We spent this week doing a lot of teaching. Last Sunday we presented our Self-Reliance program to the Area Seventy and the Coordinating Council. That was daunting, but good, because we received permission to formally begin the program, use local buildings, and locate a central office. We received some good feedback and have had some referrals and have another speaking engagement tonight at a Stake Priesthood meeting. We also taught our first three classes this week! I forgot to get pictures, but I will do so this next week. We have an interesting mix of nationalities and religions in our classes. About half of our class membership is LDS and the other members are various other faiths, or no faith. We have students from several countries: China (of course!), Japan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, South Korea, Vanuatu (Cook Islands), and three women from Brazil. We also have varying levels of English proficiency within each class. Accomplishing some of the tasks required to complete the first class was difficult because some of these people have only very basic English skills, so writing was difficult and took a while to complete. It also took a lot of proofreading for Dave and I! By the conclusion of the first class students are to have completed what we call, ‘Me in 30 seconds’. After identifying personal skills, strengths and attributes, students construct a 30 second statement about themselves as a way of introducing themselves in a job interview. Usually one of the first statements in an interview is, ‘Tell me a little about yourself”. This 30 second statement is a quick way to answer that questions while also divulging a lot of important information about yourself. All job interviews are different in one way or another, but most introductory questions relate to a person giving background information about themselves. Some of our students are just looking for the most basic job they can find right now; waitress, janitor, etc. They pretty much know that until they improve their conversational English, they don’t stand much of a chance in getting a better job. The downtown center also offers English classes, and most of the students with language issues are participating in those classes as well as our class. Every one of our students has an interesting story about why they left their birth country. I admire them for leaving and coming to a country where they only have a basic grasp of the language. They are very brave. One person Dave talked to left home when he was 15 and came to Australia all by himself. I can’t imagine someone so young leaving home and living on their own at such a young age! Most of the people we talk to came over alone or with one sibling or one parent. Very few of the young adults we’ve met came over with their entire family, a few, but not many. The majority are here all alone. Pretty scary and very brave on their part. Seeing them and their struggles to survive and make a good life, makes me appreciate more what my ancestors from England, Scotland, and Sweden went through. At least the English and Scottish spoke the same language as America does, learning a whole new language puts a completely different spin on how long it takes a person to assimilate to a country. Hats off to all immigrants! No wonder they stick together and try to live in the same areas of the city. It’s a pretty big, scary world out there when you change cultures (even for Dave and I) and when you add not being able to speak the language to the adjustment, it can be pretty overwhelming.
We have been so fortunate this week as far as the weather has gone. Everyday this week was a sunny day! Most weeks since we’ve gotten here have been 3-4 or more days of rain, but this week was perfect. Saturday we decided to ride the ferry out to the different major beaches around Sydney. The ferry is a cheap way to travel compared to guided tour boats. Sydney harbor is beautiful on a sunny day. Lots of people were out sailing because, besides being sunny, the day was also breezy, so it was a perfect day for sailing! We enjoyed being in the center of so many sail boats as we floated along!
We went for a drive in the country Sunday afternoon. It was so nice to get out of the city for a while. Driving in the countryside made me homesick for Fruitland and all the open fields. The trees are different here, but the fields look the same as in Fruitland.
Grandkids:
Grandpa and I rode the ferry boat out to see some of the pretty beaches that are close to Sydney. Here is a picture of the first little beach we stopped at. Look and see if you can see the swimming area surrounded by a big net. The net goes all the way from the top of the water to the sand at the bottom. Why do you think they have to have a big net all around the swimming area? If you guessed it was because it would keep people from swimming out too far, you are wrong! The name of this kind of net is a shark net. Now why do you think they put the net up? Yes, the net is to keep the sharks out! Sharks are big and mean and have very big teeth, so the people in charge of this beach have nets around the swimming area so no sharks can swim in by the people. Most of the other beaches we saw didn't have shark nets, so maybe there are only certain beach areas where sharks like to go.
While we were riding the ferry, we saw young people, mostly young men, riding these boat things out in the ocean. I don’t know the name of this, but it kind of reminds me of a jet ski without an engine. The sail catches the wind and pops the board and the rider up out of the water and then the rider just skims across on top of the water. They go really fast! I think the riders are either brave or else crazy. Some of you might like to try to do this, but I think I am too old.
Here is another picture from the animal park Grandpa and I went to last week. This picture is of us with a koala. Most koalas sleep 18 hours every day, but this koala was awake and eating, so we got to have our picture taken with him, all the other koalas were sleeping while we were there.
I wanted to send you a picture of the uniforms kids wear to school over here. Every single school, public and private, have a required uniform. Different schools have different uniform colors, but no one can go to school unless they are in the appropriate school uniform. All the boys wear dress shoes, dress pants, a button-up shirt and a tie every single day at school. They sometimes wear a sweater vest or a jacket, but they are never without dress pants, and a button-up shirt and tie. When they are out of school and off campus, lots of times they take their ties off, but when you see them riding the bus or train or walking to school in the morning, they always have their tie on.
The girls, up until they are in high school, wear these dresses to school everyday from kindergarten through eighth grade. The high school age girls usually wear skirts and shirts and jackets or vests like the girls in the picture above instead dresses. Girls, like the boys, have to wear uniform shoes and socks. I love the dresses the girls wear; they remind me of the little girls in the Madeline books. I love that they even have hats as part of their uniform.
If you haven't ever read a Madeline book (with all the boys in this family there's a good chance some of you haven't), check one out from the library.
Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day and don’t forget to wear green (It's already St. Patrick's Day over here, and I forgot to wear green!)
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