April School Holidays, Part I

One of the big differences between schooling in Alberta and schooling in Western Australia is the school year itself. In most schools in Alberta, we start school in late August/early September, we teach until Christmas break, which is two weeks long, then we teach again until the end of March, when we get one week off for Spring Break. Three more months of teaching follow, with school ending the last week of June, and then we get almost two months of holidays before beginning another school year. In WA, the school year starts at the beginning of February, we teach for 11 weeks, then we get a two week holiday in April. That's followed by a 9 week term and another two week holiday in July. Term 3 lasts until the end of September with another two week break, and the final term goes until Christmas, or December 20th this year. This is why I was able to enjoy four weeks in New Zealand before starting Term 1 and why I just returned from holidays prior to starting Term 2 last week. At this stage, I'm enjoying Australia's school year better, but ask me in August, when I'll be teaching and all of my Canadian colleagues will be on holiday and I might have a different opinion!

For April school holidays, I knew before I arrived in Karratha that I wanted to visit Cape Leveque, which is 200km north of Broome. When I was in WA before, I participated in an Australian Conservation Volunteers program in the Bungle Bungles. Our program leader had led a volunteer group in Cape Leveque and had shared photos with us of the experience. Its stunning beauty really stuck in my head and when I knew I would be living in Karratha, I couldn't not go. Once that was organized, I decided to spend the time before and after the tour in Broome and the week prior to the tour in Perth. Check out the map to find Karratha, Broome, Cape Leveque and Perth.

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I flew out of Karratha Friday night and arrived in Perth around 9:30pm. I took a taxi from the domestic airport to Claremont, where Emma's parents, Georgi and Simon, live. I would be staying with them for my week in Perth. Emma is my exchange partner. She is living in my condo in Edmonton and teaching my former grade 4 students at Esther Starkman School. I had met Emma's parents when I had arrived from Auckland and had one night with them before departing for Karratha. They were very kind and welcoming and I was excited to see them again. I knew I would have a fantastic week in Perth. 

My first day with Georgi and Simon was very educational~ I learned all about AFL, or the Australian Football League. Georgi cheers for the Fremantle Dockers and Simon cheers for the West Coast Eagles, and there was a double header that day, so we watched both games. It's a very fast moving game, with lots of action. While I'm still unsure of all the rules, I did enjoy watching the games (the men aren't bad to look at either!) and I hope I get the opportunity to watch one live at some point this year. Check out this Youtube clip for highlights from a Dockers and Eagles game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogOeSWcaijQ

On Sunday, after a lovely breakfast with Georgi and Simon's friends, Rob and Sheryl, I took the train to Fremantle. South of Perth, Freo is an artsy, heritage district with some of WA's oldest buildings. I had been before, but it was good to go again and I was looking forward to visiting the markets. After lunch at Gino's, I walked to the Round House, the oldest surviving building in WA. Built in 1831, the 12 sided stone prison was the site of the colony's first hangings. I also went to the Maritime Museum, where I saw the Australia II, the yacht that won the America's Cup in 1983 (a huge deal because it broke America's 132 year winning streak), and Megamouth, a species of shark with a very big mouth (hence the name!) of which only five have been found. 

The next day I took the train into Perth's CBD and walked up to Northbridge to visit the Art Gallery of Western Australia. They had an exhibit from the Museum of Modern Art in New York titled Picturing New York. It was a collection of black and white photographs by artists like Walker Evans, Alfred Stieglitz and Weegee, and it was excellent. The Year 12 Perspectives was also worthwhile with some very interesting pieces. Following lunch, I took a walk through the CBD to the Esplanade and then walked to Kings Park, one of my favourite places in Perth. Walking around the city brought back memories of when I housesat and worked in Subiaco. I remembered how much I loved Perth, how beautiful the parks, rivers and ocean are. I couldn't help thinking what my exchange experience would be like if I were placed in Perth, where the majority of the other exchange teachers in WA are. It would have been different, that's for sure, for lots of different reasons.

The view of Perth from Kings Park

Tuesday I met up with Sandy, a teacher who had done an exchange to Edmonton in 2011 to my old high school, Harry Ainlay, of all places. She had offered surfing lessons to the current group of exchange teachers in WA back in March, but because I'm up in Karratha I couldn't join them. I contacted her and explained my situation and she very kindly offered to teach me when I came down to Perth over April school holidays. We drove to Trigg Beach, put on wetsuits (the water is much cooler down south than it is up around Karratha) and jumped in. Two hours later, I still hadn't stood up, but I had a ton of fun. Paddling, riding the waves in, getting to my knees~ it was all part of the experience. I came close and maybe next time I try it I'll be successful. Sandy was a great teacher and had lots of pointers, I just wasn't coordinated enough to put it all together. Afterwards, we went for lunch and then drove to Hillarys Boat Harbour. We talked about our exchanges and how tough it can be to settle in to our new lives while on exchange. In so many ways you feel like a first year teacher again. There's a steep learning curve at the beginning and while it does get easier, it's still an uphill battle. It was reassuring to hear that her experience was similar to mine, that I wasn't the only one who feels a bit lost at times. It was awesome to talk to someone who had been through an exchange before, it really helped me put things into perspective.

Rottnest Island is 18km from Perth and I had not been before, so on Wednesday I took the 7:15 ferry and hired a bicycle to ride the 24km around the island. There are 63 beaches and 20 bays on Rottnest, which makes it a great getaway from the city, especially on a beautiful day like I had. I started in Thomson Bay, where the ferry arrived just after 8am, had a little walk around the settlement and hired my bike. I stopped at the Kingstown Barracks, then make my way to Parker Point and Little Salmon Bay. Both are known for their snorkelling, but I hadn't brought my gear with me as I thought the water might be too cold (it was, after all, autumn). I continued riding, heading to Cape Vlamingh, the western most point of the island. It was gorgeous! After taking some photos, I hopped back on my bike and went on to Ricey Beach, where I stopped to have a rest, a read and soak up the atmosphere. There were only two other families on the beach, so it was almost like having your own private place to relax. I was getting hungry so I rode on to Geordie Bay, the other settlement on the island. After a delicious lunch at the cafe, I backtracked to Parakeet Bay, where I braved the cold water and went for a swim. It was very refreshing! I make one last stop at Pinky Beach and the Bathurst Lighthouse before biking back to Thomson Bay to drop off my bike. I missed going into the museum, which explains Rottnest's history as a prison for Aboriginal boys and men in the 1800's, and as an internment camp for German, Austrian and Italian men during World War I and World War II. Walking around Rottnest is a treat. There are no cars, just a bus that makes its way around the island for those who don't like to cycle. All the buildings, including the cottages, are historic and you feel like you stepped back in time when you debark the ferry. I can understand why many Perth families escape to Rotto for the weekend.

 A map of the island

One of the beautiful bays

A quokka, a small marsupial found on Rottnest 

(hard to tell from the photo, but they're about the size of a cat)

My last day in Perth was ANZAC Day. ANZAC is the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps and every year on April 25th, Australians and New Zealanders remember those that fought and died in war. April 25th is the day the ANZAC soldiers landed in Gallipoli, in present day Turkey, and met with fierce resistance from the Ottoman Empire. Thousands died in the eight month campaign and and every year since there has been in ANZAC dawn service to commemorate the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island soldiers who died in battle. ANZAC Day seems to hold more importance then Remembrance Day, although I found the two holidays very similar. We had a service at school and the students made wreaths with poppies, just like we do for Remembrance Day in Canada. There was a service at Kings Park in Perth that was very well attended, but I had a lazy morning and slept in, so I didn't make it. I had been to the war memorial there on Monday, it was beautiful.

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In the afternoon, I visited the Millpoint Caffe Bookshop (http://www.millpointbookcaffe.com.au/millpointcafe/Home.htm) in South Perth, managed by Adam, Rob and Sheryl's son. It was a cozy place with a really good vibe and I was quite happy to browse the shelves for a long while. Adam shared a couple of publisher copies of books so that I would have something to read on Cable Beach, which was very kind of him. They were both entertaining reads and well worth the space they took up in my backpack. At Georgi and Simon's that evening we had another delicious meal~ Simon really knows how to cook and had impressed me each night with something different and delicious. My dad could take lessons, especially now that he is retired! I'm going to miss his cooking; I haven't eaten that well since leaving home in December.

I left Perth the next morning for Broome, but those adventures are for another entry. Back in Karratha now and there's definitely been a weather change. Today it rained all day and the temperature was actually below 20 degrees Celsius (I didn't think it got that cold up here, but apparently it does). All the kids were wearing jumpers (hoodies) and complaining about the cold. I couldn't help but laugh as the kids back home would shed their jackets at the same temperature. I'm enjoying the cooler weather though, my run this morning was awesome! I don't think it's going to stick around long, but it's nice to have a change for awhile.