First Day of First Grade

I have never taught first grade- and no one ever told me what I was missing...First Grade Rocks! Well, at least the first day does...we'll see what I say in a month.

But anyways, there were no crying kids- I didn't have to peel one student out of their parents arms- I didn't have to reassure parents that their child would not cry all day...(if they do I will call you if they are still crying in an hour,) and I didn't have any parents hanging out peeking in the window. The kids came in and got to work...and were as cute as could be. Most of the students I had last year so they were all hugs and smiles. And at the end of the day I swam 3/4ths a mile and ran a mile...instead of taking a post Kindergarten nap!

New Zealand? Well I will get to the photos someday...and I have run out of photo space again...so it's new blog time. But I did bring kiwis to eat for snack today.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*EAT SOME KIWI*ENJOY A

 GRADE LEVEL SWITCH*

Back on the "Right" Side of the Road....

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Auckland- Day 1

New Zealand is awesome!

Driving on the wrong side of the road was pretty cool too...except round-abouts are a little scary....there are very few intersections as we know them. And bridges...most are one lane- not one lane each way- one stinking way. There is a sing posted telling you whether to "Give Way" or not....which is Kiwi for "Yield."

"Piss" is beer, a bakery is where you get lunch- the most delicious meat pies or quiche ever...a dairy is a convenience store and chips are French Fries...unless of course you buy them in a bag....then they are chips...(potato chips.)

And seeven is 7 and teen is 10...and the people are friendly and there are no snakes or squirrels!

There are the most magnificent rainbows and the Olympic coverage rocks! There are no pennies or nickels...they just round up or down to the nearest 10 cent.....and there is no sales tax.

Alcohol costs A LOT. Almost everything costs a lot....except for a kiwi fruit I got for 14 cents...that was the bargain of the trip.

New Zealand Air is by far the best airline ever. Included in your ticket price you get one carry on and one stowed bag up to 50 pounds...(22 kilos) and all your meals and drinks- even spirits, beer and wine- are free! The flight attendants are all in cute uniforms and are very, very kind. I wish N.Z. Air flew in the states!

I will blog all 20 days as soon as I get it together...after all I had 2 Wednesdays this week due to crossing the International Date Line.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*

LAUGH HARDER*NEW ZEALAND ROCKS*SUMMER ENDING SUCKS*

Happy Monday here. Watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. If you really want to watch the Olympics and not commercials or "meet the athlete" infomercials then head out of the U.S. for some real TV coverage. I would suggest Canada, New Zealand, Australia or England...either the government channels show the Olympics with no commercials- like the BBC, or here, five prime channels show live, yesterday and last night's coverage. I have watched events I never knew were in the olympics...and I watched every athlete from every country who sent one to participate in the men's decathlon! Being a track athlete from way back, this was a treat....to see each participant no matter how well their performance. And the best part is, that other countries actually celebrate 19th place. We were in Invercargill when New Zealand's rowers won the gold...the town was crazy- a nation with as many people as the city of Los Angeles won 13 medals....and their 100th medal in the modern Olympics. Now to chose which country to visit in 4 years :) *LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER**LAUGH HARDER*CHEERS TO ALL THE ATHLETES FROM EVERY COUNTRY*HERE'S TO REAL OLYMPIC COVERAGE*

volcanoes, Internet and the likes in kiwi land

I was thinking that if the volcano continues to blow, my flight may be cancelled and I would be stuck here....with Internet service by the mg...I open my email and a photo of a friend's newborn comes up and my free mg's are all gone....just like that! For winter, the weather has been amazing...I could wear shorts today! I can't wait to see the photos we have taken and to get to my email. Until then, cheers my friends! *live strong*LOVESTRONGER*laugh harder*I don't know where i'ma gonna go if the volcano blows*

A-maaaaaazing! LIVESTRONG LOVESTRONGER LAUGH HARDER IPADS SUCK DOUBTFUL SOUND TOUR WAS GREAT

Free Internet is Good!

$10 nz dollars for 10 minutes of Internet is not.

Using a ipad while traveling here is stupid...I can't even view the photos we took because the adapter won't work. It won't take "sticks" to use Internet at small motels or hostels and is pretty much useless...should have brought my laptop even though it is a little larger it would have been much more useful...but I stupidly borrowed this from work...thinking it would work!

We are at the airport heading to the south island. We made it to the most northern part of the north island and now will go to the most southern tip. It is wonderful here!! It is winter and has rained some but we have seen magnificent rainbows and slid down some awfully muddy slopes while tramping.

More to come mates,

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*

LAUGH HARDER*TAKE

 A LIE DOWN*