Parent Teacher Night
I am totally exhausted. The kind of exhaustion that makes your head hurt. This comes after finishing round 2 of parent-teacher night. We had one last week on Thursday night for the senior students. But since we have so many keen parents at our school, we have to have a second separate night to accomodate the junior students. And even at that, my schedule tonight was booked solid with back-to-back 5minute interviews from 4pm to 6pm. In fact, I had to turn away students requesting interviews since I had no time slots left.
Tonight I stayed an extra half-hour after my last interview to talk with one parent about her daughter. This particular student is really struggling with getting her life on track and is totally wasting her time away in Year 10... Doesn't even lift her pen in class - unless it is to write notes to her friends. It was actually a pretty intense interview but hopefully worthwhile. It's kind of interesting getting to set the record straight with point-blank, factual statements about what she is doing, and how her decisions are affecting her. We'll see if she can turn a new leaf and start fresh tomorrow. I can only imagine how ugly the car ride home would have been for her tonight!
I'm so brain dead right now that I'm probably going to hit the sack. It's only 8:30 and I'm going to miss Desperate Housewives, but man... I'm sooooo tired!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Winter Preparations
This weekend was nice and low-key. Definitely one that I was in need of.
I decided to bite the bullet and join a gym. Nisrene and I went on Saturday to one of the local clubs that has a winter special. $99 for 3 months. By far, this is the best deal in town. The gym is nothing too flash, but it's a gym. Hopefully a means for me to get back in shape. It also happens to be the gym that Short Nic belongs to, and Tall Nic has also decided to join because, as she put it, she didn't want to be "sitting at home on her butt" while Nic and I were working out. Hopefully we can all help to motivate one another!
On Saturday night I went to Claire's place for dinner. Claire moved into her new place last term and I finally got a chance to see it. She cooked me a marvelous dinner and made me extremely generous of her very posh living arrangements! She certainly managed to find herself a sweet deal - housesitting for a beautiful mansion in town!
Today Nisrene and I headed to Nelson to do some shopping. I was determined to find myself some proper insulative layers. After enough whining and complaining to my coworkers about the cold, I have learned that layering is the key to surviving winter here. Apparently it is the norm to wear "poly prop" (as they call it here) layers underneath your dress clothes! Glasson's is a popular store amongst the teen/young adult crowd that sells some decently priced Merino layers. So on this shopping spree I managed to pick up a long-sleeved merino top, and 2 tank top camisoles (otherwise known as "singlets"). I also managed to find some really nice Icebreaker merino bottoms on sale (definitely more expensive than Glassons, but well worth it!). I think I am now officially ready for winter!
This weekend was nice and low-key. Definitely one that I was in need of.
I decided to bite the bullet and join a gym. Nisrene and I went on Saturday to one of the local clubs that has a winter special. $99 for 3 months. By far, this is the best deal in town. The gym is nothing too flash, but it's a gym. Hopefully a means for me to get back in shape. It also happens to be the gym that Short Nic belongs to, and Tall Nic has also decided to join because, as she put it, she didn't want to be "sitting at home on her butt" while Nic and I were working out. Hopefully we can all help to motivate one another!
On Saturday night I went to Claire's place for dinner. Claire moved into her new place last term and I finally got a chance to see it. She cooked me a marvelous dinner and made me extremely generous of her very posh living arrangements! She certainly managed to find herself a sweet deal - housesitting for a beautiful mansion in town!
Today Nisrene and I headed to Nelson to do some shopping. I was determined to find myself some proper insulative layers. After enough whining and complaining to my coworkers about the cold, I have learned that layering is the key to surviving winter here. Apparently it is the norm to wear "poly prop" (as they call it here) layers underneath your dress clothes! Glasson's is a popular store amongst the teen/young adult crowd that sells some decently priced Merino layers. So on this shopping spree I managed to pick up a long-sleeved merino top, and 2 tank top camisoles (otherwise known as "singlets"). I also managed to find some really nice Icebreaker merino bottoms on sale (definitely more expensive than Glassons, but well worth it!). I think I am now officially ready for winter!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Winter is definitely here!
Ok... it's official. Winter is most definitely here! Since I got back from my travels over the holidays, there has been a noticeable turn in the weather. It's cold.... And it's uncomfortable.... And I can't believe how much I've already started to complain about it!! Even with lots of warning from others, I'm still not prepared for this.
It really is a crazy thing - me being a "Canadian" and all. We Canadian's are supposed to be used to the cold! And generally, I would say that we are! But the difference is that we're used to the cold outside - not inside! There's no escaping it here. When it's cold outside, that means that it's also cold inside.
We have officially started to use our wood stove fire place. I have also made a point of purchasing an oil heater for my room, and I have started to use an electric blanket (donated by one of my kind co-workers) on my bed! And man-o-man... I can't believe it, but it's still not warm enough! (on a side note: yes mom - I am following safe practices and am turning my electric blanket off when I go to sleep at night)
I wake up in the morning and my room is barely a shade of warm. In fact, it's cold - and that's after my oil heater has been running all night long. My body is ok in bed since I've got heaps of bedding and blankets, and the wool underlay that I was told to buy also seems to helping out in that area too. But man... is it ever hard to get out of bed! When I finally convince myself to get up, I open my bedroom door only to discover that the hallway is even colder than my room! And the shower room is even colder than the hallway. Since the water pressure here is shite I find myself strategically dancing in a careful rotating pattern while shampooing and rinsing my way through. When I'm done, I do my best to dry off any and all water from my body before fleeing back to the "warmth" of my room.
Once dressed, I make my way to the kitchen which is (surprise surprise!) also cold since the log on our fire had died out hours earlier in the night. From there, I head to my car and make my way to school where I pass by my classroom and turn on all heat to max, and then sit down at my desk in the math office with my jacket on while I wait for the heat-pump to kick into action.
It's just crazy how difficult it is to escape the cold here. You're even exposed to it throughout the day when you move from one building to the next since none of the buildings are connected through the comfort and convenience of heated hallways.
Now it's not really all as bad as I describe. I would say that I finally start to feel warmish around lunch, when the heat has finally had a chance to warm up my classroom, and the sun has started to shine and warm things up. In fact, by the end of the day, I'm usually overheated, and my cheeks have gone red as a result. We are definitely lucky here in Blenheim that we typically experience warm sunny days throughout the winter. I think that will be my saving grace! We shall see how it all pans out!
Ok... it's official. Winter is most definitely here! Since I got back from my travels over the holidays, there has been a noticeable turn in the weather. It's cold.... And it's uncomfortable.... And I can't believe how much I've already started to complain about it!! Even with lots of warning from others, I'm still not prepared for this.
It really is a crazy thing - me being a "Canadian" and all. We Canadian's are supposed to be used to the cold! And generally, I would say that we are! But the difference is that we're used to the cold outside - not inside! There's no escaping it here. When it's cold outside, that means that it's also cold inside.
We have officially started to use our wood stove fire place. I have also made a point of purchasing an oil heater for my room, and I have started to use an electric blanket (donated by one of my kind co-workers) on my bed! And man-o-man... I can't believe it, but it's still not warm enough! (on a side note: yes mom - I am following safe practices and am turning my electric blanket off when I go to sleep at night)
I wake up in the morning and my room is barely a shade of warm. In fact, it's cold - and that's after my oil heater has been running all night long. My body is ok in bed since I've got heaps of bedding and blankets, and the wool underlay that I was told to buy also seems to helping out in that area too. But man... is it ever hard to get out of bed! When I finally convince myself to get up, I open my bedroom door only to discover that the hallway is even colder than my room! And the shower room is even colder than the hallway. Since the water pressure here is shite I find myself strategically dancing in a careful rotating pattern while shampooing and rinsing my way through. When I'm done, I do my best to dry off any and all water from my body before fleeing back to the "warmth" of my room.
Once dressed, I make my way to the kitchen which is (surprise surprise!) also cold since the log on our fire had died out hours earlier in the night. From there, I head to my car and make my way to school where I pass by my classroom and turn on all heat to max, and then sit down at my desk in the math office with my jacket on while I wait for the heat-pump to kick into action.
It's just crazy how difficult it is to escape the cold here. You're even exposed to it throughout the day when you move from one building to the next since none of the buildings are connected through the comfort and convenience of heated hallways.
Now it's not really all as bad as I describe. I would say that I finally start to feel warmish around lunch, when the heat has finally had a chance to warm up my classroom, and the sun has started to shine and warm things up. In fact, by the end of the day, I'm usually overheated, and my cheeks have gone red as a result. We are definitely lucky here in Blenheim that we typically experience warm sunny days throughout the winter. I think that will be my saving grace! We shall see how it all pans out!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
New Addiction - Vogels Bread!
First off... I am pleased to say that my addiction to Cadbury Cream Eggs is weakening. I think this is directly related to the fact that I am not bombarded with them nearly as much as I was in the 2 or 3 months leading up to Easter. Phew!!!
However, I have a new addiction! Vogels Bread! It's a really yummy bread, sold in pretty much every single supermarket in NZ. Nothing too fancy or special, but oh so yum! I think I'm going to have to write to the manufacturers and see if they are considering branching into the Canadian market!
First off... I am pleased to say that my addiction to Cadbury Cream Eggs is weakening. I think this is directly related to the fact that I am not bombarded with them nearly as much as I was in the 2 or 3 months leading up to Easter. Phew!!!
However, I have a new addiction! Vogels Bread! It's a really yummy bread, sold in pretty much every single supermarket in NZ. Nothing too fancy or special, but oh so yum! I think I'm going to have to write to the manufacturers and see if they are considering branching into the Canadian market!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Visitors
So I said goodbye to Brian yesterday morning when I dropped him off at a cafe near the bus station before heading off to school for my first day of Term 2. (On a side note: I can not BELIVE how hard it was to find a coffee shop open at 7:30am on a Monday morning in Blenheim!) It was sad to say goodbye. Although we definitely felt the effects of spending 24 hours a day, for 2+ weeks while travelling together, we still managed to have a good time. And it was difficult to say goodbye to a familiar face and the comforts of a friend from home.
That very same night I had another visitor show up. David, who was put in contact with me via Ming (a university friend), was travelling NZ and passing through Blenheim before finishing up his journeys on the South Island and heading onto the North Island. I offered to put him up for a few nights and show him some genuine kiwi hospitality. David spent the day traveling around and visitng the Wineries by bike. Although it was a pretty cold day (didn't get much warmer than 12 degrees), he had beautiful sunshine the whole way through. On his second night here he took me out to dinner at a really swank restaurant in town called Bacchus. It was neat to hear his stories of his travels in the South Island. I'll definitely have to check out some of the cool things that he saw that I didn't have time to do on my two week journey.
So I said goodbye to Brian yesterday morning when I dropped him off at a cafe near the bus station before heading off to school for my first day of Term 2. (On a side note: I can not BELIVE how hard it was to find a coffee shop open at 7:30am on a Monday morning in Blenheim!) It was sad to say goodbye. Although we definitely felt the effects of spending 24 hours a day, for 2+ weeks while travelling together, we still managed to have a good time. And it was difficult to say goodbye to a familiar face and the comforts of a friend from home.
That very same night I had another visitor show up. David, who was put in contact with me via Ming (a university friend), was travelling NZ and passing through Blenheim before finishing up his journeys on the South Island and heading onto the North Island. I offered to put him up for a few nights and show him some genuine kiwi hospitality. David spent the day traveling around and visitng the Wineries by bike. Although it was a pretty cold day (didn't get much warmer than 12 degrees), he had beautiful sunshine the whole way through. On his second night here he took me out to dinner at a really swank restaurant in town called Bacchus. It was neat to hear his stories of his travels in the South Island. I'll definitely have to check out some of the cool things that he saw that I didn't have time to do on my two week journey.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Random Kiwi Fact
Get this! In New Zealand, the word "paw" rhymes with the word "door". Go figure??!!!
This random fact comes from a childrens story book that another Canadian was telling me about. In this book, there are pairs of rhyming sentences. Most sentences rhyme as we would expect them to. ...Until you encounter the odd one or two that just don't sound right with our "Canadian accents"!
I told Bridget (the girl that sits beside me in the math office at work) my astonishment that kiwis think the word "paw" rhymes with the word "door" and she had a good roar at that one. In fact, she couldn't believe that I thought they didn't rhyme!
What a strange world we live in indeed!
Get this! In New Zealand, the word "paw" rhymes with the word "door". Go figure??!!!
This random fact comes from a childrens story book that another Canadian was telling me about. In this book, there are pairs of rhyming sentences. Most sentences rhyme as we would expect them to. ...Until you encounter the odd one or two that just don't sound right with our "Canadian accents"!
I told Bridget (the girl that sits beside me in the math office at work) my astonishment that kiwis think the word "paw" rhymes with the word "door" and she had a good roar at that one. In fact, she couldn't believe that I thought they didn't rhyme!
What a strange world we live in indeed!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I own a car! And it drives on the wrong side of the road!!!
I am now a proud owner of a 1992 Mitsubishi Mirage. I bought it off of a girl named Gwylfa that I met at the Southern Traverse the other weekend. Gwylfa is the daughter of Geoff Hunt - the race director. We spent a really long day together manning a TA, and had lots of time to negotiate a deal.
I am now in the process of using this cute little 1600cc car to tour the South Island on my first official 2 week holiday of the school schedule this year with my friend Brian, from Canada. So far we have been through Nelson Lakes National Park, Hokatika, Franz Joseph Glacier, spent a day on the Fox Glacier, Wanaka (a BEAUTIFUL town), and we are now in Queenstown - ironically enough, staying at Geoff Hunt's place while we figure out our plans to explore the Milford Sounds. Its been great so far! Will definitely have more to post when I get home - whenever I get time to write more about it!!!
I am now a proud owner of a 1992 Mitsubishi Mirage. I bought it off of a girl named Gwylfa that I met at the Southern Traverse the other weekend. Gwylfa is the daughter of Geoff Hunt - the race director. We spent a really long day together manning a TA, and had lots of time to negotiate a deal.
I am now in the process of using this cute little 1600cc car to tour the South Island on my first official 2 week holiday of the school schedule this year with my friend Brian, from Canada. So far we have been through Nelson Lakes National Park, Hokatika, Franz Joseph Glacier, spent a day on the Fox Glacier, Wanaka (a BEAUTIFUL town), and we are now in Queenstown - ironically enough, staying at Geoff Hunt's place while we figure out our plans to explore the Milford Sounds. Its been great so far! Will definitely have more to post when I get home - whenever I get time to write more about it!!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Welcome to our family!
I checked my email this morning to find a message from my brother-in-law, Mike. Subject: "Matthew John Nevill". Inside I learned that my sister, Laura, had given birth to their first son! And in true "Heather style" my first reaction was to cry with excitement! After immediately sending a response email that stated "I want pictures!!!", I ran to the phone at the recommendation of my roomies, and called home. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach Mike or Laura, but I will try again later.
Welcome to our family, Matt!! (woah... that sounds weird!) I am so excited to be an auntie, yet again! Andrew & Nathan will be so excited to have a new cousin to play with!!!
This announcement comes only one day after I sent Laura an email demanding that she send more belly shots - preferably unclothed ones so I can really get to see it! I also questioned her about whether or not she had an outtie yet. Apparently Laura had just enough time to send me the following response before going into labour later that night:
The belly’s good – definitely getting bigger. One of these days I will download the belly shots, and send them to you, but just for the record, they are not to be posted on any blogs or face book, or I WILL kill you. I officially have an Outie.
I can definitely say that this is where I start to feel homesick. It really is tough being on the other side of the world when your big sister is giving birth to her first child.... Alas... we will just have to get ourselves some webcams so that I can see this little guy grow big and strong while I am away!
ps. Laura... I still want those belly shots, and while you're at it, please send me some pics of the new little guy!
I checked my email this morning to find a message from my brother-in-law, Mike. Subject: "Matthew John Nevill". Inside I learned that my sister, Laura, had given birth to their first son! And in true "Heather style" my first reaction was to cry with excitement! After immediately sending a response email that stated "I want pictures!!!", I ran to the phone at the recommendation of my roomies, and called home. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach Mike or Laura, but I will try again later.
Welcome to our family, Matt!! (woah... that sounds weird!) I am so excited to be an auntie, yet again! Andrew & Nathan will be so excited to have a new cousin to play with!!!
This announcement comes only one day after I sent Laura an email demanding that she send more belly shots - preferably unclothed ones so I can really get to see it! I also questioned her about whether or not she had an outtie yet. Apparently Laura had just enough time to send me the following response before going into labour later that night:
The belly’s good – definitely getting bigger. One of these days I will download the belly shots, and send them to you, but just for the record, they are not to be posted on any blogs or face book, or I WILL kill you. I officially have an Outie.
I can definitely say that this is where I start to feel homesick. It really is tough being on the other side of the world when your big sister is giving birth to her first child.... Alas... we will just have to get ourselves some webcams so that I can see this little guy grow big and strong while I am away!
ps. Laura... I still want those belly shots, and while you're at it, please send me some pics of the new little guy!
Monday, April 14, 2008
My trip to Wellington
Last weekend I decided to take a trip to Wellington. My primary purpose: shopping. I was in desperate need of a backpack suitable for tramping since my holidays seemed to be fast approaching. Since Blenheim has next to no shopping alternatives in the outdoor department, and two trips to Nelson failed to produce something suitable for my needs, my only other alternatives were:
1) Drive 4.5 hours to Christchurch
2) Drive 30 mins to Picton followed by a 3 hour ferry ride to Wellington
On Friday night I made the journey to Wellington with my roommate Nic. I was super nervous about the ferry ride due to the uncertainty of the water conditions. But lucky for me, it was smooth sailing. It was actually a really chillin' way to start the weekend. Nic found us a quiet spot to sit on the boat where we both did some marking and shared conversation over a glass of wine. One topic that we stumbled upon in our discussions was centred around our "risk taking nature". The conclusion: we are both *calculated* risk takers - always up for an adventure but we always consider how the consequences will affect our health and well-being.
Nic's partner, Aaron, conveniently lives in Wellington, so he picked us up when we arrived at the ferry terminal and we went out for drinks at a Japanese bar. My first impressions of Wellington were fantastic! Seems like a really fun town. WAY more happening than any city I've seen so far in this country. Definitely a very cool vibe to experience more of! After nearly getting his car towed away, Aaraon made a quick escape and we head back to his bachelor pad which overlooks the ocean, in the suburb of Island Bay.
On Saturday morning I got up and went for a short run along the coast. I was super impressed with the variety and uniqueness of the architecture in the area. It's amazing what lengths people will go to build on the side of a cliff so that they can overlook the ocean.
After my run, Nic was kind enough to drop me off downtown so I could start my shopping. Much like Toronto, all of the outdoors shops are in the same general area which makes a task like pack shopping easy. While downtown I also visited a cafe called Wholy Bagel. Since bagels are not a common thing here I was super excited to get a freshly made bagel toasted with cream cheese. It was still nothing like my Everything Bagel with Herb and Garlic Cream Cheese from Tim Hortons, but it was still a small familiar reminder of home (at a price! $7.50 for the bagel and a latte).
By the end of the day I had picked up some more items from Kathmandu (that I proably didn't need but bought anyways because they were on sale), and went back to the very first store that I had visited. This is where I bought my pack. It's a Deuter, women's specific, 50+10L, tramping pack. It fits well, is a really cool orange and yellow colour, and even comes with a sassy looking fake flower on the front (man those product designers really know how to win over the ladies!). I love it! I hope it turns out to be a worthwhile purchase!
Here's where the randomness of my story begins...
A few weeks ago after sending out my "hi, I'm in NZ email" I got a response from a girl named Ana Popovic telling me that she was going to be in Wellington for 4 weeks on a teaching placement and we should get together. Ana is in my contact list because I had met her through Trina and Andrea several years back at some sporting event. I think we may have gone mountain biking one other time together, but aside from that, really only knew one another through our random mass email updates that we send to our contact lists announcing the changes in our lives.
So anyways... Ana and I made a point of getting together. I met her and one of her friends at a climbing gym on the water front where we did some really fun climbing. I was super impressed with their techniques and the little exercises they did to work on strengthening their legs or their arms by changing up their approach.
The strangest part about it is that it felt like we'd been friends for years! Ana looked exactly as I remebered her, and her friend, Magalie, turned out to be French Canadian (studying in Wellington for a few years) and we hit it off great also! Since it was Ana's last night in Wellington, we met up with some of their friends for dinner, and then I went back to Magalie's place to spend the night. Magalie was very kind to take me in and drive me to the ferry the next morning. I thought I better head home to do some more school work to prepare for the next week. I will definitely have to go back to Wellington to spend some more time there.
I love how small this world is, and how cool it is to meet new people! I'm certain that Magalie and I will meet up again for some adventures on the South Island. Possibly a super-cool rock climbing excursion??? :)
Ana, Magalie and myself. After a long day of shopping in the rain, rock climbing, and dinner at their friend's house.
Last weekend I decided to take a trip to Wellington. My primary purpose: shopping. I was in desperate need of a backpack suitable for tramping since my holidays seemed to be fast approaching. Since Blenheim has next to no shopping alternatives in the outdoor department, and two trips to Nelson failed to produce something suitable for my needs, my only other alternatives were:
1) Drive 4.5 hours to Christchurch
2) Drive 30 mins to Picton followed by a 3 hour ferry ride to Wellington
On Friday night I made the journey to Wellington with my roommate Nic. I was super nervous about the ferry ride due to the uncertainty of the water conditions. But lucky for me, it was smooth sailing. It was actually a really chillin' way to start the weekend. Nic found us a quiet spot to sit on the boat where we both did some marking and shared conversation over a glass of wine. One topic that we stumbled upon in our discussions was centred around our "risk taking nature". The conclusion: we are both *calculated* risk takers - always up for an adventure but we always consider how the consequences will affect our health and well-being.
Nic's partner, Aaron, conveniently lives in Wellington, so he picked us up when we arrived at the ferry terminal and we went out for drinks at a Japanese bar. My first impressions of Wellington were fantastic! Seems like a really fun town. WAY more happening than any city I've seen so far in this country. Definitely a very cool vibe to experience more of! After nearly getting his car towed away, Aaraon made a quick escape and we head back to his bachelor pad which overlooks the ocean, in the suburb of Island Bay.
On Saturday morning I got up and went for a short run along the coast. I was super impressed with the variety and uniqueness of the architecture in the area. It's amazing what lengths people will go to build on the side of a cliff so that they can overlook the ocean.
After my run, Nic was kind enough to drop me off downtown so I could start my shopping. Much like Toronto, all of the outdoors shops are in the same general area which makes a task like pack shopping easy. While downtown I also visited a cafe called Wholy Bagel. Since bagels are not a common thing here I was super excited to get a freshly made bagel toasted with cream cheese. It was still nothing like my Everything Bagel with Herb and Garlic Cream Cheese from Tim Hortons, but it was still a small familiar reminder of home (at a price! $7.50 for the bagel and a latte).
By the end of the day I had picked up some more items from Kathmandu (that I proably didn't need but bought anyways because they were on sale), and went back to the very first store that I had visited. This is where I bought my pack. It's a Deuter, women's specific, 50+10L, tramping pack. It fits well, is a really cool orange and yellow colour, and even comes with a sassy looking fake flower on the front (man those product designers really know how to win over the ladies!). I love it! I hope it turns out to be a worthwhile purchase!
Here's where the randomness of my story begins...
A few weeks ago after sending out my "hi, I'm in NZ email" I got a response from a girl named Ana Popovic telling me that she was going to be in Wellington for 4 weeks on a teaching placement and we should get together. Ana is in my contact list because I had met her through Trina and Andrea several years back at some sporting event. I think we may have gone mountain biking one other time together, but aside from that, really only knew one another through our random mass email updates that we send to our contact lists announcing the changes in our lives.
So anyways... Ana and I made a point of getting together. I met her and one of her friends at a climbing gym on the water front where we did some really fun climbing. I was super impressed with their techniques and the little exercises they did to work on strengthening their legs or their arms by changing up their approach.
The strangest part about it is that it felt like we'd been friends for years! Ana looked exactly as I remebered her, and her friend, Magalie, turned out to be French Canadian (studying in Wellington for a few years) and we hit it off great also! Since it was Ana's last night in Wellington, we met up with some of their friends for dinner, and then I went back to Magalie's place to spend the night. Magalie was very kind to take me in and drive me to the ferry the next morning. I thought I better head home to do some more school work to prepare for the next week. I will definitely have to go back to Wellington to spend some more time there.
I love how small this world is, and how cool it is to meet new people! I'm certain that Magalie and I will meet up again for some adventures on the South Island. Possibly a super-cool rock climbing excursion??? :)
Ana, Magalie and myself. After a long day of shopping in the rain, rock climbing, and dinner at their friend's house.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
School Newspaper
My school just released its first edition of the school newspaper. In keeping with tradition, they had an entire section devoted to new teachers at the school. That meant I got my own little section (written and researched by one of the students in my form class). Although I think some of my thoughts and ideas may have been misconstrued slightly, it was still fun to read. It was also fun to read my friend, Claire's, write-up which happened to be on the same page as me.
My school just released its first edition of the school newspaper. In keeping with tradition, they had an entire section devoted to new teachers at the school. That meant I got my own little section (written and researched by one of the students in my form class). Although I think some of my thoughts and ideas may have been misconstrued slightly, it was still fun to read. It was also fun to read my friend, Claire's, write-up which happened to be on the same page as me.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Recycling in Blenheim
So I'm pretty sure that the Recycling program in Blenheim is one of the crappiest, archaic systems available in NZ. Since we do not have curbside (spelled kerbside here) recycling, we are forced to manage it all ourselves. Now for someone as recycling-happy as me, this isn't so much of a problem. But when I explain the process by which one must follow to execute their household recycling in this town, you will quickly realize how few families/households will actually follow through with it.
Step 1: Gather recycling from the side of our house that has accumulated since we moved in at the end of January.
Step 2: Load recycling into my roommate Nichola's car.
Step 3: Drive to Recycling Center. Notice the incredibly generous hours of operation.
Step 4: Remove recycling from the car, manually sort and drop it into the correct bin. Beware of scary Recycling Center manager who yells at people if they haven't taken the labels off their tin cans or if they haven't washed out their items to be recycled.
sidenote: lids from plastic milk jugs go in a separate bin, 4 or 5 bins down from the bin that the actual jugs go in.
Step 5: Visit the *other* recycling depot - across town, at the dump - to dispose of glass jars that the first recycling centre would not accept. We certainly had a good accumulation of wine bottles!
Now I'm just not sure what the statistics are on recycling participation in Blenheim, but Nic and I were discussing this one... given said barriers mentioned above, and how extremely keen we both are on the idea of recycling, and how it took us almost 2 months to drop off our goods, we're just not sure how many members of the general population would be willing to participate.
I'm starting to realize that NZ isn't the "green" country that it has the reputation of being... Yes, they are anti-nuclear, but man, they can certainly improve in other areas... Don't even get me started on the lack of insulation the buildings here! Yeah for heating the outdoors in the winter!!!
So I'm pretty sure that the Recycling program in Blenheim is one of the crappiest, archaic systems available in NZ. Since we do not have curbside (spelled kerbside here) recycling, we are forced to manage it all ourselves. Now for someone as recycling-happy as me, this isn't so much of a problem. But when I explain the process by which one must follow to execute their household recycling in this town, you will quickly realize how few families/households will actually follow through with it.
Step 1: Gather recycling from the side of our house that has accumulated since we moved in at the end of January.
Step 2: Load recycling into my roommate Nichola's car.
Step 3: Drive to Recycling Center. Notice the incredibly generous hours of operation.
Step 4: Remove recycling from the car, manually sort and drop it into the correct bin. Beware of scary Recycling Center manager who yells at people if they haven't taken the labels off their tin cans or if they haven't washed out their items to be recycled.
sidenote: lids from plastic milk jugs go in a separate bin, 4 or 5 bins down from the bin that the actual jugs go in.
Step 5: Visit the *other* recycling depot - across town, at the dump - to dispose of glass jars that the first recycling centre would not accept. We certainly had a good accumulation of wine bottles!
Now I'm just not sure what the statistics are on recycling participation in Blenheim, but Nic and I were discussing this one... given said barriers mentioned above, and how extremely keen we both are on the idea of recycling, and how it took us almost 2 months to drop off our goods, we're just not sure how many members of the general population would be willing to participate.
I'm starting to realize that NZ isn't the "green" country that it has the reputation of being... Yes, they are anti-nuclear, but man, they can certainly improve in other areas... Don't even get me started on the lack of insulation the buildings here! Yeah for heating the outdoors in the winter!!!
Staff Sing-Star Competition
Although "Rock Band" hasn't made it big here in NZ yet (I can't wait till it does!), Sony Playstation's "Sing Star" has. It's so big, that my school made it the center of our most recent social event on Friday after school.
I can't remember if I posted about our last social, but it was pretty funny. You show up in the staff room at 3:30 after all the kids have left to go home and there is a bar being staffed by one of the social committee members where you can buy drinks. $3 for a cheap wine, $5 for a nicer one. You can also buy beer if you don't like wine. Once you've got your drink in hand, you can sit and chill with other staff members - who needed the drink just as much as you did - and laugh about silly random things like how one of the DPs managed to put her hip out last week. I must say it was a bit strange buying alcohol in the staff room, and sitting there drinking it on school property. Kind of reminded me of my highschool days, but for very different reasons of course...
Last Friday was our sing-star competition that they had been advertising for a few weeks. When I was out the weekend before with some staff, we decided that we were going to enter as a group. We had fantastic plans for choreography and costumes and the whole works. Well, that didn't actually form in reality, but we were still called to participate anyways. Since there weren't enough microphones for all 4, we had to split. Claire and Willomyne did a great version of some classic tune from the 70s (I can't remember the name of it!) and Libby and I opted for Natalie Imbrulia's "Torn" since the group before us stole our first choice "Barbie Girl" by Aqua.
What a riot! We even had all 4 of our admin staff there and participating. Made for some really good laughs!
Now as cheesy as this whole idea sounds, and as lame as the pictures might make it seem, it really was a fantastic event. When I return back to Canada, wherever I end up getting a job (keeping fingers crossed that I WILL in fact find a job when I get home!!!), I am going to insist that our staff run a Sing Star competition on a regular basis. Fortnightly would be my vote, but even once a term would be a good start!
Although "Rock Band" hasn't made it big here in NZ yet (I can't wait till it does!), Sony Playstation's "Sing Star" has. It's so big, that my school made it the center of our most recent social event on Friday after school.
I can't remember if I posted about our last social, but it was pretty funny. You show up in the staff room at 3:30 after all the kids have left to go home and there is a bar being staffed by one of the social committee members where you can buy drinks. $3 for a cheap wine, $5 for a nicer one. You can also buy beer if you don't like wine. Once you've got your drink in hand, you can sit and chill with other staff members - who needed the drink just as much as you did - and laugh about silly random things like how one of the DPs managed to put her hip out last week. I must say it was a bit strange buying alcohol in the staff room, and sitting there drinking it on school property. Kind of reminded me of my highschool days, but for very different reasons of course...
Last Friday was our sing-star competition that they had been advertising for a few weeks. When I was out the weekend before with some staff, we decided that we were going to enter as a group. We had fantastic plans for choreography and costumes and the whole works. Well, that didn't actually form in reality, but we were still called to participate anyways. Since there weren't enough microphones for all 4, we had to split. Claire and Willomyne did a great version of some classic tune from the 70s (I can't remember the name of it!) and Libby and I opted for Natalie Imbrulia's "Torn" since the group before us stole our first choice "Barbie Girl" by Aqua.
What a riot! We even had all 4 of our admin staff there and participating. Made for some really good laughs!
Now as cheesy as this whole idea sounds, and as lame as the pictures might make it seem, it really was a fantastic event. When I return back to Canada, wherever I end up getting a job (keeping fingers crossed that I WILL in fact find a job when I get home!!!), I am going to insist that our staff run a Sing Star competition on a regular basis. Fortnightly would be my vote, but even once a term would be a good start!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, March 24, 2008
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!
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!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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!!!
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!!!
Monday, March 17, 2008
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.
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.
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