The End Has Arrived!

As of Friday November 20th at 3 p.m., I became an official UOW graduate, but more importantly and much more exciting, I became a teacher!! It's so strange and doesn't even seem real yet, but the end of the most hectic year of my life is finally here. Now it's just a matter of waiting for some paperwork to get processed and for my teaching number to come through before I can walk into a classroom. Not in a rush to get to work just yet, I think I'm ready to just enjoy some of this amazing 30 degree and sunny weather we're having.

Last Wednesday, (the 18th) Leah finished the first year of her program! Getting near the end of the year, motivation was a bit tricky to come by, but with that being said, the exams went well and Leah is excited to be half way there! Following her last exam, Leah and her friends went to Fran's parents place to set up the Christmas tree with Fran's nephew to begin the celebrations! We (the boys) joined them in the evening to head out to The Rocks for some drinks and a couple of pizzas.... and a few more drinks! Those last few drinks made Thursday morning a bit groggy in front of the kids, but we don't need to tell anyone!

The Grad Ball to celebrate all of the Grad Dip Ed student's success was last night down in Wollongong. With nearly 100% attendance, everyone was dressed to the best and ready to have a great time. Dinner was a buffet style with a little bit of everything, dessert was

a very nice parfait meringue combo, and all of the beer and wine were covered by the cost of the ticket! The music was great and all of us now teachers (and partners) were letting it all out on the dance floor! Everyone looked as though we were all having a fantastic time.

Next on the docket, Leah and I need to organize our upcoming trip to New Zealand! We've got our flights booked, but that's about it! We'll use these next couple of days to get on top of that so we have somewhere to sleep when we get there on the 4th of December.

Trusting all is well back home,

Jeff & Leah

xoxo

On the Move!

Hey Everybody!

Welcome to November! A lot has changed in the last couple of weeks; even just in the last couple of days! This past Friday was Leah's 23rd birthday. To celebrate, we went out for dinner to an Italian restauraunt on Crown Street with our group of friends here in the city which was followed by a few extra celebratory drinks at a pub jus tdown the street. While the night was loads of fun, it was followed by one of the busiest Saturdays we've ever had!

As some of you may know, others may not; Leah and I had been looking for a new and bigger apartment. As luck would have it, we found a perfect place in just a few short weeks of looking. It was newly renovated just 5 years ago and very well kept by the previous owner who is now our landlord. It has a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom, all of which are in separate rooms! Much better than our little studio apartment. On top of all of our great new features, we are in a quieter area of town, but still in the middle of it all! The train station is still just a 10 minute walk away, the grocery store and markets are still quite close to us and we are right on Crown street which boasts some of the best pubs and cafes in Sydney! To say the least, we are very excited about the new change! We have settled in quite nicely thanks to a lot of help from our friends who made the move go very smoothly. So if you are planning on sending us any mail in the near future, please send it to:

6/121-129 William St.
Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
2010

In other good news, Leah has finished her classes for the semester! Thursday marked her final day of classes and on Friday she had the last session with her clients. All that's left now is her exams, the first of which is on Monday. She and her friends are very excited about reaching the halfway point of their masters degree!

In my world, the end is so near! I am currently in the 3rd week of a 5 week placement! Things are going very well for me. I have learned a lot in these last 2 1/2 weeks thanks to a lot of guidance from my supervising teacher. The kids can be challenging at times, but at the end of the day it's all good. Jackie (my teacher) has been giving me lots of pointers, tips, and most importantly, positive feedback! Also, yesterday the principal of the school came into my classroom to watch me teach a lesson and she also had lots of positive feedback to give! It was a big boost of confidence which is important since in just a couple of weeks I will be fully qualified to teach! It's very exciting as the end of what's been a crazy year is drawing near.

The weather here has been unpredictable lately; most days are sunny and mid to high 20s, but yesterday was sunny and 38!! No time to get used to it though, today and tomorrow are back down to mid-20s with some rain. We are both very excited for the Aussie summer to come back. There's a feeling in the air that many days in the sun followed by many nights at the pub are just around the corner! We are just keeping our heads up for the next few weeks before the summer fun begins!

Trusting all is well at home! Hopefully that blurb about the wonderful weather didn't make you too jealous!

Until next time, take care!
Jeff & Leah