Shepherd's Outback Adventure

February 10th

It is hard to believe it is already the 2nd week in February. I feel like time is flying by. The girls have started their 2nd full week of school at Bondi Public in Sydney. They have all adjusted very well. In fact, the older 3 love it and are already trying to arrange lots of play dates. Danika has taken a little longer to find buddies at the school, but everyday when I pick her up she tells me she had a great day. At recess she mentioned she likes to play with the birds, but after asking her everyday if she made any new friends, she eventually told me "to stop worrying, she is fine and in fact likes her alone time". I wonder where she gets that?:)

Some of you have asked me about the differences in the school system here compared to the U.S. They are quite similar as far as offering the main courses, Math, Language Arts, History. At this school, the girls also take Philosophy, Mandarin or Italian (ours chose Italian), and they are offered a religion or ethics course depending on their practicing faith, (ours Roman Catholic). All grades have lunch and recess everyday at the same time. This was nice for the girls the first week because they could look after one another and check in with one another. We pack our lunch everyday as there is not a cafeteria. I have to say, I miss cafeterias!!! I realized yesterday that for lunch we go through 20 bananas a week, 20 yogurts, and 40 slices of bread. No wonder I feel like I am at the store everyday. The school does have a canteen that is run by the moms. It just opened this week and the kids can place orders online in the morning to have it ready by lunchtime. They canteen offers snacks, drinks, sandwiches and sushi. We told the kids they can order from canteen on Fridays as a treat, as sandwiches are a bit pricey, between $3 and $5 dollars. We heard though that this canteen is one of the best around with lots of organic and gourmet foods.

The school hours are 9-3. Most people walk to school, as we do. It is a little under a mile for us. This has been an adjustment for the girls as they are used to the bus picking them up at our front door, but they are getting used to it. They have to wear broad rimmed hats whenever they are outdoors at school. The teachers and school staff our all amazing and very nice! (Just like our ones from PHM at home!) Last week the school had their annual swim carnival to kick off the start to a new school year. All students between grades 2 - 6 participate so it definitely shows how swimming is such a big part of the culture here. It took place at Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool which is right on a bay on Sydney Harbour. Chris and I spent the day out at the pool observing the events. It was a great day and the kids had a blast. The kids could sign up to race in 50m Freestyle, Breast, or Back stroke. All of our girls chose the Breast stroke. They all did great and came in 2nd or 3rd in their heat. Each child at the school is also placed in 1of 4 groups which they refer to as "houses". All of our girls are in "Perkins House". This means they wear blue shirts on "sport" day and they learn the Perkins chant and cheer on their house. The houses competed in swim relay races and they also were able to accrue points throughout the day based on cheering the loudest, good behavior etc.... The points are they tallied and a house is declared the winner for the that day. Not sure who won:) It seems very fun for the kids though and they really get involved with supporting their house. You remain with the same house throughout primary school so you could tell the kids had pride in their house. Danika's grade did not attend this event.

Skylar and Kylie were very happy to learn that the 5th and 6th graders will be headed to Canberra, the capital of Australia, for camp next week. They will take buses for the 4 hour trip, and then stay for 3 days. They will visit the capital buildings and various other places of interest. I am assuming this would be similar to a trip to Washington D.C. We are very excited for them. This should be a great learning experience and really help them learn about the Australian government and history.

Chris and I are getting into our routines as well. When able, Chris accompanies me on the walk to school in the morning. After dropping the kids off, he goes on a run along the ocean/cliff paths, and I head to a gym just around the corner. He then spends the rest of the day working and in meetings, and I do grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning, and then start my walk back up to the school and little after 2, to pick up the girls. They have tried some activities and this week they need to decide which ones they will stick with. Most of their activities are held at Bondi Pavilion, which is a building centered on the boardwalk of Bondi Beach. I have to say, I love it, because while they are in a class, I get a coffee or smoothie and sit by the beach and read:) So far they have tried meditation, hip-hop, ballet, swim and surfing. I think Skylar and Kylie are sticking with swim and surfing and Danika and Kendall will do meditation and swim. There is also a park near our house that overlooks the ocean where the kids go to play in the evenings. Lots of people take their dogs there and on most nights there are 10 - 20 dogs running around. The kids really like meeting the dogs and have gotten to the point where they know some by name.

On the weekends we usually do some U.S. school work, and then head to the beach. The girls love jumping and body surfing in the big waves! Makes me a nervous wreck because these are BIG waves. I have been knocked over a time or two when I am out there with them, but they seem to really enjoy it. We have three different beaches all within a short walk so it is nice to mix it up a bit. Bondi is the largest beach but can also be crowded on weekends as it draws a lot of tourists. Us "locals" like Bronte and Tamarama which are smaller with less crowds and few tourists. We have found a quaint little Catholic Church by the girls school that we go to on Sundays. The 10 am service is usually quite empty and quiet which is very different from our church in Granger, but we enjoy it.

The girls and I have gotten very proficient at taking public transportation. We no longer need to rely on Chris to get us on the right bus. I think he appreciates this:) We either walk or take the bus to all our activities. I have found that being without a car can be a little difficult at times, but I am adjusting. There are some great smaller stores on my walk to the school, where I am able to pick up day to day items. To go the the big grocery store we need to take a bus. I also discovered this week that you can order online from the big grocery store and it will deliver next day to your door. I am sure we will be taking advantage of this as we have found it is much easier, then all of us getting onto a crowded bus with a bunch of grocery bags and delivery is less than a taxi and sometimes free.

So to summarize, our place is great, our view is amazing, the kids and I have adjusted to our daily routines and Chris is getting ready for many of his programs to arrive tomorrow and several days after. We continue to have the occasional cockroach but are no longer surprised by this. I have not come across any big spiders in our place yet, although I am told I probably eventually will. The girls have had a few Huntsman Spiders in their classrooms at school. For those who are interested, feel free to google this spider as I will not post pictures because I cannot stand to look at spiders, but it is rather large.

Hope that all of our friends and family back home are doing great. Technology drives me crazy, often, but I do appreciate it in times like this that I am able to text, email, FaceTime, Skype, from across the world, so it does not seem that you all are so far away.

Love and miss you all!