DECEMBER in Canada - GOODBYE!
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WEATHER:
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... what else can I say???????
Mid December saw a BIG dumping of snow... and I got to have a snow day as buses couldn't run and this Aussie doesn't need to be adding to the chaos on the roads. 2ft of snow fell in one dumping, setting us up for a lovely white Christmas.
Mid December saw a BIG dumping of snow... and I got to have a snow day as buses couldn't run and this Aussie doesn't need to be adding to the chaos on the roads. 2ft of snow fell in one dumping, setting us up for a lovely white Christmas.
CONDO LIVING:
I can declare that the condo building we were living in for 2014 is finally finished. The 'owners' party/gathering was held on Dec 16th in the party room. We considered gatecrashing, however, we had more important things to do that night. :-). The shops are starting to fill - we now have a drycleaners and alteration shop. The lovely Chinese owners have had our business already and are cheap and good. The next shop to open is a Japanese cosmetic range. I have been in to geek a few times - Ozama - however, I don't think it will last as the girl could speak very little English and Japanese is not widely used in this area. The computer store is also open and the dentist is finally open for business. I wonder if that was the same dentist who used to have an office in the MacDonald's drive thru - seriously!!!!!!! There is capacity for about another 5 shops. Our hopes for a little cafe where you could go for a cuppa and cake were never realised. Since this is a very predominant Chinese area, we had to drive about 10 minutes to find that cafe!!!!!!!!! The gardens, which we were promised in the original application, were no more than a garden bed of plants that will be lucky to survive the snow. I think they may be finally finished. Certainly nowhere to picnic or play.
Saying goodbye to the condo was not hard. We took down the Australian flag that we'd been using as a curtain, scrubbed it spotless and went out the door!!Saying goodbye to Amin, our favourite concierge was much more difficult. He was a fantastic support to us and always had a kind word and friendly manner. We'll miss you, Amin.
SCHOOL NEWS:
Saying goodbye to the condo was not hard. We took down the Australian flag that we'd been using as a curtain, scrubbed it spotless and went out the door!!Saying goodbye to Amin, our favourite concierge was much more difficult. He was a fantastic support to us and always had a kind word and friendly manner. We'll miss you, Amin.
December usually means preparing for Christmas and the holiday season. Respecting the many cultures and religions of Toronto, it was usual to switch between Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. We had a staff breakfast, our school Christmas concert - we sang Christmas in Australis and the kids were a hit with their Aussie beach gear worn whilst it was minus 15 outside!!!!!!! We also had a craft day where we rotated around the 6 classes in the Primary Division. Surprise - my craft activity was Christmas bookmarks to hang on the tree.
The second last day of school for 2014 was spent on an excursion to Pioneer Village. It was a bit like Sovereign Hill. Adam came with us and we really enjoyed learning about the Canadian Pioneers and Early Settlers. There were snow flurries as we wandered around the buildings and exhibits.
In December, my class had a heap to do still, as I needed to write their reports and plan for the supply teacher who was coming in. It was now confirmed and approved by the Board that my exchangee was not returning. A very busy month for me as it was the year of EQAO [our equivalent of Naplan with even greater emphasis!!!!!!!] and there was a lot to do before saying goodbye to the class.
We held an Aussie Expo afternoon where the kids sang Aussie songs and shared their learning about Australia. The parents made me a cake and it was a lovely afternoon. The parents have been great.
We met our new teacher, Amanda, for a transition day and I hope that I left the kids resilient and excited for their next adventure, whilst still missing their "Aussie mate".
I was able to visit a public school in December. I was lucky enough to meet Ken Arnott - immediate past president of the Ontario Principals' Council. It was a very rewarding visit. His school -Aurora Senior Public school - was going through an amalgamation and joining two schools together. He was also hosting an Australian exchange teacher from Port Lincoln, SA, for 2015. Another teacher had been on exchange to Perth in recent years and as I walked in to the class, they were actually preparing correspondence to Aussie pen pals. I got to speak to several of the classes and answer some great questions. It was a fun day.
The second last day of school for 2014 was spent on an excursion to Pioneer Village. It was a bit like Sovereign Hill. Adam came with us and we really enjoyed learning about the Canadian Pioneers and Early Settlers. There were snow flurries as we wandered around the buildings and exhibits.
We held an Aussie Expo afternoon where the kids sang Aussie songs and shared their learning about Australia. The parents made me a cake and it was a lovely afternoon. The parents have been great.
We met our new teacher, Amanda, for a transition day and I hope that I left the kids resilient and excited for their next adventure, whilst still missing their "Aussie mate".
I was able to visit a public school in December. I was lucky enough to meet Ken Arnott - immediate past president of the Ontario Principals' Council. It was a very rewarding visit. His school -Aurora Senior Public school - was going through an amalgamation and joining two schools together. He was also hosting an Australian exchange teacher from Port Lincoln, SA, for 2015. Another teacher had been on exchange to Perth in recent years and as I walked in to the class, they were actually preparing correspondence to Aussie pen pals. I got to speak to several of the classes and answer some great questions. It was a fun day.
EVENTS AND DAY TRIPS:
Schomberg Christmas Parade and Parade of Lights: Schomberg was one of our favourite towns over the year. It had historical buildings, a touch of old fashionedness, a rural feel. We loved this small town. So we made sure we didn't miss their Santa Parade as we had also been to their summer fair parade. The Santa Parade was in the afternoon, and we lucked out by getting window seats in a great little cafe so just nicked out to take photos whilst in the warmth with a cuppa. With time to spare in between the parade and the night-time parade of lights, we again struck lucky with a table in the local pub. The town crier came in, and amazingly, he was the same crier from Saint Maree among the Hurons and he remembered us. We sat for hours chatting away. We then checked out the crafts, songs, Santa and all that Schomberg had on display for winter. Next up was the parade of lights. If anyone had said to me that I would stand around in freezing temperatures to watch a few tractors go by, I would have said are you kidding!!!!!!!!!! However, it was the best thing I've seen in a long time. Kilometres of tractors driving along the main street all lit up with creative Christmas lights reflected in the snow.... it was BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Corner Gas: The Movie: It was pretty cool to get tix to Newmarket to see the Corner Gas movie. The pre movie warm up had trivia, quizzes and then the big screen event. It was a lot of fun. This was our shout for the Newmarket Six and we all went along. Oh well, Bob was sick, so Hayley, another exchange teacher from Victoria, came along with us. It was fun.
Hockey - that's ICE hockey: Adam was the end of season mascot for the Aurora over 60s hockey team. He manned the gate :-) :-). All Canadians take their hockey very seriously. The over 60s are an extremely fit team who look awesome on the ice.Hockey is an obsession of many Canadians. When I asked why everyone is called by their surnames [at my school, I was called MOORE - despite asking not to be, it persisted. I did not like it. Apparently, it's done because the hockey players are called by their surnames. And of course, the word surname is not in the North American lexicon so they didn't know what I was talking about anyway :-)]. A highlight about hockey was watching the sledge hockey. Of course, the word 'sledge' means something totally different in Australian sport. So I was expecting a game where no-one followed the rules and just called names and were general bogans. How wrong was I? It's a game where players - kids, adults and masters - play on sleds due to various disabilities. Awesome. And no sledging allowed!!!!!!!!!
Annie: One of my students, Adrianna, was in a play Annie. She was great and it was a really good production at Broadway in Aurora. Well done, Adrianna.
Christmas Party NO. 1: Off to Brampton for a Christmas Party at Bob's sister's place in Brampton. So many Christmas decorations abound in homes. It's amazing.
Hop on, Hop off bus: We didn't want to think we'd missed anything, so we hopped on the tourist bus in Toronto. We have noticed that the GTA doesn't really wake up until 10 or 11 and kicks on until much later in the evening, so we opted for the first bus to miss the crowds. Glad we did. It was a GREAT day and we spent a lot of time at the distillery district for their Christmas market. And it was only minus 1, so not too bad at all.
Christmas Party No. 3: Christmas Eve with Fred and Elaine and their extended family, including their sons. Tom had spent a year working in Australia, including Fed Square... lots to talk about. Shame we didn't win the Christmas Trivia.... watch out for us on skype next year guys!!!!!!!
Christmas Party NO. 1: Off to Brampton for a Christmas Party at Bob's sister's place in Brampton. So many Christmas decorations abound in homes. It's amazing.
WEEKENDS AWAY:
Creemore: Our very last weekend in Canada. School had finished and we headed up to Creemore where a pretty good beer is made. On the way, we stopped at the Antique Market and 400 Market where the Newfie store was found. We needed a lot more time to spend at this place!!!!!!!!
In Creemore, we stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast as a gift from Chris, my integration aide, with some input from the parent of my special needs student. What a wonderful gesture. Chris's family took us to two hockey games: the first was 'sledge' hockey. This was for kids with disabilities who are able to play with specially made sleds. The less mobile kids had 'pushers' who came out and pushed the kids in their hockey sleds. We stayed for their Christmas party and watched their faces light up when Santa arrived. The other game was quite different - the older teenagers with testosterone evident in the play. After a lovely BnB breakfast, we went off and checked out Creemore main street shops and the Creemore brewery.
On the way home, we had Christmas party No. 2: Linda and Dave's place with all their family in Alliston. Most enjoyable and topped off by a drive by of the 'singing house' where the lights flashed in time to the tunes on the radio dial. Fun.
Sadly, it was time to leave Canada. A stop over in Abu Dhabi was a good transition from the sub zero temperatures back to the 30+ temps we were expecting back in Australia. We had a lot of fun on a very different hop on, hop off bus and caught up with some rest and sightseeing. Highlights were the observation deck at Ethihad Towers and the mighty Mosque.
In Creemore, we stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast as a gift from Chris, my integration aide, with some input from the parent of my special needs student. What a wonderful gesture. Chris's family took us to two hockey games: the first was 'sledge' hockey. This was for kids with disabilities who are able to play with specially made sleds. The less mobile kids had 'pushers' who came out and pushed the kids in their hockey sleds. We stayed for their Christmas party and watched their faces light up when Santa arrived. The other game was quite different - the older teenagers with testosterone evident in the play. After a lovely BnB breakfast, we went off and checked out Creemore main street shops and the Creemore brewery.
On the way home, we had Christmas party No. 2: Linda and Dave's place with all their family in Alliston. Most enjoyable and topped off by a drive by of the 'singing house' where the lights flashed in time to the tunes on the radio dial. Fun.
OTHER THINGS IN DECEMBER:
- packing up and cleaning up.
Christmas heralds the ugly sweater comtetitions. We saw plenty. They even have shops for ugly Christmas sweaters.
- packing up and cleaning up.
Christmas heralds the ugly sweater comtetitions. We saw plenty. They even have shops for ugly Christmas sweaters.
HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS
- Christmas. Northern Hemisphere. Full Stop.
- Skating on the Newmarket outdoor ice lounge [well, watching Bob and Linda after a yummy lunch at the Maid's Cottage].
- Christmas Day lunch at the Sheraton Hotel - all you can eat buffet, so we did!
- Finding out mum was diagnosed with cancer. Her surgery.
- Skype.
- York Farmers Market - last visit.
- Yonge Street Physio - to all the team there, we will miss you greatly.
- DEPARTURE DAY.... such mixed feelings.
- Abu Dhabi
- Arrival home
JANUARY: Adjusting to life back in Australia
- A very looooooong flight home.
- Driving back on the left hand side of the road
- Coping with several days of high 30s and low 40 degree days... whhhhaaaaat!!!!!!
- Spending A LOT of time inside and outside our house restoring it back to the way we left it :-(
- Seeing family and friends
- Our neighbourhood and community groups we love.
- The birds and smells we had forgotten
- Missing the snow and the things we loved about Canada - especially hit Adam hard.
- Living a parallel life between Canada/School/Australia/home/school. The brain couldn't comprehend sometimes.
- Research project on Principal selection and appointment process - it needs to be finished now.
- Missing our friends in Canada.... still so much to do with them.