Travelling the South Island

Sunday 23rd of September 2007

Left for Dunedin, 7:30am flight. I was pretty tired from the night before because I watched the South Africa v Tonga game. We arrived in Dunedin around half 9 where we left out bags at the motel and went out to get some brunch. Dont u just love french toast!!YES!!We walked around town for a bit, bought some long john because i left my other ones in England. In the afternoon we went for a walk and visited the steepest street in the world!!



I decided I'd run up it which was funny!!Went the supermarket to get some dinner and then watched Starsky and Hutch. All Blacks played Scotland but couldnt be bothered to get up and watch it at 2:30am.


Monday 24th September 2007

We had to be out of the motel by 10am, we walked around town again, had coffee, then went to the train station to catch the Taieri Gorge Train at 12:30 pm. What an amazing train journey, the scenery was just amazing! Beautiful mountains and rivers.



There was a commentry by Dave which was hilarious, obviously a very dedicated train enthusiast who was obsessed by the Snack Bar Car that wasnt the Snack Bar Car because the Snack Bar Car was being repaired!!Anyway, a great journey, we got off at Pukarangi to get a train to Middlemarch. Stayed at a place called Blind Billy's, right in the sticks (wop wops as kiws say). We got the bikes, watched the replay of the ABs, had dinner and then went to the pub with Ross and managed to get back for Spooks.


Tuesday 25th September 200

After a good breakfast we decided to get off early and try and beat the ominous bad weather. Our main luggage was transported to our next stop, so all i had was my pack bag. Good bikes which helped too. We followed the mountain range (Rock and Pillar) on the rail trail which was pretty rugged. We stopped for lunch at Hyde which was 27km from Middlemarch. Then we had another 23km too Waipiata which made Middlemarch look like a city. We arrived at the cottage at 3:00pm with our baggage already there. We went to bar for dinner and a good curry. The barman said that only about 9 to 10 people lived in Waipiata-mostly farmers called John, Pete and Dave haha. The bum was starting to hurt which was a concern.


Wednesday 26th September 2007

Left Waipiata pretty early, and the weather was looking much more promising. We were supposed to get snow. Not as long a ride as yesterday, only about 25km to Wedderbern where we were getting picked up to go to Naesby. More uphill this time, not too hard though. Went to see some of the gold races which were very impressive. Went to Naesby which is famous for curling. Had a really nice room.

September + 1 day before lol

Friday 31st of August

Today was only half day at school which was full of swimming assessments for the boys. The great thing about today was that it was the start of the weekend away with the Kapa Haka group from school, where we going to Rotourua for the weekend. The Kapa Haka is the schools Haka group so it was good to go for a weekend and experience some Maori culture. We stayed at the Marae in this hut which was amazing.



We arrived at the Marae around 4 in the afternoon and the Maoris gave us a traditional Maori welcome followed by a haka by the boys which was excellent. Before too long it was dinner. So much food man, lol I loved it!!And then we just kinda of messed around outside playing rugby etc, I of course was being a responsible adult!

It was a pretty long day so we all crashed out fairly early. All 33 of us slept in the main meeting house, the Whare ( wh in Maori is pronounced like an f).So yeh, it was fairly cramped.


Saturday 1st September

The thing with boys between the ages of 8 and 13 is that they get up flaming early!!They were up and about at half 6 which was lovely.Good job breakfast was good though.

The boys were split into groups and they did workshops and stuff which was awesome. We started off by doing the taua which was a war dance with weapons. The adrenaline rush is amazing!!


Afterwards we went with Andrew to see the Maori church which the settlers introduced just across the way. The amazing thing about Rotourua is that is built on geo-thermal area which means that there are heaps of hot pools and bubbling mud everywhere, its just in the middle of roads, in peoples back gardens. The disadvantage is that it stinks of sulphur!

The church is an amazing building and round the back there is a cemetry full of Maori soldiers who died during service. Teariki and myself still managed to take some pics!



The scenery that the Marae was set in was just spectacular. We were right next to Lake Rotourua, which was the Lake that these particular Maoris crossed to settle in what is now called Rotourua. The lake water is really warm from the geo-thermal activity and around the edges reached boiling point which created all these bubbles. It was stil allright for the ducks to swim in though.



In the afternoon we went to the local pool and swam for quite a while. Being the youngest member of staff it was inevitable that I was going to get attacked which happened a lot and I survived many a nipple cripple.OUCH!!

Then the boys did a performance in the evening which was excellent and then more rugby, eating and other such things.

Sunday 2nd of September

The last day of our wonderful experience. A great sleep too which was pleasing and a good breakfast. Not much happened apart from the fairwell haka by the boys, more eating and taking pictures.
Emerson and myself



The Marae



Tepaki, Jono, Teariki and me!




Friday 14th September 2007

I thought that writing a blog would be fairly straight forward, you know after every day which had some kind of importance, you would come on here and write it all down. However, ive been sooo busy, ive struggled hence me not writing anything since the trip down Rotorua.

Theres been so much happening since then. School has been pretty hectic because ive had to do all these swimming assessments, which ive now finished as it was the last day of term today. But getting all those finished was a big priority for me.

Ive been going to church quite a bit and going to life groups and stuff which has been amazing. Ive made some great mates through CLCA which is great.

It was a sad today because it was Simon's last day at Kings as he's going back to England to start a new job in October, so now its just me Dougie and Carl which will be a right laugh lol im laughing just thinking about it. Its going to be mad!!

Oh yeh big news, my cross country team won the Auckland Championships. It was the Year 8 team and we'd been training for a bit so it all worked out. Its ironic because its the first time Kings has ever won the Auckland Champs and Dougie and Carl have been trying for years to win it and then i come along and win it-pretty funny eh!!

Anyway i need to go, im going with the youth group up to Leigh for the night which will be awesome!!


Saturday 15th September 2007

Well last night was pretty sweet AI, drove up to Leigh (how ironic) and then watched a couple of movies. Then today woke up early to watch the English get smashed by South Africa in the rugby.

Then we went to the beach for the day which was cool, i even went swimming-blinking helk it was cold. We played volley ball which was mean and we did all these acrobatic dives!!Pictures coming soon.

Then went back to the batch for lunch and kind of monged around a bit, listened to music, played poker and ate lots of food.

Later on in the afternoon we decided we'd have a walk and we came across all these waterfalls that were just stunning. Again, pictures are coming, i didnt take my camera so im waiting for Leah to send them to me because there are some crackers!We then drove back after dinner. Was a great time away!!

Sunday 16th of September

Luckily for me i was going to go to the evening service which meant i could have a lie, especially after i made the decision last night to stay up and watch the All Blacks smash Portugal. So i was really greatful for the lie in.

Then at about 5 Jared came to pick me up to go to church. It was a particularly special service because all four of the churches all met in a stadium as it was the launch of the church's new name and magazine. The church is now called Life which I thinks a pretty cool name. They played a prank and said it was Hillsong New Zealand and the whole place went quiet, was really funny. It was a great service though!!Especially because there were free muffins!YUM!!

Oh yeh also i thought id put some pictures up of the school and the views and stuff cause its pretty spectacular!!

August

Friday 3rd August 2007

Well I always love Fridays, they're great and this one was no exception. Morning tea is always good because every week, a different department puts on food etc and there's all always heaps, SAFE!!!Played a lot of pool with Chris which was good and also ate pizza. Simon was particularly funny today, i have no idea why but he was hilarious, especially his comments on Corrine Bailey Rae. But anyway did some good lessons with the boys, cross country training mostly. Fridays finish at 3 and then all the teachers go to the staff room and have beers etc which is always a rave.

Then this evening I went to Epic which is a youth event run by Christian Life Centre in the city which was killah!Before the meeting there was skating and break dancing etc then the worship band played who were pretty good, then Lucinda Dooley from Hillsong spoke-her laugh is hilarious, anyway, really good message about being extra-ordinary people, and using the gifts that we are given!!Then had a big rave again afterwards, with breakdancing and some style of dancing called Cromping or something, anyway it was good to watch!!

As i was reminded today, it will be 4 months tomorrow that ive been going out with Emily for!!Wahoo, sweet, shes at Soul Survivor at the moment though so I wont be able to get hold of her i dont think, anyway I love her a lot!!




Saturday August 4th 2007

Despite the rain and the wind, Tessa and I decided to go shopping in the morning. For those who don't know, when we lived in Auckland, Mum and Dad met Tessa's parents before we were born, then we were born about a month apart, blah blah blah. You know when people say they've known some one all there life, this is actually true lol. Anyhuu, we went to this big mall and i got some clothes, some Quicksilver trousers, some skinny jeans and a cardigan!!SCORE!!Tessa decided to print off 210 pictures-wot a lunatic!!

Then in the afternoon, Kings College's 1st XV and Auckland Grammer's 1st XV were playing at Eden Park, so Angus, Charlie and I went. Angus and Charlie both go to Kings so they had to be in the uniform. Both schools did their own haka which was excellent. The match was very tight, and to my disappointment, Grammer won 15-14. It was so close!



Also, its the month anniversary thingy with Emily today, so big that up!!Its been amazing, and ive loved being with her-shes a great girl.Its a bit different now that im all this distance away from her, but we're doing really well and i talk to her regularly which is awesome!!


Sunday 5th August 2007!!!!

Well finally I turned 18 after long last, seeing all my friends turning 18, and me still being 17.Its all changed!!!YES!!!Sooo good. Went to church in the morning, then when out to lunch which was very nice. Then Andrew and the family came round in the afternoon for cake etc which was good. Katlin and Ethan are hyperactive kids!!lol it was hilarious. Then Ross and I decided we'd mark the day with my first ever beer!!well, first legal beer anyway!!The ironic thing was i wasnt asked for ID which in a sense was annoying, I was tempted to ask them to haha!!



Then in the evening we went out with the Sidnams (who we've known for ages) to a Malaysian restaurant which was sweet as!GREAT DAY!!


Friday 10th of August 2007

Today was a sad day but a good one. It was Chris' last official day at school, lets have a big awwwww, awwwwwwwwwwwww!!Yeh, a very emotional day!!Gary (deputy head) gave the PE department the afternoon off which was nice, so we went to the pub for a while which was hilarious. I tell you what, New Zealand beer, not sure what to think about it eh, cider there was nice but the lager-hmmm im suspicious!

After some inspirting speeches from Chris and then Carl it was time for me to go home. Then to my utter delight the youth group were meeting to watch a film so i went over the church hall and we watched Blades of Glory- a fantastic duo between Will Ferrel and the guy who played Napolean Dynamite!!Really funny film- u shud all go and watch it!!Felt very tired that night-probably the tiredist ive been for a while!


Saturday 11th of August 2007

Despite my original intentions on having a massive lie in i was challenged to a game of squash and managed to win 4-1 against Ross which is very satisfying. Granted he had just come off the back of 2 weeks of ill health but still, a wins a win.

Then I went to the Sidnams for lunch which was nice. Ming Ha is such a good cook.Played William at Pro Evo on the playstation, which i reckon im getting better at but he still wooped me!!lol, i hate losing!

Then in the evening Ross and I went to see Auckland v Waikato in the Air New Zealand Cup. I managed to get free tickets through the school which was sweet. I also learnt that Auckland public transport is panse, the train never came so Ross and I drove to the stadium and only missed 15 minutes so thats good.



It was a great game-very exciting and Auckland won 47-26 so a good win. Doug Howlett was outstanding and he sccored one of the most amazing tries ive seen.


Sunday 12th August 2007

Went to Christian Life Centre this morning, to the 11am service. Caught the train there and as soon as i got off, it started to rain so hard it was unreal.

Service was really good, great worship actually which was good, very lively and free-just how i like it lol and then Al Fury spoke about releasing your faith. It was so good that I bought the recording of it.

Then in the afternoon Ross and I took Matty for a walk in Cornwall Park. The weather just about held up and it was good to have a chat with Ross!!



In the evening Chris had a leaving party thing at his house which was good-some of the teachers were there and some other gappies from other schools so was all good. Particularly enjoyed Andrew Thompson's company who's a teacher at school. Thats him between me and Chris.





Wednesday 15th August 2007

Well today was a fairly busy day again as always with lots of shouting in the Pool. Thats the one disadvantage of the swimming lessons, that you always have to raise your voice so the boys can hear you. Anyhuuu, it was all good.

In the evening I had rugby practice which was good, They've put me on the wing which inst so bad i guess, although i dont get as much ball but it also means I dont have to take down these huge Polynesian boys which is a bit of a relief. Also my family came back from Canada today which was good so I could chat over with them about the big day tomorrow.



Thursday 16th August 2007

Well today was the day that has completely defeated the object of me going to school whatsoever. I got my A level results this evening and without saying what I got, all I'll say is that I was a bit disappointed. So I had a good chat with mum which was reassuring, but yeh I feel rubbish about it all and Im just really confused at where Gods leading me so yeh not good. Tessa gave me a good verse which was Romans 8:28 which says that God causes everything to come together for those who love him, so that was really amazing and relevant for me at this time.



Friday 17th August 2007

School on a Friday is always a doddle, because we finish at lunch time, and dont have to teach in the afternoon because we have house meetings so that was good. We had a meeting with Iain Britton about the trip down to Rotorua which sounds so good. We're staying in a genuine Marae which is the building that the Maoris live in-gona be sweet!! So yeh that was good, then we had beers at 3 which was good because I managed to reach number 1 on the pool table-ahh finally some success.

Went to Epic (youth service) in Mount Eden which was really good. Met up with Cole and Joe which was good and signed up for the life groups that meet up every Wednesday, so yeh thats exciting. We had some Aussie come and speak to us called James something or other who was really good. He talked about how its really important to do the somethings well, before you move onto the big stuff. Once you've done the small things, you are then qualified for the big stuff. He also encouraged us to do the things that to us might seem insignificant but that actually have a big impact on other people which was a really big challenge for me I guess.



Saturday 18th August 2007

I had arranged to speak to Emily on the phone this morning at 9am thinking that I would be up and awake by then, little did she know that I was actually woken up by the phone, which was funny because she thought my accent had changed but actually I had just woken up. Anyway it was lovely to talk to her, shes such a great girl and I love her to bits!!!So that was good. Then I thought it might be a good to get my hair cut, so after half an hour of finding a hairdresser that wasnt booked up with Anna, I decided to make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

Then at half 2, Ross and I went to see Adams last rugby match of the season. He plays for the uni team-hes Charlies older brother. Anyway, Adams team won 14-7 and it was actually a very good game despite the score line.

Saturday evening, we went to a friends house for dinner called George. He's very funny and we had a great time. After about 9 o'clock Jacqui starts getting a bit tired so we were home before 10 which was good actually cause I have church the next morning and I have to catch the train.



Sunday 19th August 2007

Woke up at half 9, which is a nice change. Thats about the best lie in i can get these days, especially when Im woken up by international phone calls-eh Emily!!Anyway, caught the train at 10 and then went and sat in the cafe at church before the service started-thats right, CLC has a cafe!!!Amazing lol. Anyway, I found Cole which was good because I go on my own, but im gradually getting to know people which is good. He introduced me to the leader of the life group that ive joined called Jared who is awesome-such a nice guy, and I ended up sitting next to him. The worship band were so good, actually incredible, and the drummer, WOW. I always compare drummers to Nick of course and this guy was I reckon better,but to be fair he was probably 30 odd so hes been playing for longer.

Then an American guy called Joel Holm spoke. He works with Rick Warren whos a big pastor in America. He was such a good communicater, and he was talking about letting God plan your life, which was so relevant to what Im going through at the moment. After my results, I was really puzzled and confused as to where God was leading me and what He wanted me to do and Joel used the image of one of those Etchosketch things, where we try and draw a picture on it, we give it to God and he just shakes up and its blank again. All good stuff!! Jared then gave me a lift home which was really kind of him!!

In the afternoon I went to my hairdressing appointment at half 4. Ive never had it done like this before though!!They gave me a coffee, washed my hair and then started cutting it etc. But i mean, I havent had my hair washed since I was a wee child so that was an interesting experience. Anyway, half way through the cut, she asked if she could have my name and number because she reckons ive got nice and hair and nice face, for some kind of modelling thing. I almost wet myself with laughter but she was deadly serious!!Was so funny lol- People, I could be New Zealand's next top model.

In the evening I went out with the Sidnams to a chinese restaurant which was very nice and good to catch up with them. Then I spoke to Mum on skype which was great!!!!


Monday 20th August 2007

This was a hilarious day today for one main thing. I dressed up as a rabbit!!YAY.I'll explain, the Transitionns boys, Yr 1's and 2's had their cross country today, so we decided it would funny if we hired a rabbit costume so the boys could chase after it, you know, to motivate them and add a bit of fun to it all. So as a GAP student, who Im told has no rights, was nominated to dress up as a rabbit:




It was hilarious, but absolutely rrrrossting, it was a hot day anyway, so with this huge, furry costume thing, it was boiling!!I almost died of dehydration!!Anyway, lol it was funny.

Then I had rugby training this evening which was good. The tournement is this weekend which is exciting.YAY!!


Thursday 23rd August 2007

It was the district cross country today for the boys in years 5,6,7 and 8 and luckily i didnt have to dress up as a rabbit for this one!Phew!I was team manager for all four teams and my Year 8s came first and 6's came third, so it was obviously my great training techniques and inspirational advice!!

In the evening I went to the Worship and Arts meeting at church to get involved in the worship band. I met up with some great guys and met a guy called Paul from Blackkburn-finally another Britt!!YES!!anyway was an ace night and I managed to organise an audition for playing keys in the band tomorrow!Sweet as!!The speaker that evening was the brother of the senior pastor at CLC and he's a sport pshycologist who has worked with the All Blacks, he was so good!!amazing message about giving your burdens and your worries to God!


Friday 24th August 2007


Again another great day, partly because I was excited about my audition etc but also because i finish at half 1 lol!YAYA!So i didnt do much except have a productive day on the pool table!!

At 5, i had an audition with Matt whos the worship leader for the youth band which went well. He's going to put me on the rota which is sweet!!Then I had Epic (teenagers meeting) and then Loud (uni studens meeting) so lots of excellent time with God and reading his word, and yeh good speakers!!

Excited about the rugby tomorrow!


Saturday 25th August 2007

And the big rugby weekend begins. I played for the Auckland Welsh!!Played on the wing today. We lost to Ireland and England by 2 points, but we gave them a good match and then beat Scotland, so finished 3rd for tomorrows games. I scored a try against England which was nice!!Should have scored against Scotland too but just out of reach!! We play Ireland in the semi's tomorrow!!I loved it today, havent played for a while so it was good to get stuck in.

Then this evening went out for dinner with the Sidnams and their South African friends to a really good Thai resteraunt. Great food!I also took some silly pictures on the way back.




Sunday 25th August 2007

Well i dont want to go to much inot the rugby as we came out last and got the wooden spoon, but i scored another try today which was good against Scotland. Despite the losses, it was great day and ive got some good bruises and cuts to prove it.


Of course there are lots of excuses as to why we didnt win, one that i like to use is that the ref was diabolical, also we had a few players that were a bit dodgy but oh well. I guess it was better that Ireland won though, would have sucked if England won. Talking about the England team, they had a player nicknamed Hanniball, who was a sick foot Islander, with long hair and humongous guns (arms), he was flipping huge, and yes i took him down!YEYA!!But I also need to get down the gym more.



Then after watching the Warriors smash Manly, went to a friends house for dinner with Ross and Jacqui and their friends. Amazing food and a great appartment with amazing views of Skycity!

July

Tuesday 10th July 2007

Following the footsteps of the great Emily Quarmby im going to do a continuous blog thing while im away with pictures.
I arrived this morning about half 9 at Auckland Airport being pretty knackered from the 24 hour flight, thats right 24 hours of pain and suffering especially around the gluteus maximus (the but) and generally just bored out of my skin.



I watched a couple of good films during my time in hell, Blood Diamond which you should all go and see because its awesome!!I had to stop over at Hong Kong for a couple of hours.Quite an amazing airport!!


Got picked up by my godparents who im going to stay with for the next 6 months who are fantastic!!Anyway i thought it would be a good idea to get a NZ simcard for my new phone, but the phones locked which sucks and it means i cant put this simcard and blah blah blah blah blah, it doesnt work so im going to have to buy a cheapo NZ phone to save all the hassle. Also set up a bank account but im not going to go into detail for that for obvious reasons lol ( the pin number is ..... lol). Then in the evening i found myself dozing off quite a bit due to jet lag i guess and so went to sleep!!ahhh sleep!!


Wednesday 11th July 2007

WOW!!What a great day it was despite the jet lagg!I had booked myself in to a Christian Conference for this evening and tomorrow all day which was excellent. Hillsong United played tonight and they were immense. I would have been disappointed if they were panse because they're like my favourite band but they were excellent!



Phil Dooley (their Youth Pastor) spoke who was pretty good too so all in all a good start to the Conference. It's always good when you see 800 other christians jumping around for Jesus!But seriously, some of them were complete weirdos, especially one of security guards who called himself Slane, or Slay or something lol it was hilarious.

Thursday 12th July 2007

Woke up at half 7 which is always impressive. I realised that when i came here all the food was going to be different brands etc. I was particularly worried about the cereal because there's nothing worse than a bad cereal like Special K-man i hate that stuff. Ive been having this stuff called Light and Tasty which is delightful!!anyway thats the rant finished.Went to the Conference which once again was very good. A band from a church called CLCA played who were really good, infact they were raving and mental and well just really good. Then Phil Dooley's wife Lucinda spoke for 2 sessions. She was really good and very clear but she had this weird laugh (much like Emily's laugh but sillier) that everyone laughed at but she thought she was funny-it was all very funny.Then Christian City Youth played in the evening who are from Sydney and my second cousin is in, so i managed to briefly catch up with him which was really good.


Friday 13th July 2007

Again i woke up early. There is something about NZ and waking up early. It seems that everyone is out and about at like 7 doing the shopping etc, quite strange. Got up and played squash against Ross, I lost 3-2 but i really should have won and he knows it. I missed a sitter of a shot that would have won me the 3rd game but i fluffed it. oh well ill get him next time!Went to a coffee shop afterwards which was nice, nice coffee too!Then i went into school where im starting work on Monday as a PE teacher so that was good to meet some of the staff and have a snoop. Then in the afternoon went down to the waterfront, to St Helliers Bay, Mission Bay etc and took Matty the dog for a walk too. Really spectacular views from the top end of St Helliers Bay of Rangitoto so that was really good.






Also I lived in Mission Bay as a baby so was good to revisit there.Pretty busy because the weather was good. We also went up Mt Eden which was one of the extinct volcanoes in Auckland and you can see the entire city from up there, so some really good views. Then in the evening got a DVD out, The Last King of Scotland-its pretty good. About some Scottish doctor that goes out to Uganda, its quite good actually but i was quite tired so didnt fully concentrate.


Saturday 14th July 2007

We hit the shops today, to get some stuff for out trip in September to the South Island, so just got some tops and bike helmet. It was also Ross and Jaquie's niece's birthday party today so they needed to get some presents for her. We went to the party around 5 in the afternoon. But lets be serious for a moment, how many friends can a little girl of 9 have, flipping loads lol!oh well!


Monday 16th July 2007

Started work today which was great. For those who dont know im working at a school being a PE teacher for the next 6 months, its gona be awesome!!It rained heaps though so we couldnt get outside or anything which is a bummer so took most of the classes into the swimming pool which i guess isnt so bad!Looking forward to when the sun comes out cause they are a rugby obsessed school so cant wait to start training. Did some admin stuff and met some of the teachers and stuff, but a pretty good start.
oy

Tuesday 17th July 2007

I woke up to the lovely, beautiful sunny sun!!YES!!GET IN!!Sports outside allday today which was excellent.Taught Years 1 and 3 on the astro, bit of football with them, then in the afternoon did middle school rugby, with the first 15 which was sweet. They are actually amazing, these are boys in Year 6 so what, 10 years old and they were making huge tackles, and their handling skills were excellent!!You wonder why the All Blacks are so good, well they start young!Speaking of the All Blacks, me and Chris got tickets for the match against Australia at Eden Park on Saturday which is gona be amazing!Cant wait for that, bound to be good rugby!!Something ive learnt in the last two days of teaching is how ridiculous little children are!They seriosuly are in a world of their own, and whenever they decide to communicate with us (normal people), they ask the most ridiculous questions, or expect the most ridiculous things from us. For example, a Yr 1 came up to us today on the astro and said that another boy had called him stupid.What did he expect us to do??seriously though, i know they are small but what the helk!!Simon (PE teacher) said he'd ring the boys mum and the kid who asked the question ran away all happy and smily!MAN ALIVE!!


Friday 20th July 2007

So ive finished my first week at school.Its been really good teaching the kids and getting to know some of the staff.Ive had to do all sorts which has been good. The thing i still cant quite believe is the standard at whic these guys play sport (except football-they're pretty crap at that). The rugby, hockey and cricket teams are very good, especially the rugby teams as you would expect i guess. Today i taught the seniors today which was good stuff. In the staff room there's a pool table and a ladder in which i moved from 28th to 4th so im doing well!!I had a few frees today so i managed to bunk up my position. The school has just had a new building finished called The Lighthouse-ive yet to work out why its called that but anyway, its amazing, so hi-tech, with Macs everywhere. It would be a good place to rob eh!!Anyway so basically they officially opened it today and then afterwards, we had some beers etc. Apparently the beer thing happens every Friday which is sweet!!Ive managed to find someone whos got a couple of surf boards which is good (member of staff) so we're going surfing sometime when its warm. The weather was pretty good today, good sun, im getting a tan in winter which is got to be good i guess.All Blacks tomorrow!!Cant Wait!!!


Saturday 21st July 2007

Well it was a monumental day for me!!I woke up and played Ross at squash and I beat him 4-1. He brought up all these excuses about being tired etc etc which i think is a load of rabble!!Anyway it was a good start to the day. Then went into town with Ross and Jaqui and the Hedges to buy the new Harry Potter book which i started reading straight away!Its very good. Then I met up with Chris to go to the big match, and it kicked off at half 7. To put it midly it chucked it down, and if it wasnt for the big Maori with the umbrella behind us we would have drowned.



The match was pretty good, although it was mostly a kicking game but it was good being there an the haka was incredible.



I have to say i was a bit disappointed wih the atmosphere at Eden Park, i think its because they're used to winning all the time. There was more atmosphere when the trained turned up at the station than when the All Blacks scored a try, but i really enjoyed myself.


Monday 23rd July 2007

Back to school bright and early this morning. The boys were back from their rugby tour in Christchurch which meant our cubby hole of an office was a bit fuller with 4 of us crammed in there. Its all good really, just feel like Harry Potter forced underneath the stairs though!!Did some hockey training with the Year 6's today which made me realise I know nothing about hockey whatsoever. The afternoon was a bit of a cuffuffle, full of misunderstandings about timetables etc nothing bad at all just a bit of a mix up but that was all sorted. We went out for dinner with some of Ross and Jacqui's (inculuding the Bishop of Auckland!!!!) to this Italian resteraunt which was very nice and absolutely hilarious. It was someones birthday on another table and inevitably they started singing Happy Birthday, well some of the ladies joined too and after it had finished one of them said "Ohhh I love that song!!". I'm sorry, but Happy Birthday isnt the most inspiring song in the world. I'm not sure that statement is a true representation of Kiwi music, the fact that Happy Birthday is a no1 bestseller due to the fact that all New Zealand can produce Brooke Fraser!!Anyway me and Ross were in stiches!!

Then we took a nice walk afterwards with Matty the dog which was good.


Wednesday 25th July 2007

Today was a good day, although i was a bit tired this morning because i stayed up to watch the Netball between NZ and Australia. Taught the Yr 4's this morning then had a break and then taught the Year 3's. The boys are preparing to do cross country in a couple of weeks so we send them on runs that take a while so to occupy ourselves we play silly games like the Crossbar challenge. For example i played Simon today (another PE teaecher) and he wooped me 11-0. It was such a big event that Chris decided to enter the result on the kings website. Go to www.kings.school.nz/sport and the click on crossbar challenge, you'll see it. The funny thing is that its a pretty official website with all the results of the matches and then you see cross bar challenge results-its hilarious but before i get the blame it was Chris' idea NOT MINE!!

I took the Senior Games to the Table Tennis stadium today. One of the Year 8's was the North Island Champion and he played for New Zealand. I played with and I reckon I gave him a run for his money!!lol NOT!!He was flipping amazing!!

Then this evening i went to the Youth Group which was good where i met some new people and others that i met last week!some of them are actually hilarious and so we never get anything done but i think Brian (the curate/youth worker) has finally sorted out a programme for this term so there might be a little bit of focus.

Oh yeh, also the school provided me with my own laptop which is sweet-its an iBook so its taking me a little bit of getting used to because ive never worked with Macs before but i reckon im doing pretty well on it so far. only thing is i dont seem to be able to work MSN on it which is a bummer!


Friday 27th July 2007

Although it started really misty this morning, it turned out to be a beautiful day, sunny and warm which was excellent. Fridays are always very laid back and school finishes at 3 which is good and so the teachers stay aferwards and have a few beers and play pool. After that i decided to sort my camera out once and for all which was a successful mission and now ive been able to put pics up on the blog. This evening i went out with some friends to watch the Harry Potter film which was pretty good although Harry looked really short eh!lol, also i finished the book today which is good-obviously i cant really talk about it because ill get hate mail for revealing the story, but it is very bizarre!!


Saturday 28th July 2007



Today started off well with a win over Ross in squash. I beat him 3-2 and we started a 6th game but ran out of time so im taking that as a win for the James Lee. Get In!!

This afternoon i went to a car show in Epsom with a family called the Sidnams who we've known since i was born really which was sweet. There were some mean ass cars man alive, check these babies out:








Sunday 29th July 2007

I was feeling pretty tired this morning but i managed to shift my body to church which was good. Ross spoke so that was good-of course!!Then I kind of did nothing around lunchtime, just kind of slobbed and then this afternoon Ross and I decided we'd go to Devonport which i think is Northshore ish but im really not sure-anyway we caught a ferry over there so that was sweet.



Although the weather wasn't great, the rain held off while wondered around Devonport. Its got a naval base quite close by so they had some pill boxes etc which were pretty cool, and some really good views of the city from a distance.



Thats the amazing thing about Auckland, its that you can come across amazing views everywhere you go!!From Devonport you could see everything, so the city, Rangitoto and into Mission Bay which was sweet.

Took some silly pictures mainly me pulling faces which amused Ross i think, walked along a beach with some pretty amazing houses too. Seriously, people must pay so much money to live in some of those beach side houses!!





Then this evening, we went to Charlie's house for dinner which was nice. They're people from church and they are rugby fanatics it seems so it was a good time and nice food!!