Why are we going to Australia?
Kedron is teaching a semester abroad. He's taking a group of Simpson students and will be teaching this group; plus doing some research through the University of Adelaide.
Is the whole family going?
Umm. . .yes. Do you think we'd let just Kedron go on this awesome adventure and leave the rest of us behind?
How long will you be gone?
Five months. We leave the end of June and return the end of November.
Where exactly are you going?
We will be in Adelaide, South Australia. Adelaide has about 1 million people and is located on the southern coast of Australia.
What will the weather be like in Adelaide?
Because we'll be in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed. It will be winter when we arrive, but their weather is not like an Iowa winter. Temps will be mid 50's, meaning we will see rain and wind, but no snow. By the time we leave in November, average daytime temps will be in the mid 70s or higher.
Where are you staying?
We will live in an apartment owned by the University of Adelaide (think grad student-type housing). The apartment is furnished; we believe it has 3 bedrooms. We haven't seen the inside of it, so it will be a surprise for all of us! There is on-site laundry and the kitchen will be stocked with the basics (we hope!). We are lucky to have an oven, as that is not typical in all housing in Australia (some homes have a cooktop only).
Will you have a car?
No! Adelaide has a good public transportation system that we will get to learn very well! We plan to purchase bikes for all 4 of us when we arrive, but will mostly use the buses to get around.
What are you doing with your house here?
We are working on finding a renter/cat sitter in our absence. We believe we have a renter for most of the time we'll be gone, but are still working out details. If you are local and want to help with cat sitting, please let us know!
What will the boys do for school?
Good question. . . there has been some uncertainty recently about this. The plan is for them to attend public school there; but it has yet to be determined which public school they'll go to. Once we arrive in the country, we believe we can enroll them either into the local public school or maybe into a charter-type STEM school. We are limited in what we can do to get them enrolled until we're actually living in Adelaide (and actually, they spell it 'enroled').
Since the seasons are reversed, so is their school year (they also start school at the end of summer, but this is in Jan/Feb). The boys will start school at the beginning of the local 3rd quarter, which is at the end of July.
Is Rachel quitting her job?
NO! My employer has been very gracious in allowing me to continue to work. I will do certain parts of the job remotely, and other staff will pick up some of my tasks in my absence. We are all part time employees so are still figuring out how to shuffle around my duties so I won't be missed. Much.
Will you get to see the whole country while you're there?
Unfortunately, no. Many people don't realize how big this country is! Australia is roughly the size of the contiguous United States. We have plans to visit a few places, but given the fact that Kedron will be working full time, and that we won't have a car, and that we're not millionnaires, we'll do the best with the time and resources we have.
Is there any chance you'll end up staying in Australia permanently?
No - Simpson would eventually stop paying my husband if we don't return :)
Anything else you'd like to know? Comment below and we'll add that question to this post. If you'd like to follow us on our trip, type your email in to the "Follow By Email" bar above, and you'll get an email notification every time I add a new blog post. We're excited to share our travels with all of you!
