Since the end of January, Chilton High School student Bailey Mcallister has been attending school and experiencing life in New Zealand.

    Mcallister’s trip is through the organization known as AFS. AFS Intercultural Program, formerly known as American Field Servic,e is a program that allows high school and college students to travel to another country to study abroad.         AFS hoped, back in 1919, that alowing the next generation to see the world, make friends, and understand different cultures would help to enforce the idea of world peace.

    Since its beginning, it has sent more than 13,000 students and teachers abroad each year.

    Bailey left to go on her trip on January 31, 2009 and will return home to Chilton on July 5.

    Read on to hear about Bailey’s travels and life in New Zealand.

Kia ora!

    Tena koe from New Zealand! It is amazing to think that I have been here over four and a half months. I have learned so much and experienced so much in just that short period. I am so lucky to have been able to go on this trip!

    I left for New Zealand on January 27th, and arrived in Christchurch, my home, on January 30th. Christchurch is one of New Zealand's major cities. There are five major cities. Christchurch is on the South Island and fairly near to the coast. However, everyone in New Zealand is no farther than 160K from the sea. It is home for 400,000 people. Christchurch is more spread out than cities I have seen in the United States. New Zealand does not really have skyscrapers, so every building is long or wide. Christchurch is so large, that it is divided into sections (e.g. Harewood, Sumner, Port Hills, Bishopdale, ect.). I live in Harewood, but travel into the major part of the city everyday to go to school at Christchurch Girls' High School (CGHS).

    Girls' High has about 2,000 girls.  I enjoy the atmosphere in an all girls' school. No one here is afraid of looking 'silly' in front of boys; everyone just acts like themselves. I am in year 12. There are a total of 13 years in school in New Zealand. Because of the way classes are run in New Zealand, I am in a combination of year 11, 12, and 13 classes. I take year 11 Home Economics and Geography, year 12 English, History, and Music Theory Studies, and year 13 Tikunga Maori. Tikunga Maori is the study of Maori history and culture. The Maori were the first people to live on New Zealand, known to them as Otawora. Their history says that they came in their Iwi's (large tribes) on Waka (boats).

     We also wear uniforms to school everyday. We have two uniforms, one for summer and one for winter. At the moment, I must wear my winter uniform to school. It consists of a red and blue checked kilt, a white blouse, a tie (the tie is different for each year. Years 9-10 wear a red and blue striped tie, year 11 a blue tie, and years 12-13 a red tie), a blazer with a colored trim based on your year in school, and a blue jersey. My summer uniform was a blue and white checked dress and a red tie. The year 9-10 girls wore a blue uniform skirt and a white blouse with the CGHS logo on it.

    My host family is just amazing, and I am so blessed to have them. Over the past months, they have become as much a part of my family as any of my 'real' family members. I live with just my mum, Wendy, and my dad, Mike. Wendy is a technology teacher at the Teachers' University in town, and Mike is an accountant for Wild South, a major clothing company on the South Island. Wendy and Mike really enjoy running, and Mike has recently become my coach for the new cross country season. They really enjoy traveling to the West Coast for running events. They have shown me most of the South Island through their travels. Wendy and I recently signed up to run the SBS Marathon in Christchurch. Wendy is going to run the 1/2 marathon and I am going to run 10K.

    Sometimes the house is a bit quiet before they get home in the afternoon because Mike, Wendy, and I are the only ones in the house. However, they do have children. Jessica, Matt, Dogual, Jenny, and Lucy are all in their twenties and are either at University or in the workforce. Jessica lives in London. I had the chance to meet her when she came down for Mike's Birthday. Lucy is a horse trainer and also goes to University part time. Matt works on a dairy farm. He and his girlfriend, Ann, stayed at our house for two weeks. It was nice because I got to not only get to know Matt much better, but also his girlfriend, who is due to have a baby boy only a week before I leave. Jenny is studying at the University of Dunedin. Wendy took me and my friend, Evie, down to visit her over our two week Easter Holiday. We also visited Dogual over the holiday. He is the manager of a huge sheep farm just south of Dunedin. The trip down there was probably my favorite.

    Sheep farms are usually, for lack of a better way to describe them, in the middle of whomp whomps (nowhere). However, the middle of nowhere is the most beautiful place in New Zealand. By Dogual’s farm there are rolling hills, heaps of sheep, and the most beautiful sky. Dogual let Evie and I go on his rounds on the farm. I tried a turnip, helped heard sheep, drove an ATV up a humongous hill, and figured out what a knuckle bone on a sheep was. Strange enough, it is not a knuckle; its the knee bone.

    I am both incredibly sad and a bit excited about my return to Chilton in two months. I can't wait to tell my friends and family about everything I have learned and experienced. However, a large part of me wishes I could stay longer and regrets not staying for a whole year. Either way, my trip to New Zealand will definitely be something I will remember for the rest of my life. It has shaped my thinking of world views and helped me to understand other cultures much better. I now have even more of a desire to travel throughout my life and to learn more about the world around me.

    Wow! I can never say this enough, but man does time go fast!  I still have so much to do! It will be nice to go home soon though. I miss my family and friends. Too bad I can't have both at the same time!

    March started off with a field trip! I went to Marae with my Maori class. A Marae is a traditional Maori home. In it there is a Whare Nui (this is a big house where you sleep.), a Whare Kai (this is a big building for eating in), a Kauta (this is part of the Whare Kai. It's the kitchen.), Whare Paku (a bathroom), and a Urupa (a graveyard. This is a very tapu, or sacred, place. When you leave it you must wash your hands.). The Marae was so much fun. We went up on a Thursday morning. All that day, once we got there, we heard poraku (stories), did hakas (Maori chants), sang waiata (songs), and played with poi. A poi was traditionally a hide with sand inside of it. It kind of looks like the one we have hanging in our kitchen on the banister. Now they are made out of rubbish bags and yarn. Originally, men used them to strengthen their arms and wrists. However, now they are mainly used by women in Kapa Haka (like me). I am getting pretty good at them. I plan on making some when I get home. They are very good for your wrists! I also learned so much about Maori history and culture while on the Marae. It was so cool to see a traditional home, though it is now modernised, and hear the story of how it began.

    The Marae was name Koukourarata, or Port Levy. It has a very bloody story behind it. I'll tell it to you:

    Long ago, just after the Europeans first arrived on Aotearoa (New Zealand), a Maori man from the North Island decided he wanted to be the ruler of all Maori. According to history, he was Hitler-like in his goals and morals. He set out to capture Koukourarata. He knew that Koukourarata was in a very safe place, and it would be really hard for him and his army to get at them. On 3 sides of Koukourarata are mountains, and to the other side is a bay leading out to the sea. The evil Maori man had his men set fire to the land on Koukourarata's Marae on the sides of the mountains. Then, the evil Maori man had other of his men in the ocean with spears to kill the people from Koukourarata as they tried to flee the flames. The women with babies drowned them, and some tried to find caves the children would be safe in. In Maori culture, each human had a modi. It is almost like a spirit. It is said to be the most tapu (sacred) part of a human. It resides mainly in the head. Maori would rather die than let another person have their modi. You see, Maori used to eat the people they conquered so they could have their modi, which came with that person's knowledge. Anyway, almost everyone died that day at Koukourarata. However, a few women and children survived. They joined with another Maori hapu (tribe), and together they formed a new Koukourarata that is still here today. Now, however, it is just a meeting place for Maori as they live in cities like most people. If you go to the North Island though, there are still many Maori that live on Marae.

    I have also been tramping. Tramping is when you hike through the bush and up a mountain. I went with 2 of my AFS advisers, an AFS returnee named Josh, and 3 of my AFS friends, Val from Pauguay, Allen from Korea, and Charles from France. We left at about 10 A.M. with huge packs on our back carrying everything we needed for that day and the next. Everything! The trail was hilly, but not too difficult. We were hiking on a trail that led up Mt. Thomas which is about 45 minutes out of Christchurch. We even had to go across a river! The water went so high up we had to cross in pairs!

    It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to the hut we were staying in. It was a pretty basic place. It had three strips of wood: one on the left side, and 2 on the right like bunks. The strips could fit 8 beds. There was also a wood burning stove, a sink, a bench (counter), and a small table with chairs. The bathroom was a 3 minute walk away. It was an outhouse. Once there, we ate lunch and set out again with the goal of reaching the top of Mt. Thomas in mind.

    That took us another 2 hours! Val and Josh didn't go to the top. They were too tired, but Charles, Allen, and our leaders did! I got some nice scratches from the matagori and fern that isn't soft. They are my battle scars! Ha ha! It was worth it though. I yelled really loud at the top. I've been wanting to do that since I got here.

    The next day, we hiked back. We were so gross! We hadn't brush our teeth or hair, taken a shower, or washed our faces. It didn't bother us though, because we were all gross. I think it was harder on the way back, because it was slippery and downhill. It took us a lot less time though. I love tramping, and I am so glad I got the chance to do it while here.

    Thanks everyone who has been writing to me. I love mail; it makes my day! I miss you all. I can't believe I only have a little longer in New Zealand, but I long for warm weather. It is so cold and rainy here right now. It's definitely winter! Oh well! The ducks really like it! Ha ha!

    Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

Bailey

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