Sunday 30 December 2012

Hello Australia! We are finally here...


How ya goin'?!?

So... I have been waiting to get an adapter for my laptop so that I can attach photos with this post but as that hasn't happened yet, I will just get to it!







Our trip began with repacking and adding yet another suitcase AT the airport, no less, (bringing our total bags to 7 - although not all of them were the big monstrous types) - thankful that the airport in Calgary has a scales off to the side to do this before trying to check in! Our trip went pretty smoothly - with us having an extra seat for each row we had resulting in Hana and I sharing three seats and Eoin and Brad sharing three seats. Partway through the flight, I had a whole row of three seats all to myself for a sleep while the others watched movies - how great was that?!? A definite highlight of the flight, for me, was seeing the moon set while the sun rose as we crossed the equator - it was beautiful!

Upon our eventual arrival in Melbourne, we were met by my exchange partner's (Greg) parents. Once home, my parents called to see if we had arrived and we discovered that my dad and Greg's dad, Peter, had taught together in Melbourne when we had lived here when I was a baby... This news just reinforced that the world is truly a very small place!



We took the rest of the afternoon to make lemonade using lemons from our tree in the backyard (there are some massive ones and a seriously deformed one that I will have to check in with Greg and Michelle about...) and to unpack the kids' things and to get them settled in their bedrooms (parents' things still have to find their places!!!). We ordered-in some supper and ended up heading to bed early. We all crashed and slept deeply!

The next morning Brad and Hana went out to explore while I hung out waiting for Eoin to wake up - sleeping beauty slept in until 10:00! We took the train into Melbourne and spent the day exploring the city, getting a feel for the place and ended up in little Italy (Melbourne has the largest Italian population outside of Italy) for supper and walking through Chinatown on our way back through the city to the trains. The kids were great all day, especially given that we marched them around for six hours. Luckily, the weather was cool - around 20 degrees - which made things easier! Today, we have taken it easy, heading to the shops with Peter for groceries (cant get over how reasonably priced - CHEAP - fruit and veggies are here) and then coming back to have a drink on the deck and to enjoy the sun while the kids play - mostly on the trampoline.

The heat is upon us and tomorrow we are heading back into Melbourne's centre for New Year's Eve festivities at Docklands at Melbourne's harbour. We are not much for NYE celebrations but given our circumstance and the blessings this new year is bringing, we want to ring it in in as memorable a way as fully possible!

We have another three-plus weeks of summer holidays here which we want to make the  most of... For us, this means heading to Queensland to visit family - my mom's brother and his family live there so we will be taking time with them as well as heading off to explore further north. The holidays and the weather make things seem very surreal - to think that we went from -30 to +30 in a matter of days, from the snow to the tropics - it takes some time to wrap one's head around but we are embracing whatever comes our way this year. A teacher from Perth who was at my school in Red Deer this year said, "say no to nothing" while we are here and that is the plan!

We are fortunate to be here, to have the support and love of our families as we take part in our adventure and this time as a family to adventure together!

I will add photos later and I will have a special video to add as a request of the Fine Arts dept. at Lindsay Thurber... As soon as I can get that together, I will!

All the best for the windup of 2012 and a brilliant start to 2013!

Friday 21 December 2012

Hellos and goodbyes...

On Sunday we welcomed our Aussies and spent the beginning of the week getting to know them. Greg (with whom I am exchanging), Michelle, Chloe, Zack and Lexi embraced the snow and ice and took on the new adventure of skating at Bower Ponds with the rest of us! Before that adventure, however, there was the adventure of getting all the outdoor gear on - long underwear, layers of clothes, snow pants, jackets, mitts, toques, boots and then skates. Poor little Lexi (one year) responded as any little Canadian would - with tears of frustation once she had all her gear on - it was typical and hilarious - we could all empathize!

After a few whirlwind days, Greg and Michelle loaded up their van and have gone to Canmore while we look around the house seeing all that is left to do (which included finishing up all our marking while Brad writes a MASSIVE paper to complete a history course for his masters') and to negotiate all this... I still have to buy a suitcase (first thing tomorrow before the shops fill).

Today, we wrapped up goodbyes to students and colleagues (friends). I was lucky to have a steady stream of former students come by the by the school and pop by the Artroom to give updates and to have visits before I go. Today was also pretty special with lots of hugs and a few damp eyes with promises of "art next year" and emailing photos from grad. A basket o f Canadian style supplies to pack to take away (for when I am DYING for a maple cookie or some Kraft dinner - ha!ha!). Final hugs and well wishes by colleagues and then it was onto the kids' school to clear desks and lockers and to say final goodbyes and THANK YOUS to their teachers. With these obligations wrapped-up, the kids are off to friends for final sleepovers while we organize the house and do laundry...

Now, we are looking forward to clearing up the details so we can focus on family... and with the recent turn to VERY cold temperatures, we are even more excited to continue our adventure IN Australia. The kids today were saying it was okay to say goodbye because it means that we are actually almost on our way. The reality we have been looking forward to since April is something we will soon finally be living!

Thursday 13 December 2012

All the last-minute things!

As our departure draws near, we are doing those last-minute jobs we have put off all year and the weight gradually lifts!

Current to-do list includes finishing up with Christmas preparations, birthday celebrations for a niece, sleepover on the weekend with grandparents, final tidy of a couple of bedrooms, figure out how to transport the rest of the crib back to Red Deer from Calgary, clear up countertops and the front of the fridge, get more Canada stuff to bring with us, organise garage, clear summer stuff from the deck (the early snow put a kink in that... now, no excuse), quick shop at IKEA, organise space for our Aussies, pick up our Aussies, finish marking, clear out office at school... And Brad has two masters' courses in history to complete (and exams for those) in addition to his teaching stuff to have completed, while we also adopt out our dog (thank you Parkers!)... Clearing up issues regarding the guy reversing into me last week and replacing our front window is also on that list!... And, at the start of this little blog, I thought we were pretty much good to go!!! yikes...

The most beautiful thing about getting on that airplane and jetting out of Calgary at 7:10 pm, 13 days from now will be that all these things have been looked after and those that haven't been will have to find other ways to be sorted.

SO NICE.