Christmas time :-)

Christmas in the southern hemisphere

The heat of early summer in Australia has an impact on the way that Australians celebrate Christmas and on which northern hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas houses are decorated; greetings cards sent out; carols sung; Christmas trees installed in homes, schools and public places; and children delight in anticipating a visit from Santa Claus. On Christmas Day family and friends gather to exchange gifts and enjoy special Christmas food.

BONDI BEACH

Many Australians spend Christmas out of doors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to camping grounds for a longer break over the Christmas holiday period. It has become traditional for international visitors who are in Sydney at Christmas time to go to Bondi Beach where up to 40,000 people visit on Christmas Day.

FOOD

Christmas in Australia comes at the beginning of summer and many people no longer serve a traditional hot roast dinner. Cold turkey and ham, seafood and salads are often served instead. It has even become acceptable to serve the traditional Christmas plum pudding with cold custard, ice cream or cream. Pavlova, a meringue base topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, and various versions of the festive ice-cream pudding have also become popular Christmas desserts.

Go here to read a detailed recipe for Pavlova.

For the lazy ones - click on the picture to watch how to make a perfect Pavlova ;-)





















SINGING

Aussie Christmas songs are... ehem, somewhat atypical ;-)

Thanks to the mysterious poster who provided the following link in the comments to the previous note. Well done mate! :-) Let me know your name because your team is going to score some bonus points for finding something that mentions Holden ;-)

Jingle Bells Aussie Style


Here is a twist on a well known Christmas song - Let it Snow


And finally something I probably shouldn't post at all... ;-)

I admit - I do have a soft spot for these guys. Their humour is not very subtle but very, very Australian ;-)

Brace yourself for the Scared Weird Little Guys and their unique Christmas Day Song!
(remeber that I warned you! ;-) )


SYDNEY - HOBART YACH RACE

Boxing Day has a special meaning for all interested in sailing.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an icon of Australia’s summer sport, ranking in popularity with other national events such as the Davis Cup tennis and the Melbourne Cup horse race.

No yearly yachting event in the world attracts such huge media coverage as this race. The race starts on Boxing Day in Sydney, NSW and finishes in Hobart, Tasmania. The course covers a distance of 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to the east coast of Australia, Bass Strait, the Tasmanian east coast, Storm Bay, Derwent River and finally Battery Point in Hobart, Tasmania.

The race has been hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since its beginning in 1945 and is run in cooperation with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.

The public and media often focus a lot of attention on which yacht wins Line Honours. It's easy to understand why, because that's the first yacht to cross the finishing line. However, that is often not the Overall Winner. The exact rules to select the Overall Winner have changed over the years. Basically, it's a handicap race where a yacht's finish time is adjusted based on several factors set down in the prevailing rules. In other words, the fastest boat is often not the Overall Winner.

(http://alldownunder.com/oz-u/events/sydney-hobart-race-0.htm)

Go here to watch the start.

Click on the picture to get some first-hand news about this year's race.























NEW YEAR SYDNEY FIREWORS DISPLAY

WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY

... and more importantly what I want YOU to prepare for next week ;)


As you know I can't be in IJO tomorrow, which means I will not see Reds and Camels. Sorry gals :(

Please watch the video below, and pay attention to what people say about staying and defending their house, or leaving the property early.



The most important part begins around the 2 minute mark.

Then study the materials here:

1. Stay and Defend
2. Go Early
3. Do I Stay or Go?

Once you've done that, choose ONE topic, and prepare an informative POSTER (A4 or A3 format).

Include the most important information, preferably using visuals rather than text.

You can follow this link to create some warning signs online (and print them out later) --> Warning Sign Generator.

Have fun with it! :)


And here is the link to the presentation on FEDERATION. Let me know in the comments section if you have any problems accessing it.



NOW ATTENTION EVERYBODY!

For the classes next week I want each team to choose one of the topics below, and prepare a short presentation (up to 8 minutes). Please let me know which topic you're choosing in the comments.


GOLD RUSH - bagged by the Lazy Snakes (Thursday)

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF - goes to the mighty Camels (Friday) and Koalas (Thursday)

GENERAL GEOGRAPHY - Aborigines are taking this one (Thursday)

THE GREAT DIVIDING RANGE - taken by Reds (Friday) and Kangaroos (by default - Thursday)




useful links:
Australian Screen
Gold Rush
Great Barrier Reef
Great Dividing Range

The letter "F"

"At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve 1900, as the clock ticked into 1901 and the 20th century, whistles, gongs, church bells, rattles, pots, pans, accordions and all manner of noise-makers joined the sirens of boats on Sydney Harbour.

It was to be a special day"

Do you know what special day it was? No? Then go here to find out :-)

Let's hear more form the historians because it will lead us to other topics.

"Just after that midnight, a storm broke and winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour swept into Sydney. Forty points of rain drenched the harbour city.

But the New Year’s Day morning of 1901 broke clear and fine, and an eight-kilometre procession headed out to Centennial Park, just beyond Paddington, where the federation rites, uniting the erstwhile separate British colonies into one federal Commonwealth, finally took place."

Australian weather has never been easy on the settlers. Southern regions suffer from severe fires, while the North often faces tropical cyclones and floods.
Click the picture above to watch a heartbreaking account of Black Saturday - the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.
Click the picture below to learn more about the 2009 Queensland Flood.











You will find more information about floods clicking on the little poor fellow below.









We touched upon the topic of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia very briefly two weeks ago. This time we'll have a closer look at their work and importance for communities living in distant, remote areas of Australia.



















(click on the picture)

IMPORTANT: YOU WILL HAVE SOME PRACTICAL TASKS TO DO IN THE CLASS SO PLEASE BRING SOME COLOURED MARKERS! :-)

The letter "E" - part 2

Here we go again with the letter "E".


1. Entertainment.

This is a topic we're going to be getting back to again and again. Australians have a distinct sense of humour which - although shares some features with British - mostly retains the flavours of Australia's humble beginnings and the Convict Code.

We'll start with a brief introduction to some of my favourite Aussie comedians and TV personalities.


ANDREW DENTON


















Andrew is best known as the host of a TV chat show "Enough Rope". He has a very calm, open, inviting persona and is one of the best interviewers I know. Click on the picture to see him talk to Nigella Lawson.


ADAM HILLS



















Adam is probably the most recognisable Aussie comedian outside Oz. I love him to bits! ;-)
Click on the picture to sample his stand-up comedy.


TIM MINCHIN















Click on the picture to listen to Tim perform his song/poem "Mitsubishi Colt". Here you will find the lyrics. Pay attention to accents. Tim is quoting a conversation between two people and he uses accents to help to differenciate them.

And finally follow this link to watch and listen to Tim's wonderful spoof of "ecological anthems" that are so often associated with artist supporting PETA or "Live World". He has a gentle jab at how some musicians think too much of themselves and are too obsessed with creating their own artistic persona.

This clip is also a wonderful link to our second topic:


2. Endangered and Extinct Species.

Read about the factors that threaten Australian wildlife here.







Click the picture to browse around and learn about some species that are facing extinction.

















And we are going to spend some time talking about the fate of this unfortunate litte fellow. Click on the picture to learn more.

The letter "E" - part 1

Exploration and long distances (in space and time) are the main topics for tomorrow. Confused? Just read on ;-)

















1. Let's start with European discovery and colonisation. We have already talked about James Cook and the First Fleet, but this time please concentrate on non English explorers. Click the map to get some information (focus on nationalities only). Go here to see the chronology of landings, and here to see a cute animation.


2. Our second topic is a little tricky - excavation. But we will not be talking about gold - not just yet! ;-)

In fact what we are going to discuss is Australia's fossil past. Click on the picture to read some fascinating facts.












***

3. And finally a few words about (long distance) education.

This video unfortunatelly has a Danish commentary, but it still gives a wonderful insight into what The School of the Air is and how it operates. Have a look:



Here you can read about The School of the Air.

(Click on the picture to visit Alice Springs School of the Air website).

The letter "C" - part two

IMPORTANT - COULD FRIDAY GROUPS "REDS" AND "CAMELS" JOIN THURSDAY GROUPS THIS WEEK, PLEASE?


This week we are going to step aside from the chronological path for a moment in order to delve deeper into the Aussie soul.

We'll be talking about following topics:

1. customs

A very interesting (if somewhat ridiculous) read here: Department of Immigration and Citizenship ;-)
Drinking etiquette as described on my favourite website.
















Click on the picture to see a really thought-provoking social commentary on The Australian Citizenship Test.


2. car fetishism

Aussies LOVE their cars. Watch the clips and try to work out which two cars have cult status in Australia.

car 1:
Road Warrior (1981)
Love the Beast (2009)

car 2:
Two Hands (1999)
[it's a very vague clue, pay attention to the first shot]


If you are still confused go here, type the title(s) in the search box, and then read "plot" and "trivia" sections.


***For movie buffs only***

The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) - a film from Peter Weir, the same director who later shot the cult classic Picnic at Hanging Rock, and such films as Dead Poets Society and recently Master and Commander.


3. cinema (industry and film festivals)

Australian Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. Visit their official site, browse around, and find out some information about the rules and the venue. You can also watch some competition films. They are all under 7 minutes long, so it won't take you too long ;-)

The ones which I would recommend are: The Story of Bubble Boy and An Imaginary Life.


4. Canberra

The letter "C" - part one

This Thursday/Friday we are going to be talking about:

- convicts: historical background, settlement, life conditions, pardons and famous prisoners
- convicts in popular culture: songs, stories, art
- the impact of convict past on Aussie mentality and national pride (concentrate on "social psychology" and "why?" in this article; we'll also touch upon the concept of "mateship")





















(the Fremantle Prison flogging post)

Click on the picture above to re-watch the clip about Fremantle Prison

CLICK BELOW to read more about:

Convict Daily Life
Convict Biographies
Convict Escapes
(downloadable PDFs)


and...
- crocodiles











(click on the picture)

*