G'day mate!

After weeks and weeks of planning, i'm back in Australia! The "trip" over was long, but not too bad. I left Little Rock around 7am on Tuesday and headed to LA. I got to spend the day there with aunt Amy. We did touristy things like Manns Chinese Theater, Santa Monica Pier, etc. My flight from LA to Sydney left around 10:30pm that night. By the way, if you ever come this way fly V Australia, not only do they have really good deals, overall it was a great experience. Not that Delta was bad last time, V Australia was just better :-) The flight was good, as good as a 14 hour flight could be I guess. I actually slept almost 8 hours of it so I was very thankful not to be watching movie after movie. I got in Sydney around 6:30am Thursday (which is around 3:30pm Wednesday for those of you back home, there is a 15 hour time difference). My cousins mom came to meet me at the airport and now i'm getting settled at my cousins house in Gosford where i'll be staying for a while.

I'm super excited! It feels so good to be back, almost like I never left. I'm so excited to see everyone and get settled and back into a routine. It still almost doesn't feel real though. I guess it will take a while to realize that this is home.

Pictures and updates to come :-)

Bittersweet

Where has the time gone? I feel like it was just yesterday that I got my visa approved and here we are almost 4 weeks later and its time to leave. Wow. The last few weeks have been so wonderful and bittersweet. One of my favorite new words, but it really is the best way to describe this time. I am so excited and yes, a little overwhelmed. I hate goodbyes and I feel like thats all i've been saying lately.
Last night my parents had some friends over, it was so nice to be able to see everyone before I left. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful extended family in Memphis. Tomorrow I head to Little Rock for one last dinner with my friends there and then I head out on Tuesday! I'm so ready! Well, almost...I still have some packing to finish so I better run!

Left or Right?

Since I'm not able to take everything I own with me to Australia I've been making a list of things I will need to purchase once I get there. A car is one of the things on my list. I know, you may wonder why I need to make a list. Well up until about 3 or 4 weeks ago it had not crossed my mind that I may need a car, you know some form of transportation. Yep...so, hence the reason i've started making a list. Of all of the things on my list I keep going back to the car because it means i'll be driving...in Australia...notice anything about the picture?



Yep, the steering wheel is on the right and i'll be driving on the left side of the road. Everyone I talk to in Australia tells me its easy, I just follow the cars in front of me. My response is, what if they're not going the same way I need to? I don't know why but this scared me. I'm sure I'll pick it up when I get there and get some practice. So beware all you Aussie drivers out there! I'll be there in a few weeks and more than likely be on the road.

On a side note, i'm trying to make some updates and changes to my blog, so bare with me :-)

One of those days

Since I received my visa things have been a little crazy to say the least. While most days I am so excited and ready to go, I do have the occasional overwhelming day, or the I can't believe I'm actually doing this day, and yes sometimes I have a sad day. Today is one of those days. Maybe sad isn't the best way to describe it but I really can't think of a better word at this exact moment. Don't get me wrong, I am so so excited about moving (ready for it to just happen already!) but its all the goodbyes and "ends" that are hard. I know its not like i'm leaving forever or anything, but essentially i'm leaving the live i've had in Little Rock for the last few years for a new adventure full of unknowns, which can be a little scary. The biggest thing about moving that has been the hardest is leaving my job. I know a job is just a job but for me it didn't feel like just a job. This was my career, the thing I went to school for 4 years to learn how to do. The thing I spent countless hours working in my classroom and taking work home. It was the thing I got to do every day for 3 years, everyday I got to be around a bunch of crazy but amazing kiddos that made my day so much better. I know your job should not be your life, but it wasn't just my job I felt like it was my calling and my passion. So its really hard knowing i'm not going to be in the classroom this year. I know its not forever, one day i'll teach again. Today was the first day of inservice, so I knew today I would be a little sad and bummed that i'm not there with my friends and coworkers. I'm not going to lie i'm sure next week when the first day of school for the kiddos rolls around I'll be a little sad again, but thats ok.

25 days and counting

Besides it being official because my visa was approved....now its really official because i've booked a ticket! I will be leaving on August 24th. I decided to change the trip up a little this time...lets just say, traveling for 25 hours is pretty brutal. I'll be flying to LA earlier so I get to spend 12 hours there with my Auntie Amy. I'm super excited! Amy actually lives in San Diego but she's gotten the day off to come up and meet me at the airport so we can do some tourist things for the day before my flight that night. I haven't been to LA (other than the airport) for more than 10 years, so it should be a fun day. Then i'll fly all night, skip a day and land in Sydney early Thursday morning.

Since the countdown has begun I have a ton of things to do and people to see! I'll be in Colorado next weekend to visit my best friend from high school. Then to Little Rock to finish moving out of my classroom. Then to the lake for one more weekend with friends. Then my best friend growing up will be in town from Nashville! And somewhere in all of this i've got a super long to do list to be working on. I'm not worried...it will all get done, one way or another :-)

its official!

Well, its official...I got an email today that my Australian work visa was approved!! I honestly can't believe how quickly and easily everything has happened. I've only been home for about 3 and a half weeks. And applied for my visa just 3 weeks ago. I cannot believe it went through so fast! The whole process was much easier than I thought it would be. Its all online and through emails. The only thing I really had to do for it was get a chest x-ray to make sure I didn't have TB. So, I must be healthy because they are letting me in the country!

Its been an overwhelming and exciting day! I officially resigned from my job at Chicot today. I knew I wasn't going back but I wanted to wait to make sure my visa went through before I resigned. As excited as I am, it was still harder than I thought to write that resignation letter. I spent 3 years at Chicot, working with some of the most amazing people and kids i've ever met. Those 3 years taught me so much about myself and as excited as I am about starting a new chapter in my life I am really going to miss everyone at Chicot and Little Rock for that matter!

So, I guess the next thing is to set a travel date. I'm thinking i'll leave at the end of August but we'll see. Of course I have a million things to do before I leave. And yes, the teacher in me has made a long to do list. I'm so excited! Its been hard sitting and waiting but I knew it was only a matter of time. Now that its official I can get excited, and have something to look forward to. There is so much to look forward to!

I love this place

This is one of my favorite places. I'm lucky enough to be at the lake house with all of my Little Rock friends for the weekend. There is nothing better than this view from your living room, having a bond fire in the middle of summer, and playing on the lake all day. I'm going to miss being at this place with these people!