are the chaperones.
You didn't think that 9 high school kids
would be allow to traipse across the Pacific
by themselves now did you?
Ok I know New Zealanders would kick them out of the nest
and send them away by themselves.
For instance Pippapotamus was sent to stay with me
all the way to California via Honolulu
by herself when she was 13
but hey clearly we breed 'em tough
in the land of the long white cloud.
Anyway the adults of the Hawaiian crew
were
Aunty Vaaiga!
She is the mama to them all.
Not literally just emotionally and spiritually.
Vaaiga did so well to survive being outside in the cold for days on end.
She asked heaps of questions,
was kind and caring... even to me.
(I was the bossy tour leader who kept to a schedule)
I love this photo of Mama Chioke!
Chioke is a garden nut,
she loves vegetables
which is good since she is a vegetarian.
I really enjoyed our conversations about race and history,
where she came from and her sense of place.
Her gentle ways were such a pleasant clash with the cracking pace we required.
Becky and the lamb!
(nod to Puku and the Lamb: 2010 Methven Escapee Champs)
Becky was the one who got us into this whole big adventure.
If she hadn't randomly emailed me,
and I wasn't crazy,
this little tour of NZ would never have happened.
Becky loves, loves, LOVES sheep.
Seriously loves sheep.
Good thing we have so many of them.
She also loves youth development,
that's what 4H is all about, that and sheep
(sometimes other animals too).
Becky was fun to hang out with.
As the tour progressed, she rode shootgun
as we got into it, as we got near the end,
you know that time when everyone is overtired,
Becky was really good with the kids.
I say this cause I was ready to slap some of them*
but Becky held it all together.
We are mates for life,
like Fonterra is Dairy for Life
only there are no tankers.
ALOHA!
* Not really, but potentially.
No comments:
Post a Comment