2016 Annual Review

2016 will go down as a strange year by anyone's reckoning. While the Brexit referendum, Trump's election victory and the deaths of so many people in the arts dominated headlines, the year will also be remembered in sport as the Year for the Dreamers, the true believers and romantics. So, without further ado, here are my highlights from this year:

• Gaining a variety of teaching experiences through Vibe Education, which included two stints at different high schools teaching French and Spanish, and several days of special needs education. Also being able to test the Michel Thomas Method as a private tutor, and seeing that it really works when it comes to teaching / learning a language.
• Returning to Melbourne in time to witness the most amazing AFL finals campaign by the team I have followed since 1997, the Western Bulldogs. First they went to Subiaco against a red-hot West Coast team and beat them by 47 points. Then the following week they faced the then reigning premiers Hawthorn at the MCG, which I went to with my best mate from Big W and Doggies brother Ben. In the best night of footy I've ever experienced, we were among the 87,000 fans who saw the Dogs "reverse the curse of '61" and run out 23-point winners. Then came a night of unforgettable drama the next Saturday as I sat glued to the TV for the preliminary final against Greater Western Sydney. The euphoria of getting through to our first Grand Final in 55 years carried me through the week as I proudly wore my scarf to work. On Grand Final day, I went with Ben to the Bulldogs' training ground and spiritual home, Whitten Oval in West Footscray, to watch the game on the big screen with thousands of other supporters. At the end of two hours of hard-fought footy against the Swans, we managed to pull away in the dying minutes to finally win our first premiership since 1954. Like many fans, I've watched the highlights of that match hundreds of times since that amazing day, and it's still hard to believe we've finally done it. 
• Celebrating 3 years with Vanessa, showing her around Europe and introducing her to my wider circle of friends and family from over there, and attending various weddings. Of course, we've been asked the question several times already when our turn will be, but we're happy to take our time.
• It has been another unforgettable year of music, doing a series of memorable concerts with the London Philharmonic, finishing with a rousing performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony as part of the Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Then upon returning to Melbourne, I promptly rejoined the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic in time for my first-ever Messiah and another round of Carols at the Cathedral concerts. 

Here's wishing everyone much health, happiness and success in 2017!
For the last time in 2016, Cheers and God bless

An honest reflection ... and testimony to God's grace!

Dear readers,

First of all, belated Christmas greetings to you all. I have for the most part been very busy since my last blog post. Much has happened since returning to Melbourne, and only now as the year draws to a close have I had the chance to sit down, reflect and write something down. I started this reflection early on Christmas morning and thanks to writer's bloc and other distractions, only managed to finish it just now:

It is the wee hours of Christmas morning as I sit in my bed writing this. It's so warm that I can't sleep and my brain is full of thoughts, so I'm writing things down while they're still fresh in my mind. I've just finished watching for the first time that classic Christmas film It's A Wonderful Life. Like Carols in the Cathedral, which again was a highly-acclaimed success, watching this film is going to become an annual Christmas tradition for me, as it already is for many others, if only to remind me every year of just how blessed I've been. 
 In case you don't know the plot, a hardworking, big-hearted businessman named George Bailey (portrayed brilliantly by James Stewart) is about to commit suicide due to not being able to pay $8,000 to a visiting bank officer, due to an accidental mishap by his business partner and uncle. He is saved by his guardian angel Clarence, who shows George all the bad things that would have happened to the people around him if he had never existed. In some regards, the story is a reverse of Dickens' Christmas Carol, but thankfully both have a happy ending. If you haven't seen It's A Wonderful Life yet, watch it yourself to find out what happens in the end.
 Anyway, the film got me thinking about the year that is about to draw to a close. This time last year, I was of course still in London, not quite midway through my intended stay, but by the time I left in August I knew that I had had enough. Although there are certainly some aspects I still miss from my time there - the comparatively reliable Tube and bus services, pubs, Marks & Spencer, reading the Good Deed Feed in the Metro, the libraries, singing with the London Philharmonic Choir, and making new friends - it was also in London that I made the biggest mistake of my life thus far.
 To keep the story as brief as possible, I'll keep to the main points. I invested over AUD 100,000 of my savings into a group called Banc de Binary and lost virtually all of it in an elaborate scam. To make matters worse, it was not even my own money but the hard-earned cash that my parents had saved up over years and put in for me to buy a house one day. I was assigned an "account manager" who would give me trading signals over the phone, and while in the beginning things looked rosy, it very quickly went downhill. 
It is at this point that I have to thank my family and friends, especially Amanda and Andrew, for pointing out and confirming my worst fears that I had fallen for a scam, and more important prayed for me. I believe now on looking back that it was thanks to those prayers that 1) I was able to close my account with Banc de Binary before leaving London, and 2) I hadn't gone into debt due to my losses.
 It's also at this juncture that I must give thanks to God for my girlfriend Vanessa. We've now been together just over three years, this has easily been the most testing year so far, first with our physical separation, temporarily broken over Easter holiday, and then the aforementioned scam, which I will now say threatened to completely ruin my time in London. I would have understood perfectly if Vanessa decided to ditch me after losing all that money, especially since she's determined for us to find a place of our own as soon as possible. But she has stuck by me, which means that she really does love me after all, I guess.
 Although I will probably have to wait until I get to Heaven to see how I've been a blessing to people around me during my time on Earth, I can at least be thankful not just for God's protection and guidance, but for the various people who have invested in me over the years and continue to do so.
 And so I returned gladly to Melbourne, albeit humiliated and chastised by my financial folly. However, God mercifully came through for me again in two major ways. First, He provided me with work back at DUELI, which helped me 1) to start rebuilding my shattered bank accounts and 2) quickly readjust to life back in Melbourne. Then in late October, completely out of the blue, I received a message on Facebook from the Head of Languages at Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC), whom I had gotten to know through being on the committee of the Association of German Teachers of Victoria (AGTV) with her. She notified me that there was a part-time position going for German, and asked whether I would be interested.
 Now at this point, I faced a small dilemma. After my time teaching in London and learning about the Michel Thomas Method, I was determined to continue teaching, just without the stresses of a high school environment. I therefore planned to set up my own language teaching business using the Michel Thomas Method. However, this opportunity was clearly something from God, as if He was saying, "I want you to give it another chance", and not just at any school, but one of the best in Victoria, if not Australia, furthermore a school where I will be able - and encouraged - to practice my faith.
 So I went for two interviews and then late last month I got the call from one of the Deputy Principals offering me the position, to which I said yes. Now, taking up this job is something of a leap of faith, given that I will be getting less pay (compared to working as a casual employee at Deakin) and it's only a one-year contract. But God has been gracious enough to grant me this job, He has looked after me and blessed me so abundantly over my 30 years that I have no excuse not to continue to trust His guidance and obey His word. As that great hymn says: 

Many things about tomorrow 

I don't seem to understand 

But I know who holds tomorrow

And I know who holds my hand

Stay tuned for my upcoming annual review. 

Cheers and God bless

Half-Year Recap (Part Two)

Greetings everyone,
 I can barely believe that I now have less than a month-and-a-half left in London. How time has flown! Before launching into the post, a quick announcement that I have finally booked the second - and final - leg of my flight HOME! I will be flying first from Malpensa Airport (Milan, Italy) to Singapore on Monday August 22, scheduled to arrive the following morning. 
 I look forward to catching up with the family and friends who are based there, as well as fitting in a trip to Malaysia over the weekend to visit my other maternal relatives, before flying out of Singapore late on Sunday evening August 28, scheduled to arrive in Melbourne at 9 a.m. the following morning. Funnily enough, both flights cost me 294 pounds each!

Plans for rest of time in London

 After the end of my stint at Queen Elizabeth Girls School, my main agency Vibe offered me guaranteed supply work until 4 July which I decided to take up in order to have some sort of stable income for the rest of my time here. I didn't really draw up a list of things to do before coming, and I'd like to think I've done most of the main touristy stuff now, especially when Vanessa was here.
 However, two things that I still haven't done yet which are high on my priority list are: 1) Go see a West End musical; and 2) Watch a day of cricket at Lord's, which I live close to. There are of course tons of musicals to choose from, and my cousin Vivian recommended Book of Mormon, which I might catch when I get back to Melbourne, but Aladdin has caught my interest. 
There are also of course things I need to sort out before leaving, which includes paperwork, notifying bank and internet / phone provider of my impending departure, and planning - and paying for - my summer holiday, which leads perfectly into the next part.

Summer holiday plans

 During the second half of July, as the school year gradually comes to a close and supply work dries up, I will take the chance to visit parts of Britain I haven't yet got around to. Depending how much time and money I have, the main places I want to see are Bath (pictured below), the Cotswolds, Cardiff and Snowdonia.

Once my pay from last week comes through, I will book my flight from London to Hamburg for August 1st. I will then have three weeks traveling around before flying out to Singapore. My basic itinerary looks like this: 

• August 1-4: HAMBURG, then take bus to Dresden
• August 4-7: DRESDEN, then take bus to Vienna
• August 7-13: VIENNA, during which time I hope to enrol at the Institut EWI for a week-long intensive German course
• Take bus or train to Salzburg
• August 13-15: SALZBURG, then take bus / train to Kitzbühel
• August 15-17: KITZBÜHEL, meet up with Greta, one of the tour guides from MUCS Choir Trip back in 2014
• Bus / train to Kitzbühel to INNSBRUCK, then stay overnight in Innsbruck, then take bus from Innsbruck to Milan on August 18
• August 18 - 22: MILAN, including a day trip to Como. Flying out at 12 pm on the 22nd, taking the Malpensa Express

It's voting time! 

 There probably hasn't been that much news about it back in Australia, but over here the time has almost arrived for the people to decide. This Thursday there is going to be a referendum on whether the UK should stay in or leave the EU. There are strong arguments on both sides, and the question of whether to leave or stay has divided the public. Although the government's official stance, according to their website, is to remain, there are a number of ministers and MPs who have gone to the other side. Although as a Commonwealth citizen I could have voted, I have decided not to since I'm not staying here much

longer, and would most likely not return to live here unless I could afford it. Whatever the outcome of Thursday's referendum is, it will be interesting to observe the consequences.
 However, there is something else that has got my attention, which is of course the upcoming Australian federal election on 2 July. Over here, we have the option of either postal vote or going to Australia House until July 1 to submit our vote. Although some people I know who are overseas have opted out of it, either because they can't be bothered or they can't see how their vote is going to make any difference, I nonetheless wish to exercise my civic right and responsibility to have a say in who should run our country. Whichever party is elected, I hope and pray that as always they will govern wisely and ensure that Australia will remain a place of peace and prosperity for future generations.   
 Cheers and God bless!

Half-Year Recap (Part One)

Greetings dear readers!
After a busy few months, I'm glad to have the chance to sit down and update you on how things have been going in London. As always, there's a lot to catch up on, so let's get straight into it.

Vanessa's visit

As mentioned from my previous post, my girlfriend Vanessa flew over to London to join me for the Easter holiday. Annoyingly, the Piccadilly line - which goes directly to Heathrow Airport - was on strike the day of Vanessa's arrival, which meant I had to pay extra for a return trip to Paddington via the Heathrow Connect. But it was great to have her by my side again after doing long distance for seven months, and even though she was only here for two weeks, it was better than nothing. After all, it is common knowledge that London is an expensive city, and I certainly didn't have space to accommodate her at the house I am staying.
 That being said, we were only in London for about five days; the rest of the time we were in Europe. We had a wonderful time travelling to Berlin, different parts of Holland, and Paris, although we both encountered some difficult moments there!
 But the main thing for me, besides getting reacquainted with places I had already been to, was that Vanessa was able to meet most of my friends and family in the UK and in Europe.   

My time at Queen Elizabeth Girls 

At the start of the last week before half term break, i.e. nearly two weeks ago, I was summoned for a word by the deputy headteacher and told that my services would not be needed after half term. This is because, similar to back home in Australia, the higher year levels (10 to 13) will be finishing early after exams, so the other language teachers, who all take at least one or two of those classes, will take over my classes. 
 The first feeling I had when I heard this was one of relief, as the workload had been starting to get the better of me. I can appreciate now just how INSANE the workload is for full-time teachers in England, and although it has been tough, I will look back on my extended stint at QEGS with fond memories. Besides teaching some wonderful students, I also had my first experience of the dreaded OFSTED, sat in for parent-teacher interviews and participated in the school's Commemoration Day services.  Although there are quite a number of people to thank, special mention must go to Helene, the deputy head of languages who was effectively my boss, without whose help I would have been completely lost, and Denise, whose experience and support was critical throughout my time at the school. 

Choir Stuff

 Shortly after Vanessa's departure, the London Philharmonic Choir (LPC), which I joined last September, performed Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Royal Festival Hall. This was my second time performing the piece, the first time being back in 2013 with MUCS. While it was probably slower than the first performance, it felt more intense, and it certainly helped having our resident German member Susi Underwood to sharpen our pronunciation. The reviews, of the choir at least, were gladly very favourable.
 A month later, we had a concert at the same venue performing two of Sir Karl Jenkins' works - The Healer and his Requiem, being conducted by the composer himself. It's fair to say that Jenkins' music doesn't appeal to everybody, especially among LPC members, but there were parts which I enjoyed, especially the Japanese haiku movements in the Requiem featuring the haunting sound of the shakuhachi flute. 

 The LPC's next concert is on Tuesday under the baton of its president, Sir Mark Elder. It will be a semi-dramatised performance of Weber's Der Freischütz, which unfortunately I won't be able to attend. My final concert with the LPC before I return to Melbourne will be on July 24 at the Proms, during which we will be performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall. That is going to be some departure!
 As much as I have enjoyed my time with LPC, I look forward to singing again with my friends at the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic (RMP) choir and being back in time for what should be my first-ever Messiah concert as a performer, hopefully the first of many!

Before I finish, let me just quickly say I can't believe how fast time has flown! We are technically now into summer here and I'm amazed (and grateful!) I didn't come down with hay fever during spring. Look out for Part Two soon!

Cheers and God bless

She's Coming Soon!

Greetings dear readers!

 As the title suggests, a certain somebody is going to be arriving in London in a matter of days now. That somebody is of course my girlfriend Vanessa, who will be flying out of Melbourne on Wednesday and arriving at Heathrow on Thursday. I will be taking the day off work to meet her upon arrival, escort her to her hotel and then take her sightseeing. Thankfully, working out a sightseeing itinerary for London didn't take me very long, and I look forward to showing Vanessa around.

Barcelona trip review 

 This time last week I was walking around Barcelona with my local friend Txell, who I met when I was doing my intensive French course in Lyon last year. Much like my Roman holiday, I had a fabulous time in Barcelona: the scenery was stunning, the weather was amazing, the food was splendid, and I made some new friends. The highlights of my trip included: 

• A personal guided tour of the El Born neighbourhood with Alberto, during which I purchased a companion for Mimi - a toy duck whom I named Jordi (see picture above).
• Seeing the amazing and artistic architecture of places like the Palau de la Música Catalana and Gaudí's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia. 
• Seeing Barcelona beat Getafe 6-0 at the Camp Nou. Barça did not field a full-strength team because they were due to face Arsenal in the Champions League later in the week, but even so, over 87,000 people turned up for the game.   
• Catching up with Txell, doing more sightseeing with her and enjoying a proper tapas lunch, the mussels in particular will stay long in the memory.   

A new school

 After arriving back from Barcelona, I started at a new school, Queen Elizabeth Girls School in Barnet. Although I said last time after my Acton High experience that I would probably not teach anywhere longer than a week, I have changed my mind after my time so far at QEGS. 
 Like at Acton High, I am teaching French and Spanish, but this time covering for a teacher who is on maternity leave. The headteacher (the British equivalent of the principal in Australia) sat in on one of my classes on my first day at the school and afterwards she offered me the cover position for the remainder of the school year. At the time, I said I would think about it, but now, having thought things through, I would be a fool to turn down the offer.

Choir stuff 

 Just over two weeks ago, the London Philharmonic Choir were involved in their first concert for this year at the Royal Festival Hall. The piece we were performing, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, was Karol Szymanowski's Polish setting of the Stabat Mater, as part of a concert celebrating the 1050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland. 
 The music, although quite strange sounding at first, gradually grew on us I think and thankfully we had the assistance of two wonderful "language coaches" - Natalya and Susannah - to help us get our mouths around the Polish text. It wasn't surprising therefore that a significant number of the Polish community in London turned up for the concert, and apparently even the Vice-President of Poland was in the audience!
 Our next concert is on April 9 at the same venue, and we will be performing a piece that is very dear to my heart, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem.

Blessed Palm Sunday!

Jesus enters Jerusalem by Giotto

 For Christians, today is of course Palm Sunday, a day which marks a key point in the Easter period. For those of you unaware, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' arrival into Jerusalem to public adulation, which would later turn to scorn at his crucifixion when he didn't arrive as the liberator they expected. This event is deemed an important enough in Jesus' life and ministry to be mentioned in all four Gospels (Matthew ch. 21, Mark ch. 11, Luke ch. 19 and John ch. 12). The "Triumphal Entry" as the event is also known, documents how Jesus, starting at the Mount of Olives, made his way down to Jerusalem on a donkey which had never been ridden. 
 There is much symbolism in this action as well as fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 9:9). The next time Jesus descends from the Mount of Olives and comes to Jerusalem, it will not be in peace (which is what the donkey symbolized) but a white horse, to slay his enemies and judge righteously. While I look forward to Christ's Second Coming, it is also a humbling reminder to pray for those of my friends who do not yet know Christ, that they will recognize him and submit to his lordship before it's too late.  

 Cheers and God bless!

March madness!

Greetings, dear friends!
  There is much to share, so I'm getting straight to it. Today happens to be Mother's Day in the UK, which is a bit different because in Australia of course we celebrate it in May. However, it is a poignant reminder of home; I do miss my mum, and I am grateful whenever she skypes me to ask how I'm going. It's good to know that I won't have long to go before I see her again. More on that later.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

  My last post as you may remember was written while I was on mid-term holiday in Rome. Overall, barring a few dodgy incidents, it was the perfect Roman holiday. The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious as expected, the views were stunning, and I even made a few new friends. One of my favourite symphonic pieces is Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome, and having now been there and seen the iconic umbrella pine trees dotted around the city, I can now listen to the piece with the vivid imagery of the trees and places in my mind. The other thing I loved about Rome was the drinking water, freely available from the public fountains called nasoni (literally, big noses). The water is sourced from mountains outside the city and in my opinion is comparable to Melbourne's water. Bottled water really is the one thing you should not buy when in Rome! 
  Besides immersing myself in the history of the place and eating the food, my main reason for coming to Rome was to see my favourite Serie A team, Roma, play at the Stadio Olimpico against Palermo, a game which, to my delight, the Giallorossi won 5-0. 
  After returning from that wonderful adventure, it was back into work at Acton High. Initially, my stint there was only supposed to be until the middle of last week, but then it got extended twice. I think after this experience, for the rest of my time in London I will not do any cover stint longer than one week. I'm now about enter my fourth week at Acton High, and while I appreciate the continuity and the chance to work like a "real" teacher, I am sick and tired of the behaviour and antics I've had to endure from some of the students, and I feel for those in the class who do behave and want to learn. 
  On a more positive note with regards to teaching, I have finally signed up my first client for French and German language sessions. This is something I look forward to and also is far less stressful because I already have the notes planned and don't need to do any marking whatsoever. I hope to get more clients before I return to Melbourne, where I intend to expand this into a freelance teaching business. If you are interested, please find the link to my Gumtree ad here.
  As mentioned in the previous post, I am going on a mini-holiday to Barcelona from this Thursday until next Monday. In some ways, I view this as my reward for having endured my stint at Acton High. The interesting thing is that K

(C) xlibber. Taken from Flickr, used with CC 2.0 

aren, the lady through whom I booked my AirBnB accommodation, will be here in London, so her mum, who lives with her, will be looking after me. Karen has told me her mum doesn't speak English, which means I'll have ample chance to practice my Spanish! 
  As much as I'm looking forward to checking out the city, tasting the food and making new friends, as in Rome, my main reason for going to Barcelona is the football. Of all the European teams I follow - Everton, Dortmund, Roma and Barcelona - Barcelona is my favourite, and I've booked tickets to see them play against Getafe at the Nou Camp. Even though Barca are well on top in La Liga and Getafe are facing relegation, I'm wise enough to not assume victory. For me, the main thing will be to see the MSN trio (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) in action!
  As I hinted earlier, I finally have a good idea of when I'll be back in Melbourne. While in Rome, I booked the first leg of my trip home; on August 22 I'll be flying from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Singapore, where I will stay for about six days to catch up with friends and family. I have also let my landlady know that I intend to move out on July 20, the last day of the school year. This is partly to avoid having to pay an extra month of rent, but also, I must admit, because I don't really get along with my housemates. 
  Shortly after my return from Barcelona is Easter holiday, which means I will be reunited with Vanessa for the first time in seven months! I've already given you a basic rundown of our itinerary, but I'll need to sort out an itinerary for the things Vanessa wants to see in London!
  Before I finish this post, I want to pay my respects to the family and friends of two great sportsmen who passed away recently: Former New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe (who was of course Russell's cousin) and former Geelong footballer Paul Couch. Both were in their 50's (Crowe 53, Couch 51) but went differently: Crowe gradually from a relapse of lymphoma, and Couch suddenly of a heart attack while cycling with friends. I guess it's a reminder that death does not discriminate, and even though I'm approaching 30 and feeling healthy, I should not take it for granted that I will live to a ripe old age, but rather use the time given to me to serve Jesus better.
  Cheers and God bless!

My Roman Holiday

Saluti da Roma! Greetings from Rome!
 It is evening of the first day of my holiday in the Eternal City, which thankfully happens to coincide with the mid-term break of the Spring Term. I am staying in the somewhat scruffy, but otherwise tourist-free area of Pigneto, having arranged accommodation via AirBnB with my wonderfully helpful hostess Paola. I also used AirBnB for my stay in Edinburgh and will definitely be using it again for other upcoming trips, which I will talk more about later.
 I've been quite busy since school resumed after New Year. Because I wasn't getting as much work as I wanted from Smart Teachers, I signed up with several other agencies during the Christmas break. Except for the first day of term and days which I've needed off, I have thankfully been able to get work every day. Some of those days have been at Special Needs settings which I found surprisingly rewarding, but it helped that I had support from other staff in every class. 
 In addition to my agency work, I am also hoping to get some additional income doing tuition for French and German. I am also looking to take up goal umpiring with the local Aussie rules league; apparently you can earn money for officiating in league matches, and should I enjoy it, I can continue doing goal umpiring when I get back to Melbourne.
 As most of you know, I'm only here for one year instead of two, and after returning to Melbourne I plan to settle down and find a house with Vanessa. With the further encouragement of my landlady, I am going to try and fit in as much travel as is financially possible. I have already booked a trip to Barcelona for 10 to 14 March, just before Vanessa arrives for Easter. Then on Easter Monday we are going on a 9-day round trip staying in Berlin, Rotterdam and Paris. I won't need to use AirBnB for that because we're going to be staying with friends and family in Berlin and Rotterdam, and have already booked hotel rooms in Paris. I'm planning to visit Ireland during the mid-term break of Summer Term at the end of May, and then after that it's the summer holiday, which even now I have to think ahead about to figure out what I want to see and do.
 I've already had a look at flights to Singapore in late August and am targeting a flight out from Milan on the 23rd. Once my paycheck comes in on Thursday I can double check the airfares before booking the flight. When that is done, I will book my flight to Melbourne a bit later, and will most likely fly with Emirates.
 Tomorrow I'll be visiting the Vatican, maybe I might catch a glimpse of His Holiness Pope Francis! Watch out for photos of my Roman adventure over the coming days with my red panda soft toy and travel companion Mimi.
 For now, cheers and God bless,