The West Side Story

Last night, we went downtown to the Culture Centre to watch the Broadway musical, West Side Story. A little ironic that we travel all the way to Australia to watch a musical about New York. During one part of the play, the men begin to whistle "Our country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty..." I felt we were the only viewers in the audience that actually knew what song they were whistling. The entire show was played by 33 Australian members. I was very impressed by their ability to disguise their Australian accents and speak like New Yorkers and Latinos. The show was excellent and we enjoyed it very much.

Today, the entire Year 8 class, about 60 students total, came into our classroom to vote on the student council members for next year. Each candidate was required to make a speech and persuade the students to vote for them. Some were more prepared than others, but for the most part, all the candidates spoke well in front of their classmates.

Afterwards, Mr. Seipel introduced me to the students that we do not have in our class. Then I presented my Baylor PowerPoint to the entire 8th grade. I was not expecting to present to such a large group of students but it went well, and they were all interested in asking questions about the university. I told the students about the school system, the activities at Baylor, the locations on campus, the fight song, the school song, the Baylor line, etc. I wore my Baylor Line jersey and taught the students a Baylor Sic 'em! Now all the students want to come to Baylor! Ha!

When the students went to swimming class today, I went to Kelsey's room to sit in on a Year 9 sexual education class. Man, was it different than sex ed. classes in the States! They are so laid back and relaxed when talking about this topic. By year 12, 50% of students in Queensland are sexually active. The teachers focus more on safe sex rather than abstinence.

After our 1 hour lunch break, we went down to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. What a wonderful way to end the school day! Wish we could do that in America! Ha!