livin large...

Hello from the west coast! Mom and I are heading back to Christchurch this afternoon and then are off to Auckland! We have spent the last three days on the west coast near Greymouth, Hokitika and Franz Josef. A couple of days ago, after staying the night in a B&B, we decided we were in need of pampering on the coast, so we found a room with a view and have been living it up since then. Yesterday, we drove to the Franz Josef Glacier and had a look around. Now, when the glacier finally disappears, we can say we were there... We're sad to be leaving the coast, but it's just about time to board that horrifically long flight home! Time has flown by and we're sad to be leaving, but can't wait to see all of you! Hope all is well!

gone so soon??

Where does the time go anyway? In just a few short days, I will be saying my goodbyes at Havelock North High School and heading to the South Island with Peter for two weeks of holiday (as well as meeting up with my mum**that's right- they say mum here**about halfway through those two weeks). After that, it's home for me. I can't believe how fast this has all gone. I also can't believe that I've kept up with this blog...I'm actually patting myself on the back as I'm typing this. I hope you have all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed updating it! I'm sad to be leaving NZ, but am so excited to see all of your lovely faces again! For the complete history of my trip, you will be required to purchase one cup of coffee and sacrifice at least one hour of your day. :) Just kidding! But seriously, I will add more stories and pictures when I get home in the end of April so you don't have to buy me a cup of coffee if you don't want to...

Oh and by the way, I'm looking for summer work, so if any of you hear of something that's available, just let me know! I hope you have all had a wonderful winter!

Rotorua...finally

When asked what I did in Rotorua, I cannot help but use the words of my darling friend Tyler: What didn’t I do in Rotorua? Here’s the thing about this place. It is a tourist trap! Every single thing is targeted to people with moolah to spend. So, two days and $200 later, I saw the museum, two parks with boiling mud, geysers and steaming lakes, a Kiwi, and I bathed I nmineral pools at the Polynesian Spa. It was loads of fun! I have put up four pictures- one is a lake called Devil’s Bath because of its bright green color (due to high levels of sulphur and minerals), one is the bluest lake I have ever seen, there is a photo of a steaming lake called Champagne Lake and one of boiling mud (although it just looks like a picture of steam).

So, here’s a bit of Maori legend for you…

Over 100 years ago, white people came to Rotorua as tourists. The Maori people quickly learned the value of the dollar and began tours, entrance fees, etc.

One day, while giving a canoe tour across the lake, a Maori woman was startled to see a war canoe pass by. Everyone in the touring canoe saw it but the Maori woman did not recognize any of the warriors. The woman screamed out, having seen one of the heads of the warriors turn into a snarling dog. Then, with no warning, the canoe slowly vanished into the fog.

Alarmed by what she saw, she went to the leader of her tribe and asked what the vision had meant. He informed her that he gods were displeased with the way the Maori’s were living and the amount of white people coming to Rotorua. He knew punishment was on the way.

A short time later, a loud rumble woke the entire town. Hot lava began to spew from the hilltops and in a matter of hours, over 100 people were dead and the town was destroyed.

It didn’t take long for the local Maori’s and investors to rebuild this volcanic town. But, even in modern times, tourists and locals alike are reminded of the unstable ground where they walk by the steaming lakes and hot pools scattered throughout the city.

There ya have it. Rotorua is a weird place! Beautiful, but slightly eerie.

Boiling Mud??

Hello everyone! I've just returned from a three-day weekend in Rotorua and it was fabulous! It is a volcanic area and is actually built in the crater of an active volcano! Crazy! It's a little unsettling to think about while there... I have many stories to tell, but no time to tell them, so here are some pictures for now! I hope all is well! (oh, and the picture of the mud puddle is actually the world's largest boiling mud puddle. cool, huh?)

Have a great day!!

more of Wellington

The photo of the city is taken from the Botanic Gardens in Wellington. I took about a hundred pictures from there because it was so stunning! The other picture is in the Wildlife Sanctuary just outside of Wellington...there were a lot of trees and birds there...

Wellie!

These are photos from Wellington. The statues are right on the waterfront and the other photo is of Cook Strait from the backside of Te Papa...

Swimming Sports!

Woops

So for the last week or so, I've been thinking that I had already posted pictures from swimming sports and athletics day...turns out I didn't! My apologies- I will have pictures up tomorrow sometime.

I went to Wellington over the weekend and had a great time! I decided to take the cheap route and stayed in a shared room at a hostel in the center of town. I spent two nights sleeping in a room with five other girls, three of which were from Germany, one from Holland and one from Japan. It was really incredible to meet so many people, but sharing a room with them was a whole other story. Let's just say we had one girl who snored all night, one who stayed out all night, one who got up long before the sun both mornings, and one who had a nasty habit of turningn on the light when she came in after midnight. To say the least, sleep was not something I experienced in Wellington.

I did experience a whole bunch of other stuff though. I went to Te Papa, which is NZ's most famous museum, and saw the Monet exhibit, along with tons of exhibits on NZ culture. I went to a botanical garden, rode a cable car on a track that has been in use since 1900, visited a wildlife sanctuary (but since there is no native wildlife here other than birds, I pretty much just saw birds and trees), went to a jazz festival, and yes, I visited Starbucks. It was a wonderful weekend! I've been told Wellie (as the locals say) is the most beautiful city in the world, and I believe it! It's at the edge of a hill and right on the water, so it's very compact and accessible. The people are friendly and helpful and it seems that everywhere I went, I heard a different language being spoken. I'm quite disappointed that I won't get to spend more time in Wellie while I'm here because I feel like there was so much more to see! But, I saw the main things, had a great time, and came home with sore feet and completely sleep deprived- and not quite ready for a new week at school!

School has been going really well. I am now teaching four classes full time and am loving it. The students are great and the staff is more supportive than I ever could have hoped for. The work keeps me quite busy, so I find that I have very little time during the week for anything other than lesson planning. This is probably a good thing though, because most everything in Havelock closes around 5...

I hope everyone is doing well and dealing with all the snow! The weather here has made a turn and is getting rather chilly in the evenings. I would guess that it dropped to at least 60 degrees today! I have become so used to the heat that I had to put on long pant, socks and a sweater...

So long Lionel Richie...

What I can say about paradise is, when it rains, even though it is quite beautiful, it is boring! The thing about natural beauty is it's only fun when a person can explore it. When it is doing something the locals call "soaking rain", there is just no exploring to be done. It rained so much last weekend that a Lionel Richie concert set for Saturday night was cancelled, sending 28,000 fans home disappointed and soaking wet (and probably slightly intoxicated being as though the concert was meant to be held at a winery). I spent the weekend, or at least part of it, at Lake Taupo. I was going to post a picture, but decided it was just not exciting enough. I will describe it though...picture me in my rain jacket, squinting because I'm being sprayed in the face by rain, standing in front of a waterfall. Sadly enough, that was the only "picture worthy" thing I did over the weekend.

My readers who are teachers will appreciate this...Last Friday, the school held their annual swimming sports. Imagine 600-800 high school students separated into their four houses, decked out in their house colors and togs (swimming suits), standing around the public pool, participating in races and relays from 8:45am until 2:30pm. It was madness! We had another competition today called Athletics, which is essentially track and field day, but this one went on until 3:30! I will post pictures of these events so you can fully appreciate the madness of it all. Oh, and no big deal but my house, Rata, one both competitions. (I love having houses...it feels so harry potterish...)

I'm off to Wellington this weekend to see a Monet exhibit, visit a natural history museum, soak up some local artsy stuff and learn to Kayak in Cook Strait...I'm staying in a hostel for the very first time and will be sharing a room with six people! If you know me, you know what a huge step it is for me to actually share space with that many people. :) I'm looking forward to it. And for you Lord of the Rings fans, next weekend (I hope) I will be tramping along an 8-hour trek where some filming for the second? movie was done!

More pictures...

In Napier every year, they hold a large festival called Art Deco Weekend. It is a celebration, but also a way of remembering people who were killed in an earthquake that flattened the town in the late 1920's. When the town was rebuilt in 1930 something, it was done entirely in Art Deco, which was the style of the time. To help with the celebration, people dress up in styles from the 20's, drive their classic cars in a parade, enjoy listening to bagpipes, and watch tons of performers do traditional dances from all over Europe. It's amazing! I went on Saturday and took on the role of undercover photographer. I asked a few people for their picture, but found it much more fun to be sneaky...here are my best shots...

My apologies...I still haven't figured out how to type next to pictures, so please bear with me.... The photo on top is a stunning mother and child, dressed for a hot afternoon in town. At the time, and still now, they don't look even look real!

The photo of the pregnant woman ins my favorite. She is actually posing for another photographer in this shot. She is standing in the garden that serves as a memorial for the 170 or so people who died in the earthquake. There is such a peaceful expression on her face; she seems content in her life and the life she's carrying.

The picture of the couple walking together was another of my favorites. They had just posed for a picture and were walking away from the photographer. Not only are they beautiful people, but they look so happy! I fell completely in love with them after seeing this photo!

And finally, there is a picture of a couple riding old bicycles. I chose to include this picture only because I liked it...not for any significant or profound reason.

I hope you enjoy my pictures as much as I did taking them! Take care!

Pictures

THe picture of the cliffs is Cape Kidnappers...The picture with me and the birds is at the Gannet's tour...The picture of the rocks in the water was directly below the bird colony...and the other picture is of me on top of Te Mata Peak (I walked up it, even though you can actually drive it...)! One day, I will actually learn how to post the pictures with separate comments...being in NZ is diminishing my ability to work with computers. :) not that I had much of a talent to begin with! Have a great day!

Hmm, I can't think of a titile...

Okay, so I know you're probably thinking that I'm a complete slacker for not putting pictures up again! But, I'm telling you, it is just not that easy! My user ID and password at school don't seem to work, so when I want to access a computer, I have to talk a teacher into letting me use their computer. I had hoped it would be fixed today, but the computer tech is on holiday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. For the time being, you will just have to deal with my story...enjoy!

There is a bird that lives in NZ that nests here, near Havelock North. Being the tourist that I am, I booked what I thought would be an exciting tour of the area and chance to see the birds. I roped a friend into going with me and booked a reservation. A few days before the tour, I was talking with a teacher at school who has lived in Havelock for well over 50 years. Come to find out there are two tours for the birds: one goes along the beach in tractors and then requires a short tramp to the birds and the other is done on a bus and requires absolutely no walking at all. The teacher laughed and informed me I had booked the old people's tour. And let me tell you, she was not lying.

But, good things come of being a senior citizen. For example, the driver of the bus shared the history of the area with us for the entire three hour tour. He also brought tea and cookies along for the afternoon tea break. I bet the people on the tractors didn't get that! hah!

For your education and enjoyment, here are a few things I learned on my tour:

The area I travelled through is Cape Kidnappers. Funny name, right? Well, here's how it got it. Long ago, when Cpt Cook came to NZ, he landed on the shore of Cape Kidnappers. He began trading with the Maori people and stayed for quite some time. When he completed his business, he began to load up his boats and crew.

Now there was a small boy with dark skin playing in the surf. Because of his skin color, the Maori people thought he belonged to them, and put him in their canoe. When Cook realized what had happened, he ordered his men to begin shooting their muskets above the heads of the Maori's. Having never seen a musket, the Maori people were frightened and quickly paddled to sore and scattered to the trees to hide, leaving the boy on the beach.

Captain Cook went and retrieved the boy, who was a Tahitian deck hand, and left with his men, naming the area Cape Kidnappers as he sailed away.

Another interesting fact: I live in Hawke's Bay. If I were to go out in the water of the bay, I would be in Hawke Bay. Basically, the name of the land is written as though the land is the possession of the sea. Interesting, huh?

And lastly, a little something about the Gannets (the birds I saw over the weekend). These birds nest here all year around. They choose a mate for life and produce one offspring at a time. After the bird hatches, the parents take turns going out for food. They can dive up to 300 meters in the sea to retrieve fish for their young. The young birds stay with Mum and dad for three years, during which they shed their fuzzy grey feathers and grow beautiful white and black feathers. They then fly away to Australia, where they stay for a number of years and then return to find a mate. Their lifespan is around 40 years, and it is believed that they only travel to Australia once or twice in their lives, spending the rest of their time in the colony.

One last thing...From the bird colony, if I were to jump into the Pacific Ocean and swim due East for 10,000kms, I would arrive on the shores of Chile. There is nothing between the two places besides a whole lot of water. Sometimes I forget how far I am from anything else until I hear something like that. Wow...

I hope you enjoyed your lesson on stuff about Hawke's Bay. I'm sure it would be more interesting with photos, which I will attempt to post tomorrow. I've thrown in some NZ words for your entertainment...I'm getting the slang down pretty well, I don't mind saying...

Pictures!!!...finally!

Here is a picture from last weekend of the beach. My host family has a house there, so it's really convenient to go there for holiday! THe other picture is of the house where I'm staying. Sorry, it's a sort of blue-ish color... More pictures to come later!

It's been awhile...

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a bit since my last blog! To say the absolute least, internet (especially high speed) is difficult to come by. Having said that, I apologize for not posting any pictures yet. I think I already mentioned this, but the house where I'm staying only has dial up and the school's computer system is being updated for the next few days, which makes it impossible to post pictures! Today was the first day of classes, so all of you teachers out there, think of what that would be like without internet or your laptop! Let's just say, I saw some very creative lessons today... At any rate, I promise I will put up my sweet beach pictures soon!

I was part of the coolest assembly last week and I've been dying to tell you about it, so here goes...

Every year, during the last day of the first week of school, the year nine students and new staff members are invited by the year 13 students to a traditional Maori welcome. There is a lot of pride for the native people at this school, not just with the Maori students, but with all of the students and it completely showed through during this assembly. As the new staff and students filed into the gym to take our seats, we were welcomed by a Maori song, performed with movements by the year 13 students. There were three speakers, one being a Maori leader who spoke only in his native tongue, and the other two being the principal of the intermediate school and the principal of the high school. After each speaker, the year 13 students would stand up and support what the person said with a Maori song. You would not believe how involved each student was. Coming from the states and an area rich with Native American culture, it was really moving to see so many young people involved in keeping their tradition and culture of their native people alive.

At the end of the performances, the year 13 students all stood up and performed one last song, which I believe is a preparation for battle. (If you've ever seen River Queen, it's the dance they do..if you haven't seen the movie, don't bother- it's not that great). To start the song, the students began stomping their right foot on the ground and all of the male students, who stand in front of the female students, widened their eyes and stuck out their tongues, which is meant to frighten the opponent. Then, as they began singing, they kept the beat by throwing their arms out in front of them and bringing them back, slapping their hands on their chests. They kept their eyes wide for the entire song and I can tell you, it was the most intimidating thing I have ever seen. I wish I could describe how it felt to be in that gym- it sent chills up my spine.

After the ceremony, part of the tradition is to greet all of the staff and the year 13 students. There are a few ways of doing this. The first way is the Maori way and that is done by lightly touching your forehead and nose to the other person's forehead and nose and breathing in at the same time. You can also be greeted by kissing eachother on the cheek, shaking hands, or giving a "cuddle". As I worked my way down the line, I found that most people chose to kiss me on the cheek, which was just fine, considering the complexity of the Maori greeting. That was until I reached my department head. He's a very tall man and tends to mumble a bit, so when he told me he was coming in for the traditional greeting, I didn't hear a word he said and thought he was going to kiss me on the cheek. Instead, we ended up crashing our heads together...needless to say, it was painful and embarrassing... A great way to be welcomed to the English department, if you ask me. :)

Let's see...what else? It's hotter than hot today with temperatures reaching about 37 degrees celcius. They almost closed the school because of the heat! We are supposed to have a cold front soon, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. All anyone could do today was stand around and sweat!

I hope everything is well! I cross my heart that there will be pictures up sometime this week!

day at the beach

Well, it's been a rough day of swimming and laying around on the beach... It was about 90-95 degrees in town, which made it a good day to be out of town! :) Here's a picture of the beach-it actually reminds me a lot of the Olympic Penninsula...just a bit warmer. Actually, on second thought, dial-up sucks and I'm going to wait to post this picture until tomorrow...Sorry about that. Happy Superbowl!

New Zealanders know how to BBQ

It turns out that a BBQ in New Zealand is a little more classy than a BBQ in the states. My tank top and jeans stood out a bit amongst the summery blouses and tan pants, but I'm starting to get used to sticking out a bit. Everything is slightly different here than home, often times creating relatively awkward moments for me. For example, everytime someone offers me a ride, I walk to the wrong side of the car.

The BBQ was set up by the principal of the high school for new staff members. There were a handful of people there that were about my age that are starting at the school on Monday, so if felt really good to get to know them. I still can't get over how nice everyone is here. During the BBQ, I was invited to about a million things by people I had just met, including an invite to spend the weekend at a lake (not to worry...it was a girl who invited me). I don't think there is going to be any problems with me getting bored here...

Okay, so here's one thing I have noticed about New Zealanders that drives me a little crazy. Instead of stabbing their food with their forks, they use their knives to pile food on their fork, creating a terrible scratching noise on their plates. I quickly noticed this last night and began to feel a little silly about the way I was eating. So, as the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them. My apologies in advance for anyone who has to eat with me when I get home. :)

I'm working off of a computer that only has dial up, so I have to wait for school to start before I can add any pictures. My first official day of school is Monday, so please be praying for everything to work out with my cooperating teachers.

Also, I heard there was an earthquake...is everyone okay?

Helpful hints for new travellers...

As the plane engines purred to a stop in Nadi, Fiji, I congratulated myself on successfully travelling to the other side of the world by myself. Yup, I felt more independent than ever before. Never mind my clutching to the arm rests for a solid three hours as my plane took off over the Pacific, bumping along through the most dreadful turbulence I have ever encountered.

Speaking of terrible airplane rides, I want to throw out a word or two of advice for new travellers...

Spend the extra money on a decent plane ticket. While shopping around, I simply found the cheapest ticket possible, didn't think of the actual plane I'd be on for 11 hours, and hit the "buy now" button. When I found my seat on this historic vessel, I noticed it had ashtrays conveniently located in the arm rests which have not been in legal use for the duration of my entire life. At that point, I knew I was doomed.

Despite my panic, I made it to Nadi. The people were extraordinarily nice in Fiji...and I have a theory as to why that is. Perhaps people are nice in Fiji, and other places suffering from insanely hot temperatures around the world, because it is simply so hot, if they were to get angry, their body temperature might raise a fraction of a degree and they would simply drop dead of heat stroke...of course I'm joking, but seriously, it was in the seventies with ninety percent humidity at 6AM!!! Although this kind of weather doesn't particularly appeal to me, I'm looking forward to spending a day in Fiji at the end of my trip!

Second word of advice for new travellers...always check with actual people when making detailed (and very important) travel plans.

With five hours of sleep under my belt, I exited Auckland International to look for a shuttle to my hotel. I waited and waited until I realized that I might need to actually call the hotel for a pick up. I proceeded to the pay phone only to realize I had no coins and no clue how to make a phone call. So, I became desperate and took a very expensive cab ride for just under one mile to the hotel.

Feeling less confident with my survival skills, I thought it best to check with the desk clerk at the hotel on my travel plans for the next day. He informed me that instead of catching a bus just down the street that would take me straight to my host home, I had made reservations to catch a bus about 25 km away. Now I don't really know how far that is, but judging from the smirk on the desk clerks face, I became pretty sure that it was not just down the street. And, to top it all off, the reservations were written in stone and there was just nothing I could do to change them.

So, tomorrow morning, I will be woken up at 6:30am, which will give me enough time to get ready and eat my complimentary breakfast (per the recommendation of the nice lady at the hotel), I will take a shuttle back to the airport, catch a bus to downtown Auckland where I will then catch a bus which will pass right back by my hotel and take me to my host family.

Let me just review the helpful hints...spend the extra money and pay close attention to detail!!!
(Despite the seemingly pessimistic attitude, New Zealand is amazing and I'm really looking forward to settling in and getting to work...and playing a bit too...) Okay, so that's it for now. Travelling long distances is rough, but it feels good to be sleeping in an actual bed tonight...

Leaving next Monday!!

Hello everyone and welcome to my travel blog! I'm leaving next Monday for New Zealand. I will be student teaching there for 10 weeks and then will spend a few weeks traveling. As long as I have internet access, I plan to update this blog regularly with stories and pictures. Enjoy!