Update

So the last week has been a crazy whirlwind of applications, demo lessons and confusion but we can finally update everyone... We have jobs and an apartment! Yay!

Mel has a part-time job with a company called Cleverlearn. She teaches a kindergarten class every Saturday and Sunday and then at a public school on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. The weekend class was great, the kids are very cute and the work is easy and fun (the children and just being exposed to basic English, so its very vocal and we sing some songs). However, Tuesday was AWEFUL! Cleverlearn gave Mel the wrong books, so subsequently she had the wrong lessons prepared. Then, from the one correct book that she did have, she was told that the students were at a different place in the book to where they actually were.  The children were middle-schoolers (so almost teenagers), hormonal and out of control! So after a nightmare of a first day, she's been swapped to a primary school and will now be teaching grade 1-4 which should hopefully be much better!

We both have also been offered jobs with a company called VUS. They are a well-oiled, slick setup, which is great because they are super organised and there is no risk of being given the wrong materials. We still have to sign contracts and go over our hours but at least we'll have some money coming at the end of the month. Plus, they paid us for our demo lessons – SCORE!!

On Monday we moved into our own apartment, which is just great! It's a two-bedroom, two-bathroomed apartment. Our clothes are in the cupboards and we can do washing whenever we want - bliss! The apartment comes fully furnished, and it is so good to be able to sit on a couch during our down time (as opposed to being cooped up in a little hotel room with nowhere to sit other that the bed.

Ross is still coming to terms with the fact that he has to shower in a bathtub for the next year or so, but we’re sure he’ll accept the fact sooner or later.

Here's a tour of our new place:

Living area

The view from our balcony / washing line!

From the balcony looking onto the front door

Looking at the living area and laundry from the kitchen. There is a door for the
laundry so we don't have to stare at our washing machine!

(Tiny) Kitchen and dinning room table. There is a window in the kitchen that
looks  into the spare room (very strange). If you open all of the windows you
get a nice through breeze.

Lounge (the french doors let in a wonderful breeze)

Laundry room

The passage. Kitchen to the left, spare room straight ahead,
main room and second bathroom on the right of the passage.

Second bathroom. Loo, basin and shower? Ya no
definitely not my idea of a good shower.

Spare room

Main room

En-suite bathroom (luckily the shower is in the bath, unlike in the other bathroom)

We're very lucky to be on the corner of the building as we get two windows in
our room and a window in the bathroom which is almost unheard of!