Beginnings

Today was the first day of school with the students and it could not have gone any better!!  I walked to school with my host brother Theo (who is in Year 8 and turns 12 in two short hours!!) and arrived just in time for staff devotions.  Hebron Christian College is just a short half-mile walk away from my host home and the sidewalks are usually littered with students walking to school or adults running to catch the bus to work.  After staff devotions I headed down to my classroom to find it already buzzing with my students and their families.  There is no school busing for students and most of my students are dropped of by/walk to school with one of their parents.  The parents were all about the classroom helping their child unpack school supplies and introducing themselves to me.  I have had parents of students that aren't even in my class come up to me, introduce themselves, and welcome me to the school (apparently the article in the school letter about my arrival was actually ready by parents).  It seems that I get not even two words out of my mouth before I am interrupted with "Oh, you must be from America!"  Is my accent really that thick?  My host brothers say that my accent is fine and that they actually enjoy it.  Anyway...I am getting off topic.  The first day with the students was wonderful, they are all so compassionate.  We spent the day teaching procedures and orientating them with the school as well as focusing on the Waitangi Treaty.  If you don't live in New Zealand and therefore don't know about the Waitangi Treaty check it out here.  You can almost kind of relate it to our Declaration of Independence.  I spent some time teaching random bits all throughout the day and have plenty of lessons to plan for tomorrow.  By the time the parents had returned to pick up their children I was absolutely exhausted.  Having the parents in the school twice a day is ideal for building a relationship and learning more about the students' home life.

The community at Hebron Christian College is astonishing.  I feel so welcomed and completely accepted by all of the other teachers at the school.  I have even had some history teachers approach me and ask me to speak in their class when they start to look at American History and civil rights.  I am intimidated with the content that they have asked me to speak on and wondering if my own knowledge is competent, but that isn't anything that Google can't help refresh my memory.

I have found my host family to be a wonderful way to learn more about the culture, they are so willing to answer all of my eclectic and off-the-wall questions.  We spend a decent amount of time each night asking questions back and forth about our own individual cultures.  My host brother Levi had some friends (all University aged) over the other night and I had loads of fun talking with them about things only college kids could enjoy...like fast food, terrible tv programs, slang, and sports.  I feel as if I could keep writing for hours, but I MUST get to writing lesson plans for tomorrow.

Introducing: Room 7.  The best class in the whole school. "We want people in America to know that we are funny!"

Settled

While my stomach has changed to the new time zone my sleep schedule is still a little behind. For that reason I lay awake in bed and reflect on how wonderfully blest I have been the past few days. Tuesday and Wednesday have been professional development teacher-only days (Monday was a holiday for Auckland Anniversary). The past two days have been a wonderful opportunity to get to know my fellow teachers as well as my way around the school. I have felt so welcome and included by every one of the teachers! After spending the majority of the past two days in faculty meetings I am eager to meet the children tomorrow and begin with a lesson on Waitangi Day!

Another great blessing these past two days has been moving in with my host family. I finally feel settled and have begun to establish a routine. My host Mum and Dad have graciously welcomed me to be part of their family and I quite enjoy time spent with my three new brothers and new sister. A new pool has been recently installed right outside my bedroom window and quite a lot of time after school is spent in the pool by almost everyone.  The first night with my host family they created a list of the top ten things that I needed to do while in New Zealand.  I am quite excited to begin checking adventures off this list of tasks that will make me a true Kiwi.  I have also greatly enjoyed exploring my new neighborhood during a run every day after school.  My goal is to take a new route every day to see all that Mt. Albert (suburb name) contains.  The name of the suburb is Mt. Albert because the suburb is located on a volcano named Mt. Albert, this makes the running quite hilly.  But knowing that I can simply jump in the pool when I return home makes the run worth all the effort.  I have been so blessed by being placed with this family, I truly enjoy all of my time spent with them!

Folk

I spent Saturday and Sunday with the Sellar family (Margaret Sellar will be my cooperating teacher) camping at the Auckland Folk Festival.  Imagine tunes similar to The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons and that is what I got to listen to live for two days, rather pleasant music!  I am glad that I had the opportunity to get to know Margaret and her family before I work with her in the classroom.  The Sellar family welcomed me in and quickly brought me up to speed with necessary knowledge of cultural differences so that people wouldn't stare at me.  There is a reason that the bathroom is called the lou so therefore, it is quite weird for me to use the term bathroom instead...noted.  Also, instructions on how to properly operate the toilet are greatly appreciated.  Jet lag has surprisingly been manageable, I turn in rather early but not too bad for a 17 hour time difference.  Something that I have been rather excited about is the abundance of fresh fruit (Thank you Jesus for summer in the southern hemisphere!) all around me.  The Sellar family has already nicknamed me Cherry, it might have something to do with that fact that my fingers are presently stained purple from all of the cherries that I have eaten.  :)

This morning (Monday) we packed up our campsite and headed back into town.  I returned to the Matthew's house and helped with final preparations for one of their granddaughter's 3rd birthday party. The party was held at a park surrounded by pasture full of sheep (New Zealand has a quota of 9 sheep for every 1 person) and full of sunshine.  A lot of stretching has been required from my introverted personality these past few days, but I enjoyed talking to families at the party.

All in all, I am still rather emotionally exhausted (the jet lag probably doesn't help).  I greatly miss all of you back home, but am enjoying my current adventures.  I really look forward to school starting tomorrow as well as moving in with my host family.  This type A personality is in need of some structure and routine again.  I am certain that unpacking and getting settled in my new home will provide a greater sense of comfort and peace.  I suppose I should get ready for bed now, tomorrow is a big day.  As always, prayers are appreciated!  Love and miss you all.

Arrival

So much has happened in the past few days that I don't even know where to start!  I was anxious about flying all by myself.  I have flown internationally before, but always with a group of people and someone else was always in charge of telling me what to do and where to go.  Thankfully, the whole process was quite easy.  Saying goodbye to everyone, however, was much harder.  I am still a little emotionally exhausted and crave to have some sort of routine back in my life.  On my flight from Columbus to Dallas/Fort Worth I sat next to a man heading to Texas to do business, we shared a few quick words and then he returned to his iPad and I listened to music while trying to keep my mind off how slow I felt that time was moving.  I was quite nervous about missing my connecting flight to Brisbane and after our takeoff was delayed because our plane needed deiced I was very weary about whether or not I would make it in time.  To top it off my boarding pass didn't have a gate listed for my next flight, but I was told that that information would be provided to me when I arrived at the airport (so much for my type A personality trying to plan and control everything).  God is so good and we actually arrived at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport earlier than originally expected.  I even had time to sit down for a few minutes and shoot off a few texts to friends and family before I boarded the plane.  Now was the part that I was dreading, the 16 1/2 hour flight from Texas to Australia.  I forced myself to stay awake for the dinner that they served on the plane (granted by this point in time it was already 1am in Ohio and I wasn't the least bit hungry).  The Qantas airlines treated my very nicely and after a delicious vegan meal of fried vegetables, rice, and salad everyone had tea/coffee.  Complimentary toothbrushes and toothpaste, eye masks, water bottles, and snacks were distributed to help make it through the night. By this point in time the drowsy Dramamine did it's job and I feel fast asleep.  I was very blessed to have an aisle seat with an empty seat to my right so making myself comfortable was a little easier than expected.  The only other person seated in my row was a kind Australian man.  I can't say that we talked much because of the massive amounts of sleeping that we both did, but I did share a Snickers bar with him to work to complete the scavenger hunt that my Dad created for me!

The last 2-3 hours of the flight seemed to drag on forever, but I really can't complain...I could be on a boat for 49 days instead!  I arrived at the Brisbane International Airport promptly at 6:15am and had an 11 hour layover looming over my jet legged body.  I spent my eleven hours walking around the airport and stretching my sore legs, hunting down an electrical airport (you would think they would be everywhere, but apparently not in this airport), eating delicious and overpriced airport food, and making the most out of my 1 hour free wifi with quick texts home.  I also had my first flying fatality, I somehow left my glasses on the plane or lost them in the airport.  After spending a good amount of time retracing my steps in the airport and talking with airline representatives I declared them officially lost, I feel rather defeated.  I had no idea how incredibly boring traveling alone was going to be, especially for this layover.  In true introvert fashion, I would hesitate reaching out to fellow travelers, but I had quite an adventure all on my own.  Soon enough I found myself boarding another plan to Auckland, New Zealand!  This three hour flight flew by (no pun intended).  I was again served dinner and tea/coffee and accidentally fell asleep for the remainder of my flight.

Upon arriving in Auckland airport I became anxious about going through Customs (which I had completely forgotten about up until this point).  Looking back I am not quite sure what I got so worked up about, Customs was a breeze.  Except for me having to ask to have things repeated so I can understand thick accents I flawlessly made it through the airport only to find Geoff and Sue Matthews eagerly waiting for me.  Geoff is the principal of Hebron Christian College and I will be spending some time with him and his wife this weekend because my host family is on holiday in the northern part of the island.  35 hours after I departed I had finally reached my destination, stayed up a while to chat with the Matthews and then collapsed in bed.  Unfortunately, jet lag had me wide awake at 8am.

Apprehension

Secretly, one of my biggest worries about my trip was that my Grandpa would pass away while I was on the other side of the world and that I wouldn't be able to be with my family. On Friday, that fear was relieved when my Grandpa (who has suffered long and hard with dementia) passed away in his sleep. It was bittersweet. I am so glad that he is no longer suffering in his failing body and I am confident that he is rejoicing in Heaven this very moment. However, it has made it difficult for me to leave. I am thankful that I was able to travel to Illinois and be with my family. Unfortunately that time spent with family was time taken away from saying goodbyes to friends who are like family. I truly am excited for my new adventure, but I will be leaving with a heavy heart and I would greatly appreciate your prayers for me.

Preparations

I leave tomorrow for Auckland, New Zealand to complete my Early Childhood student teaching.  One of my placement options for student teaching through Mount Vernon Nazarene University was to travel and teach internationally.  I have such a passion for travel and diversity that I knew instantly that I wanted to student teach internationally.  The placement process with CCTECC lead me to Hebron Christian College in Auckland, New Zealand where I will be teaching Year 2 with Mrs. Margaret Sellar.  Throughout my seven weeks I will have the opportunity to leave with a kiwi family and teach at a private Christian school while experiencing the true life of a kiwi.  I am so thankful for the opportunities that I will have and blessed with such great support from my family and friends.

The closer that I come to my new adventure the more I realize how much this trip will change me.  With pure trust in God I am setting forward tomorrow on my own to change my world and the word's of those around me.  I look forward to being a stranger in a new city and discovering who I am in New Zealand.

I hope to post updates here of my adventures at least twice a week.  This will be my first trip traveling alone, but also hold in your hearts the five other student teachers traveling abroad this semester.  Sarah Andrews will be traveling to the Dominican Republic check her blog out here.

Hebron Christian College
New Zealand Facts