The Far North

Thursday, March 31, 2011

                We left early this morning to drive up to the Northland. We drove for about an hour and stopped to see the oldest tree in New Zealand, the McKinney Kauri tree. It took all 16 of us standing around the tree to get all the way around. James gave each of us an orange lava lava to wear and showed us how to tie them. They are so cool. I really like them and am excited to wear mine.

We then drove 10 minutes to go to the best bakery for meat pies in New Zealand; the Picnix Bakery in Warkworth. I bought my first meat pie. It was chicken cranberry and so good. Definitely agree that it is the best in New Zealand.

2 hours later we reached a little town where there are some beautiful mosaic toilets and a mosaic tiled garden across the street it was pretty cool. It is classic road tripping when you get to stop along the way and enjoy some classic sights. We made it to our motel in Pahia, a small coastal town and we can see the beach from our window. I just love it. I can’t wait to go for a walk along the bay.

We headed up to the Waitangi treaty grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in the 1800s between Britain and the Maori people. The treaty is equivalent to the Declaration of Independence in America, so it was pretty cool to see. We got to see a huge wakka/canoe that they take out on the water once a year, the treaty house, and the meeting house. There was so much history. This sight is the birthplace of New Zealand history. I quite enjoyed it. To get up to the treaty house we walked along the coast and it was so gorgeous to look out over, one of my new favorite sights in New Zealand. We also walked through some bush with cool jungle bridges. I felt like I was in Tarzan or something. So fun.

We came back for dinner and then James taught all of us how to make Poi Balls. It actually took some time, but all you need is yarn, plastic bags, tape, and cotton. It was fun to make the balls and I am looking forward to playing with them. I could start my own poi ball show in the states. 

How New Zealanders do Caving

Tuesday, March 28, 2011

On Tuesday, we woke up really early to clean the Bronze's home before leaving Rotorua and driving to Waitamo where all 16 girls and James were going black water glow worm caving. I was so excited to go black water caving. I have been caving since I was 13 and have always loved caving in GA, but this was my first experience with black water caving.

The first group of girls went down the cave at 10:30 while the group I was with was going at noon with 8 girls and James. Once it was time for our caving, I got into a wet suit complete with boots and a helmet with a light. We looked pretty hard core. I love going caving and I could not wait for this experience to begin. We drove to a spot where we picked up our black inner tubes and practiced jumping backwards with our inner tubes over waterfalls.So cool that would be fun to do in the cave. We then went over some safety procedures and headed up to the cave.

Kara and I were the first ones to climb down into the cave. I think we were the most excited too. Once in the cave, We saw some giant crickets, maybe the brothers or cousins of Jimminy and heard that there are fresh water eels in the water that could bite.The water in the cave was freezing cold and pretty deep in some parts. I climbed and swam through the cave until we came to the first waterfall. I turned around put my tube under my bum closed my eyes and jumped off backwards, it was so much fun. I made a huge splash and got some water in my nose, but had such a good time!! Jumping waterfalls may become a new hobby.

 I continued through the cave until we got to where the glow worms were.Glow worms are actually maggots, and it is their poop that glows and they only exist in New Zealand. May sound gross, but it was pretty cool to see them light up the cave. Their light is the brightest natural light source in the world, it was like floating down though the cave and looking up at stars lighting up the sky, except it was glowworms lighting up the cave. It was pretty magical to float down this underground cave and watch the glow worms over head. I just loved it. I have missed caving so much. Matt Pennington would be proud of my caving experience in New Zealand and even though I didn't get covered in red mud, I think it tops caving in GA, but I still want to go caving in GA again soon. Towards the end of the cave, was the tunnel of love which gets its name because the rocks in this part try to give you a hug. We then climbed out of the cave and hiked back to the van to drive back to the base and change. It was such a fun experience to cave in New Zealand and have the opportunity to do one of my favorite things the New Zealand way. One of the best experiences ever. I just love having so many cool experiences in New Zealand.

We got soup to warm up after caving, and then started to drive back to Auckland. In the car we reminenced through all of our old favorite cartoons on Nick Jr and PBS that no longer exist like Wishbone, Doug, and Recess. So many good shows, why don't they have them any more? We had the sister missionaries over for dinner once we got back to Auckland. I really like the sisters in the ward. It was so great to talk to and get to know both of them.

I had such a great adventure down in Rotorua and loved all of it and I am ready for another adventure on Thursday! Oh what fun!!

True Maori Experiences

Monday, March 29, 2011

Monday was a day full of history, cultural, and natural New Zealand experiences. We went to Te Puia this morning for a Maori performance. When we got there, there was a group of kids from Tahiti that were traveling over here and they performed some dances as well. They were so cute. I love how all of the Polynesian cultures dance. We then walked over to the Mari or meeting house where we choose Jim to be our chief for the Powhiri or Maori welcoming ceremony. At the gateway to the Mari, we stood and waited until one of the warriors called with a large horn and another came up to us and brought a leaf which Jim went and picked up showing them we came in peace. All of us girls then followed Jim up to the meeting house. There were a bunch of Asian people that even though our guide kept saying not to push kept pushing us and trying to push there way in. We removed our shoes before entering the Mari as a sign of respect for the sacred grounds. Our group was supposed to be first and follow our chief Jim in, but we kinda kept getting pushed out of the way by the crowd.

Once inside, the men took a seat on the front row, with the women and children in the rows behind as was custom for these ceremonies. Their chief then gave a speech and sang a waiata before Chief Jim went up and was park of a hangi so we could officially be welcomed as part of their people in the Mari. The Maori cultural performance then began. A traditional stick dance was performed and a Maori love song/ legend which was really pretty followed by a dance with their poi balls. Some of the girls in our group got to go up on stage and do the dance with the poi dance as well. It was quite a sight to see. The performance was closed with a performance of the haka by the men, but not before some of the men from the audience joined in the haka. Chief Jim got up on stage and learned the haka. It was so funny to watch him do the haka and the faces he made, one of the funniest sights ever. I took a video to document how sweet it was. So great and I am so glad he did it for us. we are now calling him Chief Jim. 


After the performance we had a guided tour of Te Puia. Our guide Ben was pretty cool and explained the moko or Maori tattoos, but it is kinda offensive for them to be called tattoos. The moko are a symbol of their identity and has so much meaning and symbolism to it. I respect it and then they believe other tattoos are degrading and should not be on the body. 


Our tour started with learning the full name of Te Puia which is Te Whakarewarewatanga o te ope tau a Wahiao which translates to The Gathering Place of the war parties of Wahiao. The Maori language has some of the longest words there are. we then had the opportunity to see two live kiwi birds. The kiwi bird is New Zealand's national bird, but we haven't had the opportunity to see it because it is endangered, so this was my first time seeing a live kiwi. it was so cool. They are big and fluffy with these long pointed noses and are nocturnal. I am glad we got to see them. We then continued our tour down to the mud pools and saw a traditional trap for huge birds that used to be in New Zealand and that are now extinct like the large eagles in Lord of the Rings. 


Next we saw the Pohutu Geyser erupt. This park is like New Zealand's Yellowstone Park, but in my opinion better. It sure does have the sulfur smell that is at Yellowstone. Seeing the geysers here kinda makes me want to visit Yellowstone and see the geysers there sometime. Afterwards we got to see the carving and weaving schools. These were pretty cool. I got to see how the wood is carved which is quite a process with all of the intricate Maori carvings. The weaving was cool to see too. They make so much out of the flax leaves such a skirts, bags, and rain jackets. It was pretty cool to see. Our tour ended there, but Kara and I kept exploring afterwards. We went and explored this old Maori village that is set up like an actual traditional Maori village. It was pretty cool to see how the Maori people lived. After wondering around for a while, we left Te Puia to go to the green, blue, and Taramae Lakes. 


The blue lake was gorgeous and we were able to swim in that one, the green lake was pretty too, but that one is considered to be sacred by the Maori people, so no one has ever swam in it. Taramae Lake is where the pink and white terraces used to be before a volcanic eruption in 1886. These terraces used to be known as the 8th wonder of the world, but they are now at the bottom of the lake. I kinda wish we could have seen what they look like.After wards we drove down to Old Rotorua and were allowed to wonder around there for a while. Katie and I walked up to the Rotorua museum  which used to be an old bath house. The outside of it is gorgeous with this old English architecture.We also saw some lawn bowling going on, on the grounds outside the museum. Lawn bowling is kinda like bochee ball, looks like fun. We then wondered around the town and went in some of the shops. I love hanging out with Katie. She has become one of my best friends over here. 

We then headed back to the Bronze's where I tried my first fresh passion fruit. It was so good. I am kinda addicted now. I also tried so fejoi which is another New Zealand fruit. That night, we were the guests to Annette's dinner show and theater. The dinner show was so fun. It was in this little theater all set up like the 1800's. The food we had was so good and hongi type food, so chicken kumera, lots of veggies,etc. It was so good. The show was pretty funny and good too. It was about the volcanic eruption that occurred in 1886 in Rotorua and the pink and white terraces. There were 4 main actors in the show and it was pretty funny about an old hotel and all of the people that came and traveled to see the pink and white terraces. All of the other people needed for the show came from the audience so there was quite a bit of participation. It was fun. Becca had to go up and have a German accent, a bunch of us went up and danced. It was all in good fun. We also had to climb under our tables when it came to the part about the volcano erupting.We laughed through most of it and quite enjoyed ourselves. One of those Mondays you actually look forward to. 


It will be weird to go home and not be around all of the gorgeous New Zealand scenery, people, and accents. It has all become normal to me things in the states are going to be weird to me now. 

One Crazy Sunday

March 27, 2011

We went to the Fairy Springs Ward for church this morning, and I think we doubled the size of their ward. I am so grateful though to have the true gospel in my life and to be able to go to a ward anywhere in the ward and to know the doctrine and gospel is the same. It is on of the great blessings of being a member of the Church.Leaving church was the start of our adventure for the day. We all load up into Jim's big van and tried to back out but there was no room. There was maybe 3 meters behind us and then another car and a cars on both sides of us. Jim tried to get out and ended up after about 15 minutes getting out and turning towards the church within centimeters from the car behind us. We turn towards the church and there is still no way out. Jim tries to turn around by turning into another space but there wasn't another space so he went up onto the grass and with in centimeters of the church building. He tried to back up but then we almost hit a basketball pole. After about 40minutes in the parking lot, and trying to get out, we finally were able to back up all the way through the parking lot and that was just the start of our day.

After church we drove 90 minuted to Lake Taupo, which is the largest lake in New Zealand.It is 22 meters long by 20 meters wide. The view of the lake was gorgeous. Before stopping to walk around the lake, we went by this hole in one by the lake that Poppop would appreciate. What happens, is you start with a golf ball on the shore and hit it to a platform in the lake trying to get a hole in one. No one has been successful in the challenge yet.

Walking around the lake was a gorgeous sight. Katie and I walked and talked by the lake and then went over to this park that has a train running through it and a fun playground. We went on the pentagonal swings and swang with these kids towards the center of the pentagon trying not to hit each other, we also went on this fun spinning thing. They have such fun parks in New Zealand. We also walked by  cafe and coffee shop called friends just like the show Friends and over by a McDonalds that had a huge airplane for the the kids to play in. Why don't we have parks and play places like this in the states?

After about 40 minutes it started to rain pretty hard, so we walked back to the vans. We started to head back, but then James ran a stop sign and Jim slammed on his brakes so he wouldn't and our van went hydro planning and almost flipped over.So scary. I saw my life flash before my eyes. After recovering from that little adventure, we headed about 10 more minutes down the road and then got a flat tire. James came back to help and him and Jim changed the tire, but it took about an hour to do so because the van didn't have a good jack or spare tire. We only had a used spare tire, so we put that one on the van. It was quite a sight I am sure to see 16 girls on the side of the road with 2 guys changing the tire. Definitely a very eventful Sunday.

When we got back to the Bronze's, we introduced them to a baked potato bar and had those for dinner. It was really good. I have missed baked potatoes. After dinner we watched a walk to remember, but I more fell asleep on the couch. What a day.

A Rotorua Saturday

Saturday, March 26, 2011

This morning all of us woke up really early for our experience at the Agrodome and a sheep show with 19 champion sheep. It isn't everyday you wake up and say hey I'm going to a sheep show today, but it actually was pretty exciting. We got there probably an hour early, so we could be on the front row. Dr. Jacobs would not have it any other way, he loves his sheep show. Before the show, I went into the nursery with the baby lambs. They seemed to just love me. Either that or they just happened to all start running over to me when the other girls tried to pick them up and they let me pet them and pick them up. It was a pretty fun experience.  I then came back into the main dome and took some pictures with the champion sheep. Our show began with introductions to 19 champion breeds of sheep now found in New Zealand. It was pretty cool to hear the stories behind the sheep and all of their fun names. There was one sheep even called Charlie Brown. Sheep are one of the main staples in New Zealand. There are thousands more sheep than there are people and everyone knows there are millions of sheep in New Zealand. I didn't realize how different each of them were though and how each breed had different uses such as how valuable some of the wool is. It was pretty funny to watch the sheep on stage and see how they tried to eat each other's food. After hearing about each of the sheep, I had the opportunity to see a sheep get sheared. It was pretty cool. I am so glad that it does not actually hurt the sheep. I can't believe the sheep just sat there and let him shear all of its fur off and then touch it's hooves and make the the legs pop out straight kinda like our knees do when the doctor checks our reflexes. We then got to participate in an auction for the sheep, which ended up being pretty funny because any movement someone made increased the price for the sheep. Also some of the girls got to go up and milk a cow and others got to feed the baby lambs. So cute. I really enjoyed the sheep show much more than I was expecting. I should always trust Jim when he tells us something is good. Towards the end of the show the strong eyed dogs came on stage and I got to see how they heard and control the sheep. I also got to see them jump on top pf the sheep. Fun stuff. All 16 of us went up on stage at the end to see all of the sheep and dogs. It was a pretty cool show and I am glad we went.

After the sheep show we went back to have lunch before starting our zorbing adventure. Zorbing/OGO started in New Zealand in 1996 and is one of the best things ever. If you have ever wondered what a hamsters feels like everyday inside their little ball, then you might kinda understand zorbing, but how fun it is and the true experience of it is hard to explain. I got into this giant plastic ball filled with water on the bottom with Katie and then we raced Kara and Alison down a  250 meter hill in the ball. It was so much and one of the best experiences ever. I could not stop laughing. We went so fast and you had no control over how you went down or how you bounced around inside the ball. I loved every minute of it and can't wait for an OGO place to open in the states. It is so much to spin and tumble around in a big plastic ball down a hill, much more exciting than anything we have in the states thats for sure. I so hope it makes it to the states and I can do it again someday.

After having a BLAST zorbing, we came back to the Bronze's and I helped make hamburgers for dinner. They were pretty good and we had all the fixings including pineapple, bacon, and avocado for those who wanted it. I then played scum with some of the girls. I am liking all of these card games we keep playing. I had forgotten how much I love them. We watched Finding Neverland that night before bed. I really like that movie, even if it is sad. It has such a good story line. It was an amazing day in New Zealand and I so found one of my new favorite extreme sports today. I just love zorbing.

Temple!!

Friday, March 25, 2011

On Friday morning, our group left to go to Hamilton to go to the temple. I was so excited. I have missed going to the temple multiple times a week. The three months of being in New Zealand and waiting for our trip down to the temple has been the longest I have gone without going to the temple since I started college. It makes me so excited that I get to got the Atlanta open house the day after I get home and that shortly after, it will be rededicated and open and I will be able to go to the temple often. I love how strong I am able to feel the spirit with in the walls and grounds of the temple. It really is the house of the Lord on Earth and my favorite place to be. I love the peace and the spirit I feel every time I go and am so grateful we have temples on the Earth today that we can go to and feel closer to our Heavenly Father, serve Him, make covenants with Him, and to have the opportunity to be sealed to my family for time and all eternity. My testimony of the temple is one of the things I am most grateful for. Going to the temple is exactly what I needed and what I have been missing while I have been in New Zealand. I am so grateful that all 16 of us girls were able to go to the temple in Hamilton and do baptisms for the dead. It was such a wonderful experience. 

Afterwards, we had lunch in the temple cafeteria and then walked over to the visitor's center. In the visitor's center, we watched a video on Matthew Cowley who was a missionary in New Zealand in the 1800s and was greatly loved by the people of New Zealand. He later returned to New Zealand as a mission president and then became an apostle and was asked to oversee the stakes of the Pacific. The movie was so motivating and inspirational. I am glad we had the opportunity to watch it and see how missionary work has impacted the people of New Zealand. I then had the opportunity to walk around the visitor's center. I had the opportunity to talk to one of the missionaries there, Sister Thomas and found that she knew the Hutchings when they served their mission at the temple. I was able to tell her how they are doing and give her their contact information.  The Hutchings are my cousin Cory's in-laws. I met them last fall and had the opportunity to get to know them pretty well. I also went downstairs to the distribution center and had the opportunity to tell Rachel Hello for them. They came down for Rachel's wedding last year in the temple. I am so glad we came to the temple on a day when I was able to make so many connections with people. It was such a great experience to be able to go to the temple in New Zealand. I think it is my favorite thing I have done in New Zealand. 

After going to the temple, we loaded back into the vans and drove two more hours to Rotorua where we would be staying for the next few days. We stayed in the house of Annette and Tom Bronze. They have a gorgeous home and all 16 of us stayed there sleeping on mattresses throughout the house. That night I stayed up playing a bunch of card games and then  most of us went outside to our own personal natural hot pool in their back yard. It was pretty cool that they have a naturally hot spa in their backyard because of the sulfur. Some of the girls also made a list of the order that all of us are going to get married, oh my you know it is a room of 16 girls when that happens.

Rotoura is full of natural hot pools and has the smell of sulfur everywhere you go,which if you aren't familiar with, it smells like rotten eggs. You kinda get used to the smell after awhile, but it can be pretty bad. 

Teaching in New Zealand

My practicum experience

For the past six weeks, I have been teaching at Henderson South School in Henderson, New Zealand. The principal Mr. Diamond is one of the best principals I have ever seen. He cares so much for the staff and students and is so actively involved in the school.  Once I met him, I immediately felt welcome and like a teacher in the school. He treated the four BYU girls there as actual teachers in the school, and in my opinion we got the best school out of the 4 BYU girls go to in New Zealand. Nancy went into a level 4/5 class with Trude Karaka, Diana went into a 4/5/6 (3^rd-6^th grade) trilingual class with Ms. Auva, Janet went in a level 0 new entrance class with Catherine Bradley, and I taught in a level 1 (kindergarten) class with Amy Manos.

I could not have asked for a better practicum experience than being in room six with Amy Manos as my cooperating teacher. I started in room 6 with ten students: Faith, Suelieti,Adrianna, Natalia, John, Konrad, Devon, Oryane, Peleti, and Skye. 8 girls and 2 boys. I could not have asked for a better class. Each of them is so sweet and so different. Peleti has the best manners I have ever seen in a five year old. Faith is so sweet and has the cutest smile. Natalia is a little clever wiggle worm, but just loves you to death. Konrad is a quiet one but so clever. Suelieti is so little and quiet and has improved so much while I was in the classroom. Adrianna is our little fish in the pool. Devon is so clever and moved up in maths, reading, and  swimming all in one week. John is our star during fitness and writes such good stories. Skye is a little crazy one that you can't help but love. Oryane always has the biggest smile and is always doing the right thing. I really had the perfect little class. I had so much fun teaching them the first few weeks in reading, handwriting, about hot and cold, about measurement, about teeth brushing and hand washing, etc. We were always having a good time and I enjoyed getting to teach swimming twice a week and to laugh with all the kids.

About 4 weeks into my experience in room 6, six new children from another room moved up into mine. The classrooms in New Zealand are very fluid and always changing especially in the younger levels because the students start school on the 5th birthday and come in throughout the year. Berjon, Aries, Mario, Kelevi, Miranna, and Florida all move up into my room. They are such clever children and it was even more fun to have them in my class as well. Berjon is another little fish that tells quite good stories. Kelevi is one of the funnies 5 year olds I know. Mario is his right hand man and pretty good at maths for a 5 year old. Aries is such a helped and great example even for the kids that were already in my class. Miranna is so cute and is a star dancer. Florida is pretty quiet but has the cutest smile. I just love all of the kids in room 6. I am going to miss each of them so much. 

Amy Manos is a fabulous teacher and I am so glad I got to work with her. I learned so much and gained so many resources. I am so glad she gave me so many opportunities to teach and was so friendly and pretty funny too. I love the passion she has for teaching and I was able to learn so much. I was also blessed to be part of an amazing junior team with Goretti Schwalger, Una Cama, Cath Bradley, and Main Elu. All of them are so friendly and it is so hard to leave them. I have learned so much from them and they really were such amazing people to work with. I would be happy working with a team like that forever. 

So this past week was my last week in room 6. It was exciting, but also so sad. I have grown to love the kids and the faculty at Henderson South so much. It is a part of my life and feel like home now. I can't believe my time there is over. It just doesn't seem possible. On Wednesday, March 23 I the staff at Henderson South put on a special morning tea for the BYU girls at Henderson South and for Jim. They had lunch all  the staff and a delicious homemade cake for us. Each of our teachers and Trevor spoke about how grateful they are that we came to Henderson South and what a pleasure it was to work with, get to know each of us,  and see each of us grow as teachers. Each of us were given a nice piece of bone by our teacher. Bone is a big thing in New Zealand and a really special gift for someone to receive. It was so nice of them. I could never thanks them enough for the experience I have had at Henderson South. I am so grateful to each of the teachers and students for making my experience so amazing. 

After school, Nancy and I went to pack n save to get stuff to make better than sex cake, snicker salad, and cupcakes. Janet, Diana, Nancy and I decided to make a special morning tea for all of the teachers and bring in some treats we love. Nancy and I also decided to make cupcakes for a our classes. We came home and started on the cake first. Better than sex cake normally is a chocolate cake with caramel, cool whip and a toffee candy topping, but they do not have a lot of that in New Zealand, so we improvised. We got a berry topping instead of the caramel, whipped our own whip cream, and put chocolate hokey pokey candy on top. it ended up being delicious and was a favorite at morning tea today. We then made snicker salad with some accommodation as well since snickers are hard to come by. We added maro gold bars and maro crunches instead and it was still great. Making changes in the recipes ended p giving us new ideas to make more great desserts. We then made 48 chocolate cupcakes for our two classes. We were in the kitchen baking for about 3 and half hours and had so much fun doing it. I forgot how much I love baking. After baking for hours, we wrote individual notes to Trevor our teachers and the rest of the staff at Henderson South. I decided that I want to send over some of my favorite picture books and other things to room 6 once I get home. 

Today, Thursday March 24th was my last day in room six. It was a great but sad day. The juniors had a special assembly for Janet and I where the kids sang "You are my sunshine" to us and I almost cried right there. It just meant so much I wasn't just saying good bye to room 6, I was saying goodbye to all of Henderson South. At the assembly Amy gave me a large card room 6 had made for me with all of their pictures and pictures they had drawn with me and them in it. It was so sweet. Faith and Konrad walked up to the front during the assembly to give it to me. Amy also gave me some New Zealand rubbers, a New Zealand photo album, and some nice New Zealand place mats. It was so nice of her. I love all of it and I so grateful to her and room 6. I also have laminated pictures of room 6. The staff was so grateful for the morning tea we gave them. They loved all of it and I am so glad Nancy and I took the time to really make it good. 

Before lunch I gave each of the kids in my class a cup cake. It was so funny to see all of their faces covered in chocolate and I loved getting so many hugs, especially cute little Faith. I just love my class  so much and they love me. I am really going to miss them. Room 6 has become part of who I am. Life won't be the same without them. I spent most of lunch taking pictures and playing with the kids in my class and others. I am going to miss being here so much. And is different from when I was at a school last semester because I know all the kids in the school and they know me and all of them wanted to say goodbye. I also feel like Henderson South is my school and room 6 is my class. 

After lunch, our class was pretty much just a big party and explosion of glitter. A bunch of the kids made me more cards and I took pictures with them and just enjoyed being with them and having fun. It was so nice to just be able to enjoy being with the kids. I then gave Miss Manos and the kids a box full of American lollies with peanut butter m&ms, candy hearts, twinkies and some silly bands. It made the kids so happy. I loved getting so many hugs from all of the kids and the love that they showed me while I was here. I really am going to miss being in room 6. I am so grateful for the experience I had in the schools here. It has changed me so much and I am not only a better teacher because of it, but a better person as well. I am so glad I was able to have a practicum experience over here. I could not have had a better experience anywhere else. I will never forget Henderson South and all of the amazing experiences I had there and in room 6.