Winding Down

It’s only Wednesday and I feel that I’ve had quite an eventful week!

 

On Monday we took some of the older students to Rainbow’s End, “The Largest Amusement Park in New Zealand.”  I’d compare it to like a Bay Beach or Brown County Fair-minus the redneck tractor stuff.  The students were ecstatic to go and it was awesome to see how jacked up they got about going on these rides.  It was a long, incredibly hot day in the sun, but here are some photos from the field trip:

 

 

 

The kids anxiously waiting to go in.

 

 

 

 

In line for their first ride

 

 

 

The girls and I riding the Pirate Ship

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, we did it again.

 

 

I slept well that night.  Then last night I played my last game over here in ball.  We lost unfortunately, but it was a good game.I didn’t have any pics so I asked my neighbor Jan who came to watch to take some, Thanks Jan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did a team pic for my last game, thank guys!

 

 

 

 

Yeah… thanks guys…

 

But really I had an amazing time meeting The Ramblers’ players, coaches, managers, supporters, everyone.  It was a great time and I will never forget it.

 

 

Aside from Rainbow’s End, school this week will consist of practicing for graduation, finishing up projects, puberty, and tidying up the room.  We will not be starting anything big, I have a few math lessons I can do and some small reading activities.  We will most likely play some games, and tomorrow we will read with some junior students.

 

Well that’s all for now!  I’m a summer girl and I love this weather.  But I couldn’t imagine not being in good ole’ Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas with my fam!  Mixed feelings – happy about going home and sad at the same time- saying goodbye to people and places I may never see again.

 

Thanks for readin’! 

 

steph

Kiwi Turkey Day and Rotorua

Last week I celebrated Thanksgiving a little differently than most years.  Unfortunately, I missed out on gorging my family’s delicious food and then taking a nap in the middle of a living room filled with people, but I still enjoyed myself this year.

We dedicated all of Thursday to Thanksgiving in my class last week.  We read some history, did crossword puzzles, word searches, made turkeys, had snacks, practiced for the Christmas concert, and of course, played football! (American football!!)  It was a fantastic day!  Although I missed out on cousin Nick’s shows and the Brunette, Boone, and Hill feasts, I can say I have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving celebration:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening to Christmas music and making turkeys

 

 

 

 

Since it’s toward the end of the year, brown paper was hard to come by, so we made due with beautiful colorful turkeys!! On the middle of them the students wrote what they were thankful for.

And of course, we had to take a family picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

What better way to wrap up Thanksgiving with a road trip!  Vik from softball, Sara (Canadian import) from softball, Vik’s brother, Matt, and his friend, Hanna and I all crammed in the car for the 2.5 hour drive to Rotorua.  They call it Rotavegas and the reason why is so stupid it’s not worth explaining.

Rotarua is a very volcanically active area in NZ.  Wai-O-Tapo  It smells like sulfur- rotten eggs.  Such an interesting place though.  We went to a thermal area and saw some geysers and really neat hot pools and crazy things.  Like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Wai-O-Tapo, the group went to Paradise Valley, after we saw we could ‘pat’ a lion cub there.  Which we most definitely did!

 

 

 

 

And then there were these:

 

 

 

 

Not ready to go back to our Motel, we made a quick stop at Agroventures.  And there I made this face:

 

 

 

 

As Sara and I went on a giant swing.

After that, okay that was enough for one day.

We stopped and played a game of mini-golf and got to know each other a little more and had a blast.  We went back to the hotel and hung out, ordered pizza, played games.  It was a great time.

We came home yesterday rather early.  We woke up and drove past the green and blue lakes:

 

 

 

 

Obviously not taken on my camera.  But we couldn’t get a view to show both of them in the same shot because the lakes were so large.  Just interesting how they are right next to each other and different colors.

Last night we had a team fundraiser at the club for softball.  A good time was had by all.

Today I got to see some of the Brunette family as they celebrated Thanksgiving at Brenda and Bill’s it was good to see everyone.  Makes me hungry just typing about it.

We went to some beaches this afternoon, saw a lovely waterfall.  They’re everywhere apparently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This upcoming week should be great too!! Monday we’re going on a field trip to Rainbow’s End, which is an amusement park.  Tuesday is Tech day and we’ve got some fun things lined up for the other half of the day:  making clothes out of newspaper!  Then the rest of the week I’ll get to teach pubertal change! Who better!?!

Tuesday night will probably be my last softball game here in NZ.  That’s a sad thought.

Well, hope you enjoyed the post.  Love and missing my family as they celebrate Thanksgiving!  Lord knows I’m grateful for my family, friends, SNC softball, NZ softball, NZ family, and this wonderful opportunity to have this experience.

Aroha!

Kiwi Kraze

Hey all!

 

Had a free minute so I thought I’d update.  Last weekend was great.  Friday night went out to the Hangar, the local hangout west of Auckland.  Wasn’t a late night, but a great time with the teacher friends. 

 

Saturday was game day.  We won on our home field, spent time with the team after at the clubhouse.  Was a nice HOT afternoon.  Got some sun that day.  Saturday night was low-key, we went to a neighbor’s 50th birthday party.  And doggone it ran into a WI Badger Alumni there.  What?!  So this kiwi and I of course, talked about The Packers for about an hour.  Good night.  Reminded me of home, miss watching games with family and friends.

 

Then Sunday was an all-day trip to Rangitoto.  A nearby island/ volcano.  Really neat, we walked (like at least 10 miles!) went to the beach, saw the sights, ate lunch, it was a splendid day.  I found myself sleeping on the ferry ride back to Auckland I was so exhausted.

 

Here are some photos from/on Rangitoto:

 

 

Looking tough in a lava cave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auckland Skyline – see skytower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Met a girl in year 4 called CrazyGirl.  She was awesome.

 

 

Until Next time!!

 

With love,

 

 

steph

Springtime!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, oh boy.

Well since you’ve been gone,

ERO (Education Review Office) came into the school, I had to step back from my duties in the classroom and support the teacher, made for a longer week.  The teachers were going nutz for ERO cleaning, preparing, reorganising, you name it, they were stressed.  Come to later find out that ERO does not have the power to have you lose your job or anything, they can give suggestions though.  They really just go around to schools and almost rate them and just make sure everything is running smoothly (or remotely smoothly).

Last weekend the three SNC girls went to Mangawai with my coop and her husband.  It was beautiful up there, it reminded me of going up north back home.  We ate delicious food, bathed in the sun and even hopped in the ocean!  Freezing!

Note: do not go strapless on the shores of NZ tides are huge!!!

Here we are at a lovely little restaurant, I found some bushes to hide in lol.

This week I started my full control in the classroom.  Probably why there hasn’t been many posts.  I’ve been busy playing softball, planning lessons, shopping, eating food, and just having a good time with teammates and school friends.  But mostly PLANNING. !

This week was a hectic week.  The highlight of my trip so far occurred on Wednesday.  Athletics Day.  We went to a nearby stadium, it was very big and very beautiful.  I’d almost consider it to be like the SNC Schneider stadium, but not a football field of course.  Soccer.

The kids were ecstatic to be running on the big track.  I got a little emotional at the beginning, I don’t really know why.  But the first two races were open, any boy any girl of any age could run in them.  They were the 1500m and 400m.  You wouldn’t believe how many kids wanted to run.  Only the best runners in the age groups could run later, so the ‘mediocre’ runners all got their chance now.  It was such a humbling experience watching all the boys and girls line up.  They just wanted to experience the big track and hear the gun go off and all that good stuff.  Then to look back and see the crowd, I was touched.  The whole school was divided into 4 teams, somewhat randomly, and all of the kids were screaming and rooting on their colors.  Everyone got competitive and it was so awesome to see.  It was so inspiring to see all those kids just running their hearts out for nothing and to see their team colors rooting them on.

They did it all for pride nothing more.  I guess it’s just something I take for granted being a US athlete.  Everyone gets recognized and they even give awards to everyone for being a ‘participant.’  Not here.  I was fighting tears watching them run, giving it their all.  Some in socks, some with shoes untied, they didn’t care.  I don’t know how or why, but it was such an incredible feeling seeing these kids run and it was the best day I had here.

This weekend is already packed full it seems.  Tonight hoping to catch some drinks with teacher friends.  Tomorrow I have softball and then a neighbor’s 50th birthday party, and Sunday, Rachel is taking us to Rangitoto! A near by volcano!!

Until next time, loving and missing everyone back home!! About halfway through the trip, couldn’t be more thrilled!!

STEPH

nz ROCKS

Kia Ora!

 

I had a very busy fun-filled weekend!  Friday was a bit low-key, went for drinks after work with some co-workers, then after Libby and I enjoyed Despicable Me for the first time.  Love that movie!

Friday morning, Alice took us to the American store.  A place where New Zealanders are fortunate enough to find Trix cereal for $8 a box! Nuts.  Cool place though, they had American snacks, chips, sodas, you name it.  Really a neat store.

Then I played a game at 1:30, we won, I was a bit disappointed in my play, but all good.

After the game, we (Libby and I) got picked up by Alice and Sarah (again both teacher friends) and we went out for dinner.  (I had Aussie pizza, it has scrambled egg on it!! not bad)  Then we went to a haunted house called Spookers.  It was great fun, got touched in the face, they stroked our hair, and chased us with chainsaws! All in one night, yes!  It was quite spooky and I’m very glad we went.

Sunday was quite a day, Monique (from softball) and I went to Waitomo Caves.  Thank you Nick for the suggestion!  A beautiful place.  Way below the ground.  Scary and awesome.  Words can’t describe.

 

 

 

 

We saw lots of rocks in the cave, hence the name of this post.  I know, cheesy.

 

 

It was about a 2.5 hour drive.  But there and back beautiful.  Here’s a lovely view from the car.

 

 

 

 

The sunsets are BEautiful here.  Always look for them at night.

 

Anyway, back to school today, I had such a hectic weekend, but I hate to say it, I missed those little buggars.

 

Here’s what’s going on at Swanson School:

 

 

 

The Kapahaka girls are preparing for their performance on Saturday.  Of course someone saw the camera and had to put on a show!! Love them.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s some juniors eating lunch in the cafeteria.  Yes they eat on benches outside of their classroom.  The kids don’t wear shoes here.  Like ever.

 

 

 

 

Spring is here, the kids are enjoying the weather as it warms up!!

 

 

That’s all for today!

 

Thanks for reading! Love and miss my family!!!

 

Steph

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!!

Haven’t blogged in about a week, better send a quick update!

 

Last weekend was a great time.  I had a softball tournament Fri-Sunday.

The pitching here is great!  The fields… another story.  Below are some images of me as backstop.  Only the real softball buff call it catcher.  It’s been a great while since I’ve played, but so much fun, I forgot how much I love it!!

Also notice the field I’m playing on.  All grass, bumpy infield, I was glad to be behind the plate.

 

 

 

Along with catching I played 2nd, 1st, and CF. (me in the outfield = yikes)

 

Here’s a photo of an all-turf field.  Also notice the beautiful background.  

 

 

 

 

 

It was almost hard to focus on the game between gazing at the beautiful sunset and amazing ranges in the background.  Such a neat place to play, none of the regulars thought it was so special.  Haha.

 

 

After the tournament (we had 2 wins 3 losses) the team had a BBQ at one of the girl’s homes, thanks Vik!

 

 

 

 

What a great spread! Quite typical of an American one. 

 

 

Then on Monday, Labor, we had the day off from school.  Libby, Sarah, 2 teachers from Swanson and myself made a trip to Mission Bay Beach.  We grabbed dinner and ice cream (pistachio of course!).  Then we walked through a local market going on and strolled on the beach.  After that, we went to a nearby memorial for a prime minister of NZ.  It was great views on top of this large hill.  So neat. 

 

Here’s a photo of us all at dinner:

 

 

 

Tried mussels for the first time, not bad!

 

This week at school has been quite a muffled one!! Having no school Monday, and Tuesday being Technology day*, Wednesday was their first time going back to the ‘normal’ routine.

*Technology Day is when the students spend one half of the day at a specialization (it rotates every two weeks) and the other half of the day is spent at another school where they learn technology.  Specializations are: music, athletics, art, science, and there might be some I’m forgetting.  What they do at technology is awesome and I wish we did it in the states.  One class is doing in-depth art, metals, wood, sewing, and cooking classes are all offered at this other school (which we take a bus to).

 

 

Needless to say, the students were a bit unruly Wednesday.  However, they still were able to complete some more work in my advertising unit (making their own ads for a skateboard), maths, and reading.  They were so gabby we took them out for a game at the end of the day.  The students taught me how to play 3 bat.  I spectacular game which Jane said I would like because it is like softball, and everyone gets a good turn to play.

 

If you want to know the rules, I’ll tell you!

 

Today was a very productive day.  Halloween isn’t as widely celebrated here in New Zealand as it is back home.  I believe, due to religious reasons, so they try to keep it out of the classroom.  However I just gave candy to my first trick-or-treaters of the night, so it appears as though many children still partake in the festivities.

 

We got a lot done in furthering our projects today.  It seems that the class is part-way through a lot of larger projects, so we gave them time to work on what they needed to, and for the most part, they used it wisely.  Always a good thing.  We had a half hour to kill before we could get into the computer lab, so I taught the class kickball.  The day ended with long jump.  Every Thursday! I love it.

 

 

I know tomorrow is our Halloween, I hope I can Skype little Allie at some point, and hopefully get a picture of young Charles!

 

Missing everyone back home!!  Love ya’ll

 

 

stephy!

 

 

 

 

 

I have almost completed my first week at Swanson

I love my cooperating teacher, the school, and the students.  The education style is quite different from US.  The kids are very independent and a lot of the material is project based.  Slowly each day I integrate myself more into the classroom as a teacher.

Today I introduced a unit on Advertising, the kids took it an ran with it.  They were so engaged and were talking about slogans and jingles and things of that sort.  They then were cutting out their own ads from newspapers and magazines and describing them.

The class absolutely loves games.  We did long jump today in physical education, I of course had to try it.  They loved it, and they all want me to join in with their games.

Below are some images of the classroom – the kids are doing art and playing some games :

Got a nice little weekend up ahead, playing in a ball tourney Friday -Sunday.

Sunday night I’m heading to a little team BBQ

Then Monday the three SNC girls are heading into Auckland with two Swanson teachers to have a little dinner and get a taste of the city.  Mussel Monday?? We’ll see.

Smiles all day, I’m really enjoying my time here.

Until next time!

Nature Stuff

Today was a great day.  We started out with a walk through the ‘bush’ which is like a nature reserve or park, but NZ style.  Beautiful colors in the trees, plants, and waters.  We walked through some beautiful scenery saw some streams.  Eventually led to some rock climbing (nothing too extreme don’t worry!) to see this little doozie:

 

 

 

It’s sideways, but a pretty little waterfall.

After that we went down to the beach.  That was quite amazing as well.  Firstly, the sand was black!  It was sticky and shiny like tar.

 

 

 

 

You ever see such a thing?  Also if you look closely you can see little dogprints from the puppies all over the beach!  The water was freezing cold, like lakes in May in WI, but that didn’t stop the surfies from enjoying the tides.  I’ve never seen such big waves before.  Oh and we also went into some little cavey areas and ran into this little guy:

 

 

 

A baby sea lion running for his life, adorable little thing isn’t he?

 

 

 

Here’s a picture of Sarah, Libby, and I on the beach:

 

 

 

 

After the beach we took off up the foothills right nearby.

We walked and walked and walked some more.

It was all worth it to see this:

 

 

 

 

Of course the picture doesn’t quite do it justice, but you get the idea.

At the top of the foothill, I climbed to the top of a tree to get a better look.

 

 

 

 

Then we had a nice picnic.  Rachel makes this awesome homemade bread.  And no using a breadmaker is NOT cheating!

We’re lucky to get to stay with a wonderful woman like Rachel.  She is very fun and knowledgeable of all sorts of interesting NZ stuff!  She loves adventures and outdoors and is very laid-back and welcomed us into her home as if she knew us all our lives.

Once we ate our picnic we walked all the way back.  It was great exercise and my legs are still sore!! I don’t even want to think about the walk to school tomorrow.

We then stopped at the mall to pick up a few things.  I found it very similar to ours back home.  The food here is good as well, very similar to WI also.

We had a nice dinner after the mall and we’re all tuckered out from our day.  Thinking about preparations for school tomorrow.  Yikes! Tomorrow!! Excited and nervous all at once!

Time for bed!  Goodnight everyone! Pō mārie!

steph

WELCOME!

Arrived this morning after a twelve hour flight.  Didn’t seem long at all.  Watched some good flicks, caught up on sleep…
Took a walk around town today, saw the school, the grocery store.

Lunch soon, can’t wait to see what’s in store for tonight!!

Language in NZ

Many inhabitants of New Zealand speak English. Of course English is different in different parts of the world (especially on the other side of it!!).  Here are some terms that I will come across over there and that I should be familiar with before I go:

Bathroom – toilet, lav, or loo

Garbage – rubbish

Mom – Mum

 Here is a site of more fun terms!

http://www.chemistry.co.nz/kiwi.htm

 

 

However I know I am going to be living where their are Māori, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.

They will speak speak Maori, here’s a clip of a man speaking Maori: