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wp 10-- Scugog Citizen ~ Tuesday, January 19, 1993 Teachers find exchange to Australia "educational" by: Heather McCrae It was in 1986 when Greg Reid, his wife Nancy Nottingham and their two sons, Adam and Robert, were on a year's teaching exchange to New Zealand. Because this trip left them with such a positive imppact, they felt they'd like to do an exchange again, this time to Australia. According to the rules set out by the Ministry of Education, there must be five years hb h . Appl must apply one year in advance of their estimated departure. Nancy says "the chances of a double exchange (husband/wife) being granted were very slim". However, their request was granted. On December 22, 1991 the family left their home in Seagrave and flew to New Zealand, spending Christmas and New Year's with friends. After many leisurely days at the beaches and eating New Zealand ice cream they flew from Auckland to Sydney, Australia. On the map it doesn't seem a great distance but it is a four-hour flight. In Australia the seasons are the reversal of ours. Their winter months are June, July and August and summer is December through to February. The school year began on January 24th, 1992 and ended on December 18th. Greg says, "it was a plus for us as we (teachers) have the same classes and students all year. The exchange teachers from "down under" arrive at Christmas, begin teaching in Riverboat PIZZA delicious anytime! X-LARGE | PIZZA with 5 Toppings Only ... 127.50 "] Plus Appl. Taxes Upon presentation of this advertisement. Expires Feb. 28/93 the middle of the school year, then start teaching new tudents again in Sep The Nottingham/Reid's, upon arrival at Sydney, continued on to Leura, a town high up in the Blue Mountains and made their home for a year in Steve and Terri Pearson's home. Incidentally, Steve and Terri have just finished exchanges in the Port Perry area for the same period and lived in the Reid's home. Steve had taught at Cartwright PS and Terri had taught at Sunderland. Nancy teaches Grade Three at Sunderland PS and Greg teaches Grade Six at Cartwright PS. Robert 7, and Adam 11, both attend Sunderland PS. But, up in the mountains Nancy taught Year 1 at the public school in Katoomba, while Greg taught Year 4 at Hazelbrook Public School, both towns being just a few kilometres away from each other. Both boys attended Katoomba Public School. The Australians have a great regard for the sun and ite harmful rays, and always insist on you wearing a hat and sun block. In the schools there is a policy "no hat, no play". Australia generally has a pleasant climate, hot in the summer and cool to warm in the winter. During the winter months of June, July and August, the Aussies find the climate terribly cold but their Canadian visitors found the weather to be ideal, 3-10 degrees Celsius, a far cry from Canadian winters. Nancy "VEN 1S WATER ST., PORT PERRY Abel] says, "on August 13 we had 1 cm. of snow but it had melted by early morning. When you folks were digging out from the mammoth snowstorm in December, Greg and I were enjoying a staff party on a gloriously warm and sunny evening." During their stay Greg, Nancy and the boys did a lot of hiking or "bush walking" and explored caves galore. This vast continent has the most spectacular subterranean limestone caverns. Often on weekends they would get together with friends and other exchanges from Canada, US and Europe and have a barbie (barbeque), followed by a bush dance, often held in an old sheep shed. They never saw a wild koala bear, only the ones in captivity. Few kangaroos were seen, somewhat of a disappointment for the boys. Australia is an island made up of seven statés and territories, yet many of us do not realize it's the size of the USA, wider across than the distance from New York to Los Angeles. And, in just one year on vacation breaks and weekends, this family toured parts of every state or territory, with the exéeption of one, Tasmania. Now, that's a lot of travelling! This vast continent boasts some of the world's most beautiful reefs and beaches, extraordinary wildlife and friendly people. Greg went scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef, something he will never forget, "the most Munchies EV Afternoons from 3 PMto 6 PM Greg Reld, his wife Nancy Nottingham and sons Robert 7, and Adam 11, have been on a year's teaching exchange In Australia for the Past year. Please see story. exalting experience and the underwater scenery was fascinating." Alice Springs, located in the geographic heart of Australia's red centre offers a variety of sight seeing and some of the continent's most memorable landscapes. Ayers Rock is one of the world's greatest monoliths, and is challenged by hikers everyday. It's 3 km. long and 348 metres high, rising majestically out of the desert outback. It's haunting beauty is best viewed at sunrise and sunset when brown and burnt red turn to brilliant orange, crimson purple, blue and black. The Three Sisters in Katoomba is a giant rock formation. Nancy took many shots of The Three Sisters and each one is magnificently different. In Nancy's opinion, "the Blue Mountains are prettier than the Rockies. We were up so high, looking down over the beautiful countryside." So, what did Greg and Nancy think about Australia? In a recent interview with the Citizen, Nancy felt "the Australian people are so wonderful and we have made 80 many good friends. The accessibility to the sea was a bonus and the rail system provides the most spectacular rail journeys in the world, especially through the mountains. And there's no GST!" Both teachers enjoyed immensely the people they worked with. Greg states he'll "miss the scenery, the white gum trees are beautiful, constantly in leaf. And Ayers Rock was simply magnificent." And what about Robert and Adam? Robert says, "I made lots of friends and now many are my penpals. Because of the little snow that we had in the mountains, it made me feel more 'at home." 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