Thanks for the warm welcome!!

At 10.00pm October 29, my plane landed at Philadelphia International Airport. At 10.04pm the Phillies won the World Series. The drive ‘home’ was memorable. On either side of the highway fireworks were lighting the skies. Car-horns and cheering filled the air. Everyone was celebrating. Friday came, and along with 2 million fans I travelled to the stadium to celebrate the Phillies win as if it were my own. Until this moment I had been nervous about moving to the states. I had seen the movies, I had read the papers. A year before leaving Australia, I had even applied to various schools to be a teacher as I had been for the past 5 years, with the criteria of being employed at a school where metal detectors were not a requirement. Yet no one was prepared to speak me or even return my emails. I had visited the brown oceans of the Jersey Shore. I had driven cross country and ‘seen the signs’. To say the least I was nervous. So why move away from the white sand beaches, the sun and the surf, the Great Southern Land of Oz. Simply put, I fell in love and after living with me in Australia for the past 3 years it was my turn. Little did I know this move would change my perceptions of the US along with my career. I have over the past few years become a fan of the Phillies, my first game I got a ball, and I have, in true American fashion, my fair share of team T-shirts and jumpers (sweat-shirts) from the Phillies to the Eagles to the Flyers. My first hockey game I got a puck. I have found that people have been exceptionally nice and helpful, even New Yorkers, who had a dreaded reputation. I don’t know if it’s my accent or that I’m lucky, but America (despite the winter) is quickly becoming home and growing on me.