"I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again"- J.R. R. Tolkien
First, let me begin by saying that I am very sorry for my lack of blogging lately. You will see in the next couple blogs how truly busy and crazy and wonderful my weeks have been recently. Teaching is in full swing and it is so hard to sit down and write when you are visiting with family and friends.
Let me start with school.
School, as always, has been great and I am learning so much each and every day. It is very cool to be teaching where they are coming to the end of the year as that is something I will not experience back in the states. It helps to be teaching in a place that has an opposite school schedule to the United States because I was able to experience what the beginning of the year is like, and here I get to experience the craziness of the end of the year. I can't even begin to describe how insanely busy the end of the year is. My class has so many extra things to go to that it has really improved my improvising skills and ability to be flexible with schedules. Every time I think I have a solid plan for the week, at least 4 more things are added to what I need to do and we have 3 places we need to be that take away time for our academics. It's been quite a challenge trying to fit in academics, special events, trips, graduation practices, and the million other things we need to do. I really have had to utilize a lot of different problem solving skills to try and make sure we get through the assessments, reports, and academic materials that we need to. It's been a challenge but fun nonetheless! I feel very comfortable with being in full-control of this classroom and my students and I have settled into a nice respectful and friendly rhythm. I'm excited to take some of the things I have seen here and implement them back in the states as well!
This was quite an exciting week as my family arrived on Tuesday (I believe...) and I was able to take a train into the city and meet them for dinner. This trip marks the longest time I've ever been away from home, so it was an extremely exciting and happy experience to be able to see my family and have that familiarity comfort any homesickness I was feeling. Dinner didn't last too long though as they were all completely jet-lagged and practically falling asleep at the table.
I also was able to go horseback riding at one of the teacher's houses as she found at that I am a rider. It was definitely one of my favorite New Zealand moments! She allowed me to hop on her horse Sam and take him around for a spin and it was so much fun. It has been years since I have ridden in an English saddle and it definitely reminded me how much I need to get back into the basics of true riding. My soreness allowed me to see how much I've slacked a bit while riding my horse at home. Sam is her showjumper and she takes him all over New Zealand for big competitions and let me tell you, I can totally see why they win! They are amazing team and it was so inspiring to watch her jump what she called "little" jumps with her horse. Every time I watch another horse and rider I find myself in awe of the special bond that exists between a horse and its rider. I definitely am missing my baby girl and can't wait for the season to start up again.
The weekend was where I really was able to spend some time with my family as during the week they traveled to Rotorua while I taught. They came back from Rotorua and then I met them in Auckland on Friday night for an extremely lovely dinner. We ate a restaurant called One Tree Grill and it was very very tasty! We tried some of the seafood like scallops and raw kingfish (both of which are delicious) and steak with ox cheek on top (also 100% delicious).
On Saturday, we headed off to Waiheke to do some wine tastings. This time around I didn't have to try and figure out the public transportation as we took the Hop On Hop Off bus. We went to a couple different wineries and it was lovely to just have the chance to be together and enjoy our time on the island. We had a beautiful day and I am so grateful for that. Ironically enough, my favorite part was before we even got to any wineries! To get to the first winery we had to do a short but beautiful walk through the bush. We were surrounded by nature and birds and it was an amazing hike. Even the uphill finish to it was worth it!
The first winery we arrived at was alright, but a little crowded for my taste. Their outdoor area was not open so everyone was crammed into their cellar. Regardless, it was nice to be with family. We then jumped on the bus to get to our second winery. We decided to go to the winery that I had been to once before but couldn't have any wine at because we accidentally crashed a private function. This time we were able to taste some wines and it was my favorite winery of the day! The atmosphere was very nice and relaxed, the wine tasted good, and it was quiet enough that we were able to talk and enjoy our time together. We also met a nice French man who was traveling around who we were able to chat with a little bit. The view from this winery, Tantalus, is absolutely beautiful as well which is why I brought my family here. It had such a quaint countryside feel that I was absolutely in love with.
After our wine tasting at Tantalus we headed over to Stoney Ridge for lunch. We had heard that if you visit Waiheke then you HAVE to eat at Stoney Ridge. While the meal was nice, I was definitely more impressed with the meal at One Tree Grill. I had the gnocchi which was extremely filling and tasty and we had some very good appetizers as well.
After lunch, we relaxed on the hill and soaked in the magnificent view of the wineries. I was feeling exhausted by this point...maybe from all the wine and sunshine...and laid down for a little bit on the hill to take a small nap. That nap marks nap number two that I have taken in public in a foreign country (the other being on a bench across from the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam) which I personally think shows how much I truly do love to nap :)
After our nap and recharge moment, we hopped back on the bus to hit one last winery. I think we were all a bit tired and wanted to catch the ferry as we kind of flew through this winery. Regardless though, it was still an absolutely beautiful winery. I chose not to drink which I think the host then thought I was too young to drink because he told me I could still sniff all the wines! When we were finished at this winery, we jumped back on the ferry and made the trek back to Auckland. When we arrived back in Auckland we went grocery shopping quickly for some light dinner food and then prepared for our super long day on Sunday!
On Sunday, we had a SUPER early and jam-packed day as we were getting picked up for our tours of the Waitomo glowworm caves and Hobbiton. It is about a 3-4 hour drive to get to the caves and then from there about 1-2 hours to get to Hobbiton so we had to leave very early in the morning in order to be able to fit everything in. We had our own private shuttle which was a lot nicer than taking the bus.
Our first stop was the glowworm caves and they were extremely cool! We were able to walk through the cave before the actual glow worm caves and it was an absolutely breathtaking. God's creative abilities truly amazed me while walking through the cave. I also had a bit of a special experience as when we got to what they call the cathedral of the cave, the guide asked for a volunteer to sing something. When he asked, my entire family whispered from behind me "Jessica" which to be completely honest was slightly unnerving as it was pitch black and it sounded more like hissing than whispering. Since my family flew halfway across the world to see me, I figured I could oblige this one time and I volunteered to sing a little something. I chose to sing the first couple opening lines from the song "How Far I'll Go" from the movie Moana since the movie is based on Pacific Islander culture and resembles the New Zealand Maori culture at times. The acoustics were pretty cool and I'm happy I was able to sing in a cave in New Zealand!
After we wound our way through the cave, we arrived to the part of the cave that is absolutely filled with glowworms. We learned that the worms aren't even worms at all but are actually the larvae of a type of fly. What is very interesting about this type of insect is that the larvae put out feeding lines (look like gooey strings) that drop down below them in order to catch prey that is attracted to their light AND that the adult flies only live for a few days. Just enough time to mate and lay eggs before they die. These facts gave me a little bit of the heebie jeebies. After we learned about the worms, we jumped in a boat and went down the river inside the cave a bit. When we looked up, it looked like an absolutely star filled sky and it was an amazing sight to see. I am so happy we went and were able to experience something so unique.
After the caves, we hopped back in the shuttle in order to go to Hobbiton. I was particularly excited for our tour of Hobbiton as I am a very large Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fan, so much so that I took an entire class on the works of Tolkien. We arrived at Hobbiton and then jumped on a bus that took us to the actual movie set. It was such an exciting experience for me to pull in and see the land that so accurately captured what I imagined the Shire to look like and to see the set that was used in the movie. When we got off the bus we were met by our tour guides and our walking tour began. It absolutely boggled my mind that when our tour guide asked who had read the books or seen the movie, most of the people in our group had never seen or read any part of Lord of the Rings. To me, I don't see why a tour about Hobbiton would be interesting to those who had no clue about Hobbiton, but that is just my opinion. I made sure the tour guides knew that they had at least one person who was extremely interested in what they had to say and they made sure many times to make sure they were allowing me to be in front and listening to what they were saying. It was so cool to see Bag End and the other parts of the set! We also were able to get a free drink from the Green Dragon and there were some Hobbit clothes to dress up in. I could get used to living like a hobbit for sure!
All in all, it was an extremely wonderful experience to have my family here and I am so grateful that they flew all this way to see me and travel around New Zealand. While I haven't been too homesick, it was so nice to have the comfort of family to help me in my travels. As the quote suggests, there is something so reassuring in knowing that your home and family are awaiting your return and backing you up 100%. While it was extremely hard to say goodbye to them once they were ready to get on the plane home, it comforts me to know that I have a wonderful support system waiting to welcome me home with open arms.
Thank you mom, dad, grandma, and Pam for visiting me and sharing in my adventures. I love you all!
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