Kia Ora!- Greetings Everyone!
My first few days in New Zealand have been absolutely incredible! We arrived on Saturday after a long and draining journey. The flight into Auckland was stunning - the mountainous and rugged terrain was easily visible from the plane.
Rachel picked us up at the airport with a big hug and a warm smile and drove us to Swanson - about 40 minutes away. We toured a bit of Swanson and then I was dropped off to meet Jan, my host-mom. She is so sweet and a lot of fun! Rachel and Laura will be living just down the street by a few houses and we are in easy walking distance of Swanson School, a grocery store ("the dairy"- as they call it), a doctor, an ATM, and the train station. I think that about covers all the essentials! :) After I dropped of my things at Jan's, we headed down to Rachel's for afternoon tea. While enjoying some fresh fruit, we discussed possible travel ideas for throughout or stay here in New Zealand. Jan and Rachel had a ton of great ideas and suggestions for us! Jan needed to rest for a while and Laura and I were starting to feel a little jet-lagged and tired too, but Rachel was determined to keep us awake! She took us on an amazing little excursion to Bethel's Beach on the "Wild West Coast" which was a 15-minute drive away from where we are staying in Swanson. We parked the car a ways away and began hiking, also known as "tramping" up the mountainside and trekking our way a few miles to the beach. The views were so beautiful!
We then made our way back down towards the beach and thoroughly enjoyed squishing through the super-soft black sand! We walked along the beach and even explored a few caves on the other side. It was amazing! We looked at mussels and sea anenomes in the tidepools and tasted seal lettuce (never again!) I even found a bright purple seashell! Rachel informed us that the surf along the west coast is very dangerous, the undercurrents are extremely strong so it is not a good idea to go swimming. The east coast, however is much more calm.
The rest of the weekend was really nice and relaxing. We got settled and took a small trip to Henderson where there is a shopping mall. On the way back we got fresh fruit ice cream - and none other than - kiwi flavored! It was great!
On Monday was our first day of school. Swanson's classrooms all open to the outdoors and they are eached housed in little buildings that encircle an open play area. My cooperating teacher is Mrs. Debra Logan and I will be working with her class of 25 8-9 year old students. They seem so polite and very well mannered so far! Mrs. Logan is very keen on classroom management, so I'm sure I will learn a lot from her in that regard. She has been teaching for 30 years and is quite experienced. We had a bit of an easier schedule on Monday. We began the day (as we will everyday) with fitness activities on the athletic courts. We then went inside and all of the children stood up individually to tell me their names. I observed a writing lesson, a few math activities, and some story sharing, then we headed out for computer and library time. The teachers all have a morning meeting before school starts and then two tea/lunch breaks throughout the day for 30-45 minutes. In the afternoon the children from 5 Nikau (our age group) classes all had assembly. They surprised me by singing and dancing a traditional Maori (the native tribe in New Zealand) welcome song to welcome me to their country from far away. It was very sweet!
On Tuesday I witnessed some more reading, writing, and "maths" lessons. The afternoon was a bit interesting because we did some music learning. My cooperating teacher was very excited that I have a background in music, a subject she says she struggles with, so she asked me to, over the next few weeks, teach half the class to play recorder. Her overall goal is that we will perform as a class (half on chime bars and half on recorders) Jingle Bells for the school holiday show. I will apparently be conducting! (oh my...) :) However, the kids are staritng out at square one, as they are unsure even how to get a proper sound out of the instrument. We have a lot of work to do, but I think it will be a very rewarding experience for both myself and the students.
As I am at the school more and more, I will be learning more about the curriculum and school procedures. My cooperating teacher and I should be sitting down and chatting a lot in the next few days so I will be updating you all with what I am learning.
I think that is all for now. Until next time! :)
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