I am very lucky in that I love my work, even if it exhausts me. I get to work with both pre-service and in-service teachers to build their confidence and capacity as teachers of mathematics. Not only that, I get to travel around the state to work in their schools.
I have worked in this capacity with in-service teachers (teachers who have completed their degrees and are working in schools) for seven years. The first four years saw me on the road for nearly seven months a year, living away from home and in temporary accommodation. When I first took on the role, I was living by myself, with a cat and a dog, 100 minutes from the airport and struggled to manage the work and travel load. Fortunately, Josh, my nephew, agreed to house share and I moved to a rented property closer to the airport, so the cat and dog still had someone to look after them and I was only 30 minutes from the home when I got off the plane, instead of what could be a two and a half drive from Melbourne airport to home on the Mornington Pennisula if I hit rush hour. It was a difficult choice, moving out of my beautiful home into rented accommodation but I loved the work I was doing and I didn’t want to go back to where I was pre-2015. (I took that year off and did my Masters.) That choice started breaking the emotional thread that attached me to that particular house, which enabled me to sell it 2 years later and then nearly 3 years ago now, even move states.
After 4 amazing years with AMSI, I decided to start a new job, buy a new house and return to study, all in South Australia. And because I never do things by halves, I packed everything up, put it on a truck, and sent it to SA with Josh, (he flew,) while I drove across with the cat and dog on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year (only 46 C,) arriving late Friday. I then started my new job on Monday followed a week later with beginning my PhD. When undergrad classes began in March, I took up a bit of tutoring, just for the hell of it.
My new job enabled me to continue working with in-service teachers and instead of working in two states while living in a third, I got to travel all over South Australia. This happened throughout 2020, 2021 & 2022, even though there were a few last-minute cancellations with schools having COVID restrictions to enforce. However, unlike both Victoria and NSW, we didn’t have major lockdowns. In fact, besides the first rush to stop the spread in March/April 2020, SA only had two snap lockdowns; one in November 2020 and the other in July 2021. Both times, I was not in Adelaide – in November 2020 I was on Kangaroo Island, and in July 2021 I was in Cobber Pedy. The first time, no one had any idea about what was happening, whether flights would be grounded, if everyone had to go home or stay put. I couldn’t get off the island so I just stayed put as I couldn’t contact the airline I was flying with and my work colleague back in Adelaide couldn’t either. I guess they were completely overwhelmed with enquiries as everyone want to know what they could and couldn’t do. I phoned the police on KI to find out if they knew what the rules were and their response was, “We’re in the dark as much as you are.” So I went to the hotel/motel where I was staying and asked to be moved into a room with cooking facilities and a washing machine; I was only supposed to be on KI for 2 nights 3 days so I only had 2 changes of clothes. I moved to a great spot overlooking the ocean and spent 4 days watching the weather outside my room. (The initial lockdown was supposed to be 6 days, but it turned out someone lied about how they contracted COVID, so the travel restrictions were lifted after 3. I left on the first available flight because although the lockdown had ended, DfE schools weren’t allowed to let non-staff members on site.)
The second lockdown was in a slightly different environment; Coober Pedy. I had flown up on Monday for a week working in the school. Woke up Tuesday morning to find that the Road House was under ‘outdoor’ dining restrictions; by 4 pm, the entire state was in lockdown. Trying to leave Coober Pedy wasn’t an option; it only has 3 flights to Adelaide per week and anyone who could, booked on the Wednesday flight. As I was due to fly out on Friday, I just stayed out. Where I stay when in Coober Pedy (The Mud Hut Motel) is really comfortable, so it wasn’t a penance. Food was a bit of an issue as I usually eat out when up there rather than cook for myself, but I managed to find stuff at the minimart at the Road House. Flew back to Adelaide on Friday and drove home through very quiet streets.
Visiting Coober Pedy is always interesting as you are never sure what you’ll get. On one visit I took all my food with me because there had been massive floods in and around the place and the main highway, Stuart Highway, was cut in both directions. As a result trucks with supplies weren’t getting through and with tourists stuck in the town and dwindling fresh food, I thought I had better go prepared. The other problem was, with the road out the plane was loaded with extra freight, so they were bumping off the luggage of passengers that were over the limit. For me, the choice was either my work stuff or the food. Fortunately, at the last minute, someone offered to unload something that was actually supposed to be going to Port Lincoln; why the hell it was being sent to Coober Pedy, nearly 900km north of Port Lincoln in the first place is a bit of a mystery.
My latest visit was also a bit of a journey. The plane left an hour and a half late and took 30 minutes longer than usual, due to headwinds. Sunday, the day before, Coober Pedy, and a number of other small outback communities had been hit by wild weather, knocking out power supplies and causing a bit of flash flooding; 35mm fell in a couple of hours where the long-term average for the entire month of October is 14 mm with winds gusting to 102 km/h. If there had been trees, there would have been trees down but there are no big trees in Coober Pedy. It was nowhere near as windy on Monday but it was a pretty bumpy ride. Just as well I was weaned on single-engine aeroplane flights in the territory in the mid-eighties. It makes air turbulence in bigger planes a lot less scary. The wind was up in Coober Pedy all of Monday and Tuesday before dying down but fortunately, all the rain meant the dust was not.
These are just some of my adventures over the past 3 years, doing a job I love but the travelling does get a bit wearing at times.
If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s Lethal!
Paulo Coelho
Sums, Sets and Sunsets 