Children Together

May is winding down and June is dancing onto the stage full of warmth and colour. It's that time again. Time to get ready for goodbye. Time for nostalgia to march in uninvited and take her place for more au revoirs. Story of my life.

I vividly recall a post I wrote sometime last July about having to say goodbye in Korea and I was wondering if I'd ever see my newfound friends or my students again. Now I have to start wondering the same thing.

Teaching is sort of like parenting. It's hard. You go through a lot with your kids. You try to teach them music and science, but you also try to teach them right from wrong. Then there comes a time when they have to move on and so do you.

Of course, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready for June. June is an oasis after walking through the long desert that is January-May. In June you see the horizon and know that you will soon be refreshed.

I am going to miss my students. I've thought about that since earlier this month, but they made it concrete for me at the musical showcase on Wednesday night. It was a moment. They had been driving me crazy in the dressing room where we waited until nearly the end of the program for it to be our time to perform. There were almost forty of them - almost forty primary children, 90% of which were running around wildly as if they had just been set free after two hundred years of captivity.

Eventually we were informed that it was nearly our turn to perform. The students lined up on cue, without any help from me. As I walked down the hallway with a line of little lemmings following behind I turned around, finger already up to my mouth expecting to have to ask someone to return to the line and walk quietly. They were all in line, all walking quietly. Hmmm, maybe I have taught them a thing or two! I thought.

We took our place on the stage. They climbed the risers without a hitch. Standing in their spots, a few students looked at me for reassurance. Their eyes told me that they were nervous. "It's okay, don't be nervous. It'll be fine!" I said.

The curtains opened and I could not see the audience. Instead I focused on the sea of grade 2 and 3 students clothed in white and black before me. The light hit their faces and through the nerves I spotted hints of pride.

The first song loosened them up. It was an action echo song called "O My Aunt Came Back," so we had the audience up on their feet. Basically, everyone looked absolutely ridiculous - which lightened the mood.

The second song was one we had received distinction on at the music festival called "Children Together." It's a nice song about music and how children can make a difference in the world. They performed it very well at the festival, right on tempo. On Wednesday night I noticed them speeding it up just a little, but it didn't even matter. I have never heard them sound so fantastic. They sang their hearts out; belting the tune with such passion, enunciating the words as though they really meant them and believed the lyrics with every fiber of their beings. It was a good moment.

Perhaps it was all amplified by the fact that I am leaving, and I don't know if I'll ever see these kids again. Perhaps every music teacher thinks their choir or band is fantastic, just like all parents think their children are fantastic - even if they mess up. Either way, I could not be more proud of the choir. In my mind and in the mind of their parents/other teachers, they are stars.

Music Makes the World go 'Round

Tonight:

The big school division musical showcase. My choir will be performing 2 songs and it will probably be one of our last performances of the year.

I'm nostalgic already.

I've enjoyed getting back into music this year, and in many ways I'll miss this job next year.

A music teacher one day, a grad student the next.

Such is life!

The Problem with Warm Weather

Thank-you

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to vote for me for the Thailand volunteer trip. I posted a simple link on here and in a Facebook note and garnered much more support than I had thought I would. Some of the comments you've left on my JustMeans idea have overwhelmed me. Thank-you so much!

Haven't voted yet and have a couple minutes to spare? Please click here: http://tinyurl.com/poav9t
Then you can just click "support it" to the right of the page and leave a comment if you are so inclined.

If you have multiple e-mail accounts, you can vote more than once. :) Just a little FYI.

Now I feel like the person who says: "thanks for the money, but can I have a little more?" I assure you - it's appreciated! I'm quite a ways from having the most votes, but I do have a lot and I am on the front page.

In other news, I also want to thank the readers of my blog! Sometimes if people aren't commenting I wonder if anybody actually reads. I see the number of hits increasing and wonder if it's broken. It wouldn't matter a whole lot to me if people weren't reading: I would still blog. However, it is nice to think that people care about what I have to say! I've had several people admit to me recently that they visit "What in the World?" regularly. I wasn't even aware that most of those people knew it existed.

So thank-you to those of you who increase my hits and make me feel like a worthy blogger. And a special thanks to those of you who are out of the closet, so to speak.

Merci beaucoup!

P.S. I have this habit of going overboard with thank-yous......

To Hunt or not to Hunt. That is the Question.

I wanted to write a blog about this awhile ago but in an effort to avoid crawling back on the soapbox I decided against it. Then I thought about doing it again and decided not to again. And now, here I am. It was inevitable, really. I can't change my opinionated nature any more than I can change my age.

I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. I am the biggest animal lover I know. Anyone who knows me well can vouch for this fact and could probably give you at least ten reasons why I remind them of Elmyra from Looney Toons. 

I am not a vegetarian. I think PETA goes overboard. I think Heather Mills is misguided. And yet, I love animals.

I completely respect vegetarians who have chosen that lifestyle as being something that is right for them because it coincides with their particular belief system. I respect vegetarians who respect omnivores and don't condemn us when they see chicken on our plates. 

Let's flip the coin. I'm tired of the people who place themselves upon a pedestal and spew misinformed "facts" about issues they know very little about. Any idea where I'm going?

The thought of clubbing seals makes me cringe. I'm not saying the people who have done it are heartless, and clubbing is apparently a very quick method as opposed to the slow painful death that we immediately think of. Many claim that clubbing is more humane than shooting, for example. I've never been clubbed so I can't make an informed comment about this. All I can say is that I know that's not how I'd want to go. It seems inhumane and I would like it to stop.

But, did you know that the majority of seals harvested during the hunt are not clubbed anymore?

Not only that, but the pictures of the baby seals (whitecoats) that are used in the majority of the anti-seal hunt ads really is an inaccurate depiction of what goes on during the hunt considering it's illegal to kill a whitecoat. They don't post pictures of the older seals because quite frankly they aren't as cute. 

I was watching Canada AM the other day and there was a woman on there (I forget her name, clearly she didn't make much of an impression) who was strongly opposing the seal hunt. When she said something along the lines of nobody actually making a living from the seal hunt I almost threw my Dearfoam slipper at the T.V. 

Now I don't come from a family of hunters, but I do come from an island where people depend on the seal hunt. Even if they do not depend on the hunt directly, the fishery is what has sustained my province for years. We eat, breathe, and sleep by the sea. When seals overpopulate the fishery suffers immensely and so too do the people who depend on it. But I can see how it might be a difficult for someone who has never lived near the sea (and who knows almost nothing about it)  to truly understand the delicate balance of that ecosystem and how hunting might be necessary to keep populations of certain species in check.

The thing that irritates me the most, though, is the hypocrisy. The selective generosity. I'm sure the seals are grateful for all media attention, but what about chickens? Cows? Pigs? Perhaps nobody clubs them but I have seen the documentaries about what goes on in those slaughter houses and it's more barbaric than anything else I've ever seen. Hard to watch. I had to stop.

In Newfoundland we also hunt moose. Odd, but the world doesn't really care too much about that.

I'm sorry. I cannot respect your outspoken, jump-on-the-bandwagon plea to end the seal hunt until I also hear you voice your opposition to the slaughter of these other creatures. If cuteness is the issue (which it must be) then personally I think cows are cuter anyway. If somebody can give me a logical explanation as to why seals should be spared and all these other animals do not get that same right, maybe I'll reconsider my views.

"Canada is supposed to be a civil nation. I can't believe this is going on in our country." Some say.

Canada is also a country that is completely accepting almost to a fault. A country that respects all cultures and beliefs. How then, can one say to a hunter who really does live off the land in Nunavut that what he/she is doing is wrong? What about people from other countries who kill animals to make an offering of some sort? Would they not be allowed into our country? Try telling the people from Northern Canada that their way of life is unacceptable. They would look at you like you have ten heads. This is what they know. This is how they survive. This is how they have always survived.

I know it's cool to kiss PETA's ass these days. To say how against the seal hunt you are makes you politically and intellectually up-to-date. Supposedly. I would beg to differ.

This will not be a popular post, I'm aware of that. Mostly because I'm not on one side or the other, but right down the middle somewhere. Some proponents of the hunt will dislike this because I agree that clubbing seals is probably not the best hunting method. Some opponents of the hunt will really dislike this because I'm saying that they often jump into the water wearing a blindfold and not really knowing the facts. Either way, I just want to let the record show that I'm not a Sarah Palin-esque redneck by any means. I'm also not proposing that this is how everybody should think. I'm saying that this is my opinion and sometimes the floodgates that hold my opinions in bursts open. :)

For Daddy - May 2009

Dear Daddy,


7 months. Too long and it keeps getting longer. So long and yet when I allow my mind to "go there" I still feel the sudden urge to hurl. I guess that's one sure sign that you really love/miss someone - if you feel like you need to throw up when you think about them being gone.


A couple of weeks ago I had a breakdown while I laid in bed - it's been awhile since I've done that. That's progress, I suppose. It wasn't pretty, but it felt good to knock down the wall I've built up in my mind and let all the thoughts and realities temporarily flood in. But of course, I built the wall up again immediately after. It's my coping mechanism.


The strength it takes to keep that wall up is analogous to keeping a muscle constantly flexed. I guess, though, if that's what it takes to be able to soldier on, that is what I have to do.


I've recently enrolled in a creative travel writing course. Remember how I would spend hours in my bedroom writing things that you always wanted to read? Remember how I would rarely let you get your hands on any of it? Funny how that works. I have always been the most shy about showing my writing to my parents; the two people who surely would have been my biggest supporters.

The Ray Palmer Legacy Golf Tournament seems like it is going to go over very well. You were extremely lucky to have such devoted friends. Craig and I won't be able to make it home to the tournament. It is a little disappointing, yet at the same time I don't know if I would be able to go even if I was home. I love the idea and support it whole-heartedly, but it's too early for me. I'm not sure how I'd handle it. If I had to make a guess, I'd say not that well.

A couple weekends ago at Mark's wedding I saw a lot of the Palmers for the first time since... well... since. It was more emotional than I thought it would be. I look at them and all I see is you. I tried to keep it together and for the most part I did.

The school year is quickly winding down and pretty soon I'll be home again. My greatest fear is that there will be no escape from this harsh reality when I return. I'll have to face everything head-on. The hardest will be having to watch Mommy as she tries to adjust to her new life alone. Of course she won't really be alone, as we'll be there for her. But being there for her is different than being there with her, in the physical sense.

Daddy, you're the first thought I have in the morning and the last thought I have at night. I keep your picture right next to my bed and it constantly reminds me of the kind of Dad I had.

My next goal is to learn how to smile when I reflect on memories of you, rather than frown.

I love you so much and you are always remembered.

-Your baby girl XOXO

Please vote!!!

Hello friends,

I've just entered a contest at www.justmeans.com . I'm a little late entering, so I need your help please!

The winner of the contest will be presented with the opportunity to volunteer in Thailand during the month of August. 

To enter, I wrote a short explanation to show why I think international volunteerism is so important in promoting cultural understanding.

You can view my entry here: http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/18041/promoteidea.html

***UPDATE: You may have to make an account, but it only takes a minute. Then I would ask you to do two things: Click on the "support it" button (number of votes matters!) and then leave a comment on my entry (comments also matter). So greatly appreciated! xo 

Merci!!

No Second Chance???

Woke up to this comment on my "Second Chance" blog post:

Tourism Queensland said...

Hi Laura,

Unfortunately, Tourism Queensland is not offering a 2nd chance on The Best Job In The World.

@2nd_chance is not a TQ account and we are unsure of who own it, and what their intentions are.

Thanks for your continued interest in the campaign.

May 7, 2009 2:37 AM 

I'm not too sure why I didn't even consider the possibility that it might be a scam or something from a source other than TQ. Quite frankly, I have no idea what it's all about. It could be a legit clone (which wouldn't be overly surprising considering the amount of clones that have popped up). I appreciate TQ clearing things up. UNLESS.....

Unless TQ didn't really write that comment!!! Dun dun dun....

When I really think about it though, it doesn't make too much sense. IC is a 6 month position so they couldn't start the same job process again yet. There has to be a breathing period.

Alas, this is not the end. I'm still confident that I will find my best job in the world eventually. :) And in the meantime - I get to teach the best little bunch of comedians in the world.

Much Ado About Australia

Second Chance???

I wonder......

What does Tourism Queensland have up their sleeve?

When the 34 000 candidates were first shortlisted, I sent a tweet to them joking that I'll be waiting for TBJITW 2 next year. They quickly replied to me saying that they have a few ideas cooking. 

Hmmmm....

Now, one day before the announcement of Hamilton Island's caretaker, I have a mysterious follower on Twitter. Username? 2nd_Chance. This new follower has a background which appears to be quite Australian. Oh, and they happen to be following a bunch of people who applied for TBJITW round one.

Hmmmm....

Stay tuned. I'm on this.

Rain-check

Can I take a rain-check?

I'm feeling kind of under the weather today. I just don't have the energy to write more right now. Oink oink---uh, I mean: cough cough.