I drew this picture for a competition held by the Country Women's Association (CWA) on Groote Eylandt. They wanted an original artwork to represented the GE community and its geographical location. My design was chosen to be printed onto a pennant which will be taken to all CWA territory wide meetings.
16 August 2015
I Love Groote Eylandt Song and Video Clip Produced by STAMP Music and Dan Gerich
My year 3/4 students wrote this song with Pete & Jodi from Stamp Music and myself. Dan Gerich then came and filmed the video clip; using a drone for the aerial views. The landscape shots really showcase the natural beauty of this large island.
It was a tonne of fun to film and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with such inspiring people. Just one of countless feel-good moments as a teacher on Groote Eylandt. The catchy tune and lyrics of 'I Love Groote Eylandt' will remain fondly in my memory long after I've departed this unique 'inspiring' island.
It was a tonne of fun to film and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with such inspiring people. Just one of countless feel-good moments as a teacher on Groote Eylandt. The catchy tune and lyrics of 'I Love Groote Eylandt' will remain fondly in my memory long after I've departed this unique 'inspiring' island.
Touring Japan Over 2 Weeks
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With no smoking restrictions, why not have a fag while you serve customers? This was our first restaurant experience. |
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Snow monkeys in Yudanaka. It was amazing how close you could get to them without them even bothering to look up. A number of times I had to move out of their way. |
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Ele bed bound after her tick removal surgury. We stayed at a Ryokan (traditional style accommodation). Sleeping on tatami mats and rice pillows- a very uncomfortable pair. |
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Playing in our summer yukata (robes) after returning from a soak in our hotel's private onsen. |
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Shibu (onsen town) in mountainous Yudanaka. It was like a ghost town at night which was eerily beautiful and peaceful. |
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Residents walking to one of the onsens for a evening bath. Men and women bath separately because all baths are required to bath nude. |
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Gate crashing a 21st karaoke birthday party |
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Funny tourist pose in front of a temple in Kyoto |
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Bamboo forest in Kyoto |
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A expansive tranquil garden surrounding a temple in Kyoto |
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Learning how to conduct a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto. This involved making a cup of Matcha Tea. |
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Torii Shrine in Kyoto. Kyoto seemed to be the bike capital of Japan. |
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Tanuki the lucky Raccoon Dog can be spotted throughout Japan |
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Out the window of our Shinkansen train on route to Osaka |
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Delicious Shinkansen Bento Box- an assortment of tasty morsels in a wooden box. This box contained eel, tempura prawn, baby octopus, egg, rice and pickled vegies. These boxes cost around $6-10. |
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Our night in a capsule hotel in Nagano. AMAZING!!! No need to BYO pajamas or toiletries as they are all provided. |
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Sumo Tournament in Nagano |
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Shortly after taking this photo, he won his match. I like to think we were his good luck charms. |
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Kusama's Pumpkin on Naoshima island |
15 August 2015
Journal Notes on Travelling Japan
During the four week school holiday break, I flew to Japan
with my dear friend Ele. We’d only booked an Airbnb for the first three nights
in Tokyo; our remaining 18 days were blank pages eagerly waiting to be filled.
I’m going to fast forward you past our initial ordeal with a
series of dot points.
·
Ele missed her connecting flight from Cairns to Tokyo
due to poor flight scheduling with Tiger Airways (Rookie error). I board our
Jetstar flight while Ele was still waiting for her bags in the domestic terminal.
·
Ele spent a night in Cairns while I fumbled my
way through Narita Airport and arrived at our Airbnb in Shibuya three and a half
hours later (only meant to take around an hour and twenty).
·
Ele flew to Tokyo complaining of a sore leg
upon arrival. Gained little to no sympathy.
·
Three days passed, Ele went to hospital and ended up having surgery to remove a paralysis tick; obtained in the lush grasses of
Tropical North Queensland.
·
Ele was bed bound in our Ryokan for two days
before she had to go back to hospital due to the development of a secondary
infection caused by particles of the tick still inside her wound.
·
One week into our holiday, Ele was hobbling around
the streets like an old lady but her spirits had lifted.
So despite all the drama, we had an absolute blast. Every
day our cheeks were hurting so much from laughing at all the unfathomable cultural
differences; relating to human behaviour, leisure activities and the adornment
of everything from buildings to food. If you’ve never visited Japan, I’d recommend
it above anywhere else I’ve travelled so far.
What I thought I knew about Japanese culture was shredded to
pieces each day as I moved around the country. Based on news and technology advancements stemming from Japan, I thought that everything would be high-tech and sophisticated; including the people in major cities. While this was true in some cases (the bullet train, public announcements/advertising splayed throughout the city) I was gobsmacked by how 'old school' most of their systems and daily operations were. It’s difficult to explain how my assumptions
were so very wrong without going into specific detail, so instead I’ll try to
sum up my overall impression of the people in a few sentences.
Japan is the epitome of bamboozlement to
any foreigner. The people are so truly ‘Japanese’ that an outsider will never
really know what it’s like to have such ingrained ideas about cultural
identity, pride and self-sacrifice of voice for the greater good of those they
live amongst. The people supress their true emotions and opinions in exchange for
humility and extreme order. They pride themselves on their stringent
organisation relating to time and tasks and take diligence to a level far beyond
what’s expected in Australia. The people are pain-stakingly polite and helpful
to the point that I feel ashamed when I think about how we Australian’s treat
one another. Japanese people would be mortified if they witnessed the verbal cruelty
among strangers relating to trivial things like car park spaces and issues with
products and services.
Despite all the above mentioned positives, there are some
things about Japan that don’t sit well with me. It seems like the Japanese
education system does a lot of ‘brain-washing’ to ensure their people remain ‘authentically
Japanese’. For example, apparently the curriculum only requires students to
learn historical and geographical facts about different countries. Upon
speaking to a handful of English speaking Japanese people in their mid-twenties,
they expressed great fear in travelling to countries like Australia because
they’d been taught from a young age that there were many dangerous animals
there. I’d hate to think that the education system is stifling young peoples’
opportunities to experience life outside of Japan. However, based on what I’ve
been told so far, it seems like a sad truth. Even worse, I was told that in
some cases if a Japanese person chooses to migrate overseas and learn about
another culture or language, upon returning they risk being considered a ‘sell-out’
or ‘traitor’ by their peers or family who have no interest in leaving their
birth country. I found it bizarre that in Japan, living overseas and being able
to speak another language can result in social and work place discrimination.
It’s polar opposite to Australia, where speaking a second language or being knowledgeable
about other cultures is considered desirable and honourable throughout the
nation.
I think Australians can learn as much from the Japanese as
they could learn from us if given the opportunity. I urge each and every one of
you to make visiting Japan a priority when considering your next travel destination.
It’s extremely safe and kid friendly and the hospitality of the people
(nationwide) is worth the visit alone.
During my trip I carried a notebook to record the addresses
of places I’d visited along with anything I’d learnt that I wanted to remember
or share. I turned my notes into a PDF for my brother who is heading over there
in a few weeks. Here are some pages which you may find useful if you’ve been
inspired to check out Japan for yourself. I’ll be posting some photos from my
trip shortly. If you’d like to receive each new post via email, please sign up
by putting your email address in the box to the right hand side.
If you’d like to read more about Japan’s culture from the perspective
of a foreigner (Gaijin), I recommend checking out this website. http://gaijinpot.com/
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