Howdy from Texas...

Dear Blog !

Hello to all, or how they say it in Texas, San Antoni,. "Hey Ya'll !" Lol.
Now how do I start to explain San Antonio, Texas?
Cowboy hats actually are worn around here. Everything is larger than life andddd , (saying this in a very high pitch voice) soooooo many "all you can eat" parlors! woo! Hahaaa. Its a nice place to be, really pretty and much warmer then Canada. Oh how I love the warmth. I've been relaxing a lot and kind of absorbing the fact that in less then a week I'll be back home in the comforts of my own home.

I'm sad that I have to say it, but my Canadian exchange experience has come to an end and at this very moment I am relaxing in San Antonio. I had a very tearful goodbye on Thursday night and Friday morning and not putting on mascara was an awesome idea on my part. It still doesn't seem real as I look over my photos and think that I was actually in Canada. I named it Christchurch for the first week I was there as it made it seem as though I was closer to home. Two months on and I'm happy to say that I had the greatest time in Canada, I learned how to sled, made amazing friends , I became more independent and prioritized myself. I learned a lot and I even shared my culture with Branksome Hall. There wasn't a moment that I regret nor forget. Canada is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Thank you everyone for the support and encouragement.

2010 has begun. New memories will be made, new obstacles, new triumphs, new friendships. This is a year of possibilities, struggle and a whole lot of fun. I started this year off with an experience that blew my mind away. It challenged me mentally, emotionally, physically (so many stairs) and I've made it through the end. I look forward to an amazing year with tears, struggles, essays and all.

Thank you to all who made this trip possible.
God bless and see you all in a few days !
Signing out, for the last time.

Christine Savele
Head Girl of Tamaki College
2010

Thankyous......

Dear Blog

Today is Wednesday the 3rd of March and in less then 48 Hours I will be on a plane to the United States of America, Texas, San Antonio to spend a week with my uncle and aunt.

I decided to take this time to thank everyone who made this trip possible. First and foremost I give thanks to the Lord for his guidance and help throughout the entire 2 months I have been here. I would like to thank Mrs Pamaka and Mr Dunn for giving me this opportunity to explore a world outside of Tamaki College. I feel blessed to have been chosen to come on this exchange and know that I have represented Tamaki College to the best of my ability. I would like to thank the Black and White Golfers Club for their generous donation towards my trip to Canada and Kathy for helping to set it all up . I would like to thank all the staff members who encouraged me to make the most of my trip and who believed in me. I thank my family and friends for their love and support and the many many emails, phone calls, text messages, Facebook mail .... the list goes on! Last but not least, I would like to thank my Dad. As his little girl, I know this was one of the hardest things he's ever done but his belief in God and love and devotion to my future was what motivated me to make the most of this experience and instead of crying each night, smiling and seeing that I'm blessed. So to each and everyone of you and to everyone who reads this blog this is my sincere Thank You, for giving me the chance to come here and for helping in each and every way possible to make this trip one of the best experiences in my life. I will never forget this day and everything I have learned here I will apply to everything I do, as Head Girl of Tamaki College for 2010.

I lied when I said that my father would be the last person I would say thank you to because there's a bunch of people I still need to thank, and I can't name you all one by one because that would be too hard. To the students & staff of Branksome Hall, I never did get to formally say Thank You, so I will now. My time here at Branksome has been by far one of the best experiences I could have ever asked for. I love how each and every day, I would get greeted by smiles from the crossing guard to the beautiful ladies at the tuck shop. In every classroom I never felt left out, you always made an effort to include me and make me feel welcome. To the Rosenblat family who I stayed with for the first thee weeks . To everyone who got to know me, made me laugh and took me out to dinner. I would not have not enjoyed myself as much if it wasn't for you all. But now lastly , I would like to thank the Neel Family, who I stayed with for 6 weeks. Mr and Mrs Neel and Caroline, ( I know you hate it when I call you that ) I'm not used to being away from home and my family and friends have always been my support, so when I left NZ I didn't know how I was going to survive. I can not find the words to describe how thankful I am that I got the chance to stay with you all. From the day I walked into your house, I felt welcomed. I say this with tears streaming down my cheeks, that I never will forget your generosity, your love and the memories we all shared together. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the very tippy top.


Thank you all .
Tommorow night will be my last post .
Expect tears .

Love from
Christine Savele

Sledging and overcoming being a wimp!!!

Dear Blog .

I have been way too busy to do daily blogs so this is a catch up for the days that I missed.
Today is Sunday, and tomorrow I will wake up knowing that it is my last week in Canada. Until now it hasn't exactly kicked in that I'm leaving so soon. My adventure feels like its only just begun, so I write this blog with tears streaming down my cheeks.

8 day, 7 day, 6 day, 5 day count down.
I can't believe it. It felt like only yesterday that I was packing my bags and getting ready to fly to Canada, and now I'm doing the same thing , except now I'm leaving . We went sledging on one of the days that passed and I loved it. I'm not actually a daredevil. I'm actually a real big wimp at times. At the beginning of my trip here, I probably would have looked at the hill I sledged down and thought, HAH ! No wa , Get lost, but instead, I went, saw a smaller hill, had a little practice run then raced up with Cara to conquer the big hill ! It was just a fun thrill and I forgot that I was leaving, forgot that I had a ton of History, Media and English reading to do. All that was running through my head was the fact that I was in Canada and having the time of my life. No exams, no stress, no responsibilities, I was having fun.
Today we watched the hockey game between the USA and CANADA . Talk about INTENSE! The game went into overtime and SIDNEY CROSBY shot the winning goal, with canada getting the gold medal :) I cheered like there was no tommorow! I dont even jump and cheer that much for the All Blacks and I did for Canada. That's saying something.

I love it here. The people, the students,the teachers. :D This has been an amazing experience. I've seen one of the seven wonders of the world, walked through blizards and balanced while walking over icey snow. I've done things here that I don't think of doing in NZ. I survived without my parents .

I'll never forget these past months. Never ..
:) 4days left ..

So I end this blog entry , still crying .
But smiling .

"Don't be sad that it's over, be happy it happened"
I couldn't agree more .

I'll write more when its closer to my last day .
Lots of love
Christine Savele
Headgirl of Tamaki College 2010

Counting Down the Days....

DEAR BLOG (:

9 days left . I think that if I don't count down that i'll end up missing a day and by missing a day i'll end up wasting the day, which I don't want to do.
My time here in Canada has just been purely awesome! I was death scared of dogs before I came and now I pat and love dogs (though i still wouldn't have my own) Haha. I didn't have school today mainly because its Extended Essay day, which is a day where the entire grade works on extended essay. I stayed home to catch up on work from home. Catching up was actually my biggest fear when I came back because I can be one of the laziest people but that's hardly a fear anymore. I came here with so many fears and i'm leaving knowing that I have overcome a lot of the fears and challenges that I put in front of me. I remember the days before I came to Canada, I sat in my room thinking "What if no one likes me ? What if I get lost ? What if I haven't packed enough clothing? What if I get so far behind that I can't catch up and then end up failing Level 3? What if I am not a good head girl?" I came here on January 2nd with all those thoughts clouding my head and now I leave in 9 days hyped and ready for the rest of the year. I'm going to miss the snow and the people here , ESPECIALLY my exchange host Cara Neel. 9 days and counting. I hope they are the longest and slowest days of my life because I don't want them to end. Not now, not in 9 days or ever.
Today's blog is just me blabbering about my thoughts and how awesome it has been here. Kind of tearing up thinking about leaving but I'm excited about going to Texas and being somewhere warmer and seeing another part of the world. Beautiful .

Well, I will keep in contact about everything else that happens.

I'm really going to miss this place.

Lots of love
Christine Savele

Infusion...

Dear Blog

I am counting down. 10 Days left! I've decided to change back into Tamaki uniform tommorow even though I don't have to until next week but I want to. Loud of Proud Tamaki Girl :) ..

INFUSION! This is the most rockingest event to have happened here at Branksome. Now Polyfest & culture group day back at home is just as good except we, being Pacific Islanders, witness the same dances and most of them are similar. Niuean / Tongan / Samoan etc. But infusion is so much different! It has Japenese dancing, Bollywood and Austrian dancing too. It was amazing and had all of us bouncing, jumping and laughing in our seats. It was amazing to see the different cultures and one of the dances was actually slightly similar to Samoan dancing in a way. The dancing was graceful and beautiful. I loved it.
Last ten days and I am trying my best not to cry. In ten days I will leave to Texas and my footstep prints will most likely fade once the snow melts. I've loved every moment here. I have cried missing home, laughed at the crazy things that people say and the way that Canadians pronounce "Laundry" Hahaahaa.
I dont know if I've ever said this, but Thank You. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. This is an experience that by far is the best thing that has happened to me. Though I've cried so many times and thrown fits about missing my Mum amd Dad and wanting to see them again, but I guess as a person I've grown stronger. I stand on my own two feet and I've smiled because I kind of know who I am . See what I'm capable of doing ? Its been a good reflection time here.
I'm happy I came and also happy I'm leaving. As beautiful as the surrounding is, my home is Glen Innes and I cant wait to put everything I have learnt back into action.

10 days, counting down and smiling the whole way .

Lots of love
Christine Savele
Head Girl _ 2010

USA v Canada Hockey Match...

11 Days in counting until I have to leave the beautiful land of snow and frost bites :( and I am not at all happy about it. Must I really leave? Well for the next 11day , I shall promise to post detailed accounts of everything I have done here.
So, last weekend I went to a concert. One of my friends is Elyssa Carroll-Goldman and her band was performing, feel free to Google or Youtube her. She is awesome and as she was performing I just randomly happened to look over at her dad and he was mouthing the words to her songs. It was just a classic moment that made me fully miss my dad :( . This weekend, I also went to Yourkville where they had an ice sculpture exhibition going on and it was just beautiful to see! There was a huge moose, a ballerina, dogs pulling a sled and it was all just ice sculptures. It was beautiful. Art is honestly an amazing thing. I also have something to be very proud of and that is the skills that I have learned while here. Prioritising what I need to do for the weekend is not something that I am good at BUT, Ive learnt how to place everything that I need to do in order and stick to it with out procrastinating.
HIGHLIGHT OF MY WEEKEND - I watched USA play Canada in Hockey and I decided that I would support USA. :D The competition in the air was just amazing, screaming, shouting and foul words here and there. It was hilarious and the aftermath of Canada loosing? This is not something you would want to witness! Hahaa . Congratulations to the USA though as hockey really is a brutal sport! Did anyone else witness how it was nearly like rugby on ice at times with people were getting tackled?
Well another week of school is starting. My second to last week :( I'm so sad. Its INFUSION this week! I'm so excited because I've never seen Germans dance or Japenese dancing in real life so this will just add to the loads of experiences that I'm having here :D. I'm excited and ready for the week. Oh and did I add that I will be performing the Haka here as so many people have requested it. So that will be extremely interesting .

I shall be back tommorow with news.
Last 11 days .. :(
Anyone know how to rewind time ?

Christine Savele
Headgirl 2010

Niagara Falls.....

:) Dear Blog ..

Days here in Canada just get better and better. It started off with a four day weekend where I visited Niagara Falls. May I add that it was Valentines day but no Valentine though..... Sigh. Let me tell you, just being there and seeing the huge waterfall, the simplicity of it all, it was honestly so breathtaking. I stood and stared for hours. Just being there, watching the water lap over each other, seeing the smile on everyone's faces, and all it was, was water. I buy lollies, clothing, gadgets and they make me happy, but the feeling that you get when you see amazing sights such as the Niagara Falls is just priceless !
As I said before, our Biology class visited Body Worlds, where people who donate there bodies to science have their bodies plasticised and cut up in order to show certain parts of the body etc and to tell you the truth, I was extremely disapointed. It all looks fake, and because it looks fake I don't see the need for people to donate their bodies to this kind of research where their bodies are fully disrespected ! The positions that the bodies are pulled into, then made to harden, could hurt someone when they are alive. I don't see the need for actual humans to be used, technology has advanced itself enough and there are more simple ways that it all could have been made out of clay or any other resources. I really didn't like it. On a high note, I got to visit the "Tutankhamun - The Golden King and the great Pharaohs" exhibition and I was overwhelmed ! The fact that creations such as these actually exist was so fascinating. I got to see an actual mummy tomb and learnt about the reason why gold masks were placed on mummies. Not only did I learn about it but I saw it with my own two eyes, the hieroglyphics and the jewelery, and statues that stood like 17 feet tall! It was amazing. I actually want to visit Egypt now, which I plan on doing later on in life. It was just amazing and makes you think, was it really necessary to adapt the world into what we know it as now with technology overuling everything else? Were we really lazy enough that we had to make life simpler? It honestly was an amazing exhibition. I'm not sure if it came to NZ . I think it may have but it was amazing. It made up for how disapointing body worlds was :)
I am also very proud of myself, with the fact that I am becoming more proactive with balancing work and social life here. Which is something that I know I will need this year, when I come back to New Zealand .


Well goodbye for now and I shall keep you updated on everything else that happens.

Ps - it's infusion next week and I think that I am going to Montreal this weekend which will be exciting :)

Goodbye for now .
Christine Savele
Headgirl 2010

The Art of Procrastination...

Dear Blog ;

I was sitting around today and reading through my blogs, fascinated over how many people actually read this. So, I thought I would take advantage of this opportunity to not only share my experiences here, but to share certain barriers that I hope to overcome whilst here.
Procrastination - Its one thing that should be a sin, because then I would actually be more scared to do it. There comes a time in the day where you decide you will sit down and fully take control of the spare time you have to work on that essay given to you a week ago. Then - you suddenly realise that you HAVE to clean your room, then once you finish cleaning room you suddenly become hungry, so put off studying to go and eat, you cant work on an empty stomach right? You spend at least 40 minutes eating, then think you should get rest and by the end of the day you have the cleanest room in the house, your tummy is full, you've combed your hair at least 20 times and yet still haven't managed to write the title of that essay! Being here in Canada, 'Ive become more independent as I don't have my mother around anymore telling me to clean my room or to show her my homework. Ive had to become my own mother and in a way, I see this task as something straight forward and simple. It's something that I could have easily achieved in NZ whilst at home with my family but I didn't. Was it because I didn't want to? I didn't know how to? No, it was just because I never let myself. Taking the easy way out seems the best thing for me, for anyone and yet, all those days when I walked with both feet, really I was being carried maybe even dragged along by other people.
So do I hope for change? I sure do.
The art of procrastination! I've been using this paintbrush my entire life but, slowly, I think it's time to retire. So with this I have begun to write "Tomcat & Maori Jesus Essay - by Christine Savele"

:) Have a good day .
Christine ..

Drama Performances are a hit!!!

Dear blog .

I have written to you so much that I think we can now call each other friends, so I shall now call you Bloggie. Haha !!Sorry, I'll work on my humour .

Well, hello readers! School this week has been cut short. We have a long 4 day weekend and a family day, which I intend to spend catching up on homework that my dear English teacher has assigned me, (Thanks sir) , and exploring Toronto. On Tuesday and Wednesday , I had two nights filled with drama performances which were all written, produced, directed and acted by students. It was marvelous! You will not believe how high the standard of the performances were! Students put their hearts and souls into their acting. It honestly was really beautiful. My favourite was a musical. The plot started off with students who had all lost someone in 9-11. I swear, if I did not bite my lip , I would have cried!
Another awesome celebration which took place was the Residence Chinese New Year Dinner. It was beautiful. They told us facts about the New Year and sang songs in Chinese, which I NOW OFFICIALLY can not get out of my head! The food was amazing, with dumplings, noodles and duck. There was so much food. I don't think I will be loosing any weight at all here! Oh! did I mention that I blended pig liver today for a bio lab? We needed to get as much surface area as possible for the enzyme experiment we were doing and I played rock paper scissors and lost. I was the lucky one who had to blend it all together. Talk about picking on the exchange student! :) I have a trip to body world next week which I am extremely excited about! The exposition has real life people, who's bodies have been donated to the exposition, and they have been coated with paster and it shows the entire body structure. I hear it is to be amazing and I cant wait! :)
I'm on the other side and yet I feel at home. Can I stay longer? PLEASE ? Haha .

Shall keep you posted . I know there is much more news to tell .

Got to fly .
Christine Savele
Headgirl 2010 :)

Olympic Week !!!

Do you think it is possible to extend my stay here in Canada until the end of the year ? Or is that pushing it ? LOL !! Well what can I say, I am officially LOVING TORONTO and most of all, my stay at Branksome. There is never a week of boredom. NEVER! The word just does not exist in this school. Spirit week has ended and we are now awaiting the arrival of OLYMPIC WEEK ! :) Students will be able to watch some of the events at lunch time in the auditorium. There will also be trivia, a challenge of tug of war and just so much more! Each adviser group (which is like a careers group at Tamaki) is also going to be given a country which they must represent for the rest of the week ! Now how fun does that sound! I'm looking forward to it, especially seeing all the different ways that people will represent their country. Speaking of different countries, it's INFUSION TIME ! :) which at Tamaki is like Culture group day . Chinese New Year is another upcoming event where they gave out fortune cookies which had facts about the Chinese New Year. The residence girls will be having a huge dinner in celebration of the New Year. So much happening so little time . Oh , I nearly forgot. The FORMAL was on last Saturday. It was a night to remember! The Branksome Formal was held at Berkley Hall, a beautiful, huge venue. The vibe was just amazing and everyone looked spectacular ! People strutting their stuff and dancing. It was just a beautiful night :)
I have realised that in NZ, I am easily portrayed as a confident person, but what I realised is that you don't know how confident you are until you are fully taken out of your comfort zone. I believed that I was independent and yet when I came here, it was the first time I felt as though I was actually standing on my own two feet. I guess, what I'm really trying to say is that Canada is doing wonders for me. I'ts not just Canada. I owe it all to Branksome, the students, their work effort and the amount of passion they put into everything they do that makes me light up :) I'm growing in confidence and loving learning new things. This isn;t just an experience, it's a life changing event .

Shall keep you posted on everything else that happens here in the beautiful land of snow .

Christine Savele
Headgirl 2010

Spirit Week is Here!!!!!

Dear Blog ..

Spirit week has begun and it is one of the most amazing events I have ever attended. You know that there is spirit when you walk into an auditorium and it's filled with nearly 800 girls all pumped and hyped for one thing - to murderise all other grades in order to get first place ! The vibe for spirit week is intense ! There have been tears, laughter, screaming, stress even a foul word or two !
Day ONE - Banner decorating ..... All grades are given 15 minutes to decorate a banner which links to your grade theme. This is not as intense but a lot of cheer battles were happening ! First place was given to GRADE 11's with their intense banner themed with "WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE" .. :) Oh did I mention day one was also Crazy Hair Day ? Now when you use the word Crazy at Branksom, people go ALL OUT ! from HUGE hats to crazy pony tails and tiger visors ! They were the cutest thing ever. After the first day, every one became fully hyped for day two which was Crazy Torso day. People went all out with capes and full uniforms for grades. It was awesome! The second day activity was the human scavenger hunt where individuals from each grade represented their grade in a crazy activity. For example there was best celebrity impersonation, funniest joke, best rap about Branksome ! The competition was intense. THE FUNNIEST ONE THOUGH went to the most dramatic reciting of poetry ! You will not believe how good these girls can be at drama ! It was hilarious. See the videos as proof ! (which are only on Facebook at the moment but I will attempt to have them shown to you all in some sort of way). Overall (I may be wrong), the Grade 12s took out the Human Scavenger Hunt. Now the moment everyone was waiting for. For weeks each grade had been practicing intently for their Lipsync which had to be a remix of about 7 songs that relate to your theme . Of course, yours truely took part :) First place was worth a wopping 80 points, but sadly my grade - the grade 11s came fourth, which was NOT FAIR AT ALL ! (but thats another story). Grade 12s took it out with their theme of SISTERS ! The dress up was below the knee and crazy socks were all the hip ! :)
Today was the final day, where each grade presented their cheer, points were tallied and results were presented at the school day. 1st place went to the grade 12s. 2nd to the Grade 10s. 3rd to the grade 11s. 4th to the grade 8s. 5 to the grade 7s and 6th to the grade 9s . It was just an absolutely awesome week ! I wish we did it back at home.
oh annnnnd ANOTHER AWESOME THING ABOUT SPIRIT WEEK ! In order to gain points Grades can also buy things such as paper and stationery for the kids in South Africa and Haiti and the more you bring the more points your grade gets! It is fully intense and there have been more then 20 boxes filled per grade ! :)
SPIRIT WEEK HERE IS AWESOME ! and I hope athletics day this year is as spirited as spirit week here as it is an unbelievably amazing vibe :)

* Cara Neel, she's my exchange host. She's unexplainable!! I cant thank Branksome enough for pairing me up with her. She's such a great person inside and out that it's made being away from my parents so much easier . :) We are different in so many ways, that we are similar ! Just had to add that . :)

Keep you posted on my adventures :)

Christine Savele
HG_2010

Spirit Week.....

Dear Blog !

Itsss SPIRIT WEEK ! :) wooohoooo !! Spirit week here at Branksome is equivalent to Athletics Day at Tamaki EXCEPT it lasts longer and they have tons more spirit then we do . No offense , Love you all :( Okay , so here is how it goes. For four days they have different ways of dressing up in your house colours . Each grade comes up with a theme that matches their grade colour. Our grade colour is Orange and our theme is Welcome to the Jungle ! Classic dont you think ? Every lunch time there are Grade activities which people participate in order to get points. Its an all out battle on who will win ! So much competition in the air :) Speaking of Spirit , I am fully overwhelmed about how much effort Branksome has put into relief for Haiti . There are boxes filled with used shoes for Haiti and they also have a donations box outside of their office for any donations. They have been having cookie decoration sales and lollie kebabs . It's AWESOMMEEEE ! So far they have already raised over a grand ! and with the pennies for peace that they contributed as well , and wait for it - They raised nearly $9,000! Impressive much ? :) I am such a mellow hearted person (cough) so I love this kind of thing. 20 points for Branksome ! Love it . Oh .. BIG NEWS ! I went to the CN Tower today ! and the Sky Tower is not as awesome as the CN TOWER is ! We went straight after school with some of the exchange students from Australia and it was amazing ! It was getting kind of dark , and when you look out it is like just a beautiful wave of lights. Auckland beat that ? Lol . Its amazing . Lovinggg it . :) Shall post photos up soon. Anyway , there is one teacher that I really must talk about and hope to steal and bring back home. Mr Mcvay is our history teacher and I have no idea what it is but he has an awesome teaching method . He talks , has disscusions, and he really gets his class thinking ! He will have people fully justify the reasoning for their answers and there will just be full on discussions. At the end of the day you have used all your brain cells and you start questioning everything and thinking about everything. Its a huge help with all other classes . :) I love it .. Oh & while I am on the subject of amazing teachers ? I would like to say Welcome to my new History teacher Mr Dale ? WELCOME SIR ! :)

Will keep everyone posted on the happenings of spirit week .

Love from
Christine Savele
Headgirl 2010

Ok.. so what is a Liger ???

Dear Blog !
Did you know that there is an actual species called a LIGER ? Its a cross between a lion and a tiger ! It is huge ! Its soo unbelievable. We were shown one in the first part of history today. History at Branksom Hall as well as T.O.K (Theory of knowledge) are the most enjoyable classes that I have because they are the most interesting ! Not just because of the subject itself but how they are taught. We at Tamaki do a lot of book work, (which I love, nothing wrong with it) but there are more discussions which I personally think makes you think more, because copying out of a text book is just kind of too easy. Anyway, in these two classes they do more discussions about questions, and with 80 minute classes a lot can be achieved ! History is full of discussions and right now we are learning about Joesph Stalin and we have come to the part where we talk about the way Stalin eliminated religion then used it again to his advantage . That of course got the discussion of religion going and once again Christine was the minority ! In T.O.K we talked about how tradition is being lost and its not really encouraged to learn your own background & tradition. Christine was the minority again ! After coming from somewhere , where I am part of the hundreds who go to church & love learning about traditions and history , it's hard to believe that people across the world do things differently. Today is Friday 29th. I think its the 29th :) anddd this week coming up is ALL ABOUTTTT SPIRITTTT WEEEK :) orange orangeee & orangeeee .. thats the colour of my clang (house) & we have cheer practice on Sunday :O They seriously go all out here when it comes to competition :) Plusss , if all goes well , I may start my investigation on whether "Environment effects maturity" which will be sooo interesting. My new friends here will be helping me produce a film noir for school :) which I cant wait for. Going to love it . :) Well that's how my trip in Canada is going soooo far ..
Keep you posted .
Oh and ps - I am nailing biology :) Mr Dewan went over Enzymes about a million times last year and they have just started the unit this year :) I feel like a genius !!!

Christine xx

Me in the snow!!!

Blizzards!!!

Yaaaay !! I have started with more regular blogs, because I have more friends and more to talk about ! :) I had my first snow blizzard this morning ! I wasnt expecting it , and we had like a cm of snow in less then 10minutes . As cold as it was , I was actually pretty guttered when it stopped. Funny story. People here are dieing to get tattoos, and funnily enough, I have one. I said it casually to one of the girls I met and she was sooo shocked. Made me laugh . Anywaaay - back to important issues. I seem to be having a real big problem here , nothing to do with bullying or anything absurd like that , but - just the fact that like , everything is so different. After being here for 26 days you would think that I have adjusted ! I haven't actually. My Samoan culture ways are fully colliding with the way they live here. Quick example - independency is something that you don't get till your like 104 ! but here, its different. Anywhere , gooo .. be freee ? I know of some people in New Zealand who get the same treatment, but I've never lived somewhere where, its NORMAL ? Its everywhere ? (shows how far I've been in life) Hahaa. Oh and they regularly speak French here? Hard to understand. Nothing like Samoan . :) ObviouslY !! The winter Olympics are starting up here soon. Not going to be watching it though ? && today im going to be attending a photography class. Photography and art is huge here ! and the people are amazingly talented . At Tamaki , our music classes are huge right ? there a popular subject but here its art & photography. Music classes have like 7 people ? I am officially over being home sick and am looking forward to the days to come becaaausseee - there is A LOT of preparation for spirit week happening, which is intense here. Everyone is practicing like there is no tomorrow. There is the Formal too, which once again is still buzz of the moment. Dramas with formal partners & everything have already been happening. Did I mention this ? I met Greg Mortenson , he's the famous author for Three Cups of Tea & Pennies for Peace, an organisation which helps to raise money in order to build schools for girls in Pakistan :) He came to speak at Branksome and it was sooo moving . :) Good man. Hes a good man . :)

Got to go . :)
Keep you updated on everything else that happens.

Christine :)

Lock downs and Spirit Week!!!

Dear Blog . Lol ;
Okay . Love it here . Actually have begun eating salads ! Hahaha . There's a first ? Anyway , we had a lockdown drill yesterday and I didn't know what it was about, or why we did lockdowns until one of the other students told me that it was for if like if criminals are on the loose nearby ? FREAKY ! The closest Tamaki has gotten to a drill is like , Fire drill ? :) . Problems :- there is a huge culture difference here , and after coming from a place where everyone is mainly Christian, its weird to come here and have a majority of people here believe in Darwin's Theory of Evolution and most people do not even believe in God. I'm actually pretty much a minority here and it feels soooo different. Anyway , I've moved out of Sarah Roseblats house and I'm now staying with Cara Neel , which is awesome for me ! Cara , isn't the person coming back to New Zealand though ? I actually dont know if there is anyone coming back to NZ ? I shall keep you posted. Updates for BranksomeHall ? Next week is SPIRIT WEEK ! It is going to be a blast, there are competitions all through out the week and crazy dress-upss . :) Cant wait! Also , next week is the ball (formal) & I'll be taking waaaay more photos to keep you all updated on that !
Take Care . Good luck with the first weeks of school .
(message for both teachers and students)

Keep you updated .
:)

Oh ! and I forgot to mention the weather ! Before I came to Canada , I fully packed sooo much clothing and wore sooo many layers ? Everyone saying I would freeze my face off . Liars :( It's not as cold this year ! Which is lucky for me . The temperature has only been between -3 degrees and 7degrees . Its not that bad and I'm loving the snow ! There's not much though. sadly ! :)



Great uniform eh???

When I first got here......

I wrote this when I first got here.

Day one ! I can not believe that I actually made it. After practically creating a waterfall with the amount of tears I've shed. I can very well say that I have settled in. Hello Tamaki. Well today is JANUARY 4TH, also the same day that one of the most important people you'll ever know was born . MEE ! Today is my birthday, but instead of being happy about it, I have to get ready for a new day tomorrow. I start up at Branksome ! Excited? try the words terrified ! Attached are photos of the snow, because right now that's all I have to offer. I went shopping today at Yorksdale? It makes Sylvia Park look TINY ! literally. I have been eating a lot of bagels ! :D good food here, good food. Anyway, its nearly dinner time, so I best be off. I might go and make myself a cupcake and sing happy birthday to myself. sweet. Good bye !

Christine's First Post from Canada...

Dear Blog . Lol ..
its been approximately , 15days since I set foot in the land of all snow - Canada .. and its been 10 days since i started school at Branksome Hall . it is fully different ! Toronto Canada looks nothing at all like Glen Innes , there's tons of snow ! so everything looks purely painted white . The houses are much bigger , ( i haven't seen a single one floor house yet ) . Its like living in the city , being surrounded by buildings which are like sky tower high . Its kind of ridiculous .. Missing the comforts of home . School is soooo different , let me list the differences - There are no boys (most obvious difference) , the library is quiet ! all the time . There are about four levels to the school and they have half floors too ! (Honestly why would you need a half floor!) They only have one lunch :( and there are four classes in the day , all one hour and 20 minutes long ! Time passes really quickly though , and school starts at 8.30 finishes at 3.30 .. no tutor time ? .. The buzz at Branksome Hall at the moment is the Formal (Ball) and Spirit Week (a week where all grades battle it out against each other in games, lipsyncs, dances . Its crazy and even I cant wait for it .. Oh yeah , and the school is fully student run ! The prefects do everything , set up things for up coming events , run the entire assembly , they are the backbone of the school. Its kind of inspiring in a way ? lol .
Anyway , visited the McMichael Art Gallery ! sooo pretty , the Inuit art is something sooo different. Haven't done much , other then that . BUT ill keep you posted on everything that occurs while i am here in Canada..

See Yaa
- Chrisitne :)