"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." ~ Aristotle

I can’t believe this is my last week of teaching! It went by so quickly and I don’t want to stop. I’m teaching all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday! Crazy! I seriously can’t stop saying how much I love my students! They are so cute and so much fun to work with. I learned the cup song from Pitch Perfect and when my students found out I could do it, they wouldn’t leave me alone until I did it for them. Haha, it was so funny! That movie is HUGE here! Everyone has seen it and everyone loves it. So I did it for them and now they ask me to teach it to them all the time. So cute! They also like to talk to me about America. The other day we were talking about America’s Got Talent and one of my girls said, “Why aren’t you on America’s Got Talent? You have talent with that cup thing!” It was so cute and so funny! One of the boys in my class always says the most random things to me and the other day he wanted my help on a worksheet so he raised his hand and I came over. Then he sang to me, “I can’t do this on my own!” Hahahaha, I was laughing so hard! The other day I had to give some of my students a math test for an assignment and the other girls at my school came to observe so we could all talk about it. My favorite boy, Pierre, was one of the students I had to test. He’s really quiet and so he got kind of nervous. At one point he whispered his answer to me and it was so cute! Hahaha, I just love him. Malachi has, for some reason decided to attach himself to me so he's not too bad anymore. So funny! One day he literally never left my side! It was like I had a little shadow. So cute. He punched another boy in my class last week though. Haha, apparently Jack was hitting him with a hockey stick so Malachi punched him in the eye. I won't be surprised if he comes to class with a black eye on Monday. Jack is another trouble maker but he absolutely loves Star Wars so we talk about that all the time. So funny. They really aren’t too bad in class but they get into trouble during lunch. There are 3 little new entrants (kindergarteners)at our school named Hunter, Chase, and Dominic. They are having a hard time adjusting to school. Hunter and Chase don’t ever want to be in class so they run around the school all the time because the teachers don’t know what to do with them. They just yell at them to be in class but that makes it worse. They have been labeled “bad kids” and it makes me so sad! They are so cute and if you just get down on their level and talk to them then they listen to you! So because of the way I interact with them I feel like I have a good bond with them. I’m always able to get them to go back to class and Chase gives me hugs every time he sees me! Dominic is just like Chase and Hunter but he’s also autistic so the yelling really just makes him mad and then he starts hitting teachers and throwing things. The other day he was throwing a fit in the library and the teacher watching him was just yelling and yelling so I went up to him and knelt down so we were eye level and asked him what was wrong. He grabbed my hand and took me to the computer and told me he didn’t like the game he was playing. So I sat with him and found a new game. He had a worksheet he needed to get done as well. So not only did he sit quietly and play educational games with me on the computer but I also got him to do his whole worksheet without any problems. He is such a bright little boy! I just wish I could take all three of them back with me so I could be their teacher. I love working with them and they are so cute but they aren’t in my class so I just help out when I can. This last week though I experienced some of the downsides to teaching. Some of my students come from not so good home lives and it makes me so sad! I want to take them home with me and take care of them! I think that is going to be the hardest thing for me as a teacher because I won’t be able to do anything about it. Sad day. Anyways, I also really love my host family! They are so great :) Kaylie was in her school's Samoan dance group so we got to go see her perform at Polyfest! They were so good! We watched some of the Kapahakas (Maori dance groups) but I liked the Samoan ones better. The Maori dance groups are just so intense because their dances are mostly war dances and things they used to intimidate people before battle. The Samoan dance group are so smooth and calm and everyone is so happy the whole time. They also do a Sasa which is a really fast clapping and slapping dance thing with their hands. It's hard to explain but it looks so cool! We had a lot of fun seeing all the different cultural groups perform at Polyfest! We all went to see Oz The Great and Powerful last week for FHE and we had Nando’s for dinner! Best day ever! That was my second time eating there that week :) Haha, the movie was awesome, too! We all went to the market yesterday, too and I got some cute jewelry for cheap. It was so fun! They are all obsessed with “Just Give Me A Reason” by P!nk and “If I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars. We listened to them in the car yesterday and I recorded us singing along. It was so funny! I’m going to be really sad to leave my students and my host family :( But I am so excited to come home! I only have about 2 and a half weeks left in New Zealand and then a week in Australia! So crazy! It went by so quickly!

Also I forgot to talk about the concerts I went to! Fun. was amazing! They are so good live! Nate Ruess has an amazing voice and they were just so entertaining. Andrea made a sign that said she’s from Arizona and when she held it up Nate said, “That’s cool! I’m from Arizona, too!” So basically they are engaged now :) Hahaha, it was packed with people and it got so hot! There were four really tall boys next to us and they were so sweaty! It was gross but one of them was really funny to watch because he did this weird hand-dancing that we could not stop laughing at! It was so crazy! The Passenger concert was much more chill. We went and ate at Nando’s before the concert and then we walked to the venue. It wasn’t totally full and during the opening acts we were able to sit in the back for a little bit instead of standing the whole time. The first act was a boy named Evan Sinton and he was so good! He’s a kiwi and it’s just him and his guitar, just like Passenger and Ed Sheeran. The second guy was really good, too but I liked Evan more. When Passenger came on we walked back up to the stage to listen to him play. He was amazing! Even better than when I saw him open for Ed! He’s just so talented and he was hilarious as well. It was such a fun night. We did end up having to walk home in the dark though… that was sketchy. The buses stop running at 10pm and we didn’t end up leaving until 11pm so we didn’t have much of a choice but we did survive! We only encountered one drunk guy and he was on the other side of the street. Haha, so it was definitely an adventure :) I just love concerts!

*Sorry the pictures are out of order! For some reason it keeps uploading them in a weird way!

 The Otara Market!

 FUN.! 

 Evan Sinton

 Passenger :)

 Signing my ticket :)

 Me and Evan

 Signing Brooke's ticket

 One of the Maori groups at Polyfest

 Kaylie's group! She's the one on the left!

 At the Skytower :)

 Carrots!

 More FUN.

 Passenger again :)

 This is where they filmed the swing scene in The Other Side of Heaven!

My favorite place!

 Yummmmm :)

 After the concert, waiting to meet Mike :)

 Maori group again

Samoan group again

Holy Cuteness, Batman!!

So I’ve been super busy for the past week and a half because we started practicum last Tuesday! I absolutely love it this semester! Last semester wasn’t a great experience for me because I had to share the classroom with another student so I didn’t get as many opportunities to teach and my mentor teacher was very unhelpful when it came to helping us know what to teach and giving us opportunities. My mentor teacher this semester is awesome! She keeps just asking me if I want to teach certain lessons so I’ve had a ton of experience teaching already! It’s so great. This past week I had a reading group and we worked on expression and punctuation while reading and performing a play. It was a blast. I did a few shared reading lessons and I’m reading my class Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! They love it! I think I’m going to have them invent their own candy and design it out and everything for an art lesson next week. I’m in a Year 3/4 classroom so my students range from age 6 to 8 years old. It’s like teaching 2nd and 3rd grade in one classroom which can be challenging at times. There are also a few of the older boys that like to act out. I think they get rowdy though because all they do in class here are worksheets and they’re expected to sit in their desks and work for good chunks of time. I would get rowdy, too. The way classrooms run here is very different from the US and it’s helping me see what I’m going to make sure I don’t do in my classroom. It also gives me an opportunity to do a lot of hands on activities with the kids and my teacher is all for it which is awesome. Next week I’m introducing argumentative writing, teaching a math group and a reading group, and reading to them every day. Woohoo! Management is a lot different here as well. They don’t really tell the students what their expectations are but then they punish them for not acting the way they want them to. It’s very contradictory and not very consistent so that doesn’t help with those naughty boys in my class. I also don’t think the teachers take a ton of time getting to know their students so I’ve had a lot of fun working one on one with some of the kids. They respond to me really well. There’s this boy in my class and his name is Pierre. He is the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen. He looks like Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and he’s super quiet and really smart. I just love him. Malachi is one of the trouble boys in my class but I think he acts out because he gets bored. He’s super smart and he’s one of those kids that has a really hard time sitting still. So I’m working with my teacher to find out a way we can give him some other activities to work on. It’s a totally new concept for her but Malachi will benefit from it so I’m super excited to see what works! The kids keep asking me all these crazy questions about America. My favorite is “Do you brush your teeth before or after you eat breakfast in America?” Hahaha, they also ask me about cafeterias and lunch at elementary schools because they don’t have them here. Everyone brings a lunch or they can go order lunch from the local convenience store. They’re always so surprised when I tell them that we had cafeterias just like in High School Musical. Hahaha, they’re so cute and I love teaching. When they have a question they put their finger in the air and say, “Miss, Miss!” instead of yelling, “Teacher!” It’s the cutest thing ever! I had a moment yesterday when I thought to myself, “I can totally do this for the rest of my life.” I love getting to know my students and understanding how their little brains work! 

Also, next week I'm going to see Fun. and Passenger in concert and I'm so excited!! I can't see Ed Sheeran though because the concert is sold out already :( In case you don't know who Ed or Passenger are, here is a video they recorded together yesterday :)

No Pants, No Problem! South Island Trip Part 4

Our last few days on the South Island were pretty chill. From Abel Tasman we drove out to Picton and stayed the night there. Our hostel was really cute and they had free dessert at 8pm which was delicious! We watched The Help and just chilled and ate Tim Tam slams. It was awesome. The next day was really rough for me because I found out my dear friend Carmody Sagers passed away. She had been in the hospital for a week with acute liver failure and we were all praying for her. The doctors were just waiting for her body to be strong enough for a transplant but God had other plans. She passed away on Sunday February 17^th but I didn’t find out until Wednesday because we didn’t have internet access until then. It’s been really hard for me to be so far away while all of this was going on but my old roommates from Freshman year kept me updated and went to the funeral for me. I miss her a lot and it’s still kind of weird to think that she’s gone. We took the ferry back to Wellington that day and I found a comfy area on the boat to sit and watch movies. They had internet access too so I was able to post a few pictures of us that I found on my computer. I also found a poem written by Gordon B. Hinckley that helped me feel better about everything.

"What is this thing that men call death?

This quiet passing in the night?

‘Tis not the end but genesis

Of better worlds and greater light

O God, touch Thou my aching heart

And calm my troubled, haunting fears

Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure

Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change

With recompense for vict’ry won

The gift of Him who loved all men

The Son of God, the Holy One."

So with that on my mind I pushed through the last few days of our trip. We spent the rest of the afternoon in Wellington. We went to the museum there which was amazing! It had a ton of stuff to see and almost every exhibit has a discovery center for kids. So cool! Then I ran around with Sara and Elise trying to find all the Lord of the Rings stuff. Apparently our book was a little out of date because it said there was a film museum but they actually got rid of it a few years ago. Bummer. But we did find the theater where they have all the movie premiers and the film archive where they keep all the footage. That was pretty sweet. Then we drove out to WETA cave and looked around the gift shop. They had some props and costumes from the movies which was amazing! But they also had a movie about the history of WETA and a tour of the workshop that we didn’t get to do! I was so sad! Apparently we didn’t have time for it. I still get upset just thinking about the fact that we were RIGHT THERE and we didn’t get to do it! Lame. We also drove out and saw the red rocks which is where they filmed part of the second LOTR movie. Then we spent the night in Wellington and got up the next morning and drove to Taupo. We were going to camp there but then some cabins opened up so we got to stay in them instead! Hallelujah! They were super nice, too. We went down to the little hot pools and spent the afternoon there. They had a really sweet water slide, too! It was super fun. Then we all pooled our money together and went to the grocery store to get food for that night. We made spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and had ice cream, popcorn, tim tams, and milo. It was awesome! We watched two movies and had a dance party. Hahaha, it was sooooooo much fun! The next day we drove back to Auckland. We all were pretty sad about having to go back to our separate houses after being together for two weeks. However, now me, Rachel, and Andrea are a lot closer to Brooke and Kylie which is great! We moved to a new host family the day we got back from our trip and it has been awesome! Our host mom is so nice and her kids are so funny. She has four kids, Jarom is 14, Kaylie is 13, Evan is 8, and Sariah is 7. They are so cute and seriously, the funniest kids ever! We stay up talking to them every night. The other day they danced for us and then Kaylie taught us part of one of her routines for Polyfest. So cool! They also have a pet bunny named Carrots. He is the cutest bunny ever! So our new host family is the best!

New Address:

47 Garelja Road

Henderson

Auckland, New Zealand 0612

Me and Carmody :)

 Hahaha :)

 The Te Papa museum

 Creepy as baby!

 A huge, disgusting squid

 The theater where all the films have their premiers

 This was at the museum...

 The red rocks

 Wellington

 Chillin' with Gollum!