Sorry! I have been so limited with the internet, but at last, here are some pictures of where I am. This is the house that I am staying in.
This is the view from the street.
This is the view from one of my windows, out into the backyard.
It's a nice house that has lots of windows, which has been really nice with all of the wind that we have been having. They keep telling me that the wind is not normal and that it should be going away, but I'd be alright if it never left.
A poorly put together 180 view, looking out from the front (almost the staff lounge) Click to enlarge
Here is the school that I am at, Burdikin Christian College. It has almost 100 students ranging from Prep (Kindergarten) to Grade 7 (I think they are are 11-12 years old). The school's claim to fame is that it is North Queensland's Greenest school. Let's see, my class... Well, I am in the Pre/Year 1 class and have students ages 5 through a few that have just turned 7 and boy to these kids like to run around and not follow directions. If you received the email from my mom, you will already know that these kids are really lovely individuals, but really bad as a class (we're talking telling me 'no', punching, tackling, and the occasional destructive tantrum which means that they kid has to be physically carried out.) However, while the children are a project, I am still having a good time. The staff here, while they are the must blunt, straight to the point people I have met, they are also really kind and supportive.
A bad picture of my lovely class.
Ok, other things that have been going on. Well, so far I have been bitten at least 10 times by a mosquito, but thankfully at the moment I only have three that really are red and itch. It's so not fair! None of the kids at school, nor the people I live with ever get bitten, and yet I cannot seem to go a night without getting at least one. I wish that the two geckos who have been living in my windows would just hurry up and eat them all. Christy, tell your mom that I have yet to step on one but I think I might have accidentally taken one's tale off when I was closing the window (he's alright, just a little shorter).
Here are just some other pictures to give you an idea of what is around where I am. Enjoy!
Cane field across the street from the school.
More to come soon, I just need to take more photos!
So, here is the introduction to my life for the next two months.I am living in a town called Ayr which I have been told is pronounced air (but you don’t really say the r).If you look for it on a map, just find Townsville (in Northern Queensland) and go south a little ways. Before I talk about the town I should probably mention how I ended up here. It’s rather simple, I told Biola that I wanted to teach in England and they said, “No” so I then found the only other country that spoke English that wasn’t the US and that was Australia and New Zealand. So I ask for a place in either of those countries and they sent back saying we found you this place and I said great, when should I get there.
Ok, so Ayr is a tiny town (and town is a generous word) and is about an hour away from the biggest city, which, without the military base would be nothing more than a town itself. Picture with me (at least until I get around to taking actual pictures) a town in more rural Florida. However, it is not like it is a hick town, they have electricity and running water, the streets are paved with what seems to be tar with rocks thrown on top of it and some of them are newly paved. The main feature of this area is the sugar cane fields; these fields surround the area where people live and then are sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods.
So, there is one main street, it’s about 6ish blocks long and the best way to describe it is they have taken a whole city and squished it into one street. Everything from the court house and the police station to the super market and the Country Target are found along this street, everything but the schools. Other than that, nothing is really distinctive, which makes it especially hard to get my bearings.
I am staying with a nice family, The Brocks, who live about a 6 minute walk from school and who are fairly close to the center of town, but like I've said before, I have no idea where that is. The family is mom, dad, 14 year old son and 11 year old daughter. They are really great people and I am very grateful to them for letting me stay with them.
The only downside so far is that I have to share the one ethernet cable with a 14 year old boy, meaning I never get on. Plus, to use it I have to sit in the family room with my back to the family room, in the middle of everything, so I feel wierd if I ever want to use the internet, but not be super productive.
I think that will be all for now, especially since I don't have any pictures yet. I will write about school later, but here's a small preview...I am the school's new toy, my gosh do these kids need some discipline and wow are there a lot of little ones in one class.
