School Stuff (2)

I am the type of parent who feels responsible for her child's education. I believe that alone neither school nor parents can shape and polish the education of a child. They have to work on it together. For Chloe's first years of school in California, I loaded a bookshelf with work she brought home from school. Every day she brought home pages of work pulled from books or notebooks on which she had worked in class that day. Her backpack was filled with drawings, scribbled notes and colored paper glued into tiniest and sometimes funniest school projects. She had papers on math, science, writing and spelling, social studies and what not. In Oz her backpack comes home empty! Except for one day every two months, when I find a lonely sheet of paper crumbled up at the bottom of the backpack with the summary of what the entire level does during that period. A level is covered in two years. Level 1 covers kindergarten and prep, level 2 covers years 1 and 2, and so on. In conclusion, I have no idea what exactly my daughter does in school every day, every week and every term for an entire year. If I ask Chloe what she does in school, she tells me a few things, but it's only what a kid wants to talk about after six and a half hours in school. Not much. When I check her homework, given for one week, I can sometimes guess what she studied in school, but I never have a clear idea. Twice a year I receive a school report in which my daughter is evaluated on a lot of things, each with a sophisticated name that does not tell me anything concrete and does not help me work with the school on her education... It's a maze in which I am trapped in, at least for now.

School Stuff (1)

I remember when I was only one meter tall and dragged a 4-kg bag with books and notebooks to school. It was the "prehistorical era before the electronics." I used to walk to school for 10 min, alone. Starting from First Grade. But few kids are lucky to live close to school now and fewer parents believe it's safe to let them walk alone to school, anyway. Later on, in Secondary School, kids go in groups to their school, so they even take the train or tram for long distances, something I haven't seen in the US. But imagine all these primary school kids lined up in their proper uniforms to enter classrooms every day. They will study what all kids around the world, or most of them anyway, do. Besides those basic subjects, here in Melbourne they will most likely learn Japanese or Chinese. Yes, this is Australasia! They will learn and practice sports such as cricket, netball, and also boot ball, Danish rounders, bat tennis, and lacrosse. Yes, I haven't heard even the name of some of these sports before, but again, this is Australia, and the links to British culture and sports are obvious. From the very existence of all-girls and all-boys schools to the Commonwealth sports. They will also learn to play the recorder, which looks like a flute to me. I like very much how early exposure to these music instruments, sports and foreign languages shape the minds of little kids. From kindergarten, to prep, Year 1, and so on to Year 6, last one of the primary school.

School Uniforms

I haven't seen a school in Oz that does not require children to wear uniforms. School uniforms are invariably "Made in China" although not cheap, durable to washing, but not to wear-and-tear, and come mostly in intolerable color combinations. Blue and maroon, purple and yellow, green and blue. Yes, they spare parents from spending a lot of money on the latest kids fashion. They cut off the silly competition for "best dressed", because really, school is about learning, too, not just about impressing others in fashion, assets (iPod, DS, etc) and popularity. Yet, seeing cute children dressed like store clerks, nurses or clowns, hurts the eye and the soul... At least mine. There are stores specialized in school uniforms. When you enter one, a solid acrylic odor welcomes you with all clothing items from jackets to socks, with emblem or without, in correct school colors and appropriate sizes. It seems that everything you need for your school children is packed in this store, but don't get fooled by what you see. Every time I had to purchase a top or a pant, I was told that the popular sizes go fast. So, I ordered them in the store and then patiently waited until my order was sent to China, the product came back from China, and I could pick up the item from the store. Do you want to know how long it took? Never less than 4 weeks. But this was not the only episode when I discovered that stores do not stock merchandise here. More about this subject in the following days. Random picture below! (it's actually a random mix of Melbourne architecture)

Aussie School Year

You may not find today's subject linked to yesterday's "grid & street" story. But I do. There is a logical, semi-mathematical organization in the school year, too. Like pretty much everything else, the school year is different in Australia. It has four terms or quarters, separated by two weeks of holidays in between, except for the summer vacation, which is about six weeks long, from the middle of December to the end of January. The school year starts at the end of January, so it is always off relative to the American school year. It made a difference for Chloe, because when we moved here she had to idly finish the same school year she had just finished in the States, then immediately enjoy another long break. But who wouldn't like to have two weeks off three times a year? So, most Aussie families with kids go on vacation quite often, probably most frequently to tropical Queensland. For this reason, the two-week breaks between terms are slightly different from state to state, so not everyone crowds the hot vacation spots, i.e., resorts. Plus, with at least four weeks of vacation a year for the working parents, really, the only obstacle is money! Everything in Australia is so expensive, going away often is easy if your pockets are deep. More about schools tomorrow! Today's picture represents a high-rise in Melbourne, but it makes me think of a school bookcase.

Street Names

Yes, how boring to name streets with numbers and avenues almost the same way! Yet, New York, especially Manhattan, has a mathematical beauty that makes it a logical place, easy to navigate East to West and South to North. You can use a ruler to trace your way from pretty much any residential address to a theatre or a restaurant. Call it a grid, if you want. Melbourne CBD is also a grid. Tight and royal. Names were given to these streets over one hundred years ago by Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales. Funny, since Melbourne is in Victoria. The Governor of Victoria got a street too, Collins. Parallel to these two streets are Lonsdale, La Trobe (named after the first Governor of Victoria, Joseph La Trobe), Franklin and Flinders. The famous explorer Matthew Flinders has had over 100 places named after him all over Australia, such as the Flinders Ranges, Flinders Island, and Flinders Bay. Crossing these streets are the more royal parallel ones, such as William (named after King William the 4th), Queen (named after King William the 4th's wife, Queen Adelaide), Elizabeth, Swanston and Exhibition. So, if you're good with names, you'll get around Melbourne without a problem. There is a little thing though. Between these main arteries are the little ones, such as Little Collins, Little Bourke and my most favorite, Flinders Lane. Cafes, boutiques and galleries line up the little streets, whereas high rises hosting banks, businesses and malls, naturally sit on the main streets. Here is today's picture with RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) on Swanston Street.

The Apples of Tasmania

It's a cold day in Melbourne, grey and rainy. What makes me happier and fills up my mouth with a sweet, juicy potion? An apple. Most likely from the apple paradise that is Tasmania. This island South of Australia is famous in the entire world for its apples and pears. These kinds of fruit trees were first planted there in late 1700s, and they just prospered ever since. We visited Tasmania this fall, in April, and fell in love with it right away. Apples were close to the center of our feelings, because they were in season, the beginning of the season, and orchards on Huon Valley were full of fruit. We stopped to buy some at a farm where a lady was packing about 2 kg in plastic bags. We thought we could get them from her, but she sent us 100 meters away, where she had a "cold box". It was a stall with some glass cabinets filled with bags with Gala apples and Bosc pears. Next to it was a metal box with an opening at the top, through which people inserted the money for the produce they purchased. We got a bag of apples and one of pears and paid $4, $2 each. They call it "honesty box". These fruit were absolutely scrumptious. Ripe, tasty and firm. Neither waxed nor green. If I lived in Tasmania I'd eat pears and cheese at every meal! Below is a picture we took in Salamanca Market, in Hobart. It just shows the variety of apples they produce already at the beginning of the season. They had Gala, Lil' Roses, Granny Smith, Senshu, Red Fuji, Democrats, Red and Yellow Delicious and many more... YUM!

The Barbie

We must be the only Australian residents who still do not have a BBQ ("barbie") after almost three years in this country. I am glad having a barbie is not a requirement for anything other than maybe socializing. When we moved from New York to LA, we were told to put a BBQ first thing on our shopping list. If in NYC we could not fit even another burner on the stove, in LA we had a large apartment, good-sized terrace, enormous kitchen and decent stove. Yet, we could not make ourselves buy a BBQ... (I can feel your disappointment at reading such a thing) The apartment complex had a BBQ for public use, by the pool, and it could accommodate a dozen burgers and a dozen steaks in the same time, but we still never used it. I know you're already questioning if we are vegetarians, although grilled veggies are YUMMY. No, we are not, but I guess we are not "grill-ians" either. Aussies love their barbie even more than Californians. They love to put meat, fish and prawns on it. Lots of them! I know meat is cheap in Australia because there is not much land suitable for agriculture and vegetable gardens, but there is plenty of grass for the approximately 27 million cows and 100 million sheep that live in Australia at any time. Voila! In the picture below you can peek at some sheep (before barbie!)