Good 'ay mate. How ya goin'?

Dear everyone. I know I suck at correspondance. I really do apologize. However, in my defense life has been absolutely mental since I've arrived here almost 2 months ago...it's amazing it has already been that long! So much has happened. But I'll get to that. First, I need to continue the countdown

#2 Ways to Die in Australia....Spiders

The Sydney Funnel Web Spider
So, several weeks ago, 3 to be precise, I took a wilderness first aid course. In this wilderness first aid course we absolutely had to address how to treat bites. This included snakes, spiders, octopi, ants, bees and myriad other pests big, small, but nearly all could be lethal in some strange way. As a side note for those worried about my safety after post #1 (MOM) take heart that no one has died from a snake bite that received adequate first aid care in something dumb like 25 years. Anyway, when covering bites we got onto the topic of spiders. Fun fun. .
Quote, "Recently the Syndye Funnel Web spider has moved up in the world's deadliest spiders rankings from #2 to #1."
This coming from the man whose job it is to stay up-to-date on these types of things so he can be considered a pretty reliable source of information. But while absorbing this information my mind couldn't help but wonder how Aussieland's little gem of an arachnid accomplished this feat. I envisioned a small 8 sided (of course) glass cage in which through two doors opposite one another a funnel web and a black widow or something nasty like that being dropped in to fight a battle to the death to see who would be THE most deadly spider in the world. More than likely with lab coated scientists gathered around cheering wildly for their favorites with one opportunistic business minded science geek taking bets in the corner.
But how this has come about is irrelevent because The Funnel Web won. The male of the species is reknown for it audacity in its hunt for receptive females. For instance, males have been to known to wonder into backyards, swimming pools, houses, bedrooms, etc. looking for their true love. And of course the great thing is that the males are the ones that are the most toxic. I love this country.
For some reason I can't add pictures today but check this out if you want to see one: http://tyrrells.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/FunnelWebSpider.jpg


The Redback Spider
Not to be outdone, Australia also has another spider that is somewhere around the top 5 most deadly: the redback. These guys are not very big and tend to be pretty reclusive but still they pack the venomous punch that is needed. And whereas the Sydney Funnel Web is only found in and around the greater Sydney area, the redback is found throughout most of Australia (I think). Funny story...there is a redback in its web approximately six feet from where I am currently typing. Living on the edge...
(I know the quality of this sucks but it is a spider eating an effing snake!!! http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2008/09/26/1111117/593465-redback-spider-eats-er-snake.jpg)


Ok, so...I suppose I should get on with what the hell has actually been going on here, huh?

SOOO. I am and will be living in a small town called Eildon that is northeast of Melbourne by about 2 hours drive. The town is TINY! Probably 600 full time residence. It has one grocery store that closes at 7 every day--which I hear is a step up this year from closing at 5 before. It's quaint all in all.
Upon arrival OEG (who I work for) provided staff housing free of charge for 2 months where all of the newbies stayed until they could get their feet under them. There are 2 staff houses with around 14-18 beds in each. It was quite an experience. In the 30 odd new hirers there were Aussies, Americans, Canadians, Kiwis (New Zealanders), Brits, and an Irish bloke named Paddy Cloake. Quite a wide array of former/current English Colonies (except the canucks I suppose). It was great fun. So many new people ranging from 18 years old to 30 with all different backrounds and experience.
By far the most comical aspect of the situation was that despite all speaking "English" there were perpetual misunderstandings and miscommunications and "what the hell are you trying to say" moments. It was vaguely embarrassing because I found myself asking people to repeat themselves 4 times. First because I may have not quite been paying enough attention. Second, because I know I heard them correctly but I couldn't quite make out the words they said because of their accent. Third time I'd ask them to repeat themselves because even concentrating on their accent I thought I misheard them. And fourth because after hearing the exact same thing on the third rendition that I did on the second I'd realize that I had no idea what they were talking about because their jargon/slang didn't register at all with me. But again, we all speak "English". And some of the accents are riteous. For instance, in an Irish accent 'H's are nearly never pronounced. So, there is this thing or three that is hilarious. That past sentence would sound like this from an Irishman: So, tere's tis ting or tree tat is hilarious. Also, versions of the British accent can accomplish rare feats such as pronouncing words like 'bottle' and 'photo' without ever making anything resembling a 't' sound. Bottle=ba-ul and photo=fo-o. And then with the canadians saying 'aboot' and the kiwis say 'aye' and even Lisa from virginia saying anything in her southern draw it was quite the household. Most people in the past two months have moved out of the staff houses and into houses in town but I have chosen to remain in the staff houses as it is the most affordable option.

Ok, so the first 1.5 months were souley trainings. Unfortionately, trainings are not paid for me as I am a casual salaried staff so it has been pretty meagre as far as funds are concerened (the atorcities of that'll be in a different post). But it was awesome because I've had a chance to learn so much and try my hand at so many different outdoor pursuits. To sum them up I've been trained to be an assistant/leader in cycling (road and mountain), raft guide, bushwalk (hiking), rock climbing/absailing (repelling), manning low and high ropes courses, canoeing, and have also taken a 7 day 60 hour intense wilderness first aid class. Anyone of those trainings could warrant a separat post but between attending them, making journies into Melbourne, and sharing a social beverage or two with all the new and old staff I simply can't find the time to blog as much as I'd like.

Just last week though I did have my first actual program. A 4 day program where I facilitated a group of 12 year 7's (9 girls and 3 boys) doing canoeing, bushtucker/boomarang throwing-didn't lead that one, a two day bushwalk, some banner making, cooking, camping, and everything a first year camper would need to know. As a whole the week went without a catastrophe but for 96 hours I felt at the break of shear chaos! But all's well that ends well. The kids had a rocking time and were pretty keen to get back to their next camp session. A quick word about Aussie camps/my job. It seems that there is an outdoor experience requirement of all secondary (high) school which I find is awesome! I never actually had a camp experience growing up (except basketball camp)and I love that Austrailia is devoted to fostering a sense of enviornmental connection. Very cool. That said my company is the largest outdoor ed group in Aus and because of this also one of the most wealthy. Our primary clientelle are affluent private schools. Not sure where that fits in in my narrative here but I felt it necessary to add in.

As with the trainings I could write for ages about my first program but as I mentioned before there is so much going on for me to do. One of which is to prepare myself for my second program starting tomorrow where I'll be fly-fishing, rock climbing, mountain biking, high-rope-ing, and bushwalking with a group of year 10 girls. That said I gotta make like a newborn and headout.

Peace love and wallabies
-J


Oh yea, as far as the title is concered...how ya goin means how are you. that was perhaps my first quadrouple repeated conversation.

Also, please ignore the travesties of spelling/grammar I'm positive I committed.