so for the past 3 months i have been teaching at botany downs secondary college. i have taken over full controll of 4 classes - 2 history classes (teaching american civil rights movement...perfect timing, eh?), 1 world history (nazi germany and fair trade), and a social science class (leadership and pacific islands). i have taught with some really amazing ladies - alsion derbyshire is hilarious and off the wall, sallie brodie is quite punny, quick witted, and always at the top of her game, and karen douglas is kind hearted and rolls with the punches like no other! these women are wonderful teachers and care for their students so much, which is why it has been an honor to be invited into their classrooms to lead and learn.
today is my last day at botany. i really love this school. it is quite special. the whanau (family, in maori) system makes the school feel much smaller and more like an actual community and family. the staff is supportive, outgoing, social (and reflective! oh reflection time on fridays...i will miss you...), really funny, and dedicated to their job more so than any other school i have ever seen or been a part of.
as i leave the school today, i have mixed feelings. i am excited to have completed a long road of planning, working, grading, studying, writing, and the list could go on... But i am also a bit sad to leave this wonderful place and these lovely people.
today at staff meeting, i said goodbye. i thought coming here that i would miss the scenery and the adventures i have experienced, but what i have learned is that i will truly miss the people. there are incredible. as i finished saying goodbye and thank you to the staff, the head social studies teaching (alison) stood up and said thank you to me and then led the staff in the Spell Georgia Cheer and Calling the Dawgs. a true testament of cross cultural transmission : ) i only wish i had a camera to capture it. i guess some things are meant to be kept safe in your memory alone.
so i leave here knowing that i have learned more than i ever could have imagined, experiencing things i never thought possible, and loving new people that i never knew before this trip. the bulldawg nation is a little bigger today, and for that, i am proud and thankful.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
hello again!
so...i havent forgotten i have a blog, i just havent been writing. its been crazy around this part of the world. i am finishing up my student teaching (i have ONE week left!), writing my portfolio (im almost done), and doing last bits of traveling and shopping (gifts!!). these last few weeks have been really incredible. im almost sad that i dont have more time here (almost). i really do love it. i love the people and all of their rediculous words, i love the scenery and all of its glory, i love the kids i teach even when they make me crazy, i love being less than an hour away from the beach whereever you are. this really is one of the most special places in the world.
speaking of teaching...i have actually done some! its amazing i know - ive found time in between all of my adventures to fit a little work in there : )
i will (hopefully - i just found out i need a visa...) be travelling to australia for a few days to round out my trip and finish up my time here. i will be in melbourne doing all that there is to do! i was actually hoping to go to the great barrier reef or the outback, but it is really expensive to get there!! no worries though. so expect me to come home with some pretty cool boomerangs : )
i am so thankful for this trip but i am ready to come home. i have learned so much and done so many things here, it really is incredible. i have loved every minute of it, and now it is coming to a close. cant wait to show you pictures of melbourne and finish telling you all the rest of my crazy stories. love you all and see you in just a few more days : )
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
adventures in wonderland!
hey guys!
sorry it has been a little while since i last posted here; life has been a bit fast paced. as you know this is my 2 week break from school and i am traveling around the south island. i am loving every minute of this trip! it is truly amazing.
to recap the past week or so i will fill you in on the highlights and then you can check out facebook for some more photos.
- christchurch = beautiful city. small and centrally located. hard first day b/c i arrived on my own and didnt know anyone yet. spent most of the day wandering around trying to find food (much to your surprise, i know!). rode the trolley cars, went to a few museums (saw some davinci stuff), walked through some gardens, ate some food, and caught a movie. good day. bus came early so i hit the sack fairly early.
- kaikora = lovely city. the seas (all 7, robin) were really rough so the dolphin swim was cancelled. real bummer. but i went horseback riding through some beautful countryside and loved it. ate some fish and chips. had a room to my self in the hostel (a rare find, indeed!). small downtown and some fun shops.
- nelson = found the center or NZ! straight up the steepest hill ever! fernanda (my friend i met on the trip, from brazil) and i and our friend richard (from england) took a day trip to abel tazman national park. beauitful!!! nice day hike and then spent the rest of the day laying on the beach. what a day : ) on the water taxi to the beach we saw a seal eat an octopus!!! for real - it was amazing. the ink bled out and everything!!! so cool
- greymouth = lived up to its name. awful weather kept us inside most of the day. pouring down rain. dinner and a movie night in the hostel!
- franz josef = amazing. rained all day on the first day we were there. i went indoor ice climbing. so cool. the next day, much to our surprise, the rains cleared and it was a lovely morning. i took a helihike (rode in a helicopter aroudn the glacier, then landed on the glacier, then hiked the glacier!!!) on farnz josef. mangaged to find an ice cave to climb (only momentarily) into. loved it. coolest thing i have ever done in my life. spent the afternoon in a hammock reading.
- queenstown = adventure capital of the world!!!!! I LOVE THIS TOWN. so much to do and see. i went bungy jumping (the only one on the magic bus brave enough to try) on the bridge where bungy jumping began! screamed bloody murder the entire way down and managed to keep my eyes open too! i have a tshirt and sweat shirt to prove this as well as a DVD you all must see at some point. complete worth it and amazing. fernanda jumped today and i was so proud (she was too scared to do it yesterday but toughed it out today adn was really glad she did). it was awesome. we took the gondola to the top of queenstown to see the rest of the city. our magic bus friends from scotland out did our jumps though - they all 3 jumped in KILTS. no lie. it was not pretty!
im on to dunedin and then tekapo then back home to auckland within the next few days. i have 40 days til i return home. i am ready. hope you are well. i love you all! see you soon : )
sorry it has been a little while since i last posted here; life has been a bit fast paced. as you know this is my 2 week break from school and i am traveling around the south island. i am loving every minute of this trip! it is truly amazing.
to recap the past week or so i will fill you in on the highlights and then you can check out facebook for some more photos.
- christchurch = beautiful city. small and centrally located. hard first day b/c i arrived on my own and didnt know anyone yet. spent most of the day wandering around trying to find food (much to your surprise, i know!). rode the trolley cars, went to a few museums (saw some davinci stuff), walked through some gardens, ate some food, and caught a movie. good day. bus came early so i hit the sack fairly early.
- kaikora = lovely city. the seas (all 7, robin) were really rough so the dolphin swim was cancelled. real bummer. but i went horseback riding through some beautful countryside and loved it. ate some fish and chips. had a room to my self in the hostel (a rare find, indeed!). small downtown and some fun shops.
- nelson = found the center or NZ! straight up the steepest hill ever! fernanda (my friend i met on the trip, from brazil) and i and our friend richard (from england) took a day trip to abel tazman national park. beauitful!!! nice day hike and then spent the rest of the day laying on the beach. what a day : ) on the water taxi to the beach we saw a seal eat an octopus!!! for real - it was amazing. the ink bled out and everything!!! so cool
- greymouth = lived up to its name. awful weather kept us inside most of the day. pouring down rain. dinner and a movie night in the hostel!
- franz josef = amazing. rained all day on the first day we were there. i went indoor ice climbing. so cool. the next day, much to our surprise, the rains cleared and it was a lovely morning. i took a helihike (rode in a helicopter aroudn the glacier, then landed on the glacier, then hiked the glacier!!!) on farnz josef. mangaged to find an ice cave to climb (only momentarily) into. loved it. coolest thing i have ever done in my life. spent the afternoon in a hammock reading.
- queenstown = adventure capital of the world!!!!! I LOVE THIS TOWN. so much to do and see. i went bungy jumping (the only one on the magic bus brave enough to try) on the bridge where bungy jumping began! screamed bloody murder the entire way down and managed to keep my eyes open too! i have a tshirt and sweat shirt to prove this as well as a DVD you all must see at some point. complete worth it and amazing. fernanda jumped today and i was so proud (she was too scared to do it yesterday but toughed it out today adn was really glad she did). it was awesome. we took the gondola to the top of queenstown to see the rest of the city. our magic bus friends from scotland out did our jumps though - they all 3 jumped in KILTS. no lie. it was not pretty!
im on to dunedin and then tekapo then back home to auckland within the next few days. i have 40 days til i return home. i am ready. hope you are well. i love you all! see you soon : )
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
big adventures!
hey friends!
the time has finally come - school break is upon us here in NZ and i am getting ready to go on my south island adventure. i am taking the Magic Bus and doing everything i possibly can to get the full NZ experience! you only come here once, right?! so i wanted to keep you all filled in on my whereabouts so here's the low down.
check out this website for details....http://www.magicbus.co.nz/main/productDetail/index.cfm?productID=7
I am taking the Southern Discovery Tour. I will spend 12 days touring the most beauitful place in the world. i will start in christchurch on monday and go from there. i will be traveling to kaikoura, nelson, greymouth, franz josef, queenstown, dunedin, and tekapo. on this trip i will be doing a bungy from the orignial invention spot, swimming with dolphins, whale watching, seeing yellow eyed peguins, climbing a glacier, going to mt cook, hot air ballooning, and much much more. watch facebook for picture updates. i will be able to write frequently bc i will have some internet access at the hostels, but i am not 100% sure how often i will keep up, but just check in when you can.
love you all and cant wait to tell you all about these crazy adventures!!!
the time has finally come - school break is upon us here in NZ and i am getting ready to go on my south island adventure. i am taking the Magic Bus and doing everything i possibly can to get the full NZ experience! you only come here once, right?! so i wanted to keep you all filled in on my whereabouts so here's the low down.
check out this website for details....http://www.magicbus.co.nz/main/productDetail/index.cfm?productID=7
I am taking the Southern Discovery Tour. I will spend 12 days touring the most beauitful place in the world. i will start in christchurch on monday and go from there. i will be traveling to kaikoura, nelson, greymouth, franz josef, queenstown, dunedin, and tekapo. on this trip i will be doing a bungy from the orignial invention spot, swimming with dolphins, whale watching, seeing yellow eyed peguins, climbing a glacier, going to mt cook, hot air ballooning, and much much more. watch facebook for picture updates. i will be able to write frequently bc i will have some internet access at the hostels, but i am not 100% sure how often i will keep up, but just check in when you can.
love you all and cant wait to tell you all about these crazy adventures!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
lingo
ok. im still learning the lingo here...
togs = bathing suit (even if it's a one peice, it's togs not tog)
singlet = tank top (not a wrestling outfit)
sweet as = cool (this one is tricky. i got really upset at one of my classes bc i thought a kids said "sweet ass")
motorway = road
round about = intersection where you dont have to stop, only yeild.
give way = yeild
lollie = any form of candy, not just those with sticks attached
eh = to be used at the end of EVERY sentence. means yeah?, you know?, right?, you agree?, etc.
aussie = austrailia
footie = soccer
to flat = to room with or share an apartment with (this is often a co-ed thing here. strange)
flash = anything fancy or classy. a very nice compliment to give
nappie = diaper
more to come im sure....
togs = bathing suit (even if it's a one peice, it's togs not tog)
singlet = tank top (not a wrestling outfit)
sweet as = cool (this one is tricky. i got really upset at one of my classes bc i thought a kids said "sweet ass")
motorway = road
round about = intersection where you dont have to stop, only yeild.
give way = yeild
lollie = any form of candy, not just those with sticks attached
eh = to be used at the end of EVERY sentence. means yeah?, you know?, right?, you agree?, etc.
aussie = austrailia
footie = soccer
to flat = to room with or share an apartment with (this is often a co-ed thing here. strange)
flash = anything fancy or classy. a very nice compliment to give
nappie = diaper
more to come im sure....
Sunday, September 21, 2008
cultural transmission...
today in my year 9 social studies class i had a bit of fun.
i told the kids that part of the reason i came here was to be apart of cultural transmission...me learning about their culture and in turn me teaching them about mine. i have done a great deal of learning abotu kiwi and maori culture, so i thought id return the favor....
so i taught them how to...
- call the dawgs - after some practice i will video tape them and put it up here. that should be some quality entertainment.
- use "bless her heart" correctly
- correctly pronouce Y'all
- figure out what an Uga is
lessons for later...
- correct pronouciation of the word Georgia...Jawja.
- what are grits.
- why everythign Orange is awful...gators, tigers, vols, etc.
oh the educators daily stress...what important knowledge i have to impart to these minds....
i told the kids that part of the reason i came here was to be apart of cultural transmission...me learning about their culture and in turn me teaching them about mine. i have done a great deal of learning abotu kiwi and maori culture, so i thought id return the favor....
so i taught them how to...
- call the dawgs - after some practice i will video tape them and put it up here. that should be some quality entertainment.
- use "bless her heart" correctly
- correctly pronouce Y'all
- figure out what an Uga is
lessons for later...
- correct pronouciation of the word Georgia...Jawja.
- what are grits.
- why everythign Orange is awful...gators, tigers, vols, etc.
oh the educators daily stress...what important knowledge i have to impart to these minds....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)