Canadian Adventures

Teaching in Canada

bennygelatti — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:14:00 GMT

The top 10 reasons to do an exchange teaching year in Canada

Reflections of an Australian exchangee

So you’re thinking about doing an exchange year in Canada? But you’re unsure. It all seems too hard. There are lots of forms to fill in, deadlines to meet. Your best friend might be getting married soon. Perhaps a promotion beckons if you stay put in Australia for one more year. There will always be excuses to postpone an exchange experience, but what about the reasons to just pack up and go?

Inspired by The Late Show with David Letterman and his nightly top 10 compilations – which seem to alternate from the ridiculous to the sublime - here are my top 10 reasons (in reverse order) for doing an exchange teaching year in Canada.

Cue the drum roll…….

10. Summer Holidays

Compared to most professions, Australian teachers are blessed with 6 weeks of Christmas holidays. However, this pales in significance when compared to the summer break that our Canadian colleagues enjoy. This year, I did not teach a single student from the 13^th of June through to the 5^th of September. It provided me with the ideal opportunity to have an extended holiday in the northern hemisphere. By traveling during the hottest part of their year, I avoided the usual frigid temperatures of December and January and was able to experience many locales that would be otherwise inaccessible. The lengthy summer break is an essential component of the Canadian school system; the thought of it alone was enough to get me through the freezing nights and 16 straight teaching weeks at the beginning of the school year.

9. Halloween, Homecoming & Hockey

We just don’t have these events down under! Sure we have festivals and costume parties, but Halloween celebrations in Canada are more about the adults than the candy. Teachers, bus drivers, office staff, doctors and hosts of other professionals get dressed up to celebrate in style every October. Houses are decorated with spooky and delicately carved pumpkins, helping the streets to come alive as kids of all ages enthusiastically trick or treat for sweets. Homecoming is not as widely celebrated, or grandiose, as the American version, but it is still a popular event where the students get dressed up in their finest clothes, elect a school king and queen and dance the night away. A very different cultural experience to the traditional Year 12 Ball in Australia, homecoming is a vibrant part of the Canadian school calendar. Supporting ice hockey during winter in North America, put simply, is compulsory. Even non sports fans can’t help but be caught up in the spirit when the puck drops on hockey night in Canada. The passion and intensity of the fans rivals the best English soccer supporters, just without the violence! It has taken me almost a year, but I am positively hooked on the game, especially now as my eyes have adjusted to following the fast-moving puck. Although attending an NHL game can be quite expensive, watching a live contest is a must for anyone coming to Canada.

8. Calgary Stampede

Each year in July, millions of visitors from around the world come to Alberta, Canada to participate in the annual Calgary Stampede and Exhibition. This event includes a rodeo, theme park, concerts, chuck wagon races and a range of other events. But it’s not just the showground’s that are abuzz with activity. The whole town comes alive for 10 days of cowboy inspired festivities. I was overwhelmed by the hospitality and contagious enthusiasm of the towns’ locals. Whilst not as rowdy as the Merritt Mountain Country Music Festival, the Stampede has a broader appeal and is a truly unique experience. Just make sure to BYO Akubra hat and be prepared to witness every cowboy cliché known to mankind!

7. The Honeymoon Period

The first few weeks of school every year are well known as a teacher’s honeymoon period. Students are usually on the ball, attentive, polite and respectful. Making the most of this period is imperative as it potentially sets the tone for the whole school year. Just having a different accent in Canada stretched my honeymoon period considerably. The students I taught loved my quirky sayings as much as I loved their idiosyncrasies. Simply saying “g’day” was enough to get their attention and keep it. Although I did quickly tire of the requests to say crikey, bonza and strewth! Tales of kangaroos, Australian football, surfing and dangerous reptiles kept the kids entertained. Lessons were easily revitalized and energy levels boosted by playing games of two-up and boomerang throwing contests, whilst vegemite snacks and lamington treats were unique rewards for hard workers. If only my classes in Perth were this easily impressed!

6. The Weather

Now this might seem a facetious inclusion, but the weather is such a tangible aspect of life in Canada that it warrants inclusion. In Australia’s warmer climes, its easy to take for granted a bright sunny day in the mid 20’s. Not so in British Columbia, or many other parts of Canada. With a record 33 straight days of BC rain in 1999, any day with sunshine is characterized by hordes of people enjoying various outdoor activities. Sunny days were so few and far between during the early part of the year that I had no choice but to make the most of them. The weather was also a guaranteed conversation starter, if only to bemoan the fact that I spent 20 minutes de-icing my car again this morning! Not that I should complain, with the lower temperatures come the flurries that produce the scenic snow covered mountains that Vancouver is universally renowned for. More beneficial, I found, was having some of the world’s best ski fields less than an hours drive away. Giddy up!

5. The Students & Professional Development

Kids are just kids, right? Surely they are the same worldwide? Wrong! After four years at the same private school in Perth, I was confident in my use of classroom management strategies and comfortable with my teaching style. Teaching an Alternate & Modified program in Canada, I had to adapt quickly to a range of students with diverse needs and complex social & behavioral issues. This led to a host of classroom challenges where I was required to effectively respond to rapidly changing circumstances. In general, I found Canadian students to be very accepting, socially responsible and more aware of current affairs than their Australian counterparts. Of course, this is a generalization based on my own experiences. But simply being able to compare between the two groups of students was a highlight for me and has enhanced my ability to deeply reflect on my teaching and its effectiveness. The diversity of Canadian students has also fostered a range of different teaching pedagogies such as Restitution and Tribes, which I was exposed to throughout my exchange year. Furthermore my Canadian school has dedicated staff collaboration time to focus on understanding and implementing such pedagogies. I am looking forward to sharing these new ideas with my colleagues back home and gauging their responses.

4. The US Dollar & Shopping

Living in Vancouver is fantastic for many reasons, not the least of which is the city’s proximity to Seattle. The grunge capital of the world is an easy two hour drive from Vancouver along Interstate Number 5. Numerous factory outlets are littered along the I-5 and the cheapest of these is at Tulalip, located 30 minutes north of Seattle. Puma, Nike, Levi, Sony, Oakley……… all the major brands are represented and their products are invariably sold at bargain basement prices. In particular, electronic devices, gas, alcohol and clothing are significantly less expensive south of the border. With the current value of the US dollar against the Canadian loonie & the Aussie dollar, I spent much of my hard earned indulging in retail therapy. However, buyers beware; US customs have very strict limits on the amount you can purchase without paying duty and the border waits – up to four hours on weekends - can be horrific. Savings of 50% on a new pair of designer sunglasses may just help to soothe the pain!

3. New Experiences

Without doubt, the best bit of advice I received before heading overseas came from Tim Staples, a Canadian exchange teacher in Perth, who told me that “no matter what offer is made to you whilst away, just ACCEPT it!” The result has been myriad experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. Professionally I have taught new subjects such as dance, shop and alternate & modified education classes. In addition, I have coached a dragon boating team, introduced cricket to my new school and performed two outlandish dance routines in front of 600 students as part of the annual Staff Olympics. On a personal note, I have pushed my own boundaries by running a half marathon, skiing & hiking, snow-shoeing, deep sea fishing and countless other first time experiences. No matter what the invitation was, I always said yes and it has led to many encounters and adventures that I could never have dreamed possible.

2. Friends

As any traveler knows, it’s the people you meet that make the trip. I am very proud of my 1000 plus photos of stunning Canadian vistas and unique wildlife. But my pictures, no matter how good, will never evoke as many memories as the time spent with randomly met, eclectic people from all walks of life. These encounters have been the heart and soul of my exchange year. From a Saskatchewan politician to an Alaskan fisherman, a New York marketing manager to an Irish architect, these new friends and acquaintances will be forever imbedded in my memory. Not to mention the numerous locals and ex-pat Australians that have all influenced my time here. Obviously, the majority of contacts I established were at work and the staff at my Canadian school was extremely welcoming and supportive. In addition, I have met many other past and present exchange teachers through the British Columbia Exchange Teacher’s Association. The BCETA holds regular functions and events to facilitate networking and acted as a vital support cog in the first few months of my exchange. The challenge now will be to stay in touch with everyone!

1. Benjamin David Lomas (Me)

A selfish selection perhaps, but I have learnt more about myself professionally in one year than I could do in five back home Australia. Stepping out of the safety zone at my familiar and comfortable private school in Perth into an Alternate & Modified program at a much larger Canadian school forced me to re-evaluate my teaching. Tried and tested pedagogies did not work in this new work environment. My use of language had to be modified, a different curriculum learnt and prepared for. To reach the end of the school year in one piece and professionally rejuvenated is evidence that I can meet any challenge I set my mind to. Moreover, positive feedback from school administration, fellow staff and the student body has not only validated my decision to do an exchange year, but also my choice of profession.

For those teachers out there that are considering doing an exchange year, JUST DO IT! It will be the most amazing experience of your life. Yes, there will be ups and downs, but what year doesn’t have them? There are horror stories of exchanges gone wrong, but these are the exception not the rule. The positives outweigh the negatives by a Canadian km or American country mile. If you’re adventurous, flexible and open to new experiences, an exchange year is definitely for you. For veteran exchange teachers, I hope that this article has brought back many fond memories and possibly provided a trigger for you to one day consider doing another teaching exchange.

My year has passed at super sonic speed in a blur of good times, new friends and positive personal and professional experiences. The countdown towards my next exchange experience has already begun!

Benjamin Lomas

December 2007

Gallery: Party Time

bennygelatti — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:40:00 GMT

Best Event Pics & Nights Out

Gallery: Cool Travel PIcs

bennygelatti — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:09:00 GMT

Best Shots

Gallery: Teaching in Canada

bennygelatti — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:54:00 GMT

Assorted exchange pics

Gallery: Europe 2007

bennygelatti — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 14:42:00 GMT

Mates & Sights

Canadian Fall Antics

bennygelatti — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 03:42:00 GMT

Heya Lovers and Fighters,

It's been a whirlwind two months since I have been back at school in Burnaby so I thought it was time to upload some incriminating piccies and dirty details of my latest crazy adventures and shenanigans. My first full weekend back in Vancouver after "Road Tripin' USA" with the old man was very eventful. We played and won Friday night footy, destroying the Cougars for the 5th time this year. It was Micky Peddler's last game for the club and he had a beauty, winning the magic mug and playing a blinder. We ventured to Mahoney's Pub after to watch some live AFL, but I couldn't celebrate too much as Nat and I were headed to Seattle at 7am the next morning for Bumbershoot, a 3 day music festival. Tickets were only 25 bucks and I got to see Crowded House live for the first time. They were pretty impressive, playing most of their big hits, and were joined on stage at one point by Eddie Vedder who seems to pop up with random bands everywhere! Nat and I saw some very cool up & coming bands, including MAE, but ended up in the beer garden for most of the day watching random acrobatic chicks in lingerie doing some adventurous climbing and dancing routines!!

Nat and her circle of friends have really taken me in this year and helped me experience some crazy things and participate in random events. Probably the best example of this was a few Friday's back when I caught up with the girls at a local club. After consuming god knows how many drinks (mostly double bourbons!) and doing some dodgy dancing we crashed at their place. Next morning at 9am the two girls get up and start drinking shots of Vodka, dragging me along for the ride. We ended up going to the waterslides in Tswassen (freezing cold, but so much fun) for the day, getting crapped on by a very large seagull and generally being idiots. By nightfall I was EXHAUSTED!!! I don't consider myself a lightweight drinker, but these girls drink me under the table hands down! Some other examples of their craziness:

· Priya's birthday when we ended up at the Hop 'n' Vine pub at 2:30am for a lock in and had free run of the bar!

· Jen's Housewarming party when Jaclyn and I did a bulk rubbish collection on the walk there to find expensive housewarming gifts for Jennifer like shovels and witches hats!

· Nicole's birthday, which fell on International Pirates Day and led to many crazy "pick up" attempts using quality lines like "aaaaaarrrrrr ya single?"

After dominating the footy season in Vancouver, the Grand Final Day set up is weird to say the least. We played a round robin against Vancouver and Seattle. It was a disappointing day for the Eagles, losing both our games to Vancouver and Seattle, though that night we celebrated like we had won!! It was a shame that we didn't bring our 'A' game that day, as we are by far the superior team and had comfortably beaten both sides throughout the year, only to fall at the final hurdle. Nonetheless it has been a super season with the boys, just a shame we couldn't cap it off. We headed out to the Regal Beagle in Kittsilano afterwards for many beers, with Crackers providing the entertainment, Steve providing the fireworks (literally) Boomer being thrown out and me ending up down town with Ryan's friend Shelly until the wee hours of the morning.

I backed up the next day for 'Mad Sunday' at the races with the boys. Boomer, Steve and Co almost got evicted for being too rowdy, on the way to the track Ads escaped with a warning after being caught with no license, no seatbelt, speeding and booze in the car!! At one point the lads had mounted the racetrack fences, were screaming abuse at the jockey's and threatening to run out onto the track (something they actually did at a later meet apparently!). I managed to pull a tidy trifecta which helped pay for some of antics from the night before. The footy boys got together again for AFL Grand Final Day (Night) and had a great night despite watching the worst GF in years. Erin and Rich made it down from Powell River with their friends Holly and Jaime and we got stuck into the shots early and then joined the lads down at the rugby club. After the game, we ended up taking a stereotypical yellow school bus donwton with 40 other lads in one of the more rowdy bus trips i've ever taken. Lots of laughs, a sing along of club songs, a bit of biffo and a massive spew (not me) over a pair of designer jeans made for a very entertaining journey!!

Over thanksgiving long weekend, I made the massive journey across Canada to Halifax in Nova Scotia. Amanda moved there a couple of months ago and we hadn't seen each other since Chicago. I flew from Seattle with stops in Chicago and NY, taking 13 hours for a 5-hour flight! Halifax is soooooo different from the west coast, a lot flatter and colder, but very scenic. Amanda and I had a great weekend, visiting the local breweries, eating at some awesome restaurants and playing tourist. The time went so quickly, but we finalized our plans for Africa and getting back to Perth. We have decided that after the wedding in Ethiopia (not ours!!) that we will do a safari through Kenya and Tanzania, lions and tigers here we come! The way home from Halifax was nothing short of a NIGHTMARE! I ended up stuck in Halifax Airport for 9 hours with delayed flights, meaning I missed my connection in New York. I ended up sleeping at Newark airport, the 5th airport that I have slept at this year which in turn meant that I didn't make it back in time to get to school, oh well another sicky for me!!!

Last weekend was footy trophy night and I was extremely stoked to score my first ever footy trophy!!!! It was the Players' award, as voted for by the lads. I actually polled a few best and fairest votes too......wonders will never cease!! I tried my best to go easy that night as I was running my first half marathon the next morning, but shot after shot was offered (and consumed), talk about twisting rubber arms! I brought Leith's sister Stiena along for the night, and she had fun although I lost count of the number of footy boys that had a crack at her (after asking me of course if she was mine hahaha.......we have known each other for 15 years, not likely!). The half marathon was nothing short of a mission. After 4 hours sleep I got up to be greeted by pissing down rain and freezing cold conditions. The guy I was meant to be running with pulled out on me at the last minute so was forced to go it alone. I was super impressed to even finish it and my time was awesome, 1hr 55min especially considering my training had been limited to a few 10km runs.

That's about it from me for now, more shenanigans to follow with Halloween this weekend (they go bananas here for it), CFL, NBA and NFL games all in the next two weeks, Ben Lee and Eskimo Joe concerts and Henry Rollins Spoken Word Tour. Throw in Melbourne Cup night and a trip to Tofino, I will be going flat out until I head back to Perth just in time for my 30th, time to grow up.......................NOT!!!!

Wherever you are in the world, I hope this finds you in mint condition and loving life.

Keep smiling, Ben

Road Tripin' USA with my Old Man!

bennygelatti — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:05:00 GMT

Heya Friends & Fam,

After a hectic month in Europe, I had two days to relax before my old man arrived on his first ever trip out of Australia. We planned to have a week in Van and then travel the west coast of the states. Dad's first week was full on with something different on each day. We made it up to Whistler, across to Vancouver Island and Victoria, downtown through Stanley Park, did a drive through 'the ghetto' on Hastings Street and a range of other Vancouver highlights. Probably Dad's favourite part of the trip was sitting in the 'Beer Garden' with my landlord Bas at the end of most days, dribbling shite and watching the world go by. Most nights were cruisy, though we did give it a bit of a nudge one night at the Cactus Club. Like Earls, Cactus hires the hottest staff possible to flirt with the predominately male staff and coax (con??) them out of tips. Bas, Dad and I knocked off a ridiculous amount of pitchers and if I ever needed proof of genetics it came in the form of my Dad hitting on the bar staff the way I would, only better!! I am still not sure what that says about me! It was a pretty big night, though not really a wise move with a game of footy to be played the next day!

We headed off to the states early on the Sunday with the first stop Seattle. We checked out Safeco Field and watched the Seattle Mariners kill the Chicago Whitesox. Next was a flight to Oakland where we picked up a rental car and drove the 500 miles to San Diego. Ron Burgundy hit the mark when he said 'stay beautiful San Diego'! The city is very trendy, right on the water and such a relief after spending 2 hours in LA traffic! We checked out the Zoo (very impressive), the Navy ships and Hooters Bar!! We also walked across the border into Tijuana which was INSANE!!! Its a 3rd World Country and anything goes. Hookers, drugs, imitation clothes and $1 Coronas and tacos!! I managed to pick up some Viagra for 5 bucks, BARGAIN!!! Not that I need it...............yet!!!

Los Angeles is a sprawling polluted mess, but we managed to enjoy our time there. Universal Studios is mind blowing. Think Movie World times 1000!!! I even got dad on some of the rides, no mean feat I assure you. Probably the highlight was the 3D Terminator show where they mixed real actors on stage with screen footage to produce an awesome show. The Waterworld Show was huge too with fireworks, planes crashing into ships and exploding gas tanks. Hollywood itself is a bit of a dive what with all the hookers, hawkers and junkies, though the Walk of Fame and Chinese Theatre are both classy and surreal.

We took the coast road up to San Francisco via Santa Barbara which just oozes money. San Fran had the BEST hostel I have stayed at so far with the widest range of facilities, activities and cool crew working there. We had a pre-packaged tour in San Fran and did the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Lombardo Street (world's crookedest street) and Chinatown. San Fran has a great vibe and is very diverse, but the monster hills would do me in!! Driving around was interesting, with one way streets and not much signage almost doing me in! All in all it was an AWESOME two weeks with my old man and I think/hope that it has inspired him to do some more travelling.

Anywho, that's more that enough from me for one session.

Wherever you are, take care and keep smiling. Ben.

Gallery: American West Coast

bennygelatti — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:28:00 GMT

Summer 07 in the States!

Chicago & Loolapalooza!

bennygelatti — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 04:03:00 GMT

Heya Rat Packers,

Chicago is DEFINITELY my kind of town!! I flew in from London on the Friday morning, very tired but excited to be catching up with Amanda after four weeks apart. We were staying in a reasonably flash hotel, just a shame it was RIGHT under the flight path of one of the world's busiest airports!! We spent the next few hours chilling out before heading downtown for the first afternoon of the festival. Unfortunately we didn't count on the slowest public transportation system on the planet (no kidding, 55 minutes to go 15km!!) and we only just made it in time for Ben Harper. He was MIND-BLOWING!!! He did a ten minute version of 'Two Hands' & played some awesome slide guitar, but the highlight for me was having Eddie Vedder join him on stage.

The next two days were spent in Grant Park watching some of the best acts going round. The park is right in the middle of downtown Chicago and is surrounded by funky old school buildings, trendy & modern skyscrapers and the massive Lake Michigan which you would swear is an ocean if you saw it. Also in the park is the massive fountain shown at the start of 'Married With Children'. Of all the bands, Silverchair were wicked, Kings of Leon were solid and they were joined by Eddie Vedder for another cameo. Eddie actually got a bit excited and absolutely murdered the tamborines that he was playing. Paolo Nutini was very soulful and played my new favorite song 'Funky Cigarette'. Muse were good, though by this stage I had drunk waaaayyyy too much authentic Absinthe straight from the Czech Republic and my recollections are somewhat vague! A couple of boys from footy were there and we had quite the posse by the end of the Saturday night gig. Amanda and I lost each other in the 80,000 strong crowd, so I ended up going out with the lads. A massive night ensued at a downtown bar, I ended up at the airport at 3 in the morning (no idea), one of the boys got thrown out for dancing on the bar and nearly arrested for trying to sneak back in and I lost my camera. I ended up back at the hostel at 4ish, soaking wet, no cash and feeling very sore and sorry for myself. Must have been my lucky night though as someone handed my camera in at the bar the next day, PHEW!!

Sunday was a bit tamer as we were all in recovery mode, but Pearl Jam were sensational. They played most of their huge songs and had heaps of other artists up on stage for Neil Young's 'Rockin in the Free World' as the finale. All in all a huge 3 days. For the last couple of days in town Amanda and I hung out and checked out the local sights including Navy Pier, Sears Tower, Lincoln Park and of course the lake. We actually swum in it and it was beautiful. I tasted the lake and it was very fresh, though my stomach has not been the same since!! We also found a place that sold $3 pitchers, BARGAIN!! I can find cheap booze anywhere!

Anyways, that's it from me for now.

Take care and keep smiling, Ben

Eastern European Adventures

bennygelatti — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 03:57:00 GMT

Hod' yaal bake-in, That is Hungarian for don't harass me! I know, I know that I have been slack but I have been a busy boy. My 4 week jaunt in Europe was an amazing time and way to much happened to go into all the gory details but some of the key events are: * Went to London for Phil's wedding and Rino and I had so much fun that we decided to crash another one nearby, a German wedding where we danced with the oldies, joined a conga line and drank. Phil's big day was alot of fun with a beautiful ceremony in Edgeware followed by a reception at a stereotypical English manor. We drunk, danced and ran amuk, finishing up in the spa at 3 in the morning! * Hung out with Rino in Croatia and went to a bar where we were the oldest in there by 15 years!! I kidd you not, the average age was 14 and that's partly because Rino and I dragged the average up. We couldn't belive how many young ones were boozing and smoking...........safe to say that we left very quickly!! We actually met some very cool aussie girls from Sydney and had a couple of meals with them and beers in a 14th century castle, pretty surreal. They can keep the pebble beaches to themselves though, even if they are very spectacular. * Had a Turkish Bath in a centuries old bathouse in Hungary, surrounded by Italian girls and Sweedish guys speaking English and trying to hit on Japanese girls, not to mention every other glamorous European imaginable. Buda and Pest are actually two cities seperated by the Danube River and very different. Buda is the historic old town with the most humungous castle and cool cobblestone streets. Pest is the more modern part of the city and has a very trendy, underground vibe. The hostel I stayed in here was dodgy as, but I met some cool guys and drunk shots of some horrific Hungarian spirt whose name alludes me, but whose disgusting taste I will take to the grave! * Hung out with a Brazillian girl in Athens and managed to get ourselves on Greek Television!! We were intervied for the news about the heat wave in Athens (46 degrees that day) and the working conditions for staff at the Acropolis (mind blowing place by the way!!). Athens was quite dirty and extremely hot, but walking round the birthplace of civilisation is inspiring and sobering at the same time. Being a huge sports fan it was pretty special visiting the various sites of the Pantheaic, 1896 and 2004 Olympic Games. * Caught the overcrowded ferry out to the islands where I had a 3 day bender in Ios. I caught up with my friend Liana (Greek girl I met in Thailand) and she took me to some very cool bars, got me inside for free and managed to secure us free booze (mostly shooters of Amaretto) all night. It's a hard life! Ios is like an oasis in the desert, with beautiful beaches, bars that don't crank until 2in the morning and awesome, cheap food! The best bar is one called Harmony that overlooks the bay with hammocks out the front and a very cool guy playing alternative accoustic music inside. * Sat on a black sand volcanic beach in Santorini with some cool Aussies and a couple of Canadian girls, surrounded by more topless women on one beach than I have seen in my entire life! Went swimming in water where the bottom is slippery smooth volcanic rock, just watching people enter the water and slip over is entertaining enough on it's own! Had dinner with the girls in a traditional Greek restaurant and did a bit of people watching against a backdrop of sheer volcanic cliffs. * Went to the communist museum in Prague and was blown away by the turbulent history this city has had. The best part of Prague is the free walking tour that you can do through the city, guided by an EXTREMELY gorgeous local. It was interesting learning about Gollum, Stalin and visiting the John Lennon wall. Prague also has the world's biggest castle and a city that was barely touched by either of the world wars meaning that its maintained its medieval charm. The cheap beer is also a winner, as is the authentic Absinthe which I purchased for 10 bucks! * Finished up back in London where I caught up with Scotty Davis and his heavily pregnant wife Bernie. It was great to catch up with such a great mate and he took me to Windsor Castle, though unfortunately Lizzy didn't wanna see me :-( Well that's it for the first leg of my summer holidays. More adventures to come in the remaining five weeks..........god I love the Canadian school system!! Take care and keep smiling, Ben.

A Month of Gongshows!

bennygelatti — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 03:46:00 GMT

Heya Holiday Lovers,

The best thing about living and working in a foreign country is picking up all the little cultural differences. For example: trying different foods, using foreign money, adapting to local customs and of course overcoming the language barrier. Quite often the kids in class ask me to repeat stuff, as they just don't get some of the expressions I use. It definitely goes both ways though and the most interesting new term I have learnt so far is GONGSHOW, which means getting so totally & completely drunk that everyone around you has hours of free entertainment. This last month in Canada has seen me partake in and witness quite a few GONGSHOW moments.

It all started with a footy road trip to Kelowna, which is about four hours east of Vancouver. The two Vancouver based teams were scheduled to play the two Calgary teams on Saturday afternoon in a carnival like format. I got a lift up on the Friday night with Sully, Ryan and Benny Crackers, Aussie blokes that are teammates with me at the Burnaby Eagles. We had a carton of Coronas, which were easily consumed in transit. The drive up was awesome, though half a dozen beers and some cool scenery may have helped shape my opinion. We were booked into a flash hotel, given a room where there were more bodies than beds, which meant one of us would draw the short straw and end up sharing with another bloke. The single blokes were quick to inform us that the rules of picking up meant that they had priority access to the double beds! That night we headed out to check out the nightclub directly across the road from our hotel and what started as a quiet night changed when Dusty and Benny brought shots for all early on! Although plenty of valiant attempts were made, there were no successes for the single boys. I did luck out though by getting the couch all to myself!

Kelowna is on the eastern side of the major coastal mountain range and it is almost desert-like as it gets a lot less rain than Vancouver. The temperature was a steamy 35 degrees on the Saturday, making the prospect of playing two games of footy not that appealing. It turned into an awesome day though with two big wins for the Burnaby Eagles. Especially pleasing was our flogging of Calgary who Burnaby has not beaten in a while. The day was also a good chance for me to catch up with Troy Macri and Chelsea who headed across for the weekend from Calgary. Troy played for the Cougars on the day and has tried to pin the blood nose he got on me, but I am denying all claims. I did manage to get a good mark near him though!

That night was a colossal event as most of the boys headed out on the tiles for beers and whatever. It started with a few brews in the local lake, the water was freezing but the surrounding hills and ice cold Millers made it worthwhile. There were some absolute freak shows down at the lake including one girl who wanted to fight all 10 of us and at one point ended up spraying coach Freemo with blue spray paint! Very Random!! It was a big night of boozing at some interesting clubs and everyone got into the spirit of things. Some perhaps a little too much as we almost got evicted from our hotel at 4am, for being rowdy and for one bloke using an ice bucket for something that it definitely wasn't designed for. The trip back to Vancouver was a mission, but we saw a couple of bears and the big weekend made it all worthwhile.

I then had a couple of quietish weekends with minor things on like an exchange teacher gathering and helping Amanda move house. That all changed last week when Simon P from Scitech and Rino both arrived and helped me to have a huge weekend. We started on the Friday night with a few drinks at a bar called Earls. Any guy that comes to Vancouver MUST check out Earls where all the girls are hired based solely on their looks. It turned into a good night with plenty of beers/food and sampling of some of the other Granville St bars. It was great also to catch up with Roc and Jo Macri who were in town to visit Troy and Chelsea. On the Saturday Simon and I played I footy, getting absolutely flogged by the Cougars before heading to Nat's for her 26th birthday, where chaos ensued. Amanda didn't make it past 11pm before the effects of swigging Jack Daniels straight from the bottle caught up with her. I will save the gory details for those who I know appreciate them (Boots, Squirt, Kallaroo Cricket Club); suffice to say it was one of the best, weirdest, coolest, kinky & comical house parties I have ever been too. Next day Nat and her flat mate Jaclyn were served with an eviction notice at 9am, which required intense negotiation to squirm their way out of!

The next day The White Stripes played at Deer Lake Park, a venue not dissimilar to Caves House in Yallingup, W.A. It flogged down all day but managed to clear just in time for the concert. The stripes were awesome, Jack White's voice is amazing and they played most of their big songs. Amanda, Rino, Simon and I did well to pull up from the night before which had been an absolute monster!!! It definitely got me in the mood for Lollapalooza in Chicago, which should be another gongshow. 8 boys from footy are heading over, along with Amanda and I, potentially a massive 3 days! Pearl Jam and Ben Harper are the big acts, but Silverchair, Muse and Kings of Leon are all on my hit list. Yesterday we headed down to Seattle to catch a major league ball game between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays. Safeco stadium is a sight to behold. They rebuilt it a few years ago and it now holds 60,000 fans and has the city as a backdrop. The game was not that flash, as there were no home runs, although some of the double plays were impressive and the traditions of baseball were all on display including the seventh inning stretch!. If you ever get the chance to go it's an awesome experience, just don't try the garlic chips, as they are the worst fast food I have ever eaten, more garlic than chips!! Just for the record Seattle won the game 9-3.

That's about it from me for now. The next two months will be full on with Calgary, New York, London, Split, Budapest, Prague, Athens & Chicago all on the agenda before I catch up with the old man in Vancouver. Will post the details when I get the chance.

Wherever you are and whatever it is you are up to, hope you're all sweet.

Keep smiling, Ben.

Calgary Stampede & Beyond!

bennygelatti — Tue, 3 Jul 2007 23:39:00 GMT

Heya Patriots,

10 weeks of school holidays started for me with a monster of a day on Canada's National day. Rino, Panos and I headed to the horse races to meet up with Micky Peddler and a few other crew. The races were very different in terms of betting and very low key compared to the Perth Cup & Railway Stakes style race days but the booze was cheap and an awesome day was had, even though none of us came close to having a win. We missioned into town afterwards to keep boozing, hitting Granville Street and getting messy. We ended up with Nat, Jax and others in Doolins doing shots and trying to sing a different national anthem (Canadians don't know the words anymore than aussies do!!!).

The next day feeling seedy, we hit the Grouse Grind, a 2 km hike up Grouse Mountain to world class views of Vancouver. Even though Paps whinged the whole way up, the views were more than worth it. The real holiday started the next day with a road trip to Calgary Stampede. We hired a PT Cruiser and packed bucketloads of gear and 5 bodies in. First stop was Banff which is one of the most picturesque mountain towns going round. We stayed for two nights, giving the booze a real nudge on the second night when we met some really cool crew from Austin, Texas. In particular, Molly was very cool, if not a little crazy! Its hard to not get into it though when they are selling highballs for $2.50. We made it out to Lake Louise, a beautiful aqua blue lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains that is picture postcard perfect. No bear sightings, which is probably a good thing depending on which way you look at it!!

Calgary was next on the agenda for the infamous Calgary Stampede. Cowtown is simply INSANE!!!. For 10 days thousands of people converge on the town and go nuts with the whole cowboy thing. We were camping a little out of town, but each day we would mission in a head to the show grounds where you could watch chuck wagon racing, drink beer, check out stalls, drink beer, go on rides, drink beer, see bands, drink beer and participate in the best people watching on the planet!! The camp ground we stayed at was interesting to say the least. Each night at around 5 am, the winds of armageddon would holw through the grounds, making sleep impossible. Each night I would wake to Rino, spitting, cursing and banging the tent poles with a rock and Bridget giggling her head off!! Safe to say, most mornings were seedy as!

We managed to squeeze in a couple of games of footy on the Saturday against the local teams. We kicked arse in two games, but lost the main event.....not too bad considering the boys were all hungover and the temperature was in the mid 30's. That night was another monster as 20 plus footy lads and partners hit the town and ran amuck. Benny Crackers was a riot, Bridget was a mess and Rino disappeared. Unfortunately for us, we had a flight at 7am the next morning. What to do but just keep on drinking and stay awake!! It was not a pretty picture at the airport the next morning, especially as I had to say goodbye to Amanda for the next month.

Rino, Panos and I headed from Calgary to New York where we had three days to check out the city. New York is INTENSE!! Aside from all the usual things, just soaking up the atmosphere of all the different precincts like Greenwich, East Side and Little Italy is mind blowing. We went out to Liberty Island and its hard not to think of what it would have been like September 11. Central Park is pretty impressive and I could easily spend several days in there. The thing about New York is that you feel as if you are constantly walking around on a movie set, everything feels so familiar. That and the fact that you could spend a month there and not do it all, not even close. We did a couple of the bars, including Hooters where Panos had his piccy taken with one of the girls. All the staff are extremely HOT & wear the skimpiest clothes, but have that 'I wanna be a actress and haven't quite made it pout.........or maybe I am just getting cynical in my old age??

Definitely the best night out was when we hooked up with Rino's friend Lorell, a NY local. She took us out to quite a few bars, including one Sex & The City style bar with awesome views and monumental drink prices. I am cheap at the best of times, but $56for four bourbon and cokes is a bit steep........maybe they sub the cola for the 'real thing' in New York, who knows? One funny stereotype that proved true was the grumpy New Yorker, they ALL have the attitude. They really look at you funny if you show any kind of manners like holding a door open for them or saying please and thank you!

Anyways, enough rambling. Hope the world is treating you well, wherever you are and whatever you're up to.

Keep smiling, Ben.

Gallery: Calgary Road Trip

bennygelatti — Tue, 3 Jul 2007 15:58:00 GMT

Vancouver to Calgary

Gallery: Portland & Seattle

bennygelatti — Wed, 16 May 2007 17:07:00 GMT

Heading South From Van.

More North American Shenanigans

bennygelatti — Sat, 5 May 2007 09:00:00 GMT

Heya Music Lovers, It has now been 5 months since I left Perth and the time just seems to be disappearing. Since coming back from the Caribbean I have been a bit slack with the tall tales and piccies, so here goes.....be warned though, this is long winded! Where to begin?? Easter seems like eons ago, but it was a very sweet time. Amanda and I headed down to Portland (about 5 hours south of Vancouver) for the weekend. As usual the border crossing into the States was like pulling teeth, but we made good time. The reason we chose Portland was the beer festival (why else??) being held in their convention center. We sampled some great beers, ate lots of greasy food and tasted a few fantastic wines with my fave being Naked Wines with such classic varieties as Nude Chardonnay, Busty Merlot and Leggy Cab Sav!! Portland is a very beautiful city, with heaps to do. We stayed out of the city on the first night in a little coastal town, Seaside which was quite picturesque and kind of trendy in a Margaret River sort of way. There wasn't a lot happening in Seaside, aside from the northern hemispheres biggest water based monolith (apparently?) which we dutifully checked out first thing in the morning. As for downtown Portland, we managed to cram in a few pubs, the rose gardens (blah), town hall, some bridge with excellent views and the coolest, biggest, cheapest bookstore I have ever seen. Powell's Bookstore was so big you needed a map just to find your way around; being male I decided that I didn't need one of course and managed to lose myself, AGAIN!! The real fun and games started on the way back to Vancouver. We checked out the fourth largest waterfall in the states, which was pretty impressive. The amount of water in this part of the world is mind boggling, especially coming from Perth which had next to no rainfall last year. Having seen the falls, I caught the nature/environment bug and decided it would be a great idea to go and check out Mount Saint Helens. Would you believe that we got lost and couldn't find one of the world's biggest mountains? Well we did and ended up on top of some other mountain with snow falling pretty heavily, visibility limited and no map!! All in a car not really designed for snow driving! However all's well that ends well as we found a clear vantage point from which to view the volcano that once spewed enough ash into the atmosphere to cover most of North America. I have been getting out and about town a little more the last month or so, it really is a lot easier and nicer when it's not continuously drizzling outside. The awesome thing is the sun stays out so late here now, with it only really getting dark around 10pm. Granville Street downtown is the place to go on weekends, with all the major bars and clubs within walking distance on one extended neon strip. It is absolute chaos there at 2 in the morning though. A group of us went out there for Jaclyn's (Nat from work's best mate) birthday the other week, when a fight erupted just as we left a bar. It was INSANE!! 8 blokes were going nuts, with guys on the ground getting the crap kicked out of them. Apparently they were a group of mates that decided they didn't like each other anymore. The amusing thing was that one guy stopped halfway through the fight to take of his shirt, grab a beer bottle a start yelling c'mon more fiercely than Lleyton Hewitt does!! It was very surreal as it all happened about a metre from where we were standing!!! Worse still, one of the girls with us decided to play mediator even though she didn't know ANY of those involved. There are some very cool bars downtown, you just have to be a little bit careful as it can get a bit full on late at night. The Virgin Music Festival was another highlight of the last two months. I originally brought tickets to see Muse and The Killers. Muse pulled out early, which was very disappointing but the event was still worthwhile as I saw some cool bands I would never have heard of otherwise. Billy Talent, My Chemical Romance, AFI, Metric, Smooch and Elizabeth all showed some promise, but the festival definitely belonged to The Killers who are AWESOME live. Amanda and I were about 5 metres from the front and got slaughtered in 'the mosh', but we survived and enjoyed a first class show. Better still, at the end of the gig I managed to catch one of the drumsticks, which I donated to Natalie and Jaclyn, the biggest Killer groupies I know. Even though that gig was wicked, the White Stripes are who I am really hanging out for. They are playing near my house next month and Simon P. and Rino will both be here for it!!! Stay tuned! Probably the best part of the last 2 months for me has been playing footy again. After 10 years of not playing I have joined the Burnaby Eagles (who else??) Football Club. There are only two teams in Vancouver so we play each other every second week. Both teams are made up of mostly ex pat Aussies with a few Canadians thrown in for good measure. It's pretty casual, though when the ball is bounced the two teams both go hell for leather. The great thing is both teams hang out together after the games and get on it, definitely not what happens back home. I must have played a good first up game as I got presented with a coaches award afterwards at the pub. It was kind of a double edged sword as it was a bottomless pewter mug that had to be filled all night with beer by my team mates and drunk without hesitation by me. How did it all end up? Let's just put it this way, it wasn't a pretty picture.... I woke in my car at three in the morning with someone else's shirt on, no mug and not much of an idea how I got there! Not to worry, both teams included me in their webpage write ups the next day, filling in the blanks (unfortunately) for me!! The footy club also had a ladies night last weekend. The idea was to raise money for the club and to help all the single guys out!! The club rented a bar downtown with the promise of cheap drinks, 2 buck massages and a player auction to entice the ladies to come along. Around 250 people turned up, with a ratio of 3 girls to every guy; not bad odds at all! I had first up duties on the massage chair, with an absolute hotty as my first customer. I am not so sure Amanda was too impressed by the sight of me rubbing the bare back of a blonde stunner!! I was also one of the 12 players auctioned off later that night; I was offering a one hour golf lesson and praying like crazy that some bloke (or ugly chick) brought me. Amanda was very gracious and kept out bidding all contenders to stop me ending up with some strange woman!! I went for $52 in the end, not too bad considering, although I do feel cheap and nasty for selling myself hahaha!! Next aventure is a road trip to Kelowna to play a variety of teams, should be a blast!! Anyways, I am getting RSI and if you have made it this far you're probably falling asleep by now!! Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope that the sun is shining and it's all sweet for ya. Keep smiling, Ben.

Gallery: Spring Break in the Caribbean

bennygelatti — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:43:00 GMT

Cricket World Cup 2007

Spring Break in the Caribbean

bennygelatti — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:16:00 GMT

Heya Rum Lovers,

After 10 weeks of Canadian school it was time for Spring Break and one week of student free bliss. I had contemplated doing a cliche' and visiting Cancun with heaps of young college crew, but lucky for me the Australian Cricket team happened to be playing twice in the World Cup during my week off. The only downside was that they were playing on one of the smaller and more difficult to reach islands in the Caribbean. To get down to St Kitts & Nevis from Vancouver was nothing short of a mission. I left school early on the Friday for a three hour drive to Seattle for my flight. I was very fortunate that the border crossing, which can take up to four hours, was very quick as I later got caught in Seattle peak hour, with traffic backed up for 30kms or so.

When I made it to the airport, they gave me the full security treatment, not quite the rubber gloves but near enough! It didn't help that I got the giggles when I was getting patted down.....he wasn't even that cute! I had to take three flights to get to the Caribbean, via Vegas and Miami. Las Vegas is a sight to behold at night; it really is an oasis in the desert with bright neon lights surrounded by complete blackness. I didn't realise how close the airport actually is to the main strip, you could literally walk out the front door of the airport and be playing roulette at MGM Grand in about 5 minutes. Not that you needed to as the airport had pokies in every terminal anyway!!

The Caribbean was awesome, hot days and beautiful beaches that were much needed after a long Canadian winter. The guest house I was staying in was very, very dodgy - think non-flushing toilets, a 5 inch TV that doesn't work, leaky showers all located in the dodgy part of town! Still, at least I had a roof over my head which wasn't a sure thing at first. I didn't ever feel too much at risk, except for when I wore my Great WHITE North shirt out to tea one night.....considering that I was the only white guy I spotted that night, probably not the greatest move in fashion history.

While I was in town, there was a cricket match every second day, so I would alternate between snorkelling and cricket. I saw some aweome cricket including the fastest world cup hundred ever (Matthew Hayden), 14 sixes' in one game (one was caught about 5 metres in front of me by a guy wearing a Carlton jumper) and Georgie Hogg bowling really well. Best of all, we beat the saffas comfortably. Their was heaps of aussies in the stands, many staying for the whole World Cup, lucky bastards. I ended up befriending a couple from Adelaide during the South African gane and getting stuck into the rum with them. I was pretty smashed at the end of the day, as my ticket included 8 drinks of any kind and a lunch ticket (which I swapped for a drink!).

Whilst watching Australia was amazing, I sat with the Scotts for two games which was a very interesting experience. Even though they are pretty average cricketers (the Kallaroo Tigers would give them a run for their money) their fans really know how to support them. The are like the English, singing all the time but with a better sense of humour and style. Also, they are alot like aussies in that if their mate is piking, they start laying into him! One poor bloke decided to have a water at 11am after already downing about 7 beers and he copped no end of grief from his "mates".

The beaches were sensational, heaps of cool tropical fish and so warm! At nights I went out to dinner solo, but would usually meet some interesting people, including two British yachtsmen who were competing in a round the world boat race costing them around $25,000 a week! I also bumped into a couple of the cricketers, only the South Africans unfortunately, and had my picture taken with them. Jonty Rhodes was an awesome bloke, Graham Smith is huge and very quiet and Steve Bucknor is as casual as he appears on TV. I did run into John Buchannon also, but he was walking along the beach in his budgie smugglers at the time and I felt that asking for a photo was a little inappropriate!

Probably the only downside of my trip was getting horribly burnt on the first day and having 'racoon' eyes for a week. That and seeing some hardcore poverty and ghetto like conditions. In some respects the houses and streets in some parts of Bassettere are like Bali's slum areas, without the people hassling you for cash. The people are so friendly though, offering me lifts, dinners and accommodation at the drop of a hat. All in all the Caribbean was an amazing place to watch cricket and definitely somewhere I want to go back.

Hope you're all doing great wherever you are.

Keep smiling, Ben.

Adjusting to Canadian Life.

bennygelatti — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 05:51:00 GMT

Heya Dance Fans,

My second month in Canada has been even more eventful than the first as I have finally settled in, I now consider myself Canstralian. School is cruisng along with the kids starting to understand the accent and mostly behaving themselves, although I still can't quite get used to them going off for a smoke when they feel the need. There are times when I miss my cushy private school in Perth, but the staff at Burnaby South have been awesome.

Before I left an Perth an experienced exchange teacher told me to sign up for everything that I could and reject no offers from anybody, regardless of how wierd or different it sounded. The result has been weekends absolutely chockers with things to do and school days filled with random activities. At the moment I am still helping out the Dragon Boating team, am dancing as part of the Banghara Club (Indian dancing for the uninitiated) and coaching the South Rebels Cricket Team. The cricket team is classic, they are so bad that they make me look good. I admit I am loving being the 'expert' on all things cricket! We won't win a game but the kids are enthusiastic at least.

Outside of school this last month Amanda and I did a range of cool things. Amanda arrived in February and we have been hanging out a fair bit, including a weekend away down in Seattle. It rained the WHOLE time we were there but it was an amazing city. We checked out the Experience Music Project museum which had heaps of cool interactive exhibits and massive sections devoted to Hendrix, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. We also made it to Pike's Fish Markets where they make a big spectacle out of selling fish and even had Amanda stand in the middle as they threw very large fish to each other, precariously close to her head. The city still has a grungy feel and the live music scene seemed to be a very big part of the city's culture.

As part of the exchange program there was a welcome to BC conference held in Victoria on Vancouver Island which is basically an excuse for exchange teachers to have a day off school and catch up with some fellow aussies. I caught the ferry over to Victoria on the Thursday night and met up with Richard & Erin at the Sticky Wicket Hotel for a few pints. I met them at the exchange conference in Sydney and they are just a really cool couple, even if they do support the swans! The conference was very low key and most of the time was spent checking out Victoria which is very European in look and feel. The only downside was, as Canada's mildest city, the number of homeless is unbelievable as they cannot live in places like Calgary because it is just too damn cold.

This last month I have been working on my skiing with a couple of school trips to Whistler/Blackcomb. It is an AMAZING mountain, so much to see and do and soooooooo many aussies. I have finally done some blue runs and can now do them relatively comfortably. Bas tried to kill me by taking me down a black run which I did completely on my arse! This was at Mount Baker in Washington State, a much more chilled mountain than Whistler but still as beautiful. After a day of skiing, Bas and I joined some of his mates at the pub and proceeded to get shitfaced!. We ended up staying in a cabin right near the mountain and having a late night hot tub, with beer in hand ofcourse! Its a pretty hard life.

I have managed to squeeze in a game of Ice Hockey which really is a crazy sport. The major team in town is the Vancouver Canucks who play in the NHL, but at around $100 a ticket for a crap seat they are a little pricey. For around $10 you can see the Vancouver Giants play in the WHL, its basically all the young kids trying to break into the NHL, kinda like the WAFL. The night we went there was a fight in the first three seconds and some MASSIVE hits, what an awesome spectator sport. The Giants won last year so are one of the better WHL teams and they are looking good to go back to back this year.

Anyways, wherever you are and whatever you're up to, I hope you're doing well.

Keep smiling, Ben.

P.S. As part of working at Burnaby South, I participated in a staff competition where I had to dance with three other teachers to "These Boots Are Made For Walking'. The dance was part of the Staff Olympics, where groups of teachers competed in various events. My team actually won, yay! As some of you know already, the footage has been posted on You Tube. Be warned, its not pretty!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6vxtAqoRP0

This first link is just my groups dance, poor footage but you will get the idea.

This second link shows all the groups that performed, the footage is heaps clearer but you have to sift throught it to find my group. My team was Team Historica and we are about 2 to 3 minutes tinto the 9 minutes I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxVBXi9qhKY&mode=related&search=

Don't laugh too much....

Ben.

Welcome To Canada

bennygelatti — Sun, 4 Feb 2007 05:55:00 GMT

Heya Kiddies,

My first month in Canada and what a crazy time it has been. It was a marathon flight to get here via Taipei and with a belly still reeling from too much Singh Beer and dodgy roadside vendor Pad Thai! Luckily my exchange partner Wendy had arranged for Bas (her landlord) to come and pick me up from the airport. We clicked straight away, awesome guy and a typical Irishman......loves a drink!

Wendy's house is awesome, plenty of room, a dishwasher and better still she left me her ski gear! Bas has taken me up to Cypress Mountain and given me a few pointers, but I spent most of the first two sessions on my ass. Lucky for me the school does regular ski trips up to Whistler (little Australia) and I ended up doing a lesson with a very cute Argentinian ski instructor. I am getting better and hopefully with another couple of lessons coming up, I will soon be on my way.

School has been full on, but great. The kids are soooooo different from back home which is a challenge. No uniforms, Ipods and cells (mobiles) in class and some different ideas about classroom behaviour, but they have been mostly OK. Teaching Dance has been a bit different, most of you know I can't dance to save myself, so very soon a whole class of Canadian kids will have the same problem! It's a laugh, as is helping out the Dragon Boating team, they even let me steer last week which almost ended in tears! The Fraser River is a great scenic spot to learn though. The school staff have all been awesome and have taken me out a couple of times which has helped me to settle in, especially Trevor and Natalie who have gotten me drunk a couple of times (like I need an excuse!!). I also got signed up for the Staff Olympics, a series of events where the teachers compete against each other during lunchtimes. The final event was a lip sync contest where I had to get on stage with three other teachers in front of 500 kids and do a dodgy dance to 'These Boots Are Made For Walking'. It was hilarious and the footage has even been put on You Tube!! My team actually won overall, must have been the Aussie influence haha!

Spring break is not far off, going to the Carribbean for the Cricket World Cup. Off to Seattle in the next few weeks for a weekend, should be cool and I might even take a trip to Vegas for Easter. Have been out a few times on the tiles, Vancouver is an awesome city with heaps to do. I did get lost though in my first week and ended up going along the most dodgy street I have ever seen, Hastings Street. Junkies and crack whores everywhere! I crossed the road six times in 10 minutes to avoid suspect people! Thought the rest of the city really is picture postcard perfect.

Hope you're all crusing, wherever you are.

Keep smiling, Ben.

Gallery: A Thai Summer

bennygelatti — Wed, 3 Jan 2007 05:51:00 GMT

Christmas holiday with the boys!