The Alberta Teachers’ Association

I’m Andrew Attwell-Gill, an international teacher on exchange from Willunga, South Australia, Australia. I’ve exchanged with Al Brenneis from École Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School and will be teaching outdoor education for the year.

What a start, from a freezing –27°C ("Welcome to Canada!") to a mild 0°C. I’ve picked a good one. As you may know, it is currently 42°C at home, so I can do 0°C.

The welcome extended to me by your profession in Alberta and, in particular, Beaumont has been, as we say down home, "Bonza."

From the program that Al left behind to the people he has put me in contact with to the exchange meeting organized by Sara Coumantarakis, it’s all been smooth sailing.

My children have made a smooth transition into their new school in Leduc, and they have made new friends—a great relief for them both. They have already enrolled in skiing and gymnastics and signed up for a yearly pass to West Edmonton Mall (slides, coasters, wizzy-dizzy rides and the patience of putt-putt). What a blast!

My wife Kerrie is currently on long-service leave, a nice perk for Aussies, so she is mum, wife and travel consultant, not to mention shopper and social activity organizer. She loves every minute of it and is busy planning our next adventure. Bewdy Newk.

Already we have spent time in Leduc and travelled to Ontario, where we caught up with friends made when Kerrie was on exchange in Ontario in 1997. From there, we went to Niagara, skated, cross-country skied and enjoyed fine Canadian hospitality. Our kids stayed with friends while Kerrie and I buzzed off to New York for three days. Returning from there, we proceeded to tackle Highway 401 under interesting circumstances. I thought it would be the end of us! While doing 100 clicks, the windshield wiper on the driver’s side stopped doing its thing and a semi blew past at that moment, causing a whiteout. After a lot of shouting and a few words not suitable for publishing, my wife told me to chill and just stick to the road. After calming down a little, we got off the 401, and I fixed the wiper. Golly gosh, I thought we were [done for]!

We made Sarnia, thank goodness, to visit my cousin also on exchange, spent New Year’s enjoying some Aussie humour and being a typical larrikin [hooligan].

Flew back to Alberta on the third and began our year in Leduc.

The initial days leading into exams went smoothly, and we’re now preparing for the commencement of the second semester.

What a start, what a place. Loving it!