(no subject)
Tonight I was discussing New Zealand school kids with Amanda, my host-roommate-person, who's also a teacher. We were agreeing with a statement my GST supervisor made to me, that New Zealand girls are less sophisticated than girls in other countries, such as the US and Britain. Of course, this isn't true across the board, but in general, I've found the girls here to be more open with and more interested in teachers than high school kids I worked with at home. For example, I was passing out papers in one class the other day when a student said, "Miss, do you like New Zealand kids or American kids better?" I kind of laughed and said it's hard to compare kids, but I started talking about my experiences with American school kids, both as a student and as a teacher. Instantly the class was completely silent to listen to my story. I believe I could have talked for an hour and maintained their attention, as long as I was talking about my experiences in America! It was endearing how interested they were. In another example, yesterday (Thurday), I taught the second section of Year Tens for the first time (I was supposed to see them Tuesday, but they had grade-wide testing and therefore there was no class). Half the class had to finish their "Stomp" rhythm-composition project, so I set up the other half doing music theory. As soon as they settled down and started to work, they said, "Miss, will you play the piano while we work? Pleeeease?" They begged so ardently, I gave in and said I'd play one song if they worked quietly while I did it. When I was done, they applauded wildly and said, "Miss, do you sing? Will you sing a song? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" I said, "Well, I only will if you work quietly the whole time." "Oh, we will," they assured me. And they did! I was so impressed with how silently and thoroughly they worked. Eventually the "Stomp" groups came back in and gave their little performances, and in the last few minutes of class, the girls said, "Miss, we worked quietly, now you have to sing for us!" And I had to admit they were right. I decided to sing the Star-Spangled Banner (because they requested something American). So I took a deep breath and did it. Boy, were they excited about it! It was funny how interested they were!
So that was funny. But it was slightly less funny in the Year Eleven class later that afternoon when some girls said, "Miss, we heard you singing to the Year Tens this morning. Will you sing for us, too?" I told them about the deal I'd made with the Year Tens, but since the Year Elevens worked incredibly quietly and well, too, I ended up having to give a repeat performance!
And then today was athletic sports. Like last week's swimming sports, the girls were out of uniform (in "mufti," or however you spell it, as they call street clothes) and in house colors. There were various athletic competitions going on all day: long jump, shot put, discus throwing, sprints, longer races, relays, and tug of war. Late in the afternoon, when the harsh Hawke's Bay sun was hot and high, I was wandering among resting Gold House girls, when I was hailed a chatty group sitting on the ground. "Hi, Miss!" they said. Then they proceeded to ask all about America: "Do you know lots of celebrities?" "Are all the guys really hot there?" and so on. I just found it so cute how eager they were to know about my life, and to share details with me about theirs. I really enjoyed talking with them.
But then, somehow, someone got on the topic of singing. "Miss, if you're a music teacher, do you sing?" When I replied in the affirmative, they said, "Oh Miss, please sing for us! Pleeeease???" Gosh! What is with these girls and singing?! And as soon as they started begging me to sing, about five more girls peeled off other groups and joined our crowd. Heavens! So I finally agreed to sing the Star-Spangled Banner for them, on the stipulation that it would be a quiet performance, but when I was just about to start, who should come over to our group but the principal of the school! "Mrs. Travers, Miss is about to sing for us!" they said. So I had to give an impromptu performance to a whole bunch of girls, and the principal! Luckily, the principal was kind of enough to demand payment for my performance - when I was done, she requested that the girls sing the New Zealand national anthem for me, both in Maori and English! The whole exchange was a funny entertainment.
Because it was athletic sports, we were outside all day. That left me plenty of time to stand around and contemplate the weird and wacky New Zealand weather. The season is starting to change - autumn is coming on, you know - and the air is a little cooler. But the sun is really hot. So it's impossible to dress, because while the sun is hot, the air is cold. So you can be both too hot and too cold at the same time. It's sooo weird and impossible to describe! I find it kind of frustrating. But I guess I can't complain about not being able to decide whether to put a cardigan over my t-shirt or not.
Speaking of autumn coming on in March, the other night I had a dream that I discovered there had been a really big summer festival in the area but I just missed it. Strangely, in my dream, all the dates were exactly right, and they matched with the real dates. But in my dream, the month was August! I suppose that my subconscious couldn't handle the mind-blowing idea that last week's warm weather took place in March! It was so funny.
As I said a few posts ago, I have a cell phone now. This is awesome - I feel so much safer going places by myself now that I know I have a way to call help should it ever become necessary. However, cell phone coverage is so ridiculously expensive here! I had no idea how good we have it in the US until I came here. The other day I put $20 on my phone (many phones here are pay-as-you-go because it's more economical). Alana was warning me I'd burn through it really quickly if I make calls, but sending texts is "very cheap - only twenty cents a text or something." Excuse me? $0.20 per text is cheap? Oh, brother.
But anyway, this phone has predictive text, which my old phone at home didn't have, so I've been having a hilarious time learning the ins and outs of it. Tonight I was texting Chris about the outcome of athletic sports (since he couldn't attend). I ended up nearly telling him that "Purple House could have tree some nasal support"!!! (Meaning, of course, USED some MORAL support.) Oh my gosh, I giggled to myself about that for a long time. What would nasal support be like, and who would need it? Much less tree it???
A while ago, I said that my living situation here couldn't have been better if I'd planned it. Well, of course I've been here a while now, and it's just about long enough to start forming grievances. Nothing major, but at the same time I sometimes feel I'm about to go a little crazy. The problem is: it's always so noisy here! Strange, because there are only two of us, I know. But Amanda always has the TV on in the evening. Every single night of the week, the TV is on. I've gotten much more relaxed in my attitude towards TV in the past several years, but still, I have a hard time with it always being on. I didn't grow up with TV, and so I find it incredibly distracting to always have that flashing light and talking voices. And I find a lot of programs really inane and also a little disturbing, even ones that aren't supposed to be disturbing. They're just so dramatic! Now, I'm all for drama, and I relish hearing a good drama-filled story in all its sordid detail. But I don't know why I need to invite the drama of the whole world, including perfect strangers, into my living room night after night. It makes me feel kind of agitated. In fact, I think that too much TV disturbs a person's inner peace or tranquility. Or at least, it does for me, since I didn't grow up with it and hence don't have the inner defenses, or whatever one needs.
That's not to say that TV is bad all the time. I do enjoy several programs, and when one comes on that I'm particularly interested in (The Singing Bee!!!), I'll put down what I'm working on to watch it. But when someone's not watching the program, why does the TV need to be on? Amanda leaves it on alllll the time, no matter if she's watching or not. I find it so irritating. Tonight I was trying to arrange "Old MacDonald" into a simple piano duet for my Year Nine class. It ended up turning out pretty well, but it was a really frustrating experience, because I couldn't hear myself think. How are you supposed to get into a flow when the TV's trumpeting drama at you? And then, to make matters worse, Amanda talks on the phone with her family members at least two nights a week. Let me tell you, she talks a LOT (I'm not exaggerating - one time she talked at me for a solid hour straight, only letting me speak for four minutes). And she talks really loudly. So there I am night after night, sitting in the only living room in the house, TV blaring on one side, and Amanda shouting on the other. I look forward to the relief of returning to my parents' houses, where they aren't into TV. I don't mean to put down TV or TV watchers, because how you pass your time is your business, and if you choose to be more culturally literate than I, that's excellent. :) All I mean to say is, I can't handle it night after night.
It's probably extra hard for me to handle the noise and stimulation because my days are so long and full of stimulation and interaction. Yesterday I was soooo tired when I got home from school, I had to work REALLY hard while I was lying on the couch just to keep myself awake! It was really difficult. And I went to bed before 9:30. I felt really lame, but it was necessary! I need a lot of sleep, quiet, down time, and relaxation to get me through my very busy days!
So that was funny. But it was slightly less funny in the Year Eleven class later that afternoon when some girls said, "Miss, we heard you singing to the Year Tens this morning. Will you sing for us, too?" I told them about the deal I'd made with the Year Tens, but since the Year Elevens worked incredibly quietly and well, too, I ended up having to give a repeat performance!
And then today was athletic sports. Like last week's swimming sports, the girls were out of uniform (in "mufti," or however you spell it, as they call street clothes) and in house colors. There were various athletic competitions going on all day: long jump, shot put, discus throwing, sprints, longer races, relays, and tug of war. Late in the afternoon, when the harsh Hawke's Bay sun was hot and high, I was wandering among resting Gold House girls, when I was hailed a chatty group sitting on the ground. "Hi, Miss!" they said. Then they proceeded to ask all about America: "Do you know lots of celebrities?" "Are all the guys really hot there?" and so on. I just found it so cute how eager they were to know about my life, and to share details with me about theirs. I really enjoyed talking with them.
But then, somehow, someone got on the topic of singing. "Miss, if you're a music teacher, do you sing?" When I replied in the affirmative, they said, "Oh Miss, please sing for us! Pleeeease???" Gosh! What is with these girls and singing?! And as soon as they started begging me to sing, about five more girls peeled off other groups and joined our crowd. Heavens! So I finally agreed to sing the Star-Spangled Banner for them, on the stipulation that it would be a quiet performance, but when I was just about to start, who should come over to our group but the principal of the school! "Mrs. Travers, Miss is about to sing for us!" they said. So I had to give an impromptu performance to a whole bunch of girls, and the principal! Luckily, the principal was kind of enough to demand payment for my performance - when I was done, she requested that the girls sing the New Zealand national anthem for me, both in Maori and English! The whole exchange was a funny entertainment.
Because it was athletic sports, we were outside all day. That left me plenty of time to stand around and contemplate the weird and wacky New Zealand weather. The season is starting to change - autumn is coming on, you know - and the air is a little cooler. But the sun is really hot. So it's impossible to dress, because while the sun is hot, the air is cold. So you can be both too hot and too cold at the same time. It's sooo weird and impossible to describe! I find it kind of frustrating. But I guess I can't complain about not being able to decide whether to put a cardigan over my t-shirt or not.
Speaking of autumn coming on in March, the other night I had a dream that I discovered there had been a really big summer festival in the area but I just missed it. Strangely, in my dream, all the dates were exactly right, and they matched with the real dates. But in my dream, the month was August! I suppose that my subconscious couldn't handle the mind-blowing idea that last week's warm weather took place in March! It was so funny.
As I said a few posts ago, I have a cell phone now. This is awesome - I feel so much safer going places by myself now that I know I have a way to call help should it ever become necessary. However, cell phone coverage is so ridiculously expensive here! I had no idea how good we have it in the US until I came here. The other day I put $20 on my phone (many phones here are pay-as-you-go because it's more economical). Alana was warning me I'd burn through it really quickly if I make calls, but sending texts is "very cheap - only twenty cents a text or something." Excuse me? $0.20 per text is cheap? Oh, brother.
But anyway, this phone has predictive text, which my old phone at home didn't have, so I've been having a hilarious time learning the ins and outs of it. Tonight I was texting Chris about the outcome of athletic sports (since he couldn't attend). I ended up nearly telling him that "Purple House could have tree some nasal support"!!! (Meaning, of course, USED some MORAL support.) Oh my gosh, I giggled to myself about that for a long time. What would nasal support be like, and who would need it? Much less tree it???
A while ago, I said that my living situation here couldn't have been better if I'd planned it. Well, of course I've been here a while now, and it's just about long enough to start forming grievances. Nothing major, but at the same time I sometimes feel I'm about to go a little crazy. The problem is: it's always so noisy here! Strange, because there are only two of us, I know. But Amanda always has the TV on in the evening. Every single night of the week, the TV is on. I've gotten much more relaxed in my attitude towards TV in the past several years, but still, I have a hard time with it always being on. I didn't grow up with TV, and so I find it incredibly distracting to always have that flashing light and talking voices. And I find a lot of programs really inane and also a little disturbing, even ones that aren't supposed to be disturbing. They're just so dramatic! Now, I'm all for drama, and I relish hearing a good drama-filled story in all its sordid detail. But I don't know why I need to invite the drama of the whole world, including perfect strangers, into my living room night after night. It makes me feel kind of agitated. In fact, I think that too much TV disturbs a person's inner peace or tranquility. Or at least, it does for me, since I didn't grow up with it and hence don't have the inner defenses, or whatever one needs.
That's not to say that TV is bad all the time. I do enjoy several programs, and when one comes on that I'm particularly interested in (The Singing Bee!!!), I'll put down what I'm working on to watch it. But when someone's not watching the program, why does the TV need to be on? Amanda leaves it on alllll the time, no matter if she's watching or not. I find it so irritating. Tonight I was trying to arrange "Old MacDonald" into a simple piano duet for my Year Nine class. It ended up turning out pretty well, but it was a really frustrating experience, because I couldn't hear myself think. How are you supposed to get into a flow when the TV's trumpeting drama at you? And then, to make matters worse, Amanda talks on the phone with her family members at least two nights a week. Let me tell you, she talks a LOT (I'm not exaggerating - one time she talked at me for a solid hour straight, only letting me speak for four minutes). And she talks really loudly. So there I am night after night, sitting in the only living room in the house, TV blaring on one side, and Amanda shouting on the other. I look forward to the relief of returning to my parents' houses, where they aren't into TV. I don't mean to put down TV or TV watchers, because how you pass your time is your business, and if you choose to be more culturally literate than I, that's excellent. :) All I mean to say is, I can't handle it night after night.
It's probably extra hard for me to handle the noise and stimulation because my days are so long and full of stimulation and interaction. Yesterday I was soooo tired when I got home from school, I had to work REALLY hard while I was lying on the couch just to keep myself awake! It was really difficult. And I went to bed before 9:30. I felt really lame, but it was necessary! I need a lot of sleep, quiet, down time, and relaxation to get me through my very busy days!