It will always amaze me just how fast two months can feel. We landed in Calgary almost one week ago, and I have finally found some energy to write my final blog post. When we arrived in Australia, we were so busy that we were able to quickly push through the jet lag. Upon coming home, I have had less on my plate and have found it so easy to stay in bed and embrace the tiredness. This is especially easy to do when we have come back to a gigantic dump of snow that makes it hard to get outside anyways!
Maybe it is the harsh transition from 30 degrees to -5, but it is hard not to miss the elements of Australia that I loved. This is not to say that our Australia trip was without complaints, as the brutally humid heat, early store closures, outrageous prices, and cockroaches are things that I will certainly not miss. However, I truly loved my life in Australia. I feel that I am a more independent person, I am less afraid to try more things, I am more easygoing, and I even feel that I am leaving this trip with a stronger sense of identity. Leaving my new Australian friends and not living with my Calgarian roommates has been heartbreaking, and I am finding it difficult to settle back into Calgary life without feeling like part of me was left behind in Australia. I went into the trip expecting that I would hit a point where the honeymoon phase was over, but it genuinely never ended.
With our placement being delayed, I haven’t yet had an opportunity to blog about the “teaching” aspect of Teaching Across Borders. I spent my time observing grade 7-9 science, and a grade 10 biology class. My biggest takeaway from Australian education is that it is really not that different from the Canadian system. Small differences like uniforms, the use of laptops instead of notebooks, and students referring to teachers as “Miss” or “Sir” without a last name were strange to get used to, The science department was very connected, with all classes using the same slides for their lessons, and teachers collaborating on tests, labs, and assignments. Events such as a digital talent show, or student bands playing outside in the morning highlighted a community feeling across the school, and you could also tell that the teachers were excited to be teaching.
Canada has been my home for my entire life and is not a place that I would consider “foreign”. I was surprised to see how many questions the students had about life in Canada. One student asked me if we had lockers along the halls in Canadian schools, and when I said yes, they responded with “just like in the movies!” which was bizarre to think of Canada in that way. Students asked plenty of questions about the weather and were shocked to hear how cold it would get. Many students wanted to know if I experienced a white Christmas, and it is strange to think that Australians spend their Christmas at the beach! The students were overall so welcoming, and I felt like a little Canadian celebrity while I was at the school. I did have the opportunity to teach a review lesson where I incorporated Canadian examples, and it was a blast to teach students a bit about Canadian culture while also talking about science.
A big draw to the Australian placement was the Indigenous element. Australia and Canada have had similar upsetting treatment of Indigenous peoples, and I wanted to learn more about what Australia’s relationship with their Indigenous peoples looks like now. At the school, we met an Indigenous man who plays a major role in incorporating Indigenous education into the school. The morning that we spent with him was so educational, and he taught us about the importance of country. He wants students to know the history of the land that they reside in and painted a picture of what the land that the school was placed on looked like before colonization. He quoted Annie Nicole Williams’ idea that “Learning about space and place makes you understand your country. Then you will form an identity, and then form a community”. This idea has been used to create a community within the school, as the students begin to learn more about Barrambin, which is the original name for the land that the school is on, and means “windy place”.
Seeing the similarities in the education programs made the world feel smaller and increased my confidence that I could potentially teach in another country. We had the huge benefit of Australia speaking English, but this trip overall has solidified that I want to participate in teaching exchanges during my education career. I believe that broadening my worldview will be a crucial asset to both my personal life, and professional life. I miss my time in Australia so much already and have been struggling with the transition to life back in Calgary. I am itching to get back out there and see what else the world has to offer!
See you soon Australia!
Emilie