Ottawa our next Exchange location????
Thursday 5th & Friday 6th May
Ok I’m back with another chapter.
This time Ottawa - the Canadian capital.
The trip was organised as a
professional development day for the Australian teachers, so they were able to take
the Friday off for school visits in the Ottawa region. Once again many thanks
must go to the members of the Canadian League of Exchange Teachers for this
opportunity.
Friday, being a work day, meant we
were able to leave early on the Thursday afternoon for the 500km journey up the
St Lawrence Seaway to Ottawa. The drive was a pleasant one and finally showed
us that Spring has arrived, (the weather is something that the Canadians are
continually apologising for, as Spring has been wet and cold so far). The
countryside East of Toronto is turning a verdant green and I got my first
glimpses of the vast fir forests I have been dying to see.
We arrived in Ottawa around 20:30
and went to our accommodation. We were billeted with Carin and Alan Goodman, a wonderful,
semi retired couple, who were gracious enough to provide us with two rooms in
their house. Carin is a former teacher who now works as a supply teacher and
Alan is retired from the electronics industry. He and I immediately discovered
we had a shared background as Alan is a former electronics technician with the
Royal Air Force.
Friday morning was an early start
as Michelle had to be at the Winston Churchill Elementary school at 09:00 and
the kids and I were off to meet the Barnards at the museum of Science and
Technology. Once arriving there we found that a couple of other families had
had the same idea, so Ryan and Tash got to meet up with some more of their
friends. As you would expect from its name the museum showcases a lot of
Canadian Science and Technology and is very hands on and kid friendly. Amongst
its exhibits were displays of Canadian Steam Locomotives, an exhibit on
Canada’s participation in Space and telecommunications and displays on mining
and ship building, areas that are important to the development of Canada.
As well as those exhibits, there
were interactive demonstrations on electricity and the Crazy Kitchen. This is a
room were the doors windows are perpendicular, but the floor is sloped, so when
you walk into the room you immediately feel as though you are falling sideways,
it completely messes with your sense of balance. Needless to say the kids loved
this and kept racing back through.
Leaving the museum it was back to
the school and pick up mom and a couple of other teachers, all having agreed
that the visit was well worth it, to see how different approaches are being
used in another school environment.
Next stop, was a First Nations
aboriginal experience on Victoria Island in the middle of the Ottawa River, but
not before getting lost and ending up across the river in Quebec (another
province crossed off). At the aboriginal experience we were treated to lunch,
Bison burgers and venison sausages. Prior to lunch however we were shown
examples of First Nations dwellings, including Wig Wams and Tepees and here I
was growing up thinking they were the same thing. We were also taught the
importance of the Ottawa river and Victoria island to the Algonquin people and
other aboriginal First Nations People.
After lunch we had the chance to
listen the Native account of why North America is referred to as ‘Mother Turtle’
in native folklore. We were also shown
examples of native dancing and dress and were encouraged to take part in a
traditional dance.
After leaving Victoria Island it
was off to the next official part of the day, a reception held at the residence
of the Australian High Commissioner to Canada, the Honourable Justin Brown. The
High Commissioners’ residence is in the diplomatic quarter in a lovely old
house, with the Austrian Embassy just up the road, (I wonder how many times
they get each other’s mail). The house has a grand staircase in front of you
just as you enter the hall, so the kids enacted the farewell scene from the
sound of music, so look out for that on you tube in a couple of weeks. Mr Brown
was very pleasant to talk too and thanked the teachers for their help in
showcasing Australia in Canada, one of his duties. I asked the High commissioner if he had any
jobs going but he only has a small staff and only three of those are from
defence and two are in uniform, damn.
Apparently Ottawa isn’t a popular diplomatic
post, can’t understand why, must be something to do with the cold. I’d go there
at the drop of a hat. Wonder if I can transfer to the Department of Foreign
affairs?
Friday night was topped of with
BBQ at the house of the CLEE organiser in Ottawa. He lives in Gatineau, Quebec,
across the river from Ottawa, so another chance to visit French speaking
Quebec. You can tell you are in Quebec because in Ottawa all road signs are in
English and French, in Quebec they are just in French.
Entertainment for the night was
provided by Roland’s sons band the Cardboard Crowns, whose lead singer sported
the most impressive Mohawk I’ve ever seen.
So that was Friday. Tune in later
for Saturday and Sunday.
