24 Today!!

Well, today I've reached the ripe old age of 24. What an old timer!

Sarah's at work today, but she gave me a present before she left. A nice leather wallet which my change won't fall out of, which it had been in the one I was using before.

Happy birthday to Tomas, whose birthday is today too. He's 26, so practically ancient.

Mobile internet access!

We were both getting annoyed with having to trek to internet cafes and spend money every time we wanted to get online, so we've now bought a mobile broadband usb adapter. It's pay as you go, so when we get full broadband in Newcastle, we can just stop topping it up. Ideal really. It has fairly low bandwidth caps, but it's still a better option, and means we can be online here at the unit.

Speaking of which, the unit, which we've now been in for a few days, is surprisingly nice, especially when you consider how basic the other accommodation was. This place has polished wood floorboards, two bedrooms, a nice little shower room, and a modern kitchen, including a dishwasher. Great stuff. For the first fortnight we're sharing with another couple, but then they're being moved and we'll have the place to ourselves for about 8 weeks.

Now we're here we can use the direct address, which means you can all send us cool stuff if you like. The address is:

1/24 Darling Street

Tamworth

NSW 2340

Australia

With having internet connection, we're now able to use msn and skype, so keep an eye out for us early morning and late evening!

 

Internet Cafes are a wonder

Internet cafes aren't a cheap way to get access, but they're certainly convenient. This one is $6 an hour. I've been here an hour and 16 minutes so far. 17 now.

Anyway... Sarah's got her last bit of induction today. It was scheduled to be a half day, but they went and changed it to a full day. Bleeders. We're being driven up to Tamworth tomorrow by Jeanette, who's one of the people that does the recruiting and stuff. She's been sooo helpful, and even took all our dirty laundry to wash for us yesterday and give back to us today. How nice is that?

We'll be in something temporary in Tamworth for a day or two, then into what will probably but a unit (flat) until we come back to Newcastle at the end of October/beginning of November. We're not going to buy a car yet as we've been told we'll probably be able to get by without one. If we can do that until we arrive back in Newcastle, we'll be better off moneywise, so that's good.

I think that's all for now. Not sure what the net access will be like in Tamworth. I guess there'll be a net cafe somewhere, so i'll have to dig it out. Be back then!

Updateroo

Hey all!

Hope everyone is well at home.

I've (it's Matt writing btw) had quite a bad headcold (no it's not man flu!), which has put a damper on our first few days in Newcastle. We've been out and about exploring still though. We got the bus all the way into the CBD and then walked around the coast (the beaches and sea are amazing) and up to one of the shopping centres. The shopping centres aren't quite as impressive as at home, and it's a little odd not seeing brands like Gap, which are pretty much global, but i'm sure with time we'll find Aussie shops we like.

Sarah did get some new shoes from Target. They were on sale, marked down to $6.86. When she got to the til, they were $5. Cheap!

Today is Sarah's induction and her first day of work. That's why i've stolen myself away to an internet cafe to catch up and email everyone. I need to sort myself out with a phone because at the moment, Sarah can't get in touch with me when she's at work or whatever. So that's on my to do list.

We should be going up to Tamworth later this week. The nice people from the hospital are actually giving us a lift there, which considering it's a 4/5 hour car ride, is very generous. It'll be nice to be somewhere that we're staying for 2 or 3 months, cos then we can unpack and make ourselves a bit more comfortable. Looking forward to that.

Right, i'm going to catch the bus back to our accomodation and get some lunch. I've been in this net cafe for two hours and it's gonna cost $10. Totally worth it though to stay in touch.

We're here!

We're here and all is well.

We eventually left heathrow at 1am, which was 3 hours late. However, we made so much time up in the air that we were less than an hour late arriving in Sydney. There was no turnaround in Singapore - it was straight off the one plane and onto the next. Not even time to pee!

Both legs were on the A380, which was very nice. Plenty of leg room, even in economy.

Today Sarah has finalised her medical registration, which went fine. We've also been to the bank and activated our account, and bought tickets to use tomorrow for the aquarium and sydney tower. With those, the ferries and exploring, we'll be busy.

I'm practically nodding off, but we want to hang on until at least 9, so we'll have some dinner now and see if i can stay awake.

Speak soon!

Delayed

We've been delayed!

Due to a problem at the airport, we've been delayed two hours, from 22:00pm to 12:00am. We only have a 2 and a half hour layover in Singapore, so if things don't run too smoothly, we may miss the connecting flight. Bummer, but so far the staff have been helpful and informative.

Fingers crossed.

Countdown...

Emigration in... ZERO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right, today is the day that we jump on a Singapore Airlines plane and make our move down under. We've wanted to make the move for a few years, infact, we started talking about it as an option not long after we got serious (which wasn't long after we got together!). The actual application started in January, so that part of it hasn't taken long at all.

We've had a lot of support from the recruitment agent, the migration agent and of course, family and friends. We found out after he died the other week that one of my Grandad's big regrets was that he had the chance to join the New Zealand Airforce, after he left the RAF. They didn't go though, because my Great Grandma didn't want them to. He was very very supportive, even when his motor neurone disease was at its worst, and that means a lot. Everyone else has been great too. Yesterday we had a 'BBQ'. In inverted commas because it rained all day, so we had an indoor, oven and grill cooked BBQ. It was still nice though, lots of people came and the time flew by.

And, so, we're off. We'll miss everybody here, of course, but in the 21st century, the world is a lot smaller and it's so easy to keep in touch and holiday, it will be easy, and fun, to keep in touch.

Actually getting to Australia is not the end of the organising, sorting out and whatnot though. Sarah starts induction for her new job on the 18th, but i'll need to try and find temporary work, armed with my newly written CV (the old one was lost in the burglary - must learn to back up!). We need to find a car, unless we are surprised and discover we can manage without. A new laptop is essential. And it will only be November when we find a rental house and start repurchasing furniture and all that jazz.

A lot to think about, a lot to do and we're both a little nervous, as you'd expect. But, so far together, we've tackled whatever has come our way and we're confident that we'll do well over there too.

Anyway, suitcases to pack, chocolate cakes to eat, so we'll see you on the other side!