Adventure junkie expat Aussie setting out on a new life as full-time writer / domestic goddess.

Born and bred in Queensland Australia but now living in Ireland after a serial travel addiction. Met an amazing man here and ended up staying. Both of the boys were born here and have a weird accent with touches of Aussie, English, Irish and even Spanish from my mum.

To quote Jane Austen: If adventures do not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.

So I finished my degree and like so many young Aussie's headed overseas on my Grand Tour and a little like one of my literary heroes Percy Bysshe Shelley never really made it home.

Started blogging a few years ago but after getting hijacked by a hacker and the pain of taking down the site, went back to my old school journal by the bed.

Now that I am writing full-time and the laptop is superglued to me, I thought I would take up where I left off.


Saturday, September 4, 2010

An apple for the teacher

My previous post and this great photo from http://magpietales.blogspot.com/ set me to thinking about some of my own great memories of school and especially first days. I was one of those rare kids who loved going to school. I have always loved books and learning new things.

My amazing father was really positive about school and always had such great stories to tell which made the facts more insteresting. It helped that he took the time to talk to us, help us with our homework and answer the litany of insane questions we came up with. He was well travelled and highly educated and always made the dry facts come alive.

I was lucky too in that I had some great teachers along the way. Teachers who really cared about me as a person as well as a student and who took the time to work out what would be the best way for me to learn as an individual and not just as another cog in the curriculum machine.

While I was never Teacher's Pet - I had a tendency to be what they called "boisterous" (read disruptive) - I always got on well with my teachers and was never afraid to ask for more work or speak up in class. This meant I was actively engaged in the lessons and this combined with a slightly disturbing eagerness to please meant I did ok at school and actually enjoyed it.

I still remember my very first day at school believe it or not. I was wearing an outfit my mother had made and was very 70s. I had one of those retro carboard school cases which I loved and still do. My mother had made a beautiful lunch of vegemite and lettuce sandwiches along with an apple. Those were the days of free milk in schools so that was my drink covered. For a blast from the past here is a quick snapshot taken to remember that particular milestone event.


Our oceanfront home in Mermaid Beach was a 20 minute walk along the beach to my school and I have great memories of walking along the beach, hand in hand, with both my mother and father. And like I said, the only apple in my case was for little lunch and not for my teacher.
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12 comments:

  1. Brian MillerSeptember 4, 2010 at 4:13 PM

    there are several teachers that made a huge impact along the way...the ones that took a personal interest...cant quite remember first day but i do remember the bus stop....

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  2. Kathe W.September 4, 2010 at 10:35 PM

    ones memories that are shared are the best readings!Thanks! Nice Magpie

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  3. Tess KincaidSeptember 5, 2010 at 8:31 AM

    Beautiful memories.

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  4. Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis HallSeptember 5, 2010 at 9:35 AM

    sweet story...
    love the cute image in the middle...



    My Magpie

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    yes, being "boisterous" can sometimes make life a lot more fun.

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  6. ClaudiaSeptember 5, 2010 at 11:48 AM

    such nice memories - the walk along the beach to school - thanks for sharing your memories with us!

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  7. Tumblewords:September 5, 2010 at 6:51 PM

    Terrific memories!

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  8. Everyday GoddessSeptember 6, 2010 at 4:47 PM

    good for you to always ask for help and to let yourself be heard!

    mermaid beach sounds enchanting!

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  9. Marie NicoleSeptember 6, 2010 at 5:49 PM

    I loved school too. I went to French schools all mu life, but my fave classes were the English classes. The focus was always on creative writing (since it was as a second language) and we weren't burdened with grammar and stuff (since our first language grammar was already too burdening). Mermaid beach sounds great! I grew up by a lake we lovingly called Pooey Louis, yes lake St-Louis did not smell very good in the 70s... Ahhh fond childhood memories!

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  10. Sue JSeptember 8, 2010 at 5:06 PM

    Lovely memories. I never liked school much and tended to get 'could do better if she applied herself' on my reports.

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  11. DeelsSeptember 9, 2010 at 11:36 AM

    Thanks for visiting and for your lovely comments. Only back blogging recently and glad of the follows.

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  12. KatherineJanuary 1, 2011 at 7:11 PM

    Wow Deels.. I finally figured our how to access your blog. I finally accessed it through twitter. When you joined my blog you did it through twitter and clicking on your profile pic took me to twitter!
    I love the look of your blog & your memories from the old school yard took me on a journey to yesteryear also. Seeing the old beach house brought back many a fond memory from our childhood too .. you had the best backyard a child could every want or need, I reckon!
    I'm do glad I found your blog!

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