Where to begin? I live in New Zealand. The fact that I'm here is still so surreal. I'll have these moments where I'm doing something random like taking a walk or eating a meal, and it'll hit me that whatever it is I'm doing, I'm doing 6,000 miles away from home in this remarkable country called New Zealand.
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| Near Brown Beach |
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| Brown Beach |
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| View from school |
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| Across the road from school |
I've been down here for two weeks and while they've been low key they've been good. After getting off the plane in Christchurch, I hopped on a shuttle for the two hour drive south to the small town I'm living near, Geraldine. The director of the school picked me up, brought me to the place I'll call home for the next nine months, and promptly filled my empty stomach with fish and chips, a common Kiwi fare. It got a tour of the grounds which was a bit hard to take in considering my jet legged state which soon drove me to bed for a long nights sleep.
We started work on Monday after spending the weekend getting settled in, checking out Geraldine, and getting over jet leg. These last two weeks have essentially been spent getting the school ready for the students. The school is based out of an old bed and breakfast that is about 100 years old. The entire school is run out of a the same big building. Everyone, including the staff, lives there, eats there, sleeps there. It sits on a beautiful piece of property with a huge lawn, gardens, and a small creek that runs into a pond. The first week I was here it was only me and two other staff and an intern got here last Friday. Needless to say, its been a pretty quite and low key around here as we don't do much other thant to unwind and relax after work. On top of that, because of the small size of town most everything closes early so it doesn't give the option of getting out.
Although most of my time has been spent working around the school, I've been able to explore on the weekends. The first weekend here I got to check out the local beach called Browns beach (its only about 15 minutes away). Last weekend us staff took a day trip down to a city called Dunedin which is towards the southern tip of New Zealand. On the way we made two stops: the first at a sandy beach for a picnic complete with chips (as in fish and chips), and the second at a small nature reserve on the coast which included climbing up and down the cliffs near the water and looking for seals and penguins for me to wrestle. The Rugby World Cup is being hosted here in New Zealand, so after arriving in Dunedin our final destination was a rugby match: England vs. Argentina. It was such a blast to be at a game and it was definitely a privilege to go to a World Cup match. American football players have got nothing on these guys. The crowd was fun but I'm a little disappointed they weren't rowdier. This past weekend, I got to do on a quick hike near the school up some small foothills and take in the view of the beautiful farm land that makes up the part of the country that I'm in.
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| Browns Beach with Timaru in the Distance |
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| Moeraki Boulders |
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| Moeraki Boulders |
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| Moeraki Boulders |
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| Picnic with Staff |
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| Shag Point |
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| Rugby World Cup |
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| View over Geraldine with coast in the distance |
I feel so blessed to be down here. Its great to be submerged in a new culture and a new country. The Kiwis are very friendly people and there lifestyle is very simple and laid back. Its refreshing to be in a country that isn't constantly on the go, rushing from one thing to the next.
As a traveler in a new country I've noticed that I'm almost constantly checking out the sights, looking at peoples dress, interactions, behavior, whatever it is with wonder, trying to learn and observe what life is like down here and to soak up every moment of it. I thought the other day, what would it be like to live every day like that, no matter where you were. To approach the world as if every moment was a new experience to take in and learn from, even if it was just another day doing the same thing as every other day.
Students arrived here two days ago. Its a bit nerve wracking taking on the responsibility that came with their arrival, but more than that there is a sense of excitement and eager anticipation of what's in store for this year. They are an awesome group of people and if these last two days with them are any indication of how the year is going to go, then I think it's going to be a fun year with a lot of depth. The Lord is always at work, calling us into his love, and when people are wanting that work in their lives amazing things are bound to happen. I have no idea where these students are it in their lives, but they've made a decision to travel to New Zealand for a year of Bible school; so, it can be implied that they are searching for something. Its good to know that God is faithful to be found. It's a cool experience to be on the other side of a ministry that has given me so much in the past. I'm looking forward to whats to come.
