true kiwi dawgs...

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.