photos

These are pictures of school, and from a walk down the road.

The playground at school.

A view from the back of the students at assembly

A funny thing called boys

Middle school boys are a trip, aye?  Some can be so sweet, and some are little terrors.  I got a razor blade off a boy today....dont really know what he was going to use it for, but he was sharpening a pencil with it...hmm.
Its just so funny to me how some students can be near angelic, as a class, and then others are well, the opposite.  And between the girls and the boys, the girls are so respectful and smile and say hello and goodbye, while the boys couldnt care less.

Its been rainy and cloudy a lot of times, and a bit chilly.  There are sunny patches though, and when the sun comes out it is so very warm! Its amazing, the difference is. 
I am having a great time meeting new people, teaching in different circumstances, and trying new things.  I love the bright vivid beauty of the plants, the strength of the sun, the waves and the islands, and the people I have met. Most of all I like making people excited about music.  =)

First Day of Classes

Today was the first day of classes, woohoo!!!!!
I love the students, all of them were really good today. I hear some of them get worse as the week goes on =)
I have each class just once a week for 80 minutes, different! Struggling to learn names! Especially when they are like Loongoa, and Wheevsha, and things like that =) I will have year 7 and year 8, which is 10 year olds to 13 year olds.

When we first got to the school, we saw that our window was broken into, and there was a board over it.....
There was glass all over the instrument room, and one guitar stolen. Si, uno guitaro.
So, that was my welcome to Tamaki Intermediate.

Its going to be alot of fun teaching ukulele, and choir.  I also have guitar, drama, and computers.
Most of the kids have a New Zealand accent, there are some with a Moari/NZ, British, Israili, African, or Somoan accents. The New Zealand accents sound so proper, and I must admit it is so cute hearing in a little voice. (We'll see how I feel about that later) 

Kayaking and the Coromandel

This was our amazing kayaking trip. It was so cool to see the cove. This was used as the entrance into Narnia in Prince Caspian. Hearing about the history of New Zealand from the tour guide was awesome, and we got to see some black diamond sting rays and a blue penguin. There were other birds too. It was a lot of fun, but the day didnt end there. There was a tsunami warning right after we got back to shore, and we all headed up to the top of the hill with the rest of the town. After that we drove to a ferry to take us to a little touristy town (buckleberry ferry=). Then we went to Hot Springs Beach where you dig your own little hot tub in the sand and the water from underneath is hot! It was really neat sitting in the hot water in the cold air watching the waves.....until the tide came in =)

The best part of the day was on the drive up to the kayaking place. We were in the hills and mountains on the edge of the peninsula listening to Chris Tomlin's "Glory in the Highest". Right when we got to the top, the brush and trees cleared and the song reached the climax. We could see out to the islands off of the peninsula in the ocean where the horizon met the water, and the sun was shining all around. It brought tears to my eyes to see such pure and glorious beauty, and to know that God was the creator of it all. That moment will never be recreated, but it will always be burned into my memory. I am sorry there is no picture =)

Kayaking to Cathedral Cove

The road to the Coromandel

These are all pictures of us on our way to the Coromandel to stay in a Bach (batch) and go kayaking. The Coromandel is the peninsula on the northeast side of NZ. It was a spectacular view from our comfortable mountanside beach house. I went wit my co-op teacher Sara and two of her friends. There is a picture of the sunset, and then after the sunrise shining on the countryside across the way.

Adventures

I just had the most lovely time exploring God's creation here in NZ. This is such a beautiful place, beyond anything I have ever seen. There are so many beautiful plants, birds, animals, and scenery. The scenery is spectacular, there is nothing like it. A never ending turf of green-ness mountainous hilly landscape with cool looking trees and sheep and cows and horses and new interesting things around every corner.
I went kayaking yesterday, and visited the hot springs, hung out with some cool people, and saw the most amazing view I think I shall ever see in my life.
I will write about those each individually and add pictures with those.
New favorite phrase, "Ya cheeky little monkey" , cheeky means smart or sarcastic, and a monkey is well, a monkey =)