Blondie Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi everyone,I'm new to the site and actually decided to join recently because the discussions were so interesting. JJ (hubby), kids (Maartin and Cherise) and I (Tania) have been in Sydney for nearly 2 years. Can't believe how time has flown!! JJ is in IT and I work mainly in Admin. The company JJ works for opened a branch here and gave us the opportunity to come out here , all expenses paid! We were very lucky. We still miss SA and are regularly discussing wether we should go back after our 4 years are up (457 visa) or stay on permanently. All our family is still in SA and we worry about them. We still have our home in Centurion and luckily that pays for it's self in rent. We live on the North Shore and find the country nearly as beautiful as SA (minus our wonderful animals) Not sure if anyone has covered this on the forum before: be careful when coming out here with children on a 457 visa when it comes to school fees. We did not know that you had to pay $ 5 000 per child per year, and this completly threw out our budget (still trying to recover ) If I can be of help for anyone wanting to come out here or is already here and feeling a little lost, please let me know.Keep the forum's flowing!!! Especially interested in the Afrikaans for kids in Sydney. We still speak Afrikaans at home with the kids.Chat soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spider Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi Blondie,That was a great opportunity you guys got there, i'm jealous Well, we're in Brisbane and Gold Coast for 2 weeks in Feb then Perth for the 3rd week...pity not in those areas otherwise it would have been great for us to meet you guys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sunshine Sister Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi there Blondie,I too am a Blondi ( from a previous forum life) with two kids, a hubs in IT, currently living in Sydney, paying the school fees , wondering whether we should stay when our 4 year contract finishes etc. How are you enjoying the North Shore and have you managed to make nice friends ? I have landed with my butt solidly in golden butter in my neighbourhood, with loads of Saffers (mostly afrikaans) all around. Earlier in the week 3 vriendinne and I went up to Clareville beach with the kids, everyone had a great time and we even ran into some more Saffers there. We really are like the KGB, everywhere !! I'm not sure whether you would be interested in joining us on our next day outing to the beach, we may try and squeeze in one more during the school holidays ? How old are your kids ?See you around. Welcome to the forum !LoveSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australian Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi S&S and BlonieMy husband, 2 kids (age 3 and 7) will be moving to Sydney, North Shore during the course of the year. We will hopefully be moving to West Pymble/Gordon area.....found a school for my daughter there that we really liked!!Just wanted to see how both of your children have adapted to Australia, and the schools....my daughter is very concerned that she is going to be different because of her accent!! going to be very strange for us to be the ones with the accents!! We speak English at home, so my children have not yet learnt Afrikaans, but my husband and I both speak it.Will be nice to have some SA contacts in Aus, although the Australians have always been really friendly to us, just can't beat the South African hospitality and friendship!! That is definately going to be the thing we will miss most about SA.Bye for now Robyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted January 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi SS,We could have been clones!! Love living on the North Shore thanks, just far enough out of Sydney to feel relaxed. Have met some great friens, mostly Aussies and they have made us feel really welcome. Glad to hear your neighbourhoud is so well buffered with Saffers!! Lucky girl Which suburb are you in? Would love to join you on your next outing, if you could make it over a weekend as I am a workin' girl.... YES, we are everywhere!!! Run into Saffers nearly everyday, no matter where I am. My son has just turned 16 and my daughter is 9. (Need to find a regte boeremeisie for him, he can't quite understand the aussie girls yet Thanks for the welcome and hope to see you soon. Hi Chandi,Pity you're not in our area Let us know when you get here and we can have coffee.CheersBlondie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted January 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 Hi Robyn,Welcome to our world.... The area you mentioned is about 10 minutes away from me and close to the SA butchery that sells all our favourites (biltong, Cross and Blackwell mayo, Mrs Balls chutney etc). My kids have adapted really well!! Tell your daughter different is good She might be teased a little when she arrives, but if she has as wonderful a teacher as my daughter had (and most of them are) it will be nipped in the bud immediately!! The cultures here are so varied it really isn't much of an issue. We are an afrikaans family, spoke it at home and went to afrikaans schools in SA. We still speak it at home as we don't want to loose that. My daughter had more of a problem adjusting because her english wasn't as good as my son's, but the ESL (English Second Language) programs are really good here, and the teachers give extra attention if they see them struggling. I'm sure your kids will fit in just fine, as english seems to be their first language Let us know what your ETA is and we can get together as soon as you are ready for us! CheersTania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sunshine Sister Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Hi Australian and Blondie,Oh no please don’t even worry for another minute about the accent as there are so many foreigners and so many accents in Sydney. My kids attend a private school and the Saffer accent is one of the more understandable ones around. Don’t be surprized if your little one discovers a few Saffer maatjies in her class /school, we have 5 that I know of starting kindy with my youngest at the end of the month. It is not uncommon at all to read names like Lourens van Rensburg, Retha Coetzee or Marie Venter in the school newsletter.My kids have adjusted well in general to life in Australia. They have excelled in sports within 6 short months and enjoy the freedom of sunshine and space to run around outside. I haven’t been blown away by the school standard as it is a definite step backwards from the American International School standards we have grown used to. I have also been very surprised at the slack levels of discipline and physical aggression tolerated at our school (of boys at junior school level). Coming directly from South Africa, you will have completely different expectations from mine and I am sure you will be more than satisfied, as most ppl are.Hey Blondie,Yay about your son !! We have a few gorgeous Saffer girls in the Middle School, one (Afrikaans ook nog daar by !) was even the best middle school student Nationwide at the end of last year ! You should probably fill out an application ASAP as I can imagine loads of Tannies already have her on their radar… If you know what I mean ! I live in the Northern Part of the Hills, slap bang in the middle between Kersiefontein (Cherrybrook) and Skuld-bult (Castle Hill) ! Unfortunately we have all of our trips during the week, mostly in the mornings, as we try to avoid the mad rush of commuters and weekend beach bums. But when we have one on a weekend I will let you know. My kids are almost the same age as those of Robyn, I have two boys and they are 5 and 7.Chat soon.LoveSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted January 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Hi SS,Thanks for the heads up on the lovely Saffer girl, where do I get an application form!?!? You are not too far away should take about 20 - 30 minutes out to you. Pity about the beach visits being in the week, but not a problem, I'm sure we will get together soon Chat soonLoveBlondie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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