From Winter to Summer

     After varying amounts of time flying over the USA, 12 hours across the Pacific, 13 hours in Sydney, a skip and a hop over the Tasman Sea to Christchurch, and a 2 1/2 hour drive in the middle of the night through Canterbury, our students have arrived in Kaikoura!

       We kicked off the semester with a delicious brunch and a liturgy service dedicating the semester to Christ, after sleeping in, of course. The students were able to get better acquainted with the Old Convent through a campus tour, and with each other during our classic "get to know you" activity "Big Red Chair". For the first dinner of the semester we headed to South Bay for fish and chips on the beach, a kiwi favorite. 

From day one, everyone has been getting along well! Massage train, anyone?

     Over the weekend, the students got to have a look around town with a photo scavenger hunt. On Sunday evening, we hosted a BBQ and invited friends from the community to come and meet everyone. We topped off the night with our first birthday celebration of the semester. Happy birthday Kate (Messiah)!

     Orientation week was filled with activities and briefings to familiarize our new students with their 3 1/2 month home and officially welcome them to Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand. One of the highlights of the week was a visit to the local marae. Our friend Brett, a Maori man who is very involved at the marae, and Darran came the night before along with instruments and artifacts to introduce the students to the culture and go over the protocol for a powhiri, the formal ceremony for welcoming visitors.  At the marae, we were welcomed with biscuits and tea, then entered the wharenui where Brett told us all sorts of stories illustrated by the artwork on the walls and ceiling inside. We headed outside to have some fun learning to use taihas. Brett had everyone practice different drills and skills with one another that got their hearts pumping.

Everyone had a chance to practice using a taiaha during our visit to the marae.

     A few of the girls were excited to help Lisa Bond, our resident kiwi, make pavlova. It's always a favorite part of our Iconic Kiwi Tea, and pretty easy to make! Recipes vary, but all you need are egg whites, sugar, vinegar, cream of tartar, vanilla, whipped cream, and your favorite fruit. Try it!

Ruthie (Westmont), Kate (Messiah), Richelle (Messiah), Brianna (Westmont, not pictured), and Katie (Dordt, not pictured) all helped Lisa make pavlova, a classic kiwi "pudding".

     Kaikoura has a wonderful Resource Recovery Center, what we fondly call "the dump", with a diversion rate of around 70%. It's just one of the reasons Kaikoura was the first sustainable community in the world to receive gold certification by EarthCheck. We got a tour of exactly where our recyclables and rubbish go, and stopped at the second hand shop for some new used threads.

Heaps of rubbish, millions of bottles, and blocks of aluminum cans gave us an eye-opening look at what our waste looks like during our trip to Innovative Waste Kaikoura. 

     After our trip to the Resource Recovery Center, we split up into our small groups for the first time for lunch. They are just one way that we hope to grow closer to one another this semester. The students had a brief introduction to New Zealand wildlife on the Palmer Fyffe walk with Barry Dunnett of Forest and Bird, and then prepared for our Iconic Kiwi Tea. Hosted by our two favorite kiwis Emma (Kitchen Manager) and Lisa, we enjoyed lollies, L & P, mince meat pies, roast lamb with mint sauce, and other favorites while we watched the All Blacks do the haka and Lisa quizzed us on some kiwi slang, like "sqiuz" and "crook". And we couldn't forget to sing Happy Birthday to Brian (Sustainable Food Coordinator)!

Our Iconic Kiwi Tea was a great way for students to learn more about local favorites and "kiwiisms". Everyone was encouraged to try tomato sauce, slightly different than ketchup. We were also taught the "proper" way to pile food onto your fork.

     You can't have a real taste of Kaikoura without dipping into the salty water. Before leaving for Student Trip Weekend, Katie (Dordt), Megan (Gordon), Joy (Hope), Richelle (Messiah), and Rachel (Bethel) joined Emma (KM), Brian (SFC), Caleb and myself (Kristen, Student Life Coordinators) on a dive. The spear fishing wasn't too good, but Caleb came home with six crayfish. There were plenty of paua and even an octopus too!

Some students joined staff on a diving trip up the coast. Pictured Left: Brian (SFC) prepares to go spear fishing. Pictured in Center: Kate (Dordt), Richelle (Messiah), and Joy (Hope) enjoyed their time snorkeling. Pictured on Bottom: Caleb (SLC) had a great time diving for crayfish.

Now they're off on their weekend trips as we await the arrival of our final addition, Hannah (Messiah). With Sustainable Community Development and more birthdays around the corner, we have a great week ahead of us!