Have a Teaching Exchange match, now the paperwork begins!

“You must just be counting down the days until you go to Australia,” a colleague said in passing. Would that it were just a matter of passing the time until departure date. We have spent considerable time in the summer break purging and cleaning and doing all those little repair jobs around the house and yard to prepare the space for our exchange partners.
A couple days ago an email arrived with several documents and checklists of things to do related to the exchange. I guess deep down you know that there will be a fair bit of paperwork, but wow… just… wow. It looks like the administrative preparations for the exchange will be a part-time job for a while!
Skimming through the package initially left me bewildered – where do you even start!? Visas, teacher certification, health coverage, passport renewals, criminal record checks, house and vehicle exchange agreements, school applications for my son, and more.
Fortunately, the package included several checklists to help you stay on track. Today’s accomplishments included the application for accreditation in New South Wales (an online form supported by official academic transcripts and notarised proof of identity and teaching certification to be mailed to Australia). Also worked through the visa application taking note of supporting documents and information I need to dig up like proof of health coverage, financial status.
While it is overwhelming, it is also exciting – we’ll continue to organize and fill our calendar with appointments, and daily tasks to manage both the exchange requirements as well as the demands of daily life.