Day 1: Auckland,
New Zealand 6/24/04
Finally! I am in NZ (New
Zealand), but the plane trips took forever.
First, on June 22, I woke up at 4:30
am and ate breakfast. At 5:15
a.m., my family left for Davenport,
IA. At
Davenport, I said my goodbyes, and
got on a bus for an airport to Cedar
Rapids. I talked to my friends on the way. At
Cedar Rapids, we went through
security check and waited and waited and waited. Little did I know that I was in
for long hours. Finally, we got on the plane and left for the
Detroit airport. Again, we had to
walk, wait, and eat as we got to
Detroit. We boarded a bigger plane
that was going to L.A. We finally
arrived at L.A., and we waited, ate
and walked to the terminal. We met the
Illinois group. Our group is the
Iowa group even though that the
other student ambassadors and I live in
Illinois. We then boarded a HUGE
plane that was a double decker. The plane was awesome!
Everyone had a personal T.V. and headphones. You could watch movies and play
video games. I sat on the aisle seat, next to two very nice Australian sisters.
I fell asleep at 7:00 NZ time, and
woke up again at 1:00. By that time,
the plane trip only had a few hours left, thankfully. We finally got off the
plane, and it was Wednesday, June 25,
2004.
Day 2: Auckland,
NZ 6/24/04
After the plane ride, we
waited a little. Then we met Clark, our part-marae
tour guide for our stay in NZ. He is a funny guy, who was very friendly. We took
the bus, or “coach” as local people called it, and left for MERC, which was a
team building center. Clark first stopped at a place
where we got our money changed in to NZ dollars. My $50 in
U.S. money was
worth $76 in NZ. We then left for MERC. We started off by everyone, (everyone
being the P2P groups from IL, IA, PA, and FL,) gathering in a huge glass room
where you could see the beach. It was beautiful. A MERC person explained our
schedule, and she split the FL and PA groups away from us. They did sports
activities while we did team building activities such as trying to line up
tallest to shortest without talking, line up by our birthdays without talking,
being given a animal noise to make and trying to find the other animals without
seeing, and many more. We only had and hour and 15 min. left, and we chose what
sports activity we would like to do. I chose rock climbing out of 100ft. tree
climbing, kayaking, beach walking, and rock climbing. Rock climbing was very
fun. The only problem was the NZ has rain showers any time that pour down for
about 2 min. Unfortunetly, we encountered that while
rock climbing. After MERC, we rode on the coach to a school. It was sort of like
a middle school, with less advanced materials. When we arrived, we found out
that we were early and the kids were in the middle of recess. We saw them
playing in uniforms that were blue. Most of them were barefoot!
Clark told us that they were barefoot because they didn’t
have things that hurt their feet. We were assigned into groups of six, with two
NZ students leading us around. They were nice and funny, although their accents
were somewhat hard to understand. We remarked that the school layout seemed a
bit like a college campus. Some unusual classes for middle school was dancing,
home mac., and advanced biology. I gave American coins
as gifts to the kids. School was
very interesting, but it was time to go. We went to the hotel and settled
in.
Day 3: Marae tribe, NZ 6/25/04
We
got up at 6:00 am, got ready, ate
breakfast, boarded the coach, and made a two-hour trip to Sapphire Springs.
While we were there, we learned about the Marae
welcome. After that, we split into three groups. My group went with Ken, our
instructor, and went down to a couple of flax plants. Those plants are extremely
tough and important to Moari’s, because Moari’s use the flax plant for building houses, clothes, and
other things. Next, we wove a flax flower, that unfortunetly, we are not allowed to bring home. We went into
the forest looking at prehistoric-tree-ferns, silver fern, and trees. The silver
fern is the national symbol of NZ. After that, we planted trees that will most
likely grow to maturity. We went to the Marae tribe,
where they started the welcome ceremony. The chief, tried to scare us by doing a
dance. He was wearing a beaded flax skirt. He laid down a small plant. Our
“chief” Ben picked it up, showing that we came in peace. They sang songs,
welcomed us and we sang a couple of verses from “This Land is Your Land”. We
settled in, ate dinner, and watched a very interesting Moari concert. They called the girls up and we learned and
action dance. The boys went up and they learned a haka, or war dance. We got into bed afterwards and went to
sleep. During our overnight stay, the Moari’s have
taught us these words:
Pafaroa-Marae
toku-toku- woven artwork that tells a story
Kia
ora- hello-welcome-thank you whate-kai- cafeteria
Poi-balls on a string
arohanui-lots of love
Pukana-bug-eyed tounge out
karakia- prayer
Whate-nui-house
pomaole-sleep peacefully
Day 4: Rotourua, NZ 6/26/04
We got up in the morning at about 6:00, and we cleaned up, ate breakfast, and went outside
for a “thank you” ceremony. Ratiwinia, our main
hostess, said thank you for being such a great group. I went up with gifts from
the kids. I had made a dreamcatcher and they thought
that was cool. Other gifts that also represented
America were
really cool as well. We left and made our coach trip to Rotourua. We went to a souviner
shop where I bought some nice things, and then we luged down a mountain. It wasn’t regular luging, where you lay down; actually, we sat in a cart that
went really fast. It was AWESOME. The only safety feature that you had to wear
was a helmet. I went down three times! Afterwards, we went to a museum called
The Bath House. It was historical as well as an art museum. It looked like a
mansion. We saw a movie on how the volcano erupted. The way the room was
designed, the floor and bench we were sitting on actually moved. We saw Moari graffiti soon after that. At the same time this was
going on, we looked out the window, and some Moari’s
were finishing some graffiti! We went back to the hotel, called parents, and
some kids swam, but I didn’t. We went to bed after a wonderful day.
Day 5: Rotourua, NZ 6/27/04
Today was so cool. We got up, ate breakfast, and went to the Hoka Jet place. We went on a Hoka
Jet. Our driver made4 it go so fast that we skimmed
across the water. We did 360’s as well as we dodged objects by a hair. I was
soaked but luckily, I brought extra clothes. Next, we got hot
chocolate and brownies from next door. After that, e went to a geothermal area.
Iit was almose exactly like
Yellowstone National
Park in the
U.S.A. We went
to Rainbow Springs next. We saw a kiwin bird. The kiwi birdis a fairly small flightless
bird. We weren’t allowed to take pictures because kiwis are nocturnal and
a flash would scare the bird. We exited the kiwi shelter, and we saw huge
rainbow trout, blue trout , and birds. Some of the
rainbow trout were injred because males take bites out
of eachother during spawning season. We came back to
the hotel, attended our journal meeting, and we went to bed.
Day 6:Auckland, NZ 6/28/04
We got to sleep in until 7:30,
then we awoke, and ate breakfast. We then did a coach
ride to Auckland. When we arrived,
we went to Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World. It was
amazing! There were female fis h that turned into
males, stingrays, sharks, and many other sorts of underwater animals. We rode
through tow aquarium tunnels, then we went to the
Discovery room where there were starfish that you could hold, and an octopus
that could fit through holes the size of quarters. The octopus was currently in
a small hollowed out log, and its tentacles were suction-cupping the sides of its aquarium. We then had a
chance to shop,
and then my P2P groupwent to our hotel
that we were staying in for the night. We settled in, ate dinner,and went to sleep.
Day 7:
Cairns,
Australia 6/29/04
G’day mate! I’m in
Australia and it
is a wonderful country/continent. The P2P group got up at 3:00 this morning to get to the airport, and then we made a
2 hour tip to
Brisbane. The flight was boring but
everyone was excited, because we were finally going to be in
Australia.
Luckily, we hadn’t lost anybody yet. After we arrived in
Brisbane, we made another 2 hour trip to Cairns.When we
finally arrived, we went through meeting our tour guide Partrick, and exchanging money. We then departed for the
Rainforestation, where we first met a Pamigirri guide3, who is an Aborigini that shows Aboriginal culture. He showed us how to
throw a boomerang. Even for Aborigini’s the boomerand sometimes doesn’t come back! He then demonstrated
playing the didgeri-doo, which was very interesting.
Finally he showed us spear throwing, with a spear
thrower. The P2P group thengot a chance to shop, and
then we went on an army duck. The army duck was made in
America, so the
wheel was on the left side and not the right. The army duck went on land as well
as water. Our driver stopped at a tree that had green ants on it. He picked some
up and offered them to us to eat or lick. How disgusting! Surprisingly, some of
our group grabbed one and licked it! They said it tasted like lemons. EWWWW! After that, we got another chance to shop and go to
the wildlife park where there was kangaroos that we
could feed! Some female kangaroos, had joeys! Some wallabies were there, but
none would allow me to pet and feed them. Also I saw a
common wombat, a dingo, and fresh+salt water
crocodiles! I held an amazingly adorable and soft koala that I got a
professional photo with. To bad we had to leave to go to the hotel. We settled in, after
an awesome, but tiring day.
Day 8:
Cairns,
Australia 6/30/04
This morning P2P got up and ate breakfast. This hotel is huge and it is
called Palace Royale. It started to rain, but it just drizzled. We boarded the
bus to go to the docks. We arrived, and went on a walk along the beach that was
man- made. After a little while, we walked back to the ship that we were going
to ride on to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a packed
boat that many people got seasick on. The ride was long but when we arrived, it
was worth it! The Moore Reef was beautiful. The colors didn’t seem as bright as
pictures, but the fish were multi-colored and very interesting. I went
snorkeling for a while, and then I ate lunch on the boat. I went snorkeling
again, and got out of the water. I looked at the touch tank, which was on the
platoon and had starfish, sea slugs, and a couple of other interesting things.
Then I went into a submarine ride that had all glass walls so that you could see
out, and we left back to land. We came back to the hotel and went to bed after a
really cool day.
Day 9:
Cairns+
Sydney,
Australia 7/1/04
We woke up in the
morning, and boarded the coach to leave for the Kuranda train ride. We arrived
and it was packed! P2P groups, other people, and us filled the tiny place. We
ate breakfast, and waited for the scenic train to arrive. We boarded the train,
and had an hour-and –a – half scenic ride. I saw a waterfall, valleys, and
learned some history about the Kuranda Rail Station. It was dull some of the
time but I got some great pictures! Afterwards, we went and saw a movie on the
Kuranda Railroad Station, and we went to the
Kuranda
Museum that gave some history about
Australia and
Cairns. We finally went to the
airport and had a 4-hour trip to
Sydney. By the time we arrived, it
was night, and we went to the hotel. We settled in and went to bed.
Day 10:
Sydney,
Australia 7/2/04
We woke up and ate breakfast. Everyone was exited because we were going
to school! We went to St. Columbus Catholic School. We arrived and waited. We
separated into two groups and our group went to art class. We made a picture of
the Sydney
Harbor with pastels. We put a blue
wash over it, after. P2P switched classes, and we played AFL with Aussie rules.
AFL is a popular game in
Australia. I
partenered up with an Aussie girl named Felicia. We did a drop punt kick, and
then we learned to hit an AFL ball. It was then time for lunch. After lunch, we
had recess, which I played soccer. We then separated into3 groups and went to
different classes. The first class my group went to was Year 1, or first grade.
They had built future transportational models that they showed us. The next
class was year 6, which we learned a dance that was really fun! Year 4 was next.
We saw a play and we talked. We had afternoon tea, which consisted of some good
snacks and some juice. We went to church where we listened to things about
friendship. We left and walked along the
Sydney
Harbor
Bridge. Most groups don’t get to do
that so we were lucky! We walked to the hotel and went to sleep.
Day 11: Farm
Stay,
Australia 7/3/04
We got up, ate breakfast, and boarded the coach to go to our farm stay.
It was a four- hour trip and we watched Whale Rider. We then stopped for lunch,
where we saw the 3 sisters. We left, finished the DVD Whale Rider, and stopped
at Bathurst, a town 10 minutes away
from the farm. We had 20 min. to shop and get water. We arrived at the farm,
settled in, and went to ride horses. Four people went around at a time, and the
horses were led around by the halter with you on them. After that, we had lots
of free time, were we journaled, played rugby and did other activities. We ate
an awesome dinner and then we waited for the observetery to open. Clouds came
and covered the stars, so we couldn’t look at the stars. That was a bummer, but
instead we learned about the solar system, planets, and stars from a funny guy.
It was very interesting. It was 9:00
when we finally went to bed.
Day 12: Farm
Stay,
Australia 7/4/04
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!! Today was soooo cool. We got up and ate
a breakfast of pancakes, cereal, and toast. We went outside, and separated into
three groups. My group first went to do archery. Archery is bow and arrow. I
made some good shots. We next went to boomerang throwing. I threw some
boomerangs but none came back. After boomerang throwing, we played with bull
roars. Bullroars are wooden pieces that you spin around on a string. They made a
roaring sound when you spun them really fast. Our group then went to whip
cracking. We all got stock whips, and first tried to flick it and make it crack.
I cracked it a few times. Another way to crack it was the lightning crack. My
friend Kate succeded with a huge crack. We then found out that a boy named
Carson had hit the bulls-eye in
archery. After that, we went to the Sheep and Cattle show. The sheep and cattle
all found their right spots on the stage. The person called some volunteers up,
and I was called! I got to milk a cow! Just one squeeze though. Still, I have
always wanted to milk a cow! The show was very interesting. We ate lunch, and
then we had free time. At supper, we got and American supper to celebrate the
4th of July—hot dogs and hamburgers. We had the bush dance next. The
man in charge organized a couple of dances. The he seperated the girls from the
boys, and told the boys that they had to ask a girl to dance in two minutes. He
told the girls that we couldn’t refuse. We were supposed to play four corners,
waltzing style. Four corners is when music plays, and when it stops you have to
pick a corner. The man in charge then rolls a dice, and if the number is the
same as the corner that you’re on, you are out. We then did the cha cha slide.
It was late when we finally went to sleep after one of the best days of the
trip.
Day 13:
Sydney,
Australia 7/5/04
We woke up this morning early to eat breakfast and board the coach. We
had a four- hour drive back to
Sydney ahead of us. When we arrived,
we went for a quick tour of the Olympic Stadium. We then went swimming in the
2000 Sydney Olympic swimming pool.
We got out and changed into our good clothes. We left for the Sydney Opera
House. We got a wonderful tour of the Sydney Opera House. It wasn’t pure white,
as it looked from a distance. It was made from small tiles. It took 15 years to
make, and 102 million dollars were spent making it! The Concert Hall was
beautiful. There was red velvet everywhere and a huge pipe organ in the middle
of the back wall. It had hundreds of pipes on it. The tour was interesting and
so was the Sydney Opera House. What was unfortunete though, was that we couldn’t
take pictures of the rooms for copyright reasons. We ate dinner afterwards, and
went shopping. We finally came back to the hotel and settled in, going to
sleep.
Day 14:
Sydney,
Australia 7/6/04
This morning we woke up, and ate breakfast. We boarded the coach and left
for Sydney
Harbor. We got on a James Cook
cruise. A tape recording over the boat’s intercom told us the history of
Australia. The
harbor was pretty, but the cruise was a bit dull. Next, we went to the Rock’s
Walking Tours, where the P2P group dressed up as convicts and got identities of
convicts. Our tour guide led us through the settlement of
Australia. My
identity was Ann Dutton. I was sent to
Australia for
stealing a looking glass with a frame. I remained a convict for 7 years. I lived
to be 50 years old. The tour was very fun and interesting. Afterwards, we went
and ate lunch. We then left for the National Opal Mine. We saw a movie on the
different types of opals. After that, we separated into two groups. My group
fist went and watched a cutting demonstration of boulder opals. Then, we went
and saw the museum and learned about how opals are formed and connected with
dinosaurs. We finally got to buy opals, and shop in the street in the street
mall afterwards. The P2P group left for the hotel, rested for a few min. and
left for the Hard Rock Cafe`. I ordered a chicken sandwich. We had a lot of fun.
Our group came back to the hotel where Patrick held a goodbye party. The
delegation leaders announced the ambassadorial students. We then had a bad joke
contest, the best expression contest, and a dancing contest. It was late when we
went to bed.
Day 15+16:
Illinois, U.S.A 7/7/04
We went on to the airport in the morning. Luckily, we hadn’t lost anyone.
We really had a bad time getting to the planes on time. Five people from our
group was supposed to separate from us, but then they missed there flight
because we were delayed at an airport. Everything worked out in the end. We
arrived at the airport in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, and said our goodbyes to some of our
friends. We had said goodbyes to the
Illinois group. Everyone that had
not left in the airport went on a bus to
Davenport,
Iowa. We said our hello’s to our parents, and
our goodbyes to our friends. Everyone was happy. I went home with my parents to
Illinois, knowing that I would see
my friends from my delegation again when we had our picture party. This is my
last journal entry for my
Australia/ New
Zealand P2P trip.