I’ve now been for two years out of consulting. And where am I now? Monday morning 6am at Munich airport.
Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?
However, in my head I’ve got Chris Rea on infinite repeat (‘flying home for Christmas’).
#20 Stroll along leafy Lygon Street to discover Little Italy and watch an art house movie at Cinema Nova – Monday, June 3, 2013
Go and watch “The Hunt”. It is one of the best movies of the year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Umv4CyxTdg
Michael, Emma and I strolled a negligible amount of Lygon Street to get to Cinema Nova on a Monday in June. After a quick pizza at Trotters, we stocked up on supermarket treats from the Woolworths below the theatre – an excellent local tip from Emma. We filed into a very cold cinema to watch a very chilling film.
The Hunt is an art house film and the antithesis of a Hollywood blockbuster. The story brews slowly, the cinematography is beautiful and the acting is subtle. The wintery scenes of kids in onesy playsuits brought back memories of Munich but this tale could play out anywhere. The lead figure, Lucas, is a kindergarten teacher in a small Danish town. The story was shown from his perspective, but if another point of view had been used, the film would have been quite a different story. The question of trust in such uneven relationships can never be as clear as the film’s vision but the last few scenes were incredibly poignant.
I found the dilemma of child abuse in an educational setting extremely relevant. There are two men in our class of 24 primary teacher trainees and from day one, the message for them has been “be cautious”. Do not be alone with a chid in a room. Do not touch a child if you do not need to. Never initiate a hug. Tell someone quickly if something happens.
In the beginnings of the film Lucas is established as a well-respected member of the community. He is an engaged teacher, a helpful friend to his hunting buddies, a catch for his new girlfriend, and a reliable friend and adult in Klara’s world. This good reputation comes crashing down when Klara tells Grete, the kindergarten leader, that Lucas exposed himself. We, the audience, knows this is a false accusation. However, for Lucas’ friends, colleagues and the townsfolk, the accusation is believed, repeated by several children and too hard to bear. Child abuse is too big a violation of trust and taboos that Lucas never received the benefit of the doubt. Only his son and one friend stand by him.
At the end of the film there are two powerful scenes of rebuilding shattered trust. Lucas and Theo share food and silence. The friendship, dating back to mopeds, is given a latent chance to heal. A final scene with Klara and Lucas together was heart wrenching and yet uplifting. Lucas’ optimism outweighs my own.
Please go and see The Hunt. The subject matter is heavy but the film is amazing.
Today was a good day. Jogging in the morning sun along the beach, biking to St Kilda for brunch with friends, a little nap at noon, more biking to Elwood for afternoon steak, watching a perfect sunset at St Kilda beach, being amazed by Super Moon, finishing the day off with Sunday Movie night with friends. It’s been a very good Melbournian day filled with sun, friends and fresh air. Thank you, I’m glad we’re here.
The circus was in town. More specifically the Formula 1 circus. Traditionally the season starts in Melbourne and unlike the real circus, Formula 1 was surprisingly unobtrusive. Apart from a few merchandise shops in the city and the occasional poster here and there it was barely noticeable that a major sports franchise was in town. The only hint that gave it away was the rather unsubtle high-pitched engine sound of race cars that woke us on Friday and Saturday. We live about 2km away from the race track, but had to shut the windows when talking on the phone. Yes, that loud.
As already mentioned, we spent the weekend in beautiful New Plymouth, Taranaki. The weather was beautiful, no clouds spotted the entire weekend, which meant that Mount Egmont was fully exposed. Perfect background for a wedding, but the weekend had many more highlights:
We are going to Megan and Dave’s wedding in New Plymouth over the weekend. It will be just a short stint, but we are very much looking forward to meeting friends and family. One of the things I had to realise is that I lost my ability to travel light. The original goal was to pack 7kg sine we only have hand luggage. Packing my ‘bare minimum’ already had the scale displaying 11.5kg. Harriet on the other hand had enough spare weight to pack the big book of Maths. Literally. The longer we spend time together the more I realise that traditional roles seem to be reversed in our relationship.
It’s been a few months since this “We’re moving to Melbourne” ball got rolling, and it feels like it might slowly be coming to a stop. Michael and I have a fixed abode again and we have landed in Port Melbourne. Soon our container of stuff will arrive from Germany and we will do some mad before-and-after shots and our new apartment will seem oddly familiar with old furniture.
It has been a busy couple of months since we packed up from Munich. Halle and Leipzig with Trudy seems an age ago and our holiday to Egypt a warm memory. It was sad to say goodbyes in London and Bremen but then we flew into summer, a wedding and New Years and then a New Life in Melbourne, the excitement and adrenalin pushing us forward.
The most surprising part of relocating has been realising our network in Melbourne is already pretty extensive through friends, friends-of-friends and potential friends lurking around many corners. We have been settling in at a crazy pace with The Tennis, walks, moonlight movies, tours, mykis, South Melbourne markets, swims, byo dumplings, barbies, runs, flat whites and mangoes.
I start university on February 25 so I have a couple more weeks of freedom. I’m looking for some part time work but no luck so far. I’m excited about going back to university and being in schools and giving teaching my 100%. I still have my uncertainties, but it definitely feels like the right place and time to be studying again in a new and exciting direction. This is the theoretical happy pre-class me!
Life Admin has become a full time job and I have lots of new stuff like a bank account, a library card and an Aussie phone number. Hopefully soon I should get a tax file number, a medicare card and a Working With Children Card. Driver’s Licence, student ID and internet still on the To-Do list. Tomorrow we should get a telephone line (the actual phone is in the container) and then internet in a couple of days. Ironies of ironies, Michael is still battling with Telstra to get a work mobile phone!
Integration this far has been fairly smooth: thongs go everywhere, sunscreen is the new moisturizer and I am happy to report an increase in the usage of Yummo, Defo and Arvo. Soon “Haitch” will slip out when I spell my name.