Homesickness and Hospitality

Have you ever heard how the Aussies say 'h'?  It's great!!  They say it like "heych".  Things like this continue to make me smile and my coworkers and I are constantly giggling at things the other says.  Today, I had constant giggles as I am attending a 2 day conference covering PDHPE, notice the 'H'?  Hee hee, you should hear how many times I've heard it today... PD heych PE - awesome!! 

So, I thought why not blog about 2 "heych" topics.  Ha ha!  I'm trying to be funny, but you're all probably having a "guess you had to be there moment".  Just go with it ok :)

First 'H': homesickness.  Plain and simple, homesickness SUCKS!  That lonely feeling when no matter how much fun you're having in a place, takes over and you all of a sudden lose it for a minute.  This has happened a couple of times to me, I'll be honest.  Usually I'm tired or something cruddy happened in my day, but sometimes it just hits you that you're away from your family and friends and your support network who love you dearly and are only a short distance or phone call away.  I know they're all just a phone call away here too, but it's that feeling that you can't just drive down the street and get a hug or see someone's smiling face.  That alone feeling sometimes just hits you and that's what homesickness is.  I keep telling myself that it's good to be homesick because it shows that you have something to be homesick for.  I wouldn't trade this experience for anything and I have no plans on getting on a plane home, but I miss home, hugs, family and friends.  Thank you everyone for giving me lots of reasons to miss home xoxoxo

Second "H": hospitality!  Australian hospitality is a huge reason why homesickness only hits hard once in awhile.  The people here are AMAZING!!  I know I've said it before, but I had another wonderful weekend showing this and I just wanted to share again.  My coworkers and my amazing neighbor family have taken me under their wings and have welcomed me into their homes and their lives.  Their patience, understanding, kindness, and caring ways leave me a little bit speechless.  I don't think they know how much it means to me and maybe it's because I'm single and they worry about me, but their generosity is just incredible and they've truly touched my heart with their kindness.

This past Friday, I invited myself to one of my coworker's houses.  I have an open invitation from she and her husband, to go for a Friday night footy lesson, dinner, drinks and a sleepover (very strict drinking laws in Australia so you almost have to plan sleepovers if you're having some wine).  So, out I went on Friday and enjoyed a lovely dinner, some wine and footy lessons from a former sports announcer, sports ambassador, current radio personality and sportsman extraordinaire!  How lucky am I?

We then traveled into nearby Orange to visit her sister and attend the monthly Saturday market.  That then turned into more shopping and a lovely lunch at a teahouse on the mountain (it would be a hill to us, I'm not going to lie, but it's still beautiful).  The day ended with another open invitation to visit and stay in Orange anytime I wanted, including promises to bring my guests and family to Orange.

Invites to a musical, sleepovers, dinners in, and dinners out, trips to the dam, cricket and footy lessons, good times in Sydney, time with my Aussie family members and new Aussie friends... all of it, fills my days with the memories I treasure...

I'm truly grateful for the hospitality I've been shown, I can't say it enough. This year I've seen that Australians are some of the most generous and kind people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.  I truly hope that each and every one of my new Aussie friends will come to Canada so I can return the same kindness.

A Wonderful Week in Aussie Land

Hello everyone!

It's been a gorgeous week in Dubbo - the weather, my job and life in general!

We came out of the floods, safe for now. Wagga Wagga and Griffith (both locations where exchange teachers from Alberta are currently) are having a different story. Flooding has affected both cities and now there's a story in the newspaper about how the flooding has affected spiders in Wagga. Check out this story:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-08/spider-army-descends-on-wagga-in-flood-escape/3877566

From what I understand, the flooding will continue to affect communities throughout New South Wales as the water makes its way through various river systems in the state. I'll keep you posted.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-24/south-east-nsw-flooding---feb-2012/3857502?section=vic


Autumn has arrived!! Luckily for me, it was a cooler summer in Australia and I never got the temperatures in the 40s that everybody was expecting. The hottest temperature I saw was 37C on my second day here. Now that atutum has arrived, it's around 13C in the early mornings and at night. During the day, it's around 23-28C. Talk about beautiful weather!!

It's been an amazing week at school as well! The students and I have found our groove and we've settled into our routines and my expectations. It took longer than I expected to get settled and find my way. Being here is like being a first year teacher all over again, but a thousands times worse! After teaching for 10 years it's been difficult having to learn the curriculum all over again, learn school rules and expectations, and adapt to a whole new way of how a school works. It's frustrating sometimes because I've been teaching for so long so I should know how to do this. We are hard on ourselves and have very high expectations for ourselves. So when you have to ask how to do something that everyone else knows how to do, and it's the third time you're asking, you feel a bit less than capable.

However, after 6 weeks of school and a great week under my belt, I feel like I've totally settled in at school! I'm off this week for my first excursion (aka field trip) and my first conference. In 4 weeks we will reach our first term break, which will be a 2 week break! Until then, it's hard work in the classroom!

TGIF everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!