New Adventures

We have moved into a new area and the first day of my new job begins tomorrow. 

We arrived last Tuesday night and have mostly unpacked. I have learned how much I rely on a fridge! I missed not being able to have cold water and cold diet coke in such a warm climate. On our first night here, we slept on an air mattress on the floor. Having seen a cane toad earlier in the evening, I imagined cane toads jumping on me during the night and was relieved when the bed was assembled the next day.

We are learning about a lot of new things. The first major thing we had to learn about was cane toads and dogs. Cane toads can kill dogs if a dog tries to eat it. We have not seen Milly attack, nor try to play with smaller animals such as mice and birds but on the other hand, we didn't want her to get close to a cane toad so we have given her a place to sleep in the laundry at the moment. That required another challenge for Milly as she hates white, slippery floors. Not only do we have those tiles throughout the house, we also have them on the front porch. Andy made up a path for her from the side door, using an old towel, her bed mat and a new mat we got her and finally coaxed her in at night, before the toads came out. 

The next morning, we were relaxing on the front porch enjoying the warm weather and a gentle breeze when Andy opened the gate to the back yard. Milly came out and wanted soooo much to be with Andy that she put her front paws up on the porch. He backed away a little and you could see her stretch towards him. Finally, she came up and laid down at his feet. It was very cute. That night, she came into the laundry without any cajoling and we didn't need to give her any treats. She is learning though, that the laundry is her night time place. Andy has also taken her for a couple of walks around the town in the late afternoon when it is cooler. 

Another thing I have learned, is how to deal effectively with midges. Midge bites are worse than mozzie bites and the itch lasts longer over days without going away. Although the brand of anti-itch gel I use works effectively with mozzie bites, I found it less effective with midge bites. Last night I took out an ice-pack and put it directly on the bite and it numbed it for quite some time. I've had to reapply it but it's definitely not as bad. 

Last Friday, I went and took a look at my new classroom, got my key and met a couple teachers. Although I haven't finished unpacking all my teacher stuff at home, at least I have an idea of what the classroom size is. I have a million-ish questions about classroom procedures, school expectations, day-to-day routines and am feeling a mixture of excitement, anticipation and nervousness. I have taught in different schools with different 'cultures' and one thing I already I know I appreciate about this school is that it seems like there are clear expectations as well as an 'order' to how things operate. This coming week is student-free and the new teachers will also have 'induction' meetings which will be helpful. 

This morning Andy and I went to our new church. A few of the teachers were there and we had already met the pastor and his wife when we were here before Christmas. I have been involved in small churches and small towns for most of my adult life but have also appreciated the anonymity of being in a larger place that I've had recently. Andy has not experienced a smaller church/town in his adult life so again, that will be something we will both need to learn to adjust to. 

The sermon was based on Philippians 1 and was talking about how we need to allow Christ to transform us. Verses 9-11 says: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."


Well, it is raining tonight as it has been for most of today but at the same time, it is still very warm. Rain is a good thing. Now that I am done here, I need to go and pick out what clothes I will wear tomorrow and figure out what I will take to school. I think that I will leave my classroom things at home until Tuesday - after I've had a chance to figure out what I might need the most. There is a staff uniform but this week we can wear smart casual.

Here I go - may the next chapter go well.