Sunday 6 July 2008

Been here a year!

It's been a while since the last update. I kept waiting for Andy to do his bit but have concluded that the likelihood of that happening is pretty much zero, so I'm afraid it's me again!

So much has happened since the last post. Firstly, my Auntie Rosemary passed away in Brisbane and so my Mum flew over for the funeral. It was obviously a sad time, but it was really good to see my Mum.

It was a bit surreal though, because she was here while Andy was over there, and she flew back the day before Andy arrived so they crossed in the air.

We spent our 1st Australian Anniversary at The Farm with our Church. We went to The Farm back in September (check out the archive for pictures) and were really excited about going again. We had a great time but it was blooming cold! I know many of you think Australia is all BBQs and Sunshine, but believe me, it gets cold, especially in the country at night. We also had rain, which we really need, but we all rather hoped it would wait a day or two.

Still, we chased the odd kangaroo, rode motorbikes (I nearly came a cropper on the mud but managed to stay upright) and huddled round a roaring bonfire at night. It was a rather appropriate way to celebrate our first year here, especially as it was a long weekend - we all get a day off to celebrate the Queen's Birthday - gawd bless 'er!

As I write this, we're in the middle of the school holidays - yay! Trouble is, I've come to the end of my 2 term contract, so I'm on school holidays forever. I was sad to leave my class and I've enjoyed teaching at the school. I got thoroughly spoilt - gifts all round...

Getting a permanent teaching job here is almost impossible. I had an interview last week but didn't get it. Mind you, I wasn't too upset - the Principal came out to meet me and said, "Oh, hello, sorry I don't remember your name" and as I was leaving, the Vice-Principal shook my hand and said, "Thank you for coming in Amanda"! Not exactly the most professional interview I've ever had! Still, I'm sure something else will turn up and in the meantime I'll go back to supply teaching.

Even though it's winter here, we've tried to get out and about as much as possible. I did an Adobe Photoshop evening class and we both did an Archery course which was a lot of fun.

Now the question is, which one of us got the arrow right in the centre of the target...Go on, have a guess and leave us a comment.

We'd love to hear from you...