Keep em coming!  People have viewed my blog over 1000 times in the past year.  No it wasn’t just me.  What a neat way to keep in touch, this electronic journal.  I started blogging last year for my university studies and quickly found it enjoyable to write down my ideas and thoughts on a regular basis.  Looking back at this year, it’s been an eventful one, starting with planning the wedding, moving to BC for a short while, being a student (sorry, little appears in this blog about that) and finally this big adventure down under.

I know it sounds like I am on a perpetual vacation, but I really am teaching here.  I don’t write much about that because it might only interest a few teachers who might wonder what Aussie schools are like.  The biggest challenge is having 6 periods a day, most of which are all over the school.  And our schedule is based on 10 days.  So I find myself checking my schedule incessantly to make sure I am in the right building.  When you come to an entirely new environment, you realize just how much of our day is spent on auto pilot, moving from place to place, same routine, same sort of foods, same faces.  It’s not that I didn’t like my routine, but it made sense to try a new pattern for a while.  That’s part of what makes it stressful.  So our sense of humour is our best asset.  Certainly, Leon is the perfect partner for these adventures as he constantly finds the upside of life.  I’ve learned from him and find I notice negativity in others more often.  And hopefully I don’t let myself fall into old patterns.  I am really making an effort to be enthusiastic about everything and not say no (double negative?) to any invitation.

I have volunteered for grade 7 camp – which I imagine to be 3 days of mosquito misery and 2 sleepless nights.  I’ve been trying to remember some of my Girl Guide songs so I might teach them at least one of them.  Then there will be the grade 8 camp – a beach side extravaganza of raging hormones and a strong likelihood that I will have to try surfing again.  And here my pinkie finger hasn’t healed from the last surfing trial.  I look at all of this as a chance to get to know my students better (maybe actually learn their names faster) and they’ll get to see that teachers are people too.  It will all be great, I am sure.  Even if I hate taking buses.

I am making progress on that.  Today I had to cover a double period of phys ed.  Our destination was a large outdoor pool complex via bus.  I did fine.  I wish I knew more outdoor activities and games for the students to play but my life has revolved around technology too long.  Something else to work on.

So, I don’t have any exciting news or pictures to post today.  I have a date with a bunch of teachers to see the opening of the art gallery exhibits tomorrow after school.  Then Leon and I have a busy weekend planned with trivia night and a bbq.  Next week, I am away overnight for a meeting.  And then if we can, we plan to rent a beach house for the weekend.

More adventures as they happen…