My First Week in New Zealand

Well the day has finally come for my first blog while in New Zealand. If I had to explain all of NZ in one word it would truly be... AMAZING. The landscape is beautiful, and the people are very down to earth and friendly.

After getting off the plane at the Auckland airport the first thing I did was take a deep breath of the fresh NZ air! After meeting my family and hopping in the car I noticed the steering wheel was on the right side of the car, and the cars drive on the left side of the road. I found myself tensing up every time my host mom turned on what I thought was the wrong side of the road. There are many other things that are different in NZ then in America such as; The speed limit signs are in kilometers and looks similar to a bulls eye. The traffic lights are smaller. The showers are not enclosed, but rather just a shower head and a drain in the floor in the corner of the bathroom. One thing I find very different is that air conditioning is not very common; most kiwis will just open their windows in the morning and the afternoon to cool the house. There are a plethora of other differences between the two countries that are neither good or bad. Just different.

The first weekend I arrived my family and I traveled from our home in Auckland to their bach (or beach house as we would say in the US) which is about a three hour drive away. We spent the weekend getting to know each other and spending time in Lake Taupo wakeboarding and waterskiing. An interesting fact about Lake Taupo is that it was created from a volcanic eruption many years ago and the lake is now the inside of a volcano.

This is just a quick little update on what I have been doing since I have arrived in New Zealand. I am already falling in love with this country and the people who live here. My host family is amazing and I am having a blast becoming a part of their family. I miss everyone back home and hope all is well!!

I will be updating my blog soon to talk about my first week of school and my weekend at my host dad's mom's house at the beach!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog this week! Till next time!

Sky

My Host Family and School Placement

The time has finally come, and I have received news that I have been placed in a host family! When I first heard of this news I started to jump with joy, and then when I found out who my family was and where I will be living, I proceeded to break out my "Happy Dance".

I will be living in a Suburb of Auckland (which is the biggest city in New Zealand) called Howick. It is in an awesome area to be living, and my house is only 200 meters from the beach!

My host family is amazing. Ever since I have found out my placement they have been emailing, facebooking, and skyping me, basically doing anything they can to help me to feel more comfortable in their family. My mom and dad's names are Ian and Karren. I have three siblings; Hamish (19), Marren (25), and Clare (27). I have had so much fun getting to know them so far, and I cannot wait to see them in January.

Above is a picture of my family taken a few years ago.

Clare, Ian, Merran, Karren, and Hamish

I will be attending school at Pakuranga College. From what I have heard and learned it is a great school. It is an international school with over 2.000 kids in attendance from over 50 different nationalities. I am enrolled in year 13, which they consider their senior year. By being in year 13, I have the privilege of wearing no uniform, which in New Zealand they call "mufti".

Above is a picture of Pak's main office building.

The school is separated into many different buildings on campus (similar to a college).

I feel so blessed and thankful for my placement. It is the perfect place for me and I plan to take full advantage of everything that comes my way while living in New Zealand. 

Flights Set in Motion

I would like to start off this post by acknowledging everyone who has donated to my cause. To my greatest excitement I would like to announce that I finished fundraising over $1,050! It was an amazing feat and I couldn't of done it without the help from my friends and family. On that note I would like to say thank you to my latest sponsors;

• Terry and Namoi Beckel (Nana and Papa)
• Tom and Lisa McKnight

You guys helped me to make this dream possible and I cannot say thank you enough!

To my dismay, I have still not been placed in a host family. But I have not let this damper my spirits, I pray and hope everyday that the day I am placed with my host family will come sooner, rather than later.

On a happier note, my departure and return flights have been scheduled! I leave for Las Angeles on January 24th. While there I will meet with other AFS students for what they call a "Gateway Orientation". After spending the night in LA, I will leave for New Zealand on January 25th, at 10:00pm, and arrive in Auckland on January 27th, at 8:00am. The combination of the changing time zones, and the long flight will make for one long day!

Thank you for reading, and I will update my blog as soon as I get more information on my journey abroad!

A Quick Update

Hello everyone!

I thought I would give you a quick update about where I stand currently in my exchange program to New Zealand. Two weeks ago I received a call from my AFS coordinator Hannah Lee. She informed me that AFS New Zealand was now in the process of finding a host family, and a host school for my time abroad. I was super excited when I received this information, but quickly disappointed when her follow up statement was, "Now this is when the waiting game begins." Finding a host family that fills all of the appointed criteria, and fits every need of the exchange student can be a lengthy process. Best case scenario, I will find out where I am living, and with whom in approximately two months. Worst case scenario, I don't receive any information until a few weeks before my departure. Therefore I am hoping and praying for the best, but preparing for the worst. In any case, whenever I am gifted with the information all my readers will be the first to know!(:


On a different note, I would like to say thank you to all of my sponsors. Every penny donated I consider a blessing, and I am so grateful! Again, a huge thank you too;

• Robin and John Campbell
• Uncle Mark and Aunt Sherry Sanders
• Pete Kraft
• Uncle Alva and Aunt Cathy Corley
• Uncle Steve and Aunt Dru Hansen
• Uncle Charles and Aunt Jean Kelley
• Shane and Jennifer Cryer

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my blog.
Best,
Skylar Corley

From Idaho to New Zealand

Hello!

My name is Skylar Corley, and I live in the nice community of Eagle, Idaho. I am sixteen years old and about to start the junior year of my high school career at Eagle High School, home of the Mustangs.  This summer came in went with a blink of an eye. I can't believe it is coming to a close, but this makes it the perfect time to tell my family, friends, and others about my future plans for this upcoming year.  At the beginning of this summer, I applied to study abroad in either New Zealand or South Africa for six months through the American Field Service (AFS) intercultural student exchange program.  In the end New Zealand was chosen to be my exchange country between the months of January- July 2012.

My parents are supporting me in making this experience of a lifetime a reality and I plan to take full advantage it. While in New Zealand I will be diving in head first and will be completely immersed in the Maori culture.  I want to learn everything I can about this foreign country, for example; their school systems, their government, their basic way of life, their perspectives of the world, their perspective of the United States, their family units, and their morals and values . While on my exchange I also want to teach/share with the locals about the United States of America. I plan to teach them as much about America as I learn about New Zealand.   An interesting fact about New Zealand is they require all foreign exchange students to complete a certain amount of community service hours during their exchange. I plan to fully complete those hours and more. I have been so blessed and I feel the need to give back as much as I can.

One of my objectives is to raise some funds to help with the costs of this amazing experience. My goal is to raise $3,000 USD dollars to cover a small portion of the total of the expenses.  I am working to raise funds by babysitting and doing other little jobs whenever I get the chance, but sadly I still need a little more help to make this dream come true.

To help bridge the gap in funds I will be running a weekly blog during my entire New Zealand experience. If you would enjoy reading my blog during my exchange student period then I would greatly appreciate any level of donation you feel appropiate (no amount is too small). I know that times are tough, but I hope that if you feel you may benefit and/or would enjoy reading my blog then please consider contributing some modest funds to the cause. Just click on the ChipIn! gadget on  the top left of this blog to help me with my journey by making a secure non tax-deductible donation. My blog link is  http://skylarmichelesblog.blogspot.com.

Thank you so much for your time and generosity.

Skylar Corley