Wow, I can't believe I am half-way done with my adventure in New Zealand. The time goes by so quickly! It feels like I just got here. School is going well. I like teaching more and more lessons and the girls are still very well behaved in my class. I am slowly learning their various personalities and strengths. I also am adjusting to the differences between how a school is run here and how a school is run back home. I am really liking the more laid-back feeling of my classroom here and interested in seeing if I can actually pull this way off back in the USA.
Outside of school, it's like I have a whole new life here. It is funny to think about how quickly I settled into a different place with all new people and all new schedules. Art deco was an amazing weekend. It was really fun dressing up, seeing all the old cars, watching the shows, walking around, going into some bars, and dancing.
Last weekend Carolyn and I headed off to Rotorua. They call it Rotovegas but that is a stupid nickname because it is nothing like Las Vegas. First off, it smells really bad because of natural hot springs all over the town. They are really cool to look at and read about the history but make the town smell of rotten eggs. We went down a louge track, went on a sky swing, pet random farm animals, ran all over the town looking for wine, went to an awesome hostel bar where we made international friends, saw government gardens, and went down the most exciting white-water rafting trip ever. It was tiring but fun!
After getting back home late Sunday night I had to pack up and get ready for a week of camp with my class. It was about a 4 hour drive to get there and was pretty isolated. We stayed in cabins and the girls loved it there. There was a lot of hiking trips that we did but the views were amazing. We also went caving and I have never gotten so muddy in my life! But once again it was worth it. Some of the girls really had to push themselves to keep up but they all made it through the week and were troopers. It was tiring beyond belief being with these girls for 24 hours a day but it was a really good experience and I'm happy I got to see the New Zealand bush up close and personal!
Unfortunately, right now I am sick. I have been for a little over a week and I am really hoping this goes away soon because I don't want it to get in the way of the time I have left! I have trips planned to Auckland, Queenstown, and Wellington on weekend before leaving. I am looking forward to all of them!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sheeeeep!
It's been a good 2 weeks now that I have settled into a schedule. I love walking to and from school and my class is awesome. The girls are so well-behaved and fun to have around. It doesnt seem like work at all because the day passes by so quickly! I think it has something to do with the schedule because there are set in breaks in the day. Also, I have been teaching for at least part of each day and planning the other parts so it works out very well. I was even officially observed by my supervisor and the lesson went really well. :) It was writing poems about summer so it was the perfect lesson for me to teach.
I also think my time has gone by so quickly because there is always something exciting happening! Last week Monday I watched the score of the superbowl and had the class chanting with me Go Pack, Go! every time they scored. It was awesome that the girls wanted my team to win even though they didnt know anything about football! On Friday after school I played tennis for the first time here with a group of the teachers from Frimley. Turns out, the courts are very different! Instead of a hard surface it is similar to an artificial turf with sand on top. Needless to say, I did not play well. Everyone knew I played on a university team and had high expectations for me. My performance was extremely underwhelming. But this week was different :) I went with Katie to practice on Tuesday night and get used to things so I rocked it tonight!
This past weekend was nice and relaxing. I went to dinner with Katie at one of her friend's house on Saturday night and had my first New Zealand roast. It was pretty good but I am not a huge meat and vegetable person. On Sunday morning I made myself get up early before the hot sun came up and ran 18 miles as training for my marathon in May. It took just under 3 hours and the sights I saw were awesome. I saw sheep (a lot), palm trees, mountains, wineries, ocean water, and surfer boys. :) I love the variety in scenery here and it makes running long distances great. The only problem was that cars here do not move over for runners at all. There were a couple of close calls! After that my reward was a lovely day at the beach, Waimarama. It was sunny, sandy, and gorgeous! It was fun to see everyone there playing rugby, tanning, and even surfing. The water was cold so most people in the water wore wetsuits.
On Monday Katie and I were lucky enough to be able to skip out of school for a free day at an adventure camp. They sent the school a free pass for two people to check it out and spread good things back for future field trip ideas. It was so much fun! We went white-water rafting, toured the grounds, and shot archery. The white-water rafting was great. It's what I would imagine Colorado would be like in the summer with the blue skys, warm weather, and grassy peaks. we even got to jump in the river at times and float down holding on to the raft. Archery was also fun even though I haven't done that since 8th grade!
Thursday was another day that I got to skip school for a day at the beach with a 2nd grade class field trip. :) It was a different beach but was still nice. Instead of sand it had more pebbles. The lifeguards there did a whole program about being smart swimming in the ocean and also being sun smart. They played games and then went in the water. The parents and teachers stood in the water and watched them/helped them on the boogie boards. The kids had to get out of the water early to change and the parents and teachers got to stay and play in the waves for a while which was actually more fun that I thought it would be.
Today was art deco day at school and a bunch of the teachers (including me) dressed up in 1920/1930's clothes. Also, children from Beijing in a children's orchestra came and toured the school. It reminded me of going to China last year with the water ski team and touring the country like they are doing in New Zealand! This weekend is the Art Deco celebration in Napier and it sounds like it should be exciting. Once again everyone dresses up and I guess I am not sure what else happens but I'm sure I will talk about it in my next update!
The time is absolutely flying by!! 7 more weeks to go...I am already dreading going back to finish my student teaching in WI because I know it cannot possibly be as good of an experience as I am having here. The school is so great is run in a completely different way but I am open to adapting my ways. New Zealand does have higher scores than America in every subject so maybe they are on to something...I just have to figure it out and bring it back with me!
I also think my time has gone by so quickly because there is always something exciting happening! Last week Monday I watched the score of the superbowl and had the class chanting with me Go Pack, Go! every time they scored. It was awesome that the girls wanted my team to win even though they didnt know anything about football! On Friday after school I played tennis for the first time here with a group of the teachers from Frimley. Turns out, the courts are very different! Instead of a hard surface it is similar to an artificial turf with sand on top. Needless to say, I did not play well. Everyone knew I played on a university team and had high expectations for me. My performance was extremely underwhelming. But this week was different :) I went with Katie to practice on Tuesday night and get used to things so I rocked it tonight!
This past weekend was nice and relaxing. I went to dinner with Katie at one of her friend's house on Saturday night and had my first New Zealand roast. It was pretty good but I am not a huge meat and vegetable person. On Sunday morning I made myself get up early before the hot sun came up and ran 18 miles as training for my marathon in May. It took just under 3 hours and the sights I saw were awesome. I saw sheep (a lot), palm trees, mountains, wineries, ocean water, and surfer boys. :) I love the variety in scenery here and it makes running long distances great. The only problem was that cars here do not move over for runners at all. There were a couple of close calls! After that my reward was a lovely day at the beach, Waimarama. It was sunny, sandy, and gorgeous! It was fun to see everyone there playing rugby, tanning, and even surfing. The water was cold so most people in the water wore wetsuits.
On Monday Katie and I were lucky enough to be able to skip out of school for a free day at an adventure camp. They sent the school a free pass for two people to check it out and spread good things back for future field trip ideas. It was so much fun! We went white-water rafting, toured the grounds, and shot archery. The white-water rafting was great. It's what I would imagine Colorado would be like in the summer with the blue skys, warm weather, and grassy peaks. we even got to jump in the river at times and float down holding on to the raft. Archery was also fun even though I haven't done that since 8th grade!
Thursday was another day that I got to skip school for a day at the beach with a 2nd grade class field trip. :) It was a different beach but was still nice. Instead of sand it had more pebbles. The lifeguards there did a whole program about being smart swimming in the ocean and also being sun smart. They played games and then went in the water. The parents and teachers stood in the water and watched them/helped them on the boogie boards. The kids had to get out of the water early to change and the parents and teachers got to stay and play in the waves for a while which was actually more fun that I thought it would be.
Today was art deco day at school and a bunch of the teachers (including me) dressed up in 1920/1930's clothes. Also, children from Beijing in a children's orchestra came and toured the school. It reminded me of going to China last year with the water ski team and touring the country like they are doing in New Zealand! This weekend is the Art Deco celebration in Napier and it sounds like it should be exciting. Once again everyone dresses up and I guess I am not sure what else happens but I'm sure I will talk about it in my next update!
The time is absolutely flying by!! 7 more weeks to go...I am already dreading going back to finish my student teaching in WI because I know it cannot possibly be as good of an experience as I am having here. The school is so great is run in a completely different way but I am open to adapting my ways. New Zealand does have higher scores than America in every subject so maybe they are on to something...I just have to figure it out and bring it back with me!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Sweet As Bro
I have officially finished my first week of student teaching at Frimley Elementary School. I absolutely love school here. It is so much more relaxed than school in the United States but still creates educated children. It's just a different approach. My favorite difference is how open the schools are to the outside. It's like the big lawn and outdoors are an extension of the classroom. The doors and large windows are often open so the wind can come in and breaks to go outside come multiple times through-out the day. For PE the students dont go to an indoor gym but have all lessons (general teacher run) outside.
Another fun difference is the fact that the kids and sometimes teachers dont have to wear shoes. About half the children in the class are not wearing shoes at any point in the day and while in the classroom shoes are optional for teachers as well. I absolutely love being barefoot so this is great for me but im sure for other americans who are more concerned about germs it would be different. What's interesting about the optional shoes part is how strict the dress code is for the children. They have uniforms (even though it is a public school) that they must wear every day. This includes always having long hair pulled back and no necklaces showing. The students also have to wear a school uniform "sun hat" every time they are outside for recesses, lunch, or other outside activities. The sun is much stronger here because of a hold in the O-zone layer here. Everyone warns me to wear sunscreen but I continue to be a stupid american and avoid it because i love the sun and the color it gives my pale skin.
My cooperating teacher, the principal, and all the other staff are so very friendly (much more than any school I've taught in in Wisconsin) and are so helpful with any and everything I need. They treat me like a real teacher, not a student teacher. I also love the town. It is a small but full of character town that is very fun to explore. I had a bit of a housing change (long story) but I am very happy with where I am living now!! I can walk to school within 5 minutes and not much longer to town. I also am living with the best "flatmate" ever, Katie (also my cooperating teacher). She has been so great to let me live with her while I am here.
Carolyn is another american student teacher who lives a couple minutes walk away and is so great to have near. We get along great and are planning on exploring the country together on weekends! Last night Carolyn, Katie, Laura (another Frimley teacher), and I drank wine, danced to/sang songs, and shared funny YouTube videos we have from our countries. It was a good time. Then we went out to Napier to a bar by a marina. It was fun to get dressed up and meet some locals! Today Carolyn and I walked around the town to explore and tomorrow we are walking up Te Mata Peak which looks beautiful.
So far student teaching in New Zealand has been a great experience. The school is one of the best I've ever been in, my housing situation is perfect, the town is cute, and i LOVE the warm weather :). I feel like i cheated the wisconsin system by skipping out on winter for New Zealand summer but the bad news is that I am going to miss the Superbowl!! :( It will be happening when it will be my Monday afternoon so I will just have to keep my laptop open at school to check the score in between classes!
Another fun difference is the fact that the kids and sometimes teachers dont have to wear shoes. About half the children in the class are not wearing shoes at any point in the day and while in the classroom shoes are optional for teachers as well. I absolutely love being barefoot so this is great for me but im sure for other americans who are more concerned about germs it would be different. What's interesting about the optional shoes part is how strict the dress code is for the children. They have uniforms (even though it is a public school) that they must wear every day. This includes always having long hair pulled back and no necklaces showing. The students also have to wear a school uniform "sun hat" every time they are outside for recesses, lunch, or other outside activities. The sun is much stronger here because of a hold in the O-zone layer here. Everyone warns me to wear sunscreen but I continue to be a stupid american and avoid it because i love the sun and the color it gives my pale skin.
My cooperating teacher, the principal, and all the other staff are so very friendly (much more than any school I've taught in in Wisconsin) and are so helpful with any and everything I need. They treat me like a real teacher, not a student teacher. I also love the town. It is a small but full of character town that is very fun to explore. I had a bit of a housing change (long story) but I am very happy with where I am living now!! I can walk to school within 5 minutes and not much longer to town. I also am living with the best "flatmate" ever, Katie (also my cooperating teacher). She has been so great to let me live with her while I am here.
Carolyn is another american student teacher who lives a couple minutes walk away and is so great to have near. We get along great and are planning on exploring the country together on weekends! Last night Carolyn, Katie, Laura (another Frimley teacher), and I drank wine, danced to/sang songs, and shared funny YouTube videos we have from our countries. It was a good time. Then we went out to Napier to a bar by a marina. It was fun to get dressed up and meet some locals! Today Carolyn and I walked around the town to explore and tomorrow we are walking up Te Mata Peak which looks beautiful.
So far student teaching in New Zealand has been a great experience. The school is one of the best I've ever been in, my housing situation is perfect, the town is cute, and i LOVE the warm weather :). I feel like i cheated the wisconsin system by skipping out on winter for New Zealand summer but the bad news is that I am going to miss the Superbowl!! :( It will be happening when it will be my Monday afternoon so I will just have to keep my laptop open at school to check the score in between classes!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I can see suitcases under your eyes!
Yes. It's true according to New Zealanders. I have suitcases (bags) under my eye from all the travel, stress, and efforts of my trip here, but it's worth it! The 5.5 hours of driving from Eau Claire to Chicago, 4 hour flight to Los Angeles, 2 hour lay-over, 14 hour flight to Auckland, 3 hour lay over, 1 hour flight to Napier, 30 min drive home. Whew!
The flights were decent with few issues. Air New Zealand was actually a really nice flight on a brand new plane with very good food, service, and entertainment if you ever need to fly to New Zealand :). In the middle of the night I was able to look out the window above the ocean and the stars were beautiful with nothing but clouds below and a sliver of a moon around. I also was able to watch the sunrise and shortly after land on a small landing strip surrounded on both sides by water in Auckland. Like everyone has told me, it's beautiful.
The house I am living in is very nice and is surrounded by an orchard. The glass doors are from the floor to the ceiling and always open to the fresh breeze coming into the living room. The large windows are also always open with no screens on either. Because of this there are flies in the house but they aren't too annoying and its very pretty having the house so open. My host family is very nice and accommodating to me.
This morning I headed to my school for the first day. It was just a staff in-service day which was good for me to meet the principal, my cooperating teacher, and the other staff. I absolutely love the teacher I am working with! Her name is Katie and she is in her late 20's. She was so welcoming to me and we get along very well. I'm really looking forward to working with her. The school is also gorgeous. Instead of hallways, each classroom leads to an outside center that the students use to get from one room to the next. The rooms, like my house, have large windows and the rest is similar to classrooms in the United States.
The schedule is what is different. Every morning at 10:50am is morning break where all the teachers go to the teachers lounge (which has a beautiful outdoor porch overlooking very tall, pretty trees) and have tea, coffee, and biscuits. This lasts about 20 minutes before starting to teach again. Also, the school has a "brain break" at some point in the morning where the whole school stops for 5-10 minutes to eat fruit, drink water, and do something active. I think it's a good idea to make classrooms include this so the kids can focus again. Lunch is an all-school deal where all the kids eat outside under the trees (unless it is raining and they eat in the classroom). This is an hour long before afternoon starts.
Other things that are different include having swimming class at least once a week, mandatory uniforms in a public school, and the general teachers teaching specials like physical education and art. Overall I am very excited to be working in this school and feel lucky to be able to add this experience.
After school Heidi (who I am living with) and I went to lunch, the bank to finally get money from my bank back in the USA, and shoe shopping :). Then I went running around the orchard. I went for 50 minutes and did not cross the same path twice...it is a huge orchard and the views around it are gorgeous. Everywhere I look there is something beautiful to see! So much so that I kept stepping wrong on my foot because i would step in a pothole or on a rock when I wasnt watching what was below me.
It is currently 8:24pm, it is still light out, and the temperature is 76 degrees. I think I might like my life here...
The flights were decent with few issues. Air New Zealand was actually a really nice flight on a brand new plane with very good food, service, and entertainment if you ever need to fly to New Zealand :). In the middle of the night I was able to look out the window above the ocean and the stars were beautiful with nothing but clouds below and a sliver of a moon around. I also was able to watch the sunrise and shortly after land on a small landing strip surrounded on both sides by water in Auckland. Like everyone has told me, it's beautiful.
The house I am living in is very nice and is surrounded by an orchard. The glass doors are from the floor to the ceiling and always open to the fresh breeze coming into the living room. The large windows are also always open with no screens on either. Because of this there are flies in the house but they aren't too annoying and its very pretty having the house so open. My host family is very nice and accommodating to me.
This morning I headed to my school for the first day. It was just a staff in-service day which was good for me to meet the principal, my cooperating teacher, and the other staff. I absolutely love the teacher I am working with! Her name is Katie and she is in her late 20's. She was so welcoming to me and we get along very well. I'm really looking forward to working with her. The school is also gorgeous. Instead of hallways, each classroom leads to an outside center that the students use to get from one room to the next. The rooms, like my house, have large windows and the rest is similar to classrooms in the United States.
The schedule is what is different. Every morning at 10:50am is morning break where all the teachers go to the teachers lounge (which has a beautiful outdoor porch overlooking very tall, pretty trees) and have tea, coffee, and biscuits. This lasts about 20 minutes before starting to teach again. Also, the school has a "brain break" at some point in the morning where the whole school stops for 5-10 minutes to eat fruit, drink water, and do something active. I think it's a good idea to make classrooms include this so the kids can focus again. Lunch is an all-school deal where all the kids eat outside under the trees (unless it is raining and they eat in the classroom). This is an hour long before afternoon starts.
Other things that are different include having swimming class at least once a week, mandatory uniforms in a public school, and the general teachers teaching specials like physical education and art. Overall I am very excited to be working in this school and feel lucky to be able to add this experience.
After school Heidi (who I am living with) and I went to lunch, the bank to finally get money from my bank back in the USA, and shoe shopping :). Then I went running around the orchard. I went for 50 minutes and did not cross the same path twice...it is a huge orchard and the views around it are gorgeous. Everywhere I look there is something beautiful to see! So much so that I kept stepping wrong on my foot because i would step in a pothole or on a rock when I wasnt watching what was below me.
It is currently 8:24pm, it is still light out, and the temperature is 76 degrees. I think I might like my life here...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Getting Ready
My trip to student teach in New Zealand is now only 12 days away. I have been planning on this adventure for 3 years now and it seems so unreal that is is happening so soon. Finishing up my last semester of classes, the holidays, working a lot, and going on a family vacation to Costa Rica have all been very distracting to me so I feel like this trip has snuck up on me a little bit. There is still so much I need to do to get ready to go! Right now I am in Eau Claire working 4 small jobs and hanging out with my friends up here. I have a very busy schedule between now and January 28!
I leave on a Friday evening from Chicago and don't arrive in Napier-Hastings, New Zealand until Sunday early afternoon. It is going to be a long trip! Once I get there I will be able to meet my host family, Blair and Heidi. They seem like a very nice couple who just recently got married and were nice enough to let me live with them while I student teach. Heidi works at the school that I will be teaching at so it works out nice. My placement is in an all girls classroom that would be similar to USA grade 4. I am very excited to work with them and I am told there is even a one week camping trip at the beginning of March with bush walks, swimming, and kayaking.
I am only there for a total of 10 weeks arriving back on April 8, but I am still eager for the adventure. Wisconsin is cold and boring so I am ready to leave for a little bit to escape winter! Overall I am excited but anxious. I know nobody there and teaching for the first time in a completely new country is very intimidating. I know everything will work out and it will be a great expereince for me, but for now all I can do is wait!
I leave on a Friday evening from Chicago and don't arrive in Napier-Hastings, New Zealand until Sunday early afternoon. It is going to be a long trip! Once I get there I will be able to meet my host family, Blair and Heidi. They seem like a very nice couple who just recently got married and were nice enough to let me live with them while I student teach. Heidi works at the school that I will be teaching at so it works out nice. My placement is in an all girls classroom that would be similar to USA grade 4. I am very excited to work with them and I am told there is even a one week camping trip at the beginning of March with bush walks, swimming, and kayaking.
I am only there for a total of 10 weeks arriving back on April 8, but I am still eager for the adventure. Wisconsin is cold and boring so I am ready to leave for a little bit to escape winter! Overall I am excited but anxious. I know nobody there and teaching for the first time in a completely new country is very intimidating. I know everything will work out and it will be a great expereince for me, but for now all I can do is wait!
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