Fiji vs. Wales

I know, I know sorry sorry!! It has taken me forever to finally get around to posting about the RWC game I went to. Sorry people, its been very busy over here in Aotearoa. Regardless, on October 2nd, Lucia, Rachel and I went to see the Fiji vs. Wales Rugby game in Hamilton.

Hamilton is a small city about 150km south of Auckland. You might be wondering how we got there considering that we don't own cars and certainly did not want to ride on a bus. The answer? RENTAL CAR! How I went about getting a rental car is another question you might be asking yourself. Its all about the coupons baby. My host father gets free 24 hour rental vouchers through his company N-Compass. Realistically he don't need them because he owns a car and its much more time efficient to use his own. Since he has no use for these vouchers, he gave one to me for free. The lovely car that I was given was a brand spankin new 2011 Toyota Camry with a lifetime driving distance of 88km! (88km is about 54.6 miles) I had a pretty flash car for the drive.

Considering that nobody died, there were no accidents and nobody was severely injured I considered it a good day! Driving on the left hand side of the road was quite fun but also very different that what I'm used to. One particular thing that I had to get used to was the difference between Imperial and Asian cars. Back home all cars are standardized, having the blinkers on the left side of the steering wheel and the wipers on the right side. But here, there are Imperial (European) and Asian cars. Imperial cars use the system that we have back in the states, blinkers on the left and wipers on the right. Whereas Asian cars are the opposite. Due to the fact I had a Toyota this was something new and somewhat absurd to get used to. A few times before merging I hit the wipers instead of the blinkers. It was quite funny but at the end of the day I got used to it. Looking to the left to use my rearview mirror was also another absurdity associated with driving on the left side of the road.

Back to the focus of this post. RUGBY!!! It took us about an hour and a half to go 150km, traveling at about a rate of 100-110kph. The drive was relatively easy because its a straight shot, staying on one road appropriately named Highway Road 1. Jamming out to the amazing songs on my iPod made the trip heaps of fun, not to mention the 10,000 Tim Tams that we had in the back of the car.

Once we arrived, we went to get lunch at a very nice Italian restaurant. We all ordered small individualized thin crust pizzas. After sorting out lunch, the next thing we needed to do was to get costume and decorations to wear to the game. The end result was flags, flash hats, face paint a huge tie and rugby jerseys.

The weather was not perfect for the game but we had a blast. It began to rain after the second half started and we all got quite soaked. The fans were insane, particularly the Welsh. We had decided to support the underdog, Fiji. Unfortunately they ended up losing 66-0. It was a complete and utter blowout of epic proportions. Its crazy to say that I've been to a Rugby World Cup game, even if it wasn't the All Blacks or two teams that I particularly liked. All in all it was good fun!

 

Haka Tutorial

My goal is to learn how to do this.

Connect, Pause, Engage!

Mulling through my photos in search of the perfect one was no easy task. I spent the last couple days looking for a photo and thinking of some clever way for it to explain my teaching experience here in New Zealand. After realizing this, the task of taking a photo and applying a metaphor that was profoundly deep and exquisitely sophisticated on one hand may be cheesy and cliché but extremely effective on the other. Overall, I wanted to stay true to the image as it speaks volumes to me.

Two weeks ago, my school took part in a 50kg Rugby Tournament. The students on the team were from several classrooms spread throughout Blockhouse Bay Primary School. Each student brought something different and exciting to the table. Some of the students were small but agile while some were slow but unexpectedly powerful. Some understood the logistics of playmaking while others were quite new to the sport. Though we lost the tournament I learned a lot from a day of observation. Students have their own strengths and weaknesses.

This snapshot of a Blockhouse Bay Primary teacher engaging with their students was eye opening. Education isn’t solely about making sure students learn every bit of information they possibly can. Students aren’t sponges that soak up knowledge. It is never one sided. As an educator, you must engage yourself and be a part of your students’ lives. As a teacher. As a mentor. As a friend. Teachers can learn too. Everyday, we learn just as much as the students in their classroom, sometimes more and sometimes less. Each new day brings something different to the table, just as every play within a rugby game. What a teacher learns may not be how to multiply fractions or how to divide by 7’s but rather about their students. What their home situation is like, what their interests are, what their favorite color is, what their favorite food is as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

It is a part of our duty to connect, pause and engage with our students. Instilling morals, motivation and joy is just as much a part of teaching as the realm of academia. Next time you step into a classroom, remember. You’re not just finger painting, you’re not just teaching to standards, you’re certainly not just getting paid. You’re a helping hand, you’re a role model and you’re changing lives.

New Posts

Sorry it has been a while since I updated my blog. I have a few posts that I want to share but at the moment I am overloaded with work.... What?! I know I thought this was a continuation of my summer as well. Just kidding, but not really. Anyways, I will post new material soon as I finish this evil assignment I have been given. Feel free to comment and leave suggestions or topics of things here which you would like me to write about while I am here in New Zealand. Relevant please. Thanks for reading! You will hear from me soon.

-The Lone Wolf

Yet Another Interesting Weekend

Let me just say this now, these past weekends have been some of the more interesting ones I've ever had. To start off, lets begin with Friday night. On Friday, there was a fundraiser for the Parnell Primary/Middle School. A large game of trivia pursuit was set up in the cafeteria and of course there was a theme to it. As you might have guessed, it was the Rugby World Cup. 


Each of the 22 tables (of 10 players each) had to buy into the game to play and were given a country to represent. The team that we played for was Russia. One of my host families good friends, who also happen to be hosting a student from HWS made us team shirts. On the front it had the company logo of N-Compass (started by Brett and a few of his mates in 2002) as well as the Russian rugby team logo. On the back there were nicknames such as Kriskov, GI Joe-Ski, Pop-ski, Jack-ski and so on. Underneath our new identities followed an image of the country of Russia with a Russian flag color theme overlaying it. The best part of the image was that it said "Fueled by Vodka." So naturally, during the event we drank vodka because in Soviet Russia you have vodka for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for a midnight snack!

As the event began, there were 4 main categories: Geography, Music, Sports, and Pictures. With your collective team, you were allowed to pick one category to count for double points. After the 4 rounds of 10 questions each, many of which I did not know the answers due to the relatively little I know about Rugby history, it came down to 2 teams. Ourselves as Russia and Georgia. It had been neck and neck the entire game, Georgia leading by 1 point. Unfortunately at the end of the night we came in second place. Overall I had a great time, getting to see parents act like little kids again, dressing up to support their countries. One of the best parts had to be the the gifts on the table. Each table had a basket of cheese and crackers as well as small nerf footballs that said Rugby World Cup 2011. As the drinking began, one could only assume these gifts would later turn into bombs against other tables/countries. Every so often you would see one flying though the air, the sound of glass clinking and someone standing up and yelling "Whooo!" It was quite hilarious to say the least. 

Brett is to my left and Jackie, my host mother is the woman on the right side.

So Close!

The following day, I awoke to what seemed like a searingly painful stream of light placed perfectly in-line with my eyes. On top of my night of pretending to be comrade Kriskov and the Absolute, it was not a good combination. As I gathered myself, I prepared for a relatively restful day. I took a nap and did some reading. Later that I would have yet another adventure with my host dad and his bros.


To watch the All Blacks vs. France (Rugby Union) game, as well as the Warriors vs. Storm (Rugby League) game we went into the city. Brett and I set off into the city at about 6:30pm to catch the end of the merciless beating England was giving Namibia  as well as to met up with a few of his bros. Most of Brett's good mates are polynesian/pacific islanders so instead of saying bro, they refer to each other as Cuz. At the beginning of the night, I was told "Because you are connected to Brett, you are part of our family and one of my Cuzs. Welcome to the pack!" We went to two bars prior to the start of NZ vs. France game. There we had a few pints and I got to know the guys I'd be spending the majority of the night celebrating New Zealand's two major rugby wins. 

We were having trouble finding a suitable place for 8 guys to watch the game. Luckily one of my new Cuzs is a bar/club owner so we went there and watched it. After the stunning victory of the All Blacks as well as the Warriors, we hopped from bar to bar, having pint after pint after pint. By about 1am, half of the pack was lagging behind while me a 3 of my Cuzs were keeping our composure. Beers eventually evolved into shots and mixed drinks of coke and bourbon. All in all after countless drinks, I got know some of Brett's great friends and had a blast. 


Eventually making my way home around 4am, I quickly hopped into bed and fell asleep, only to be woken up by their host dog Lizzy several hours later,  jumping into my bed and licking my face on this very lovely, very rainy, and very lazy sunday morning. 


Lazy Sunday Video

Haka

Try and learn the All Blacks Haka. I dare you.



Ringa pakia
(Slap the hands against the thighs)
Uma tiraha
(Puff out the chest)
Turi whatia
(Bend the knees)
Hope whai ake
(Let the hip follow)
Waewae takahia kia kino
(Stamp the feet as hard as you can)
Ka mate! Ka mate!
(It is death!, It is death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora!
(It is life!, It is life!)
Ka mate! Ka mate!
(It is death! It is death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora!
(It is life! It is life!)
Tenei Te Tangata Puhuru huru
(This is the hairy man)
Nana nei tiki mai 
(Who fetched the sun)
Whakawhiti te ra
(And caused to shine again)
A upa ne ka up ane
(One upward step, another upward step)
Upane, Kaupane
(An upward step)
Whiti te ra
(The sun shines!)

Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/rugby_union/features/newsid_4076000/4076338.stm)

National Anthem

The national anthem of New Zealand encompasses both Maori and English. I found this quite interesting.

E Ihowa Atua,
O ngä iwi mätou rä,
Äta whakarongona;
Me aroha noa.
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau tö atawhai;
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa.

God of Nations, at thy feet.
In the bonds of love we meet.
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God Defend our free land.
Guard Pacific's triple star,
From the shafts of strife and war.
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.