Mimi goes Kiwi

Mum and dad visiting

Miriam Christ — 2007-12-15T08:33:08Z

Really sorry about the delay but I have been too busy enjoying the summer holidays :P

I got a text from dad on the 4^th of November saying “We just landed in Auckland!” I can tell you that was a weird feeling! Being in the same country as my parents again, after living on the other side of the world from them for 10 months was a bit strange, but also so exciting :) They traveled around on their own for a few days and then they came to Wellington on the 8th. I was still in town having a beer with Oscar when I got another text saying “We're 60 km away!” I rushed home and sat down beside the window to watch the road they would arrive on. I was looking out but at the same time having a conversation with Alison, so I did not really notice what happened outside until I saw two strange figures jumping up and down and waving their arms in front of the window :P Mum and dad! I ran down and gave them a big hug :) It was so weird and so good at the same time! I was not sure what it would be like to see them again because a year is a long time, but it almost felt like I had just seen them the week before (although it took me some time to get used to my dad's long hair!). I guess it's because they are my parents, they know me so well even when I have been away for that long. We went back inside and they met Alison and then we sat down and talked for the rest of the night. Alison also got some presents (and me too!) which she opened.

The next morning we had breakfast together and then I showed them my way to school. While I went to some classes mum and dad had a look at Old St. Pauls and other stuff in Thorndon. Then we all went to Wholly Bagels for lunch, and by “we all” i mean mum, dad, me and a whole lot of my friends. It was real nice that my parents got to meet the girls, and the girls also enjoyed meeting my parents. After lunch Anna T and I took my parents on a tour around the school. It was so much fun :D Anna spoke German the entire time! Well done Anna :) Mum and dad found it really interesting I think. Later that afternoon we went down to Lambton Quay and then took the cable car all the way up to the top. We had a look at the cable car museum and we also walked through a bit of the Botanic Gardens. Nice! You have a real pretty view of Wellington from up there. I love it! We took the cable car down again and walked a bit further into town to Manners Mall and Cuba Street. We walked back again along our beautiful waterfront.

I had ballet on Saturday and mum and dad came to watch for a while before they went on a tour through Parliament. We met again after ballet and went to Te Papa, our museum. Fun! That night was the 40^th anniversary performance of New Zealand School of Dance which we went to. My parents took me and Alison out for dinner to the Tasting Room first and then we went to the Opera House. The performance was amazing! Really, really good :D Everyone enjoyed it very much.

Sunday morning mum, dad and I took the Interislander, a ferry, to the South Island. The boat tour was very nice. Beautiful nature on the way into Picton! We basically drove all day long from Picton to Havelock, then to Nelson and further along to Marahau. We stopped in Nelson and had a coffee there which was nice. We stayed the night in “The Barn” in Marahau. Went out for dinner that night too.

The next morning we went kayaking! Had to go to a lesson first with lots of other people. It lasted forever! We finally got out on the water and that was so much fun :D Abel Tasman is gorgeous! I had been kayaking there before but only in a double, never in a single. That was exciting. Dad and mum shared a double. We kayaked for a while and then we went ashore on the tiny “Fishermans Island”. White beach, blue-green water, sunny – perfect! We had lunch there and went for a swim too. Freezing, but great! We kayaked a few more hours and then we had to go back unfortunately. Drove all the way back to the ferry and arrived in Wellington at 1 in the middle of the night.

Had a bit of a sleep in Tuesday morning and then breakfast together. After that we went to the library at Victoria University. Walked down to town again and had a coffee at the cafe in the City Library. At night we went to the international leavers BBQ at school. I got presented a certificate and flowers :) It was very nice and quite emotional! The food was alright. After the barbie mum, dad and I went to the Establishment, a club in town. (Dad wanted to go to my favourite club.) I had my first pina colada, mum had a daiquiri (apparently not a real one) and dad just had a beer. It was fun sitting in a club with my parents in New Zealand! :P

Wednesday the 14^th of November mum and dad left Wellington again to go back down to the South Island. Alison drove them to the ferry and I came to say good bye. I thought it would be hard to leave them again, but it was no problem. I'll see them again so soon! Was really great to have them here :)

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

Miriam Christ — 2007-11-23T21:09:43Z

Yes, we do celebrate Guy Fawkes here in New Zealand too! I don't know why anyone celebrates a day where someone tried to blow up Parliament, but I'm not complaining because we celebrate with fireworks and I love fireworks :D So, for this years Guy Fawkes (as if I've ever celebrated it before :P) I went to Katherine's house. She lives on top of a hill in Kelburn, in a massive house with a gorgeous view over the harbor. Perfect! We came, we had cake and then the fireworks started. The city council always has a public display of fireworks down in the harbor. They even shoot fireworks from a helicopter! It was very pretty and really big and it lasted forever :D Just the finale was a bit disappointing. Afterwards we had our own little fireworks! Very nice :)
Oh, and shall I tell you a funny story!? The day before Alison and I went to the open day at Parliament and guess what?! They didn't even scan our bags as they usually do! It would have been so easy to have a go at a real Guy Fawkes :P

Swan lake

Miriam Christ — 2007-11-23T21:08:07Z

Saturday 3 November my ballet school, Deirdre Tarrant's Dance School, had their annual end of year show. (The real show will be in March next year though because Deirdre will be away from the middle of November till the end of December. So the show in November was only a small practice show.) Half way through the year we started learning dances from Swan Lake, and that's what we showed on Saturday (although they were not finished yet).
The day started off with normal training from 10 to 1. Deirdre also made some small corrections in the dances and changed little bits here and there. Typical! :P Then we went over to the Opera House and got ready for the performance. We had borrowed white tutus from the theater so we looked like real swans. But man, they were tight! No one could breathe in them but it looked real good :P The audience sat on stage facing the auditorium, and we danced with the back to the auditorium on the very front of the stage (since it was only a practice performance). There were heaps of people there to watch!
The show started with the very little ones. They were skipping around and pointing their feet. Very sweet :) Then the bigger girls (and the one boy) showed some parts from swan lake and other dances they had been learning this year. It was very good! Then it was our turn. First I went on stage as a little swan, in a blue tutu, with 3 others. We danced the “little swan solo”. It went very well :) We then had to run and get changed into the white tutus while other people were dancing. We had more solos, a polka, two pas the trois, the cygnets and a waltz. The finale was the big swan dance with all of us “old” girls. It went quite well considering we had only been practicing that dance for a month :P After about an hour and a half it was over. I had lots of fun and the people watching seemed to enjoy themselves too. Deirdre commented on everything throughout the whole show. She introduced all the dancers and told the audience about the dances. It was very different from all the shows I have been involved in before, but it was a nice experience :D And i got to be a swan in a white tutu – every little ballerina's dream :P

Am 3. November hatte meine Tanzschule einen Auftritt. Der Jährliche Auftritt wurde bis nächstes Jahr verschoben weil meine Lehrerin verreist, aber wir hatten einen kleinen Übungsauftritt. Im Juni hatten wir angefangen Tänze aus Schwanensee zu lernen, und die haben wir dann auch vorgeführt (obwohl sie noch nicht ganz fertig waren).
Der Tag fing mit normalem Training an, wo Deirdre, unsere Lehrerin, noch kleine Änderungen an den Tänzen vornahm :P Danach sind wir zum Opera Haus rüber gelaufen und haben uns für die Vorstellung fertig gemacht. Wir hatten weisse Tütüs vom Theater ausgeliehen :) Die waren aber echt äng! Niemand konnte richtig Atmen, aber es sah sehr gut aus :P Das Publikum sass hinten auf der Bühne (da es ja nur eine Probevorstellung war) und wir haben vorne auf der Bühne mit dem Rücken zum Saal getanzt. Es waren ruchtig viele Leute da!
Die kleinsten Kinder waren zuerst dran. Sie sind auf der Bühne etwas rum gehüpft und haben ihre Füsse schön gestreckt. Sehr süss! Dann waren die etwas grösseren Kinder dran. Sie haben einige Sachen von Schwanensee gezeigt und noch ein Paar andere Tänze die sie dieses Jahr gelernt haben. Zum Schluss waren wir grossen dann dran. Zuerst bin ich mit drei anderen als kleine Schwäne, in blauen Tütüs, auf die Bühne und wir haben unseren Solotanz getanzt. Sehr gut gegangen :) Dann waren andere Leute dran mit einem Waltzer, pas des trois, Polka, cygnets und einem Männersolo. Das Finale waren dann wir grossen Mädchen in weissen Tütüs als grosse Schwäne. Auch das ist sehr gut gelaufen wenn man bedenkt das wir erst seit einem Monat an dem Tanz arbeitet :P Auf jeden Fall hat die Aufführung sehr viel Spass gemacht, auch wenn es ganz anders war als alle Vorstellungen die ich bis jetzt mit gemacht habe.

End of October

Miriam Christ — 2007-11-23T21:06:54Z

I know it's nearly the end of November now, so this comes kind of a month too late, but better late then never, aye?

On Monday the 22^ndof October, labour day, Alison took me to Waikanae's Nature reserve Nga Manu. They had just started with a new offer for their visitors: bird feeding! It was quite exciting :D We went inside their enclosures, watched them closely as they got fed and even got to hand feed some of them. Wood pigeons, tuis, kiwis, ducks, kakariki, black swans, kea, kaka, fantails, morepork and herons – heaps of New Zealand native birds. The most amazing ones were the kakas. They came and sat on our heads and shoulders and started rubbing their beak on our chin. What an experience! The tui was also very fascinating, and the kiwis of course. We also got to feed rats, a possum, a wiesel and tuataras. After the feeding Alison and I went on a walk around the whole reserve and up to the lookout tower. Very nice :) That day we also went to Wrights Hill Fortress in Karori, Wellington. It is an old bunker built to defend Wellington against a possible enemy attack from the Pacific in World War 2. It was of course never needed. The bunker is massive! I would have got terribly lost if it wasn't for all the signs there now. Quite impressive.

Saturday the 27^th Alison and I spontaneously went to a Footnote (a modern dance company directed by my ballet teacher) performance at the Opera House. It was absolutely amazing! Such a good show :D For the first part the six dancers had big boxes of different sizes on stage which they integrated in their dancing. You can't imagine how many possibilities there are for what you can do with a wooden box! The dancers sat in them, walked on them, jumped from box to box and carried them around. It was very funny sometimes and the dancing was just great. My favourite parts were when the dancers sat inside the boxes. It was amazing how they fit! They just sat there and were rolled around and they did not move a millimeter inside the box. So cool! I also really enjoyed the part where the boys and girls paired up and lifted each other. And when they mirrored each others movements and then just sank into the boxes! Great :D The second part was much shorter and included heaps of jumping and lifting. Excellent partner work and incredible technique. What a strength! Real good too :) The whole show was brilliant New Zealand contemporary dance.

Sports and Cultural Awards Dinner

Miriam Christ — 2007-10-29T03:36:52Z

Two weeks ago we had the WGC’s “Sports and cultural awards dinner”. It was held in the “Beehive” building of our parliament. (Parliament has 3 different buildings and one of them looks like a beehive.) It’s a dinner to reward activity and initiative within, music, drama, dance and sport amongst girls at WGC. Alison told me it was usually quite nice, and since we don’t have such a thing in Norway I went along. Our host was Honourable Marian Hobbs, a member of parliament. She is a funny character :P There were two guest speakers there too: All Blacks legend Christian Cullen and the photographic artist, as she likes to call her self, Professor Anne Noble. Very exciting! The evening started with a welcome from Marian Hobbs, and then Mr Maskill, the arts coordinator, introduced the cultural part of the evening. Representatives from kapahaka, debating, stage challenge, drama, Polynesian club, teal, the production, orchestra and student publications got up on stage and held a little speech each about what they have done in the different clubs and organizations this year. After the arts review Anne Noble held a speech, and then awards for cultural merit were presented by her. Finally, after this, we had dinner. Chicken on potato with vegetables. Very nice presented and it tasted good too. Especially the gravy!! :P After dinner Ms Coales, the sports coordinator, gave us the sports review. And again, heaps of girls representing the different sports at WGC went on stage and told us what had happened this year. Some really good speeches and some funny ones too! (Did you know we have 41 netball teams at WGC?!! That's just crazy!) Awards for coaching were presented and then also awards for sports and cultural honours. I knew Kelda was getting one and Alison had asked me before hand if I could go up and collect it. So I got to go up there and collect an award! Exciting :P We then had dessert: delicious chocolate cake with cream and cherries. Thereafter it was Chris Cullen's turn to answer some questions from the audience (he had picked the questions before hand..!) Quite an interesting guy that Chris :P He is really shy, apparently really smart, but an awful public speaker! The language he used was not very appropriate for the occasion :P He is a typical kiwi bloke. But he was fun to listen too as well :) There was another presentation of awards after this: trophies for Sports and Cultural Awards. I got to go up again because Kelda got one of them :D Anne Noble spoke to me and handed me the award! The last presentation for the evening was the Premier Cultural and Sports Awards. They first showed us all the nominees and what they have done for the past 5 years and then they announced the winner. Sally Green won the sports one and Caitlin Glue won the cultural one. But there were two premier cultural awards! And guess who won the other one? KELDA! And guess who got to go up and collect it? ME :D And Anne Noble talked to me again. Heaps! :P And they even thanked me for collecting all the awards for Kelda: “A big thank you to Miriam from Norway, Kelda's host sister, for collecting all the awards for her!” :D And then they had a big surprise: A video clip of Kelda in Austria! I was so surprised and excited. It was so great to see her on the big screen :) Alison of course knew about it, as I was told later. They had done it all secretly while I was on the Spirit :P Such a nice surprise. And that was kind of the end of the evening. The principle said some last words and then we left. I really enjoyed the evening and it almost felt like I had won something :P :D

North Island und Spirit auf deutsch

Miriam Christ — 2007-10-27T22:20:48Z

Nordinsel Tour

Am 27. September fingen Eva Luna aus Italien und ich unsere Tour auf der Nordinsel von Neuseeland an. Der Bus startete vormittags um 10 und nach 5 Stunden waren wir in Hawera, unsere erste Station. Hawera ist eine kleine Stadt an der Westküste von der Nordinsel. Uns wurde die Stadt gezeigt und wir verbrachten auch eine ganze Weile in einem wunderschönen Park den uns Danesh zeigte. Danesh ist aus Malaisien und auch ein AFSer. Er wohnt bei der Familie wo wir übernachteten. Ich habe ihn schon 2 Mal in Wellington getroffen. Nach unserem Spaziergang haben wir Mittag gegessen und danach kamen ein Paar von Daneshs Freunden vorbei. Sie haben uns den Strand gezeigt und danach sind wir zu Toms Haus gegangen und haben dort den Rest des Abends verbracht.

Am nächsten Morgen nahmen wir den Bus bis in die Mitte der Insel, nach Rotorua. Auf unserem Weg haben wir bei einer früheren Farm die jetzt ein Cafe ist halt gemacht um Lunch zu essen. Auf der Farm gab es ganz viele Lämmer und Eva und ich waren so glücklich sie füttern und halten zu dürfen! Das war toll :) Kamen abends um 7 in Rotorua an, haben Abendbrot gegessen, eine Weile Karten gespielt und sind dann ins Bett. Die familie wo wir dieses Mal schliefen hatten auch 2 AFSer. Matt aus Amerika und Michele aus Brasilien. Alvaro aus Brasilien war auch zu Besuch. Wir sind am nächsten Tag alle zusammen rumgefahren und haben Geysiere, Schlammgruben und heisse Quellen gesehen. Konnten auch ein Maorikonzert ansehen. Wir haben auch eine Neuseeländische Erfindung ausprobiert: Den Zorb! Ein grosser Ball der mit Wasser gefüllt wird, man setzt sich rein und dann gehts in hoher Geschwindigkeit den Berg hinunter :D Macht sehr viel Spass. Danach sind wir in einen Naturpark gegangen und haben Löwenjunge gestreichelt, den grossen Löwen zugesehen als sie gefüttert wurden und noch ganz viele andere Tiere gesehen. Zum Abschluss des Tages haben wir eine Gondel hoch auf einen kleinen Berg genommen und sind dann auf einer “luge”, eine Rodelbahn, wieder runter. Waren k.o. am Ende des Tages! Haben zum Mittag gegrillt und danach haben wir einen wunderschönen Italienischen Film gesehen.

Eva hatte am nächsten Tag, der 30. September, geburtstag. Mussten ziemlich früh zum Bus und waren nach 4 Stunden in Auckland. Wir sind gleich hoch auf den “Sky Tower”, den höchsten Turm (328m) in der Südlichen Hemisphere. Sehr cool! Konnten Leuten beim Bungy jumping zu sehen :P Danach sind wir Aucklands Hauptstrasse, Queen Street, entlang gebummelt. Um 6 nahmen wir die Fähre rüber auf die Waihekeinsel. Das Wetter war nicht besonders gut und die überfahrt etwas wellig :P Die Familie wo wir dieses Mal blieben hatten keine Kinder, aber waren auch sehr nett. Haben Mittag gegessen und sind dann bald ins Bett. War ein langer Tag.

Haben am nächsten Tag etwas länger geschlafen und bis es Lunch gab auch nichts weiter gemacht. Als wir raus wollten hat es angefangen zu regnen... Haben den Tag drinnen verbracht mit lesen, ausruhen und dem Regen zusehen. Der nächste Tag war etwas besser und wir sind zu einem der Strände gegangen. Sind stundenlang am Strand entlang gelaufen und haben ganz viele Fotos gemacht. War super! Danach hat uns Peter auf eine Rundfahrt auf der Insel genommen und uns die Weingärten gezeigt.

Wir sind am Mittwoch Morgen wieder zurück nach Auckland und haben dort noch einen Tag verbracht. Haben die Stadtgallerie besucht und uns einen der Parks angesehen. Waren auch auf dem Unicampus. Sind wieder Queen Street hoch und runter gelaufen und haben uns auch den Hafen angeschaut. Als es wieder anfing zu regnen haben wir beschlossen den Tag zu beenden. Eva hat den Zug zu der Familie wo sie als nächsten sein sollte genommen und ich bin an Bord des Segelschiffes gegangen. Unsere Nordinsel Tour war vorbei. War klasse!

Spirit of New Zealand

Am 3. Oktober fing also meine Segeltour auf dem Schiff “Spirit of New Zealand” an. Das Schiff wurde in 1986 gebaut, es ist 45 Meter lang, wiegt 184 Tonnen und hat eine Segelfläche von 724m². Das Schiff wurde für Jugendprogramme gebaut damit junge Leute wie ich was lernen über die See, segeln, uns selbst, eigene Grenzen, eigene Fähigkeiten Herausvorderungen zu bewältigen und Teamarbeit.

Am ersten Tag haben wir so gut wie nichts gemacht weil die Tour offiziell erst am 4. anfing. Nur die Leute die eine Weile von Auckland weg wohnen kamen schon am 3. Wir waren ca. 17 die eine extra Nacht auf dem Schiff schliefen. Haben Mittag gegessen und dann geredet bis wir ins Bett mussten.

Wurden um halb 7 am Donnerstag Morgen geweckt und sind am Hafen entlang spaziert. Dann gab es Frühstück und danach mussten wir Essen und andere Sachen für die Tour an Bord bringen. Als alle “trainees” da waren hat die Crew uns klettern geschickt! Bis hoch zur Mitte des Mastes. War nicht sehr hoch, aber schon etwas ungemütlich. Hat aber auch viel Spass gemacht! Danach wurden wir in unsere Gruppen aufgeteilt. Wir waren insgesamt 39 Jugendliche! 20 Mädchen und 19 Jungs. Die Crew bestand aus einem Captain, 2 mates, einem Enginier, einem Koch, 4 Watch leader, einer helfenden Hand und einem Cadet. Wurden in 4 Gruppen aufgeteilt und bekamen jeder einen Gruppenleiter. Jeden Tag waren auch noch 2 von uns trainees Leiter. Auf dem Schiff gibt es 4 Segelstationen, eine für jede Gruppe und von Tag zu Tag ist man für eine neue Station verantwortlich. Um 12 Uhr ging es dann endlich los. Die Segel wurden zum ersten Mal gesetzt! Wir durften gleich wieder auf den Mast klettern, bis fast ganz oben, weil meine Gruppe am ersten Tag an “midships” war. Ganz schön unheimlich dort oben auf einem dünnen Seil, das du noch nicht mal sehen kannst, zu stehen ohne dich fest zu halten! (Waren natürlich gesichert.) Haben es geschafft alle Knoten auf zu bekommen und die Segel konnten gesetzt werden. Wärend wir segelten hatten wir ein Namenspiel um alle etwas besser kennen zu lernen. Bevor es Mittag gab kamen die Segel wieder runter. Durften noch mal klettern :D Bevor wir um 10 in unsere art Hängematten kletterten hat die Crew mit uns noch Regeln besprochen. Toller erster Tag!

Ich musste am zweiten Morgen schon um 5 aufstehen weil wir dran waren mit Nachtwache. Mussten die Geräte im Auge behalten so dass das Schiff nicht auf Grund läuft oder überflutet wird.

Aber wenn wir nicht gerade Nachtwache hielten sind wir jeden Tag um halb 7 aufgestanden und dann gleich ins kalte Wasser gesprungen! Wenn du ertsmal drinne bist ist es nicht so schlimm :P Danach gibt es Frühstück und um 8 ist immer Zeit für “clolours”: Fahne hissen, Wetterbericht lesen und Plan für den heutigen Tag besprechen. Nach colours wurde jeden Tag sauber gemacht. Wir haben entweder Gemüse geschnitten, das Deck geschrubbt, in der Kombüse geholfen oder unsere Zimmer und Bäder gewischt, je nachdem an was für einer Segelstation wir waren. Normalerweise haben wir jeden Tag nach Lunch die Segel gesetzt, manchmal aber auch früher. Die Segel wurden immer eingeholt bevor wir um 7 Mittag hatten.

Nachdem am zweiten Tag alle Segel oben waren haben wir Spiele gespielt zum stärken des Teams und wir haben auch aufgeschrieben was wir von der Tour heraus bekommen wollen. Nach dem Mittagessen mussten wir alle etwas über uns selbst erzählen: Namen, Herkunft, wie wir von Spirit wissen, lieblings Aktivitäten, was für Eis wir zum Südpol mitnehmen würden und welche Person uns im Leben am meisten inspiriert.

Am dritten Tag durfte ich die Fahne setzen :) Als alles sauber war haben wir die “Gummienten” (Gummiboote) raus geholt und sind zu einer Insel gepaddelt. Dort wurden wir über Rettungssignale unterrichtet. Haben uns auch ein Schiffswrack angesehen. Wieder an bord haben wir Segel gesetzt. Am Abend wurde die Schaukel raus geholt und ein Paar Leute sind schwimmen gegangen. Später hatten wir dann auch noch eine Herausvorderung: Jede Gruppe hat eine Tüte mit verschiedenen Materialen und ein Ei bekommen. Das Ei sollte von der Spitze des grossen Mastes fallen gelassen werden ohne kaputt zu gehen, aber es musste das Deck berühren wenn es unten angekommen ist. Wir haben für unser Ei aus einem Schwamm und einer Papirtüte ein “Bett” gebastelt was wir dann an einen Fallschirm aus einer Plastetüte gehängt haben. Sah alles richtig gut aus, aber unser Ei ist leider kaputt gegangen als es unten ankam... Das Ei eines der anderen Teams ist auch kaputt gegangen und keines der Eier hat das Deck berührt, also hat niemand wirklich gewonnen. Sind trotzdem alle zufrieden ins Bett gegangen.

Tag 4 hatten wir ganze 11 Segel gesetzt! Meine Gruppe war fürs Vordeck verantwortlich und durften uns raus in das Netz an der Vorderseite des Schiffes setzen. Toll! Nach Lunch war ich heute Leiter meiner Gruppe. Wir spielten noch mehr Teamgeist-Spiele und danach kamen die Segel wieder runter. War eine sehr gute Erfarung der Boss zu sein und ich habe ein grosses Lob bekommen weil ich so gut darin war zu Seite zu treten und den anderen Leute die Arbeit zu überlassen und trotzdem alles im Auge zu behalten so das alles richti gemacht wird. Die Schaukel wurde zum späten Nachmittag wieder raus geholt und ich bin diesmal mit rein ins Wasser. Haben mit Bällen im Wasser rumgespielt und sind von der Spitze des Netzes vorne am Schiff ins Wasser gesprungen. (Das waren bestimmt 6-7 Meter!) Nach dem Mittag mussten wir noch eine Herausvorderung bestehen: Der Teamleiter musste sein ganzes Team ausen ums Schiff herum bringen. Hört sich ja nicht so schlimm an aber das schwierige war dass das Team die Augen verbundet bekam! Ich durfte sie nicht anfassen und ich war die einzige die mit ihnen reden durfte. Zogen alle eine Schwimmweste und einen Sicherheitsgurt an, und dann gings los. Über die Reling, an der Seite entlang, zurück auf Deck, vorn ins Netz, um die Spitze herum, auf der anderen Seite wieder über die Reling, an der Seite bis hinter und dann zurück auf Deck. War ganz schön schwierig auf alle auf einmal auf zu passen, aber mein Team hat mir sehr gut zugehört. Wir waren die schnellsten!

Der 5. Tag war der einzige Tag wo wir nicht gesegelt sind. Wir lagen jetzt vor Great Barrier Island vor Anker und sind auf eine Tagestour auf die Insel gegangen. War sehr schön! Es gab heisse Quellen und einen Wasserfall wo wir drin badeten, und die Natur war super toll. Zurück an Board des Schiffen durften wir sogar eine Mintue lang duschen! Das hat alle unheimlich fröhlich gemacht. Am Abend sahen wir Pirates of the Caribbean.

Mein Team hatte in der nacht zum 6. Tag wieder Nachtwache und ich musste zusammen mit Brooke wieder um 5 aufstehen. Am Vormittag sind wir zu einem Strand gepaddelt und haben dort Müll aufgehoben. Man da war viel Müll! Als wir wieder auf dem Schif waren haben wir eine Karten lesen Aufgabe bekommen. Nach Lunch mussten alle bis ganz an die Spitze des höchsten Mastes klettern! Das war super, aber auch ganz schön unheimlich. Als wir die Segel gesetzt hatten war es Zeit für eine Stunde “quiet time” also Ruhezeit. Doch die wurde von dem Besuch von Delfinen unterbrochen. Plötzlich haben uns hunderte umkreist, sind unter dem Schiff durch getaucht und um uns herum gesprungen! Drei Orkas waren auch in der Fehrne zu sehen. Was für ein unbeschreibliches Erlebnis! Heute Abend haben wir die Segel oben gelassen und sind in der stockfinsteren Nacht gesegelt. Wir konnten die Sterne super klar sehen, die Atmosfäre an Bord war wirklich schön und zur krönung kamen die Delfine noch mal zurück. Ich dufte sogar im dunkeln Klettern.

Duften am 7. Tag eine halbe Stunde länger schlafen! Und zum morgendlichen Schwimmen waren die Delfine schon wieder da! Das war so toll und auch etwas Angst einjagend. Sie haben uns nicht berührt aber sind um uns herum und unter uns durch geschwommen. Was für ein Gefühl! Heute war der erste Tag wo es geregnet hat. Wir nahmen die Gummiboote und sind zu einer Insel gepaddelt wo wir eine alte Koppermiene besucht haben. Zurück zum Schiff durften wir unsere kleinen “luggers”, kleine Segelboote, segeln. Nur wir trainees ohne einen Erwachsenen! Das war richtig klasse. Hat so viel Spass gemacht! Ich dufte das Ruder steuern und auch die “sheets” halten (die Leinen die das Segel kontrollieren). Haben es ganz alleine den ganzen Weg zum Schiff zurück geschafft. Nachdem wir Lunch gegessen hatten haben wir eine Unterrichtsstunde über Seestrassenregeln gehabt. Als wir heute ins Bett sind haben wir eine Gutenachtgeschichte bekommen :P

Am 8. Tag war ich wieder Leiter. Wir haben gründlich sauber gemacht da unsere Tour sich langsam dem Ende nähert. Meine Gruppe hat die gelben Regensachen gewaschen. Das war ein Job sag ich euch! Danach haben wir uns selbst einen Brief geschrieben den wir in 6 Wochen zurück bekommen. Als die Segel alle oben waren haben wir unsere Gruppen neu gemixt und haben ganz viele “tacks” gemacht. Das war alles um für morgen, “unseren trainee day” wo wir ganz ohne die Crew Segeln, zu üben. Am Abend haben wir dann unsere neue Crew gewählt. Ich wurde für 1^st mate nominiert, aber habe die Stelle nicht bekommen. Die Crew sah am Ende sehr gut aus!

Dann war es endlich so weit: Trainee day! Wir waren alle in neue Gruppen aufgeteilt und hatten neue Gruppenleiter. Meine Gruppe war auch diesmal super! Die Segel wurden ohne Probleme gesetzt und wir segelten gen Auckland. Hatten auch einen Talentwettbewerb. Sehr lustig :P Sind dann unter Aucklands Hafenbrücke gesegelt und wieder zurück um dann in der Nähe zu ankern. Die Segel wurden zum letzten Mal eigeholt... Heute war der windigste Tag von allen gewesen, mit 35 Knoten! Mussten dann unsere Koffer packen und dann hatten wir eine Preisgbung. Bevor es Mittag gab hat meine Gruppe sich gesamelt und die ganze Tour besprochen. War ein sehr gutes Gespräch und auch sehr traurig. Wir Mädchen fingen alle an zu weinen :P Durften heute bis halb 12 auf bleiben. Waren an deck und haben geredet, Fotos gemacht un die letzten Stunden zusammen genossen.

Am letzten Tag ging es schon um halb 6 los. Haben schnell Frühstück gegessen, fertig gepackt und noch etwas sauber gemacht. Dann standen wir alle auf dem Deck und haben uns angesehen wir Auckland immer näher kam. Die Crew hat ein Paar letzte Worte gesagt und dann war es Zeit Abschied zu nehmen. Man war das schwer! George sagte mir dann noch das ich zurück kommen soll als helfende Hand. Werde also in ein Paar Jahren wieder zurück kommen (da ich jetzt keine Zeitmehr habe...) Dann sind wir an Lang gegangen.

Diese letzten 10 Tage waren einfach unbeschreiblich schön und ich wollte garnicht mehr weg von dem Schiff. Ich habe so viel gelernt und so viele wunderbare Erfarungen gesammelt! Ein Paar neue gute Freundschaften durfte ich auch mit von Bord nehmen :) Spirit ist spitze!!

Spirit of New Zealand

Miriam Christ — 2007-10-27T22:17:12Z

On Wednesday the 3^rd of October I boarded the ship “Spirit of New Zealand”. It was built in 1986, is 45m long, weighs 184 tons and carries a sail area of 724 m².The spirit trust arranges sail programs for young teenagers aged between 15 and 19 so they learn about the sea, sailing, themselves, their ability to face challenges and how they interact with and tolerate other people. On our certificate that we got at the end it says that the following aspects of personal development were covered: leadership, independence, motivation, confidence, community spirit, self-esteem and public speaking. These youth sailing programs are found in ten different countries in the world. Also in Norway!Ok guys, here it comes! I tried to keep it short but it didn't really work I'm afraid.. Sorry, but it was just too amazing! No way I could have written any less. Enjoy!
The 10 day voyage I was going on did not start until the 4^th of October but there were about 17 people already on board the night before, because they lived far away from Auckland (where our trip started), just like me. We didn't do anything special that night. We got dinner and then we sat on deck just talking with the sky tower glowing pink above us till we had to go to bed. Our beds were tiny bunks! 3 on top of each other and no space for yourself :P But that was fun!
We got up at 6.30 the next morning and before anything else we went on a walk through Auckland Harbor. The crew then got us to bring food and other stuff on board after we had eaten breakfast. The crew on my voyage consisted of a captain, Nigel, two mates (and navigators), JR and Georg(ina), four watch leaders, Alan, Nicola, Melvin and Alice, an engineer named David, Glennis our cook, Sam the leading hand and Jeremy the cadet. While we were stacking the food in the lockers the other people arrived one after the other. Soon the deck was filled with people – there were 39 of us trainees in total! - and it didn't take long before the crew made us climb up to the first platform on one of the mast! It wasn't that high, but it was actually i bit scary, but heaps of fun at the same time :D After everyone had been up we took a group photo and then we were put in our watches, the groups we were going to be working in for the rest of the trip. My watch consisted of Lauren, Brooke, Mike, Jack and Hooks from Auckland, Caitlin from Rotorua, Sam from Hastings, Julie from Nelson, Pryce and me. Our watch leader was Alan. The next thing we did was going on a safety tour around the boat looking at for example where fire extinguishers are situated, and in general looking where things are. Our cook, Glennis also had a talk to us about some rules we have to follow when we are in the galley. Then, at 12 o'clock, we finally left Auckland. We motored in the beginning, but after we had lunch we put the sails up for the very first time. My watch was responsible for midships on the first day. This means we are controlling the yards with the course, the topsail and the topgallant (there is usually a royal too, but that was in for repair). Lauren was the leader for today. We got to climb all the way up to the topsail (we were not going to use the topgallant) to untie the knots that hold the sail in. When you are up there you are standing on a tiny piece of rope which you can't even see and you have to let go with both of your hands to get the sail free. It's pretty freaky! You are wearing a harness of course, and if you happen to fell it would just hurt your ribs a hell of a lot, but you wouldn't actually fall all the way down :P Reassuring isn't it? We got the knots untied and then we had to pull lots of ropes to get the sails up. Being the first day it took a while before all the sails were up, but we made it in the end. JR, first mate, navigator and program leader on our trip (together with George), explained to us, with his little tree model of the spirit, what happens when we are tacking and jiving. And then we tacked! We had to pull the yards around. Quite easy :) We then had muffins for afternoon tea and a name game to get to know everyone a little bit better. Before we had dinner we stroke the sails, took them down again. I climbed up again, but this time it turned out to be even harder being up there! We had to lean over the yards heaps to reach down to the sail and get it all tucked in again. My legs were shaking :P But we did it. After dinner, Dave the engineer had a talk to us about water, toilets, sinks, lights and other stuff on board. At ten o'clock there was lights out. We had sailed all the way to Long Bay in the Hauraki Gulf today. A really good first day :D
My second day started at 5! My watch had been on “night watch” the first night, which means we are looking after the ship at night. There needs to be someone awake watching the anchor, the engine, the wind speed and direction, the depth of the water and in general the water around us 24/7 so that the boat doesn't drift to close to land or gets flooded. There are two people sitting night watch at a time for an hour and 45 minutes. Me and Julie got the last night watch and had to get up at 5. We just sat there writing in our journals that we had been given. Every half an hour we wrote in the logbook (wind, temperature, water depth, position etc) and checked the engine room and the anchor light. Nothing exciting happened. At 6.30 we got to wake up everyone :D Ten minutes later everyone had to be on deck dressed in their togs ready to go for the morning swim. We ran around the boat to keep warm until everyone was upstairs. Before we jumped in we had a number off to make sure everyone was present, then we had some more warm up and then we jumped in the water! That's what happened every morning. Once you were in the water it was just fine. You just had to avoid thinking about the cold and the sharks :P We didn't have to swim far at all and when you got out of the water the air seemed pretty warm compared to the water! You had to hose yourself down with fresh water before running down to the accommodation to get changed. That was a mission every morning! You can't imagine how little space there was. Breakfast was served till just before 8. At 8 o'clock sharp we had to muster on deck for colours. Colours means putting up the flag and we also read the weather forecast each morning. Then we discussed where we were going for the day and someone from the crew always had a little story to tell or a word of wisdom to say. After colours there was time for the daily clean up. My watch was on the sail station “main” on the second day, so our responsibility this morning was to prepare vegetables. Leaders today were Mike (in the morning) and Caitlin (in the afternoon). Before lunch we had a quick talk about which sails we were going to raise today. Then, after lunch, we sat sails. My watch put up the main sail and the main staysail. When all the sails were up we had some team building games. We also learned to tie lots of different knots e.g. bowline, stopper knot, figure of eight and reef knot. The sails were taken down again just before dinner and we wrote down what we want to get out of the trip, both personal and as a team. After dinner we had to do some public speaking. Everyone had to go up and tell us their name, where they're from, their favourite activities, how they know about the spirit, what flavour ice cream they would take to the south pole and who has inspired them the most in their life. Quite fun :P Went to bed at 10 again. Today we sailed from the Hauraki Gulf to Kawau Bay.
Day three started at 6.30 as usual. My watch had to jump in first for the morning swim because we were on the sail station “mizzen” which means we are helping Glennis in the galley. Sam and Hooks were the leaders for today. After the swim we prepared breakfast and also cleaned up afterwards. Had colours at 8 – I got to raise the flag! - and then clean up. When everyone was finished with cleaning we got the “rubber ducks” (the rafts) out to go ashore on Motoketekete Island. We paddled out there and had a session on distress signals and hypothermia. We also looked at an old ship wreck. Paddled back to the ship, deflated the rubber ducks and had lunch which my watch had helped to prepare. After lunch we got to sail again! We did heaps of tacks too and I even got to steer the boat for quite a while :D That was really exciting. I felt so important :P We came closer to our final destination for the day, Christian Bay, and had to strike the sails. When they were all down and the anchor was out Nicola, one of the watch leaders, put the rope swing up and people went for a swim. I didn't really feel like it :P My watch prepared dinner and Brooke and I got to ice and decorate the two chocolate caked for Lachie's (one of the trainees) birthday :) We had dinner and then we carried in the cakes and sang happy birthday. After we had cleaned up after dinner we had a challenge game. Each watch was given a bag with some material in it and out of that material we had to make something that would keep an egg from breaking when it was dropped from the top mast, but the egg still had to touch the deck! There was a sponge, some string, a paper bag, straws and some tape in the bag so we made Barnaby (Lauren gave our egg a name) a parachute and put him in the paper bag wrapped in the sponge. It was looking quite good, but when he was dropped from the mast by Sam the leading hand he nearly fell out :S When he eventually reached the ground he died immediately :( One of the other eggs broke too and none of the others touched the deck so no one really won :P It was fun though. Before we went to bed George made us gather around and then she told us to be completely silent and look up into the sky. They turned off the deck lights and suddenly you could see the stars really clearly. It was so pretty! No one said a word. Everyone was just standing there gasping into the sky! Amazing :)
Caitlin, Brooke, Lauren and I tried to wash our hair on the third day, so we jumped in three times in the morning: once to get it wet, then we put in shampoo and jumped in again, put in conditioner and jumped in a third time. It doesn't really work to wash your hair in salt water but it's better than nothing! Had breakfast and then colours. Our watch responsibility today was foredeck so we had to clean the bathrooms and the accommodations. Jack was a leader this morning and I was going to be in the afternoon. Straight after cleaning we put the sails up. 11 in total! We put up the flying jib, the jib and the fore staysail. When all 3 sails were up we sat in the bow sprit. You could see the water straight underneath you and we were going really fast! So much fun :D We had lunch and after lunch we sailed a bit more. I was leader then :) We were going all the way to Whangaparapara on Great Barrier Island today. While sailing we had some more team building games where you were not allowed to talk! We completed all of them :D I was in charge of striking the sails this time and I was told that I was a really good leader! I did a good job in standing back and controlling the whole thing without doing anything my self :) This evening they put the rope swing out again and I tried it this time. Fun :D I also jumped off the tip of the bow sprit and we swam around the boat a couple of times. After dinner we had another challenge. The team leaders had to lead their blindfolded watch around the outside of the boat! :O Everyone got a buoyancy aid and a harness on. And a blindfold of course! I was not blindfolded and I was the only person allowed to talk to my team. I was not allowed to touch them though. First I had to get them all over the rail to the outside of the boat, then I had to get over there myself and climb around them to get to the front of the line. I guided them along the side and then I made them come over to the inside of the boat again. They then had to follow me to the tip of the bow sprit and around it. On the other side they had to go on the outside of the boat again and along the whole side. It was a difficult job and lots to look after at once, but my team was really good at listening and they all trusted me :) It was lots of fun! And we were the fastest team out of the 4 :D And since the other teams were so slow we didn't get to sleep until 10.30 that night...
Day 5 started with the daily morning swim, then breakfast, colours and then clean up before we went on a tramp on Great Barrier Island. My watch cleaned the deck and Hooks and Pryce were the leaders for today. Jeremy then drove us to shore on the island with the speed boat and we started walking. After about 2 hours we got to the middle of the island. We had lunch next to natural hot pools, but everyone was so hot from walking that no one went swimming. It was nice to put your feet in though! We walked a bit further and came to a waterfall. The water was cold and heaps of people went for a swim, me included. Nice! Came down to the wharf again after walking 6 hours. Jeremy came to bring us back to the boat. Back on board we got to have a 1 minute shower! Everyone was so excited :D Afterwards everything smelt so good and we were all in such a good mood :P Amazing what a shower can do! The tramp had been lots of fun too. Pretty nature and it was good to get to know the other people a bit better as well. We had dinner and after the dinner we saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2. So exciting to see a sailing ship in the movie! Never looked at it that way. Got to go to bed slightly early tonight and we even got a bedtime story told by George!
Got up at 5 again on day 6 because our team was on night watch. This time I had night watch with Brooke. There was still nothing exciting happening though... Woke up the other people at 6.30, went for a morning swim, had breakfast, colours and then clean up again. Caitlin and Sam were leaders and we got to prepare vegetables. After the clean up we took the rafts out again and went ashore on a beach near Great Barrier Island to collect rubbish. There was heaps! A bit sad... We also found a coconut :D We cracked it and ate the whole thing. Yummy :D Back on board we had a charting exercise, then lunch and after lunch we had to climb all the way to the very top of the biggest mast! That was pretty high and really exciting :D When everyone was back down again we sat sails. The crew took a step back today and let us do most of the work all on our own. We knew what to do :) When the sails were up there was time for an hour of “quiet time” which means no one talks and everyone has to be real quiet. Most of us went down to the accommodation to sleep a bit, but that was interrupted by DOLPHINS! There were suddenly hundreds of them swimming towards us. And there were whales too. Three of them! It was so much fun to watch the dolphins jump around and dive underneath the boat :D After a while they left again and we had the rest of the quiet time. So good to get to sleep a bit. Felt much better afterwards. It makes you really tired and silly the whole “sailing all day, getting up early and being with the same people 24/7” thing. This night we did some night sailing too. That was so cool! We had to wear buoyancy aids, a harness and we got strobe lights in case we fell over board. The atmosphere was amazing and the water and the sky looked so pretty :) The dolphins came back too! I got to go up in the rigging in the dark. Exciting! We sailed back to Kawau Island today. Went to bed at 10.30.
And we got a sleep in the next morning :D Half an hour! We went for the morning swim as usual. My watch was on mizzen so we had to jump first. And guess what!? The dolphins came back! Yes, we got to swim with dolphins :D They didn't actually touch us but they were sort of playing around us and diving underneath our feet :) So cool and a little bit scary in the beginning. We prepared breakfast and cleaned up afterwards. Brooke and I raised the flag at colours and Lauren read the weather forecast. We took the rubber ducks out again today and rowed to Kawau Island where two watches went on a walk to a copper mine while the other two watches were sailing in the small luggers. It was the first day it was raining and we were all wearing our beautiful yellow wet weather gear (the banana clothes) :D When we came back to the beach we swapped with the other watches and got to sail in the little boats. At first Alan and George were in there with us to show us how to work the luggers, but then we sailed them all on our own all the way back to the ship! That was incredible :D I got to steer and I also controlled the sheets. Heaps of fun and really wet :P Had lunch when we came back to the boat and after lunch we had a lesson on road rules at sea. We then took the rafts back on board and cleaned them. After dinner we had a game where everyone had written something about themselves on a piece of paper and we had to guess who it is. Later on we watched a movie about a massive sailing ship that was going to round cape horn. Impressive! Didn't do any sailing today though... Got another bedtime story tonight: Snow white :) An interesting version!
Day 8 also started at 6.30. We swam all the way around the boat this morning and had to jump in three times again because we tried to wash our hair. After breakfast and colours we had a DEEP clean! My watch was on foredeck so we got to clean the accommodations, bathrooms and the the banana clothes. I was leader in the morning and I can tell you it was not an easy job to get my group to clean the wet weather gear! But we did it in the end :) We then went down to the aft cabin, where we usually ate, to write a letter to ourselves which was going to be posted to us in 6 weeks time. Nigel the captain also came to talk to us about tonights elections. Day 9 was going to be our trainee day, a day where we sail the ship on our own, and we needed a crew for that! After lunch we raised the sails. We were responsible for the fore main staysail. Brooke was now the leader. But not for long because we started swapping around the watches and we did heaps of tacking. Even in complete silence! It was to prepare for tomorrow and the crew were happy with our work :) We sailed to Martins Bay again today. After dinner and striking the sails we finally had the big election. I was nominated for 1^st mate, but didn't get it. In the end the trainee crew consisted of Sam as captain, Connor as mate, Katie S and Mike as navigators, Jessy and Debbie as cooks (a very good choice!!), Nick and Mark as engineers and Hooks, David, Charlotte and Ty as watch leaders. Before we went to bed we made a plan for tomorrow. Exciting!
Day 9 - Trainee day! Our last real day of sailing.. :( We were going to sail to Waitamata Harbor today. Started at 6.30 so we wouldn't waste the day (we could have chosen to have a sleep in but it was much better to have the whole day!) and the swim was still compulsory. We had breakfast, colours and then we were divided into our new watches. My watch leader was David and the rest of my watch was Kirsten, Lauren, Fraser, Hannah, Adam and Thomas. We were on main and had to prepare veggies. After that we put the sails, main and main staysail, up. It was the windiest day so far – up to 35 knots! - and we did lots of tacking. Half way through the day we also had a talent competition :P Fun! Lauren and I made up a new song: On the Spirit, the mighty Spirit, the trainees sail today! After we had been sailing a while we could see Auckland in the distance. We put down the sails for the last time and then we sailed under the harbor bridge. And back again :P At last we came to Waitamata Harbor and anchored there. After dinner we had to pack our bags... Then we had an award ceremony. Sam got a certificate for being captain, Mark for most development during the trip and AJ for being so much fun and so helpful all the time. After that we had our last watch debrief. We talked about what we had enjoyed on the trip and things we didn't like. It was a really good talk and it was so so sad! We all ended up crying :P (Well, at least all the girls). Basically cried the rest of the night :P They showed us a promotion movie about the Spirit all over the world (Norway was in it too!) and then we went on deck and stayed there talking, taking photos and just enjoying the last hours together until we had to go to bed at 11.30.
Had to get up at 5.30 the next morning. We had a quick breakfast, some more clean up, last minute packing and then everyone was just standing around on deck watching Auckland getting closer and closer as we motored our way towards it. The crew spoke some last words and then it was time for good byes. Before we went ashore we danced the banana dance for the last time :P (A dance we had made up during the trip and that had been performed in the banana clothes a couple of times). It was really hard to leave all these amazing people behind. I got so close to some of them in such a short time. Leaving Lauren, Caitlin and especially Brooke was extremely sad! I hope I'll see them again before I go home to Norway. Before I left the boat George said to me that I have to come back as a leading hand soon! So I'll do that in a couple of years :D I caught the bus home and felt strangely alone... The spirit has been the greatest experience ever! It's so great to be at sea moving using the wind only and with no other sound than the waves. Everyone told me that they have heard the Spirit is I great and that I should look froward to it, but you don't know HOW good it is until you've done it yourself. It's unbelievable!

Bilder

Miriam Christ — 2007-10-26T04:53:19Z

Ja, ich habs endlich geschafft! Meine neue fotoseite ist fertig :D Schaut mal rein unter http://taniwha.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php

Und ein post zu meiner segeltour kommt auch gleich!

North Island Trip

Miriam Christ — 2007-10-16T03:01:57Z

On the 27^th September Eva Luna and I started our trip around the North Island of New Zealand. The plan had originally been that we start on the 26^th. But because of some confusions and misunderstandings, the billet family in New Plymouth had gone on holiday! (They didn't expect us until later that week.) So we had no one to stay with in New Plymouth and could therefore not go. But all good! We got away with the bus early morning the 27^th and arrived in Hawera later that day. Hawera is a tiny town in Taranaki on the west coast of the North Island . Takes about 4 hours to drive to from Wellington . We stayed with a family who is hosting Danesh from Malaysia, whom I had met twice before, and Karoline from Norway ! (Karoline was on the South Island trip though so we didn't see her at all.) They were really nice and Eva and I got a room each for the night. Neil, the dad, showed us around in their massive garden and then Danesh took us for a walk to a park with a pond and a playground. That was fun :) Helen, the mum, made us dinner and we talked about really interesting stuff! Her daughter, another Miriam, had been on a community service program with AFS in Tunisia . Very different! Later that night some of Danesh's friends came over. They took us down to the beach for a while but then it got too cold so we went to Tom's, one of the friends, house. Stayed there till late and didn't get much sleep that night :P Although we didn't do that much I really enjoyed the day in Hawera!

The next destination was Rotorua in the middle of the North Island . Our bus left Hawera at 9 in the morning. On our way to Rotorua we stopped at a place called Flat Hills. It’s an old farm that is now a cafe. They have cows, sheep, chicken and pigs. And this time they had really cute lambs as well! And guess what? We got to feed and hold them :D Exciting! Arrived in Rotorua at about 7 that night. Got dinner and chocolate cake when we arrived :) The people we were staying with this time were Phil and Donna. They have a son Rangi and they are also hosting a girl from Brazil , Michele, and a guy from the states, Matthew, at the moment. Alvaro, also from Brazil , was also staying with them at the time. Another boy from France also came the next morning, so there were a few of us cruising around Rotorua the next day :) But first of all we watched the rugby that Sunday morning :P Then Phil took out his flash bright blue car and drove us to Te Puia, New Zealand 's Maori Cultural Centre. We watched a Maori welcome ceremony. The boys did the haka and we girls did some poi. We then walked around the centre looking at geysers and heaps of hot and mud pools. We even ate corn that was boiled in one of the pools! The next place Phil took us to was the zorb! This is what it said about the zorb in a brochure: “Zorbonaut Recipe – Add up to three people inside the zorb. Mix with water or harness yourself in securely. Launch zorb downhill at speed -straight or zig zag options. Run, slip, slide and laugh while zorbing. Re-enter the world in a giggling heap. Zorborific!” Describes it pretty well :P Eva and I decided to try a hydro zorb, i.e. a big ball with water inside, (just a little bit so we would slide but not drown!). The boys got in their own. A car took us up the hill after we got changed. They filled the zorb with water, luckily it was warm, and then we had to superman dive into the ball. When we were ready we were pushed down the hill. We did try to stand upright the whole time, but it didn't work at all :P It was so much fun! We went real fast and we were slipping and sliding and laughing heaps :) Real cool! And you can only do it in New Zealand . When we were dry again Phil took us to a Wildlife Park where they had lion cubs that we could pet! They were massive. 7 months old and weighed 60 kg already! But they were real cute as well :) Lots of other animals there as well. The last thing we did that day was taking the cable car up to one of the mountains and then riding a luge, three-wheel cart, down. Exciting :D Quite tired that night :P Had a barbecue in the evening and watched a really nice movie. It was Italian. Extremely beautiful but real sad in the end! I cried :P And so did the guy from France ! He cried SO much! Never seen a boy cry that much. We all got a bit worried but he calmed down after a while :P
On the 30^th of September it was Eva's 17^th birthday! Unfortunately we had to sit on the bus for half of the day. Our next destination was Auckland . Left Rotorua at 8 in the morning and arrived in Auckland around noon. We went strolling up and down Queen Street, Auckland 's main street, looking at all kinds of shops. We also went up the Sky Tower ! The highest deck is 220 m above the ground and the whole tower is 328 m. It’s the highest tower in the Southern hemisphere. We could watch people bungy jump off it, we had a stunning view over Auckland and we jumped around on bits of the floor that were made out of glass :P Since there were holidays they had three girls up there painting children's faces and since it was Eva's birthday we wanted to be face painted too! Eva got a ladybird and I got a glittery fairy patch :P Didn't really do anything else in Auckland that day.
At 6 we took the ferry over to Waiheke Island . The sea was real rough! Fun :D We were met by Ann and Peter who were going to host us for the next couple of days. They showed our rooms, we had dinner, talked for a while and then went to bed. We had a sleep in the next morning and since it started to rain after lunch we just stayed in the whole day reading, relaxing and watching the rain. May sound boring but was actually really nice! The next day we went down to two of the millions of beaches on Waiheke. Walked up and down and took lots of funny pictures :P Didn't go swimming though. Was really nice and sunny :) After that, Peter took us for a drive around the island. We saw the famous vineyards, fabulous views and roads even steeper than in Wellington !
Left Waiheke Island early Wednesday morning and spent another day in Auckland . This time we went to the City Gallery, saw the university campus and two of the parks and we went down to the habour. Interesting! The second half of the day was spent on Queen Street again. It started raining later on so we gave up and Eva took a train to the family she was going to stay with that night, and I went on the ship. Our North Island trip was suddenly over! It had been a good one :)

Ball :D

Miriam Christ — 2007-09-26T05:03:39Z

Last weekend we had the ball for all the year 13s at Wellington Girls' College. Big thing! Being at a girls school it is of course a big issue what boy you should take to the ball. What dress to wear is of course always a hard question :P And since it is the last ball for us leavers everything becomes twice as important! Well, to sum it up: people got really excited WEEKS before the ball. Everyone was talking about boys they could possibly take – because you kind of have to, don't you?! – what they were going to do with their hair, the dressmaker they went to, to get their dress made and perfectly fitted(!) etc. Some were even discussing if they should get a fake spray teint or not! Some of the girls spent so much money on this ball! Its unbelievable! They even get their make up done by some professional. I was going to wear my black dress that I never got to wear to a ball in Norway , so I didn't need to worry about that :) And I really needed a haircut anyway so the ball was the perfect reason to finally get one. I got to borrow some shoes from Hannah Waddington's sister and I was fine doing my own make up! All good :) And I didn't really feel like taking a boy. So I had it all worked out.

So, at about 6 pm on the 22^nd of September I was finally ready to go (don't ask how long it took me to actually get ready :P). Elise was having a preball at her place. We got champagne and strawberries and sushi and other things to nibble on. Everyone looked absolutely gorgeous! And we were all really excited :) Most of the girls in our group had partners for the ball and they looked really good as well! Alice, Hannah Farrely and Elise took their boyfriends Dough, James and Matt. Hannah Stern and Waddles took Louis and Ricardo, exchange students from Spain or something. Brett came with Emma and Sal took Oscar to the ball. At 7 we took shuttle taxis to the ball. It was held in the ballroom at the Duxton Hotel. Fancy! The theme for this years ball was Casino Royal. There was a stage where a jazz band played and in front of the stage there was the dance floor and in front of the dance floor there were lots of tables. Every table had candles and it was decorated with poker chips and cards. It looked really formal :) There was a buffet at one end of the room. Really good food! They had also put poker tables out, but no one used them :P Looked good anyway. After we had said hello to everyone we knew, we went to get some food from the buffet and sat down at our table. After dinner we went outside to the foyer where there was a professional photographer to take photos. I saw the photos yesterday and there are some really nice ones! They had golden pistols you could have in your photo if you wanted :P Hannah Stern, Alice and Doug took a really cool kind of Charlie's Angels looking photo :P For the rest of the night we were just dancing. They had changed out the jazz band with a DJ. Had great fun :D At 11 it was over, but we still had an afterball to go to. It was organized by two girls from school and it was in The Underground Arts near Cuba Street (it is usually a tattoo studio). In between the ball and the afterball we went to Hannah Waddington's dad's work in Cuba to get changed out of our dresses. At about 12 we went to the afterball. The building itself was not that nice, but the music and the people there were absolutely great! It was so much fun :D Stayed at the afterball, basically dancing all the time, till 4 in the morning. We went into town then, but I didn't really enjoy that much. I was just too tired! No wonder though. Had been dancing for about 11 hours in total!! (And I am not even counting ballet I had earlier that Saturday) I left together with Hannah Stern and Oscar at about 5 am. Hannah and I shared a taxi home. The other girls stayed even longer! Went to bed at half past 5 that morning! Wasn't too bad the next morning, I mean later that morning, actually. Although 11 hours sounds like a long time it didn't feel that long so I was a bit sad when it was all over, but it had been a great night! The best ball I have been at till now :)