AUSTRALIA - Finally here!

On September 17, 2017, around 8 am, I finally arrived at the airport in Melbourne, Australia and was warmly welcomed and picked up by my new 'temporary family'! Just the greeting and the car ride helped reduce my little excitement, and I was sure that I had made the right decision in choosing this host family! :)

We drove about an hour by car from Melbourne Airport to the city of 'Ballarat', where I will be living for the next six months (after a quick coffee break)! Even in the car, Harry (3 years old) couldn't stop telling me about his plans for the next few weeks with me, and Freyja (1 year old) was slowly waking up from her long nap during the trip. Jenna and Scott (my host parents) were also excitedly telling me about their plans with me and were just as happy as I was about my arrival in Australia. I was and still am very happy to have chosen this family among many others, as they were incredibly likeable even after our first meeting.

My 'new temporary home' is also a really cute house with its own bedroom with a large bed and a huge closet for me! The room also has a spacious living room with open access to the kitchen and pantry, a room for Harry and all his toys, a room for Jenna and Scott, who also sleep with Freyja in it, and a large garden! Other family members here include the dog Lenny and the cat Georgie, who are always available for cuddles ;)

I have been here for a week now and have settled in very well. After Scott took Monday to Wednesday off, I have already spent four days alone with the kids, and everything went great. Of course, especially Harry sometimes misses his parents while they are at work, but I think that's part of it, especially at the beginning. He is a very lively and cheerful child, but he also shows his stubbornness sometimes when he doesn't get what he wants ;) Freyja is mostly a 'happy baby' and is always there when it comes to 'nose searching', for some reason my nose makes her so happy? :) Sometimes it's hard to convince her to sleep, but if nothing else works, Harry is put in the stroller and she is carried in the carrier on my back, and we go to the park, usually she falls asleep on the way and hangs on my back like a baby monkey.

Ballarat is a city in Victoria with around 85,000 inhabitants, and currently it's mostly around 15°C during the day here, but it's getting warmer! The city is largely shaped by its history, as there was a big gold rush here in the 19th century, and the residents are still proud of it today. There is, among other things, a university and many schools here, as well as numerous restaurants and fitness facilities.

So far, the most beautiful thing for me is the Lake Wendouree, a lake that covers an area of 220 hectares, you can walk around it for 6 km and it offers a truly beautiful view. There are restaurants, boathouses, fishing spots, and many playgrounds all around, as well as a botanical garden. During this time, we were able to observe many of the black swans with their young when we took a long walk with the children.