The Times They Are A-Changin’

What a difference a week makes. The activity around the campus has increased tenfold. Maintenance crews from Auxiliary Services are working with such precision, preparing the student residence halls, mowing the grounds, trimming the bushes and trees, repairing sidewalks and erecting welcome back banners. Even the Canadian Geese on campus have increased their activity, dropping more of their signature trademark on the sidewalks.

Also, my laundry which was drying outside my apartment on an airing rack could not stop the due diligence of the person mowing the grounds. To my amazement my clothes were covered in grass and dirt...a lesson learnt with several loads of washing later.

Work wise, most of the week was filled with follow up calls and emails to the “Office of the President” (it has  certain ring about it) at several Community Colleges and Technology Colleges.

By the end of the week I’ve been able to acquire five research partners (refer blog links). They include:

• Cayuga
• Cobleskill
• Hudson Valley
• North County
• Onodaga

Interviews will be commencing week beginning Monday 6th September. As I will be driving to each location please pray for me. I’m a bit nervous about the driving but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it. Susan gave me a lot of confidence by saying she only drove on the wrong side of the road three times while visiting Australia. Watch the video below.

 With some luck I may be able to secure additional research partners next week. I’m still waiting on confirmation from, Canton, Clinton Finger Lakes, Genesee, Jefferson, Monroe and Morrisville. Unfortunately my last two days of the week were filled with I.T. problems. However, I have found the best solution to fix the problem, once and for all. Sorry, I think I’ve made matters worse.

As the Global Corporate Challenge draws to a conclusion a few highlights this week included:

• Walker of the Week Award – Walking in diverse and exciting locations
• Walked a total of 2 Million Steps and
• The Basement Bunnies (out team) recording 10 Million Steps. Well done team!

I’ll leave you now with some pictures of the freshmen moving in on campus and the welcoming picnic. It is such an incredible event, Parents, Grandparents, Brothers, Sisters, and Friends all attend to add their support. I can tell you the freshmen do not pack lightly. They bring everything including the kitchen sink.

Bye for now,
Mark

Luv those weekends - Oswego River

Early Saturday morning was a whirlwind of inertia, watching the election results streamed live on the ABC website and haphazard attempts at ironing my clothes. The perfect antidotes to a dull day, was to head down to Oswego River and do the grocery shopping. I took a slow walk to the city heading south and was able to view the scenic Oswego River in its peaceful splendour. The water was moving at a measured pace which then meandered its way through a natural landscape.

Although, the further south I walked along its picturesque banks, rapids and whitewater become more apparent. The fast moving water and noise of the hydro-electric plant is remarkable.

Heading back up the river I noticed an artist demonstrating her talent. She is a SUNY student (sorry I missed her name) and had been approached by the city administrators to contribute to the existing murals along the riverbank.

Sunday was one of those days that just sort of slips through your fingers. Due to heavy rain for most of the day it felt like I didn’t do much at all. Although, there was one exception and that was to catch up on my blogs.

Ciao,
Mark

What’s happening at Park Hall?

Most of Monday morning I spent sending invitation emails to potential research partners (i.e. The Presidents of Community Colleges and Technology Colleges) within the SUNY System. The rest of the day went pretty well having lunch with Dean Markert, School of Education and my host Susan. We went to a cafe called Red Sun Fire Roasting Company on West 1st Street. The Red Sun's menu is a contemporary cafe style. It also has a strong Italian influence where all hot food is cooked in a wood-fired oven. The lunch time conversation was rewarding, discussing the similarities and differences of our education systems.

The day even got better, when I received my first confirmation from the President of Onondaga Community College. By the end of the week, Cayuga, North Country and Hudson Valley Community Colleges were also on board.

Numerous teleconferences were booked in throughout the week. They included: Mark Darby, Counsellor Education, Embassy of Australia, Washington; Shana Pereira, Regional Director - Americas, Queensland Tourism; Lori Thompson, Associate Director for International Partnerships, Office of International Programs, SUNY (pictured below), Joshua McKeown Director of International Education and Programs SUNY Oswego (pictured below) and Professor Susan Camp (VTP). Overall, there was positive dialogue with many common areas of interest and cross promotional activities while I’m in the U.S. The talks established an important foundation for further discussions regarding collaborative partnership opportunities.

On Thursday the campus held an open house for its new residence complex called The Village. The community which is a collection of luxury townhouses is so different than the other residence halls. Considering the sheer luxury and modern green amenities, all the rooms are taken. This is despite a price range from $3,745 to $4,595 per semester.

A highlight of the week was being interviewed by Jeff Rea, Writer-Editor, Office of Public Affairs, SUNY Oswego in the Lake Effect Cafe on campus. I had a wonderful conversation that went for a few hours. I was especially impressed with his professionalism as a journalist. He showed a genuine interest in the scholarship and displayed an excellent attention to detail. Thank you Jeff for the coffee too! Next were the photographs, I was a little dubious how the end result was going to turn out. Jim Russell (the photographer) guaranteed me that he was a magician with Photoshop. I was pleasantly surprised with the result...well done Jim!

After the interview I was still in a chatty mood and introduced myself to a fellow sitting in the cafe. Let’s say his name is “Scorch”. He is an Adjunct Professor at SUNY Oswego and is a retired U.S. Navy Officer. Scorch is so knowledgeable about Australia (really the world) and speaks fondly of our beautiful nation. He has extensively travelled throughout Australia and tells a good yarn. Today like every day, I met some good people and it was a real pleasure to feel part of their community.

Cheers,
Mark

Re-enactment at Fort Ontario

On Saturday afternoon I visited a re-enactment of the American Revolution at Fort Ontario, Oswego. Hundreds of re-enactors with the National Encampment of the Brigade of the American Revolution, depicted mock battles between the British and Colonial armies. It was great to see living history take place, especially the role of the American Loyalists fighting for the British. After the war it is estimated 450,000 Loyalists fled to Canada, which many of them formed the foundation of the province of Ontario.

Bob Kashary pictured below played a Colonial Officer, he said the last time the National Encampment was at the fort was 1996. He had also travelled from Ohio to participate in the event. At today’s re-enactment the British won the battle against the Colonial army who retreated with heavy casualties. Traditional soldiers’ camps, craft markets and weapon displays were open for guests to enjoy and be actively involved in the experience.

One item at the markets especially caught my eye. It was a coonskin cap worn on the television series Daniel Boone. Sorry only the baby boomers should remember the show. The cap was only $10 I was tempted to buy one but didn’t. Thinking of how would I explain it passing through customs in Oz.

 When leaving Fort Ontario I couldn’t believe my eyes, a game of cricket was the last thing I expected to see being played in the U.S. I approached one of the re-enactors named Steve and we chatted for an hour. He was so knowledgeable of our national game and is looking forward to watching the upcoming Ashes Series on his PC via a cable network. I was proud to see our national game being played in another country and the only variation was the ball was being bowled underarm.

The night concluded with a game of cards (Tarot and President) with Susan, Julia and Barbara. I lost several sheep stations and in the words of Kenny Rodgers, “You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em”…Due to an unseasonable change in the weather on Sunday, I had a dose of what the folks here would say, cabin fever.

Cheers,
Mark

The weekend

Oswego’s brilliant summer weather was enough to make a good start to the weekend. I took a slow meandering walk into the city and captured lots of photos along the way.

It’s so unusual to see a mail service working on a Saturday. Also a pop quiz, does anyone know why there is a plastic rod sticking out the top of the fire hydrant? The city is a diverse mix of culture and traditional American and European architecture.

Around mid morning I decided to visit the Harris Lee White Marine Museum. Although the museum is rather small, it had a treasure of quality displays and spellbinding tales of French and English occupation and the early ship building days of the region.

A major exhibit at the museum is the U.S. Army Tug, LT-5, which is a National Historic Landmark. The tug played a significant role in supplying ammunition to army troops during the Normandy Invasion and according to her log, one of the gunners shot down an enemy plane using one of the two 50-calibur machine-guns mounted to her upper deck. The tug is also one of the last remaining operational U.S Army Transport vessels of her type left from World War II.

All this sightseeing is sure thirsty work so I headed off to an Irish Pub (Gibby O'Connor’s) for a few cold ones.

Cheers,
Mark

One must work and dare if one really wants to live (Vincent van Gogh)

At the start of the second week, I reviewed my weekly work schedule and noted the tasks which required urgent action. Despite the I.T. hiccup, it was nice to know I was still on track. Although, I did have a carryover task I needed to complete for a colleague at home. My to-do-list consisted of:

1. pilot the research questions and make amendments where necessary
2. identify potential research partners/participants and establish email protocols
3. draft a letter of invitation to participate in the study
4. book flights and accommodation to New York City to attend a Fulbright reception at the Australian Consulate General and
5. manage the three email inboxes (deta, hotmail and Oswego) I now have.

Overall, the research questions were well received and understood. A few minor amendments were required to contextualise the meaning of words to the American Community College and Technology system.

In the absence of a SUNY College Staff Directory, the next task was a bit challenging. I had to visit each college website and navigate until I found the details of the “Office of the President”. Sorry I’m not talking about President Barack Obama. Some of the college websites had the President’s contact details while other websites had a generic email template to complete online. Also, a few college websites only had the contact details of the Assistant to the President. Don’t you just love those titles? Similar to our TAFE colleges at home no two websites are the same. Needless to say, the primary point of contact was the “Office of the President”...phew!

While drafting a letter of invitation to participate in the study, in the back of my mind I was wishing that Rita (a friend and colleague at home) was here. Rita is the Queen of culling words from any passage of text, but you can still make sense of it after she’s done! Nonetheless, Susan was close by with her handy red pen. With only one change another boxed ticked.

Maybe I was out-of-the-blocks to early booking my flights to New York City. Some of you may have heard about the Jet Blue customer service officer who had an altercation with a passenger on a plane at JFK Airport. He proceeded to convey to all on board his thoughts about his job, threw cans of beer at the passenger, and then activated the emergency exit and slid down the slide. It received a significant amount of media coverage over here. By now there’s no guessing who I’m flying with...

As the sunsets across Lake Ontario to signal the end of my second working week, I still do not have an answer on how to manage the three inboxes. Any thoughts???

Cheers,

Mark

Road Trip – Finger Lakes Region (Part 2)

Our journey continued south west to Tompkins County which is noted for its scenic waterfalls. We briefly stopped at the base of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca, which is the home of Cornell University. We then drove onto Schuyler County, Watkins Glen and stopped occasionally to appreciate the beauty of the area. This time, it’s the spectacular views of Seneca Lake.

Until now we relied on Terry’s excellent driving and navigation abilities, and a road map of New York State. We then decided to plug in the GPS to find the correct route to Fox Run Winery. The winery was holding its annual Garlic and Wine Tasting Festival. Apparently it’s an event not to be missed. With the aid of the GPS we took an incorrect route taking a slight detour to the village of Penn Yan. Its name is derived from the shortening of "Pennsylvania Yankee” and is home for an Amish community.

The detour also contributed to a low fuel light which started to flash with great frequency...another Seinfeld moment. We arrived at a T-intersection and because there were more winery dots on the map we decided to drive south along Seneca Lake back to Watkins Glen. Yet again, as luck would have it, we headed off in the wrong direction. What is also confusing is the property numbers do not follow a standard sequence. The only thing left for us to do is head back north and pull into the next winery and sample some of its product.

We stopped at Glenora Winery and sampling was $2 per person. It appears to be a popular spot for parties and wine tours. The white wines were fruity and the reds were soft and therefore, not as heavy as the reds from home. Nevertheless it didn’t stop us from taking a bottle of Seyval Blanc to go!

Our journey then continued north desperately seeking a gas station. The first gas station had conveniently sold out of gas and the second had closed down for a least a decade. The low fuel light was still flashing repeatedly. As we rounded the next bend there was Fox Run Winery. The annual Garlic and Wine Tasting Festival was really rocking and the thoughts of running out of gas had faded from our minds.

A live band playing familiar American tunes from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and the crowd were rooving to the beat. Under the marquee vendors provided samples of farm fresh garlic as well as other produce including cheese, honey, dips and vegetables. Arts and crafts were also available for purchase.

While sampling our wine we asked the car park attendant for directions to the next gas station. Great news!!! We only needed to drive a mile and a half north.

After filling up with gas we continued north to Geneva, a city of about 13,300 people. Geneva is located at the top of Seneca Lake and is regarded as one of many of the jewels in the crown of the Finger Lakes Region.

Following a short break, it was then on to the New York State Thruway for the drive home. The day finished with dinner at Wonton House on Lake Ontario. The next day I gave Terry and Beth a tour of the Oswego campus. They had the opportunity to see a chipmunk, squirrels, a doe and two fawns before moving on to the next chapter of their adventure. Goodbye Terry and Beth and safe travels home. Thank you so much for a memorable and fun weekend.

Cheers,
Mark