The development of the Metis culture in western Canada ...

White men and Indian women in the fur trade society

 

A year ago, I'd never heard of the Metis people, so I find it quite funny that now I'm having to research and write essays about them.  Last night, I finished the first assignment for the Canadian history course that I am required to complete before Alberta will allow me to teach there.  At first, I was excited about doing the course but already I'm sick of it - it's proving to be quite challenging on a few fronts.  Firstly, as an Australian, I have started the course with absolutely no background knowledge at all.  Secondly, the readings and assignment requirements are difficult because they are completely different in structure and expectations to those in an education course.  And finally, the referencing system that is used in history essays is ridiculous - so many pedantic rules about the order of the text information and the indents ... what difference does it have if the text is indented 1/2 cm or 1 cm or, heaven forbid, not at all?!  Based on these factors, I found the first assignment, 1500 words about women's role in the development of the Metis culture, very time consuming and challenging.  Ask me to write 1500 words about something to do with education and I can probably whip up something reasonably educated, but for this assignment, it was a painful process of writing whilst desperately watching the word count creep up.  Having said all that, I did learn a lot, although how it will help me to teach in Alberta, I'm not so sure.  I won't bore you with the 1500 words of dribble, but here's the general gist ...

In 1670, white men arrived in western Canada to make money in the fur trade.  When they got there, they married native women who were a huge help to the fur trade economy - they spoke the local language, they knew how to trap animals, they made/preserved food  etc. as well as all the other wifely duties ... oh, and they were happy living in such a harsh environment, not like the white women.  When these white/Indian marriages produced children, they were known as the Metis ('halfbreed' in French ... since it was predominantly the French who began the whole thing).  Those kids had a tough upbringing because they had difficulties finding their identity within either culture.  But, the women did a pretty good job and most children grew up with some Indian traditions and a Christian upbringing.

So there you have it, the the start of the Metis culture in a nutshell!  The next unit is about the pioneer women who arrived in the late 1800s, which should also be interesting.  Until then, I'll wait for my results on this assignment, hoping that I've at least got some of the important indenting right and have passed it!

Working out, beach style ...

Whilst I'm in Manly for the summer, I'm taking advantage of some of the popular beach side exercise options that are available.  I've signed up with Vital Fit and have been enjoying the twice weekly 6 am beach side circuit and boxing classes, which normally involve a lot of running on the soft sand which I find incredibly challenging.  I've also signed up with Power Living, a very popular (last week, one of the classes had 70 people in it!) yoga studio that specialises in hot (30 degrees, so not as hot as bikram) yoga.  So far, I've been going three times a week and absolutely loving it - the stretching and the light and relaxed feeling that I get when I've finished are such great feelings.  It's also been a good 'character building' exercise for the perfectionist that I am because I'm not very good at yoga and have to satisfy myself with trying my hardest rather that trying to perfect each pose.  And of course, the other benefit of power yoga is the numerous half naked men who are in each class!  Exercising beach side has been a welcome change from working out in the gym and running at altitude.

The Australian Museum ...

Last week, 7 year old R and I jumped on the ferry and headed into the city to visit the Australian Museum next to Hyde Park.  Our purpose was to visit the insect display in order to report back to R's Grade 2 class in Canada about Australian insects (to fit in with their current study topic).  To tell you the truth, the insect display was pretty boring but we also visited the skeleton exhibition which was amazing as there were skeletons from all kinds of animals.  The best part was the bicycle that you could cycle (with legs and arms) and see how the bones move together on the above skeleton on a bike.  Pretty cool.

(As a funny aside, we ran into a Grade 3 class from a local girls school with their teacher who was also a Miss Davidson!  Both their class and R found that extremely amusing.)

Fine weather again!

Shelley beach from our 'playground' this morning

After more than a week of miserable weather, it's nice to see that the sun is shining and the people of Manly are out and about again.  According to my workout group this morning, that was the worst run of weather that Manly has had all year (yes, even over winter time!).  I'm hoping that it stays lovely and sunny because Mum arrives on Friday for a beach holiday and C arrives in less than 3 weeks!

It's raining, it's pouring ...

That's right, it's pretty miserable in Manly at the moment.  For over a week now, I haven't seen the sun shine.  It's simply been grey skies and rain.  It hasn't stopped me doing my usual outdoors things like walking to work or walking on the beach.  There is something wonderful about walking on the beach in the rain.  It's also been pretty good because I don't feel guilty about sitting inside studying.  I have a few 'indoor' projects on the go at the moment - my Canadian studies work, writing a thesis proposal, learning about the American Revolution so that I can teach it to 11 year old B in January and sorting through old photos, letters and memorabilia to work out what is a reasonable amount to take to Canada.  The only downside to this rain (and the accompanying coldness) is that I didn't bring any rain gear or very many cold weather clothes, so I've been wearing pretty much the same 1-2 outfits for the past week.  Whilst I'm happy for the rain now, I hope that it clears up for the end of next week when Mum arrives for a 10 day visit!

A flying visit to Melbourne ...

Thanks to cheap flights in Australia, whilst I'm here, I'll be able to make several trips to Melbourne to visit family and friends.  This weekend, I had a crazy whirlwind two day trip during which I managed to spend time with my Mum and brothers, dine out for every single meal, drink far too much, visit my Grandmother, enjoy the Spanish Festival in Fitzroy, catch up with some friends and make a trip out to Monash University to learn more about writing a thesis next year.  It was a full-on weekend and now I'm back at work for a rest!  But, it was a wonderful Melbourne weekend and I can't wait until the next one!

Paella at the Spanish Festival

Lexie, enjoying the sunshine at a St Kilda cafe

The Christmas pudding, hanging at my Grandmother's place, ready to be eaten on 24 December!

My hydration for the weekend

(As an interesting aside - It took me five different modes of transport to get home last night! Tram, bus, plane, train and boat!)

Manly the movie set ...

On Tuesday, both kids arrived at school to tell me that they had stumbled across and watched the filming of a movie being made in Manly.  7 year old R told me that it was all happening at 'Australia's version of the Great Wall of China.'  This perplexed me just a little and after some prompting, I learnt that she meant St Patrick's Seminary, which sits high up on the hills overlooking Manly Beach.  11 year old B told me that the movie will star Leonardo diCaprio, but I didn't believe him, thinking that perhaps there would be a greater deal made of such a big star being in little old Manly.  But, after some Googling, we discovered that, yes, Leo is in town for the filming of The Great Gatsby, which is being directed by Baz Luhrmann and also stars Carey Mulligan.  So Manly is not just a sleepy beachside 'village' but a rocking Hollywood movie set!