A Working Day

Friday, March 12, 2010

So I got up today and got ready. I left a little before 9, because it takes me an hour to walk and I needed to be there at 10. While I was walking, I passed an older man, but he caught up to me at the stoplight and commented on the loveliness of the day. It really was pretty. Sunshine, but slightly cloudy, cool enough to be walking fast and not be all sweaty at the destination. I said it was a perfect day (I actually had the song "I love to be in Your Presence" going through my head all the way to the preschool). He asked if I was from the States and I said yes. So then he started talking about how he fought alongside the States in Vietnam and the Korean war. He was really a sweet man, but after we crossed the street, we had to part ways. I wished him well and continued on. I made it to the preschool at exactly 10 and fortunately the preschool director saw me through the window, because I was locked out. She told me the combination, so hopefully I will remember. Then she introduced me to several people and brought me into a room to do some serious reading of the emergency procedures and policies. Another lady gave me a relief form to read as well. So, I was in there for 3 1/2 hours reading everything. I was on information overload. People would come in and out and talk to me for a bit, so I wasn't strictly reading for that whole time, but pretty much.

Anyway, I came across a word I didn't know, "iwi". I asked the preschool director what this was and she said it would be similar to a tribe. Maori's are made up of the core families (which include cousins and such) and then there is the rest of the "tribe" called iwi. There are 10 tribes in New Zealand, but only 2 in the South Island. The Maori people in the South Island tend to be lighter, because there is not as much sun here. Maori people typically have more than one iwi they belong to, because of mixing. She also talked of the stereotypes of the Maori people, which I already presumed, but it was very interesting to me. I remember being ingrained about being equal to the Maori people in the classroom. This was interesting to me as I live in Southern California where the population is so mixed, why would I not be treating people fairly in the classroom? Apparently there is still quite a bit of prejudice here among the white people and the Maori people. Lots of tension. Anyway, I thought that was fascinating, so sorry if I completely bored you.

So the preschool owner then came in and talked to me about days I could work. She gave me a list of days and said there may and probably will be more days, but that is what she has on the books right now. She will let me know when more come up. She is really trying to help me out. She even is having me watch her kids for 2 hours one day a month while she is at a meeting. So I will get paid then too. She also mentioned I should email NZQA to see if they would reassess my qualifications, and see if I could have qualification in early childhood. I might do that Saturday.

Then I was on the floor. I really was not sure what I should be doing, so I just interacted with the children while they were playing. Bringing up things (how many do you see there?, what colours do you see?, why do you think it does that?) to develop language. Then came clean up time, and I had no idea what the procedures were there, so I was kind of at a loss. I tried to pick up stuff on the floor. I asked a teacher if there was a broom and she said the floor cleaners would do that. Then I tried to put things away and the tubs were being washed. Everyone was preoccupied and doing something, but not knowing exactly what needed to be done, I felt like I didn't have anything to do. Someone said I could stack chairs, but that didn't take that long. I just kind of felt awkward. Finally, all that was done, and the children were leaving. 3:30 came around and it was time for me to leave. It was also pouring down rain. The preschool owner asked if I would like a ride, and I gratefully accepted.

She drove me home and then I came in and got to see Alison for 10 minutes before she went to her restaurant. THEN, I finally got my taxes finished. As soon as I submitted everything, , my mom called on skype, and we actually talked somewhat normally, meaning it wasn't as bad as before. The tricky part was trying to explain to my mom how to change her watch for daylight savings. That was interesting...

Alison came back later and said it was SUPER fine dining, where she had to have a towel on her arm and multiple utensils (anything more than one fork is SUPER fine dining to me). She even got to eat a fancy meal before she started. Now we will see what happens with this place.

It was pretty late, so we went to bed, but it was FREEZING at night. We were shivering since we don't have an extra blanket. This is supposed to be summer...although I was told that in Christchurch, you get four seasons in one day. Unlike California where you get 1 1/2 seasons in one year...HOT and not so hot.

Well, the smoke alarm went off early Saturday morning for no reason at all and was quite loud. I didn't get up, because my bed was so warm and to get up was to freeze. Two flatmates got up and couldn't figure out what to do, so they were trying to wake up another flatmate to help them. He refused, and I don't blame him. I figured they should take the batteries out altogether. I know it is a safety factor, but I have never been in to smoke alarms. I think the batteries eventually gave out, because it was fading and slowing down, until it finally stopped. What a nice way to get some sleep around here!