We're Moving Again!!!

Hellllo fam!

That's right - more changes are coming! But we aren't moving... not exactly. We've given Blogger a go and it doesn't seem to fit our amateur blogging needs, so we're transitioning over to Wordpress. All of our previously published posts are already on Wordpress in a way that that we think is more visually appealing and accessible, so hop on over and replace your previous link to this blog with this new one:

http://blankslate301.wordpress.com

As before, we recommend that the best way to stay in touch and keep up with new posts is to subscribe with your email address. That way you won't miss a moment of our crazy Australian adventure! If you scroll to the bottom of the main page there's an option for you to "Follow blog via email." Click that and input your email - easy!

Cheers, Linnea & Osh

Blank Slate

Dear future houseguests, 

It's been a long time coming but we're finally ready to introduce our new apartment to the world. All of the furniture is finally here and after some long nights and a lot of laughs, it's all assembled and in one piece. It was a long road to settle in to our home away from home, and we hope that this post will help you understand a bit more about what our daily life looks like and shed some light on the process for anyone thinking of moving to Australia as well.

Some of you already know that when we landed, we didn’t have a long-term place to live. At the time, we were booked to stay in Tom’s apartment through Air Bnb. If anyone finds themselves in the Melbourne area, you’re of course welcome to stay with us but if that doesn’t work out, Tom’s place is a fantastic alternative. He was a lovely host and we were greeted to Tim Tams and Australian wine upon our arrival. Tom’s place is in Carlton, a suburb just north of the main CBD (central business district) of Melbourne. It is best known for the bustling Lygon street, filled with cafes, restaurants, shops and parks. Once we were settled it was time to find our new apartment. This led to Linnea spending hours online booking appointments for showings and compiling detailed schedules of showings, travel times and suburbs. In less than a week we’d seen almost twenty different apartments across the city and northern suburbs. Something interesting about Australia – individual apartments (or flats) are leased by brokers, not the landlords. This means the application process is lengthy and competitive. It also means that full buildings can have apartments owned by many different landlords, instead of a central building authority like in Canada.  

In the middle of this process we were fortunate enough to meet up with a fellow Queen’s alum and current teacher working here in the city who recommended renting from a landlord directly. Well as the legend goes, later that night Oshaen casually went online and found one apartment on Gumtree (the Australian Kijiji) and we went right over to meet the landlord. Matt and his wife Heather turned out to be lovely and although the apartment was undergoing renovations at the time, he reviewed our application and accepted us that night. Hopefully you readers can appreciate the irony of this situation – one of us spent hours planning and researching and the other went with what she felt and it turned out to be the best option. We truly are each other’s yin and yang.

Once the new floors, blinds and paint went in, all that was left to do was find some furniture. For this we took to Gumtree again and purchased everything used. Our apartment is a chic little nook that we look forward coming home to every afternoon. We spent a lot of time hunting down reasonably priced furniture and home essentials that respected our blush / gray colour scheme. We have two carpeted bedrooms, an open concept kitchen/living room with beautiful, large windows and a spacious balcony awaiting summer nights. This past weekend we made a trip out to a local plant shop and bought some plants to liven the space up! Neither of us have a particularly green thumb (or not yet at least), so we figured what better way to learn about plant parenting then diving right into it!? Not only do our new succulents and little Kauri Pine tree give our space character, but they compliment the pink quite nicely. The only thing our perfect little home is missing is some wall art. Also, a side note about our eat in kitchen: the bar is made from an old diving board because Matt was a professional diver. Cool, right?

We originally hoped to settle in Carlton or Fitzroy - up and coming neighbourhoods on the edge of the heart of the city. Both of these neighbourhoods appeal to young crowds and are packed with unique shops and culturally diverse restaurants. We imagined ourselves living in a hip, central part of the city that also made traveling for work easy. Now that we’ve settled in Brunswick East - a neighbourhood twenty minutes North East from the CBD - we couldn’t imagine living anywhere else! Brunswick East is it’s own little hipster universe with heaps of second hand vintage stores and tucked away bars. Our apartment building is located at the cross section of two major streets, making it easy for us to find shopping or entertainment by foot.

We’re living our best lives as twenty-three year old women in a charming Aussie apartment with blush pink décor. We can't wait to show it off - enjoy some quality photography by the ever talented Oshaen. Laugh as you will… we love our new home!  All we’re missing are friends to share the space. Now all that’s left is for you to be our guest – hope to see you soon...

Much love,

Osh & Linnea

Marsupials are Friends Too

Hello from the two of us and our newest furry friend!

Before leaving Canada, many people warned us about the danger of "falling in love" and never coming home. Well folks, it's happened... we're in love. In love with this wonderful country and all the marsupials it has to offer! Today we packed some snacks, hooked up a playlist and hopped in the car for our first Australian road trip. The destination: Ballarat, a town located an hour and a half from the city, best known for its history as a gold rush down in the 1850s. More specifically, we ventured out to Ballarat to visit the Ballarat Wildlife Park. The park is a privately owned tourist destination where visitors can interact with wildlife and learn more about the conservation and research efforts the park is involved in. We discovered that the wily Tasmanian Devil (pictured below) is one of the endangered species at the park and an example of their participation in breeding programs which is their main method of conservation.

Not only did we get to get our photos taken with both a sweet koala named Ella and a cuddly wombat named Georgie, but we also got to hold Georgie and meet both of her parents! It was a life changing experience and has since inspired us to adopt a wombat as a house pet. Interestingly, wombats have a two-inch thick plate made out of bone at the base of their backs that they use to defend against predators. If they encounter a threatening creature, they'll flatten their bodies onto the ground, wait for the predator to climb on top of them, and then forcefully thrust their rumps into the air. The impact is so powerful that it can fracture and break bones. This tactic is also used when wombats encounter vehicles. Often the mother will take the impact of a crash and lose her life but the babies in her pouch often live. We learned that if you find a marsupial on the side of the road or hit one it is important to check and see if anything in their pouches is still alive, as conservation authorities can usually artificially raise orphans. 

We also got up close and personal with our new friend Ella the koala. After some coaxing with eucalyptus and gum tree leaves she agreed to pose for a picture with us. We are happy to report that koalas are truly as soft, cuddly and wise up close as they appear to be from afar. What makes them so appealing? Maybe it’s because they sleep fourteen hours a day. Or maybe because the rest of their day consists of only resting, eating and four minutes of travelling. Either way, koalas seem to be living the dream. While koalas are not considered endangered yet, they face similar risks to their friends in wetlands and old growth forests across the world: urbanization and resulting habitat loss. Just a note from your friendly neighbourhood environmentalist and animal lover.

Another highlight of today was getting to feed and pet Australia’s most iconic animal – the kangaroo! True to their reputation they were inquisitive, friendly and somehow both energetic and lazy at the same time. With bags of kangaroo feed in hand we ventured out to meet the one hundred resident kangaroos that roam free in the park. They were happy to pose for selfies with us and even happier to have a snack from our hands. We are truly appreciative that the first kangaroos we got to meet were these soft, kind creatures and not kangaroos on the side of the road, which are unfortunately common once you get out of the city. We were even surprised with a rare glimpse of a joey peeking out of a pouch.

If you're enjoying our posts, feel free to leave us a comment on the webpage and tell us what you think about our adventures so far (scroll to the bottom of the page to view recent comments or comment yourself). We're also brainstorming interesting subjects or future posts and would love to write about experiences and subjects that you might interest you, so send some suggestions our way!

Most of us think of sunshine and beaches when we think of Australia, right!? Well it turns out they have rolling black clouds and fierce rainstorms every once in a while, too. We drove through five minutes of intense hail on the highway on our way home, but not before a "nourishing" stop at Macca's (that's Australian for McDonald's) to fuel our happily exhausted bodies. As much as we love the city of Melbourne, it was night to finally escape the concrete jungle and explore green landscape. We can't wait until the weather gets warmer so we can appreciate Australia's natural environment in all it's glory.

Most of us think of sunshine and beaches when we think of Australia, right!? Well it turns out they have rolling black clouds and fierce rainstorms every once in a while, too. We drove through five minutes of intense hail on the highway on our way home, but not before a nourishing stop at Macca’s (that’s Australia for McDonald’s) to fuel our happily exhausted bodies. As much as we love the city of Melbourne, it was nice to finally escape the concrete jungle and explore green landscape. We can’t wait until the weather gets warmer so we can appreciate Australia’s natural environment in all it's glory!

We've already agreed that this is just the beginning of many trips to wildlife parks around Australia and if you plan on visiting us, you better believe that you're moment to feed a hungry kangaroo or cuddle a sleepy wombat is coming.

Much love,

Linnea & Oshaen

Monday Musings

Happy Monday!

Things Down Under are great - Linnea and I loving our new apartment and embracing our inner Aussie. But you better believe that we miss all of our loved ones back home (yes - that means you). 

The more I think about it, the more I truly believe that the most valuable experiences are the ones that challenge us the most. They not only teach us to appreciate what we have, but also respect ourselves for what we can do. We push ourselves to excel in ways that previously seemed unfathomable and if we're lucky, emerge triumphant! 

Most of the people in my life know that I like writing and write when I feel like I can't keep something locked up inside. This gives me happy poems, ugly bitter poems, and everything in between. This poem's sad because some aspects of living 16 258 km away from home are sad. And just as happiness is an important emotion, sadness is important and worth acknowledging so we can can be aware of where it's coming from, what it means for us, and how to conquer it.

So here's a relatively sad poem. It's not perfect and it's not complicated. It just is.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

tonight I feel sad

not because im unhappy

but because im happy in a new way

i ache

for all the things and people

i left behind

i miss lake sunsets

and ciders in Kingston pubs

with friends

i long for Saturday bonfires

and bickering with 

ruthless siblings

i dream of a boy who fishes

with chocolate eyes like 

the Milky Way 

im not here to prove that im happy

im here to show you

its not always easy

but nothing worth doing

ever really is

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Peace and love,

Osh

"Is Canada a Real Country?"

Hello friends and family in "Canadia": 

This week we started teaching. In Australia, supply work is called CRT (Casual Relief Teaching). We cannot thank Tradewind Australia enough for all of their flexibility and support as we began this process. All of our supply work comes through an app where we can accept shifts, change our availability and update our details. As any teacher knows, no two days in the classroom are the same, so below we've shared with you some of our first experiences and impressions of supply teaching in Australia so far...

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My first morning of teaching was a leap of faith - I woke up early and put a call in to Tradewind. About twenty minutes later they called me back with a shift at Christian Brothers' College, a pretty well off school located in the southern suburb of St. Kilda. Off I went in my Uber, speeding to a new job and arriving ten minutes behind schedule because of the traffic. Armed with my laptop, agenda and barely any teaching resources, I arrived to cover an English teacher's classes for the day. The day began with two classes of Year 12 English, then Year 7 English. The Year 7's taught me that you can easily hide a Youtube video or a video game by swiping the screen on your Macbook, which would serve me both during that class and in future interactions with students. My day ended with a Year 11 English class. The students were lovely, quiet and respectful (for the most part). I'd never taught at an all boys school before so that was very interesting. Since then, the school has requested me back three times, so looking forward to continuing to build positive relationships there. Something interesting in Australia - when you are called for supply work it could be for general coverage (lots of different classes taught by different teachers) or one teacher's courses, but you are still spread around to other classes so you never get a prep period which is different from Canadian schools. 

I've taken the liberty of recording some of the funniest things my students have said to me during my first week of teaching, so please enjoy:

"Is Canada a real country?"
"Are all Canadians scared of the dark?"
"Are you a lumberjack?"
"Are all Canadians addicted to maple syrup?"
"I'm thankful for Canadians because we have Justin Bieber."

"When you eat icecream in Canada, does it melt?"

The first week of teaching here in Australia was full of new experiences but most importantly, with engaging and kind students. They are quick to share their experiences and eager to welcome you to their schools which is lovely. Since my first day I've taught things as far out of my comfort zone as health, math and band but it's been and exciting journey. I can't wait to see what the coming weeks and months of teaching have to teach me. 

- Linnea

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I did my first day of casual relief teaching at Kings Park Primary School. It was an appropriately overwhelming experience, given that I’d only been in the country for less than a week. The trip to school was about forty minutes via Uber and the vice principal met me with a friendly face. I spent the morning in two different grade five classes, in which the students were mostly concerned about socialising with one another and avoiding the eye of a watchful teacher. They had some funny perceptions of Canada. One student asked me if we are “allowed to swear in Canada.” I told him it wasn’t illegal, and then underlined the importance of appropriate language in the classroom. They also all just call teachers "Miss" or "Sir" rather than following up with last names. One thing’s for sure: no matter where you are, kids behave similarly! 

I did fifteen minutes of yard duty during a recess and had just enough time to throw some lunch into my mouth, use the toilet, and run to my next class. The PD (kindergarten) class in the afternoon was hilarious when I asked them to guess where I was from. I got everything from Turkey, to Pakistan… even Australia, despite my lack of an Australian accent. They ALL hugged me and told me I was “pretty” and “beautiful.” I’m glad they were able to see me for who I really am. I was a little stressed about walking this class of little people to the gym without knowing how many kids were in the class, what any of their names were, or anything else about them or the school. Good news though: no-one got lost or died! 

As a school, we spent a lot of the day watching students practice for an upcoming multicultural assembly meant to welcome a group of Japanese visitors. It’s interesting here; unlike in Canada, where we study French as a second language because we’re bilingual, most schools require students to learn Japanese. All the transitional speaking for the performance was in Japanese and the kids weren’t half bad at dancing, either. Respect to those kids - I can hardly even manage English half the time and I’m probably the worst dancer on this side of the world. 

Overall, my first day went well and so has work since then. If I have any advice for those who are about to jump into supply teaching, it’s been flexible and don’t be too hard on yourself! I left the school feeling like I had failed in some way because I had to ask so many questions and struggled to manage some behaviours. Upon reflection, I did everything as well as I could.

At the end of the day, Linnea and I went to a local bar called The Moldy Fig to celebrate our successful first days of work and bond over the stressful and rewarding parts of being a supply teacher. We had fresh corn bread, vegetarian gumbo and loaded fries and exhaled knowing the most difficult part of the teaching journey was over.

Starting on Monday, August 6th, I'll be teaching French for a month at Panleigh & Essendon Grammar Scchool in Keilor East, which I've been told is a really great school. It'll be nice to have some consistency for a bit of time while I continue to navigate the school system and city of Melbourne. I'm interested in seeing how the French here compares to Canadian French and making some longer lasting connections with other teachers and students. 

- Oshaen

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We look forward to learning more about what kids believe is true about Canada!

Oshaen & Linnea

Cheers for now