Life in New Zealand

I figure I had better put something on here about what I have been up to aside from travelling these past seven months. Man, I can't believe the year is half over, time is just flying by!

So, I am living in Christchurch now with my family in a house that is poorly constructed for New Zealand Winter. Central heating is a pretty rare find down here. But I will take 16C in the dead of winter any day! Canterbury I think is the ideal spot for us, it is a dry region not unlike Alberta, and the skies are horizon to horizon like Alberta, and the mountains are on the horizon. Just like Alberta. Unlike Alberta the Ocean is about a 20 minute drive and everything is green!

The similarities don't end with scenery, at my new job I am teaching English from year 9-13, pretty well identical to teaching English grade 8-12 in Canada. I also have small class sizes, and am the only teacher who does what I do at my new school, just like my old school. What is different is that I am working at a private religious school for the Brethren faith. The Brethren are breakaway religion from the Anglican faith, and their chief differences come from the letters from Paul, which I do not know enough about to fully disclose here. Essentially, they believe that there are a lot of negative influences in the world, and they want to protect their community from them, so no television, radio newspapers etc.They also refuse to break bread with those not baptised in their faith, so the students do not eat with us, nor we them, leaving their own private lunchroom more or less unsupervised. This last point has taken some getting used to, and I must admit it still seems a little off to me. They have however been very good to my family and I,, and do not wish to complain about them too much. Besides, work for me is a means to an end. I enjoy what I do, but I much prefer what I do on my own time. The job has allowed us to travel around New Zealand as was the plan, and we have just returned from Thailand, so all is well as far as that is concerned.

I still have not made many personal connections here, and that can be frustrating at times, and I of course miss my friends and family back home, as well as hockey. I have been following the abbreviated season over here, but not being able to watch Jay and Dan on Sportscentre everyday has been an adjustment. Next season I am hoping to get an online subscription and continue rooting for the Jets, though with the realignment, I think their season will be over before it begins.