More Pictures!!

Here are a few pictures of the farm that we have been living on including our living quarters. I dont have a whole lot to say so here are the pictures. Starting with our 'camper van'!!

This is the view from the door of our shed.

This is Sylvias house.
Some bins out back.
The windmill pumps the water for the farm.
The house water is rain water.


This is the view of the feedlot.


This is the calf shed where I spend my mornings!
These are the stalls that we bring the pens into.

The hose goes into the bucket and the calves
draw up the milk by sucking.
This is what Dylan has been spending his time doing.
Since it rained, he has been out there everyday!
Sheep out in the Paddock


'Gonzo', he's pretty shy if you can't tell

by this picture!!

The Chooks
I had a cat that looked like this once. His name

was Nugget. He got ran over by the gas truck.

The next few are just from around the yard.

This is just a picture of us in the backyard!

Hopefully I have more to say later this week!!

Changes

Well currently it is 8:21 pm on Friday May 1. Back in Canada it would be 3:51 am. It is interesting how the time works!! Our laptop is on Canada time still so we can check in!
So two days ago I experienced a first. I was so excited but had nobody there to share it with. I was driving and saw a Kangaroo!! Not a tame one like in the park but in the wild!! The roads are lined with trees. We have to watch for Kangaroos here like you would have to watch for deer there. Dylan was out on the tractor so he missed it.
The hardest thing that I have noticed about driving on the wrong side of the road is the blinkers. The switch is on the oppostie side of the steering wheel, so when I go to blink, I turn on the wipers! And same the other way. There has only been a few times I have gone to the wrong side of the vehicle!! One thing I noticed about driving is the road signs. For example a 'Yield' sign looks the same but says 'Give Way'. The speed limit signs are just numbers inside circles. Alot of the roads in our area are sand so when it gets wet, you really got to pay attention to the sign that says 'WARNING Road Impassible When Wet'!!
Another thing that is hard to get used to is the toilet. For one thing, there are no locks on the doors. Ya....I kinda like my privacy! But what is pretty cool about the toilets is that there are two flush settings. A 'Half Flush' and a 'Full Flush'. Pretty self explanitory!!
I feel as though I have landed in an episode of Fear Factor. As alot of people know, I am terrified of spiders. They give me the shivers just talking about it. Well.........the spiders in Canada are tiny compared to the ones here. When it rains, there is a kind of spider called 'Rain Spider' that come out of hiding and go indoors. They are huge. The biggest one we have seen so far was about two inches across. And they are fast things too, they just cruise along. There are alot of poisonous spiders here as well. I have only seen two but by the sounds of things I am bound to see more. Every night we check our bed and shake out our clothes before we put them on, just in case. People just laugh at me. The other day we were filling up bags with grain and I actually held one. Not on purpose of course!!
We are starting to pick up on some of the slanguage, and not on purpose either. I caught myself saying some Aussie phrase the other day and Dylan just laughed at me. Some things are as follows:
Spanners - Wrench
Paddock - Field
Bloke - Male Aussie
Chook - Chicken
Tea - Meal Time
Ute - Utility Pick Up

I will add some more pictures this weekend!! Thanks for checking in!

Australia....Here We Are!!

Well....we finally made it!! We had a few issues with flights but it all came through. We were supposed to have three hours at every airport. Our flight was two and a half hours late to leave Calgary so when we landed in Vancouver it was straight onto our other flight to Sydney. That flight ended up to be just over sixteen hours due to a strong head wind. Then when we landed there, we had to jump lines to get onto our flight to Adelaide. So needless to say, it took a while but yes we did make it.
When we were boarding our flight to Adelaide we met another girl who was on the same flight who also was in the IAEA (International Agriculture Exchange Association) Program. When we landed we didn't go straight out to the farm. There was a training seminar in Adelaide that we attended for three days. We are part of a group of nine who are just starting out in this area. We are all about three hours apart from each other so we will most likely get together often. They are from all over the world so there is a little bit of a language barrier but most of them can speak pretty good English. Just with a thick accent!!
While we were there we went to Cleland Conservation Park. It was really good to learn a little bit about the different animals that we may come in contact with. We also learnt about rules on how to drive on the wrong side of the road. We don't have a vehicle yet so we haven't been able to experience the full effect of it. I have only driven on a path between the farms!! :)
Here are some pictures from our first week. I will try to update these every week but we will have to see how it goes! Enjoy!!

Us in the Calgary Airport ready to leave.

Leaving Sydney
Arriving in Adelaide



This is the house that we staying in for our
training seminar. It was really big.


Just a few pictures of animals from the park.
We got to get really close to them as you can see.


A Dingo

These next few are of birds. I don't know what they

are called but they looked interesting!!

I know its just a pelican.....but I love this shot!!

This would be a Wombat

Koala Bear

It is amazing how soft these little guys are.

They are kinda....fluffy!!

Just a chillaxin' Kangaroo!!

Dylan feeding a Kangaroo

Debbie feeding a Kangaroo

If you look closely, you can see the hind

legs of the joey sticking out of the pouch.

It was pretty neat to see.

And now I leave you with what most people would

classify as a typical Australian Scene!!

It's Here

Well, today is the day!! In a matter of hours we will be heading out of Calgary. Our flight leaves at 8:30 so if you think of us around that time, it would greatly appreciated if you could throw a few prayers our way!! Dylan is more used to this whole travelling thing but me... not so much! The nerves are definitely going!! Thank-you to everything for your prayers and support. We appreciate it very much!!

Time Flies

It is hard to believe how fast time goes by! There are only 12 days left until our departure. Yes, there are a few nerves but that is mostly for the unknown. We are still VERY excited to go, it is just the fact that this is a big change in our lives. But we are ready for it!! We have been busy trying to get prepared and making last minute arrangments for things here at home. We have even found homes for out pets too, good luck mom and dad :) !! I am very thankful that we will still be home for Easter. This gives us a chance to spend time with family and say our goodbyes!!

Departure

Well, the date is set and the tickets are booked. On April 16 we will be leaving for Australia. We fly out of Calgary to Vancouver where we switch planes and board for a 15 1/2 hour flight to Sydney. From there we fly to Adelaide and our host family will meet us there. We are both very excited to go! We have started the packing and are almost through our list of things to do before we go. However, that list is still fairly long!!

Our Pets

When most people think of the perfect pet, they think of a cat or maybe a dog. Well, this is not so in our house. The only pet we keep at our house is Rusty. Rusty is our 3 foot corn snake. He is a very calm and friendly snake. Since we got him in September, he has grown almost two feet! We have got alot of questions about him so here are some pictures to ease the curiosity!!

Rusty in his water dish

At Christmas, we got Rusty his own stocking. We would take him out of his tank and let him crawl in it every once in a while. There were a few times where he would have a good nap all curled up in the toe!!

We also have a dog. However, conveniently he is still at Mom and Dad's!! Spencer is a very hyper-active Chocolate Lab who will do any trick for a treat!!

Tibit, my Kitty