…We are settling in to our new temporary home in here in Australia. Tom’s 43 birthday was certainly different than his typical birthday in Canada in January. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Dee Why beach strip. I had a fish indigenous to Australia called barramundi yum! … maybe soon … Kangaroo?
So far we have been to Curl Curl and Dee Why beaches. We enjoy the waves and the view and the kids… the sand… But we think these local surfers are a little crazy going out so late in such cold water…brrrrr!... and they think Canadians are crazy in the winter? This week at Tom’s class will be doing surfing lessons on Manly beach… neat!
Avery is actually taking some other interesting courses other than Japanese at school. He is taking some technical courses that include woodworking, computers, sewing and cooking. He is also enjoying his PE unit in gymnastics… especially when he has double period on Fridays. Secondary school runs on a 10 day schedule here. The students love it because there is lots of variety in a week and they see many different teachers. Tom finds it a little hectic though. His schedule is quite variable, for example; one day he teaches only 2 periods, then another he teaches every period except his morning tea and lunch. So far Avery has not been assigned any text yet either. His text for math is on CD and he works from the computer to do his homework.
Jocelyn had her first swim carnival. They make it sound lots of fun by using the name carnival, but it was just a
swim meet. She was a little disappointed that they were just swimming races in lanes. What we did find interesting though, was that all of her school sat in their assigned colour sections and cheered on for their teams. Just like in Harry Potter, they have 4 team colours and you c
ollect points for your team throughout the year. This seems great for motivation and school spirit. We are looking forward to seeing how this will this will work out through the year.Our home here is different than Canada. We live on a major road and the noise and traffic have been something to get use
to. The view is lovely though. In the front of the house we can see the Sydney city skyline and in the backyard we can see an ocean view.
The house also has
some other differences… No… I have not shrunk… as you can see the door knobs are quite interesting here… and… last week we saw our first spider in the house… it o
nly took Tom slamming it a few times to drop 
dead.
to. The view is lovely though. In the front of the house we can see the Sydney city skyline and in the backyard we can see an ocean view.The house also has
some other differences… No… I have not shrunk… as you can see the door knobs are quite interesting here… and… last week we saw our first spider in the house… it o
nly took Tom slamming it a few times to drop 
dead.The roads are… interesting here too. They seem to follow the lay of the land roaming all over. Then one road just 
turns into another. Kind of tricky to get around but we seem to be finding our way without too many major blow ups between us. There also have few stop signs from what we have seen. Popular are these ‘round abouts’. The first car in gets the ‘right away’.
I am trying to get around on public transit and on foot. It takes me all day just to get to one school to drop off my resume… but … I am having some interesting chats with the old ladies on the buses and learning some things about Australia in the meantime… and all of these hills should keep my glutes’ in shape. Hopefully, I will get some supply work soon.
We had our first dinner guests over this last weekend… a family from the UK that are on exchange here too. It was nice
to share stories and a meal from the barbie.
Next weekend we are heading to Port Macquire-Hastings to see some Koala bears and dingoes with the exchange teachers league. We should get some interesting pictures there. We are billeting at a home there so it should be fun!
turns into another. Kind of tricky to get around but we seem to be finding our way without too many major blow ups between us. There also have few stop signs from what we have seen. Popular are these ‘round abouts’. The first car in gets the ‘right away’.I am trying to get around on public transit and on foot. It takes me all day just to get to one school to drop off my resume… but … I am having some interesting chats with the old ladies on the buses and learning some things about Australia in the meantime… and all of these hills should keep my glutes’ in shape. Hopefully, I will get some supply work soon.
We had our first dinner guests over this last weekend… a family from the UK that are on exchange here too. It was nice
to share stories and a meal from the barbie.
Next weekend we are heading to Port Macquire-Hastings to see some Koala bears and dingoes with the exchange teachers league. We should get some interesting pictures there. We are billeting at a home there so it should be fun!
Later mates,
The Andress’
