Work
True to form I spent the first few days of the Easter holidays planning lessons for the upcoming term so I could hit the ground running in the first couple of weeks. I've got six different classes in Years 7 and 8, teaching Humanities (including Geography and Civics) and English. I've had to learn how to use a MacAir(that's what all the teachers get from the school to use) and to plan lessons from 55 to 70 mins long (it varies on Tuesdays with a shorter school day, finishing at 2:35pm). Students have been really helpful in teaching me how to use a Mac and they laugh when I try to swipe the screen (like my ipad)!
Salaries here are paid fortnightly on a Wednesday - so it's like payday every other week! Some things go out of the bank account monthly so I can't quite work out if I'm ahead or not! But I'm not complaining, as fortnightly income is just great! I treat myself every payday to something: shoes (obviously!), dresses, Xmas gifts for the UK people, smelly soaps from Soap Bar, etc. Loving all of that!
My commute is 35 mins each way on the motorway, which I'm finding just long enough to drink my coffee or listen to the news and then I'm at work. Another bonus has been that a Starbucks has opened near school, and I've discovered that they are selling French Roast beans - these were discontinued in Europe about 3 years ago, so finding these was just brilliant. I bought four bags on my first visit!!
I've joined the union which for our school is the independent Queensland union - the subscription is proportionate to your salary and also includes insurance against injury or accusations. I worked out that I've been in at least one teaching union (usually two at a time) since 1998 - that must be some sort of record!
At the end of day 1 I had my Mac, a rucksack for it, a name badge which does door opening and photocopying/printing, and keys for the rooms I teach in. Super efficient! Fellow teachers have been helping me with how to make the photocopier staple things, which is great - I think that in the last 3 schools I've led, I never knew how to use the copier!
I'm enjoying being in the classroom with students for the vast majority of my day; it is a 7 day timetable so no two Mondays are ever the same and my four "spare" (free) periods out of 28 are on different days of the week. I've been planning just a week ahead in terms of the detailed powerpoints, but the school required a term's planning in advance (a term is 10 weeks) of learning intentions, success criteria, resources required, learning activities, etc. That sounds quite draconian but I think it's so the heads of department can check that teachers will each cover the curriculum.
I attended a seminar run by Queensland College of Teachers, to learn about moving from Provisional status to Full status. QCT will only accept service in an Australian or New Zealand school, so my 20+ years in UK classrooms won't count. So I have to compile an evidence folder for the 37 competencies that Queensland teachers have to have... and have taught 200 days in a Queensland/Australian school.... and find a principal to review and certify me. My current contract will only give me 150 days, and I've taught 19 days of other contract or relief work, but that still leaves me 31 days short this academic year! So this is something I will have to work on ready for 2020 and whichever school I'm in then.
Family
I was spoilt by my cousins over Easter, having dinner with them on Good Friday and Easter Saturday, and I returned the favour by cooking English Breakfast on Easter Sunday - that will hopefully be a new family tradition!It's been fun to share out with my cousins English family things from our joint grandparents - so, for example, we now all have a split share of the Queen's ware Wedgwood dining service and I like to think that we're all eating off the same plates in our different parts of the Sunshine Coast!
I've been able to repay cousins' kindnesses by dropping them at Bris Airport for their holidays when I can - they've all been so helpful, not just in telling which shops to go to, but supporting me with finding a car, putting up curtain rails, finding a car service depot, etc.
It's been great to rekindle my cousins' friendship and companionship over these last six months. I've had very special times with them, sharing their grandchildren's outings, having meals together, walking, swimming, going to the cinema, eating their citrus fruit. Such a joy. And something I could never have done if I hadn't made the Big Move.
UK
I get my re-directed UK post each week, via my cousin, and of course I keep in touch by email. I'm able to use both Amazon and Ebay UK versions from my laptop, ensuring I use my UK credit cards to pay any UK bills! The only hard thing is phone calls - the time difference is 9 hours currently (British summer time) and so if I need to speak to someone live in the UK about an issue, I have to wait until 18:00 here and go outside in the dark to make a call! I can't make them indoors - I think it's something to do with the amount of solar panels on the roof blocking phone signals!
My children are doing really well and I get approximately fortnightly Whatsapps or Instagrams. I've found that it's easier in my head to think that they are just in another city here in Oz, like Melbourne, and that I could actually just pop over if I wanted.
I'm still calling my mum by Skype every Saturday night, which she's doing really well now - great that at 80 she's using Skype! She's also started emailing, which again is brilliant for our communication!
I've also managed to send funds from my Australian bank to my UK bank. This incurs fees and I've used Currencies Direct to do it in the past. Doing it UK to Australia was seamless; however, sending it the other way (to ensure my UK bank doesn't go overdrawn) took two weeks and a failed transaction, with funds coming back into my Australian bank. I think I've got the hang of it now, so I'll be able to do it again when I need to.
Life
Election fever really kicked in mid-April when the current Prime Minister called the election: Scott Morrison hasn't been prime minister long, he replaced Malcolm Turnbull when the party had some sort of reshuffle before I arrived. The election campaign has been quite fierce - a party called Australia Party did lots of TV advertising, with phrases like "give these losers a thong slap and send them on their way" - fascinating! I can't see that type of advert working in the UK!
I had a letter from the Australian Electoral Commission, confirming my right (and expectation) to vote, telling me which ward/senate area I'm in. Voting here is always on a Saturday, and is compulsory - if you're registered, you're voting. There is a proportional representation system here, where preference votes are counted and can make a big difference -very different from the first past the post system in the UK. What I liked enormously was how helpful the parties were in suggesting how you should vote! They had worked out what combination of numbers/candidates they needed and then printed leaflets for voters to use when making the vote. And for those who needed to, there are two weeks of early voting opportunities - where you can turn up to the voting centre and vote, from 9am to 6pm, for two weeks. This was really helpful because it transpired that school had an open day (recruiting new students) on the Saturday of the election.
Just like in the UK, one day over the Easter weekend is a total close-down of shops/shopping - here it is Good Friday, while in the UK it's Easter Sunday. Lots of visitors descended to the Sunshine Coast so the beaches, towns and pubs were all busy, which is great for the economy. Everything also shuts for "normal" bank holidays (like 6 May) - so you have to make sure you've got food in! Only petrol stations and pubs seem to be open then. And many restaurants charge an additional 15% on all bills on a bank holiday - interesting idea!
I finally received my Tax File Number (after 3 months) - I never did hear why it had been so convoluted but it means that I can now file a tax return at the end of the tax year (30 June). Everyone here has to do a tax return, but the ATO has a good online set of instructions and leaflets for particular professions, like teachers, so I can see what allowances are and how to include them. We have to keep receipts for five years, so my previous habit of shredding everything each month has had to be modified!
You'll remember that I have been following the Barefoot Investor - opening a number of different savings and other bank accounts. I've found that principle to be really helpful as I can began to save up for the next lot of rental bond and advance rent for my next move in January 2020. It's been a good discipline for me - my whole adult life I have used credit cards - sensibly of course - but delaying financial planning. Now I'm living on actual cash banked and only spending if I've got it. I don't even have an Oz credit card and I don't think I'm going to get one just yet. I still have plenty of UK ones at the moment which I can use for UK purchases and when I'm back over for visits. The Barefoot Investor plan talks about taking around 40% of your salary and investing it each time you get paid. I thought that would be too hard to do - but actually, I'm doing it well. And I'm proud to be re-stocking my banking well after spending so much on the Big Move. It feels good!
On ANZAC day in April (a bank holiday) my cousin and I went to the dawn service at Kings Beach in Caloundra where the RSL had organised a brilliant remembrance service. There was something really special for me that day: the thunder of the waves crashing on the beach, the audience all holding candles, my father's and grandfather's medals on my lap, and the haunting bugle player, made this an unforgettable experience. If my father, and grandfather who I never met, had been there, they would have been thrilled to see how the Australians are still remembering the sacrifices from 1915 onwards. And of course, at that point, Australia as a nation was only 14 years old. Amazing that such a young nation contributed so many troops and resources to a war being fought on the other side of the planet.
Friends from the church group I've joined invited me to breakfast on Easter Monday, which was delightful -they live right on the coast in an apartment block with superb views - a secure unit, with 3 entry pad doors!! They also took me to the Caloundra RSL (returned services league I think) which is like a massive social club, where we took part in a weekly Trivia competition - at one stage, we won coffee and cake vouchers, which I thought was impressive! I've been back since and we won $50 and then $10 vouchers for the RSL - and that time I joined the RSL for the rest of the year ... a whole $3 for a year's membership! I've also tried out the Mets on Kings bar with my church friend - it is a surf rescue club which does pub meals and drinks at night time, and looks right out over the surf. Amazing. And its membership is only $1 per year! I'm thinking that my next house move needs to be in walking distance of the Mets!
I found that the hardware store I've been frequenting with my cousin (hammer, batteries, etc) also has a garden centre attached - so as you'll appreciate, that has become a regular haunt. I've bought an orchid (which can live outside!) and lavenders, to remind me of England. I've also started experimenting with Australian national plants, so I can learn what they do and where they'd go in a big garden. My current rental house has a very small patio (with plastic grass, which means no mowing - tick!) so I'm adding pots and tubs to that (need to remember to take them with me when I go).
One Saturday afternoon I decided to treat myself to a sunset - it was a clear day and I thought, I fancy fish&chips for supper so I'll go down to my favourite beach (Bulcock) in Caloundra and watch the sun set over the west and also look to the east, before I go to the beachside shop. I was rewarded with a fantastic surprise visit from some dolphins - I put the video on to twitter if you'd like to see it. Amazing! I've never seen dolphins that close before. I've taken to doing this on paydays (Wednesdays once per fortnight), as a way to celebrate the end of a pay period and to break up the working week!
I'm still doing my weekend walks - usually Sundays, as I'm lesson planning and doing domestic chores on a Saturday - where I'm trying to walk every inch of the coastline from Caloundra to Noosa. Slowly does it! I'm about two thirds of the way up now. As I move further north, of course, I need to drive further to pick up the boardwalk. I also did a walk along the tramway in Buderim to Palmwoods with my cousin; it was great to hear from the local historians who had been getting themselves dirty digging out water drains all along the line! I've added a photo here of one of the original railway sleepers for the train line, which is still in position.My accent hasn't changed, I don't think - maybe because I'm so old, I won't lose it! I do pronounce some words in the Australian way now e.g. Australia is Straya - we don't bother with the rest! And I use the Australian words such as fireys, tradies, cactus, crook (translations: firemen, tradesmen, broken, ill!). My best learning is always on the radio - I listen to Sea FM on my way to work and there are so many new words to wrestle with! I also like listening to Hughsey, who is a comedian and has a show at 4:30pm for the drive home, he's brilliant and so irreverent. I've bought a ticket to see him live at the end of August - can't wait to see if he's as funny in person as he is on the radio.
I've also bought a ticket to the Caloundra Music Festival in October - it's at Kings Beach (another reason why I want to move there!) and I've got a Saturday ticket, because my favourite female singer, Missy Higgins, is performing then. I plan to park at Golden Beach and walk along the sea boardwalk to the Festival. I've been checking out other events and now have organised tickets for me and the cousins to see Ross Noble and the Sydney Comedy Tour on different dates in September, again in Caloundra.
Winter weather (June-August) so far has been great - warm days (22-25 deg), light breezes, sunny skies, chilly mornings (say 15 deg). It's still warm enough to dry all the washing in an afternoon! The best part for me is never having to scrape the ice off the windscreen, I always absolutely hated that.
I've also experienced being ill in June - so ill not to be at work for 2 days, which for anyone who has worked with me, will know never happens! I had vestibular neuronitis, which is an ear infection/inflammation. I woke with it one Saturday morning and couldn't move without vomiting or the room spinning for days! But it did mean that I could begin to find medical support in Oz, which I hadn't needed to do before then. You do it all online, via an app, and appointment bookings are scheduled that way. I got myself to the appointment, which lasted 30 minutes and cost $115. He was very thorough and sent me for blood tests, gave me steroid and anti-emetic prescriptions which I then got filled at Chemist Warehouse (super cheap chemists) for $6.99 and $7.99 (way less than any UK prescription charge I've ever had). What I found bizarre and still don't really understand, is that within a couple of hours of the appointment with the doctor, where I'd paid for the appointment and shown my Medicare card (like NHS), there was a refund from Medicare to my bank account of $72.80. Very welcome, of course, but I don't know why the doctor doesn't just charge less and miss out Medicare altogether!
So overall, after six months here, I've learned loads about a different lifestyle, climate, pace of life, attitude to work, friendships and family. I feel very blessed, to have been born here in Oz, have had a full and meaningful life in the UK with my children and friends, and then to have my final chapter of my time here in Oz again, surrounded by natural beauty at every angle. It has taken an enormous amount of planning, resilience, determination and sheer courage to do this - and of course there are times when I am lonely, or miss my special people - but on balance, this is the most perfect step I could have taken.
