Oops, it has been ages since I have updated the blog on the day to day things happening.
My new job in the school is going really really well. My co teacher is really easy to get along with and we have a great time together laughing at the sometimes craziness of the kids. They are all 6-7 year old's, 5 boys and 1 girl. I believe all have Autism, and others have a second type of Intellectual disability. I help all around, helping them learn to write, use scissors, make letters with play dough, in art and technology class, etc, etc. The school is really small and close knit which is awesome, and everyone is so friendly and approachable. Each Monday we also go to a nearby high school with a swimming pool to take the kids swimming. I have been given a school Ipad which I completely struggle to use, but am working on figuring it out. I am often confused by the students for the Canadian speech pathologist who looks somewhat similar to me. One student mentioned that we had the same voice, very clever. We also share duties watching them during play time. The teachers are inundated like in the US with planning, performing assessments that don't necessarily match the childrens needs, skills and abilities. So it is a bit of a shame, that even in a special education school in Australia, teachers are struggling with the "paperwork". My co teacher is always suggesting I take routes besides teaching, that teaching isn't really teaching anymore but covering your bases for liability purposes. As this is my first salaried job, I am quite surprised at the break times given. Depending on my turn for watching the play time, I have either a 15 or 30 minute break in the morning, called morning tea. Then a second break for lunch, either 20 or 40 minutes. I help with laminating materials, cleaning the classroom, communicating with parents, and any other admin tasks needed. The kids have really improved a lot since the first week and it is incredible so see the growth in just 3 months.
The other days, I usually try to continue to pick up shifts with my casual disability job from before. Generally I don't have a problem getting work on those other two days.
The Ultimate Frisbee season has come and gone. It was really a great one. We were not as strong as the team last year, however still had a great time. I think I did a good job on all my team manager duties. It kept me really busy always organizing rides, accommodation, groceries for when we were at tournaments, rental cars, etc. Plus time at home, writing emails, organizing our team spreadsheet information, and helping with team finances. It was a huge amount of work, but I am glad I could give back to the team in that way as lots of other team members were also contributing. We played well but didn't have great results and ended up finishing 11th/16 at Nationals. I wasn't disappointed at all with this result because the entire time, I was having a great time playing, regardless of result. I accomplished a personal goal which I have been working on for the season which was a huge excitement for me. My goal at the start of the season was to get a hand block. This means as a person releases the frisbee I stop the frisbee from flying on it's intended path. I hope to get many more in the future!
Gosh, other than frisbee practices twice a week, a sprinting interval training group once a week (ish), and another small group meeting to throw, there wasn't much else happening in life outside of that! Here are a few photos of some things we have been up to.
Joel and I rented a car and did a little road trip during Australia day, just before school started. We hit up Wilsons Prom, Phillip Island, and the Mornington Peninsula. It was absolutely beautiful weather and some spectacular sights were seen. Victoria is so beautiful.
Some exciting news for myself, is that I was able to completely pay off my mortgage for the home I purchased (with much encouragement and support from my parents) in 2009. I would have never thought after only 8 years I would be able to do this, but thanks to some super saving skills in my genes to help me budget my money well and make it happen even with all my travels! I really cannot thank my parents enough for pushing me to do this!What an amazing opportunity, and thing to say I OWN a house without a loan attached anymore!
So for the third time, I am finally feeling super comfortable in my seat and ready to stay for a while. Nope, that's when life knocks you out of the chair and tells you to get up and move on. I was finally starting to feel like everything was falling into place. Friends, exciting and rewarding job, friends who are neighbors, and my wheels. Maybe the falling out of the chair thing isn't relatable for everyone, but that has been my life since 2010. Joel was offered a position in Portugal starting the second week in June working on the electrics side of Thermotechnology. He will be working with water heaters again but now as a team leader. It is super exciting step up in his career and advancement within the company. I am super proud of all the work he has accomplished here in Australia and his promotion. #Proudgf. He works his tail off making sure everything in the project is just right. He answers phone calls at 6am when Field Trials aren't working perfectly and solves them immediately even half asleep, and has meetings at 11pm so he talk to Portugal about the progress or problems of the day in China and Australia.
That being said, we are moving! Aveiro, Portugal, here we come. We will probably be booking our flights this week around June 10th, which is the last day in our apartment. We will have to sell all the furniture, appliances, and housewares in the apartment! When we arrive in Portugal, we hope to find a short term apartment to stay in for a bit while we start house hunting for a place to buy!
We are still trying to figure out what I need to do to be granted a partner visa which would give me working rights. However for the near future, I think I will apply to some online English Teaching positions which won't require that I have a work visa. I have found a summer school course at the University which I hope to be accepted in. As it is three weeks of intensive study, plus afternoon surfing classes! Can't beat that right? In the mean time I have also really stepped up my studying, which I should have done ages ago.. but the possibility of moving didn't seem real until I had a date. I have a book with a CD which I can practice speaking with, and in addition I practice translating Joel's group whatsapp messages with each other, a childrens book, a weekly podcast, and a vocabulary app. I have switched facebook and my phone to Portuguese so slowly trying to grasp more and more. I think the challenging nasal sounds of Portuguese are slowly improving, but we can save that for Joel to judge. :)
So, if you happen to find yourself in Portugal at any point after mid June, please reach out and let me know!
Xox
My new job in the school is going really really well. My co teacher is really easy to get along with and we have a great time together laughing at the sometimes craziness of the kids. They are all 6-7 year old's, 5 boys and 1 girl. I believe all have Autism, and others have a second type of Intellectual disability. I help all around, helping them learn to write, use scissors, make letters with play dough, in art and technology class, etc, etc. The school is really small and close knit which is awesome, and everyone is so friendly and approachable. Each Monday we also go to a nearby high school with a swimming pool to take the kids swimming. I have been given a school Ipad which I completely struggle to use, but am working on figuring it out. I am often confused by the students for the Canadian speech pathologist who looks somewhat similar to me. One student mentioned that we had the same voice, very clever. We also share duties watching them during play time. The teachers are inundated like in the US with planning, performing assessments that don't necessarily match the childrens needs, skills and abilities. So it is a bit of a shame, that even in a special education school in Australia, teachers are struggling with the "paperwork". My co teacher is always suggesting I take routes besides teaching, that teaching isn't really teaching anymore but covering your bases for liability purposes. As this is my first salaried job, I am quite surprised at the break times given. Depending on my turn for watching the play time, I have either a 15 or 30 minute break in the morning, called morning tea. Then a second break for lunch, either 20 or 40 minutes. I help with laminating materials, cleaning the classroom, communicating with parents, and any other admin tasks needed. The kids have really improved a lot since the first week and it is incredible so see the growth in just 3 months.
The other days, I usually try to continue to pick up shifts with my casual disability job from before. Generally I don't have a problem getting work on those other two days.
The Ultimate Frisbee season has come and gone. It was really a great one. We were not as strong as the team last year, however still had a great time. I think I did a good job on all my team manager duties. It kept me really busy always organizing rides, accommodation, groceries for when we were at tournaments, rental cars, etc. Plus time at home, writing emails, organizing our team spreadsheet information, and helping with team finances. It was a huge amount of work, but I am glad I could give back to the team in that way as lots of other team members were also contributing. We played well but didn't have great results and ended up finishing 11th/16 at Nationals. I wasn't disappointed at all with this result because the entire time, I was having a great time playing, regardless of result. I accomplished a personal goal which I have been working on for the season which was a huge excitement for me. My goal at the start of the season was to get a hand block. This means as a person releases the frisbee I stop the frisbee from flying on it's intended path. I hope to get many more in the future!
Gosh, other than frisbee practices twice a week, a sprinting interval training group once a week (ish), and another small group meeting to throw, there wasn't much else happening in life outside of that! Here are a few photos of some things we have been up to.
Joel and I celebrated our anniversary and saw the Cirque de Soleil show, Kooza. It was the best one that I have seen thus far! The acts were incredible and I had a friend working there who was able to upgrade our back row seats to the 5th row centre stage! Amazing. Joel wasn't super excited to go to what he thought was going to be a circus but loved it in the end.
Joel and I enjoyed our first "White Night". They light up the building in the CBD (downtown or Central Business District) and have different stories, displays, and acts. It was really amazing and for free. Joel also saw for the first time outside of work, the product that he introduced, being used in a food truck. That was pretty exciting. :)
We had a great time at the famous Australian Open. We watched a bunch of different tennis matches on tons of different courts. I had zero interest in tennis, and by the end of the tournament I couldn't stop watching the matches!
Beautiful Mornington Peninsula. If you look closely, one of those rocks has a bunch of people gathered around cliff jumping. I did the jump as well, it was really fun and the water was amazing.
Some exciting news for myself, is that I was able to completely pay off my mortgage for the home I purchased (with much encouragement and support from my parents) in 2009. I would have never thought after only 8 years I would be able to do this, but thanks to some super saving skills in my genes to help me budget my money well and make it happen even with all my travels! I really cannot thank my parents enough for pushing me to do this!What an amazing opportunity, and thing to say I OWN a house without a loan attached anymore!
So for the third time, I am finally feeling super comfortable in my seat and ready to stay for a while. Nope, that's when life knocks you out of the chair and tells you to get up and move on. I was finally starting to feel like everything was falling into place. Friends, exciting and rewarding job, friends who are neighbors, and my wheels. Maybe the falling out of the chair thing isn't relatable for everyone, but that has been my life since 2010. Joel was offered a position in Portugal starting the second week in June working on the electrics side of Thermotechnology. He will be working with water heaters again but now as a team leader. It is super exciting step up in his career and advancement within the company. I am super proud of all the work he has accomplished here in Australia and his promotion. #Proudgf. He works his tail off making sure everything in the project is just right. He answers phone calls at 6am when Field Trials aren't working perfectly and solves them immediately even half asleep, and has meetings at 11pm so he talk to Portugal about the progress or problems of the day in China and Australia.
That being said, we are moving! Aveiro, Portugal, here we come. We will probably be booking our flights this week around June 10th, which is the last day in our apartment. We will have to sell all the furniture, appliances, and housewares in the apartment! When we arrive in Portugal, we hope to find a short term apartment to stay in for a bit while we start house hunting for a place to buy!
We are still trying to figure out what I need to do to be granted a partner visa which would give me working rights. However for the near future, I think I will apply to some online English Teaching positions which won't require that I have a work visa. I have found a summer school course at the University which I hope to be accepted in. As it is three weeks of intensive study, plus afternoon surfing classes! Can't beat that right? In the mean time I have also really stepped up my studying, which I should have done ages ago.. but the possibility of moving didn't seem real until I had a date. I have a book with a CD which I can practice speaking with, and in addition I practice translating Joel's group whatsapp messages with each other, a childrens book, a weekly podcast, and a vocabulary app. I have switched facebook and my phone to Portuguese so slowly trying to grasp more and more. I think the challenging nasal sounds of Portuguese are slowly improving, but we can save that for Joel to judge. :)
So, if you happen to find yourself in Portugal at any point after mid June, please reach out and let me know!
Xox
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