Newsletter

The newsletter is published at the beginning of each term by the editor Nan van Dissel. Please contact her to receive your copy. By becoming a member you will receive the newsletters free of charge.

In hockey we wear jerseys, skates and stinky hockey equipment;
In footy we wear a guernsey, boots and short shorts.
In hockey we are protected from head to toe;
In footy, you might put in a mouthguard and off you go.
In Canada, we spend early mornings in cold hockey arenas;
In South Australia, matches are mid morning on foggy and muddy ovals.
Hockey has six players including a goalie;
Footy has eighteen aside with no goalie.
In hockey we face-off with the drop of a puck;
In footy, we ball-up with two big rucks.
We end a good hockey game with a cheer and a pat on the back;
In footy, wrapped arm in arm, the winners sing their club song.
But the best part of both is all the new mates, lots of sweat and heaps of fun.

Brendan Sage is on exchange with his family in South Australia. He is an avid hockey player at home in Invermere, B.C. and has discovered a new passion playing for the Nairne–Bremer Footy Club.

On one foot, it seems, is the only way
to put on your clothes at the start of the day.
You’ve just had your shower, you’re dripping and cold
and starkedly naked, and not very bold.

You dry one foot, slip into the sock,
Slip on half nickers (or panties or jock).
Then comes one leg of your favourite jeans,
Taking care not to dangle the other in streams –

of water splashed onto the floor -
when turning the hot tap for that itsy bit more.
Slip foot and sock into the boot that you wear,
And start over again. You’re half way there.

Swapping your feet, you steady your stance,
Dry, put on sock and jock or pants.
And, (grunt) holding the cuff of the final leg –
--“Can’t quite reach”, I want some string and a peg.

Put peg on sock, string over the rail,
This little trick is sure not to fail -
to winch down my leg, and even the score,
right through my daks to my boot on the floor.

Ahhhhh! Safe now with two boots on dry shelf,
I can put on my shirt, jumper and whatever else
I’ll need to fend off the deserts cold,
And see more of this world before I’m too old.

Jim Warren
 

Up a Lazy River – The 2004 Murray River Houseboat Trip

It’s a far cry from the journey down the Murray River undertaken by Captain Charles Sturt in 1830. Nonetheless, the 2004 SAETL Houseboat Weekend was a wonderful and exciting experience. The words of the old song sum up the weekend quite well:

‘Up a lazy river by the old mill run’

Well, okay, it wasn’t all lazy cruising. There were a few adventures and lots of fun.

On the Friday evening of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend 26 intrepid adventurers met at Kia Marina near Mannum.  Trip organizers Joan Pilley and Jim Warren provided excellent directions and even a flashing beacon to ensure everyone arrived safely and found the right spot. Nametags were handed out as people arrived and everyone pitched in to divided up and stow the provisions on the three boats hired for the weekend.  After getting our gear into our assigned cabins we all got together on one boat to get acquainted.  The group was an international mix of Aussies, Japanese, Canadians and Americans. The organizers brought along appropriate national flags for each boat to fly.

The first night was spent moored at the marina so we could relax before getting up bright and early the next morning for an orientation session with the marina operators to learn how to operate the three vessels we were setting off in. We were briefed about motors and generators and how to tie a half hitch and how many toots to give on the horn when turning to port or starboard.  Then we were taken out for a supervised practice run before being given the somewhat daunting task of manoeuvring each of the three relatively large craft up the river by ourselves. Backing a houseboat (emphasis on ‘house’) off a riverbank into a waterway being used by several other similar sized boats and smaller craft is an interesting experience, to say the least.

The organizers made certain that each boat had someone with some experience teamed with those of us who were novices. Everyone helped with crew tasks such as casting off, tying lines and taking the helm to steer as we spent the weekend travelling approximately 20 kilometres up the river. 

‘That lazy, lazy river in the noon day sun’

The good company and changing scenery took care of providing all the fun and relaxation anyone could want. With the ample supplies provided by Joan and Jim and the favourite nibbles and beverages everyone brought to share, there was certainly more than enough food and drink to keep everyone happy. We had some fantastic meals and everyone pitched in to help with the cooking and clean-up.

There were also lots of relaxing things for everyone to do including chatting with new-found friends, photographing the sights from the upper deck, playing board games, curling up with a good book or just watching the river go by.

There was a wide variety of flora and fauna to see with something new around every bend. The amateur bird watchers were entertained by osprey, cormorants, pelicans, ducks, coots and many others.  The pelicans knew houseboats were where food could be found and they provided good entertainment and photo opportunities as they lazed about seeking handouts.

 ‘Lazy’ is a good way to describe how houseboats steer. Basically you turn the wheel and wait for the boat to react, then you correct if need be. This is fine most of the time but it can prove tricky in tight situations.

Each afternoon, well before dark, Jim searched the river banks for a place where we could tie up and “camp” for the night. It was a challenge to find a mooring spot for three houseboats that had access for sightseeing and was not posted as private property.  On both Saturday and Sunday the locations Jim selected were excellent, affording us relative privacy, ample room to gather around a campfire, access to walking trails and gorgeous scenery. However, coming in for our first landing we quickly learned what they meant during the orientation when they said the wind can push a houseboat sideways faster than the engines and rudder can steer to correct. We also learned it takes some fancy manoeuvring to get over a log and out of the mud when you end up sideways against the bank.

Once safely on shore there were sing-along sessions by the campfire accompanied by Colin on guitar and Konosuke on a traditional Japanese sanshin. The last night found everyone clapping and dancing to Abba music on the deck of the smallest houseboat.

When ashore many of us headed out on walks along old farm roads through meadows beside picturesque lakes to take photographs or just look at the beautiful scenery.

‘You can linger for awhile in the shade of a tree

Throw away your troubles,

Dream a dream of me.’

Imagine standing under a weeping willow tree with its branches lazily dangling in the water as a magnificent paddle wheeler steams past silhouetted against a deep blue sky with clouds that are that pinkish-orange colour that you only see just after sunset. It was probably a scene like this that prompted Mark Twain to compare the Murray River to the Mississippi when he visited here back in the late 1880’s. That is exactly what we saw Saturday evening. Paddle wheelers such as the Marion and the Murray Princess still ply these waters just like they did during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, except nowadays these magnificent vessels carry tourists.

There is nothing quite like cruising slowly along the Murray or strolling its banks and looking across a billabong as the amber glow of a sunset streams through magnificent gum trees and lights the green pastures and orange sandstone cliffs in the background.

All in all it was a great experience that truly suits the phrase “up a lazy river”.

For information on the Murray River check out the Web site: http://www.murray-river.net/homepage.htm

9 DAY RED CENTRE ADVENTURE including THE FAMOUS CAMEL CUP
Date to Be Advised

The South Australian Exchange Teacher's League is conducting its Central Australia Trip during the S.A. July school holidays.
Join us at a cost of approximately $650 (member)/$700 (non member)

• get to know teachers from overseas

• experience the beauty, vastness and uniqueness of the Australian Outback

• Visit Coober Pedy, Ayers Rock (Uluru), The Olgas (Kata Tjuta), King's Canyon, Stanley Chasm, Simpson's Gap and Alice Springs

Travel is by air conditioned luxury coach, and includes:-

• all meals, except in Alice Springs

• all accommodation - 4 nights in easy-to-erect tents (supplied) - 4

• nights in a real bed (hostel style)

• admission and park fees

• celebratory group dinner

• opportunity to spend extra time in CENTRAL AUSTRALIA, or continue your trip to DARWIN /CAIRNS (own expense)

• the tour ends in Alice Springs, but passengers may return to Adelaide with the coach at additional cost.

For further details contact Ray Morris phone/fax (08) 85310032 

The Footy – Port Adelaide vs Melbourne
by Frank Untiedt (German Language Assistant)

Sunday 8^th August started off pretty cloudy and the weather forecast was expecting rain and cold weather for the afternoon - not that we hadn`t already had a fair bit of rain with the usual amount of an August´s rainfall in the first three days of that very month! Not quite the best conditions for a footy match, I thought,… at least not for the audience. Besides, other than short reports on TV, I had never before watched a football match, because there is no such thing as “Aussie Rules” or football in general in Germany. We swear by soccer, that is round balls and square goals you must know!

          Consequently, I did not exactly know what we were in for when Nan very kindly picked Gwen and myself up at about one o´clock and we headed towards AAMI Stadium at West Lakes. But as soon as we had got there and met the other SAETL members and friends we were supposed to meet, I started to cheer up and get really excited about the match lying ahead of us: the Stadium was huge and the big crowds of people that made their way into it, with all their scarves, flags, caps and what have you, promised a really good match.

          And that was exactly what we got. Not only did “The Power” wipe the floor with the poor players from the East Coast (125:52) and enhanced there chance to play in the finals, but also was it a great footy experience. We had really good spots right behind one of the goals and, therefore, were able to follow the match from a very close distance. It is simply amazing to see those big Aussie blokes crashing into each other, running like crazy and literally “flying” to catch even the trickiest ball. Suddenly I understood some of the rules I´d never really got before, the lyrics of the songs sung by the fans were really easy and even the “names” the audience had for the poor umpires sounded just like in a German soccer match ;)!

A few years ago I read the book ‘The Year My Parents Ruined My Life’ by Martha Freeman.  The story is about Kate Summers, teenage girl whose life is what every teenage girl dreams of: a swanky California house, popular, a gorgeous boyfriend and the best friend a girl can have.  Everything is perfect until she finds out that she is moving to Belletoona, Pennsylvania.  In just a few hours her life went from great to horrible, the unimaginable happens and she has to leave her life long friends and boyfriend behind.  She baby sits the next door neighbour’s kid and earns enough money to buy a plane ticket back to California but when she gets there she finds out that everything has changed.

When my mom and dad told me that we were going to Australia I thought that this book was about to become a reality.  I really did not want to go at first but with the help of my friends and family I got over the fact that I had no choice and got excited.  You know the chance to change your life doesn’t come everyday, but when it does, few choose to grab it by the horns.  We are one of the few and I don’t regret a thing!

The first few weeks were hard; we didn’t know anyone and we were all really home sick.  When school started however, this all changed.  The Australian kids were probably nicer to me than I would have been to a new person at home.  It is hard to let someone new into your little group and I am very happy that they took that risk on me.  Term one went by pretty fast and before we knew it we were out snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and walking through the rainforest at Cairns.  It was breath taking! 

Don’t ask me where term two went.  It felt like only a few weeks before we were driving forever in a bus to Uluru and Alice Springs with other exchange teachers.  We met some other kids whose parents took them on the same adventure to Australia and we became friends really fast.  The sights were amazing.  It was fun to go on this trip with other people in a similar situation as us.  We had heaps of fun.

We are now 7 weeks into term three.  This term has gone by faster than the others and I am getting really excited about our next trip to the Whitsunday Islands where we get to go to the reef again.

I am not letting my parents talk about more that three days into the future (except the holidays!) because I am enjoying myself SOOOO much and I don’t want to go home.  It was easy to leave my friends in Canada because I knew that I would see them again in a year.  At this end, it will be really hard to leave my new friends.  I wish I could stay here longer.  The school year has gone by really fast.  Too bad the school year at home doesn’t go by that fast.

The year has been great and for the other kids going on an exchange don’t worry about it, you will have an awesome time and will not want to come home.  I know I won’t!  Parents beware: you will take your kids kicking and screaming onto the plane, but don’t think that it will be any easier getting them home.

Kirsten Sage 12

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