Melbourne
Almost a full month and not a word from me? That can only mean one of two things;
I’m having way too much fun to write
orI don’t have anything much to say.
Now, I promised myself that I’d always be honest and truthful and yada-yada-yada on here so if I’m going to stick with that then I’ll tell you all that… I haven’t really had much to say.
The past few weeks have been exceptionally slow-paced. Most days I listen to a podcast (thanks It’s A Lot and Shameless), do some casual relief work, exercise with a walk or pilates, and read a book. Needless to say that the great adVANture is off to a slow start. And that’s okay!
I did go on a quick weekend away to the NSW border where I had to apply for my working with children’s check because NSW lives in the 1800s and it can’t be done online, and another weekend in the city catching up with old university friends. Once my WWCC was approved, which took all of 30 minutes, I could finally apply for teaching registration. Yay! When that’s all complete, I’ll leave Melbourne and be able to really kick off on the van plan. But for now, it’s lazy walks along the beach with Dog, and watching quiz shows with the folks.
Early evening Peninsula walks.
Look, let’s be real though, not everything is great. I’ve been backflipping on whether or not to write this but I landed on the belief that if I didn’t, I’d be mad with myself. The biggest downside of my trip so far is that I had to call up a school and tell them I didn’t want to return because I don’t like being sexually harassed by kids in the workplace. But here’s the kicker - the response was (and let it be known that I’m paraphrasing here), “We understand, we totally get it and of course you don’t have to come back but … sometimes that just happens.”
Um, what?
I know other teachers who have been harassed, and it’s even happened to me before so of course I know that it does happen, but my stomach dropped at that being the go-to reply, and also at the fact that young women have to accept harassment as part of their day job. That’s hardly the most groundbreaking statement I’ll ever write, and I understand that there’s a really big conversation to have here about educating young people, and fostering cultures in which everyone can thrive and grow, but for now I’m just giving you all an update. In case you didn’t know what’s happening in schools across the country, there you go!
It just got me thinking about sociology really; I wonder when this shift started, and why. When did we decide that degrading others was a viable way to establish status or self-worth? Yikes - the more I think about it, the further back it seems to stem... I’m about to go down a rabbit hole here! Watch this space - maybe I’ll write up an essay on the topic at a later date.
In terms of ~fun~ writing updates, I’m working on a little short story which should hopefully be posted soon, and I’m still trying to figure out how to set up a mailing / subscription list. Bear with me - I’m no tech whizz.
Anyway, much love, dear reader and here’s hoping that my next entry is delayed simply because 1. I’m having way too much fun to write.
