Playing Catch Up

John with sheep on trail to Rob Roy Glacier.
View of Rob Roy Glacier.
Rob Roy Glacier Valley.
Puzzling, isn't it?
The forced perspective room at Puzzling World.

Last weekend we went back to sunny Wanaka for some R&R and hiking. The autumn colors were just beginning. The light there is truly amazing. I can see why it's a popular spot for landscape photographers. The hiking shots are from our trip to Rob Roy Glacier. The stranger illusion shots are from a wacky tourist spot called "Puzzling World".

It's been a busy week. We spent the first part of the week cleaning the house for an inspection that never happened. Landlords here have the opportunity to inspect your rental home quarterly. I'm sure we were overprepared, but we took this inspection seriously. The upside of the cancellation is that the house is nice and clean.

Several people have asked me to discuss my job more. It's involved far less time than I'd expected, but that's ok. I am currently working with two school groups. We meet once a week and do activities surrounding topics like friendship, trust, communication, and values. It's been fun to see the kids get excited about some things which at first glance they label as silly or boring. It's good to see the group let their guard down and have a go. We have some work ahead of us to become more cohesive as a group, but it's fun to see each class progress and become more comfortable and open with each other. I'll continue to work with these groups for another term.

Besides that job I'm getting things organized to do some substituting for the local community college here for classes related to literacy, numeracy and life skills. The student population here is a bit different than community colleges at home. There are several young adults who have dropped out of high school. There are also several students who are deemed "differently abled". I really enjoyed my day observing at the school a few weeks ago and am looking forward to working with a new student population.

I've also become a part of a local multi-nations radio program which takes place weekly. Last week we discussed the proposed NZ smacking (spanking) law. This week we discussed settling in here in New Zealand. I'm continuing to volunteer with the Girl Guides, sing with a choir (we have our first concert this weekend), and I try to take classes and attend various meetings and lectures around town when I can. This weekend I'll be attending a voice workshop hosted by a senior voice lecturer at the University of Otago.

Oh, and yesterday I got a haircut. What are the chances--the hairstylist was from Ohio! She's married to a Kiwi (a Southlander to be precise...they're a whole different breed down here) and has been here for three years.

Tonight we're going to our first professional rugby match. I'll be back with updates as soon as I can!