by Audrey Hackman

At school, I learned a lot of things. First, NZ school kids eat lunch in 5-10 minutes. I don’t think they even have time to taste it! Then they’re off to recess. I guess they value their play time. Second, you get to do games in the pool during the school day! And yes, they do have a pool. I don’t understand why houses near the beach have pools and houses landlocked don’t. I mean, if you have the beach to swim in, why add an extra body of water? It just doesn’t make sense. Anyways, instead of your parents signing up for clubs, you do it yourself in your recess time. I signed up for craft club, envirowarriors, and Kapa Haka, which is some sort of cultural dance that I wanted to try out. I also did sailing club, which is outside of school, and had my first meeting. It was really fun, and we actually got out on the water. Charles capsized twice. He claims it was on purpose, although when I was with him, he was sailing crazy. Maria and Mom came to cheer us on. I then went to a cafe in downtown Auckland, and the animals there were super tame! A pigeon walked between my legs and a sparrow came right up and took a bite out of my ice cream. While I was sitting there! We saw a beautiful garden and went to a historical museum. All in all, it was a great trip downtown. On Sunday we went to church in the evening, and I figured out Lent starts next Wednesday. Comment below what you’re giving up for Lent! For viewers who are not Christian, Lent is a period of forty days where you give up something for that time to signify Jesus’ trip in the desert. He didn’t eat or drink for forty days. I’m giving up screen time. After church, we went to find something to eat. We’re a family of five, so it’s really hard to find something we all like, but I suggested two options that we all agreed to. The first option we couldn’t find a restaurant, but we all agreed to Italian, and ended up going to a fancy Italian restaurant. Mom and dad were a little unhappy, because we had eaten at a Hibachi grill two nights before, but we stuck with it. By the way, the Hibachi grill was the best I have ever been to. The food was good, but the chef’s performance was the best of all. Overall, the first week or so of school was amazing, and I look forward to more experiences.