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.

Land of the Free and Home of the Brave vs. The Islands at the Bottom of the World

As the days pass, I am going to list some of the differences between the greatest country in the world, the good Ol' U S of A and Zeelandia.

• Driving on the other side of the road. One of the only countries to drive on the wrong side, I mean left side, of the road.
• Lots of coffee and tea. Nothing like having a splendid cup of tea to start your day off on the right foot chaps.
• Expensive! Everything is super expensive. Example A) Eggs, Toast and Bacon costs 12 dollars. TWELVE FREAKING DOLLARS. I can make you breakfast for less than 3 bucks.
• Free Health Care! 
• Don’t have to Fill taxes
• It is much friendlier than NYC. I cannot tell you how many random conversations I have had with people while waiting in line or even waiting for the signal to change so I can cross the streets.
• Lots of Asians (Controversial topic)
• Can rain at any moment. It literally rains everyday. Sometimes all day, sometimes for only 5 minutes. On one of the first days here, it rained about 12 times, each lasting about 5 minutes each.
• Experience all 4 seasons in a day. Like the previous difference, one second it will be rainy, the next sunny, followed by gusts of wind and freezing cold. The solution? LAYERS.
• Rubbish bins and motorways. No such thing as a garbage can or a highway here. Its all British Jibberish and Kiwi Slang. 
• There is no such thing as the letter Z (or zee as we pronounce it. It is pronounced Zed.
• People aren't white or Caucasian here, they are Pakeha. Pakeha roughly translates to New Zealand Europeans. That's basically ALMOST EXACTLY makes no sense. See what I did there? Do ya?

For the moment, this is my list of interesting differences. As the trip progresses, I'm sure to find more to share with you. 

Waitakere Range Field Trip

It's been a while since my last post. I thought I would give you an update on my teaching placement. This past week, my teaching placement went on a field trip to the Waitakere Environmental Center within the Waitakere Range. Here the students (crazy 5-6 year olds) learned about seedlings and germination. On this interesting and headache filled journey, the students got to play games.


One such game included placing large wooden cutouts of each stage of a plants life in the correct order. Riveting... I know. I can tell you all are waiting on the edge of your seat to know more about this lifecycle game but I will spare you because the best is yet to come. 


After the exciting game, the students put on their hiking shoes and ponchos. We were off. The Park Ranger who lead the class was surprisingly patient with the students, for they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. 

As we approached the end of our hike, I was surprised that no student had gotten himself into too much trouble. I scanned my students. I spoke too soon because as I glanced at their little faces, one boy had a smear of green goo across his mouth. He was chewing on some strange leaf and had this green mystery slime all over his hands and face. It kind of reminded me of the slime from Nickelodeon. Disgusting. I then quickly grabbed him by his hand and pulled him over to the park ranger to show him the leaf he enjoyed so much. Fortunately for the student, it was "The least harmful plant he could have chosen to eat. There are lots of nasty plants that would have made him as sick as a dog." 


Pleased with myself that no student had decided to eat a poisonous plant on my watch, I let the park ranger regain control, or at least try to, of the class. We finished our hike and the students piled back onto the bus. A double decker bus. I had never riden on a double decker bus before this and of course I got to sit on the top both to and from the environmental center. The perks of being a teacher are pretty sweet right? (just a hint of sarcasm hidden within there)


And the best part about the trip was that the bus ride home... was absolutely silent. No kids screaming or kicking or yelling at one another. They were all so tired that half of them fell asleep.


I supposed the moral of this post is, don't eat things you find in the forest.

Bus Ride Torture

This morning I thought I would come to Uni early to walk around, grab a coffee as well as review my reading homework. It must have been worlds most annoying laugh day and she has been the unbeaten champion for the last 15 years running. I swear this girl had a continual laugh that lasted for 50 minutes. Unfortunately today was the day that I forgot to bring my headphones too! I was contemplating getting off the bus, giving up my seat and waiting for the next one because it was that horrendous!

Monsoon Sunday

This morning, I awoke to the sound of rain on my bedroom. Taking into account that 2 walls of my bedroom are glass windows, it was no "pitter-patter" but rather sounded like I was inside of a hurricane. None the less, it put a damper on the day. 

When I went into the kitchen my host father Brett welcomed me with a breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. After eating and discussing the plans for the day, we decided to go on a kayak adventure. We were not going to let the rain stop us. So we went into the garage and packed up the kayak skirts, weather gear and booties. We then loaded the car up with the two kayaks and set off. 


The entire drive to the river, it rained. It rained and rained and rained some more. By the time we got there, we thought it was going to be a pretty wet kayaking session. Little did we know, as soon as we stepped out of the car, the sun emerged. A break within the storm!

We quickly put on our gear, launched the boats and set off into the small harbor. The sun was shining and we were off. We kayaked around through a fairly calm and fairly large river with many old abandoned boats on it. Birds were flying overhead carrying sticks to repair their nests and fish could be seen breaking the surface of the water. It was an amazing trip. 


As soon as we finished paddling around the river and had the car packed up, it started again. It downpoured as we got onto the highway or "motorway" as the kiwi say. Besides for the perfect timing we used to go kayaking, the weather made for a shotty day. 


Arriving home, Brett and I lounged in front of the tv for a bit. I had the luxury of skyping with Amanda as well! It was great!!


Brett's parents came over for dinner later today for dinner, where I ate heaps of food  and wine. I quickly became "Fat and Happy." I was also introduced to the after dinner drink of Port Wine with a coffee. It was quite good! 


All in all, besides for the crappy weather, today was fun. I got to go kayaking (which I am sure I'll be a bit sore in the morning), got to talk to my lovely girlfriend and had a wonderful dinner.


Successful day.

Rugby World Cup!

As you may know, today was the opening of the Rugby World Cup. The opening ceremony started at 3pm down at the water front. The police closed off the streets with blockades. There were people running around everywhere, wearing flags as capes and being ridiculous. The most intense people were the Tongans. They were terrible at Rugby but they definitely had the most spirit. Chanting and screaming their national anthem as well as taunting other team fans!

At the beginning of the ceremony, each team in the cup has a waka. Waka is the maori word for canoe, so each team had a representative canoe for their country. This ritual was to welcome the other countries to New Zealand and to wish them luck. About 600 maori warriors rode in the wakas and afterwords, they did the Haka on the street. I couldn't really see the haka because there were too many people in front of me but I tried to take a few pictures and videos.

After the haka we to a thai restaurant that had just opened. It was perfect timing. Other than the comfy seats to rest my tired legs, the food was alright at best and the service was not great. After that, we walked to a pub to hang out and chill by the waterfront. There, we had one beer and then chatted until the fireworks started at 7pm. 

The fireworks were amazing. They were shooting off of the Tower in Auckland city as well as over the water. I got some good photos of that and I hopefully plan on putting some online tomorrow afternoon while at a cafe or something, seeing how the internet at home isn't very fast.

I cannot tell you how many hammered people, as well as ambulances, I saw tonight. People who had no idea where they were or probably who they even were!

After the fireworks, we found a small bar along the water that was showing the game on a large projector. There I met some Americans who were actually teachers at local schools! It was a young couple who had just been married out of the peace corps and moved to Auckland. They were representing USA in the rugby cup even though they know that they are going to lose. The guy (adam) was wearing an american flag as a cape haha. He was quite cool. His wifes name was Sarah and we talked about how different the education system is in New Zealand compared to at home. She told me that students get to pick the classes they want to study in high school, the same way we get to pick what we want to do in college. It was insane!

So we watched the game. The game was Tonga vs. New Zealand. New Zealand beat the Tongas 41-10. It was a blow out!! It was fun to watch on a big screen too. After the game finished, about 10:30ish, we started to head home. I had to grab my bag from rachels homestay. We began to walk but Brett came and picked us up and drove us there. Brett is business partners with rachels homestay day, so it made the trip home quite easy.The roads were very busy.

Sarah, Adam, Myself, Lara and Kathryn

Fireworks over the water

The Wakas coming in.

The 600 Maori warriors who rode in the Wakas.

Kai Ora Auckland

It has been about a week since my arrival in New Zealand. From what I have gathered, it is either the most beautiful country in the world or advertised as such. It's probably a little bit of both. Happily, I can write and tell to you that I feel right at home here in the land of the Kiwis. The situation with my host family is far better than I have expected. 


The mother and father are some of the most kind people I have ever met. Brett enjoys a good joke, skulling beers (shotgunning for all you amuricans reading this) and any sport you can name. He referees for quite legitimate rugby matches and is constantly competing in triathlon type races. My favorite story so far was when he competed in the  Single Speed World Championship (This story will probably get its own post eventually). Aside his absurd stories and jokes, my host mother Jackie is incredibly generous. Mitchell and Chelsea are my host siblings, ages 16 and 18 respectively. Naturally I play Call of Duty and Need for Speed with Mitchell and Chelsea tells me where all the best places to go in the city.


After being here for about a week, I've quickly fallen into what will be my routine. Waking up earlier than I'd prefer (about 7am) to University of Auckland, or Uni for short. I'm taking one class each day on mondays, tuesdays and fridays. To get to Uni, I now ride the bus. This bus ride is about 45-55 minutes long, depending on the bus driver. It took me a few days to figure out where to get on and what stop to get off, seeing that I've never had to rely on public transportation. At first, I hated it but it is quickly growing on me.


On wednesdays and thursdays I walk to the Blockhouse Bay Primary School near my homestay. There I teach from 8:30am-3pm. Here I'm working with a year one classroom. If I had to compare a year one class to something back in the states, I'd say it was a kindergarten or 1st grade class. The students are ages 5-6 so they can become quite a handful. With 17 little ones running around, who knows what is going to happen. 


Teaching here is much more enjoyable than back home. The students are outside much longer periods of time and the teachers even get a morning tea break. These breaks throughout the day help the students (and teachers!) relieve their pent up energy and stress. This kiwi lifestyle is much more laid back than I had imagined. 


Probably the coolest thing so far about New Zealand is that the Rugby World Cup 2011 is hosted in Auckland. I'm going to find a way to go to a game and root for the world famous All Blacks as well as their Haka.


If you guys have any specific questions you want me to ask about my trip, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.


P.S. I'd like to give thanks to Denis for the blog title Kiwistopher.


Until next time, Hei kona ra.