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