First Day of School!

Want to hear how the first week of classes went, straight from the horse's mouth? Here is what Kaelyn Lecander (Bethel University) had to say about Sustainable Community Development:

"So, our first week of class is complete. We learned all about Sustainable Community Development from a local Kiwi professor, Mick Duncan. He will come back later on in the semester for a second week of lecturing. He and his wife had lived in Manilla in the Philippines for about 10 years in a squatter community. He shared his stories of trial and mistakes he made while trying to develop his community. We learned about the intricate webs of culture, evil, and disadvantage and how each much be considered careful before jumping into attempts for sustainable community development. It was really awesome to hear first hand stories about the trials and triumphs of community development. Storytelling is a great teaching tool. Mick was full of wisdom and I'm sure that all the students felt privileged to have him as our professor for a week. The last lecture we were taught Mick's Mental Map...a layout to follow for making tough decisions. Not only is this a great and necessary tool for sustainable community development, but useful for us in our everyday choices too. Intro. to Sustainable Community Development was full of practical wisdom, moving firsthand accounts, and deep issues for us to think on as the rest of the semester continues."

Mick Duncan's Sustainable Community Development lecture on Thursday night was opened up to the community to come and listen. It was nice to share the learning experience with our friends.

Wednesday was Waitangi Day, a public holiday celebrating the signing of New Zealand's founding document the Treaty of Waitangi. After class, a number of students volunteered to help with the celebration down by South Bay. The event was also a celebration of the upcoming Children's Day on March 3rd. There were lots of fun activities for children to take part in like face painting, a slip and slide, three legged race, tug of war, and more. The students were a big help and made a lot of little children very happy!

Left: Colin (Bethel) mans the slip and slide. Right: Rose Ellen (Westmont) and Janine (Messiah) did an excellent job painting whiskers, superhero masks, and flowers on the children's faces.

What else have we been up to? For our first homemaking session, Courtnay taught some of the girls how to crochet. Lisa and Rachel collected some bull kelp, and made kelp shoes like the Maori used to. Just don't leave them out in the sun too long, or they'll shrivel up!

Rachel (Bethel) and Lisa fashioned a lovely pair of shoes out of kelp.

As part of living in community with each other, we all have weekly chores to complete. That doesn't mean you can't have fun taking care of the chickens or washing the cars, though!

Kelsey (Messiah) and Kaelyn (Bethel) show us how fun chores are!