Good days and bad days...

Today was a good day!  We went to visit our new valley again where we will be living next month and had a look at two schools and one kinder.

At the one school Silke told the headteacher: 'I have nits, my mummy is trying to get the nits out of my hair.'  Hence why yesterday was a bad day as any nit combing day would be...

So far we liked most of the schools we visited.  Which makes it a bit tricky to choose.  Do we just go for the closest school, we can walk to school and it's nice and small - in Prep only about 15 children per class?  Or do we go for the bigger, higher achieving school which is a 10 but probably closer 20 min drive away in the morning traffic?

But I have decided to keep Mieke in a public primary school and then apply for 2 private high schools, that way we save loads of money until then!

The schools are different here than the UK in the following ways:

The class sizes are smaller (can vary between 15 and 25).
They don't have school dinners but normally have a canteen open a few times a week.
Uniforms can only be bought at school and seem really expensive.
Although the kids are in their own home groups they work across 2 year groups, for instance Year 1 and 2, 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 work together.  This gives opportunity for children who find the work easier to go ahead as well as give time for the slower ones to catch up.
They are not as rigid with going to school at a definite age like the UK - for instance children can go to school if they turn 5 by the end of April in the year that they go to school, but you are free to keep them back as well.  Most of the schools I spoke to suggested I keep Silke back until next year, so she'll be going back to Kindy as they call pre-school here.
In the area where I am looking for schools (East / North East of Melbourne) there aren't catchment areas, so I am free to send my children to any public school I like!  This makes it good for me but quite tricky for schools as it is difficult to plan from the one year to the next.

The schools seem well equipped with interactive white boards / televisions, computers and basket ball courts!  Most of them have an art room, music room and language room where they learn LOTE (language other than English).  The schools I've looked at offered Indonesion, Italian, Chinese or Japanese.

The classes are mostly open plan though so I think this will be something for Mieke to get used to.

Things I like so far in Australia:

Watermelon and Avos - delicious just like in SA
Chocolate Milk and Strawberry milk come in 2 litre bottles!!
U turns are encouraged.
Parking is free at most shopping centers and the parking bays are big enough for our wagon.
They pack your bags for you when grocery shopping.  Hooray!!  I know I'm sorry but I'm lazy...

Sunday afternoon...

I'm lying on my side in bed looking out the window through a flyscreen.  The bedroom is at the front of the house, overlooking a quiet close.  There is a big gumtree right outside with brightly coloured birds cackling away.  My belly is heavy but busy.

I am in Australia...

What happened since February...

1.  I started a 4 month TESOL course to learn how to teach English to speakers of a foreign language. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, BUT I MADE IT!!!

2.  Werner received 2 job offers for Australia, accepted the best one and guess what, WE'RE LEAVING FOR MELBOURNE IN 12 DAYS TIME!!

3.  I though I was going through early menopause as my cycle was really short and I googled it.  So when we had a little accident straight after my period I didn't think anything of it, as that time of the month you can't fall pregnant anyway can you?  WRONG!!  TOMORROW I'M 20 WEEKS PREGNANT!!  Oooops.

Which is why I haven't blogged in four months.  I was in shock, I was busy trying to do this crazy course while fighting ALL DAY morning sickness, and trying to organise our move to Australia.

Anyway my little Silke is coughing her lungs out so I need to go rub Vicks on her chest and rub her back and pray she gets better and not worse....

Aussie Aussie Oi Oi (cringe cringe)

We got our Australian Visas!!!  On the 14th January 2011 - precisely 1 year and 1 day after application.

We got it thanks to me.  Thank you Claudine.  For firing your migation agent and deciding you can do a better job on your own.  For getting all the unabridged documents.  For organising the skills assesment and IELTS tests.  For writing the IELTS tests.  For applying for South African and UK PCCs and ringing Pretoria on a daily basis to find out how much longer its going to take.  For filling in millions of forms.  For keeping up to date with all the changes happening with immigration.  For making appointments for medicals and getting us all there on time in the snow.  For keeping contact with our case office and scanning and emailing the documents the moment we got them.  Thank you Claudine, without me we would not have gotten this far.  I don't think anyone else in the family really gets what a job this was which is why I take it upon myself to thank.. myself.

BUT  we are all on board now.  Silke want a big house with a pool and a DOG.  And she hates school with a passion and enquires about spring every day.  I want the same.  Mieke wants to live near the beach and learn to boogy board.  Werner is fed up with his job and wants a change.  For the first time we ALL want the same thing - AUSTRALIA.  And the UK media is bombarding us with Phil Downunder and Wanted Downunder and cute little adverts of a landrover driving as fast as the kangaroos around it can hop is not doing us any favours.  We want it NOW!

So bring it on Australia - we are ready!!!

PS:  If anyone can find my hubbie a top management consultant job in Australia which pays... A LOT... please feel free to contact me!!