N.I.T.: Beyond InTown Nelson

Once woken up & feeling rested, I stepped out of the hostel and walked several blocks before finding myself bored. Looking to cure my boredom I chose & followed a main road leading away from the town's centre. I didn't have a destination in mind; just wanted to see where my legs would take me. I wandered through several quiet residential streets, observing the various architectural styles of bungalows. They weren't as impressive as that mailbox I found made out of an old car engine.

When I was over a small hill, I took a shortcut down Beatson Road, a newly paved side street that hugged the large hill that sat in the centre of Nelson. The hill itself is infested with streets & residential homes. I guess a lot of families can't pass up the chance to have a house on a hill top with a majestic view of the sea. Seeing this crowded hill made me think of the rich hilltop mansions in Los Angeles, California.

From Beatson Road, I headed northwest passed the large Annesbrook turning circle, and onto Quarantine Road. By this time, I had decided to walk to the airport because . . . um, well, because I could. On the way I visited the World of WearableArt & Classic Cars Museum, more commonly known as the WoW Museum. What attracted me to the museum was the large white Excalibur car on display near the parking lot. After paying my $20 admission, I casually strolled into the classic cars area. The collection spanned from the 1930s all the way to 2007. For the person such as myself with modern/futuristic tastes, the museum's collection included two Ferraris, a luxurious 2004 Maybach, and the 1981 DeLorean, the car made famous by the Back To The Future movie Trilogy.

The wearable art exhibit featured brightly coloured costumes that were designed for the purpose of art. Trust me, you wouldn't find anyone wearing these outfits unless in a fashion/art show. The costumes sat on black coloured mannequins & moved on a conveyor belt with music playing in the background. Interesting but not as impressive as the car collection.

After leaving the museum, I headed towards the airport to find something to eat because the cafe at the museum had just closed. A new hangar was under construction as I walked into the small terminal. The size & setting reminded me of the small airport of Regina, Saskatchewan. With my stomach satisfied by a chicken Caesar wrap & Coke, I walked up to the observation deck to get a glimpse of the tarmac. Unfortunately, the only activity happening was a commercial turboprop testing its engines, but I snapped a few pictures before leaving.

Rather than heading back the way I came, I instead headed northeast towards Tahunanui Beach. The green grass, palm trees, fast food outlets, and mid afternoon sun made the beach area appear as if it were Sunset Beach Park in Vancouver, Canada. Lumbering on, I walked along Rocks Road, the main roadway that runs along the narrow rocky northwest coastline. Trucks & cars use this road because of its connection to the port and the city centre. As well several condos, pubs, & taverns have been built along this road, and there's even designated area for people to fish.

I was a little late but made back to the hostel to meet up with brother. We walked around intown looking for a restaurant and finally settled for the pub/restaurant House of Ales. It's a small but popular establishment (according to the all the happy photo portraits on the walls) located near Church Hill. Naturally, the alcohol selection is huge with 11 beers on tap, and 30 red, white, & sparkling wines to choose from. I can't remember what I had to eat but I do remember it being well prepared & tasty.

After paying our bill we headed back to our hostel to check our email & pack our things. We went to bed early because we would be getting up early the next morning to sign out & catch our bus to Picton. Overall, Nelson is quite a nice little town to explore but you'll need powerful legs to see what I saw unless you have a car at your disposal. If you do have a car, just remember that they're not allowed on the walking trails. Plus, there's more of Nelson that I haven't explored so there's much more to see. The city centre is mostly a shopping area but there are restaurants & pubs nearby. If you've got the time, give the Centre of New Zealand a try!

To Be Continued . . .

(Post 3 of 10)

N.I.T.: Walkabout Nelson

Our five star, family operated hostel, Accents On The Park, is located near the centre of town, next to Nelson Cathedral which sits on top of Church Hill. Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by staff & signed in. Our private room came with two beds & a sink. The hostel has computers with Internet & Skype, and a cash only restaurant/bar in the basement. Every evening, a movie is put on for guests with free popcorn. I have to say that the hostel's fish & chips are quite tasty.

Once settled, my brother & I set off to explore the town separately due to our different tastes. Even though I'm not a big fan of The Lord Of The Rings series, I still visited & photographed Jens Hansen Jewelers, the company that Peter Jackson's art direction team chose to create the 'One Ring' for the film trilogy. Jens Hansen created 15 different prototypes and then another 40 based on the chosen prototype! Unfortunately, he died in August 1999 before the first movie premiered in 2001.

Downtown Nelson reminds me of Bank Street in downtown Ottawa, Canada. Most of the buildings are two stories high & are occupied by shops, cafes, and restaurants. Town Hall is pretty much the tallest building, standing at 7 stories. The Nelson Provincial Museum can also be found here & I stopped in to have a look at the natural & human history of the town & surrounding area. Admission is free but it's suggested that you make a donation.

From downtown, I started walking towards the port until I noticed a hidden pathway leading up one of the residential hills. I followed the path up to several viewing balconies, letting me get a grander view of Nelson. After snapping a few pictures, I descended back to the main road & walked to the east side of town, and ascended up the higher hills. Nelson is surrounded by hills & is well known for its tramping trails so I decided to give them a try. The trails are not steep but can be tiresome if you're not fit.

The trails on the higher hills lead you through slanted grass lands and give way to beautiful views of the town. My only complaint is that the trails pass through grasslands that are used by lamb & sheep meaning there're plenty of feces lying everywhere. My advice is to stop & look at the town rather than look at the town & move. Nelson citizens don't seem to mind the unpleasantness and continue to use the trails for walking, jogging, and biking. After maneuvering around the feces, I made it to the top of one hill with a small concrete monument. The monument marks the hill as the centre of Middle Earth.

On the way back to the hostel, I took a shortcut through the Queens Gardens. It reminds me of a mini Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, with many plants, pathways, and swimming ducks. If you're a garden lover, give this park a visit.

When it was time for dinner, my brother & I went into town and chose to eat at Lone Star. While waiting for a table, I ordered a Corona from the bar, and my brother gazed at the many portraits on the walls. Once we were seated we ordered juicy steaks. In New Zealand, the steak sizes are written in grams whereas in Canada, it's still in ounces. The steaks were good, and while waiting for our bill we decided to have steak in each town we'd be visiting on this trip.

We made our way back to our hostel and watched the end of the film Wedding Crashers that was being shown in the basement restaurant. Once finished, we went to our room and slept, wondering what to do the following day.

To Be Continued . . .

(Post 2 of 10)

North Island Tour: The Road To Nelson

My brother & I began our trip with an early wake up on the 5th of April, dragging ourselves out of bed, collecting our bags, and catching our taxi to the main Intercity Bus stop in downtown Christchurch. The building was still closed when we arrived so we just walked around & waited until the building opened at 0630. Despite being an early departure, the bus was surprisingly filled with people. I should note that many Intercity buses do not come with a toilet (like this one) so go before the bus goes.

The bus route was along the east coast of the South Island, heading towards the town of Kaikoura, and then on to Blenheim. The TranzCoastal tourist/passenger train happened to be travelling in the same direction as we were. I had ridden on it in 2008 with my parents when we went whale watching in Kaikoura. Now that I think about it, the space in between Middle Earth's railway tracks are really small.

The coastal landscape remained unchanged since my last visit, with towering mountains, winding roads, and restless waves. As we neared Kaikoura, the main road became windier, forcing the bus driver to turn left & right many times. He could have slowed down when making the turns but I think he was having too good of time showing off his driving skills. I did my best to snap photos of the majestic landscape, shaded by an overcast day.

Upon our arrival in Kaikoura, we were given a 30 minute break to stretch our legs & find something to snack on. My brother & I walked through the main town, a collection of shops & cafes, to the rocky beach near the railway station. Waves crashed onto the rocks before receding with a distinct sound, an act that had been going on for millennia.

The bus continued on to the town of Blenheim with its human cargo. The landscape started to change slowly, the green tree mountains turning into yellow grassland hills. What didn't change was the winding road. The ascent & descent, along with the tight turns, brought back memories of travelling with my family to Flagstaff, Arizona, when I was a child.

The Blenheim area is home to vast wine fields spanning hundreds of hectares and operated by various NZ wine companies. The bus driver explained that Middle Earth produces around 43 million litres of wine annually! For a nation of 4 million that's a lot, but compared to world production, it's relatively small. My brother & I switched buses in Blenheim because the one we were on would continue on to the port town of Picton. We had to wait for 40 minutes before the Nelson bus arrived.

The Nelson bus was packed & I had to unfortunately sit next to a couple with a crying baby. Luckily, I had my ear plugs on hand. The colour of the mountains changed again, turning green again but this time because of large pine forest plantations. The Nelson area is used to harvest pine trees for housing & industry. Naturally, the pine trees were imported from Canada in the 19th century. As the bus snaked its way around the steep green mountains, I found myself looking over the edge of road & seeing nothing but a steep drop. Luckily, after an hour of moving up, down, left, and right, the bus safely arrived in Nelson and we disembarked at the Intercity Bus Terminal. We picked up a free city map and walked towards our hostel with our bags in hand.

To Be Continued . . .

(Post 1 of 10)

End of Term 1

The last week of Term 1 was only 4 days long because of Good Friday. Personally, every Friday is a Good Friday. This week was mostly devoted to students handing in their assignments, and making presentations. My Year 13s had compositions to hand in whereas my Year 12s had arrangements. Next term, I'll be teaching musical composition to my Year 12s, showing them how to write melodies, countermelodies, harmonies, and instrumentation. They finished the term learning about rock operas, such Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

I finished teaching the fugue to my Year 13s and by the looks of their faces, they understand the characteristics. The fugue that I chose for them to analyse was the 'Fugue in C Minor', Book 1 from J.S. Bach's Well Tempered Clavier. Lucky for them, they were allowed to listen to the music; I didn't have that luxury when writing my analysis test for the Royal Conservatory. To make it easier for them to see how a fugue is put together, I created a visual resource with the terms pasted on colourful construction paper. Once the sheet music was properly analysed, they had to organize the cards in the same order as the terms appeared on the sheet music. This greatly helped them understand that writing a fugue isn't as tough as it looks. My associate & college observer were impressed by my resource, giving me extra points before suggesting that I laminate the cards to avoid damage by future students.

My Year 9 Alternative English class (kids with ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, etc.) had dramatic monologues to prepare for Thursday. The monologues were to be based on a character from the movie Stand And Deliver. Most of the students chose the calculus teacher Mr. Escalante because they said he was the easiest. Of course, some chose the student characters, and even showed up wearing costumes. Naturally, there were several students who didn't have anything prepared, but the teacher, Mrs. MacDonald made them go up & improvise. I have to admit that one of the students, who is troublesome a lot, was quite good at acting out his gangster like character. He could really make it as an actor if he only applied himself.

Wednesday's assembly wasn't as interesting as last week's, but it had its moments. One part that was tumultuous was when student council made all the seniors stand up and sing Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' The singalong, well, didn't go as well as student council had hoped. (Here's the Muppet's Version for you to listen to). Apparently, several years ago, the teachers made all the junior grades sing a song during assembly. Oh, how many times do I remember when I was in elementary school & got in trouble because I flatly refused to sing. Boy, I was a rebel without a cause.

Since there were no classes on Friday, I didn't get a chance to do a repeat conducting performance with the orchestra. Luckily, I still had jazz & ukulele bands to go to. The jazz band it currently working on 'Car Wash', and a jazz arrangement of 'Stairway To Heaven'. As for the ukulele band, were just plucking away basic songs like 'He's Got The World (In His Hands)' and 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'.

Thursday was also a short day because teachers & students needed Period 5 to clean up the classrooms & hand out report cards. I can't remember what they're officially called but the reports don't mark academics but classroom behaviour and relationships with teachers & students. Academic report cards come at the end of Terms 2 & 4. Naturally, there was a End of the Term end party held in the Teachers Lounge with no theme, but free alcohol! Oh, there was also finger food like Brie cheese, grapes, biscuits (crackers in North America), and fruit. Most of the student teachers that I talked to said that they would be travelling over the holidays, to Auckland, Hamilton, and Queenstown.

With Term 1 now over, I can look forward to two weeks vacation. My older brother Roman is flying over to visit & we're going to be touring the North Island for 12 days. The lucky cities are, [drum roll]: Nelson, Wellington, Napier, and Rotorua. Yes, I am aware that Nelson is not on the North Island (Northern tip of the South Island), but hey, when you have to bus up from Christchurch, you need a place to rest and explore a bit. Since I'll be travelling for most of the break, I better get back to working on my Unit Plan for my Year 12s.

It's most likely that I won't start writing about my journeys until I've returned. Sorry about the impending BLOG blackout but I'll the time to gather photos, plan my future posts, and of course, enjoy the experiences.

Teaching Debuts

This past week has been quite hectic with a lot of stuff happening, so excuse the long delay; I've been very busy.

I got involved again with the Christchurch Cadet Corps (Army is not used in any corps titles), located near the now decommissioned Wigram Airfield. The officers were surprised/pleased to see me again after my 8 month absence. The corps ranks were slightly bigger this year, hovering around 45 on paper. It was quite amusing to see the NZ style of drill, which is much different than Canadian. At the moment, I've been helping out with the administration, as well as showing potential new recruits what to expect should they choose to join.

After a week & a half of observing & assisting, I was given the opportunity to instruct my Y13 Music class about the musical characteristics of the Baroque Era. Overall, the lesson turned out quite well in my mind. I first introduced myself as Mr. D, said every student's name as a review & proceeded with the main topic. After identifying & explaining the different characteristics, I instructed the class to analyse a Baroque vocal piece and an instrumental one. I had planned to introduce the musical forms but I ran out of time. The musical forms will be for Monday's lesson. After that it's on to the Fugue.

I've also gotten heavily involved with the extra-curricular music program, devoting my time across three bands during lunchtime. The first is the jazz band on Monday where I advised & assisted the percussion section. The band is currently tackling the classics like 'Satin Doll'. On Wednesday, it's the newly formed ukulele band. Yes, that's right, I'm now the proud owner of a dark blue ukulele. And it only cost $40NZD! A ukulele fad seems to have swept through the school, with the band having close to 50 players, including 8 teachers. The main music classroom was filled with students & teachers with ukuleles of different colours: red, light & dark blue, brown, yellow, pink, purple, orange, yellow, and black. There even was a yellow Spongebob Squarepants ukulele. What have I got myself into?

And finally, on Friday, it's the orchestra. The string section includes first/second violins, violas, and cellos. When it was time to play the Cirque du Soleil compilation piece, my associate, Shane Morrow, had to answer an important phone call. After Theresa, the other music teacher, tried to conduct the piece (she's mostly vocal based), she handed the task over to me. Without hesitation, I was up at the podium, my own wand in hand, conducting, advising, and fixing the parts that sounded sloppy. It was also difficult for me at one part of the piece because the time signatures kept alternating. After some trial & error, I realized that it would be easier to conduct the section in 1. The resulting sound was favourable. From what I could, the students & music teachers were impressed by my conducting abilities, and that I also paid attention to the details.

Students got to sleep in on Tuesday & Friday because the first two periods were needed by the teaching faculty. On Tuesday, there was a teacher's union meeting at Town Hall, and Friday morning was a Professional Development morning for teachers. For the PD morning, I sat in on a class that taught teachers how to create an effective PowerPoint presentation. Despite my previous knowledge of Microsoft's PowerPoint software, it didn't hurt to get a refresher and some advice. Bottom line, keep the presentation simple & use many slides if you have to. Don't cram everything onto one slide.

Wednesday's (24th) junior & senior assemblies were more energetic this week because of Pasifika Culture Week. Around this time in New Zealand, festivals are held to celebrate the culture of Pasifika countries, such as Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. So after the announcement about the upcoming Earth Hour was made, the principal announced the Pasifika student group to perform their 15 minute routine for the juniors & seniors, the same routine they were going to perform at the town hall celebration. I sat in for both assemblies, and watched the performance twice. It was quite an impressive mix of song & dance. Using my digital camera, I filmed the second performance given in the Assembly Hall, packed with senior students.

Unfortunately, due to the uploading size restrictions with BlogSpot, I can't upload the entire 15 minute video as one. I'll have to do it in segments. Please excuse the slight blurriness of the vids; I was standing at the back of the Assembly Hall with my camera on full zoom. Enjoy.

And lastly, the theme for Friday's after school teacher's party was Hawaii. Joyous Hawaiian music filled the teacher's lounge, as teachers brought out trays of tropical fruits, and Hawaiian pizza. I spoke chatted with many teachers, as I munched on the finger food & sipped Chardonnay. Later on, delicious BBQ'd pork loin was served. What a way to finish the work week & begin the weekend!

The Riccarton Way

Riccarton High School is located roughly between St. Thomas of Canterbury College & Villa Maria College in the Christchurch neighbourhood known as Ilam. The school is the learning centre for 1,010 male & female students, meaning this is my first co-ed teaching placement. (St. Thomas is all boys & Villa Maria is all girls). Unlike in Canada where everything is in one giant edifice, a school in New Zealand is spread out across a collection of buildings, resembling a university campus.

Riccarton's facilities are contained in 22 separate buildings, each dedicated to an area of study, administration, or maintenance. The library building is co-owned by the school & the city, thus allowing the public to access its resources as well. For physical education, students have the gym, 3 tennis courts, and a huge open field to play rugby, soccer, and cricket. There's even a building dedicated to detentions. Most students do their best to avoid being sent to building D5.

I'll admit that I was a little nervous on the first day because of the unexpected, but my previous teaching experiences quelled my nerves. There would be 8 student teachers in total at Riccarton during this placement: 3 Canadians, 1 from Bangladesh, and 4 from across New Zealand. As a whole, our knowledge spanned the subjects of music, history, social studies, Maori studies, math, biology, and technology. For me, I would be involved with the school's music program, officially called Performing Arts.

We, the student teachers, were greeted by the Deputy Principal, Fred Kramer, who gave us a tour of the school. After the walk, we settled into the boardroom where we were given 'the rundown' of how things worked at Riccarton.

As I mentioned before in a previous post, the attitudes of male & female students are the same when they're learning separately. Put them together in a co-ed situation and that's when you get the boys acting all macho, trying to impress the girls, and the girls acting all . . . um, girlish, I think, trying to impress the boys. Until I teach at other New Zealand schools, my observations will remain disproven.

The weather has been cold in the morning, warm by noon, and then cold at night. Sometimes the wind likes to surprise with sudden strong gusts. We also had one heavy rain storm without lightning on Wednesday morning. Come to think about it, I still need to buy an umbrella.

After following a year 10 class for the first two days (and meeting all the teachers), I was assigned a year 9, 12, & 13 music classes for my teaching placement. For the rest of the week, I would be printing class lists & walking around class, guessing & learning all the students' names. It's challenging to learn so many names, but the good news is that many students have the same name. Likewise, the students needed some time to pronounce my name correctly, and guess where I came from. (I was surprised to hear a student suggesting I was from South Africa). As for those students who couldn't pronounce my last name? 'Just call me Mister D.,' I advised.

For St. Patrick's Day, I wore my green tie. The students had their dress up day (called Mufti Day) on Tuesday, many coming to school wearing green civilian clothing. I even saw one male student walking around with green hair. After school, I celebrated the day with a great Irish intellectual: Guinness.

Aside from that, the music department received a large shipment of ukuleles yesterday and has been handing them out to teachers & students who paid $40. Shane Morrow, my music associate, is starting a ukulele band and there's already around 30 students & 6 teachers involved! Well, at least it's not an accordion or bagpipe band. Since I've started playing on the guitar, I guess I can expand on the ukulele.

On Friday, after school, there was a small party held in the teacher's lounge to celebrate the end of the week. There were plenty of finger foods; crackers, brie cheese, chips, grapes, salami, sliced pickles, and sliced honeydew & pineapples. What stood out the most was the alcohol bar. I'm not sure, but I don't think alcohol would have been allowed if this sort of function were held in a Canadian school due to safety concerns (not having teachers drinking while students are still on school grounds). Naturally, I stayed, ate some food, had a Corona, and chatted with several teachers & the principal, before bidding everyone a wonderful weekend.

With Week 1 observation over, I eagerly wait to begin teaching the Riccarton Way on Week 2: Commitment, Honesty, Respect, Excellence.

Home Sweet 2nd Home

Disembarking in Christchurch filled me with feelings of deja vu. The terminal looked the same since my first visit back in 2008. Getting through customs wasn't a problem except the customs lady asked several more questions about my study & which schools I had taught at (St. Thomas and Villa Maria) before. After picking up my suitcases from the baggage carousel, I made it through the last x-ray security checkpoint and was cleared to exit. I was somewhat surprised to see the terminal expansion project (bigger parking garage, better looking entrance, etc.) still underway after I had left 8 months ago.

Because I was still wearing my winter clothing, I was sweating heavily when I left the terminal. The weather was sunny with a high of 20 degrees, a far cry from the minus 3 degrees when I left my hometown of Ottawa. I quickly found a taxi, dumped my luggage in the back, and got in. Oh yeah, I reminded myself, they drive on the left side of the road, like in Britain, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong. Yup, the layout of the city hadn't changed that much since my last stay. Endless rows of bungalows, with the occasional corner store & gas station, lined the main street that Alexei, the Russian taxi driver, drove me to the university, as he made small talk along the way.

The familiar university buildings stood in the background as I was dropped off with my luggage at the Ilam Village office to check in & pick up my keycard. After filling out the check in form, the female resident representative led me to my room which was located in the flats that were designated as Kowhai. These flats can hold six people, and comes equipped with a large kitchen, washer & dryer, and a big washroom that holds two toilets & two showers (all in smaller separate rooms of course). My room is the same size as my previous room in the Hinau flats except the kitchen is much bigger, at least twice the size of the Hinau kitchens. And to top it all off, we each have our own separate phone & number. When I was flatting in Hinau, my roommates & I had to share the same phone.

Just as the resident rep left, two of my previous roommates, Heather & Ben, appeared and cheerfully greeted me. They were glad to see me and that I was able to stay in the same flat as them. My other three roommates were Sarah (Heather's cousin), Corey, and Neil. After a long interesting discussion, I made it back to my room to unpack & settle in. The welcome bag from the Ilam staff included a mug, laundry bag, wall planner, and a map of the city's bus routes. Once everything was in the closet and on the proper shelf, I collapsed on the bed I made. The mattress was quite comfortable as I stared at the ceiling and breathed a sigh of relief.

I'm home.

The rest of the week would go by in a blur, devoted to completing enrollment at the University of Canterbury Registry, shopping for food, buying some extra formal clothing for my teaching placement, and walking around town. The following week, starting on the 15th, I would begin my teaching placement at Riccarton High School. I can't wait.