We've hit the half-way point....

Today marks exactly 6 months since we arrived, and 6 months until we come home.

It feels like we’ve been here for a lifetime, and I mean that in a good way. While some of my family may not agree, this has been an amazing 6 months, and something that I never thought would ever be a possibility.

Whether we come home or not in 183 days remains to be seen.

There have already been discussions about the likelihood of a contract extension being offered. I’d love to stay a bit longer. I have suggested to some that the inclusion of school fees in any continuing contract would certainly sweeten the deal. However, our final decision will lie with the family as a whole.

Breanna has put in a request that our next overseas move should be to Fiji or Vanuatu – I like her thinking!

Whatever we decide, I have absolutely no regrets about embarking on this adventure to the ‘land of the unexpected’, or as I like to call it ‘ the land of the WTF’

Til next time…….xx

First week recap

We've survived our first week in Port Moresby - yay!
To say I've been on an emotional roller coaster is the understatement of the year. However, the nagging doubts are slowly fading and life is getting easier.
Bree is so happy with her school that she thanked me for bringing her PNG. That has eased my concerns quite a lot. Matt & Lachie are developing a good routine with Lachie's distance education program. We should receive a parcel in the next week or so with work and reading books for him to use. Having said that, Lachie's missing his best buddy from home. Hopefully we can schedule a Skype call for them in the next couple of days.
On Tuesday I finally got my PNG driver's licence. OMG, it took over two hours and the photo is absolutely hideous. The photographer kept telling me to put my chin down, which made my double chin squish out, and because of that I had to almost look upwards, so my eyes look deranged. The best way to describe it is I looked like the alien guy from Men in Black that wore the people's skin.
We've also been making use if the wonders of iMessage. It's enabling us to text home without the international charges - sweet!

So it's been nearly a month......

Oops. I've well and truly fallen off the blogging bandwagon. My excuse is that the past month has been crazy, which it has.

The biggest news is that we're in Port Moresby (finally).

It felt like such a mammoth effort to get here, and after 3 days in-country, we're starting to feel some level of normality. To say we were feeling the effects of culture shock would be the understatement of the year. I was terrified that we'd made the wrong decision. Both Bree and Matt were freaking out and my protective mothering instincts were in overdrive. Adding to the stress was that our accommodation was pretty average, and my favourite uncle died on the day we arrived.

It really has been a hard week emotionally for all of us.

ON the good side, we've moved into much more suitable accommodation at the Holiday Inn in their brand new apartment building. They also provide free WiFi - sweet! I also got the keys to my car today and have managed to not only drive it, but successfully navigate my way around. We also took Bree to see her new school. The Principal was so lovely and welcoming, and the students all seemed to like her. The girls in Bree's new class all flocked to say high. They were so excited to have a new girl in their class, and a few of them know her friend from her Aussie school who lived in PNG previously.

We're still a little nervous, but the anxiety levels are dropping as time passes on.

Til next time.......

Day 23: If I won the lottery....

We've always wondered and dreamt about what we'd do if we won it big on the lottery, so here's my ideas of what I'd do.

• Invest! Before I went absolutely nutso with my winnings, I'd talk to a financial adviser about creating a diverse investment portfolio to ensure we set ourselves up for the long term.
• Secretly pack our bags and fly Matt & I to Egypt without him knowing where we're going. Matt has always loved ancient Egyptian 'stuff', and I'd love whisk him away to see it in real life.
• Gift some of it to my family - the amount would be dependant on the amount we won, but I'd like to help them all out.
• Donate a fair amount to charity - I'd probably choose smaller, lesser known charities that don't get the support or funding that the big name ones receive. While I think big charities organisations such as the Cancer Council and Breast Cancer foundation are worthwhile, there are many other smaller and lesser known charities that are just as deserving.
• Travel, travel and more travel! Where do I want to go? Everywhere!
• Give up paid work and become a volunteer.

So there you go!

In other news, today was my last official day of work in Australia. I celebrated by taking the whole family to get our travel vaccines. Needless to say, we are all feeling very sore and sorry for ourselves this evening.

Lachie has also been approved for distance education, which is another thing I can check of my to-do list.

Til next time.....

Day 19: My Favourite Movie

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. I did remember, however I wasn't feeling too well so I took a day off from blogging.

Today's topic is my favourite movie. That's easy: The Sound of Music. I love love love the Sound of Music. IT is my all time favourite. Some other faves are:

• The Wedding Singer
• Reality Bites
• The Blues Brothers

In PNG news, The highschool Bree was enrolled to attend next year will allow us to defer her enrolment rather than withdraw. We're so relieved. Today I had me employment medical, had two removal companies come to give quotes and mailed off Lachie's distance education application.

I've also started looking at rental accommodation in Port Moresby. I think we'll probably look at staying in serviced apartments initially until our container arrives, then move into our own place.

If everything goes to plan (visas etc) I'll be leaving Australia to start our adventure in 3 weeks, with Matt and the kids joining me at the end of term 3.

Things are getting exciting (and busy) So, til next time.....

Day 18: A picture of me

Do I really need to share a pic of me? Really? Crap, I really don't like pictures of myself.

OK, so here's a selfie that I snapped of Lachie and I at the ANU on Sunday while we were waiting to see Col. Chris Hadfield (Canadian Astronaut).

Now that that's over with, I was given awesome news the Bree has been given a placement at our preferred international school in Port Moresby. It feels like a (small) weight has been lifted of my shoulders, and removed some uncertainty about our relocation.

Til next time......

Day 17: My favourite blogs

I've never really followed any blogs. However, I have been reading a few about expat life in PNG since applying for my new role up there.

A couple that have been really informative are:

• http://kiwiexpat.com/ 
• http://expatsinpng.wordpress.com/ 
• http://hotstrongcoffee.com/

In other news, the kids school had a teachers strike for half of the day, today. So I decided to take the day off and keep the kids home. I managed to speak with another real estate agent today, organised 2 removalist companies to come around to quote for the uplift and storage and sold off Lachie's loft bed - i need a good lie down, now.

Not much else to report. So, til next time......

Day 11: My 10 favourite foods

Food, glorious food! Sometimes I love it a little too much. Today's challenge is my 10 favourite foods, so lets get started.

1. Cheese. Any kind of cheese, hard, soft, melted and gooey. I love it all!
2. Cheesecake :)
3. Spaghetti bolognese
4. Bree's San Choi Bow
5. Spanakopita (Greek cheese, spinach and filo pie)
6. Home made macaroni cheese
7. Dark chocolate with almonds
8. Buttered popcorn flavoured Jelly Belly jellybeans
9. Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon
10. Peanut butter Lindt balls

That's the challenge done. Now onto PNG progress.

Still no sign of my contract, but I'm assured that it's coming. I keep going from feelings of excitement about our adventure, to intense self doubt wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into. 

I'm also still undecided about schooling options for Bree. If the school fees were included as part of my work package, it would probably be a much easier decision. However, as we have to pay for them ourselves, we need to weigh up the different international school's academic records, education fees and Bree's safety and comfort. Although the international schools come under the same umbrella organisation, the fees range from around $6,500 for the cheaper schools to around $20,000 for the dearer school (per year, AUD). The Australian High Commission staff send their children to the dearer school, but I'm not really sure why. I will be talking to one of the guys on the ground up there later this week to discuss where other staff on my particular aid program send their children. Once I'm 'in country' I'll be able to visit the schools to make my final decision.

In terms of Lachie's education, we're looking at distance education via the NSW Department of Education Distance Education program. Lachie is far more reserved that Bree, so is much more suited to being at home with Matt having one-on-one tuition. Whereas Bree is very social and needs that interaction with peers.

Still, with no contract in my hands, and nothing 'set in stone' I'm going a little stir crazy because I can't organise or plan ANYTHING. Those that know me know that I like to organise and plan everything in advance, so I'm trying to maintain my sanity by researching schools, social groups, sports, activities, rental properties, future holidays, car prices and anything else I can think of to look into. 

Anyway, I'd better sign off until tomorrow's post.

Till next time....