Tirzah's class field trip to a restaurant (by Craig)

The ICS R2 classes went on an excursion to the Outback Steakhouse one day last month. How could I pass up a field trip with my daughter that included an Aussie meal?

Before the meal the students and parents were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the restaurant.

You'll notice that there's not a lot of space in food preparation areas of Hong Kong restaurants.

The kids loved seeing inside the walk-in freezer...

...except for the smell!

"Daddy, I'm so cold!"

The crushed ice bins were also a hit.

I think the manager harboured secret dreams of becoming a teacher; he seemed to really enjoy taking the kids around.

The second tour area was at the front of the restaurant where one of the staff did some teaching on the topic of Australia. English was not this instructor's first language, but I give him full marks for making the effort.

There were flip sheets on the Australian flag, boomerangs, the Sydney Opera House, Aborigines (pronounced ab-bore-genes), Ayers Rock, and kangaroos. A question and answer session followed almost every sheet.

He was about 80% correct on most.

What do the smaller stars represent on the Australian flag?   According to this guy, it's the states of Australia. (For those who have not studied the Australian flag, the large seven pointer star under the Union Jack represents the five states and two territories. The other stars represent the Southern Cross star formation seen in the sky at night time.)

With the Kangaroo photograph he asked about the life cycle of kangaroos. What is a baby?... a joey. What is an adult?... a kangaroo. What is a young adult called?......a wallaby. Hmmmmmmm...

The next area was a demonstration of how to prepare a House Salad and an explanation of the different ingredients.

After three tours and a lengthy wait the kids meals came out and were enjoyed  by all.

The grown ups' hamburger and fries went down well also!

Something that stood out to me was the number of iPad's and iPhones that these parents used to entertain their kids before and after the meal. I'm very grateful that our kids know how to draw and be entertained with simpler things that keep their imagination and artistic talents brimming.

Thanks for coming, Dad!

At the end of the early lunch the students climbed back on the buses to return to school. Tirzah's teacher Mrs Davis kindly escorted her. I waved goodbye and headed off the other way to my office.