Kia Ora!
Have I told you what that (kia ora) means? It means hello, or more directly – are you in good health? It is the traditional Maori greeting. I have been able to use it a lot here. I think everyone gets a kick out of hearing it said in a southern accent.
Since I last wrote…
I was invited to go to a poferi (that is phonetically spelt…no clue how you are supposed to spell these Maori words…). It is a traditional greeting ceremony. Our school – Botany Downs, is hosting a group of French exchange students from a place called New Caledonia. The school performed this poferi for them and invited me to come along for it. Part of the ceremony involves a honge – (pronounced hong- ee). This is when two people lean in close to each other and touch noses. It shows that you are comfortable enough with this person to share the same breath with them; you have accepted them into your inner circle of friends. So all the people already in the inner circle line up and you have to honge (touch noses) each person and say Kia Ora to everyone. I LOVED this! It was such a neat ceremony to see and take part in. Some of the girls from the school performed traditional Maori songs and did a great job too. It was a very cultural morning : )
What else…I have been teaching for almost 2 full weeks now. I only teach the light and bright subjects like Nazi Germany, Civil Rights Movement, and South African Apartheid – so no worries…lots of fluff here! Just kidding. It is a lot of hard work, but I am enjoying teaching! This is good news because I was nervous about actually putting into practice everything I have been learning was a little scary, but it is working. I am still finding it strange to be a part of a school class in Athens that I am not present for – I feel a bit out of the loop. But thankfully, I have really good instructors at home who are working hard to keep me up to date and in the know about school stuff. They are truly lifesavers.
Weekend Adventures…Well, this weekend has been like no other! It started off with a Saturday night mid-winter Christmas dinner with the school staff. Apparently in NZ it is tradition to have a cold weather Christmas dinner. According to them, no one really enjoys having Christmas in the summer, so they choose to celebrate Christmas twice a year. Everyone gets together at some point during the winter to get into the Christmas spirit. It felt very strange at first to walk into the fully decorated staff lounge in the end of august seeing twinkle lights, decorated trees, and hear Christmas carols. But soon it felt very homey. Everyone was in the Christmas mood! I had my first glass of mulled wine. I don’t exactly know what makes wine mulled, but whatever it was made it taste quite lovely! It was potluck (except the ham which was bought) so Christine and I made some brownies to bring in – they were a hit too! Everything seemed very “normal” at our Christmas dinner until it was time to break out the party gifts. It was only then that I learned about an authentic New Zealand (and apparently English) tradition called Christmas crackers.
Now these aren’t meant to be real crackers; they are supposed to be toilet paper rolls stuffed with small toys (a whistle or toy ring perhaps), a joke that is not funny{ (really…you’re supposed to put bad jokes in there) – no worries crew…our official 3 jokes were gladly told to the partiers and they loved them}, and a piece of candy or gum, and a noise maker/popper. Now Botany’s social committee was on a tight budget this year so they had to get creative with their Christmas crackers. Instead of toilet paper rolls, we actually used real saltine crackers and put in a joke, an andes mint, and a popper in between the crackers. Then we tied the crackers with ribbon and then put glitter on the crackers (clearly the herpes of all arts and crafts! …see Demetri Martin on youtube if you are confused about that joke).
While making these crazy things in assembly line fashion (on Friday night) I had NO idea about the Christmas cracker tradition and simply thought that the entire social committee staff had lost their minds. It was Friday so this wasn’t too far from true, especially after reflection time. Once I asked for some clues as to why were decorating saltines everyone realized I was out of the cultural loop and filled me in. These kiwis are nutty, friends. Just plain nutty!
Speaking of interesting things going on at school….in NZ it is not illegal for adults to bring alcohol onto school property. This means that occasionally a teacher will have a glass of wine with lunch. This is VERY strange for me to see; very out of the ordinary. It also means that on Friday’s the entire staff shows up in the staff room for “Reflection Time”. This is time for the teachers to unwind after their week and enjoy a glass of wine together…on school property. I am still not over the shock of this one. But nonetheless, not a bad thing for a Friday either.
I played soccer for the first time ever! A group of (mostly guys but some girls too) teachers gets together every Friday afternoon and plays indoor soccer. I was invited to play, so I came along (mostly to give everyone else some good laughs). I had NO idea what to do (this seems to be a trend lately ,eh?) other than chase the ball then quickly pass it along to someone who knows what to do. We wont mention the fact that I forgot to bring my tennis shoes so I played barefoot. But I don’t think I did too poorly. In fact, one of the teachers came up to me today and asked me how long I have been playing soccer…I must have fooled him! It was a good game and I will be playing with the group each Friday! Hopefully I will be even better with shoes on this week.
Weekend Adventures went really well this time around! I found a friend at school – another teacher named Charlie – who is in kind of the same position as me. He is from London and is only in NZ until the very beginning of December, so we have about the same amount of time here and want to make the best of our weekends. We decided to take our first day trip Sunday to a place called Piha on the west coast of the north island. It is truly one of the most majestic places I have ever seen in my life. It is also one of the most dangerous beaches in NZ because of the extremely rough surf and tide. There is even a show called Piha Rescue about the lifeguards at the beach. My facebook has pics if you would like to see.
Charlie and I only got lost a few times and I even navigated and didn’t let us end up in Beijing or something – so mission accomplished! We spent a few good hours in Piha and then it was off to another adventure – an Auckland Warriors Rugby League game. Rugby League is quite different than Rugby Union (so I am told…dad, maybe it’s like grecko and freestyle wrestling…). Either way it was rugby and I thought that was cool. We stood fence-side for the first half. That was neat seeing the players close up – they are HUGE!!!! We saw the 2nd half from the stand (we might have snuck up there, but I’ll never tell…). Great game, and the Warriors won. They are off to the championship game this weekend. Charlie and I were clearly the good luck charms! Hey – pray for Charlie; he is not a believer and it looks like we will be spending time together in the car. We had some good conversation this past week, let’s hope that I get a chance to share the gospel with him. What an awesome thing that would be, if Charlie came to know the Lord through this trip!!!!!!!!
This week I am booking my 2 week adventure on the south island that I will be taking the last week of this month. I am hoping to watch the All Blacks game tonight somewhere, and then who knows what this weekend hold as of yet… We will have to wait and see.
The week has been off to a great start. Got my package from my parents in the mail – what a great surprise!!!!!! I loved it. Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts. I love you all very much. Drop me a message, comment, or facebook post and let me know how you are doing. That’s all for now. Cheers : )
Have I told you what that (kia ora) means? It means hello, or more directly – are you in good health? It is the traditional Maori greeting. I have been able to use it a lot here. I think everyone gets a kick out of hearing it said in a southern accent.
Since I last wrote…
I was invited to go to a poferi (that is phonetically spelt…no clue how you are supposed to spell these Maori words…). It is a traditional greeting ceremony. Our school – Botany Downs, is hosting a group of French exchange students from a place called New Caledonia. The school performed this poferi for them and invited me to come along for it. Part of the ceremony involves a honge – (pronounced hong- ee). This is when two people lean in close to each other and touch noses. It shows that you are comfortable enough with this person to share the same breath with them; you have accepted them into your inner circle of friends. So all the people already in the inner circle line up and you have to honge (touch noses) each person and say Kia Ora to everyone. I LOVED this! It was such a neat ceremony to see and take part in. Some of the girls from the school performed traditional Maori songs and did a great job too. It was a very cultural morning : )
What else…I have been teaching for almost 2 full weeks now. I only teach the light and bright subjects like Nazi Germany, Civil Rights Movement, and South African Apartheid – so no worries…lots of fluff here! Just kidding. It is a lot of hard work, but I am enjoying teaching! This is good news because I was nervous about actually putting into practice everything I have been learning was a little scary, but it is working. I am still finding it strange to be a part of a school class in Athens that I am not present for – I feel a bit out of the loop. But thankfully, I have really good instructors at home who are working hard to keep me up to date and in the know about school stuff. They are truly lifesavers.
Weekend Adventures…Well, this weekend has been like no other! It started off with a Saturday night mid-winter Christmas dinner with the school staff. Apparently in NZ it is tradition to have a cold weather Christmas dinner. According to them, no one really enjoys having Christmas in the summer, so they choose to celebrate Christmas twice a year. Everyone gets together at some point during the winter to get into the Christmas spirit. It felt very strange at first to walk into the fully decorated staff lounge in the end of august seeing twinkle lights, decorated trees, and hear Christmas carols. But soon it felt very homey. Everyone was in the Christmas mood! I had my first glass of mulled wine. I don’t exactly know what makes wine mulled, but whatever it was made it taste quite lovely! It was potluck (except the ham which was bought) so Christine and I made some brownies to bring in – they were a hit too! Everything seemed very “normal” at our Christmas dinner until it was time to break out the party gifts. It was only then that I learned about an authentic New Zealand (and apparently English) tradition called Christmas crackers.
Now these aren’t meant to be real crackers; they are supposed to be toilet paper rolls stuffed with small toys (a whistle or toy ring perhaps), a joke that is not funny{ (really…you’re supposed to put bad jokes in there) – no worries crew…our official 3 jokes were gladly told to the partiers and they loved them}, and a piece of candy or gum, and a noise maker/popper. Now Botany’s social committee was on a tight budget this year so they had to get creative with their Christmas crackers. Instead of toilet paper rolls, we actually used real saltine crackers and put in a joke, an andes mint, and a popper in between the crackers. Then we tied the crackers with ribbon and then put glitter on the crackers (clearly the herpes of all arts and crafts! …see Demetri Martin on youtube if you are confused about that joke).
While making these crazy things in assembly line fashion (on Friday night) I had NO idea about the Christmas cracker tradition and simply thought that the entire social committee staff had lost their minds. It was Friday so this wasn’t too far from true, especially after reflection time. Once I asked for some clues as to why were decorating saltines everyone realized I was out of the cultural loop and filled me in. These kiwis are nutty, friends. Just plain nutty!
Speaking of interesting things going on at school….in NZ it is not illegal for adults to bring alcohol onto school property. This means that occasionally a teacher will have a glass of wine with lunch. This is VERY strange for me to see; very out of the ordinary. It also means that on Friday’s the entire staff shows up in the staff room for “Reflection Time”. This is time for the teachers to unwind after their week and enjoy a glass of wine together…on school property. I am still not over the shock of this one. But nonetheless, not a bad thing for a Friday either.
I played soccer for the first time ever! A group of (mostly guys but some girls too) teachers gets together every Friday afternoon and plays indoor soccer. I was invited to play, so I came along (mostly to give everyone else some good laughs). I had NO idea what to do (this seems to be a trend lately ,eh?) other than chase the ball then quickly pass it along to someone who knows what to do. We wont mention the fact that I forgot to bring my tennis shoes so I played barefoot. But I don’t think I did too poorly. In fact, one of the teachers came up to me today and asked me how long I have been playing soccer…I must have fooled him! It was a good game and I will be playing with the group each Friday! Hopefully I will be even better with shoes on this week.
Weekend Adventures went really well this time around! I found a friend at school – another teacher named Charlie – who is in kind of the same position as me. He is from London and is only in NZ until the very beginning of December, so we have about the same amount of time here and want to make the best of our weekends. We decided to take our first day trip Sunday to a place called Piha on the west coast of the north island. It is truly one of the most majestic places I have ever seen in my life. It is also one of the most dangerous beaches in NZ because of the extremely rough surf and tide. There is even a show called Piha Rescue about the lifeguards at the beach. My facebook has pics if you would like to see.
Charlie and I only got lost a few times and I even navigated and didn’t let us end up in Beijing or something – so mission accomplished! We spent a few good hours in Piha and then it was off to another adventure – an Auckland Warriors Rugby League game. Rugby League is quite different than Rugby Union (so I am told…dad, maybe it’s like grecko and freestyle wrestling…). Either way it was rugby and I thought that was cool. We stood fence-side for the first half. That was neat seeing the players close up – they are HUGE!!!! We saw the 2nd half from the stand (we might have snuck up there, but I’ll never tell…). Great game, and the Warriors won. They are off to the championship game this weekend. Charlie and I were clearly the good luck charms! Hey – pray for Charlie; he is not a believer and it looks like we will be spending time together in the car. We had some good conversation this past week, let’s hope that I get a chance to share the gospel with him. What an awesome thing that would be, if Charlie came to know the Lord through this trip!!!!!!!!
This week I am booking my 2 week adventure on the south island that I will be taking the last week of this month. I am hoping to watch the All Blacks game tonight somewhere, and then who knows what this weekend hold as of yet… We will have to wait and see.
The week has been off to a great start. Got my package from my parents in the mail – what a great surprise!!!!!! I loved it. Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts. I love you all very much. Drop me a message, comment, or facebook post and let me know how you are doing. That’s all for now. Cheers : )
2 comments:
hey friend. I am off to get your book tomorrow morning...I went to 3 different Christian book stores and none of them had it. I will mail it to you tomorrow. Any thought on how long it will take?
sent the package today! They said it should be about 7-10 business days. I sent it to the Craig Road address. Can't wait to start the study with you friend!!!
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