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Friday, July 10, 2009

I Come From A Land Down Under

OK, I don't come from a land down under...but I am currently there! I made it safely to Australia, with uneventful flights. Well, most of the flights were uneventful. In Toronto, our bags were late getting to where they were supposed to be (we had an hour and twenty minutes until our flight to Los Angeles was supposed to leave), and as a result, we missed that flight. It wasn't our fault in the least. They told us we could have gone on and not receive our bags at our destination for three days, but we were told it would be better to get on the next flight. Thankfully it wouldn't involve us missing the flight in L.A. So, instead of a twelve hour wait time, we only had eight.

The five of us (Sarah, Caroline, Adam, Jonathan, and myself) met up with the rest of the crew later on. Our prof, Mr. T. (no, not that Mr. T.) was the first one we met up with. He had been there a couple of hours before we were, and the other three (Maria, Ashley, and Jock) came along an hour and a half (roughly) before our flight was to leave.

The flight to Melbourne was sixteen hours, and that included a stopover, to refuel and change the crew, in Sydney. When we got to Melbourne, our host families were waiting for us. The mom of the house where I'm staying (she has three kids in their twenties) and the principal of the two campuses of the school where Sarah and I teach, were there, and they also picked Sarah up and dropped her off where she is to stay.

The family I'm staying with all seem nice (though I've yet to meet one of their daughters because she's in America right now). Maree had errands and whatnot to do (something every day), and took me along with her. This allowed me to see some of the area where I'm staying. I've not been to Melbourne yet, but Caroline, Sarah, and I are supposed to head in to the aquarium tomorrow (Sunday).

The weather, for the most part, has been quite cool, and I've been cold at night. Thankfully the blankets are nice and warm. The main part of the house has the heat on, so that's nice and toasty, but my room is in the old part and doesn't get much heat. Right now, I feel like I should have some mittens on because my hands are freezing! I guess that's what you get for coming in winter, LOL.

School starts on Monday, and I'm quite looking forward to it - though to be honest, I am a little nervous. Maree went to the school on Friday to look for something and I tagged along. I got to see the library (she's a librarian/teacher) and meet some of the people who work at the school. After that, she took me to the teacher's lounge and I met a few more of the teachers and the vice principal (I think that's who she was...she's definitely someone in charge though). The teacher I'll be with wasn't there, so I couldn't meet her or see the classroom where I'll be teaching.

Well, this post is quite long. I'll try to update soon - maybe after tomorrow's excursion to Melbourne. Sarah and I've decided that even if Caroline changes her mind, we're still going there tomorrow. Please pray for Sarah as she's come down with a bad cold already.

Have a blessed Christ-filled day!

2 comments:

PJ said...

So glad your travels were safe...wow, those are long flights!Enjoy Melbourne! Like your new blog look, too!

Jodi said...

I'm glad to hear that you have made it safely. Say hi to everyone for me! I hope you are having a great time. I look forward to reading about your adventures in and out of the classroom. =)