Enough complaining

Before I get into what is going on with me, let's just point out the fact the Nichole is a nerd. We are on the other side of the planet and she is interested in WASL scores?

Now as for me, I am starting to really appreciate my work. First of all, the hours are OK. I figured out the other day that I work 24 hours a week. Second, the money is good because they pay teachers a bit more. So, I'm making about the same as I was in Washington as a full time teacher. Finally, the experience is great! I've gotten better at dealing with the Australian students. They are rowdy buggers but fun. Here are some interesting bits about the teaching here:

-They say f*ck an awful lot... I hear that word about 6-7 times a day, they always apologize but it just isn't as big of a deal here.
-They all have either mullets or rat tails. No kidding! (obviously not the kids at the Jewish school, they got the little curly sideburns)

-They think everything in America is HUGE. They ask about super size at McDonalds all the time. "How big is it??? Do you really get 2 liters of soda, and a bucket of fries?"

-They think every American has a gun and shoots eachother. They ask: "Do you own a gun?" "Can you really just walk into Big W and buy a hand-gun?" "Have you ever been shot at?"
-They think Celebrities are all over the place. "Do you know any celebrities" is usually the first question they ask once they hear my accent. On a side note, I do know one... The guy who did the dragon's burp on Shrek (Uncle Spook!)
- Multi-cultural here means multi-cultural (not just Mexican). I was in a school the other day and I was talking with students from Sudan, Serbia, Turkey, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt... All in the same classroom!!!
-They call teachers "sir" and "ma'am" almost exclusively. For example a student said the other day: "Sir, that student is an asshole... he is always mucking around"
-They are not afraid to fight. Punching a classmate in the face is like punching a buddy in the shoulder, and it doesn't lead to a real fight.
-They actually expect subs to do a bit of work. No pop the movie in and read the paper. I actually taught a great lesson on the Afghanistan situation the other day. I loved it!
-Students cannot use the machines in the wood shop. Hand tools only, this is a state law.

I'm sure I'll come up with more as I remember things but hopefully this gives a little glimpse of the typical day. On a side note, I found a great site about Aussie questions here: http://humour.200ok.com.au/aussie_tourism.html Check it out.

One other thing, Nikki's team (the North Melbourne Kangaroos) finished the regular season in 6th place, while the Western Bulldogs (my team) finished in 3rd. Playoffs start next week. Stay tuned!