WEEK 2
Dear Lincoln, Lilliana, Leni, Juliana, Evyn, Jack, Faye, Chloe, Emerson, Lake, Rita, Violet, and Ella,
I have had such a busy week. I have so much to tell you! Remember I was staying with Sam and Isabella last week? Well, I stayed with them again this week and there was a lot going on. It was the last week of their school year. Because the summer in New Zealand is December and January, their school year finishes in December instead of June when our school year finishes. So this was Isabella’s last year at her primary (elementary/grade) school. She was in Year 6, which I think is the same as 5th Grade. In January she starts Intermediate school, which is like Middle School. It’s the school that her brother, Matt, just graduated and he’ll go to High School in January. So there was lots of graduating this week!
In New Zealand, kids start school on their 5th birthday. Until they turn 5, they stay in Kindergarten (which is not part of their regular school) and then on their 5th birthday they go into Year 1, whichever day that is (of course if it’s in the school holidays, they start as soon as school starts up again!) And that’s why it always sounds like they are one year behind the American system, because Year 1 is like Kindergarten and they go up to Year 13, which is like their Senior Year at High School.
Isabella and I had a very strong bond from the first time we met. Although she had to forgive me for thinking she was 8. I got her age muddled up with her brother Sam. She is 10 of course! The day after I arrived she said, “I feel like I’ve always known you,” and even though we’d only really known each other for two days, I felt the same way. So I felt really lucky to be here for her graduation.
I went to the graduation assembly at school and I heard them sing the New Zealand National Anthem. This is a really cool song. They sing it first in Maori (this is the native language of New Zealand) and then in English. At the graduation there were some dance competitions. One of the dance groups was Isabella’s friend, Aidan’s, who I am staying with next week. Their routine was so cool and I hope he’ll teach me some of those moves! (By the way I have video of both. I couldn't upload them here as the files were too big so I'll try to put them on my Mobile Mary Poppins facebook page.)
That night, Isabella’s awesome mom gave her a fantastic graduation party.
It started raining outside so all the games were inside and they had apple bobbing, and a disco, and a blindfold game, and a game where you make one of your team members into a snowman (the only type you’ll see in Auckland!) using toilet paper!
They had pizzas, and Isabella’s sister, Laura, made her a super cool cake in her school colors, red and blue.
Yesterday, Isabella’s mom showed me some of their camping photos from earlier this year. New Zealand is the most amazing place for camping. There are so many great beaches with woods and adventure trails and big surf. They usually go with lots of different families so there might be 30 or 40 people all going to a big camping spot. They will be going again in January with some friends, so if I can I might join them for a day or two. They do some pretty crazy things, like ride their bikes on the beach! They also love climbing and swinging from trees. Here’s a picture of Sam riding his bike on the beach and Isabella swinging from a tree like a monkey!
The other important thing you have to remember in New Zealand is to wear sun block every single day, even when it’s cloudy. New Zealand is right under the hole in the ozone layer so the sun’s rays are extremely strong and can get through really thick clouds. If you don’t wear sun block, you can get burnt very quickly. I learnt about this the hard way on my first day at the beach!
Isabella plays the piano really well, and is a very talented artist. I have some of her pictures here to show you.
I love the one she did of all Santa’s reindeer, and also all her pictures of fruit. She loves to draw aliens, too, but she couldn’t find any of her alien pictures to show me. Sam is good at art and especially good at writing. He has written and illustrated a whole book called The Splats.
It’s a great story and I took some pictures of a few pages to show you.
I especially love the menu for the feast, which includes Unicorn Intestines and Sparkling Silver Moonshine, and Dragon Poo Stew, which I think I’d pass on!
New Zealand has some food I’ve never heard of before, not quite as strange as Phoenix Blood Bolognaise but close enough!
Sam and Isabella love Hokey Pokey ice cream, and their mom showed me the menu from her work Christmas party.
I can explain a few of the snacks on the menu. Fairy bread is when they butter bread and lay it face down in sprinkles so that they stick to the bread. Pineapple lumps are pieces of candied pineapple covered in chocolate. This is a real Kiwi favorite.
L&P is a kind of lemonade. They say it is “World Famous in New Zealand,” which is kind of a joke because if it really was world famous everyone would have heard of it, that’s why they say “...in New Zealand!”
So that was the end of my time with Isabella and Sam and their big, busy family. I will be sorry to say goodbye, but I know I will see them lots as I’ve made some new friends for life. In fact, although I am moving to Aidan and Luke’s house, we are going to a Christmas party at Isabella and Sam’s house next week. I’ll be sure to take loads of photos at that!
Sending you big hugs and all my love,
Susie
xxxx
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