Getting Sorted... well, sorta!

So I've been here a few days and am starting to feel a bit sorted. There's still lots to be done, but I know it will happen with time. I think my biggest frustration is my lack of connectivity right now... something I definitely take for granted at home. The school internet has been down, and the internet cafe is closed on Sunday (as with most other ammenities in town as well). However, that aside, I'm quite pleased to say that my jet-lag recovery is nearly done, I'm already starting to acclimatize to the warm weather, and my sandal calluses are already starting to form. On a side note: I'm considering a competition with myself to see how many days I can go without having to put my sandals away!

On Friday I had a meeting at the school that was devoted to all of the new staff. There is quite a large group of us (10+) but only 3 are brand new to the teaching profession. The meeting was quite helpful and informative. I actually felt quite ill for most of the morning - enough to make me scope out the nearest washroom in case I had to make a run for it. I'm not sure why I felt so sick, but figure it was just another part of my body adjusting to things here.

A few pics of my school...




The meeting was just one small reminder of how different things are going to be here. The fact that we actually had a day devoted to training for "new staff" is quite a novelty from my previous experiences. The day was even preceded by a "new staff" BBQ the night before so we had a chance to socialize and get to know one another on a personal level beforehand. I have a feeling I am going to spend the next several months having to stop myself from annoying those around me while I continually compare things to how things are done at home. I'll have to try and keep those thoughts to myself and post them to my blog instead.

Saturday I spent roaming around the town centre familiarizing myself with the stores and ammenities that are located there. I found a bike shop that also has connections with the local "harriers club" (running club) that I'm looking forward to hooking up with. I spent close to 2 hours waiting in line at Vodophone (there was only one girl working there that day!) only to find out that I couldn't get a phone because I didn't have my passport on me for them to use for the credit check. I will have to go back on Monday to get that sorted out. Later that afternoon I went to check out the flat that I am likely going to be sharing with some coworkers, picked up some "take-away" (take-out) fish and chips and spent a quiet night in watching a movie. Oh yeah... and i also spent part of the day doing some "light" reading of the grade 12 textbook that I will be teaching from. I definitely have a lot of refreshing to do!

Today (Sunday) I woke up to the sun shining into my room. I decided that it was time for me to crack open my bike box (I'd been holding out on that, waiting to move into my new place) and dig out my running gear. I went for a 45 minute run along the river and towards the hills that i hope to run a lot on. I probably walked for at least 10 mins of my run, but it felt good to get my legs moving again. I definitely got lost a few times but managed to find my way.

My next most important task is to aquire all of the "things" that I wasn't able to move over with me. I think I'm gonna hold off a few days and see if I can make a plea to my fellow staff and see what things they can help out with. Good God I've already spent a lot of money so far!

Closing notes:
- Kiwi's are definitely a friendly group of people.
- It is such a weird environment here - feels like a tropical version of Britain. Things are smaller and more compact, there's a whole slew of roundabouts, and there's a mix of palm trees, pine trees, and maple trees!
- Slang word for "duvet" is "dooner". What a fun word! Something else I need to add to my "items needed" list.

Wow! I'm here!... I'm actually in New Zealand!

The past few weeks have been absolutely nuts. My days were spent lesson planning, marking tests and assignments, and preparing exams for my students at ODSS as I tied up the loose ends at my old job. My nights were spent packing, organizing, and sorting my "stuff" - something I realized I have far too much of given my seemingly never ending Nomadic way of life. And to finish, I had to move all my "stuff" into storage and figure out how to fit all the remaining things - things that were carefully hand-picked during the sorting phase - into a large suitcase, a bike box, and a carry-on piece of luggage. Indeed, a daunting task for someone as "spacially unaware" as I am.

It's been both physically exhausting and emotionally draining. One can not appreciate how much work it is to sort out and organize the logistics of moving overseas to work for a year. It's horribly confusing and overwhelming and expensive to summarize in a few words or less. I'm still not really sure that i've done all that I needed to do, but I guess I'm here, so that's what matters the most!

My family had a goodbye dinner for me on Saturday which was actually quite sad for me. By the end of the night, I started to realize that it was time for me to say goodbye, so I dealt with the situation by ignoring it and laying down on the couch for a nap so noone could see the tears that had already started to accumulate. I refused to say my "official" goodbyes that night since it just seemed like far too much to say goodbye to my entire family in one shot. Instead, I opted for individual goodbyes the next day. I definitely cried on (read: soaked) Mark's shoulder in his kitchen and as a result, he cried back on mine. I stopped by Laura and Mike's place that night for another goodbye and got to touch my sister's pregnant belly for the last time before she gives birth in May. I also had a wee bit of a melt-down in the lobby of Rob's work when I stopped by on Monday to pick up the last-minute travel insurance document that I had faxed to his office. It was also difficult saying goodbye (or rather so-long) to Brian whom I had met on a dating site less than two months prior but had really enjoyed spending time with. I'd said goodbye to my girlfriends the weekend before and when combined with the onset of PMS the result was one really messy and embarassing tearfest. I'm fairly certain that I'm all cried out now. At least for the next while until the homesickness sets in.

So my flight remarkably worked out quite well. I'd say that the worst part was actually getting to the airport from Owen Sound. Lesson learned: never EVER again will I drive to the airport from Owen Sound during the winter season. All in all it took us close to 4 hours to get to the airport leaving me much less sanity time as I had hoped. Thank goodness mom and dad were able to put up with me on the car ride there and were still willing to stand with me in the check-in lineup and see me off through the door to customs. Oh yeah... one last time for tears - not a whole lot of words spoken cause it was far too diffult to speak. Instead I opted to say thanks for putting up with me that day and for persevering through the bad weather to get me there on time.

Thanks to Air Canada I spent $150 in overage fees and an hour in the plane sitting on the tarmack waiting for some minor repairs to the cockpit. On this part of my journey to LA, I met a guy named Jonathon who was travelling home from 2 weeks away on business. Since his company so generously pays for a driver to meet him at the airport, I was able to score a ride to the correct terminal for my departing flight. Oh yeah... and I was able to catch the flick "Superbad" which was highly entertaining and had me laughing out loud on several occasions. I'm pretty sure I even had a few knee-slapping moments!

The next portion of my journey was also delayed, this time for 1.5 hours due to repairs needed on one of the emergency exit doors of my flight with Qantas. ALways a comforting feeling indeed to know that emergency repairs were done just before your plane takes off! On this 12.5 hour flight I sat beside a guy named Justin who was on his way to Melbourne Australia to work in a winery there for the next three months. He even had the nerve to laugh at me when I was awoken from a nap due to some severe turbulance. Apparently my reaction was commical. I guess i got used to the turbulence and managed to sleep several hours throughout the night. Man though, was my butt ever sore by the end. Thank-goodness I haven't experienced any long-lasting effects!

Arriving in Aukland was a great feeling. Sunny and warm and fresh! After getting nailed by Air NZ for another $125 in overage fees, I had a 10 minute walk to the Domestic Terminal and enjoyed every minute of it! After napping for a bit in the waiting area, I borded my last flight (a very small 20-seater plane) and arrived in Blenheim a very short 75 mins later.

My DP (Deputy Principal) met me at the airport and we managed to squeeze all of my luggage into her car. She stopped by the school on our way into town for a few quick hellos and let me nap at her house for the rest of the afternoon in an effort to get caught up on some missed sleep. Later that night I went to a BBQ for all the new staff at MGC which was a really nice, warm, welcoming event. It seems like everyone here is just so friendly, and so laid back, and I really think I'm gonna like it here. I was careful to only have one glass of wine though since I was nervous about what more than one would do to me.

Went to bed at 9:30pm last night and slept through to the morning. Woke up around 5am and had trouble getting back to sleep for a bit, but managed to get a few more hours of sleep before getting up in time for a new staff meeting at the school.

First impressions - fantastic! Will post more soon.