Shaking In My Boots
17 Mar
I called my teacher this morning. I emailed her early last week but didn’t get a reply so I thought I should follow up on it. She was really nice and lovely and all, but I am pretty much ready to crawl back into bed and cry for the rest of today, for the following reasons:
- The entire term is going to be spent on ANZAC day. That in itself is OK, I need to do some major studying about it because although I know what it is all about, I need to know it inside and out. Not to mention there will be 40 Vietnam veterans visiting the school for the ANZAC day celebrations, so I need to know everything just to be respectful!
- I am not staying my little shearing shed, but a house in town with another lady. She works in another town and I gather she’d gone during the week and at home on weekends. I was really looking forward to living alone. My teacher also hinted that I should offer some sort of rent/board for staying there as well as keeping everything tidy and cooking for myself. Even at $50/wk it’s still going to work out to be about $400 while I am out there, which is shit because that strikes an almost fatal blow to my London savings. I have no problems with keeping everything tidy and all that, but I just hope the lady wants to live with someone else for 2 months, I would hate to feel like I am imposing for such a long time. Just hearing that she wants me to cook and keep everything tody just gives me the impression she doesn’t really want me to affect her house/lifestyle in any way.
- I admitted to my teacher that I didn’t know something. It’s a new assessment framework that is being implemented this year in schools and uni has touched on it but sort of explained that it’s new and something we should know for when we are teachers but it’s still being rolled out for the moment so not to be too caught up in it. The teacher asked if I knew what it was, and I said no (because I didn’t know it’s proper name that she referred to it by) but that I’ll make sure I know it inside out by next week. She laughed (in a nice way) and said how so many uni students were coming out with no idea of things like that and how we should be covering that stuff. At uni they pretty much beat into us that we must know everything about everything and God help us if we tell our teachers we don’t know something. I am terrified now that she’ll think I don’t know anything I am meant to know and will be doubting my ability. If I was going to do the EQ interview I am reasonably confident I would have already been given a bad rating in her mind because most Principals say they are sure of the rating they’ll give to a student after about two days of prac. I will mention next time I speak to her that I am familiar with the elements of the framework but that I didn’t know the technical term for it (which is all true) so hopefully that will restore some faith.
I am going to move on from my pity party quite soon. I am going to put it long hours at uni this week to get up to scratch on the things I should know inside and out. It’s hard but possible, and so long as it is possible I am going to make it happen. I figure that I will bring a gift for the first day I arrive at this lady’s house so we get off on a good foot, and any addittional tips on being an exemplary house guest would be welcome. I suppose living with someone I may or may not get on with is practice for London flat sharing anyways, right? Plus, living in a house means I will have proper walls and a real bedroom (I guess) as well as possibly even a TV to watch and maybe even Internet, plus I will be able to walk to school. Any help in finding the silver lining on all of this would be much appreciated.
=(
Maybe your flatmate will be cool – do you know what she does ?
I love that sharing a house with a stranger is goign to put you in good stead for living with me =P
Best, I don’t think she’s a flat mate, she’s more of a house owner and I’m the stupid girl who’ll be in her house for two months. Plus she’s like a Mum, she’s not young, there are no young people in town, there are kids and parents, pretty much no one from 15 – 30.
And I KNOW I can live with you, tard, but after Wifey turfs me out (between 2 hours and 2 months I guess, depending how bad her PMS is and how much she shits me) I will have to find a place to live until you come
Hey there!
… but I’ve read a few of your posts before and love your blog. Anyway if you ever need a hand with anything you are more than welcome to drop me an email sometime! I know how scary and intimidating it can all be, I moved out here without knowing a soul and I’d never lived out of home before, so I guess in a way its the same with your big prac! Anyway I dont want to seem like some nosey parker or anything, but I know you will love it and will have a great time!! All the best!
I just wanted to say don’t worry! I am now third year out teaching in western QLD (you’re going to Wyandra right? Wellll Im actually not toooo far from there, small world huh!). I didn’t do my final prac out here, but I have been teaching out here 2 years now and it is a bit of a different ball game, but you will be fineeeee!!!! You dont know me (obviously
Sarah
Sarah! Dear God, I so needed someone like you to come by right about now!
I have settled down (thank you, glass of wine!!) and I am back to being fine with everything. I think the boat was just severely rocked because I’d sorted it all out in my mind based on Wifey’s experience and to find out it was all going to be different, PLUS saying something stupid to my teacher made it feel much worse than it really is.
Yes, I’ll be at Wyandra, may I ask where you are? (you can email me if you don’t wanna project it all to the world!) How brave of you to go out West first up, I am sure it will pay off though, you’ll be getting great points if you are also pretty far out.
Thanks so much for your comment, it was so reassuring
I think the postive in that is that you will have a proper bathroom! hehe
Oh and possibly internet even though you didn`t think you would!
Plus it is a good chance to at least know someone in town who can point you in the right direction.
I think because she will be paying the bills though that you might need to pay some rent….or offer to pay the bills. I dont know really though!!!
I am sure you will be fine!!!
My advice is ask if she wants you to be scarce when she is home (or has visitors etc) and then try to spend the days out when she is home if that is what she prefers!
Lulu, yes, a real bathroom will be good, though the quarters had an OK bathroom, considering. Walls will be the most exciting bit
I don’t know how much to offer for rent, maybe $25/wk, is that OK or offensive? I won’t eat her food or anything, and water is free so it’s just gas and electricity because I believe they use the water from the basin rather than town water.
Good tip about being scarce, I will suss that out.