L & L Australian Adventures: 100th Day of Australia!

Why in the world is this significant, you ask? Well, let me tell you! In the primary grades we celebrate the 100^th day of school each year. It is monumental because it is a special day to celebrate all of the accomplishments of the school year so far and a milestone for many kiddoes to know they have been working very hard and learning so much for the past 100 school days. It’s a day of fun activities and celebrations.

Last week I started tutoring four children which I will discuss more in my next blog. The kindergartener asked me how long we’ve been in Australia. I said, “About 3 months.” She said, “No, how many DAYS???” So when I told her it must be a little over 90 days her mouth dropped open and she said, “That’s almost 100!” And I thought, “Whoa, she’s right!” So I took it upon myself to figure out just how many days we really had been here and on Saturday we hit the big old 1-0-0! J Despite the many snow days my teacher friends and nephews are dealing with back home, the 100^th day of school has also finally been celebrated in the past week or so. So to me, I decided to confirm this day of celebration so I didn’t miss out on my yearly fun.

On Saturday, we were invited to go kayaking with a few of Luke’s coworkers. The five of us met that morning at Manly Beach and rented our kayaks for around $100. The temperature that day was close to, if not over 100 degrees. The first grade teacher in me said to continue to come up with all of the significant 100’s of the day. (and I did, but silently- not sure it would have had the same effect on the rest of the group!) J I would say it has been a milestone for us here in Australia. In our past 100 days, we have dealt with the many, many, MANY ups and downs that life can bring to you. But I would also say we have had many accomplishments and most important for me is that we have learned so much…about ourselves, about a new country and its inhabitants, about city life, about new friends, about adjustment and compromise, my list could go on and on! So thinking of the impact of doing anything for 100 days, you’re very likely to come up with a substantial list, too.

Our celebration began when we got in our two person kayak. Our friends, Bryan and Kim had already rented kayaks on another day and had scoped out a great little, secluded beach so we all eagerly paddled that direction. (Bryan and Kim are who we went to see The Nutcracker with back in December.) There was no arguing or tipping over of the kayak so all was well! J When we got to the little beach it was very inviting. It sat back in a little cove and wasn’t overly saturated with people as most of the other beaches we have been to. We laid out our towels and set down our coolers and immediately headed for the water. The heat was unbearable unless you were actually in the water. This has been my favorite beach experience so far. It was so nice to just sit in the calm water and not get thrown down by big waves, dodge all of the other people swimming or surfing, or worry about getting a blue bottle jellyfish sting- though I’m sure they might visit that area at times, too! As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, we’ve really enjoyed getting to know so many people here and relaxing days like this make it possible for you to really get to know one another on a different level. This small beach even had an ice cream boat- with a bell just like the ice cream man and a juice and snack boat that would cruise up to shore about once every hour or two with lots of yummy options. I might be investigating a new part time career option! ;)

After several hours of sun, cold beverages, a quick picnic lunch, and basically just a day of pure serenity, we decided to head back to return our kayaks. The wind definitely made the paddling back a little less “relaxing” but we finally all made it. We decided to have a few drinks and dinner at the bar by the kayak place. We continued to talk and share more life stories. Scott's wife and two kids will be moving over at the end of the school year. Scott's wife is also an elementary teacher so I am really looking forward to spending time with her once she arrives! Later in the evening a very interesting conversation came up. Bryan brought up that he worked at a place called Armco Steel before Cerner. Then Scott said he also worked there when it was later called, GST, before he worked for Cerner. This is the same company my dad worked for, for many, many years!!! We talked about the “family days” and the other things I could remember from that time. They shared names of who they both knew and I emailed my dad to ask him about the same. Bryan’s father also worked for Armco and after talking to my dad, he knew him very well. Again, this world keeps getting smaller and smaller!

So, sure, we didn’t have a 100^th day celebration like I’ve been used to in my past teaching days, but I would say it was still a memorable and very fun 100^th day of our new life here!

Our kayaks