Caleb Wilson ’19
Week 7:
Hello from Wisconsin
January 6, 2020 | Upon landing in O’Hare Airport in mid-December, my nose still red and peeling from a sunburn, I stepped outside and breathed in the crisp, Midwestern air. I smiled, and looked around at the puffs coming from my fellow travelers’ mouths, and noticed that cars were now on the opposite side of the road. I […]
Week 6:
The Last Full Week
December 10, 2019 | It’s hard to imagine that this is my last week at Takapuna Normal Intermediate School; the time has flown by so quickly, and I feel like each day goes by faster and faster as Friday approaches. Right now I am just trying to take everything as it comes, enjoying conversations with staff and students, hopping […]
Week 5:
Teaching and Celebrations
December 1, 2019 | After my encounter with the stomach flu or food poisoning (the jury is still out on the cause), I settled back into a less dramatic week at school. Each day I am in a new classroom, rotating between the four teachers of the Rimu team throughout the week so that I can see more […]
Week 4:
Rugby and Festivals
November 24, 2019 | Over the past couple of weeks, I feel like I have really settled into the area of Auckland and the culture of New Zealand. While I am still hesitant to drive on the other side of the road, I have noticed that I’ve picked up on some language patterns of the people around me, such […]
Week 3:
Differences between New Zealand and the U.S.
November 17, 2019 | During conversations with teachers, students, and new friends over the past couple of weeks, I am constantly surprised by how much they know about America, and Wisconsin in particular. When I tell them where I’m from, many people are quick to reply with a pretty accurate description of my home state, typically saying it is […]
Week 2:
Running in New Zealand
November 9, 2019 | One of the first questions I am often asked when I meet a staff member or student at school is, “why have you picked New Zealand?”. My response, which feels well thought out and repetitive at this point, is one that I have thought about from the very beginning of the Fellowship process, and isn’t […]
Week 1:
“Kia Ora” from Auckland
November 1, 2019 | At some point during the sixteen hour flight from Chicago to Auckland, I decided to watch all of the videos on New Zealand the small television screen had to offer. After studying up on the geography and history of New Zealand, I took a crash-course tutorial on Maori, the language of the native people of […]