I had a really great weekend. I'd been tired all week, but that cleared up Friday afternoon, and I spent some time after school Friday goofing around on the piano with Chris. Well, I was on the piano and he was on the upright bass, which was a little interesting because he plays cello. But we sightread some jazz tunes and had a hilarious time ( Read more... )

And thus my first week of teaching a class all by myself is ended. It was a success! But now I'm really tired. It didn't help that I had something going on every night of the week (choir Monday, Brooke Fraser concert Tuesday, sports class Wednesday, dinner with John Meade Thursday). On top of that, I had to be at school yesterday by 7:45, but ( Read more... )

Sigh. Not the best day ever ( Read more... )

"At last, my arm is complete again ( Read more... )

OMG. A few weeks ago, I was complaining to my mom that one of my greatest talents, that of remembering every single word to every single song every written, is a useless skill. "How can I use this ability to make money?" I said, though I have to confess I didn't think it could be done ( Read more... )

I've officially lived in Hastings for a whole week, as of Saturday morning. Such a short time...and yet it seems so long, when I think of everything I've seen and done and learned since then. It's always this way at the beginning of a semester, though: the first two weeks take an eternity and then you blink and the rest of the term whips by at ( Read more... )

I learned more about Waitangi Day from the evening news on Wednesday night. The news anchors kept saying, "It was an unusually peaceful Waitangi Day today..." and there were interviews with people talking about how peaceful it was in the Waitangi area on that day. From this I understood that there typically are demonstrations against the day and ( Read more... )

Ways This Country Is Already Changing Me ( Read more... )

Well, the vacation is just about over, and I'm starting to settle into my "regular life" here in New Zealand. Mom and I arrived in Napier on Wednesday, and we had a little time that evening to enjoy the Art Deco city, the ocean across from the hostel, etc etc. On Thursday morning Mom dropped me off at the Hastings Girls High School for a two hour ( Read more... )

Well, internet access hasn't been as readily available as I'd hoped, nor has time. So my journal is already sadly behind. I'm afraid tonight is not the night I'll get caught up, but if I type fast, I may make some headway. So here goes ( Read more... )