My Sister's Belly

So my wonderful father has taken it upon himself to send me very regular photo updates via email. In particular he likes to send me pictures of the snow (at my request!) to help keep me in the loop about things at home.

Today I received an email containing pictures of the snowbanks in Ottawa that my parents took while they were visiting my aunt and uncle last weekend. Pretty impressive indeed!



Dad also made sure he sent a picture of the 5cm snowfall they received today - the first day of spring. It certainly sounds like it's been a long winter in Canada!



Also included in this email was a picture of my sister and her 7-month pregnant belly. I can't describe how giddy I got when I saw it! I showed some of these picture to my classes today and was telling them how much I wished I could just reach out and touch her belly! It is so cute and round!! Laura... you are going to have to have another one just so that I can get the opportunity to touch your belly the next time around!

Easter Holiday on the West Coast

This weekend I traveled to the West Coast with Claire for a mini adventure. Since we had 5 days off for the Easter break, we thought we would capitalize on the opportunity to go exploring.

Before starting our adventure, we went out with some co-workers for a "night out" on the town after our ICT PD day finished on Thursday. Good times indeed - great opportunity to let loose and be silly! Learned a new term that night: "quiet ones". It basically means "a few drinks". To be used in a sentence, one might say "care to meet up for some quiet ones after work?"

Since Thursday night was a late night, Claire and I set out the next day sometime after lunch. No destination in mind, other than to the West to see the coast! We ended up in a small town called West Port where found a local bar serving an all you can eat buffet for dinner, and a Holiday Park (aka: camp ground) where we stayed the night in Claire's tent.

The next morning we head a bit south in search of the Pancake Rocks. Along the way we found a cool little lookout spot that had some great shots. We bumped into a group of people partaking in what appeared to be a memorial service complete with flower petals and ashes. Feeling like we had just crashed the wrong party, we quickly turned around and head back to the car to continue our search.



Next stop - Pancake Rocks. Ran into some cyclists from Colorado outside the visitors center and I chatted it up with them. Totally forgot to offer them a place to stay in Blenheim, but maybe they will find me on Couch Surfing or Warm Showers as they near the area. Pancake Rocks were really cool. They are basically the result of weathered limestone on the ocean's edge. Kind of reminded me of Flower Pot Island in Tobermory, but on a much larger and more dramatic scale. There were also these cool features called "blowholes" which were formations in the rock that allowed water and pressure from the angry waves below to release in one big powerful blow.







From there, we head back up North towards a small village called Karamea. This is the location of the start (or end) of the Heaphy Track which also happened to be where one of my coworkers owns a farm. In fact, Catherine and her husband, Nathan, had just moved to Blenheim after years of living on the farm there. But since they still own the property they were visiting family there for the weekend. And Catherine kindly invited Claire and I to join them. We happened to arrive on the day that they were celebrating their daughter Ayla's birthday, so we got to meet a bunch of their family and local kiwi friends.





The next morning Claire and I set off for the Heaphy Track. It was a misty/rainy kind of day, but luckily didn't pour down on us at any point. Caused us a few extra blisters due to our wet feet, but made for some comfortable walking conditions. The scenery was really stunning. So much variety in landscape and plantlife along the way. One minute you are in a lush rainforest-type canopy setting. The next minute you are hiking along a cliff overlooking the sea. Another while later you are walking along a golden sandy beach. And before you know it, you are back into a lush green forest. Really cool indeed!









Since the Heaphy Hut was booked solid that night, we had to opt for the Lewis Hut which was another 1.5 hour hike further. Definitely worth it though! Meant we got to cross a few more swing bridges (oooooh sooooo much fun!) and got to stay with a small group of fun people that night. There was a guy named Brion and his friend Marina who worked for a lawfirm in Auckland. There was also a group of ladies all over 50 years of age who often get together for weekend adventures like this one. They were a hilarious combination. Since they had spent the previous night together at another hut, they had gotten to know one another quite well and were an excellent source of entertainment for us! Part of the enjoyment of tramping in New Zealand is getting to stay in the huts, and meet a variety of people through a sort of forced social interaction that you wouldn't otherwise get if you were to camp in a campsite.

The next day, Claire and I head off fairly early so that we could still make it home to Blenheim for the night so we could stay in our own beds. It was a really gorgeous day but wasn't too hot. It's amazing how much the scenery changes and looks different when you are walking the other direction. It was really awesome! The only complaint I had was the sandflies that forced us to take our PB sandwiches for lunch "on the go" and the huge puffy blisters that continued to grow in size as the day progressed. It was actually a hilarious scene to watch Claire and I walk the last 2 hours or so. We must have had very similar conditions on our feet since we both slowed to a crawl and laughed at one another as we attempted to cross the rivers and start moving again after our snack and water breaks.





We stopped in Karamea on our way home where we were able to shower and clean ourselves up a bit before heading off. Stopped for a nice and greasy take-away meal in Westport and drove the rest of the way home. I got to experience driving on the highway, on the "wrong side of the road", for the first time to help Claire out with the driving. It was amazingly confusing at first - but actually normed out pretty quick. The trickiest part of all was getting used to the gear shift on the wrong side, but with the gears the "normal way". Oh yeah... and my blinkers and highbeams also feeling like they were in the wrong position. Since I'd never driven along mountainous roads, this was also a first for me. Although the posted speed limit is 100km/hour, I was lucky if I could keep it steady at 80. There are so many twists and turns in the road, that it's impossible to keep a steady pace. I definitely felt like a tourist driver along that stretch!

I'm so glad we had today off. I was able to sleep in, run some errands, and do some house cleaning today. I have some lesson planning to do, but will get that started shortly.

Happy Easter to all at home! I can not believe you are still getting loaded with snow!

Wither Hills

When I arrived in Blenheim, the landmark that definitely stood out the most was the large set of hills on the edge of town - appropriately named the Wither Hills. My initial reaction to seeing this massive landmark was "Man... those things are ugly!!"

Since then, I've started to change my mind. I don't think they are so ugly any more. Yes, they are brown and look sort of funny, but after spending a bit more time walking and running in them, I am starting to discover that these hills have a sort of majestic feel to them.





I really like the way the sun reflects in the contours of the hills, and you can't beat the view of the city below. Not to mention, you get more great views of the Richmond Ranges in the North West, and the ocean to the North East.

New Addiction

Since arriving in NZ, I have started to watch some new tv shows. Two shows that I have taken a particular liking to are: "Coronation Street" and "Shortland Street". Both are low-budget, cheesy soap operas viewed by a large group of dedicated fans on weekday evenings. Coronation Street, otherwise known as "Coro", is a popular British-based show. Shortland street is NZ-based.

I would say that my liking for these shows has become a border-line "addiction" (although I blame my kiwi roommates for imposing this addiction on me!). As cheesy and low-budget as these shows are, there is always a controversial theme that dominates the story line and hooks the viewer making you want to come back for more!

The really exciting story in Shortland street has recently come to a close. It involved a serial killer that was targeting nurses at the hospital. The past few weeks we have been getting clues that "Joey" (a nurse at the hospital) was the killer. And last week we got the answer when he kidnapped another nurse from the hospital and held her in captivity while he prepared to perform an appendectomy on her to practice his surgical skills. The nurse managed to escape and Joey ended up jumping from a building to his death.

The most hilarious part is that the actor, Johnny Barker, that plays Joey, has been getting death threats and hate mail from Shortland Street fans. Apparently NZ is having trouble separating the character from the actor. It got so bad, that he needed to have a 20/20 episode featuring him and his strife to help set the fans straight.

I can only wait til the next big story line emerges from these shows. Definitely looking forward to seeing what happens to Rachel in Coronation Street who is on trial for the murder of her boyfriend! This definitely makes for easy conversation starters and wins me "coolness" points when I talk about these shows with my Year 12s!!!

Thoughts on Friendship

This weekend my roommate had her best friend, Kate, come for a visit. Since I didn't have much to do, I was around for much of their "together time" around the house. It was really really fascinating to watch them interact. Nic and Kate have been friends since as long as they can remember. They grew up together in Invercargill and went to the same elementary and high schools. They have been friends through the thick and thin, and you can totally tell by the way that they interact with one another! It was very apparent by the way that they could sit and chill on the couch together, watching a bit of tv, chatting away in between, but not feeling the need to make conversation to fill the potentially awkward silent periods. Kate felt totally comfortable to just get up and help herself to food from Nic's cupboard without asking, and the conversation they shared was so natural and comfortable - talking about everything and anything - interesting and not interesting - silly and serious.

Throughout my observations, I couldn't help but think of my friends at home and be reminded of how nice it is to have good friends. There is something very powerful about being able to sit and waste away an entire Saturday afternoon while in the company of a good friend or a group of friends - with the conversation covering everything from boys, to work, to life goals! If I'm missing anything most of all from home, I would definitely say it would be my friends. I do know that I will meet people while I am here and that I will probably develop some good friendships by the time I'm done, but I also know that it takes time and patience. Until then, I suppose I can live vicariously through Nic and Kate and enjoy the fact that they let me candidly observe their interactions and occassionally join in their conversations when I had comments to add.

International Hassles

So moving overseas has been quite the "adventure" thus far. I knew that it wouldn't be as simple as snapping my fingers or clicking my heels together for everything to magically come together. However, it has been more of a pain than I expected. I will summarize some of my findings here in the hopes that it just may help someone else should they decide to attempt a life change like I have just attempted.

1) Set up a bank account before you arrive. This is something I didn't do. I even asked my recruiter about this before I left, but his advice was to wait til I got here. His advice was bad. Listen to mine. There are lots of banking options available in NZ, but they are all costly. Nothing is free here -- NOTHING! Given the lack of competition due to NZ having a relatively low population, you pay a premium for everything. Cheques cost money, withdrawls cost money, deposits cost money, paying bills costs money, setting up online banking costs money, and the list goes on... I opted to go with an online bank (similar to ING) called Bank Direct. It seems to be the most competitive with regards to costs. Doesn't offer the services of the other banks, and you have to pay for any questions that you have to deal with over the phone, but it seems to be working for me. It took me over 3 weeks to get my bank account, so this is definitely something you want to get started before leaving the comfort of your home country. Storing your $1000 pay advance in cash under your mattress is a bit unnerving!

2) Consider how you will exchange money to Canadian funds ahead of time. I assumed I could do an electronic transfer but when I looked into this option, it costs $20 or $25 each time. Since I need to transfer my kiwi dollars to CDN dollars to pay off my line of credit, this option is not the best one for me. My next game plan was to get a 2nd bank card and get mom and dad to withraw money for me once a month and deposit into my bank account, but even that would cost me a $5 fee each time I did that for using a bank machine overseas. It also required me to set up a second bank account since the person I spoke to at Bank Direct didn't like my reason for needing a second bank card for one account (I tried to convince him I needed another bank card for my other purse!). So... I just recently discovered a website called XE.com. This site specializes in international currency exhanges and will transfer my money at the lowest possible cost. It's a pretty marvelous service actually!

3) Bring cash with you! My mom and dad were absolutely amazing before I left and along with Santa Clause, managed to acquire me a few hundred kiwi dollars to take with me. I suppose travellers cheques might have been even smarter, but cash is so much easier to deal with. I lived off this cash for the first several weeks. It was MUCH needed to help me get through a lot of the initial start-up costs like getting my mobile phone, and buying groceries, and acquiring all the other important things like towels and bedding that I opted not to bring with me.

4) Be prepared for really really crappy business hours. Half of the hassle of getting things sorted was due to the fact that nothing is open at any reasonable hour for people that actually work for a living. Be prepared to leave work early or start your errands at 9am on a Saturday morning because everything will be closed by 12:30 that day. Forget getting anything done on a Sunday unless it involves shopping at 3 of the big name stores that just recently starting opening for business on Sundays.

5) Beg, borrow, and borrow some more (no stealing necessary!). Now this might just be a kiwi thing, but I would like to think that it's not. It's amazing how much a "hello, I'm new to the country and have to start from scratch" email can do if you have a friendly staff. Most people have at least one or two things that they were planning to get rid of that could really help you out! I am so amazed at how little I had to spend to get started here. Thank goodness!

I'm certain that I have more advice to share on this topic, but my lesson planning is calling my name. I will share more later when I think of other key pieces of advice.

Posting Pictures

By popular demand, I'm finally posting some pictures. I've posted some from when I first arrived (see MUCH further below). I'm also posting pictures of the place I live. This is my "flat" and I flat here with some kiwi roomies. It's a bit old and a bit ghetto, but it's nice and big and spacious, so we certainly can't complain.

Our living room - looking out towards the deck

Our living room - from the other direction

A view of our kitchen (beside the living room)

Standing in the kitchen - looking out towards the deck (note the wood stove in the corner - our only source of heat for the winter!)

Off the kitchen is a hallway leading to another "wing" in the house (that's my room at the end)

The "toilet" room

The "shower" room (note my Dove shampoo in the picture - paid a bargain price of $6.50 per bottle - on SALE!!)

The front of our house - not a whole lot of curb appeal

Blenheim has been hitting the headlines lately...

Not long after I arrived, the town announced that there was a boil water advisory in effect due to Ecoli in the water system. The advisory lasted for well over a week when they finally decided to close down the well that was causing the problems. I couldn't help but be reminded of the Walkerton water scandal that took place a few years ago at home. Luckily ours didn't reach that level of concern.

Shortly after our boil water advisory was lifted, Blenheim made National headline news due to an attempted plane hijaking by a distressed Samoen woman that lived in the Marlborough region.

They say fame and fortune co-exist! I wonder if fortune will come alongside all of this fame!

New Zealand Chocolate

I am OFFICIALLY addicted to Cadbury Cream Eggs. Now... I will admit that I've always been a fan. However, most years I am content with 3 cream eggs per season. Once I've finished off the 3-pack that I get from the Easter bunny, I've usually satisfied my cravings and can forget about them until the next year.

Well... that was until this year - the year that I was introduced to NZ's version of Cadbury chocolate. I was first hooked on NZ Cadbury's products when one of my students sold me a King-sized Dairy Milk bar for a school fundraiser. The chocolate was sooooooo good, and soooooooo creamy, it was oh so yum! It wasn't until a few weeks later when I bought my first cream egg that I found my new love!

I actually think I have a bit of a problem!... I can't stop eating them! A couple of weeks ago I treated myself 3 nights in a row to a cream egg for dessert with my cup of tea. I forced myself to break this pattern on night #4 because I was starting to feel a bit guilty. A week later I did another three-day stretch and took the fourth night off again due to the fact that I just felt that it wasn't the healthiest of dessert choices.

I'm really hoping that the Easter chocolate season ends quickly... I have a feeling that will be the only way I will stop eating these yummy yummy treats!! We'll see how long it takes...

Snout Track

Today I went on a wee road trip with my friend Nisrene from work. We ended up in Picton where we set off to explore the Snout Track. It was a fantastically beautiful hike that overlooked the majesty that the Marlborough Sounds has to offer.

My pictures really don't do it justice, but I thought I'd share them anyways...

Training Day at Lake Rotoiti

I had the day off today to visit an outdoor ed centre at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park. The purpose of today was to train some teachers from my school for the upcoming Year 10 outdoor ed trips that are to take place this year. I was super keen to get involved with these, so I was happy to be given the opportunity.

On the way there I discovered that I do not have the iron stomach that I thought I had. I was in the back seat of the mini-van and was really struggling with the semi-winding roads that we traveled. It took me a good couple of hours after we got there for my stomach to finally settle down. No, I didn't throw up, but I certainly felt queasy.

Fortunately, the driver of the van made me sit in the front seat on the way home. Not only did it keep my stomach settled (keeping a focussed stare out the front windshiled) but it also gave me a chance to take in more of the scenery. I also got a front row seat when we encountered what, supposedly, is a fairly normal kiwi phenomenon. Herding sheep down the road as they are transfered from one pasture to another. What a funny sight indeed!

Satin vs. Cotton

I can't believe how overwhelming the response has been from my staff with regards to helping me out with some of the necessities I needed to get started here. During my first week here I flicked an email out to the staff that basically asked for help with some of the basic items that I needed to get set up - merely looking for any items that people may have set aside for good will or a garage sale. So far I've managed to find:
- a desk
- a desk chair
- a single bed
- 3 towels
- a flannel sheet
- a duvet with a duvet cover
- 12 beer mugs
- a hanging mirror
- a hair dryer
and possibly more, but I can't remember for sure...

I must say - it was really nice to get the bed when it was delivered last week. For the past few weeks I had been sleeping on a foam pad (borrowed from my DP) which kept me no more than 3 inches off the ground and I often wondered about the spiders and other creapy crawlies that may have found their way into my bed at night.

Since I've done so well at scrounging items, I decided that I would treat myself to something nice and get some nice bedding. I dunno.... there's something really comforting about having some nice sheets to crawl into at night.

So after shopping around (and remembering how expensive bedding is!), I found some $90 satin sheets on sale for half-price. Thinking that they might be nice, I paid for them and brought them home.

Since the purchase I have started to contemplate whether or not the satin sheets were a good idea. I've never owned satin sheets, nor have I ever slept in them. I don't know anything about their properties and am uncertain as to whether or not I'm going to appreciate them year-round. I'm certain that they will feel nice against my skin, but am not so certain about other important details like warmth factor, and breathability factor, and things like that. I know I can rely on the good ol' cotton sheets and am wondering if I should go back and seek out some of those instead...

I've decided to wait and think about it a bit longer... However, if anyone has any opinion on this one, please let me know! I'm curious to hear from people who have (positive or negative) satin sheet experiences!

Good Day!

Funny how things work. Today was a fantastically awesome day! I started the day with my naughty Year 12s and actually had someone come and take one of the students out for the period who I had "purple sheeted" the day before and not yet had a chance to speak with ("restorative chat" is what we call them here). Since I figured it would be a hostile situation since nothing had been resolved, I figured it was better she be somewhere else than in my classroom.

So the girls were good - they listened during my lesson, and didn't do anything naughty. I had two girls sitting in the back of the classroom who were talking a bit during my lesson and I called them on it twice. The third time I told them I would move them if they kept it up. By the end of my lesson I was in awe at how wonderful everyone was being and I praised them for their behaviour. I believe my exact words went something like this: "I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate you ladies on your behaviour today. Almost everyone was able to make it through my lesson without talking and I think we actually learned something together as a class. I am feeling the love ladies! Good work!" And the rest of the class went quite well also.

I actually purple sheeted another girl (third time so far) but this one was a calm one. She was sitting there doing absolutely no work and I told her that if her name was on my roll and I was responsible for her marks that she had to do work in my room. Otherwise, she would have to leave and go back to the Dean. She took it as an opportunity to have a guaranteed appointment with the Dean to get her timetable switched - something she had been denied the last few times she had tried. So it was a win-win situation.

After class, I got the fantastic news that 5 of the girls in my class (ironically, 5 of the troublemakers) do not have the prerequisites for the class and my HOD was going to have them removed. Woo hoo!! Happy Valentine's Day to Ms. Edwards!!!

Period 2 was Extended Form time today and we had a house assembly in the hall. Afterwards we went back to class to take roll again and spend some time discussing Goal Setting. Normally I wouldn't know what to do with this and wouldn't really do much with it, but I thought I'd try something out. After witnessing my fellow Cross Country Ski coaches go through a Goal Setting session with the team at ODSS, I had a much better idea of what to do. Started off talking about how goal setting affects me and my life, giving my half-marathon training as an example. Went on to explain some other important aspects of goal setting and finished by stating the importance of making them visible in your life. I even suggested the idea of posting their goal sheet on the wall beside their bed so it was there, right in front of their face, every morning when they wake up. I think I actually connected with some of them on this one and might have even possibly inspired some others (ok... well, my ego would like to think so). I told them to make a really pretty goal sheet with lots of colours and put some thought into the areas they'd like to improve on this year. I collected them so I can't wait to see what they've written.

Period 3 brought my Advanced Year 12s. As always, they were wonderful. Its amazing how wonderful it is to teach Academic Senior classes - something I had not yet had the pleasure of doing in Ontario yet. It's a totally different atmosphere in the classroom, and I really really enjoy it.

My last class of the day was with my Year 10s who were also quite well behaved. You should have seen the smile on my face as I walked into the staff room to eat my lunch. I sat outside at the picnic table with some other ladies and enjoyed the sun and the fact that I'd just had a really nice day - by far the best day so far.

During my prep I had my "restorative chat" and was interviewed by one of my Form students for her media project and apparently it will be posted in the school newspaper. I found it particularly interesting that when I was asked the question "what do you like the most about teaching". My resonse was something about the challenges that it brings and how I actually really enjoy working through the individual struggles with my students and it all coming together at the end of the year. Because by that point, we've been through so much together and they appreciate me just as much as I appreciate them for the things they've taught me.

So the reality is that it won't all be roses and honey like today, but I'm basking in the enjoyment of it while it lasts. Tomorrow will always bring another day and thus continues the sinusoidal journey of emotions in my career as a teacher of maths to young adolescents.

Holy Snow Balls!

So I just heard that my dear friends from ODSS have only taught one day of school since January 24th as a result of MULTIPLE no-bus days.... All I have to say is... "YOU SUCK!!!".

Apparently I chose the wrong time of the year to relocate to a new - warmer - country.

So if anyone has any pictures to share of these copious quantities of snow, I'd love to see them. I'm actually missing winter. Not because I'm not liking the warm, sunny, weather that I'm experiencing here, but because I actually really like snow.

Sweet Little Angels... well, almost!

So week #2 was much more sane than my first week. The only thing that really threw me was the wake-up call my Year 12B class gave me. Since I had only seen them once during the previous week, I hadn't gotten to know the "true" tone of the class. That definitely changed the next time I saw them in their true colours. They were such a striking contrast from my other 4 - almost "angelic" - classes that I had trouble taking it all in. I didn't realize my school had girls that behaved that way and I was totally caught off-guard. Apparently my class is a collection of all the "best" and i am the fortunate one that gets to teach them all in the same room. I actually stood in awe during that second class - taking in the chaos that surronded me - realizing that I hadn't felt that "tried" since my very first semester of teaching. In fact, I left the room with a red face - something that hasn't happened to me in well over a year. After consulting with numerous people in my department and talking to the Year 12 Dean, I had some action strategies to arm myself with for the next class. I even took some time to pull one of the girls out of her Period 1 class the next day to sit and have a 20 minute conversation with her and the DP (Deputy Principal). It was one of those "powerful" and "moving" conversations that actually ended up being worth it in the end since We were able to break down some barriers and start moving towards her being able to trust me and consider following some very basic rules: raise your hand when you have a question, and listen when I'm talking. So yeah... once I got her on board, and after giving my class a pretty cut-throat speech the next day, things got better. I still had to resort to my 3 strikes your out approach (something I used with my grade 9 boys at home) and ended up having to "purple sheet" a few girls (ie. kicking them out for getting three strikes) but I think that it's a step in the right direction towards gaining control of that class.

So yeah... aside from my wonderful test of classroom management skills with the one class, the rest have been good. Wednesday was Waitangi Day which is a National holiday in NZ whichmeant we had the day off. My flatmates decided it was the perfect opportunity to have a housewarming party on the Tuesday night. Pretty low-key, but still fun. Then on Wednesday I met up with Chris again who took me to a place called Nydia Lake track which is a hiking trail near the Marlborough Sounds. It was a gorgeous day for a hike and the scenery was pretty awesome. I guess this is pretty typical of the environment here - one minute you are in a pine forest, and the next you feel like you've entered a tropical rain forest. Such diverse greenery indeed! I worked myself pretty hard on this hike actually and definitely had a sore butt the next day to show for it. Gotta love that feeling!









Thursday and Friday wizzed by and before I knew it, it was the weekend all over again. Friday night I got together with a woman named Claire who is a science teacher at my school. Being from the UK and also new to NZ, she appreciates having company to hang out with and do things with, just as much as I do. We went to the local production of By Jeeves (an Andrew Lloyd Weber production) which was done by students all under the age of 19 in our community. While at the theater I gained a stronger appreication for just how small Blenheim is. The theater is quite small and has a "community" feel to it. I swear I saw at least 5 or more of my coworkers there along with several of my students.

Saturday was a big day in Blenheim - the Wine and Food Festival. This is a fairly large event that draws over 8000 people each year. Willomyne (another coworker) invited me to go with her and her friends so it was nice to have some people to hang out with for the day. Starting with breakfast at one of her friends places, and after several glasses of wine, we made our way to the hosting vineyard. After receiving our complimentary wine glasses at the gate, we toured around sampling only the cheapest wines available and saying hello to all of the familiar faces at the event. It was such a cool experience - so chill and laid back. Everyone was happily buzzing on the good tasting wine, the sun shining in our faces, and the breeze blowing in our hair. A very very wicked atmosphere. There was also live entertainment and lots of people had lawn chairs and blankets to sit on and take it all in. And of course, there was lots of food to choose from as well. We packed it in around 5:30 and caught the first bus we could get on that took us back to town. I ended up spending the rest of the evening with one of my roommates and a few other friends from work including Merril and her boyfriend who were staying at our place for the weekend.





Sunday was a really super lazy day - definitely needed. Sleeping in, chilling out in the living room passing time while waiting for the morning rain to stop. After breakfast we went for a walk in Wither Hills - a big landmark in Blenheim - the hills that I can see when I look down towards the end of my street. At the top of the hill you have a beautiful view of the town and surrounding area. There are many more trails to explore which I am very much looking forward to! Later that day I met up with Nisrene to bake my cookies which was a nice and relaxing way to end the weekend.

Phew! Starting to gain control of my life!

Holy Moly! It's been a while since my last post! All I can say is that it's been an insanely busy first couple of weeks here! After my weekend of relaxation, things changed drastically as I began my first week of classes.

Monday was a full day of work for the staff. Unfortunately, it was taken up mostly by meetings and such and left little time for preparations. Our timetable was also still not finalized yet so everyone felt a bit unsettled and lacked the ability to start getting things sorted.

Tuesday was an orientation day for the Year 9's with the assistance of the Year 13's. It started with a traditional welcome ceremony for the new staff called the Powhiri (pronounced Po-fer-ee). I must say - this was one of the coolest experiences I have had to-date! Since the Mauri culture is very prevalent and significant in New Zealand, the ceremony was based on the traditions of the Mauri people. Begining with a call from inside the Assembly Hall, and returned by someone standing outside, we walked in procession to the front of the Hall to the calls and dancing of the Mauri student culture group. Once assembled in the gym with the Year 9's behind us, and the returning staff and Year 13's facing us, there was a welcome speech given to us in the Mauri language. Following that, the new staff followed through a procession line where I received a "Hongi" (essentially an affectionate nose-rubbing) from a large number of welcoming people. The whole thing actually felt quite surreal and for some reason had a very powerful effect. I experienced a flood of emotions while walking into the Hall and had to blink away my tears. I'm certain that I had a look of "awe" while I took it all in. In fact, I know that my face gave it away since one of my coworkers mentioned to me afterwards that she told the person sitting next to her to look at my face while I was walking in. How embarassing!

Immediately after the Assembly we broke for morning Tea only to return back and receive the Year 9's in our Form Classes that were announced class-by-class. Since I am a Form Class teacher, I spent the remainder of the morning with them playing name-games and covering some administrative stuff. Luckily they spent the afternoon outside together participating in some games and ice-breaking activities that were led by the Year 13's. This gave me some time to start thinking about my classes and what I was going to be teaching on the first day.

Wednesday was yet another orientation day spent with my form class - this time with all ages -- Year 9 through 13. We had nearly the entire day to spend together which I was luckily warned about the night before. It was still an awfully long time to fill and was definitely more challenging for me as a new staff member who knows next to nothing about the school, the expectations, and how things run. Great opportunity to practice my bs-ing. I think it's going to be an interesting experience working with a Form Class for the entire year. Should be a positive experience I would think. My girls seem nice and friendly and we seem to get on quite well. (I *think* I just used a NZism there - I seem to be using the phrase "get on" a lot these days - something I'm pretty sure I picked up here). Oh yeah... on this day I attended another assembly in the Hall for - this time for all of the students. This assembly was a welcome to the school year and the new staff sat on the stage and were formally introduced to the entire student body. Talk about not being able to hide from the fact that you are new! I was absolutely astonished at the behaviour during this assembly. the girls were completely silent and behaved well throughout the entire thing. You could have heard a pin-drop it was so quiet and formal. I didn't think that was actually a possibility given my experiences at home. We're lucky if we can even get our students to show up on a good day, let alone show respect and listen!! lol...

Thursday and Friday were my first official days of teaching. All in all, they went pretty well. I didn't actually feel very prepared at all for them, but I think I winged it ok. My students seem really sweet and really well behaved for the most part. I'm teaching one Year 9 (A level), two Year 10 (B level), and two Year 12 (one A and one B level). I was certainly glad to see the weekend arrive since I was totally beat from the week's events. It had been a very warm week with temperatures at or above 30 degrees each day which was hard for my body to adjust to so quickly after leaving such cold temperatures back home.

Friday night was my first night alone at home since my roommates had both gone away for the weekend. Had myself a few nightmares and woke up several times to the creaks and odd noises that our flat makes.

Saturday morning I met up with Chris, a friend of Amanda's that she met while travelling in NZ a few years back. Since he loves his country and is passionate about showing it off to others, he offered to take me for a tramp at one of his favourite places - Nelson Lake National Park. The day was quite cold and gloomy since we had a change in weather with some rain. However, it was still easy to see the beauty that the park had to offer. After the hike we had a well deserved dinner and then explored some more of the area where I got to experience a few more firsts - firing a gun for the first time in my life (quite an exhilerating rush!) and staying in one of the back-country huts that NZ is known for.







Sunday I met up with a friend from work named Nisrene who took me to a beach called White's Bay. It was REALLY hot that day and definitely refreshing to get in the cold ocean water. I was sure to slap on lots of sunscreen for fear of what the harsh NZ sun rays would do to my virgin white Canadian skin. Our trip to the beach was a good reminder of how small the community is here - one of my students was lifeguarding that day and I'm pretty sure I saw a few others that I knew as well!



I've been horribly bad so far at communicating with people from home, but I blame it purely on the chaos that i've been working through so far. It took me a week to secure a mobile phone, and I'm still working on finding myself a bed and other furniture that I need. It is very difficult to do much around here when the stores close at 5 or 6pm on weeknights and 3pm on Saturdays. I'm still not sure if anything is open on Sundays. The time change is also difficult to work with when I've been spending most nights at the school until 7pm doing lesson planning. I also realized that all of my phone contacts and many of my email contacts are in a .pst file on my external harddrive that I have yet to figure out how to load onto my school laptop. So... if I haven't called or emailed, please do not be offended. I'm currently still in my "survival" mode but hope to get past that one real soon.

I'm not sure if I'm homesick yet. I guess I haven't had time to feel that way. The reality is starting to set in that I am in fact living really really far away from my friends and family and that I just can't drive a few hours to go visit. I'm lucky that people have been very welcoming and friendly to me here and I guess that goes a long way to help with minimizing that sad feelings of leaving family and friends behind. I spoke with mom and dad today who are still babysitting Andrew and Nathan while Rob & Anita are cruising in Hawaii. I got a bit teary when I was talking to Nathan on the phone, but did my best to push those thoughts aside.

Still have lots more to write about, and pictures to post, but they will have to wait. I'm off to do some baking to give away to people who have really stepped up to the plate and given me a bunch of things to help me get started here.

Until next time...

Getting Sorted... well, sorta!

So I've been here a few days and am starting to feel a bit sorted. There's still lots to be done, but I know it will happen with time. I think my biggest frustration is my lack of connectivity right now... something I definitely take for granted at home. The school internet has been down, and the internet cafe is closed on Sunday (as with most other ammenities in town as well). However, that aside, I'm quite pleased to say that my jet-lag recovery is nearly done, I'm already starting to acclimatize to the warm weather, and my sandal calluses are already starting to form. On a side note: I'm considering a competition with myself to see how many days I can go without having to put my sandals away!

On Friday I had a meeting at the school that was devoted to all of the new staff. There is quite a large group of us (10+) but only 3 are brand new to the teaching profession. The meeting was quite helpful and informative. I actually felt quite ill for most of the morning - enough to make me scope out the nearest washroom in case I had to make a run for it. I'm not sure why I felt so sick, but figure it was just another part of my body adjusting to things here.

A few pics of my school...




The meeting was just one small reminder of how different things are going to be here. The fact that we actually had a day devoted to training for "new staff" is quite a novelty from my previous experiences. The day was even preceded by a "new staff" BBQ the night before so we had a chance to socialize and get to know one another on a personal level beforehand. I have a feeling I am going to spend the next several months having to stop myself from annoying those around me while I continually compare things to how things are done at home. I'll have to try and keep those thoughts to myself and post them to my blog instead.

Saturday I spent roaming around the town centre familiarizing myself with the stores and ammenities that are located there. I found a bike shop that also has connections with the local "harriers club" (running club) that I'm looking forward to hooking up with. I spent close to 2 hours waiting in line at Vodophone (there was only one girl working there that day!) only to find out that I couldn't get a phone because I didn't have my passport on me for them to use for the credit check. I will have to go back on Monday to get that sorted out. Later that afternoon I went to check out the flat that I am likely going to be sharing with some coworkers, picked up some "take-away" (take-out) fish and chips and spent a quiet night in watching a movie. Oh yeah... and i also spent part of the day doing some "light" reading of the grade 12 textbook that I will be teaching from. I definitely have a lot of refreshing to do!

Today (Sunday) I woke up to the sun shining into my room. I decided that it was time for me to crack open my bike box (I'd been holding out on that, waiting to move into my new place) and dig out my running gear. I went for a 45 minute run along the river and towards the hills that i hope to run a lot on. I probably walked for at least 10 mins of my run, but it felt good to get my legs moving again. I definitely got lost a few times but managed to find my way.

My next most important task is to aquire all of the "things" that I wasn't able to move over with me. I think I'm gonna hold off a few days and see if I can make a plea to my fellow staff and see what things they can help out with. Good God I've already spent a lot of money so far!

Closing notes:
- Kiwi's are definitely a friendly group of people.
- It is such a weird environment here - feels like a tropical version of Britain. Things are smaller and more compact, there's a whole slew of roundabouts, and there's a mix of palm trees, pine trees, and maple trees!
- Slang word for "duvet" is "dooner". What a fun word! Something else I need to add to my "items needed" list.

Wow! I'm here!... I'm actually in New Zealand!

The past few weeks have been absolutely nuts. My days were spent lesson planning, marking tests and assignments, and preparing exams for my students at ODSS as I tied up the loose ends at my old job. My nights were spent packing, organizing, and sorting my "stuff" - something I realized I have far too much of given my seemingly never ending Nomadic way of life. And to finish, I had to move all my "stuff" into storage and figure out how to fit all the remaining things - things that were carefully hand-picked during the sorting phase - into a large suitcase, a bike box, and a carry-on piece of luggage. Indeed, a daunting task for someone as "spacially unaware" as I am.

It's been both physically exhausting and emotionally draining. One can not appreciate how much work it is to sort out and organize the logistics of moving overseas to work for a year. It's horribly confusing and overwhelming and expensive to summarize in a few words or less. I'm still not really sure that i've done all that I needed to do, but I guess I'm here, so that's what matters the most!

My family had a goodbye dinner for me on Saturday which was actually quite sad for me. By the end of the night, I started to realize that it was time for me to say goodbye, so I dealt with the situation by ignoring it and laying down on the couch for a nap so noone could see the tears that had already started to accumulate. I refused to say my "official" goodbyes that night since it just seemed like far too much to say goodbye to my entire family in one shot. Instead, I opted for individual goodbyes the next day. I definitely cried on (read: soaked) Mark's shoulder in his kitchen and as a result, he cried back on mine. I stopped by Laura and Mike's place that night for another goodbye and got to touch my sister's pregnant belly for the last time before she gives birth in May. I also had a wee bit of a melt-down in the lobby of Rob's work when I stopped by on Monday to pick up the last-minute travel insurance document that I had faxed to his office. It was also difficult saying goodbye (or rather so-long) to Brian whom I had met on a dating site less than two months prior but had really enjoyed spending time with. I'd said goodbye to my girlfriends the weekend before and when combined with the onset of PMS the result was one really messy and embarassing tearfest. I'm fairly certain that I'm all cried out now. At least for the next while until the homesickness sets in.

So my flight remarkably worked out quite well. I'd say that the worst part was actually getting to the airport from Owen Sound. Lesson learned: never EVER again will I drive to the airport from Owen Sound during the winter season. All in all it took us close to 4 hours to get to the airport leaving me much less sanity time as I had hoped. Thank goodness mom and dad were able to put up with me on the car ride there and were still willing to stand with me in the check-in lineup and see me off through the door to customs. Oh yeah... one last time for tears - not a whole lot of words spoken cause it was far too diffult to speak. Instead I opted to say thanks for putting up with me that day and for persevering through the bad weather to get me there on time.

Thanks to Air Canada I spent $150 in overage fees and an hour in the plane sitting on the tarmack waiting for some minor repairs to the cockpit. On this part of my journey to LA, I met a guy named Jonathon who was travelling home from 2 weeks away on business. Since his company so generously pays for a driver to meet him at the airport, I was able to score a ride to the correct terminal for my departing flight. Oh yeah... and I was able to catch the flick "Superbad" which was highly entertaining and had me laughing out loud on several occasions. I'm pretty sure I even had a few knee-slapping moments!

The next portion of my journey was also delayed, this time for 1.5 hours due to repairs needed on one of the emergency exit doors of my flight with Qantas. ALways a comforting feeling indeed to know that emergency repairs were done just before your plane takes off! On this 12.5 hour flight I sat beside a guy named Justin who was on his way to Melbourne Australia to work in a winery there for the next three months. He even had the nerve to laugh at me when I was awoken from a nap due to some severe turbulance. Apparently my reaction was commical. I guess i got used to the turbulence and managed to sleep several hours throughout the night. Man though, was my butt ever sore by the end. Thank-goodness I haven't experienced any long-lasting effects!

Arriving in Aukland was a great feeling. Sunny and warm and fresh! After getting nailed by Air NZ for another $125 in overage fees, I had a 10 minute walk to the Domestic Terminal and enjoyed every minute of it! After napping for a bit in the waiting area, I borded my last flight (a very small 20-seater plane) and arrived in Blenheim a very short 75 mins later.

My DP (Deputy Principal) met me at the airport and we managed to squeeze all of my luggage into her car. She stopped by the school on our way into town for a few quick hellos and let me nap at her house for the rest of the afternoon in an effort to get caught up on some missed sleep. Later that night I went to a BBQ for all the new staff at MGC which was a really nice, warm, welcoming event. It seems like everyone here is just so friendly, and so laid back, and I really think I'm gonna like it here. I was careful to only have one glass of wine though since I was nervous about what more than one would do to me.

Went to bed at 9:30pm last night and slept through to the morning. Woke up around 5am and had trouble getting back to sleep for a bit, but managed to get a few more hours of sleep before getting up in time for a new staff meeting at the school.

First impressions - fantastic! Will post more soon.

New Desk Chair

I'm in the market for a new desk chair... One that is ergonomic and comfortable to sit in for long periods of time... Does anyone have any recommendations?

Lion Cut

Got this email from my friend Lindsay the other day... oh man did it ever make me laugh!

These are some of the funniest pictures I've ever seen. Brief story to explain them:

A guy Dave works with has a really fluffy cat. The cat tends to get a rash on it belly in the summer so every year he takes the cat to the beauty parlour to get a "line cut". This year he took the cat in as usual and asked for a standard "line" cut. The person working at the salon heard "lion cut". The cat does not look impressed!