NYC Highlights

My New York trip cont....By max

18TH MARCH 2009
Today I got up at eight O’clock. We headed down to have some breakfast. After we headed to the underground railway. We got out at 42nd street and walked to the pier. We were going to go on this speed boat. It went to the Statue of lLberty and around it in thirty minutes. Of course it was closed until May.
We then hailed a cab and went to the NBC studio tour were they make Friends and Seinfeld. But it was booked out. It was terrible. So we decided to go to the Radio City Music Hall. We got a tour through the auditorium and stage and learnt a lot about it. They actually wanted to demolish it a while back but they saved it.
After the tour we went to Paley’s Museum of TV and Radio. It was a bunch of rooms with old and current TV shows you could watch. We watched The Twilight Zone, The Brady Bunch and Freaks and Geeks. We then went to the Library and we got to choose two shows we could watch. I chose the wrestling and Ed, Edd and Eddy. There were lots to choose from. We watched them and then headed to Broadway!
We watched Mama Mia. It is a story about a girl who is about to be married and invites three possible fathers to her wedding. They turn up and everything gets complicated and then the girl's mum eventually is the one who gets married. It was pretty good with an interesting story line. It had all the music from ABBA. I got back to the hotel at about eleven O’clock and a quick go on Facebook and an hour later at midnight I am in bed.
19TH MARCH 2009
This morning I woke up at eight thirty. I felt exhausted. I struggled out of bed and down to the breakfast area. I had a bagel and filled up a drink bottle with apple juice. After breakfast we set off to Central Park via the subway. We stopped at the world Disney store as it started to drip down rain.
We arrived at Central Park. We went to the zoo first. By now it had started raining hard. We got to go into a rainforest place were it was hot and humid. We went back outside and into the rain and saw the polar bears and some frogs. We saw other various animals and then went to see the sea lions get fed. They did tricks for us and it was cool.
We headed back off and saw the statue of Balto. It is a dog that travelled 650 miles with his dog sled team in minus 23 degrees Fahrenheit to deliver an antitoxin. I read about this when I was in Kindergarten and have wanted to see this statue ever since.
We then went to a carousel. Apparently it is a famous one. Dad said we also had to try hot dogs in Grand Central park so we got some.
It was still pouring rain so we headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I wanted to go because it had a Egyptian mummy exhibit. It was really good. For lunch I had a chocolate chip cookie and a hot chocolate. Not much of a lunch but it doesn’t matter.
afterwards, we headed to Dylan’s Candy Store and got a free ice cream using our new York Passes. Dylan's is a three floor candy store. It is huge and has so many kinds of candy. You could probably get lost in that store.
We headed on over for dinner at a pizzeria. I ate a whole large pizza to myself I was that hungry. We decided to go home for an early night. The problem was that we couldn’t get a taxi. Ironically, all the four seaters wouldn’t take is in the light as opposed to willingly taking us in the dark. We finally got a seven seater and headed home. I watched Seinfeld and then two hours of Friends and went to bed.

20TH MARCH 2009
Today was our last day. We got a cab to the airport and waited for the plane. It was late so we took off an hour late. We were waiting on the plane longer than it was in the air. We landed at Syracuse and picked up our car and travelled home. Nick and I wanted to get home quickly. We got home at twenty to eight. We turned the TV on for the 500th episode of smack down, but it was moved to tomorrow morning for basketball. We had an early night and we were so tired after our week.

New York at Night

Exploring the Big Apple by Max carter

14TH MARCH 2009
Today after staying the night in Syracuse we got up early and headed to the airport. On the way we got a bit lost and our car lights stopped working. You could say mum and dad were more than a little stressed. We finally got there and parked our car. It was about ten past six in the morning. We went inside and went to the security check. Mum was wearing a bulky coat and got frisked. They thought she had a bomb or a gun or something dangerous. We got on the plane. It was the smallest plane I had ever been on. It was rocky and bumpy and my ears were popped. The flight made our voices go spacey. I started singing and this person looked at me. I was just thinking; "mind your own business". We landed in New York and took a cab to the hotel. It is called Days Inn.

The first thing we did was take an hour walk to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. On the way there was a three story candy shop that made the Tilba Lolly shop look tiny. We each got a big lolly pop. It was called Dylan’s Candy Store. At the waxworks works there was George Bush and dad took a picture of me pretending to throw a shoe at him.

There were nine floors of wax works like the hulk, The Rock, Ghandi, The pope, Barrack Obama, John Travolta, Pele, Wayne Gretzky and so many, many more. They were so life like you could turn around and look at them and take a while to figure out if it was a waxwork or a real person. After that we went on a tour bus. It went for hours and we got off at the Rockefeller Centre. We were going to on the NBC tour. It was at the NBC studio were they made Friends and Seinfeld. But it was over. We rode the rock to the top and saw the Empire State building. After that we went to the world Nintendo store. It was three stories high. We then went for dinner at Planet Hollywood. It was really nice. They had lots of movie props there. We walked out on Broadway and looked around afterwards. It was amazing. It was all lighted up and cool. We hailed a cab and went to the hotel. I watched TV to ten O’clock and then went to bed after a long and tiring day!

15TH MARCH 2009
Today I was awakened by our heater, It is really loud. I got up and watched Tom and Jerry. After, we went down to breakfast. For breakfast I had some muffins and bagels. After that, we headed to the underground subway. We got off at the wrong station and went back on. We got off at the World Trade Centre, the site of nine eleven. I got my picture taken with some fire fighters. We went to the bull. It is the symbol of the financial success. You kiss its arse and it is supposed to make you rich. It showed it’s testicles, so I got a picture kicking them. It was funny. After we went to the sports museum of America. I was looking forward to it but it was closed. So we headed to the docks and went to Liberty Island. It had the Statue of Liberty on it. We walked around and looked at it. We went to the gift shop and bought a statue of liberty hat. We then went to Ellis island. That was where the immigrants used to come. We went back on the ferry to NYC.

We then went to a bodies exhibition. It had all these dead bodies on display and explaining how the human body works. There were dead people and the men still had the penis intact. It was disgusting. Also the scrotum had rotted away so the testicles hung to the side. It was gross. They also chopped up the bodies and showed the different parts. Yuck. Nick was a bit scared. At the end you wrote a comment and Nick wrote “Yuck!”

After this tour, we caught a bus to the Empire State Building. There we rode to the top and looked over NYC. We also had a virtual tour. Our seats rocked and shook and everything. It was pretty cool. It was like being at the movies. After we went to dinner at this Italian buffet place. It cost seven dollars per pound. I had two pounds of food. I got to the table and Nick knocked my drink over all my food and mum. I had to eat my dinner soaked in lemonade. YUCK!!! We headed home in a taxi. We had to squeeze dad in the front and the four of us in the back. It was really tight. We got back and went to bed at ten O’clock. Everyone was tired and we went to sleep pretty quickly.

16TH MARCH 2009
Today I was woken up by dad at eight O’clock to the sound of Nick watching Pokémon. We went down to breakfast. I had some Danishes and muffins and bagels. After we headed to the underground subway. They smell like the sewer. We jumped and went to 41st street. We saw this guy being arrested for drugs or something. We went through a shopping mall and out into NYC.

We went to the museum of natural history. We had limited time so we only spent about two hours there. You may think that is a long time but this place was huge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was four stories high and really long; at least over three hundred metres. There were dinosaurs and animals of all sorts. There were exhibits of how people used to live. It was pretty interesting! We had morning tea, then got back on the bus and then went to the Guggenheim museum. It was a museum of art. Some of the art was pretty crap. One was a stack of paper and another was a black sheet of paper. It was pretty weird. We then went to the cafe and got a smoothie and cookie. After we went and had dinner at an Irish restaurant. I had barbecued ribs. They were delicious. Then we went to Broadway and caught a bus for the night time tour of New York and Brooklyn. We saw the Brooklyn Bridge and all the New York sites. It was pretty good. We got home and went to bed at about ten thirty.

17TH MARCH 2009
Today I got up at 20 to eight. I watched some cartoons, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. First we were going to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was closed till Thursday so we will go then. After we walked around the shops. Mum bought an illegal handbag from a lady in a secret room in her shop. Then we walked around the corner and Emily and Mum had to get into the back of a boarded up van. Dad, Nick and I had to wait at the corner about twenty feet away. Dad wasn’t very happy about it and was a bit worried. Emily and mum eventually got out with Em carrying a Coach handbag. It turns out it probably was stolen and was possibly a genuine one. So that was a bit dodgy.

We got the bus on Broadway and went to the police museum. It was really good and interesting. It had all information on past prisoners including Al “Scarface” Capone. They had a siren you could press and it was really loud. There were also video’s of nine eleven when the plane crashed. It was pretty sad.

After that, we took a bus to the seaport. We then looked around the seaport and took a few pictures and hopped back on the bus until we got to the docks. We were going to go on a speed boat but it was closed so we are going to go on it later. So we headed to the Intrepid museum. It was an old air craft carrier that was commissioned in nineteen forty three. There was a helicopter pilot simulator and it was cool. After we headed to a place called Mars 2112. It was a restaurant. You went into a lift which was a space ship simulator, then went into a room that was like mars. There were people dressed up as aliens. I got a 17 dollar meal which also got you a five dollar card at the arcade. I played some air hockey, lost my money on a pick up thing and played a motor bike racing game. After we went to Broadway and bought tickets to Mama Mia for tomorrow at eight O’clock we hailed a cab and went to the hotel. We went to bed at about ten thirty.

Exploring the Sugar Bush

Last Sunday, we drove up to Maberley to visit Bill & Jeannette Avery, a couple who spent last year on exchange in Australia. We met them at a party in Bateman's Bay and maintained contact. The Averys live about 95km fom Kingston and we arranged the visit a few weeks ago. Bill took us out to brunch at Wheeler's Maple Syrup Farm. This family run establishment is world famous and apparantly becomes very busy as March progresses and the maple syrup really starts to flow. We feasted on home made pancakes, maple sausages and lashings of maple syrup before exploring the farm. The Wheeler family have established a private museum on their property and here we looked at the old maple syrup making tools and learnt about how the local Aboriginal people tapped the syrup 600 years ago.

Emily and the boys enjoyed a romp in the playgound area and despite the mud, (melting snow is really VERY messy) braved the flying fox. We got to see maple trees up close with tubes attached to draw out the sap. The Wheelers make the syrup on their property and there are several large vats to boil down the sap. Apparantly it takes 40 litres of sap to make 1 litre of syrup.

The day was sunny and we even saw deer with their babies as the Averys took us on a tour of the local area. Their property backs onto a lake and they have their own cottage. This will be great in summer when we intend to return for another visit.

All in all, it was a pretty uniquely Canadian experience. We all love maple syrup!

Curling - That Great Canadian Tradition

Last Friday night, some of the Holy Cross staff organised a night of Curling. Having never even been inside a curling rink before, John and I decided to take advantage of the social opportunity. Luckily, Max was at a party that night so it was only Emily and Nick at home. This almost guarantees us an evening of peace. Some of the teachers, Pat and his wife Dianne, picked us up and we enjoyed their company on the way down town. The curling rink was at the Garrison and we were interested to see how it all worked. The best description is that it is a little like lawn bowls on ice. We were soon acquainted with the appropriate technique and began whizzing the rocks down to the other end like real professionals. John and I enjoyed our night out. Not only was the curling a unique Canadian experience but it was a great opportunity to socialise with some of the staff from Holy Cross.

Skiing At Calabogie

Here are some photos of our ski trip to Calabogie, a ski resort about two hours drive from Kingston. The day could not have been more perfect with clear blue skies and mild (comparatively anyway) temperatures. The boys got the opportunity to hone their snowboarding skills and Em and I had quite a few exhilerating runs. John even got in on the act with a few runs. We had a great time and want to return at least once more before the end of the season.

A Little Taste of Home

Thanks to Rita & Dom, we are enjoying a taste of good old Aussie vegemite. We love it!

Not Long Till Spring!

As I'm writing this blog, I'm looking out at a beautiful sunny day in Kingston. Yesterday was rain, rain and more rain, effectively washing away much of the remaining snow. What's here now are big snow drifts where the snow has been scooped away from roadways by snow ploughs. It gradually builds up over winter and freezes. It really doesn't disappear very easily. There are actually snow removal contractors here who can come around and remove the snow (for a fee of course). Even though today is very sunny, its deceptive as it is around -15 degrees at the moment. we still cant go outside without rugging up - gloves, scarves, beanies (touks) & jackets.

It's really hard to believe that we left Sydney exactly two months ago today. The time has raced by. During our time here so far we have explored a fair bit of Ontario and Quebec. Two February highlights were the winter carnival in Quebec City and a visit to Niagara Falls.

Quebec City is a beautiful city and we revelled in the extreme cold and the ice activities available during Carnival time.

In contrast, Niagara falls has its own form of beauty. The falls themselves were spectacular. We tried to ignore the "theme park" feeling of the town as we walked around. Mind you, the kids wanted to explore all these attractions. Maybe during summer when we return - and we will return.

February is over and our calendar was full. We are staying pretty close to home for the next couple of weeks as everyone is a little run down. The kids have been sick over the last week and are all pretty much over winter. spring is in the air and March break is only a couple of weeks away. Stayed tuned for our adventures in new York City over this time!

The Freezer is cold. By Emily=)

Well I can say that it's very cold over here and I will never ever complain about another winter's day at Carroll College when it is 3 degrees. After experiencing absolute extremes (-27) I can say the people in Australia do not know what cold is. Maybe in places like Tassie, it could get down past zero but definately not in the Eurobodalla Shire. Though I am content to lie on a beach for several hours sunbaking and then suffer in the effects of sunburn but here you can get SNOWBURN!!!!!=O Isn't it amazing? The sun reflects of the snow and burns your skin. Also you can get snowblind because of the glare. I can't be outside for more than five minutes without getting sore eyes. When I ski I have to wear proper ski goggles because otehrwise you can go blind.

I like it the best when it snows because it is so pretty. The town looks like a christmas card. You know those old fashioned santa's workshops with snow everywhere. They look like that. Especially in Quebec in the quaint old streets with the original buildings.

Quebec. how can I begin to explain. It is a romantic, picturesque city on St Lawrence's River. The city is walled and still holds most of its original buildings. The Chateau De Frontenac was amazing. It was so big!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe that the structure could have been built when it did. Especially considering when it was built, technology was not as advanced. It was built in 1893.
I liked Quebec. It was cold but cool...

Niagara Falls was great too! The falls were huge. I'm only fifteen and I've already been to Vanautu, Fiji, America and Canada. Niagara Falls was breathtaking and so big that it didn't even fit in a whole photo!!!!

So whats next for me????? Well we are going skiing at Calaboogie!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!I love skiing. I really like it cos I can do it and do it well. Not being modest or anything but it is so fun just to bomb down the slope but its cold when your hood falls off.

LOL

Anyway this is Emily writing stuff that you already know and have read.
I'm living in the freezer.
Out me back into the refrigerator! Its much warmer!

Bye bye for now
Tata au revouir, See you then

OOH! Btw, we got cable and we are enjoying watching shows

Niagara Falls

Family Day Weekend

Monday February 16th has been designated as a family day in the Province of Ontario so we decided to take a trip down to Niagara Falls for the weekend. This is one place both John & I have always wanted to visit so we really looked forward to the weekend. I decided to combine the trip to Niagara with a visit to John Menzo and his partner, Maurizio. John taught for a year at Carroll College about five years ago and proved to be good value. It was wonderful to be able to contact him again and organise a visit. We made our way to Guelph, (approximately 3 hours West of Kingston) late on Saturday afternoon after the kids finished their various commitments. The evening was great. It seemed like we took up where we left off five years ago. John and Maurizio showed us through their fantastic house and plied us with red wine and dinner. The kids really loved Zoe, the chocolate Labrador. I guess she reminded them of Cozmo in a way. The next morning, John took us on a brief tour of Guelph. We saw where the Knights lived for a year as well as John’s school. He showed us a great covered wooden bridge, the university and the birthplace of John McCrae. Guelph seems like a very neat university town. We parted with promises to return in the summer and explore the surrounding countryside and its various attractions.

Quebec City

Our weekend in Quebec City was an adventure not to be missed.After leaving Kingston at the ungodly hour of 2am we arrived in the city around 8am that morning. Our first stop was the st Anne De Beaupre basilica folowed by a visit to the Montmorency Falls. We arrived at our Hotel (the Hilton) around lunch time for a quick snack before heading off to explore the city and experience Carnivale. After layering up (it was about -30 outside) we headed to the site of the main carnivale attractions - The Plains of Abraham. actually, this is quite an historic site, It was here in 1759 that the British defeated the French ensuring Canada's predominance as an Anglicised nation. feelings about this are still raw 250 years after the event with some animosity between modern day Quebcois and English speaking Canadians evident.

The carnivale itself was alot of fun. the kids were able to slide down hills using air fill tire like toboggans and experience ice slides. As a family we made our way over to the ride known as the Torpedo. This prooved to be a 30 second adrenalin charged experience where we hurtled down a rather steep slope whilst seated inside a large rubber raft. We all screamed and hooted but agreed that it was worth the experience.

After recuperating in our hotel room (read that as returned to room to warm up, we ventured out again and made our way to the old sector of the town. Quebec City is a walled city established about 400 years ago, so walking the streets seemed like a trip back in time to 17th century Europe. Outside the Chateau Frontenac, there was a giant ice slide. Feeling up to the challenge, we hired two sleds and made the arduous climb to the top. The ride was brief yet exhilerating. I think I even heard Nick swearing as we thundered down to the bottom of the slide!We found a small Italian restaurant for dinner. Here we were given the opportunity to employ our rather dodgy French - little success but we had a lot of fun trying!

The kids were keen to explore the shops and hunt down coveted souvineers.

The following morning saw us board our bus and travel to the ice hotel. This structure is unique in North america and is made completely of ice and snow. Guests can stay overnight as there are 36 suites of varying themes. A highlight was a visit to the ice bar. here I was able to purchase a shot of baileys in a glass made completely from ice. Feeling magnaminous, I let all the kids have a taste so they could understand the expereince.

Emily made some taffy. this consists of a type of maple syrup toffe that is poured hot into the snow and as it cools, is rolled up to be eaten.

Once we returned to the city, we went downtown to catch the ferry across the St Lawrence River. This was an expereince in itself as the ferry was actually an ice breaker and we were able to hear the ice crackle and snap as it ploughed its way across the river.

To get home, we had to ride the Funiculaire to the top before taking our weary legs back to our hotel room.

In the evening John was ill so after dinner, Em, Max and I went out again for a walk. We went back to carnivale where the kids once again rode the tubes. We also walked around the upper and lower cities. In some ways, I think this may have been ahighlight. The weather had warmed considerably (ONLY -4) and the atmosphere in the city was spirited and relaxed.

It was with reluctance that we boarded our bus home early on the following morning. quebce City is a place to be visited. I would really love to revisit there in the summer on our way out to the Maritimes.

We Visit The Ice Hotel

Quebec City Winter Carnival Weekend

On Friday Feb 6th, we got ourselves out of bed very early (try 2am!) to board the bus for the CLEE Weekend in Quebec City. We had hosted Anne & Rod Casey, some Australians from Victoria living in Verona for dinner and they accompanied us to the bus. After driving all night, our first stop was breakfast at a very old and quaint restaurant. Here we had our first taste of maple butter. Its surprising how well it goes with bacon and eggs. Our next stop was the stunning Sainte-Anne-De-Beaupre Basilica. The site of the Church dates back to the 1600's and Sainte Anne as the mother of Jesus is venerated here. There have been reported miracles as evidenced by crutches and other parapernalia discarded by those who have claimed to have been healed by her. We spent some time admiring the beautiful mosiacs, altars and statues found inside this church. We attempted to take a few photos outside but the windchill factor was extraordinary. My big mistake was not wearing a beanie and my nose and ears were almost frozen by the time we got back on the bus.

After this, we located the well known Montmorency falls, the site of our next stop. These falls are quite spectacular; even more so because it is currently winter. The water at the bottom of the falls freezes as it hits the waters of the St Lawrence River creating a spectacular mound of snow and ice. Braving the cold, (ONLY -30 give or take a few degrees) we took a walk over the suspension bridge above the falls. From here we could see all the way across the river into the City of Quebec itself. After a brief stop for souvineers and purchasing carnivale effigies we were once again back on the bus and headed for our accommodation at the Hilton Hotel in the centre of Quebec City.

January in Canada

Our calendar is really important. It provides us with a ruuning record of much of our daily life whilst we are here.

Cross Country Skiing

Last Sunday whilst it was a balmy (by Kingstonian standards anyway) 3 degrees, John & I took Em & Nick to Lemoine Conservation Area to try Cross Country Skiing. The conservation area is a short drive from our home and runs along the edge of Lake Ontario.

We are enjoying all types of Winter sports whilst we are here. In one weekend, the kids went toboganning, skating and cross country skiing; Things they could never really do at home! That's what we are here for.

Downtown Kingston

Our First CLEE Weekend in Toronto

Last Friday evening we drove down to Toronto, a journey of about three hours for our first CLEE weekend. For those of you who have not been to Canada, CLEE is an acronym for the Canadian League for Educational Exchange. It organises a range of activities throughout the year and enables Aussie teachers to network with each other and, more importantly, with other Canadians who have been on exchange to Australia.
The organisation agreed to have us billeted and connected us with a wonderful couple: Murray & Margaret Bissett who have been on exchange to Australia twice. Murray and Margaret hosted us for the weekend. Their hospitality was wonderful. When we arrived on Friday evening we were well & truly fed before our function in downtown Toronto.
The function itself was a great opportunity to reconnect with the Aussies we had met at the exchange conference in Sydney as well as catching up on the experiences of others. We saw it as a great opportunity to compare stories. Emily said that it was great to hear the old Aussie accent again. By the way, you really know you're in Canada when the drinks are chilled, not in a fridge but outside on the deck!
On the following day, we met for the exchange orientation meeting. Emily went off with another exchange family to spend the day making ANZAC Biscuits at their house. Lunch was at Swiss Chalet (Read; fried chicken extravaganza!) and the afternoon and evening was spent at Lakeridge Ski Resort. The boys really enjoyed getting out on their new snowboards and trying to master the mountain (Read: HILL!!!!! Think of Mt Selwyn as you read this) Despite the cold, they made some great gains and cant wait to go again. Although Emily had not skiied for a few years, she was like a pro, executing some neat little turns as she made her way down the hill. I must be getting old, as she can get to the bottom much faster than I can now! After the boys finished their lesson, I collected them and we went off together. It was the first time I have been able to ski with all three kids. This is a sure sign they are growing up.
They all agreed that this was the best part of the weekend. For John & I however, it was the hospitality of our Canadian hosts that made the weekend special. We were able to sit and chat with Margaret & Murray and as a result, learnt much about living and working in Canada. You cant have this experience in a hotel room.
We cant wait for our next excursion in two weeks time to Quebec City for the Winter Carnival. This is where we get to drink shots of alcohol out of glasses made from ice and tour an ice hotel. We've been told it's VERY cold up there so we are psyching ourselves up for temperatures below-30! We've become adept at the concept of the layer. Its great to have the good old Aussie merino wool as the base layer. We all now have mitts and inner gloves to keep our hands warm. Even skiing the other night, my goggles froze over (on the inside) and of course, the cold weather makes noses drip. My tissue was frozen solid after an hour or so!
As I am writing this, it is Australia day. Outside the sun is shining but its about -8. Emily made some batches of ANZAC Biscuits which the boys and I took to school. I also gave the office ladies some Koalas for their lapels which they loved. Not many Canadians know about Australia day so I educated them. Let me tell you though, they all really LOVED the ANZAC Biscuits. I did have to explain the significance of ANZAC cookies.

Emily is 15

On January 15th, Emily turned 15. To help make the day special for her, John made a chocolate cake and we went out to dinner. East Side Mario's is an Italian themed family style restaurant and we enjoyed our meal very much. The kids particulary enjoyed the quantity and the speed with which the food was served. They even bought Em her dessert with little sparklers on top.

Toboganning at Fort Henry in Kingston

Yesterday, our neighbour took us to Fort Henry where we went toboganning. It was great fun. Even I had a go. Eventually it got too cold and our extremeties were beginning to freeze. The Aldi mittins just dot quite cut it. I went to buy some better gloves for everyone yesterday only to find that Mastercard had frozen our accounts because of unusual activity.(We bought our car yesterday and transferred a considerable amount of cash to a Canada Trust account) Because it's Sunday, we cant access their "24 hour" hotline so at the moment, we have no access at all to any of our money at the moment. This is not a comfortable feeling but we hope to resolve this soon.

Kids Toboganning

Toboganning at Fort Henry

Yesterday our neighbour took us toboganning at Fort Henry in Kingston. We had lots of fun skidding down the slope until our extremities began to freeze. Did I mention it was - 15 at the time? Well, I'm afraid, the Aldi mittins just didn't cut it so it was off to the shops for some better quality gear for the kids. Unforntunately, I discovered our mastercard was blocked when I got to the checkout. Apparantly, unusual activity was registered (we bought a car and transferred amounts of cash to another account in Canada) and in their wisdom, we can't access our account. Because it is Sunday in Australia, we cant access their "24 hour card hotline" to rectify the situation. Believe me, being in another country with no access to card or cash is not a comfortable situation. Hopefully, we can resolve this today.

My Reflections after One week at Holy Cross

After my first week teaching at Holy Cross I feel it’s time for reflecting on all that’s passed. Firstly. I have found my classes to be very enjoyable. The kids have been welcoming and friendly. They are fascinated by my accent (What accent? I dont have an accent!) and have been asking me all sorts of questions about Australia. Most have very little idea about life in Australia. One boy even asked me if we had IPODS in Australia. Some students have heard of bands like “The Veronicas” but for most, their key perception of Australia is Steve Irwin and shark attacks. A few have asked me about snakes and spiders. I told them all about huntsman spiders and this pretty much freaked them out. Most are very impressed that we live near the beach and are envious that the kids at Carroll do surfing and fishing for sport. Emily has acquired a “cool” persona because she knows how to surf. Her new grade nine friends are very impressed! They cant believe that we barely have a frost during winter and most are dying to visit if they could.
Teaching here is great. I have three classes at the same time each day with only one duty per week for a five week block. There is no supervision at the recess break. Teachers only do duty in the cafeteria and during class time, patrol the halls. Several things really amazed me. Firstly there is no bus duty! There are about 50 buses that line up outside the school in the afternoon (Did I mention school ends at 2.30? This is great but it is dark by 4.30pm at the moment) Secondly, I walked past one of the doorways and was shocked to see a group of smokers puffing away during their break. When I asked if this was allowed, a teacher shrugged and said that they were meant to be off the property if they wanted a cigarette.
I have period two free each day which, coupled with the lunch break, effectively means I am free from 9.45 am to midday each day. Oodles of time for preparation and marking!
For those of you who have not experienced life in Canada, there is what they call a “Snow day”. We already had one of these in the first week due to freezing rain which makes driving almost impossible and the school buses are cancelled. Mind you, staff still have to come to school but they get to prepare and do what ever they need. Everyone here loves snow days.
My colleagues at school would be envious. This school has not one gym, but two!!!! There is also a two hundred seat lecture theatre and a workout weights room that anyone can use at any time. No outdoor events at this school!
Even though I started teaching on the fifth, and I am envious of everyone back home enjoying summer holidays, I’m not too worried as exams begin in another week. There is a two week time period for exams and students only come during exam time. There may be some supervision but mostly there is time for preparation and marking. I will use this time to prepare for my new classes in the coming semester.
Our kids have settled well into their respective schools. Max & Nick have started at a catholic elementary school in grades seven & four. They are going ice skating for sport over the next few weeks. Emily is in grade nine for this semester at my school and one of her subjects is phys ed. She does cross country skiing for sport. We did race out and buy the kids some cheap skates for sport so they could get in some practice before sport time so that they wouldn’t totally suck at skating. Canadians skate almost before they walk. Ice hockey is huge in this country. You can forget footy, cricket and all those Australian sports. In Canada, there is no other but Ice Hockey! The kids in my classes ask me if I watched the games over the weekend. I better try and understand it a little so that I can feign an interest. Some of Em’s new friends are taking her to a game in the near future.
The temperatures are to be believed. Today we had a top of about -9 degrees. Next Thursday the top temp is expected to be about – 25 (Yes. You read this correctly! A low of -28 and a top of -25!!!!!!!) On our first day here we tried to go for a walk but scrambled back to the car due to the cold. On the following day as soon as the shops opened we went and bought snow boots and thermal underwear. My boots are good to -40. I hope it doesn’t get that cold but they tell me it’s possible. Having said that however, even though it’s so cold, if it’s sunny and there is no wind, the temperature is quite tolerable. It is possible once you are suited up, to go for a walk. Inside is warm. (Read over heated) I wear a light long sleeve shirt whilst in school. There is a little change area in the staff room where people leave their winter clothes whilst at work. You almost forget that it’s winter until you step outside after school. I now understand what some of my friends who had been to Canada previously, were talking about when they described what it is like to get out of the house in the morning. You layer up, put on your jacket, gloves, beanie & snow boots before going to the car which you’ve started up 15 minutes earlier so that it doesn’t feel like you’re getting into an icebox. In fact, Emily left her water bottle in the car over night and it was frozen solid. I have also become intimately acquainted with a snow scraper – an essential tool in every Canadian car. After snow day and before I drove home, I spent a good ten minutes scraping ice off every window so that I could at least see driving home. Mind you, driving on snow covered roads was a little daunting but you just drive very slowly.
As for our travels and experiences, Kingston is a beautiful historic city – the original capital of Canada. We have already enjoyed free ice skating in the town square and fortified ourselves against the cold by drinking hot apple cider (Delicious!) Tomorrow, our neighbour is taking us tobogganing at Fort Henry. (Another Kingston historic site). We are enjoying Nth American fuel prices. Petrol (gas as they say in Canada is about 65c per litre) The sales are also great! The cost of living is much less here.
In two weeks we are travelling to Toronto for the exchange teacher’s orientation weekend. Hopefully, we will get to meet other Aussies and compare stories. We hope to go night skiing at this time. Our first exchange educational conference will take place in Quebec City in February. This weekend coincides with their winter carnival and we will be visiting a hotel carved entirely out of ice as well as touring the city which is supposed to be spectacular. Everyone at Carroll who has experienced this weekend has told me this is one event not to be missed.
The Canadian Exchange teachers organisation has organised several different events which we intend to attend. We can’t wait! This is what we are here for.
We’ve been here almost two weeks already. Time will fly. I know this is clichéd but true. We intend to embrace and treasure each moment. Before we know it, we will be back in Australia with many memories and experiences to share.
Stayed tuned to further updates as they occur. I dont regret this moove. Its great so far!

Snow day. A First !!!!!

I am completing my blog from school this afternoon. We have a snow day! Apparently it's not all that common at Holy Cross. The teachers seemed pretty happy about it this morning and mind you, I'm not complaining either. It has given me the chance to sort through the room and see what I have to teach. I feel so much more on top of things.
Its surreal to be looking out of the window of my classroom to see snow falling. Its been consistent all day. We've had about 20cm so far. John shovelled his first driveway this morning- I'm sure the novelty of this will wear thin very sonn.
Life at Holy Cross is pretty good. The staff appear to be very friendly and welcoming. Many have gone out of their way to be accommodating to me. Emily had her first day at school here yesterday and found she was the centre of attention. The kids thought she was really cool because she knew how to surf. Overall, the kids here seem to be quite polite and friendly. They are respectful and have been kind to me so far. They think my accent is quaint and keep asking me different questions about Australia. The classes are fun to teach and I am easily dealing with the teaching content.
Likewise, the boys appear to have settled well into Mother Theresa. They have great teachers and have had no trouble forming friendships. They are going ice skating for sport over the next couple of weeks. That for them, is a real novelty.
In a couple of weeks we will be off to Quebec City for Winter Carnival and an exchange teacher's "Conference". This should be great. Everyone who has done this trip has raved about it.

Kingston - A Winter Wonderland

Our First Days in Kingston by Max

Our First days in Canada by Max

When we got to the airport in Canada. Nick and I were trying to do all different things first in Canada like Nick was bragging that he went to the toilet first, I was the first one to drink water, go for a swim and step outside first. Anyway we had to go and get our bags and go to immigration. Nick and I sat down and waited for mum and dad. We were bouncing around and having when we got in trouble. We kept bouncing around and having fun until we got into more trouble. So we stopped. It took a long time and we got bored but eventually we left and went down to exchange money. Of course it had a sign saying back in ten minutes. Twenty minutes later a person came and we got our money. Then we went outside into the freezing cold and caught a shuttle bus. We got to our motel and we found an indoor pool and went swimming. We went and back and watched some TV and it started to snow. Dad had hired a car and it had turned white.

We woke up early that morning and nick got in trouble for saying “It’s Clumpy Your so dumb!” So he had to go into dads bed and dad came into my bed. He fell asleep and rolled on top of me. Eventually we got up and watched TV. Nick, Mum and I went to the gym for half an hour or so. When we got back up we went for a swim. We got back up and packed and headed for Kingston Ontario three hours away. In the middle we stopped at McDonalds and didn’t know what to pick because all the burger names were different. I had a Chicken Caesar snack wrap and chocolate milk. When we got back we went to the car and got to our new house an hour later. A quick chat to the Neighbours Don and Linda and over too explore our house. Me and nick shared a room in the basement. Too our delight in our room was a Foosball table and an air hockey table. We went to the mall and got back and relaxed. Our toilet isn’t so great. We have instructions on how to use it.
1 – You must do your business and then flush before wiping.
2 – You can use three sheets of toilet paper folded over.
3 – You can only do this twice.
4 – If you chock it you must unblock it. (This is mums saying)

That night we went to bed at eleven o’clock.

Today after a restless night of sleep by Nick dad woke us up at 9:30. Today was our shopping day. We headed to the mall. We bought – New boots for the snow for everyone except Nick because he already had some, thermal underwear for everyone, Nick bought Mario Kart DS, some shirts, a coffee maker, I bought a wrestling magazine and a beanie. After that we headed to Loblaw's for some groceries. While Mum and Em were shopping Dad, Nick and I went and looked at some games. When we got home we unpacked the groceries and me and Nick played Foosball. Nick cursed me at the start and I haven’t been beaten yet. Nick looked like he was going to win at 9-6 but I was determined and came back to win 10-9. Nick was very annoyed. Dad came out and modelled some thermal underwear but he reminded me of Borat. We had some stir fry for dinner but Em wanted to have risotto because she haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaates stir fry. I played some PSP and went to bed. In the night Nick fell asleep in a few minutes. But he woke up at midnight or so and woke me up coughing.

Early Days in Canada

We have had a short delay in setting up our internet.

Here are some of our thoughts and experiences of the last week or so written by different family members

Our Journey – a report by Emily

December 28th

At exactly 2150 Etihad airlines depart from Sydney International airport carrying, in Coral Economy the Carter family who are bound for Toronto.

Kids are kept quiet through the 13 hour flight by watching the TV screens on the back of the seats. Finally the plane lands in Abu Dhabi at 0500 hours. The Carter family stagger off to the transit hotel and sleep. All are jet-lagged.

December 30th

At 0200 hours, Etihad Airlines leaves Abu Dhabi airport bound for Toronto. At 0700 hours (Canadian East) the plane lands in Toronto. The Carters catch a taste of the freezing weather as they wait for the Shuttle bus to take them to the hotel.

After a hearty dinner in the hotel restaurant they head upstairs and find Hannah Montana on TV. Nicholas J Carter realises it is snowing and the family crowd around the window watching the snow. After fights and mum yelling...a bit, the family gets into bed. After a few snores and farts from people who will remain anonymous, they drift off.

31st December
John D Carter takes a giant leap for mankind by taking to the icy roads, driving on the wrong side of the road. Later mum drives and ends up swearing after ending up on the wrong side of the road after a bad U-Turn.
Finally the Carters arrive in Kingston Ontario at their new house. They meet Don and Linda who are very nice and have two very cute dogs. Nicholas J and Maxwell J Carter are proud to announce they have a Foozball and Air Hockey table in their room. Emily has a double bed and is happy.
The Carter Family goes to the multi-Level shopping centre where Nicholas J Carter picks up some snowshoes and a bleeding nose. The Kids then grumble their way through the rest of the experience.
Finally at 1658 hours the sun sets and it gets cold. Too cold. Emily leaves her waterbottle in the car and when she gets it the next morning, she finds it is frozen.

We are finally on our way!

Today I am writing this post from the Abu Dhabi Airport Motel where we are enjoying a 21 hour stopover between Sydney and Toronto. It was almost a relief to finally get on the plane in Sydney yesterday after weeks of farewells, cleaning and packing. Mind you when we left the house it was so clean I almost wanted to remain and live in it for a little while longer.
After travelling to Sydney on the 27th we spent our last day with John's mother and brother. We also had lunch with the McKinns, Tooheys and Hamiltons. It was sad to leave but we did allow ourselves to feel a little excited. At that point it still did not seem real even after months of counting down the days until we left. When we finally arrived at the airport we encountered some problems with our luggage. It was too heavy. After much reshuffling and the purchase of an extra suitcase, we managed to come in under the appropriate weight allowance. This was a relief. I wouldn't recommend using big bags as they become too weighty. Ah well! You learn from your experiences as they say!
The first leg of the journey was very smooth. Fouteen hours went fairly painlessly thanks to Etihad's inflight entertainment system, The kids and us were fully occupied with movies, music and games. It was a bleary eyed group of five who disembarked at Abu Dhabi this morning however and not knowing whether we could find anywhere to lie down for the day was a bit of a concern. Fortune smiled on us when we were able to secure two rooms at the transit hotel. The exhorbitant rates in American Dollars dimmed into insignificnace compared to the sense of releif as we were able to rest and deal with jet lag.
We leave for Toronto at 2am local time this evening and expect to arrive at 8.15 Toronto time. We figure due to time lapses that this will be a flight of approximately 15 hours - pleanty of time to catch up on some more movies.