Life in Melbourne. 4

Monday 11/2/2013…
Pam brought me to Chirnside Park, which was 20 minutes drive away, to look at one of the fruit and vegetable market in a shopping mall.  The variety of fruits and vegetable was an eye opener. There’s 10 types of apple and 8 types of mangoes…
We came here for the “Golden Fall… something… apple” it was a sweet green apple.  I bought 4 green apples for $1.32.  3 brown onions $0.63 and 3 big pink skin washed potatoes $1.17
After that we drive back to Croydon shopping center which is 5 - 10 minutes drive away from the place I stay do other basic groceries shopping.

The 2nd year student start their class today and we, the first year start officially on the next day.
Tuesday 12/2/2013… First day to start schooling again…
I think all the 2nd year students get their flower from their own home garden or roadside… each one of them would give away their flower to any 1st year student they met.  I got mine from a China student, 葛Shoe, a young looking mother which I had dinner with on the Chinese New Year Eve.  It was a great idea to welcome the 1st year students… we felt so warmth and homely…
Then there were short speeches and performances from Violin Cello Piano Trio… our Speech and Drama trainer reading Shakespeare… 2nd year students choir… and Eurythmy Dance teacher dancing on Bach piano piece…
Helen, our main coordinator she set up a yellow clothe, a yellow candle and a big vase in the middle of our 1st year big circle.  We have to give short introduction about ourselves… Name, from, and why came here… then put our flower we received this morning into the vase.
It was quite entertaining to look at how people walk to the middle of the room and put their flower, especially when the vase is really full… the people near the end of this session struggled to get their flower in…
10:45am morning tea was provided… coffee tea milk bread and butter jam spread…
 
11:15am We had Helen lesson… she asked us to close our eyes and visual if we were a tree or a shrub how would we look like in the past… the colour and the shape… and what word came to our mind…
Then think about how it would look like in the present… and the word that came to us…
Then lastly… think about how it would look like in the future… and the word…
She let us meditate and visualize in our mind for awhile then asked us to grab drawing papers and crayons in spread in the middle of the circle then we were given time to draw that 3 visualization…



She asked everyone to lay out the past picture… colourful and full of energy drawing can be seen overall…
Then she asked to take away the past picture and put the present picture… amazingly… the colour change to gloomy, conflicting, falling leaves…
Lastly the future picture… without sharing our thoughts… everyone drew almost the same idea of flourishing and fruitful trees… Helen said:”See how the energy of the room change when the picture change from the past to present and future…”
Helen brought in introduction of stages of life created such powerful visual in our mind, and visual represent the energy that we are carrying right now…  And she brought our attention to the board that 2nd year students requested to draw for welcoming 1st year.  Not knowing what Helen was going to teach us, they drew an awesome big colourful tree with chalks…
12:15noon Lunch… everyone sitting in the sun…
A 2nd year student came and sell her Grimm’s fairy tales for $10… I thought since I have to buy it somehow so I just get from her.. she said she actually got it from previous student at the same price and told me I could sell it off same price after I done using it.

1:00pm We heard gongs and hand bells chasing everyone back to class.
This week we had sculpture class all together in this same big Movement room.  Next week onwards we would be split into 2 group to have sculpture class at sculpting room.
(Journal I did, we have to do after each day of class)  Blocks of white clay were distributed to everyone and we compressed the clay within our hands, No slapping No rolling.. but to press and push it into sphere.  It was a very meditative moment as Tanya wanted us to be quiet and concentrate with the senses between our hands.
After 15~20 minutes our spheres were smooth and round… and she asked everyone to exchange… Magically we felt big difference with other people’s sphere… the energy the force the weight and temperature was so difference.  At that moment everyone was amazed and eyes gazed between each other could not explain the amazing force felt in our hands.
The clay sphere seemed to carry part of my soul and aura… even with some cleansing effect.
Then she asked to work on our own sphere… close our eyes and poke one thumb into the middle of the sphere.  Slowly smoothen out to the surface of the sphere and keep repeating the movement.  She reminded us not to plan just let it be what it would be…
after 15 minutes of meditative movement with the clay in our hands she asked us to do final touch up and think how would our piece stand as an art work.  Placed it on the floor in front of us then all of us move in clockwise, walked slowly admiring each other work… everyone came out with many beautiful different “things”

Then she explained to let it dry for a day and refurbish with teaspoon or pebbles stone to concentrate the clay and it would have a shinny surface.
Later of the day Helen came in and gave us some information what would happen in this week then she made all of stand in the same big circle… hold hands and she said her closing verse..  Love in the Spirit.. Courage in the Soul… (Can’t remember all…) Love to receive and for us to give… (It’s much longer but something like that)
Wonderful way to end the first day of class… brings good energy home…
Some written lesson plans and reading materials are published in my other blog:  journey2waldorf.blogspot.com