Lower Hutt Field Trip

SoPac:

And we're back!  We've just spent one week on the North Island in the greater Wellington region as the field component of our Sustainable Community Development course.  The aim of the week was to see how some of the principles and theory of community development is put into practice in a real life New Zealand setting. 

The week was filled with guest lecturers and site visits. Some included meeting the mayor and community development team of the Hutt City Council, attending a lecture on the politics of global climate change at Victoria University, and hearing various speakers on the topic of the NZ prison system.

One of the highlights was visiting Billy Graham's Nae Nae Boxing Club. Billy is a great example of an ordinary citizen doing extraordinary work to better his community.  A Nae Nae local, Billy takes young men into his boxing club and uses the medium of sport to build their character.  He is an inspiration, to say the least. 

Kameron and Noah (Westmont) take a shot at each other under the instruction of Billy Graham.

Throughout the trip we stayed at two different maraes, Maori meeting houses.  We were fortunate enough to hear some of their unique stories and learn from them.  A special thanks to the people of Te Kakano and Orangomai for your hospitality and love. 

Emma Jane (Kitchen Manager) at the door of Te Kakano o Te Aroha Marae in Lower Hutt. 

Friday was a free day to explore Wellington City, and many took the opportunity to visit Zealandia, the Karori wildlife sanctuary.  The songs of the tui, bellbird, hihi, whitehead, saddleback, and other native birds filled our ears in a remarkable glimpse of what the forests may have sounded like a few hundred years ago. 

Takahe, a remarkable flightless bird, in the the Karori Sanctuary.

Homestay Weekend

SoPac:

CCSP is fortunate enough to have a number of friends here in Kaikoura who welcome us into their homes.  This past weekend was spent with our Kiwi host families tramping, surfing, fishing, chatting, and drinking a lot of tea. 

Here is a sample of what some of us did...

Elise (Bethel) and Bethany (Messiah):

"We stayed with the Jensens, a Kiwi-as family who's life revolves around surfing and comparing their dog to the O'connor's dogs.  Mark (the dad) watched us surf and shouted instructions from the beach. Pretty helpful. "

Rick (Dordt) and Gentry (Westmont):

We stayed with the Rattrays, a very welcoming family with three boys. Among the highlights of our weekend were diving for crayfish and cliff jumping.  This is a picture of me ready to take the leap. It was a phenomenal weekend. 

Tor (Gordon) and Noah (Westmont): 

We stayed with the Dunnets, an outdoorsy couple very experienced in tramping.  They took us on an overnight tramp nearby and showed us a secret spot that not many know about. This is a picture of Noah at the base of the waterfall next to our campsite.  

No doubt, we are very lucky to have such generous and adventurous friends here in Kaikoura. 

SCD 1 and a Crazy Horses Get Together

SoPac:

Hello faithful readers. Much has been happening here at the Convent. We are in our first week of classes with Professor Mick Duncan teaching Sustainable Community Development, covering topics ranging everywhere from libertarianism vs. marxism to just war vs. pacifism. 

Outside of the classrom, we have just celebrated our very own Lisa Bond's birthday. Seeing as Lisa shares an enthusiasm for Taika Waititi's film "Boy" with anyone else with a reasonable sense of humor, we thought it would be fun to have a Crazy Horses get together. It was nothing short of a party.

Here's to the Shogun.