Hawaii

We are on our last night here in Hawaii and it has gone by much too quickly. Our flight in went much better than I expected and Henry and Miles did very well keeping themselves occupied. Of course I was in next row over on the aisle so Jenny has a different story of how it went...

Of course WestJet was amazing as well... (Endorsement Cheque in the mail)

When we woke up the next day, Hawaii was under a flood watch and it was very rainy. Not wanting to waste a day we of course went out anyway and we’re noticeably walking around without an umbrella or poncho because it was warm Hawaiian rain and we just left -30 Calgary weather.

It was at this point that we were walking around the deserted Waikiki beach that we noticed a camera crew, but continued exploring the beach in the rain. The camera crew were from an ABC affiliate KITV which is a local news station in Hawaii. They were interested in why I was out in the rain. I told them it was a lot warmer than where I was from and that the weather was awesome given that it was December.

Here is the news segment that features me: Visitors to Honolulu this Christmas

After that we went raced through a downpour to the Honolulu aquarium which the kids really enjoyed. They especially liked the jellyfish, giant grouper fish and shark.

Both mornings we ate at the Fish Hook Hawaiian breakfast buffet. It was very cheap for the area and our hotel gave us 4, $10 off vouchers so we saved quite a bit by combining them for two mornings. The kids thought the food there was the best. Henry really liked the pastries.

Fort Derussy Park

We took lots of pictures and had a fun day at Waikiki beach and topped it off with a very tasty dinner at Tiki’s Grill and bar. It was amazing food and they had a great kids menu with a free frisbee for each boy. The exchange rate really started to hurt though as we ended up paying a lot for this meal as well as multiple trips to the many, many ABC stores littered around Hawaii. (Think 711 meets hotel gift shop)

 

Postcard perfect

Ahi Poke (very tasty!)

The last day we got McDonalds and spent most of the day at the hotel pool and packed up ready to fly tomorrow. We have an 11 hour flight to Melbourne for a four hour layover, and then a 1hr 50min flight to  Adelaide. Our kids currently will not go to sleep. Should be exciting!

Life is moving along

I’ve been asked many times how “excited” I must be to be on this big trip. I’m not sure that’s the right emotion. I think it is more a sense that this is a turning point and marker in my life that is making the passage of time more noticeable.

I am excited about the following however: 

As I was packing luggage this morning, I was excited that I wouldn’t have to deal with this for a year...

I was excited for my children seeing things for the first time. Miles jumped the chairs when he saw the airplanes out the window.

I’m excited that Henry will remember this vacation and he will be a totally different person than he would be if he didn’t get to have this experience.

The next blog post we will be in Hawaii. I’m 38 years old and this is my first trip. I’m a little excited!

Langdon News article about our trip

Please check out the article that Ian Busby did on our trip to Adelaide. Ian is a local reporter with CityTV and the Langdon News that lives in Langdon.

http://www.langdonnews.ca/2017/langdon-school-teacher-taking-family-to-australia/

Sarah Thompson Staff and Goodbyes

This week I will be saying goodbye to Sarah Thompson School for a year, and I have to say I am blown away by the feeling of comraderie and friendship that I have experienced working there for the past 5 and a half years. This place has been my place of work, but I have built some friendships here that I think I will have for the rest of my life. I can only hope for something nearing what I have here when I get to Stradbroke School in Adelaide.

There will be a final farewell at school this Thursday as I prepare my classroom for Mrs. Cathy Kepa who will be taking over for me in the new year. Goodbyes are not usually my thing. I tend to want to slip out quietly, but to quote Luke Skywalker I have a feeling, “ This is not going to go the way you think...”

Selling our van

This is Jenny’s van that she used for her dayhome for 3 years. Check out the Kijiji ad! We are selling it “as is” for $2,500.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/calgary/2007-pontiac-montana-sv6-great-for-families/1317909994?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios

Winter is here in Canada

Well it’s winter again in Canada.

It is currently -13C, but feels like -20 with a major snowfall warning of 15-25cm over the next couple of days. In Adelaide right now it is a nice spring day of +20C. I’ve heard that Australians look at you weirdly if you say the temperature is ‘+’ anything. I can imagine a look of, ‘well, what else would it be mate?’ on a confused Australian’s face. That sounds like a nice state of blissful ignorance that I’d like to participate in for a year.

The Australian High Commission

So I've received an e-mail from the Australian High Commission in Ottawa, which if I may take an aside is an awesome name for a boring building. I don't know about you, but I was picturing something more like the picture below.

But unfortunately it was just this...

Anyway, there were four new requirements I had to get before my Visa went through. According to my Australian coordinator they have never asked for these requirements before, but it might be a new hoop exchangees need to go through.

This is the letter: 

Dear Mr. Cove,

 

I am writing in relation to your Temporary Work (International relations) visa. In order to continue with the assessment of your application, please provide:

 

1. Letter issued by government of Alberta endorsing your participation in the 2018 Calendar Year Teacher Exchange Program; and
2. Letter issued by the South Australian Government ratifying your participation in the Teacher Exchange Program and listing your accompanying family members by name (spouse and children); and
3. Employment letter (issued by your declared employer) confirming your position, length of employment, participation in the Teacher Exchange Program and advising if your salary will continue to be paid by your employer whilst in Australia; and
4. Please confirm the exact dates in which you are planning to arrive to and depart from Australia.

 

Thank you. Please respond to this request by 27 September 2017.

 

Kind regards

 

 

So far I have 3 out of 4 and am getting the 4th Monday. 

 

The Australian High Commission: 0

Mr. Cove: 1 

3 months to go!

Australian Visa cost

I finished my visa application. I applied for a Temporary Work (International Relations) visa 403. It took me a month to finish I uploaded 26 documents and filled out 26 pages. The cost for the whole family was $700 Australian dollars plus credit card fee. $700 to work for a year in Australia. On top of that I need to pay $110 AUD to get registered by the Teachers registration Board of South Australia. Yay bureaucracy!

How did I do this?

I can't believe this is real most of the time.  I'm actually going to go to Australia! Some may be wondering how this is possible or what I did to get to go. I can show you what I did and how you can do it too as long as you're an Alberta teacher. I know that there are opportunities in Ontario as well, but otherwise I think you're on your own.

I knew that you could go on an exchange because I had a teacher in junior high who did it, so I thought it was at least possible. The first thing I did was go to my local ATA (Alberta Teacher's Association) meetings and get all of the information. I got the pamphlets, and as much info as I could get on my own. I tend to try to do everything on my own and only ask for help if necessary. (This is one of my flaws as this post will show. Most people should ask for help!)

The first thing you will notice is the lack of any information beyond the "wouldn't it be cool" posters and pamphlets. If you look online you go to the IEEP.ca (International Education Exchange Program) website, which is really just the ATA website. When you get there you will find a bit more info and the application package. I found out I needed at least 5 years of expeience and I was close. I figured they might not count my Morley experience as it was not part of the ATA so I wasn't sure if I had enough. I would have 5 years in Rocky View at the end of the year in June so I figured it was probably fine.

At this point I thought, "Ok, I just need to get on this really early in the year and get the application in to the IEEP office before December, and what's the worst that can happen?" I got the application ready and started filling it out on my own, and then went to my principal and made sure that she was okay with the idea. She got on board right away and I was pumped. I quickly got all of my pages filled out. (All 30 pages of the application plus pictures of my house and school. I managed to get it all done and sent off to HR by mid November. I thought, "Great I'm in early and they're just going to rubber stamp this." I even put a post-it note asking if the superintendent could sign it and send it back to me.

This is where my independent drive to do everything myself broke down. Turns out I should have made HR more aware of what I wanted to do. In fact, I should have let them know in April and not November. There was also the fact that there were other applicants who had more experience than me, and that my application was too late to be considered. I also should have probably e-mailed and written a cover letter to HR and not a post-it note. After apologizing profusely and asking for forgiveness, I was told there was still a chance and they would get back to me. It was getting to the end of November and I was worried.

I phoned HR that I was sorry it hadn't worked out, and that I could try again for next year. Suddenly everything was okay. They told me I had a really good application and that I was approved and everyone was excited for me. I was in shock that I had this drastic change in fortune, but not wanting to have them change their minds, I thanked the gods at HR and hung up. The lesson here though is not to do what I did and always check with HR first and early.

We sent the package quickly to the IEEP office in Edmonton and hoped that I would get a match. I got a phone call early in February after Christmas break saying that I did have a match and that I was going to Adelaide, South Australia. I couldn't believe everything had worked out despite my bullheadedness.

I'll make another post about the interview and I went through and some of the paper work I have to fill out as well.