Wow! I’ve already been at The Crossing for a week. It seems to have flown by, and yet I am also amazed at how it seems like we have all been here for so long! Everyone is super friendly! The weather here is surprisingly cold. I had always assumed that New Zealand was always warm and tropical so this comes as a shock to me (and to many of the others here as well). I have had to go out shopping for a warm blanket and hope to purchase some slippers, gloves, hat and a new wool sweater. Since there is no central heating, we heat with wood fires in the student lounge and the formal lounge. We also have heaters in our beds that we turn on half an hour before bed so that it is nice and toasty when we get in. We have had off and on sunny weather for most of the past week, although it rained yesterday and is overcast today.
The house we are staying in, which was until very recently a bed and breakfast when there was no school, is beautiful. As one of the students put it, it looks ‘antiquated.’ We love to hang out in the formal lounge (which is basically our living room) and play card games (such as king’s corner and UNO), talk, read, and laugh. There is usually someone playing the guitar or the piano (sometimes both) which makes for a very nice atmosphere. It is not rare to have a large group of students and staff huddled around the fire where it is warmest. I share a room with the four other girls (Amber, Cara, Kelsey, and Cameron). I sleep on the top bunk above Cameron. We have decided to decorate our room with pictures that we have placed all along the ledge of the crown moulding all around the room. At the moment, I only have one picture (so if anyone feels like including a photograph with a letter, that would be awesome!).
Meal time is quite fun. We make a point of changing tables at every meal so that we can have a chance to talk with different people and get to know everyone. The food is delicious: Sheryl is an awesome cook! Every Saturday, there will be a different pair of students cooking the meal and desert. We still don’t know who we will be teamed up with, but I am already thinking of what I would love to make (something Québécois, like ‘pudding chomeur’).
To make the school run more smoothly, we all have duties. I am on breakfast clean up as my daily duty and I vacuum and clean the dining room/formal lounge and student lounge/classroom as my weekly duty. We also have a work day on Wednesday afternoons where we get split up into teams to do stuff like clean the kitchen, weed the gardens, mow the lawns, sweep, vacuum, etc.
Every Friday, there is a free trip into town so that we can stock up on necessities such as chocolate, toiletries, food (we have a fridge in the student lounge where we can store snacks and stuff), stationary, stamps, etc. We have to pay for any other trips, but they are not too expensive. On Monday (the first day we were here), a bunch of us decided to walk into town. Dale had said that we could actually walk along the riverbed since it is so low. We ended up having to cross the river several times since it crisscrossed back and forth along the riverbed. I managed to cross on rocks for the first bit, but eventually, we all had either waded ankle high with our shoes on or were walking barefoot through the freezing cold water. It was tons of fun!! I can’t wait to do it again, although this time I will wear flip-flops or crocks so that the rocks won’t be so painful.
The more intense classes will begin tomorrow and the guest speaker for the week will be arriving tonight for Sunday night fellowship. This week has been mostly orientation and getting to know each other. It has been really fin, but I can’t wait to start classes!
Next week, we will be going to help at two different camps, probably as counsellors, with kids aged 8 to 12. I had to buy a sleeping bag for this (I actually found a small one for only 45NZD!). Apparently it will be cold and I have been advised to bring a hot water bottle to stick in my sleeping bag to keep warm. Please pray that we will have patience with the kids since we will likely not be getting enough sleep and that we will be able to be effective witnesses to the kids.
Many of the students have taken up running in the morning before breakfast. I tried running the first morning, but had to stop half way. I now plan on walking in the mornings, this way I can bring my camera to take pictures of the postcards from God.
If you would like to pray for us here at The Crossing, here are the names of the students: Cara, Kelsey, Cameron, Amber, Jordan, Adam, Ben, Robert, Michael, Bryan, Joel, Joel B. (who is still waiting for his student visa so that he can join us), and Jonas. The staff are Hanna, Sheryl, Dale, Patti, Joseph, Colin, and Justice (5 yrs old) and Isabelle (8 yrs old) (Dale and Patti’s kids).
I would love to hear from you! My address here is
124 Woodbury Road
R.D. 1
Geraldine
New Zealand
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Touring, last day!
Sunday
We found a nice church in Geraldine and decided to attend the ‘contemporary’ service at 11. It turns out that this is the church where most of the Capernwray staff goes on a regular basis. The service was interesting (it was on Nehemiah chapter 9 and getting to know God). In the afternoon, Mom, Dad, and I drove to Peel forest and went for a hike. The woods were beautiful and full of birds we couldn’t see but could hear all around us. We hiked up to a waterfall and then over to the biggest tree in the forest that is 4 meters in diameter and 31 meters in height. When we got back to the hotel, I repacked since my stuff has expanded over the week we have spent touring. I am excited to start school tomorrow!
We found a nice church in Geraldine and decided to attend the ‘contemporary’ service at 11. It turns out that this is the church where most of the Capernwray staff goes on a regular basis. The service was interesting (it was on Nehemiah chapter 9 and getting to know God). In the afternoon, Mom, Dad, and I drove to Peel forest and went for a hike. The woods were beautiful and full of birds we couldn’t see but could hear all around us. We hiked up to a waterfall and then over to the biggest tree in the forest that is 4 meters in diameter and 31 meters in height. When we got back to the hotel, I repacked since my stuff has expanded over the week we have spent touring. I am excited to start school tomorrow!
Touring, Day 6
Saturday
After a rather relaxed day yesterday, we decided to go hiking around Lake Tekapo. We chose a path that brought us to a point on the edge of the lake from which we could see the snow covered peaks of the mountains that surrounded us. It was a beautiful site, with the mountains all around and the impossibly blue-green lake. After the hike, we drove up to the Mt John Observatory to find out about star gazing. The tour turned out to be slightly out of our price range, so we decided to find a nice spot out of town to see the stars from. Although the sun was below the mountains by 6:30, we waited until 8 for the sky to be dark enough for the first stars to appear. And when they appeared, it was beautiful!!! Because of all the measures the town takes to avoid light pollution, we could see the sky perfectly and it was absolutely filled with stars! The weird part was that we didn’t recognise any of the constellations.
After a rather relaxed day yesterday, we decided to go hiking around Lake Tekapo. We chose a path that brought us to a point on the edge of the lake from which we could see the snow covered peaks of the mountains that surrounded us. It was a beautiful site, with the mountains all around and the impossibly blue-green lake. After the hike, we drove up to the Mt John Observatory to find out about star gazing. The tour turned out to be slightly out of our price range, so we decided to find a nice spot out of town to see the stars from. Although the sun was below the mountains by 6:30, we waited until 8 for the sky to be dark enough for the first stars to appear. And when they appeared, it was beautiful!!! Because of all the measures the town takes to avoid light pollution, we could see the sky perfectly and it was absolutely filled with stars! The weird part was that we didn’t recognise any of the constellations.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Touring, Day 5
Friday
I finished the book I had been reading today. It is called “My Sister’s Keeper” (it was recently turned into a movie). Although it has many references to sex, drugs, alcohol, and drugs, it is also filled with humanity, heart, and life. Following the life of a thirteen year old girl who decides to sue her parents for the right to her own body, the novel is written from the perspective of several people, making it a fascinating read. Anna was conceived to be a genetic match for her sister, who is dying of leukemia. All her life, she has given blood, bone marrow and had countless operations to help save her sister, but now she wants to stop. Following a fascinating ethical issue, this is the kind of novel that leaves you both hungry for more, filled with questions, but also satisfied with the answers you have. It is the type of novel that has me praying for the characters, even though I tell myself that that is silly – they are purely fictional. It is the type of novel that leaves you teary but oh so happy.
I finished the book I had been reading today. It is called “My Sister’s Keeper” (it was recently turned into a movie). Although it has many references to sex, drugs, alcohol, and drugs, it is also filled with humanity, heart, and life. Following the life of a thirteen year old girl who decides to sue her parents for the right to her own body, the novel is written from the perspective of several people, making it a fascinating read. Anna was conceived to be a genetic match for her sister, who is dying of leukemia. All her life, she has given blood, bone marrow and had countless operations to help save her sister, but now she wants to stop. Following a fascinating ethical issue, this is the kind of novel that leaves you both hungry for more, filled with questions, but also satisfied with the answers you have. It is the type of novel that has me praying for the characters, even though I tell myself that that is silly – they are purely fictional. It is the type of novel that leaves you teary but oh so happy.
Touring, Day 4
Thursday
We woke up to a beautiful clear sky today. The plan for the day was to hike the Heritage trail in the morning and then go on a cruise in the afternoon however, after a walk around the town, Dad decided he had had enough walking for a little while. We are all still a little sore after yesterday’s hike. So instead we walked around town, looking through shops. After finding an internet cafe and chatting with people back home (eee), we ate lunch and headed down to the main quay for our cruise. It was a wonderful day to be out on the water and the view was fabulous! We got to see seals, four hector’s dolphins )also known as New Zealand dolphins), and even an albatross. Hector’s dolphins are the smallest species of dolphin in the world, measuring only one to two meters. They live in small pods of three or four. We also went around to the mouth of an old volcano that the water has been eroding, revealing a vertical lava flow - a rare phenomenon. Another interesting rock formation was a small cave that waves would roll into, hit the back, and a spray, kind of like that of a whale, shoots out the front. It was quite neat! On the way back to the bay, Mom, Dad and I were at the front of the boat. The wind, combined with the speed of the boat (which was headed into the wind) made for extremely strong winds that made our eyes water and our clothing flap violently. Dad was the first to decide that he had enough and went bellow to warm up. Mom and I stayed above, literally leaning on the wind. Finally, when I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore, I went bellow. Mom stayed above the entire time and, by then end, was the only one there! I guess this confirms where I get some of my insanity from (although much of it is probably due to overconsumption of chocolate).
The road to Akaroa is beautiful in a rather terrifying way. Twisting and turning up and around hills dotted with sheep, it reminds me of Ireland. The only difference being that in Ireland, the incredible narrow roads are lined with rock walls whereas the road to Akaroa has absolutely nothing on either side – there are not even any guard rails between the road and the cliffs that are terrifyingly close. Although equally as narrow, the road from Christchurch is almost dead straight. This difference is quite noticeable since we are driving both roads one after the other.
We woke up to a beautiful clear sky today. The plan for the day was to hike the Heritage trail in the morning and then go on a cruise in the afternoon however, after a walk around the town, Dad decided he had had enough walking for a little while. We are all still a little sore after yesterday’s hike. So instead we walked around town, looking through shops. After finding an internet cafe and chatting with people back home (eee), we ate lunch and headed down to the main quay for our cruise. It was a wonderful day to be out on the water and the view was fabulous! We got to see seals, four hector’s dolphins )also known as New Zealand dolphins), and even an albatross. Hector’s dolphins are the smallest species of dolphin in the world, measuring only one to two meters. They live in small pods of three or four. We also went around to the mouth of an old volcano that the water has been eroding, revealing a vertical lava flow - a rare phenomenon. Another interesting rock formation was a small cave that waves would roll into, hit the back, and a spray, kind of like that of a whale, shoots out the front. It was quite neat! On the way back to the bay, Mom, Dad and I were at the front of the boat. The wind, combined with the speed of the boat (which was headed into the wind) made for extremely strong winds that made our eyes water and our clothing flap violently. Dad was the first to decide that he had enough and went bellow to warm up. Mom and I stayed above, literally leaning on the wind. Finally, when I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore, I went bellow. Mom stayed above the entire time and, by then end, was the only one there! I guess this confirms where I get some of my insanity from (although much of it is probably due to overconsumption of chocolate).
The road to Akaroa is beautiful in a rather terrifying way. Twisting and turning up and around hills dotted with sheep, it reminds me of Ireland. The only difference being that in Ireland, the incredible narrow roads are lined with rock walls whereas the road to Akaroa has absolutely nothing on either side – there are not even any guard rails between the road and the cliffs that are terrifyingly close. Although equally as narrow, the road from Christchurch is almost dead straight. This difference is quite noticeable since we are driving both roads one after the other.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Did you know?
Did you know (#1) that originally there were no land mammals in New Zealand? Rabbits were introduced and, since they had no predators, spread much too quickly. Possums were then introduced as predators to the rabbits. Unfortunately, the possums found it easier to hunt Kiwis, the famous wingless birds native to New Zealand, than rabbits and so possums have now also become part of the pest problem.
Did you know (#2) that gorse was introduced to New Zealand in the 1800’s and is now a rampant weed. Its beautiful bright yellow flower covers the hillside. Fortunately, gorse provides an excellent nursery to native trees. In fact, the soil in which gorse is growing is more fertile that otherwise. A native tree will begin to grow in the protection of the gorse and as it matures, will grow above the gorse and take over. Since gorse need direct sunlight, the tree will end up smothering it.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Touring, Day 3
Today, we woke up early so that we could begin exploring. Our plan was to head down to Pigeon bay to hike along a path that follows the coastline. Unfortunately, this path was closed for lambing season. We soon decided on another trail called Hinewai Reserve. It was a lovely trail that started at the top of a ridge, went down a steep incline into the valley and then up onto a second ridge and back over to where it began. We chose to walk one of the shorter trails and this ended up taking us three hours. It was beautiful and very well maintained. An amazing feature was that the foliage would change so drastically around us depending on our altitude and our proximity to a stream. We saw several beautiful waterfalls and stopped for lunch on a narrow bridge over one of the falls. After such an intense hike, we will all sleep very well tonight!
Touring, Day 2
Monday, September 14th
Today, we started out by touring down town Christchurch. Driving on the left was both stressful and disorienting, even for me in the back seat. Our first stop was Christchurch Cathedral. This beautiful cathedral has a lookout point at the top of one of the towers (which we unfortunately did not get to see since the Holy Communion was in 15 minutes). I saw a hilarious note pad in the gift shop that read “Man cannot live on chocolate alone, but woman can.” We then drove to the botanical gardens where we ate lunch while being occasionally sprayed by the nearby fountain.
After lunch, we toured ‘Rutherford’s Den,’ the place where Rutherford began his studies on radiation. There were some neat demos of his early research and a simulated lecture in one of the old lecture rooms. Did you know that Brazil nuts are slightly radioactive, that students of this university in Christchurch had to wear gowns and mortar boards during all lectures, or that Rutherford’s research led to the invention of the smoke detector?
After an informative tour, and after dropping off some maple syrup for the daughter of a friend, we headed off for Akeroa along a beautiful (and terrifying) winding road. It reminded me of driving in Ireland, only instead of rock walls on either side of the narrow road, there were cliffs (and no guard rails!). We found a nice hostel in down town Akeroa and cooked up some supper. Unfortunately, since this hostel does not have wireless internet (and dad can’t seem to crack into one of the secured networks :P), I will have to post this entry tomorrow.
Today, we started out by touring down town Christchurch. Driving on the left was both stressful and disorienting, even for me in the back seat. Our first stop was Christchurch Cathedral. This beautiful cathedral has a lookout point at the top of one of the towers (which we unfortunately did not get to see since the Holy Communion was in 15 minutes). I saw a hilarious note pad in the gift shop that read “Man cannot live on chocolate alone, but woman can.” We then drove to the botanical gardens where we ate lunch while being occasionally sprayed by the nearby fountain.
After lunch, we toured ‘Rutherford’s Den,’ the place where Rutherford began his studies on radiation. There were some neat demos of his early research and a simulated lecture in one of the old lecture rooms. Did you know that Brazil nuts are slightly radioactive, that students of this university in Christchurch had to wear gowns and mortar boards during all lectures, or that Rutherford’s research led to the invention of the smoke detector?
After an informative tour, and after dropping off some maple syrup for the daughter of a friend, we headed off for Akeroa along a beautiful (and terrifying) winding road. It reminded me of driving in Ireland, only instead of rock walls on either side of the narrow road, there were cliffs (and no guard rails!). We found a nice hostel in down town Akeroa and cooked up some supper. Unfortunately, since this hostel does not have wireless internet (and dad can’t seem to crack into one of the secured networks :P), I will have to post this entry tomorrow.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Touring, Day 1
We are now officially at our destination! We arrived in Christchurch last night at about midnight. We checked in to a hotel and were all asleep the minute our heads hit the pillow. I was so grateful for a proper bed after 41 hours of travel. The stopover in Sydney, Australia was a refreshing change from being seated for 15 hours on the flight from Vancouver. Since we had about twelve hours between flights, we decided to leave the airport and tour for a while. This also served to get us all exhausted enough so that we would sleep soundly (I think I was asleep before our next flight even left the ground). The tour was short but sweet. We saw the Sydney opera house, walked through the botanical gardens, and stopped for ice cream (chocolate, of course).
I was worried by the fact that it was so hot in Australia (even though it was only the end of winter) and so was quite relieved when we landed in Christchurch and found that the weather was quite moderate. In fact, today (Monday) was overcast and slightly windy, but not too cold so that we had to wear big sweaters.
After sleeping in this morning, we packed up out gear, rented a car, and headed out to Orana Wildlife Park. We saw cute little meerkats (that weren’t so cute when they started growling and fighting over pieces of meat), tons of birds that came right up close, beautiful lions, rhinos with kind eyes, wild dogs, cheetahs, lemurs, spider monkeys (it was really neat to see them climbing using their tail as both balance and as a fifth hand), and best of all, kiwis. Kiwis actually look remarkably like the fruit that shares their name. They look quite funny but also rather huggable. Since kiwis are nocturnal, they are kept inside in an artificial night environment so that visitors can see them during the day. There is a lighting system all along the ceiling which lights up during the night to make these birds think it is day so that they will be out when the visitors are there.. The best part about this park was that they had a feeding schedule that allowed visitors to make their way around the park while stopping at certain exhibits to see the animals up close as they were fed. This also gave us a chance to talk to the park volunteers and learn more about the animals.
I was worried by the fact that it was so hot in Australia (even though it was only the end of winter) and so was quite relieved when we landed in Christchurch and found that the weather was quite moderate. In fact, today (Monday) was overcast and slightly windy, but not too cold so that we had to wear big sweaters.
After sleeping in this morning, we packed up out gear, rented a car, and headed out to Orana Wildlife Park. We saw cute little meerkats (that weren’t so cute when they started growling and fighting over pieces of meat), tons of birds that came right up close, beautiful lions, rhinos with kind eyes, wild dogs, cheetahs, lemurs, spider monkeys (it was really neat to see them climbing using their tail as both balance and as a fifth hand), and best of all, kiwis. Kiwis actually look remarkably like the fruit that shares their name. They look quite funny but also rather huggable. Since kiwis are nocturnal, they are kept inside in an artificial night environment so that visitors can see them during the day. There is a lighting system all along the ceiling which lights up during the night to make these birds think it is day so that they will be out when the visitors are there.. The best part about this park was that they had a feeding schedule that allowed visitors to make their way around the park while stopping at certain exhibits to see the animals up close as they were fed. This also gave us a chance to talk to the park volunteers and learn more about the animals.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
First Stop: Vancouver
Ah! Solid ground! We have arrived at the Vancouver airport after 5 hours in the air. One of our three plane trips is now over. Even though it is 1am body clock time (It's 10 pm Vancouver time) we are all having a rather late supper as we wait for our connection to Sydney, Australia. We already have our boarding passes, so it looks pretty good for getting on tonight, yay! I picked up a new book at the Montreal airport called 'My Sister's Keeper' (the movie was just recently playing in theatres) and am really enjoying it! It's a new writing style, and that, I find, it the most intriguing part of a novel. Our next flight leaves in two hours and hopefully we will all get some sleep then. Once we reach Sydney, we will have a 12 hour wait for our last (3 hour) flight to Christchurch, NZ.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Four days till departure!
Four days until I leave for New Zealand! I am pretty excited! I still have to pack most of my stuff, but the prep for leaving is coming along nicely. The plan at the moment is to leave this Friday (the 11th of September) so that we can be in New Zealand by the 15th. And by 'we', I mean me, my mom, and my dad. My parents will be accompanying me to New Zealand and we will do some touring for a week before I start school. My parents will then continue touring for one and a half weeks to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary (one year early). During my stay in New Zealand, I will try to keep this blog as up to date as possible. I would love to hear from you either through e-mail or by leaving a comment on this blog. Thanks for reading!
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