November/December: Travel Notes
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November/December: Travel Notes
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SUMMER IS HERE: Mid-November, we finally started getting nice weather again! Landmark events included putting the extra winter quilt away for good, and the dehumidifier powering down to barely-there usage. I dug the beginning-of-year massively expensive bottle of sunscreen out of the mothballs a little too late: by the time I had it ready to go, I had gotten a small sunburn. I'll go home to Canadian winter with a nice tan! MY TRIP TO OHOPE: Bill and Sylvie from the Jewish group very graciously had me for a weekend at their "bach" (aka cottage) in Ohope. Bill drove me to up the beach for a fabulous hike wherein I collected seashell and driftwood souvenirs. Then I spent a nice afternoon lounging on the beach. We got in a visit with their neighbours and a bit of beach time in the morning before the drive back to Hamilton. THE END IS NEAR: Late November, we finished classes and started our last practicum of the year. I wound up with kids only a year and a bit younger than the ones I had last time, but having them in the primary school (as opposed to middle school) setting makes them surprisingly different. I also was with an associate teacher who is lovely but very unlike me. These factors combined to make this practicum feel a lot tougher than the last one. I had fun, but was ready for it to be done by the end :) MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Two of the Canadians are doing their practicums in Mount Maunganui, about an hour an a half away. We drove up there for a Sunday to visit them and had a wonderful barbecue followed by some quality beach time. Us ladies caught up with our girl talk, then we had a nice game of beach frisbee before cleaning up to come home. Two of my Canadian friends are staying in New Zealand but one of them will be back in Toronto with me in a few weeks! |
