August 2004 - The Adventure Begins

The time right before I left for New Zealand was filled with movie watching, book reading, hanging out with friends and family, and anything else I could do to pass the days.

By August 4, 2004 I was sleeping an average of 4 hours a night because I was so excited about my trip and the new things that lay before me.

WARNING: The following few months are filled with all things New Zealand. You have been warned :)

August 7, 2004 - The day I left for NZ. I remember checking my flights shortly after this post and having a small heart attack. The airline had bumped up my flight by an hour. LUCKILY I was still well ahead of schedule and made it to the airport in plenty of time.

August 23, 2004 was my very first post from New Zealand.

"Greetings from New Zealand

I spent the first week getting settled in and accustomed to the time difference. i explored the area a bit and learned the train system - since it's my only means of independent travel. I've finally adjusted to driving on the left side of the road... that took longer to get used to than I expected. I bought a New Zealand Oxford Dictionary so I could learn the slang words - there's hundreds of them. I told the lady I'm living with I appreciated her patience in answering my questions... they seemed endless there for a while. There's also another teacher from the school living their and a younger (21) guy who's sole purpose in life since I arrived is to give me a hard time. I think I'm finally getting the idea of what it must be like to have a little brother! His favorite thing is to turn the light off when I'm in the shower - the light switch is just outside the bathroom door. /sigh... He's a boy."

My excitement is obvoius in this first post. hehe... "drowning in new experience" = absolutely right.

It took me a good week to get my internal clock reformatted - I went to bed at 8pm, 9pm, 10pm and finally 11pm...

As for my trouble adjusting to riding in a car in the wrong seat on the wrong side of the road... Let me explain.

Wellington is has windy-hilly streets. So not only was I in the "drivers seat" with no control and not only did it look like every car was headed straight for us and the rear view mirror showed wierd bits, but I was desperately trying not to get car sick (I'm not a good passenger, especially in hilly situations). But! I survived and it even became quite routine. Once I got used to going to the "drivers" side of the car - to be a passenger ;)

LOL the dictionary. I had forgotten about that. I read A - L (highlighting a lot of the words) before I'd been there long enough that I stopped hearing strange words on a daily basis.

That post continues: "The people have been very welcoming and I've made myself at home.

My first week of student teaching proved to be a bit more adventuresome than I had counted on. My cooperating teacher was out sick Monday - Thursday, leaving me with a sub. At one point, on Thursday morning, I was left alone with the kids for 45 minutes. THAT was interesting! The kids were a bit rowdy, as kids are when their teacher is away... but that's alright. I think they're really a good bunch and I'm looking forward to the next 11 weeks."

heh... yeah... talk about jumping right in. I skipped the "getting your feet wet" part of student teaching. Ultimately, I think it was really good for me. I didn't have time to be nervous.

To see the view I had from my bedroom window: HomeView

August 26, 2004 = completion of 2nd week of Student Teaching.

"I can say that I'm having the time of my life. I'm usually tired by the end of the school day, but it is a good tired. I think the constant energy of the kids and having to always look around and see & hear all, is the main drain on my energy. But! The kids are good and the other teachers are good. I've had lots of invitations to see other classrooms, though I've only made it to one other so far. There has also been a recommendation that I go see some of the other schools in the area."

I was exhausted. And it was hard to be constantly aware of everything. 7th and 8th graders (in one class) will wear you out. They have endless energy and you have to have at least one eyeball on each of them at all times or they get up to no good. Oy! After student teaching I have even more respect for teachers.

Move on to SePteMber 2004