and time, I would see all there is to see... But I think you'd have to live forever in order to experience ALL the world has to offer, good and bad. I'd like to visit this really quirky place.