Well, it has been a long time, but
I’m back to the blog world! I have a lot to tell you all--although I’ve
procrastinated so long in writing this that I can hardly remember everything.
To start off, I have settled in very well here. Driving isn’t nearly as
terrifying of an experience as it was in the beginning, and I have actually
begun to appreciate roundabouts for their ability to keep traffic flowing. In
case it wasn’t clear from some of my previous posts, I LOVE my host family, so
that has made adjusting to this new place a piece of cake. I promise I’m not
just saying that because they’ll read this. (hi guys!) Truly, I am luckier than
any other au pair I have met.
On the au
pair news side of things, this is a rather busy time. Both of my host parents
are away for work for the next 2 weeks, so I’m on my own with the 4 kids.
Basically it will be just like my regular job, but with more cooking. (sorry,
kids!) It’s going to be an adjustment for all of us, but there is no doubt that
it will work out just fine.
We’ve been
having lots of fun around here. We go to the park quite often, and usually come
home with at least one basketball related injury (often due to my overzealous
and inexpert blocks) and a bit of motion sickness from the merry go round. On
one occasion said motion sickness resulted in vomit spewing violently from a
child that shall remain unnamed. Time to move away from that unpleasant
image….Last Saturday Jack and I spent the day at his very first Tae Kwon Do
tournament, and he did an excellent job. I was very proud of how hard he worked
and what great sportsmanship he showed. They are amazing kids, and really make
my job a treat.
Many of you
may know that I came here with the intention of volunteering for a particular
watershed organization. I started the volunteer position soon after I arrived,
but I have since had to discontinue my involvement due to the fact that the
drive was over 30 minutes each way, and the work was focused solely on office
administration, and not on fieldwork, as I had initially understood. The
organization does really great things for the local watersheds; however, it was
just not the right fit for me. At this point, my goal is to begin volunteering
closer to home at an organization with needs that better match my skills.
On that
career related note, right now I am in the midst of frenzied study in
preparation for my GRE exam in just over 2 weeks. You’d think since I graduated
from college the studying would be over—but no. I will go to Sydney on the 25th
and take the wretched exam on the 26th. For those of you who are
unfamiliar, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is meant to test readiness for a
graduate school program, and is required by most schools in the United States. While
it determines the outcome of my future as a student, it is mainly going to be a
miserable 5 hours of my life that I will never be able to get back. After it’s
over, I will begin working on my applications to different schools, and start
trying to coax professors who barely remember my name to write me letters of
recommendation. Overall, the graduate school application process sucks.
The bright
side of my trip to Sydney for the test is that my host family will be driving
down to meet me, and we will tour around the city together. Since they are from
Sydney, they have all sorts of inside knowledge about what I absolutely have to
see. Initially, I really wanted to climb the Harbor Bridge, but after learning
about the steep $230 price tag that goes along with it, I am no longer quite as
keen. Really? $230 to climb a bridge? Alas, I will have to settle for a ferry
ride across the harbor, as the bridge climbers look down on me with pity. On the
way back to the Sunshine Coast, I will ride with my host family. We are
planning on taking a couple of days for the trip, and will stop at various
tourist destinations as we drive. That leads me to my next point about
Australia. These people love their “big” things, and tend to create tourism
surrounding completely pointless giant objects. My personal favorite is the Big
Pineapple, but there are many more spread all across this great country. There is the Big Worm, the Big Shark, the Big Boot, the Big Banana, the Big Kangaroo, the
Big Boxing Croc, (what?) the Big Potato, the Big Guitar…the list goes on…and
on…and on. It could be a lucrative business just carting dumb tourists from big
object to big object until they’d seen every one.
That’s all for this post. My next one, which will talk more
about my travels will be up later today!
Stay safe, y'all hear?
No comments:
Post a Comment