Janessa's Adventures Abroad: "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!