It's been a busy weekend but its been a great one! At our exchange teacher weekend in Sydney, I met an English girl that really cracked me up! She was Rachel from Albury and her husband, Steve, started out on the city tour with Howard and the boys but then broke away to tour the city sports facilities on his own. Anyway, after our boat cruise on the Saturday, we were sure that we would try to get together sometime this year. This weekend turned out to be our first get together...let me start at the beginning!
On most Friday afternoons, you can find several of the teachers at the Exies Sports Club across the road from the school. We stop for a visit and a bag of chips and maybe something to wash it all down with. This past Friday night, Cody and Kent started their AFL (Australian Football League) season with practice at the Exies Oval and a sausage sizzle. Kent went home with Dean for a sleep over, Cody brought his friend, Zac, home for a sleep over and Rachel and Steve met us at the Exies for supper and drinks.
Saturday found us dropping off Zac and Cody (hey....isn't that a TV show back home??) and picking up Kent. We toured the town of Yenda and could see the devestation that the town has faced on every street we drove. The cool, grey day matched our energy level so we headed back to the farm after a quick stop for lunch and groceries.
After naps and a phone call home, we prepared for even more company for supper. Our good friends, Cass and Cook, brought Cody home with them and we also welcomed more new friends, Kerry, Ian, Zena and Luke Draper. They have also just arrived in Griffith, from England, this past January. Ian had accepted a job at a chook farm, their sea can has just arrived after 12 weeks (darn pirates!!) and they are having a new house built. Zena is in year 4 and Luke is in Khye's kindy class.
We had a great evening of visiting, playing cricket, eating and drinking. Khye's new dart gun proved very entertaining for Luke and the rest of us! The professional AFL season began on Saturday night too so the the males were very involved with that! One of the best parts of the evening for me was realizing that 14 people had come from 3 countries to gather around these 2 tables for a meal and it was so enjoyable and casual and fun. A sense of humour really does bring people together too!
Sunday was a casual day of eating, relaxing, playing sports, doing laundry and baking. I even snuck into school for a couple of hours to get organized. Rachel and Steve spent the weekend with us too.
On Monday, Rachel came to work with me. She observed and helped in my class and then in Khye's Kindy class. Steve worked at the library and then joined us at the school where he spent the last hour in Cody's Year 6 art class! We all came home again to a crockpot supper, sports and quad rides. Colt took Rachel and Steve out to see the horses on the quad. Steve helped Khye with his math and letter sounds homework too. The boys are really loving all the extra adult attention this weekend.
Early this morning, Rachel and Steve headed out to Cootamundra for a school soccer tournament. Their Albury team was meeting them there and they were going to meet up with Cook who was taking our GEPS team as well.
Tonight we have all been in a bit of withdrawl. There were no extra hands to help with dishes, laundry or homework and there are no foreign accents anywhere! It was a great weekend with our new friends and we really loved getting to know them. We hope to see Rachel and Steve again soon when our adventuring leads us that way. Cheerio for now!
JJ
On most Friday afternoons, you can find several of the teachers at the Exies Sports Club across the road from the school. We stop for a visit and a bag of chips and maybe something to wash it all down with. This past Friday night, Cody and Kent started their AFL (Australian Football League) season with practice at the Exies Oval and a sausage sizzle. Kent went home with Dean for a sleep over, Cody brought his friend, Zac, home for a sleep over and Rachel and Steve met us at the Exies for supper and drinks.
Saturday found us dropping off Zac and Cody (hey....isn't that a TV show back home??) and picking up Kent. We toured the town of Yenda and could see the devestation that the town has faced on every street we drove. The cool, grey day matched our energy level so we headed back to the farm after a quick stop for lunch and groceries.
After naps and a phone call home, we prepared for even more company for supper. Our good friends, Cass and Cook, brought Cody home with them and we also welcomed more new friends, Kerry, Ian, Zena and Luke Draper. They have also just arrived in Griffith, from England, this past January. Ian had accepted a job at a chook farm, their sea can has just arrived after 12 weeks (darn pirates!!) and they are having a new house built. Zena is in year 4 and Luke is in Khye's kindy class.
We had a great evening of visiting, playing cricket, eating and drinking. Khye's new dart gun proved very entertaining for Luke and the rest of us! The professional AFL season began on Saturday night too so the the males were very involved with that! One of the best parts of the evening for me was realizing that 14 people had come from 3 countries to gather around these 2 tables for a meal and it was so enjoyable and casual and fun. A sense of humour really does bring people together too!
Sunday was a casual day of eating, relaxing, playing sports, doing laundry and baking. I even snuck into school for a couple of hours to get organized. Rachel and Steve spent the weekend with us too.
On Monday, Rachel came to work with me. She observed and helped in my class and then in Khye's Kindy class. Steve worked at the library and then joined us at the school where he spent the last hour in Cody's Year 6 art class! We all came home again to a crockpot supper, sports and quad rides. Colt took Rachel and Steve out to see the horses on the quad. Steve helped Khye with his math and letter sounds homework too. The boys are really loving all the extra adult attention this weekend.
Early this morning, Rachel and Steve headed out to Cootamundra for a school soccer tournament. Their Albury team was meeting them there and they were going to meet up with Cook who was taking our GEPS team as well.
Tonight we have all been in a bit of withdrawl. There were no extra hands to help with dishes, laundry or homework and there are no foreign accents anywhere! It was a great weekend with our new friends and we really loved getting to know them. We hope to see Rachel and Steve again soon when our adventuring leads us that way. Cheerio for now!
JJ
RSS Feed