What were you grateful for this week?
I was so grateful for the kids and how happy they were! Going and spending time with them with their worry-free attitude really helped me change my perspective on some of the things I’ve been anxious about.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?
Driving stickshift on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. I also was late on paying my tuition for school. I don’t recommend taking classes while you’re out. I have to take classes for my internship in January, otherwise I would take it off completely. Sometimes it just feels like things are being thrown at you from different directions.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. 
I really tried to make sure I was involved in the family life as though I was a family member and that can really set the tone for your trip. If you have the attitude of “clock-in, clock-out” then it can get a bit lonesome and you can lose connection with your family. But if you have the attitude of “this is my home, these are my friends and family” and start getting involved in everything and meeting their friends, it can start to feel like you’re just spending time with people you love! Also, when I was cleaning I made sure to clean everything I could because I’m living in this house and how I feel about where I live really changes my comfort.

Tell us about your week! 
The first moment I heard the birds was crazy. It was one of the first few nights in Australia and I was alone in the house and I swore I heard laughing monkeys! I thought “there are definitely not monkeys here. What is that?!” And I found out they were kookaburras! I loved hearing them in the morning when I was out on the deck having a cup of tea (***side note: I’ve never had so much tea in my life***). 

M and T (the kids I work with) made some pretty great impressions of what kookaburras sound like! We also passed some colorful lorrakeets and tried to catch some pictures. The nature has been absolutely beautiful to see and the people have been just as beautiful!

I’ve enjoyed spending time with the families I’ve met. The connections you make with families here is like nothing else. You can’t get that kind of connection simply as a tourist. I’ve been with my host mom and a few other families and being a part of that connection has helped me ease into the move. It feels like I’m home because I’m meeting and becoming close to new people all the time.

My host mom finds my passions and dreams important and has told me to write down some of those dreams. I’ve been able to talk about those dreams with people and people have offered to help in teaching me some of those things. Being out here feels so right. Today I experienced a bit of stress (on top of a few other things I had been charged a late fee on my tuition). I thought nothing sounded better than the feeling of sitting out on the deck drinking coffee with my friends and family. Now I look back at moments like long hours jumping on the trampoline with the kids, having dinner with new families, drinking morning tea while listening to the kookaburras on the patio, etc. and I realize already, that the feeling I craved was exactly what I’m creating… in a new place, with new people and new magical experiences. It just took a bit of courage to get here.