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.