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.
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.
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