Santa Run!

So today we ran around Auckland Viaduct in Santa suits! It was lots of fun but very hot in full outfit including beard! It is so strange having Christmas in the sunshine anyway but running around in 23 degrees didn't cross my mind when we signed up for it! I 'ran' with Jennie and Michelle- well, they ran, I did more of a Santa Stroll! It was only 3km and there were stunning views of the Harbour Bridge and the Sky Tower but wow, it was boiling!

Fortunately, I get to keep the Santa suit so will be wearing at every opportunity obviously!

Fiafia Day

At school this week, the senior children (Year 5 and 6) at our school took part in a cultural performance to share with their families and our school community. It was called the Fiafia Day which means happy day! Many of my students will be posting their recounts about the Fiafia Day on our class blog and there will be photos and videos on there to look at so please take some time to check these out at www.yendarraschooltuis.blogspot.com

It has been a great week but I'm definitely ready for a well-earned rest over Christmas and New Year. I am SO excited about Katy, Owen and Nicola coming over to see me next week but have lots of work and packing to get done before then!

Counting Down to Christmas!

Hi everyone,

Sorry (again) about the long wait for more news from me. I have been SO busy with lots of end of year things and just had no time to sit down and share my news.

Hope everyone is well and looking forward to Christmas. It is very strange having Christmas on the way when it keeps getting warmer but sadly it's non-stop rain at the moment which is no fun!

Over the last couple of months, I've done some fun things like going up to Keri Keri to stay in a bach by the beach for a weekend. We went up because some friends of Jennie were running the Keri Keri half marathon so we went to support. Fortunately the weather was gorgeous and we got to enjoy the sunshine although the sea was a bit cold for a dip (for most of us anyway!)

I also went to Waitangi which is a very significant place in New Zealand history and we saw a Maori cultural performance which is always fantastic. We also took a very very long drive up to Cape Reinga which is the very northern tip of New Zealand. It was rather windy but a very interesting and spiritual place to be. Maori people believe it is the place where the dead move down into the underworld and there is a flat rock with a single tree on it where they believe there are steps leading the dead down. It is also the point where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean and you can sea a line of bright blue water and crashing waves where this happens.

Coming up at school is our Fiafia Day tomorrow which is a cultural celebration where all of the senior children (Years 5 and 6) perform to the whole school and our community. I have been working with the Tongan group and have learnt so much about their culture and traditions. I can't wait to see and hear all of the singing and dancing tomorrow as the Maori, Samoan, Nuiean and Cook Island groups all perform (weather permitting!)

I will write again soon, hopefully with some photos and video clips! xxx

Room 13 Class Blog

Please check out my new class blog and if you have time, please comment on my student's work - it would really make them happy if you tell them what you like about what they have shared and where you are from.

www.yendarraschooltuis.blogspot.com

There are also links to other Yendarra School blogs if you have time to look - they would really appreciate it!

Thank you all! x

On my way back to NZ

Hi Everyone,

I know I've been very quiet for many months but shall endeavour to be much better at blogging during my last few months in NZ. I'm currently on my way back to Auckland and once again I am sat in Hong Kong airport and feeling surprisingly ok... I think this trip definitely gets easier every time and I have now just accepted that it will be painful and uncomfortable and that I just have to deal with it!

I have just had a fantastic couple of weeks at home in lovely Solihull. It was really good to see everyone and catch up on what I've been missing. Briefly popped into Bishop Wilson and Coppice (who did a wonderful harvest festival might I add!) and it was really good to see things are well.

While I've been home I've been lucky enough to see some sights - I went to Bath, Malvern, Stonehenge, Salisbury, to see Evita and even did a hot air balloon ride over Swindon!! I felt spoilt rotten with all the exciting things I got up to and it reminded me what a beautiful place England is and now I can't wait to come back! It did help of course that the sun was shining most of the time I've been back - I was very lucky to have been able to enjoy the good weather.

It's now Tuesday morning UK time but Tuesday night NZ time and I'm currently stuck in the middle in Hong Kong where it's about dinner time! I don't get back to Auckland until lunchtime Wednesday (Is it wrong I am timing things by meal times!!) and am back in school Thursday! Not looking forward to it only because it'll be a shock to the system after such a long break but I am very much looking forward to seeing my class and to telling them all about my adventures! I hope they're kind to me on my return! :)

Will do my best to blog more regularly and keep you posted on my last 3 months in Auckland. I will also attempt to upload a couple of pics from my visit home for you to enjoy.

Missing you all at home already! xxx

Long time, no blog!

Hi Everyone,

That is if anyone's still checking this blog since it's been such a long time since I updated it! I'm very sorry for my lack of blogs...I hadn't realised it had been over two months!

I'm currently sat at Hong Kong Airport waiting for my connecting flight from her to London. I'm coming home for a couple of weeks because it's our school holiday in Auckland and I'm missing everyone! I'll try and visit Coppice and Bishop Wilson while I'm home and am hoping to see as many people as possible while I'm back! The school year ends at xmas anyway so I should be home for good then. :)

It's been a very busy few months - it was our winter holidays here in July when my mum, dad and brother came over to NZ to see me and then we've been pretty busy at school too with one thing or another. The term has flown by and I can't believe it's nearly the end of the year! At school we've been looking at germs and staying well which the children have enjoyed. They had great fun creating a 3D germ each to display at our whole school art exhibition which sadly I'm missing because I'll be on my way home then. Next term we're learning about Kiwiana which will be really interesting and will also involve me doing a lot of learning! My NZ dictionary will come in handy then...!

Outside of school, I've taken part in the Otara Clean-Up which is when we went and picked up rubbish from our school's local area and have had a couple of weekends away. I've moved house yet again! I'm now living with my friend Jennie in a lovely house (with a dog!) and I'm really happy there.

I'm going to see if I have any photos to attach but have been a bit rubbish lately at taking them so apologies!

I hope all is well at home and everyone's happy to be back at school - I can't believe it's been over a year since I started at Coppice!

xxx

Learning to speak Kiwi!

I am slowly getting my head around the different New Zealand words for things so thought I’d share some with you. I have seemed pretty dim to most people here who are surprised I don’t know what these words mean, especially the children at school!

Kiwi - slang for New Zealander so refers to any thing/person from New Zealand. This is quite confusing as there is also a native flightless, nocturnal bird called a Kiwi and the fruit, which is never called a Kiwi but always a Kiwi FRUIT!

Eh – at the end of every sentence which means ‘don’t you think/agree’, e.g. it’s pretty cold, eh?

Sweet/sweet as – cool/very cool

Bro - mate

As – really, e.g. hot as=really hot, cheap as=really cheap!

Jandals – flip flops

Singlet – vest top

Ice block – ice lolly

(I thought my housemate was talking about a glacier when she first mentioned an ice block!)

Lollies - sweets

Twink – tippex

Vivid – permanent marker

Bach – holiday home

Dairy – corner shop

Football – rugby (confusing, eh?!)

Gum boots – wellies

Getting smart – teasing

Poking tongues – sticking out your tongue (odd as we only have one tongue!)

Tramp – bush walk/hike

There are probably loads more that I haven’t remembered but these are a few that have confused me!

Also, there are things I say which people don’t understand like brolly, poorly (they just say sick here for any illness), sweets (see above), mucky, wellies (see above ) etc.

Something else they do is to say dates as the number of the day, e.g. my birthday would be June twenty one instead of June twenty first – sounds odd to me!

Also, most people don’t say half past/quarter past when telling the time but always say in digital, i.e. 8.30, 2.45, etc.

And so concludes my NZ language lesson! ;)

Winter in NZ!

Winter is definitely here and it feels cold! So strange that it's June and I'm wearing hat and gloves-can't get my head around it! It doesn't get as cold in Auckland as it does in the UK supposedly but it feels colder because the houses are wooden and don't have central heating (radiators). My classroom is particularly cold and this week my heat pump was broken and was stuck on air conditioner instead which really helped matters!

Lately I've not been up to much...went to the Bay of Islands with Michelle at the end of Easter holidays-it was fun despite raining the whole time we were there! Apparently you can swim with dolphins and whale watch up there but the sea was just too rough to do anything and all boat tours were cancelled. It was Anzac Day while we were there which is when Australians and New Zealanders remember people that died during the wars. They chose that day because there was a huge loss of life around a beach in Turkey (I think) and they have poppies and lay wreaths just like we do on Remembrance Sunday. We met some of the NZ Navy who were at the Bay of Islands for a dawn parade.

On the way home from the Bay of Islands we stopped at 'the most photographed loo in NZ'! It was designed by an Austrian man who lived in this small village and there were so many people there to see it! It's an actual tourist attraction in the guide book but is just a very fancy, decorated toilet! It appeared to be made from ceramic, glass, clay and coloured bottles,etc. See the photos above.

I learnt more about the history of NZ when I went to the Auckland Museum last week. It's a really amazing museum with lots of Maori and Pacific culture and lots about NZ's unique environment including animals and plants that are only found here like Kiwi birds and the Moa (a huge, now extinct, bird that looks a bit like an emu). My favourite part was the Volcano exhibition. There are tonnes of volcanoes in and around NZ (some still active) and Auckland is built on around 50 volcanoes. There was this house you could go inside and they had a fake news report saying that volcanic activity had been seen around Rangitoto and then through the 'window' you could see it erupting it the sea and the house shook. It was really quite scary, especially as there is a chance it could actually happen!

Currently, looking forward to my parents and brother coming out to visit in 4 weeks time-will be really lovely to see them and will finally get a chance to explore the south island. It'll be even colder than here though so I'll need to pack some warm clothes!