This week started with a traditional Maori get together. The students went on stage and preformed a dance to all the parents. They sang songs and showed off their moves. After this, the students presented their carving to us as shown on the left. Each part of the event had a different meaning and purpose to their culture. It is very cool to see the influence the Maori culture has on all of their lives. They are always incorporating it into their daily activities inside and outside of the classroom.
We went surfing on the most dangerous beach in New Zealand. It is pretty cool to be able to say that, even if I may have only gotten up on my board 3 times. It was so fun to ride the waves and to try something all of us had never done before. The views were amazing and the day could not have been better. Now we know exactly how to do it if we want to try it on our future adventures!
We headed to Rotorua for the weekend! We started our weekend by shopping around the town and getting breakfast. I am now addicted to Eggs Benedict. After this, we headed to a mud bath and hot springs. It is crazy to think that bubbling water is just below the surface. I have never seen such a thing! These springs were all over the town, causing it to be foggy from the heat and to have a rotten egg smell. The mud mess was totally worth it as our bodies were so soft.
Sunday, we woke up bright and early to head to the glow worm caves. We started by repelling down an 88 foot cliff to where we were met at the bottom by many eel. We tubbed down the river and saw many bugs. We turned our headlights off and the guide banged the water with his tube. The glow worms all came out of their holes above us and lit up. When there is a loud sound in the caves, they think that there are animals around that they can eat. The glow worms light up to attract the bugs into their webs. My goodness was it the COOLEST thing I have ever seen! The worms were amazing.
Throughout our adventure, we crawled through many small spaces. It was so fun to get out of my comfort zone and to fit through these holes. It took a lot of work but it was worth it in the end.