Napier

Hope all is well back in the states. I have recently moved up to Napier, a town on the east coast of the North Island, to start teaching. I have been teaching for 4 weeks now and am starting to get used to the different systems. School is really fun but completely different from the United States. I am teaching 2 physics classes, 1 year 11 science, and 2 year 10 science. The school environment is relaxed but the kids seem to be well behaved. They hold doors open and call me sur. Things that I probably don’t deserve. Although they are well behaved, education seems to be underappreciated by most kids. I am enjoying observing the similarities and differences between the schools back home. The schools here involve a lot of Maori tradition and they had a big welcoming ceremony for me and another new teacher during the first week of school. It was a new experience for me but it was really cool.

Napier is a town that was demolished by an earthquake in the 30’s and was rebuilt in an Art Deco style. To celebrate this last weekend was an Art Deco weekend, and everyone in the town dressed up and drove old cars. It was pretty cool the whole town looked like it stepped back in time and everyone got real into the era. My new roommate Rob and I got dressed up and went to a picnic in the park with some friends we met the night before.

Out side of school I have been doing my best to learn how to surf and heading to local spots every chance I get. Two of the teachers at my school are awesome surfers and have been doing their part in teaching me. It is a lot harder than I expected but a lot more fun as well. The surf spots around hear are nice but the only get good swells a couple times a week so you have to be ready to go any time it good. I am also playing soccer with a group of guys from work once a week. We are not that good but we go to the pub for a beer after every game. That might not help us get better but it is sure fun. I have started to learn about cricket and went to my first international test a few weeks ago, and am going to watch New Zealand play Australia next week.

A couple weeks ago I went back down to wellington to see some friends that a heading over seas. We had a “hangi” for one of my friends that is leaving. A “hangi” is where you dig a pit and put hot rocks in the bottom the chuck some meat in there and cover it with dirt after about 7 hours you dig it up and have a feast. This was my first time but I must say that the meat cooked under dirt is pretty tasty.

Hope all is well back home!