Reflection 3: Toowoomba is a strange, strange place

As I drove through Toowoomba on my way to Morven, I had to take a photo of the crappest-named fast-food restaurant I've ever seen. Introducing Super Rooster.

Seriously, now.

I think this is clearly evidence that the owners of chicken-related fast-food enterprises have given up thinking of creative names for their companies. Think of:

1. Top Chook
2. Big Chook
3. Big Rooster
4. Red Rooster, and now....
5. Super Rooster

Ok, so originality obviously isn't some people's strong points!

I suppose it's lucky that they didn't call it 'Yellow Rooster'... cause that would just be weird!

But I'm also perplexed as to why this so called 'super rooster' has a white, waiter's vest on. Is it going to serve itself to customers?

Also, how does it do the buttons up on its vest?

And also, why is it wearing shoes?!?

Of course, I'm probably under-estimating the extraordinary powers of the 'Super Rooster'. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.

However, this is all ignoring the fact that chickens, and not roosters, are actually used to make the food sold at Super Rooster. But hey, let's not let a superfulous fact such as this get in the way of such a (*ahem*) great name.

Can I have fries with that? :)

Reflection 2: Charlevillians are alcos

Is it just me, or do these things look like massive wine-bottle holders?? :)

Reflection 1: Overtaking two Road-trains... at once!

Step 1: Spit out any chewing-gum, take anything sharp out of your pockets, and make sure you have clean underwear on... you'll need it!

Step 2: Gradually edge closer behind the 2nd road train. Try to remain focused. If they are cattle trains, try not to be put off by the smell or the splatters of 'cow juice' on your windscreen. Switch your air-conditioner to 'internal circulation'. Turn your wipers on if the splatters get real bad.

Step 3: Wait until you have a very long, very straight stretch of road. No, longer. No, even longer than that. Trust me, over taking two road-trains, 50m-long each, going 100km/h... you'll need longer than you think.

Step 4: Ensure you have a good soundtrack playing. Kenny Loggins - 'Highway to the Danger Zone' would suffice. Pearl Jam - 'Last Kiss' isn't a recommended selection.

Step 5: When you think you've found your opportunity, edge out behind the 2nd road train and check the road ahead for kangaroo carcases. Nothing worse than having to swerve to avoid a big, rotting hunk of kangaroo in the middle of the road while overtaking. When you think you've found your spot, put on your indicator, hold your breath, and...

Step 6: Floor. It.

Step 7: Don't worry about any Country Courtesy Wave (CCW) opportunities, 'cause there's no time for that. Just keep on going...

Step 8: Ignore the beeping coming from your Ford Fairmont high-speed warning as you kit 125km/h. Just keep on going...

Step 9: When you've passed the leading road train, pull back to the left-side in front of it. Exhale.

Step 10: Pull into the next Mobil service station for a change of underwear.

Eat my dust

It was a weird feeling driving out of town on Saturday morning, leaving all the Morvenians behind. In someways, I'd had enough and was keen to get back to civilisation. In others, it was good to feel a part of something and be included in the running and decision-making of a school like I'd never been before. I stumbled out of bed and just threw everything in the car and managed to hit the road at about 8:30am. The drive back wasn't anywhere near as exciting as it was coming out. I enjoyed getting to Roma, but the Dalby-Toowoomba-Brisbane stretch was super boring... I just wanted to get home as quickly as I could. Eight hours, 690km, three Triple J radio-frequency changes and 2 flat-whites later... I did!

The last day I was there went really well. The kids were mostly finishing off everything that they hadn't completed over the last few weeks... but they had a test and other things to do as well. The kids made this big "goodbye" card for me, all signed it, and presented it on assembly... which was nice. I had them for sport in the afternoon and totally ran them ragged (muhahah... take that!).


We all had dinner and drinks together on Friday evening to mark my departure. Ivone (Bill's sister), Bill, Ben, Brigitte, John (Ivone's wife) and I got together and washed the dust down with plenty of spirits, beer and wine (including the 'goon' variety... full of class out here in the country!). I'm sure we were the loudest, drunkest bunch in the town that night (an achievement, mind you). It was great fun and a perfect ending to the four weeks.


Here are a couple of my favourite photos from the trip. The one on the left is of a barn about 10 minutes west of Roma. It absolutely looks like it's sitting on top of the world. The one on the right is a photo from our backyard of the sun going down on my last night in Morven.

It has been a crazy four weeks, which has absolutely flown by. I've got a sneaky suspicision I'll be back here again before too long...!

From Morven, signing off!

Because I'm the teacher... that's why!

I somehow managed to complete all my uni assignments on the weekend. Don't ask how, 'cause I really don't know. By the time I had finished, I was so frustrated and bored. I felt like I was in some competition where I had to think up as many sophisitcated 'edu-speak' words as possible and somehow combine them into a sentence. That was my assignment, and I'm glad it's over. Hur - freaking - rah!

This week has absolutely flown by.... and probably has something to do with the amount of work I've been doing. This (i.e. 4.30pm on Thursday afternoon) is the first opportunity I've really had to sit down and write something. Hard to believe I only have 1 day left in Morven... I must admit, this town is beginning to grow on me (probably a good time to get out, in that case!!)

It rained most of last weekend which was really awesome for the farmers out here. Bill said it was the heaviest rain they've had in over a year. All the dirt and dust just turned to mud. It's amazing that there are still wet patches out here (probably cause it's so cold and low humidity). The carpet in the classroom has turned from blue to a nice shade of browny-red. Thanks kids...

Brigitte and I has an "interview" yesterday and reviewed my 4 weeks. She was really happy with the work I'd done, and had some positive feedback. She has strongly suggested that I come back to Morven later in the year to do my final prac! Bill has also said he'd be happy if I stayed with him again too. I haven't given them an answer... but will think about it over the next few weeks.

The place to be in Morven was Ben's place last night... as we all got together, ate tacos, drank copious amounts of alcohol and cheered on the Maroons. It was a really good game... to compliment the good company! Watching the 3rd State of Origin back in Brisbane will just seem weird and out-of-place after seeing the first 2 in Morven!

Meanwhile, Ben, is leaving at the end of the term, as he has some things he needs to do back in Brisbane. He hasn't really been enjoying the "lifestyle" out here either, and said he'll probably look for work in the private system or something when he gets back. So..... Kendall and Kirsten, if you're looking for a job out here, Morven looks like a pretty hot tip!

Thanks heaps to Kirstine and Greg, Belinda and Dan for the emails!!! They've been great and has been good to hear all that has been going on.

See you all soon!! :-)

Sheeps!

Brigitte, Ben and I left school at 3:00pm sharp on Wednesday to have a little mid-week adventure. Having a ‘city slicker’ at Morven seemed like a good excuse to venture out to a sheep station for a bit of a perve at some freshly sheared sheepies.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect… perhaps something like the photos in the brochure for the Australian Woolshed, but I wasn’t banking on it. Considering Morvenians call the ‘airport’ a strip of red dirt out the back of town, I’ve learnt not to assume anything.

We rolled up and headed up to the main shearing shed. Apparently, this is one of the smaller shearing stations in the area. There were just these two ‘blokes’ doing the deed and giving the sheep a nice early Christmas present. They were pretty quick, actually. They would go over to the pen and tackle a sheep so they had it on its back, and would drag it out by the front legs. Then they would hook themselves up to a harness-type thing, designed to take some of the strain off their backs. They would then shear away and have the sheep bare from head to toe in less than a minute. Surprisingly, after they were tackled, the sheep hardly reacted and just lay back and enjoyed the haircut (perhaps these were veteran sheep who knew that resistance was futile?). Most sheep were sheared perfectly, but a few had some blood marks from the razor. They were actually quite sad and ridiculous looking… these dazed, now-naked sheep wandering around looking like they’ve just seen Jamie Oliver mak e a sheep and mushroom stew. There was then a ‘collector’ (or at least that’s what I’ll call her) who would go and quickly grab all the wool and would take it over and throw it up on a big, steal turn-table thingo, where two ladies (a mother and daughter team… ‘cause everyone has to be related in some way out here) would pull the crap bits of wool off and would determine the quality of the rest. They would then roll it up and chuck it in one of four bins, depending on its quality, so it’s ready for packaging.

The two shearing guys looked pretty mean and angry. They were probably both in their 30s but had aged terribly, and looked as though they had been doing this since the day they were born. They were both really red in the face and looked in desperate need of a beer. One of the guys was really tall, and when he got out of his harness, he looked like a long boomerang, with a permanent bend in his back from his bending over attending to the sheep for such a long time. Poor guy. I’ll take a year 4-7 class at Morven State School any day, thanks!

Inside the shed was quite pleasant at 4pm on a Winter afternoon, but doing this in 40+ degree heat in the Summer would be something quite different. I’d imagine it would be like the hottest hot-box you’d ever been in, and I’m sure all the wool and the heat from the razors wouldn’t help the situation. The sweat. The smell. The blood. Yuk…

We ventured outside and around the rest of the property for a bit. Apparently they were also in the middle of ‘weaning’ a herd of cattle, and had separated the mothers and the calves into separate paddocks. Consequently, every freaking calf was calling for its mother cow, and every freaking mother cow was calling for its calf. The result was a “moo-athon” of ear-splitting proportions. I’m sure us strange folk getting up close and taking photos didn’t help the situation either. We could only stand it for so long before we felt enough was enough!

Afterwards, we all felt exhausted after seeing all these country, hard-yakka people working so hard, so we thought it was only appropriate that we head back home and have a drink or two at the pub in their honour. So we did.

School’s going well. Only 4 days left now. Quite amazing really how the time has flown. As part of our Food Science unit, we did the experiment how you put a celery stick in blue-coloured water and see how the leaves turn blue. Here’s how they turned out. The kids thought it was pretty cool. We had a “School Outside” day today as part of Education Week. The idea was that we’d pull everything out of the classroom and set it up somewhere around the school grounds and have a day outside. It was heaps of fun. However, of course, the only day in about 3 months there has been any rain out here was today!! Good to know the Weather Gods have a sense of humour!!

Looks like my long weekend will be spent working my butt off. I still have two uni assignments that I need to finish by the end of next week, so that, combined with planning for next week, will keep me well and truly out of mischief!

Charleville

Ben and I hit the road on Saturday morning for the South-West Queensland ‘big-smoke’. Charleville is about 90km west, and with some road-works they’re doing, takes about a bit over an hour. It was a pretty boring drive. Not much to see in the way of… anything! We arrived in town at about 11:00 and the place was pretty busy. There are two main-streets in Charleville, forming a sort of a T-junction thingo. There were some mini-market-style things happening. I was tempted to buy myself my first genuine Akubra hat (just for shits and giggles) but quickly reconsidered when I saw the price tags! Eeeek!

We quickly met up with Caroline (Cas), who is the P.E. teacher who works at Charleville, Augathella and Morven schools. She shares some government accommodation with some other teachers. Her place is pretty nice (or at least, she made it pretty nice). After coffee and a chat for an hour, we headed over to Michelle’s place, who is another teacher who works at the School of Distance Education. We cooked up some steaks for lunch and had a few laughs before Cas took us on a Grand Tour of the town for the afternoon.

As we were driving along, Cas was telling us how the ‘Fattest Man in Australia’ lives at Charleville. Apparently, he made it into the Guinness Book or Records a couple of years ago (but has since been surpassed). However, just after we were talking about him, we stopped at an intersection and Cas spotted his car as he drove straight past us!! (apparently he had to get special suspension… and when he gets a wheel alignment he has to be IN the car!). Naturally, we quickly hung a right and sped after his black Commodore in hot pursuit. I managed to get a couple of candid photos of him… it was great fun. I felt like a sleazy reporter for Today Tonight!! Gotcha, Fat Man!!

We continued our Tour a la Grande and visited the airport, the racecourse, the sports field, the Cosmos Centre, and a couple of touristy-type places. We stopped at a park where there is a lake with about a million ducks. I wanted to get a photo or two, but was warned that they can be rather aggressive if they think you have food. So I quickly jumped out and grabbed a couple of snaps while the others stayed in the car, in gear, with the motor running… just in case we needed to make a quick getaway. This was actually clever thinking, as the crazy Killer Ducks charged me and I was quickly mobbed. Run, Mr Perkins, Rrrrrruuuuuunnnnnnn!!!

We saw a Wedge-tailed Eagle… ah, I mean… a ‘Wedgie’. It was on the highway (having a late lunch) and as we approached it, spread its huge wings and flew out of the way. Unfortunately, many of them get hit, because drivers just think they’re big crows, who will get out of the way quickly when a car comes, but instead, because the Eagles are so big, they take longer to get up and fly out of the way, and some get hit.

We headed back to Morven in the late afternoon, and were lucky that we didn’t see too many kangaroos. I had to swerve for a little one, but managed to miss it. I did collect a little bird, though… my first wildlife damage! There were quite a few carcases along-side the road. We commented on the amount that had ended up in strange positions… especially those fully ‘spread-eagled’ for the world to see. Some of these poor kangaroos certainly did not die with dignity! :-)

I’ve got a heap of work to do today for lessons during the week. Brigitte has handed me a stack of lessons to do this week, which I’m looking forward to. Better get to it!

Hope everyone is well back home! Here's a Morven sunset for everyone to drool at for a bit! :-)

“If we were at school you’d be in soooo much trouble”

After a big week, Bill, Ben (the other teacher at Morven) and I headed down to the local on Friday evening for a meal and a bit of social action with the other Morvenites.

Of course, we quickly recognised half the people in the pub as school staff, parents, or kids at the school. A year seven girl who is in my class was working there, clearing tables, washing dishes, and general waitering stuff. It was pretty weird actually… this girl who I was teaching equivalent fractions to 5 hours earlier is now taking my plate and asking if I’d like a tea or coffee with dessert!

Her brother, who is in year two and in Ben’s class, was also roaming the pub and pissing as many people off as he possibly could. He’s an absolute football nut (rugby league of course… ‘cause “AFL is for sissies”). He knows just about every person who ever played the game, how many tries they scored and the colour and size of their underwear. He gave an in-depth analysis on why Queensland lost the first State of Origin, and boldly declared that “field goals aren’t part of real football”! While he aspires to one day be part of the Broncos 2nd row, he said he’d probably die if he ever had to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs! I’d love to just fast-forward 20 years to see where these two country kids really end up!

It is a weird dynamic seeing students from your class socially outside of school. While you will always be “Mr Perkins” to them, when they see you drinking, socialising and having a good time you have to be careful not to break down too many of those ‘pillars of authority’ that teachers rely on. While we were all happy to relax and talk socially with these kids it was obvious that they were both quick to try to ‘push the boundaries’ of what different social interactions we would allow them to get away with. At one point, the year two boy casually pushed Ben on the shoulder. At school, that would have been really inappropriate, however, on a Friday evening at the pub, it would have been hard to reprimand him. Just to make things worse, these kids are son and daughter of a teacher aide at the school. There’s a complex for you!

Anyhoo, will be interesting to see if now these kids interact differently in the weeks ahead after seeing their teachers drinking at the local…!!