You're Going Where?!

I will be teaching at Swanson Primary School, located in Swanson, New Zealand. Swanson is on the northern island of New Zealand and located west of Auckland. It is a small town and is approximately 50 minutes from the Auckland International Airport.

When I am in New Zealand for 8 weeks, I plan on stretching myself and experiencing new things. While I am in New Zealand, I will allow myself to be open to the culture that I am in and gain new perspectives from the people who I am surrounding myself with. I am planning on pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and learning more about who I am as an individual. I am extremely excited and honored to be teaching in Auckland at Swanson Primary School. The culture, traditions, country, and school wide initiatives that I am going to be experiencing at Swanson are not only going to help me grow as a person but also as an educator. It is both an exciting and anxious time right now but I am more than ready to begin my adventure half way around the world 

Here are some quick facts about New Zealand!

• Population: 4,433,100 People
• Capital: Wellington
• Major Languages: English, Maori
• Major Religion: Christianity  
• Life expectancy: 76 years (men), 81 years (women) 
• Main exports: Wool, food and dairy products, wood and paper products
• Internet domain: .nz 
• International Dialing Code: +64 
• I New Zealand Dollar = 0.8117 US dollars

Here are some quick facts about Auckland!

• Auckland is the largest as well as the most populous urban area of New Zealand.
• Auckland was originally inhabited by the Maori people.
• Auckland was initially known as ‘Tamaki Makau Rau,’ meaning a maiden with 100 lovers.
• Auckland houses the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world.
• Auckland has two harbors on two separate major bodies of water, namely Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean.
• The largest volcano located in Auckalnd is in the Rangitoto Island.
• As per 2006 statistics, Auckland ranked 23^rd on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.
• With regard to the quality of life, Auckland currently ranks 5^th amongst 218 major cities of the world.
• Auckland is commonly referred as the "City of Sails", because the harbor is flanked by hundreds of yachts and has more yachts per capita than any other city in the world.
• Auckland is the breeding ground for the New Zealand Sea Lion, which is the most endangered of the five species of sea lion in the world.
• Auckland houses approximately 30 percent of the world’s total population of yellow-eyed penguin, which is also bred there.

New Zealand lies in the southern Pacific Ocean, 1600 km east of Australia. It is made up of the North and South Islands and a number of smaller islands, with a total area of 268 000 sq km.

Mountain ranges and hill country dominate NZ's landscape; one of the most striking physical features is the Southern Alps. These, along with fiords glaciers and lakes and the coastal plains of Canterbury and Southland add to the variety of the South Island scenery. In the North Island the volcanic interior contains NZ's largest lake, Lake Taupo, and most of the country's active volcanoes - Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - Ruapehu erupted as recently as 1995 and 1996. Hot springs, geysers, mud pools also form part of the volcanic system centred around Rotorua.

I cannot wait to learn more about the country when I am actually there and able to experience all of its beauty. I know that is experience is going to change my perspective on life and I am very excited to take in all that I can while I am half way around the world for 8 weeks!