communicate-with-us3

Test

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:02:40 +0100

Testing

This is a lonnnnnnng one!

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:02:16 +0100

Kia Ora! Hello from Aotearoa (New Zealand!)

This blog is a long one, primarily because the questions you ask are so mature and require such detailed answers! We love them so keep it up! We will update you on our travels with photographs and videos in the upcoming week. Keep a look out for the postman too! There should be another postcard headed your way soon! :)

1. Foods: For the most part, food here is similar to home (chicken, steaks, broccoli, fish & chips (French fries), and potatoes. Something unique in New Zealand is a mince pie, which is like a chicken pot pie, but with meat and cheese. Desserts have been the best part: Pavlova, steamed pudding, and Hokey Pokey Ice cream, which has bits of honeycomb in it!

We did try possum pie the other day....neither of us enjoyed it very much!

2. Animals: So far we have seen cats, cows, deer, llamas, goats, sheep (lots of sheep!), dogs, possums (only dead ones), the Kiwi bird, a colourful rainbow lorikeet, chickens, emus, fur seals, and thars (similar to goats).

3. Mountains: There are approximately 88 mountains over 1000 feet in New Zealand. The highest mountain is Mount Cook at 12,316 ft, which is locally known as Aoraki. Because of New Zealand’s position on the earth, there are six volcanic zones that formed many of the mountains on the islands. Mount Ngauruhoe, for example, is a second volcanic cone/mountain of the Tongariro Mountain Zone. Lord of the Rings fans know Mount Ngauruhoe as Mt. Doom.

On the southern island, there is a mountain chain called the Southern Alps. Maoris believe that the Southern Alps (Te Tiritiri o Te Moana) were formed by Aoraki (Mt Cook) and his three brothers: Rakiora, Rakirua, and Rarakiroa. These brothers were the sons of the sky father (Rakanui) and Earth Mother (Papatuanuku). The four brothers decided to come down from the sky to visit their mother on a magical Waka (Canoe). After their visit, they tried to return home, but their Waka tipped over on its side. When the Waka hit the water, the brothers turned to stone! The Maoris believe that the south island is the tipped Waka and the Southern Alps are the brothers trapped in stone forever.

4. Age: People in New Zealand can live a pretty long time. Some grandparents here have lived to be over 100 years old! When they reach their 100^th birthday, the Queen of England writes a personal letter to them and gives them a congratulations certificate! Otherwise, most people are expected to live to about 80 years old.

5. Clothes: People in New Zealand dress very similar to us in the USA. Girls wear blue jeans, skirts, and dresses. Boys mostly wear blue jeans or shorts. When in Auckland, where 1/3 of the population lives, we saw lots of men/women in business suits. They do use rubber boots (called Gum Boots) and rain slickers for the wet weather and the water. We’re not entirely sure yet, but it seems that all school children wear uniforms here.

6. Recent Active Volcano: The most recent volcanic eruption was in 2007. Mt. Ruapehu is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It has a major eruption about every 50 years with several minor ones in between. Scientists believe this volcano has been active for about 250,000 years!

Aside from Ruapehu, the world’s most dangerous volcano is located in New Zealand and is called Lake Taupo! According to weather records kept by the ancient Chinese and the Romans, Lake Taupo erupts about every 2000 years, with its last eruption in 186 AD. Scientists believe that the Lake Taupo eruption in 186 AD was 50 times greater than the Mt. St. Helen’s eruption!

We’ve also learned that the capital city of New Zealand (Wellington) will eventually sink to the bottom of the sea since the land it sits on is remnants from volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago.

7. When can we Skype: Andrew and I will speak with Ms. Beth this weekend and try to arrange a date and time sometime very soon. Have your questions ready!

Fiji- What we learned.

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:15:30 +0100

Fiji was a fascinating place for us to begin our trip. The people are very friendly and invite you into their homes as you pass them by. We were lucky enough to visit a school with children the same ages as you! We also went to a village and attended church. Everyone sat on the ground with their legs crossed and the kids sang beautiful songs.

There were a few things about Fiji that we were lucky enough to learn while we were there. Many of the people living on the main island are from the smaller islands. In fact, when the boys and girls reach the age of 14, they move to the main island to attend school! These boys and girls either live in dorms, with relatives, or in some cases, their parents go with them until they finish school.

The toilets were also somewhat different in Fiji. There are two buttons on the top that...well...are used depending on what you leave behind.

We also discovered that mosquito nets are very helpful in Fiji. At night, our beds were covered with a giant mosquito net to protect us from bites. It was a lot like camping, somewhat exciting to wake up in and we didn't get bit at all!

The food in Fiji was delicious! We had fresh fruit everyday which included Papaya, Paw Paw ( a local fruit), mangoes, and pineapple. Our lunches and dinners were usually meat in a cream sauce with lots of veggies, rice, coleslaw (they love their coleslaw!), and potatoes.

The favorite sports of Fiji, according to the fourth grade girls we spoke with, are Net Ball, Rugby, and Volleyball. Net ball, we were told, is a lot like basketball, but you don't bounce the ball and you can't run. You can only take one step and then pass it to another player. The object is to shoot the ball through the hoop for points.

Overall, we had a wonderful time in Fiji and were sad to leave. We met lots of new friends and had some great experiences. Now, we are in New Zealand on our next adventure around the world!

Bula Bula!

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:04:00 +0100

Bula everyone! (Hello!)

Andrew and I arrived in Fiji this morning via a massive airplane. There were 300 or more people and there was an upstairs! The flight took 14 hours. They served fruit and yogurt for breakfast and a turkey sandwich for dinner.

Fiji is very hot. We took a walk with the owner of our hostel and he told us all about his village on the island of Maqai. He said village life was very different than living in the city of Nadi because in a village, everyone helps. His name is Henry and he told us that in a village, it was his job to catch fish and to pick vegetables. He no longer lives on that island, but he visits his family often and owns another hostel for eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is for people who want to travel to Fiji, but also learn how to keep it a clean and perfect place to visit.

We won't be able to answer all of the questions yet since we just got here, but here are a few of the answers to the questions posted last week.

What kinds of transportation will you be taking?
We took an airplane to get here. Since we've been here, we've taken a taxi. I did see a man riding a horse on the beach though and there are a lot of little white buses. Tomorrow we will take a boat to a different island. The boat ride will take 5 hours.

We want to know more about the food you will be eating?
Henry told us that they eat a lot of fruit and fish. They are especially fond of fruit breads. Since a lot of people do not have refrigerators in their homes, fish has to be eaten on the same day that it is caught. Andrew and I have not tried any local dishes yet. We had a cheese pizza because we were hungry. Henry did show us a lovo grill. Fijians actually cook their food in the ground! They light coals on fire, put the food on them, then cover it with big palm leaves for 1 hour.

How many people live in one house?
In the city, people live much like we do in the United States. On the other islands, people live in villages. Henry told us that in a village a door is never locked and people come and go as they please into each others houses. Some houses may have 2 or 3 families! Henry's village consists of 3 little villages that joined together to make one big village.

Can you show us the clothes you will see there?

We will be sure to take pictures of the clothing. When we entered the airport this morning, the men were wearing long skirts and the women were wearing very colorful dresses.

We will hopefully have more information to report back sometime next week. Until then- Ni sa moce! (Goodbye)

Welcome!

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:55:16 +0100

Hey everybody! We hope you are enjoying your new school year so far! Casey and Ms. Kern have been working together to bring you an awesome part of your curriculum. This year, you will be communicating with Casey and I (Andrew) as we travel around the world. We will be visiting a handful of countries over the next year, and our goal is to make it a learning experience for both you and us.

You can see the list of countries we will be visiting under Where Are We Going. On these pages, you can learn about the background of each country. Make sure you get to visit here before we make it to each country!

If you missed out on the beginning of our trip, check out Where Have We Been. These pages will have all of the cool things that we encountered, like historical sites, new foods, special people. You will also be able to see pictures and videos of our trip here!

Don't forget to check back on the Communicate With Us link too! You will be able to leave comments on our posts and ask questions, and tell us what you think!

So for now, we hope you are enjoying your school year. Casey and I are both excited about working with you, and helping you learn about the world! Safe Travels!

Andrew