You Can Haka If You Want To

This was our last full weekend in New Zealand and boy was it an amazing one! We went to Rotarua which is a tourist area for vacations and has many attractions for everyone in the family. On Friday after school we hopped in the car with my host mum and her son along with Elizabeth for a very exciting adventure. There is nothing like a road trip! As we were traveling to Rotorua it stared to rain a little (side note this week has been really rainy and stormy we even had a tornado close by that killed 3 people and injured some as well) from the rain came a perfect double rainbow just like the guy in the youtube video it was so perfect! We had a little bit of singing in the car and before we knew it we were there.

If you look closely: Double Rainbow!

Once we made it to Rotorua we made ourselves at home in a beautiful little condo that Jan was able to get through work. It was really lovely and nice and homey. We had to get some sleep because in the morning the real excitement would begin. We were going to go zip lining through the jungle! This was definitely our adventure while here in New Zealand. They are kind of known for having adventurous stuff here and it is a really nice place for tourists as it gets very popular with many places to stay and explore here. So on Saturday morning we woke up and got to The Canopy Tours which took us in a van to the forest of course we played a quick game of two truths and one lie to get to know one another and before we knew it we were there. Once there we had Dan and Phil as our zip lining and forest experts to show us the way. We got in our harness and helmet on and we were ready to go. They didn't give us much direction but said don't touch anything metal and have fun sounded easy enough. Dan would go across to the other side and Phil would harness us in and then it was take off. One by one we would go across flying through the jungle a lot like Tarzan. At first it was really scary because you feel so unstable and really if something went wrong its a long way down but after the first time it is such an adrenaline rush that you keep wanting to do more. We also got to leanr a little bit about their conservation efforts with various birds in New Zealand. Right now they said there are only about 40,000 Kiwis which is the nickname of the people here so they are really trying to protect them and hope to get the population up. It is so peaceful and quiet out in the forest it was really beautiful and relaxing to walk through.

I'm Coming in Hot Dan!!!

 

Tough Guys: Group Shot

After our incredible zip lining experience we then had to decide what to do next. We wanted to do something outside because it was such a beautiful day so we got in out Togs (bathing suits) and headed out to Kerosene Creek which is in the woods a bit but it is a beautiful creek that is hot all the time it is a natural hot tub! It felt so nice and relaxing even though you would get the smell of eggs (sulfur) sometimes and little tiny pebbles all over in your swimsuit it was a great treat to such an exhilarating morning. We took a drive around town a little bit but then we had to get back because we had a traditional Maori cultural night to get ready for.

The Maori people are the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesian, who arrived in New Zealand. The culture here is very important to every New Zealander and it is taught in the school we are at right now. It really is a beautiful culture with very strong bonds to each other, their past, and also the future. We got picked up and then went to a village that is a little outside of town. The driver was really funny and we had to pick a chief of our bus to meet with the chief of the village so that we would get accepted in as guests. Our chief was pretty good and he was from America from Michigan even what a small world after all! When we entered the village the people came out and did a dance of peace and offering us into the home. Sometimes they can look really intimidating because they make facial expressions like animals and have tattoos on their bodies which we found out means many different things in their culture. I love watching them move because they are so passionate about every step they take that it makes me wish I had a deeper connection to my own ancestors.

After we were accepted in they had small huts and at each one someone was there waiting to tell us a little bit about what might be happening or what we might see in the village. It was very interesting they had games people might play, weaving, training for people in the army, woodwork and tattooing. Along with the Haka which is any type of traditional dance for men along with what women would do to entertain. The Haka is a type of ancestral war cry dance or challenge that was used to get them pumped and also to intimidate their opponents. I love watching it being performed because even though I'm not getting ready for anything it still fires me up. The All Blacks which is the rugby team here does it before every match I think it is awesome that they take that part of their history and incorporate it into something that everyone can do. Students in my class know the words and will do it sometimes which is awesome because most aren't from Maori descent. 

Agility: Similar to the ladder drill

Haka Men

Weaving

We then got to see a beautiful performance from everyone singing traditional Maori songs and also doing some dancing with weapons and other things they might have done so long ago. As we were learning about the history our dinner was being cooked in the ground. It gave the food a really earthy taste and boy was it delicious. We had chicken, fish, lamb, stuffing, potatoes, kumara, pavlova, and so much more. Needless to say we were stuffed as we walked to the bus. On the way home our bus driver said we all had to be the entertainment so each country had to sing a song that originated form where their homeland. It was so much fun we sang Born in the USA because we didn't know what else to sing but we didn't know much of it! The best part was when we went around the road about probably six times singing She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain just going in a circle. The whole experience was amazing and we had such a blast every step of the way.

Our food cooking!

Sunday was the day, the day we had been waiting for we were going to HOBBITON! Now to some this may not seem like a big deal but to us it was. This is the village they created where the hobbits live in Lord of the Rings it is also known as the Shire. Some of you may recall on Americas Next Top Model they went to New Zealand and did a photo shoot in the hobbit holes yes it was the same place which just added to the excitement. This place is really out of the way and located in the rolling hills on a farm that Peter Jackson found and asked to use to create the Shire. The have over 40 hobbit holes of various sizes to account for all the dwarves and wizards that shoot on set this is the trick they use to make Gandalf look so big! This is the only movie set that has stayed up and looks exactly the same it even has wash hanging on the lines. Our tour guide was really nice and told us all of the little sercrets that happened on set along with things to look for in the movies. It was a gorgeous day and at the end of it we got to have a beer in the Green Dragon Bar what an awesome day Tyra would have been proud of my smizing abilities.

Here are some pictures to show what we saw it would be impossible to describe!

Work that hobbit hole!

And that was our adventure in Rotorua probably one of my favorite weekends we had such a good time and got to do so much it was awesome.

This week at school has been busy with the Christmas concert and getting all loose ends tied up when school is done on Friday. The Christmas concert was quite the experience. For one it was outside which would never happen at home and also it was very family orientated there was a lot of food and people could come and go. We tried a sausage sizzler which is a sausage in a piece of white bread with tomato sauce (ketchup) it was really good but they said they have those at all fundraising events. My class and Elizabeths did a song together called Smile we worked so hard on it that we hoped they would step up to the plate and perform well and they did! It was really fun to see all the syndicates perform and get all dressed up although it did not feel like Christmas!

We have also been working on music and the students in my class got into groups and formed their own bands taking rubbish and making it into rock. Today they had all day to find things to make into instruments and then perform for me the judge. They did such an awesome job and are very very talented in singing and dancing as well. It was such a fun project and great thing to do the last week of school when everyone is ready to be done.

A few of the groups busy at work getting their bands organized!

Today on 12-12-12 we got to see The Hobbit and it was awesome. I read the book when I was a senior in high school and it all started coming back to me as I was watching. It really was awesome to get to be here to see everything especially when they filmed the Shire and we had been to that same place. I can't wait for the next two to come out so i can remember how it ends!

We only have a day and a half with our kids left I don't know where the time went but it sure flew. The weather is so beautiful here right now i am not looking forward to the cold but I am excited to see my family and friends and for it to feel a little bit more like Christmas.

Pohutakowa: NZ's Christmas Tree

 

Not much time left so I will be seeing you all very soon! Get ready America we are coming back home!

Kia Ora

Wellington: An Unexpected Journey

Just kidding it was completely expected....Elizabeth had planned on going to Wellington the first week we arrived in New Zealand. Now Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand at is at the bottom of the North Island. It is also known as the Middle of Middle Earth. Peter Jackson who is the director of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is form Wellington and also has his studio there in the city. Most of the film is shot in New Zealand which gives something for the Kiwis to be proud of. Anyway The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had its premiere in Wellington only a day before we got there. I had read The Hobbit in high school and enjoyed it but now to be in New Zealand there is so much energy and love for the movie it is very cool to see how proud they are of it. everyone is a bit hobbit crazy at the moment which made it another exciting element of being in Wellington! As we got to the airport in Wellington Gollum was just hanging around waiting to say hello!

We got in pretty late to Wellington so we stopped at a little pizza place and split a pizza with some wine. (PS. This would be the dream pizza place you would own in Italy dad). We then woke the next day to a beautiful day in Wellington the sun was shining and we were ready to explore. We grabbed some coffee at Starbucks and of course keeping with The Hobbit theme it was all decked out to look like a little hobbit hole including speciality drinks. After our wonderful cup of coffee we made our way in the city and of course did some shopping and browsing at al of the cute stores. We found a lovely place for lunch that was New Orleans themed and sure made us feel at home with its mac and cheese. Later that night we went to see Breaking Dawn Part Two and it wasn't too bad kind of cool to see it here. After we went out and saw a little of the nightlife Wellington had to offer and trying some Tui beer which is a very yummy New Zealand beer named after the bird here.

Our next day we did a tour using the hop on hop off bus so we would be able to see a little more especially to the places we wouldn't be able to walk to from where we were staying. Our first stop was at Weta cave which is the studio where Peter Jackson and his crew film, make the special effects, and edit the movies they make. It was really awesome because we got to take a behind the scenes look by watching a video and it is amazing to really how much work goes into everything little thing that needs to be done on our favorite movies. They had some cool collectibles and pieces used in the movie on display at the area. It was located just in a residential area because at first I thought we were going to an actual cave. They also had some studios in different buildings that you could take a tour of but we didn't have much time before we had to hop back on the bus to our next spot.

We also got a chance to take a ride o the cable cars which was the way people got from the houses on the hills all the way downtown or to the college. From there we took a walk to the botanical gardens. This was beautiful but we came upon the rose garden which had over 100 beds of roses of any color imaginable it was beautiful and very serene. We also got in the bus and drove by some other important landmarks to Wellington like The Beehive which is where their Parliament meets and also we stopped at a maritime museum which gave us a little bit more history about Wellington and how it can be to be.

The last day was a very windy and rainy day so we checked out of our backpackers and went to find a Christmas craft show. They had very nice stuff but nothing that moved us to buy anything so we moved on to Te Papa which was a free interactive museum that was amazing. They had six floors with all different kinds of things to do like sea animals, natural disasters,  and history all having to do with New Zealand. I really enjoyed getting a chance to see how New Zealand formed and what was here before. Also, it amazes me how much I don't know about other countries histories here they learn all about everyone because the people have come from all over to form New Zealand they all bring their own history here. After the museum we got some lunch picked up our bags and scooted to the airport. It was very windy so we were worried our flight was going to be cancelled but we made it back safe and sound. I think from what I have seen I would love living in Wellington it had a really exciting vibe with lots to do and energy throughout the city that we hadn't seen before while in New Zealand.


Here are some pictures of the Museum!

Earthquake house

Big Whale: Free Willy possibly?

American WWII dance ball

Jurassic Park 2

Relaxing on bean bags at the airport!

On Monday we had our school trip to the Auckland Zoo and also an indoor water park called West Wave it was so awesome seeing the students outside of school enjoying themselves for all of the hard work that they have completed throughout the year. I was also very happy we could be a part of it even though we have only been here as they have finished up their year. On Tuesday we got the opportunity to go the the Henderson track meet for our year 5/6's we took about 30 students. It was so awesome the kids got to go to this huge stadium and compete against about 7 other schools from the area. They work really hard on athletics here especially training fro track and field events. I helped with the high jump and some of these kids were really incredible you could see how hard they worked and the natural skill they had. Being involved in track and field I am really glad I got to go and see all these kids really excited for something and working hard throughout the year to get an opportunity to shine here.

Tomorrow is Friday and this week has really been about finishing up al loose ends on projects we have been working on. My students presented their communications photo story to the class and have been finishing up their poetry book. Not to mention I am now a music teacher with the help of Elizabeth we have been working with our classes together on a song for the Christmas concert coming up nest Tuesday. I never would have thought I would be a music teacher but they really sound pretty good so we will see how that goes. They did tell me I have a really nice singing voice :) This weekend we are going to Rotorua for the weekend with my host mum Jan her son Cory and Elizabeth I am very excited for another weekend away which will be the last one before we leave next Saturday! I can't believ how fast time has gone but I am getting excited for Christmas and to see all my friends and family.



Until next time.

Cheers.

Primula Knotwise of Michel Delving
(My hobbit name)

Here is my group at the Zoo!!

Catch a Wave!

Well I wasn't able to update last week or yesterday so hopefully it isn't too long!

We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving here and I also had the opportunity to teach my students a little  about my family traditions. We read a book about Thanksgiving and I talked about what it means to be thankful for something. It was really nice to have the conversation because so many wanted to be thankful for material things they owned so we took a deeper look into our lives and they really came up with some wonderful things to be thankful for. Elizabeth and I made a turkey for our hallway that that the students were going to trace their hands and then write what they were thankful for on the hands. They had never really traced their hands so they thought it was funny that we did it all the time around Thanksgiving to make turkeys. They loved it though and some even wanted to keep making more. I also showed them clips of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade which is one of my favorite parts about the holiday. They thought it was really awesome!

Our Thankful Turkey!

On Thanksgiving we were able to have a beautiful dinner with our host families. It was delicious and even though we weren't able to be home it definitely felt like Thanksgiving. We had a beautiful turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (my favorite), green beans, and pumpkin pie. Elizabeth and Rachel made the pumpkin pie and boy was it tasty they did a fabulous job. My host mum made pavlova which is a desert here made like a meringue with fresh kiwi fruit and chocolate on top. It was sooooo goood and I was so stuffed by the end of it just like at home! I was also to wear a Thanksgiving crown and be a queen. They had christmas poppers which you open up and a present comes out so we all wore our crowns on our heads for the dinner how fabulous!

Thanksgiving Queens!

Pavlova YUMM

 On Friday we had the opportunity to meet up with Amanda's (Elizabeth's Cooperating teacher) parents again for a lovely meal at their home. They live up in the hills of Waitekere and have the best view of Auckland right from their deck! It was really amazing. We had a wonderful dinner from the grill and lots of laughter. It was so nice of them to invite us into their home and we really appreciate their hospitality.

On Saturday we made our way into Auckland to venture up to the Sky Tower which is a lot like the space needle. And if I recall as my mom pointed out on an episode of Jon and Kate Plus Eight they were in Auckland and walked around the outside panel. It was a really awesome view and we were glad we made it to a different area of Auckland and explored a new area.

Look out below!!!!

We also got an opportunity to eat and walk through the casino! Pretty neat.

"Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world...Don't be afraid to try the greatest sport around."
-Beach Boys

I feel like it is only right to quote the great Beach Boys at this time because i am now a surfer girl! On Tuesday we walked around the beach and we got the brilliant idea that we need to go surfing. So we got in contact with Matt a reliever at our school and the plans were set for Sunday late afternoon. I was a mix of nerves and excitement! Thoughts were going through my head like what if I got eaten by a shark! Well don't worry I am still here and have all of my limbs. Once we got to our surf school in lovely Piha we got our wetsuits and were set to go. There were about 11 people in our group and first thing we talked about were rips which made me nervous because they seemed to think that I should know how to see one which I can't do. We then made our way to the beach and was taught three ways to get up in the water. We practiced and had a little warm up that was exhausting and we were in the water that quick! The waves were pretty big but I was able to get up quite a few times which I was really excited about it was just so hard to get back out with the waves crashing into you. I kept having flashbacks of the movie Blue Crush but I know I didn't look like them but in my mind I was. It was such an amazing feeling standing up and getting the energy from the water it really is a very addicting feeling. We hope to go back again if time allows.

And I'm Up!! Almost

Look at that determination!

I am a very sore but happy person from my day of surfing I used muscles I didn't even know I had!  We have a very busy week at school with Wellington this weekend which we can't wait for!! Until next time.


Cheers.