Hobbiton

Thursday was another full on day of teaching and it went pretty well (said Margaret Sellar who sneakily observed me teaching a lesson when I wasn't suspecting it).  My students are so eager to learn and are really wonderful children!  Having a class size of only fifteen has been wonderful  Classroom management isn't really an issue at all (granted that is a combination of both my strict/high expectations and small class sizes).

On Friday I had the opportunity to time and participate in Swim Sports for students Year 4-13.  I was assigned to the Blue House (which was obviously the best house to belong to aka Gryffindor).  Just as I  began to fill with pride for the Blue House and started to think of some great chants I was whisked away to time individual lanes.  I haven't been to many swim meets (so I have a lack of background knowledge to compare to), but these kids were great swimmers!  I heard a statistic that there are approximately 70 drowning deaths a year down here that could be prevented if the person had known how to swim.  It only makes since that because of Auckland's easy access to water students should receive swim lessons in school.  The kids were all completely comfortable in the water.  I don't think that I represented team USA and Michael Phelps too well when I swam as part of the teacher relay for the final event of Teachers vs. Parents vs. High School students vs. Middle School students...but I am from Ohio...we aren't too well known for our swimming abilities.  During my afternoon tea break on Friday (the perks of being a teacher = students bringing you tea and hot crossed buns while you are working) I spent a nice amount of time talking to Paul Norell who just started teaching at Hebron Christian College on Monday.  If you don't know the name Paul Norell you might know the name of one of the characters he portrayed...the King of the Dead from the Lord of the Rings.  Yes, the King of the Dead is a teacher at my school...pretty intimidating stuff, maybe I should have him run my detention.  While Paul and I were chatting he asked me if I was interested in visiting Hobbiton.  Uhhhhh...YES!  As it turns out he was leading a group of people from a cruise on a tour down to Hobbiton Saturday morning and there was extra space if I wanted to join, free of charge.  The plans were made to meet at down at Princes Wharf at the cruise ship in the morning and the deal was sealed.

This brings us to Saturday, the day I visited The Shire.  My host Dad dropped me off down at the wharf early Saturday morning and I met up with Paul and everyone from the cruise ship where we hopped on a charter bus and enjoyed the two hour drive down to Matamata.  I learned a few new things about Auckland from our bus driver along the way, like the fact that Auckland is only 1km wide at it's skinniest and 11km wide at it's thickest point.  The best part about traveling with an established tour was the fact that we didn't have to wait around to buy tickets or for the next bus into Hobbiton we simply drove in past the line of waiting people.  The walking tour through Hobbiton lasted around 1 1/2 hours and was absolutely breathtaking.  It is truly like walking into another world.  I was awestruck by the attention to detail that was put into everything from thousands of fake leaves hand painted for the fake tree behind Bilbo Baggin's hole (pictured to the left) or the fake moss applied to the fences to make them appear more aged than they truly are and the hobbit sized clothes hanging on lines.  Our tour ended at the Green Dragon Pub where we were served a delicious lunch.  I had a very enjoyable time talking to everyone from the cruise (I must have lowered the average age by a few decades) who came from various sides of the world including England, Canada, Australia, and even one American as well.  In the end, I was thoroughly impressed with my trip to Hobbiton.


Today (Sunday) I was able to join Vic, (one of the teachers at Hebron who is actually originally from California) Christina, and Svenya (two students teachers from Germany also at Hebron) to the church that Vic attends regularly.  I continue to feel so blessed with the community at Hebron, so many of the teachers have reached out to me and eager to introduce me to new people and places.  After a wonderful church service followed by a heavy lunch at Vic's house I returned home for Theo's 12th birthday party.  Nothing like sitting in the backyard eating fresh fruit and meringues in the sun to make a Sunday truly relaxing.

This week is bringing a new adventure that will separate me from technology for a few days.  Tuesday through Friday I will be accompanying the Senior High students as they go all go to camp!  Being placed in the primary department I have little interaction with the high schoolers so I am both excited and intimidated to spend this week with them.  I am only comforted in know that the teacher cabin that I will be staying in consists of some pretty awesome staff!  I will also be privileged with leading a group of students through all of the activities during the duration of the week, this will give me many great opportunities to build relationships with the scary students who seem to be twice my size.  Prayers are appreciated as I am sure that I will be exhausted by the end of camp!