A Memorable Week

I have a few posts sitting in drafts. Posts that I'd started, that are definitely relevant, but that I haven't had the mental "energy" to complete with the level of thoroughness that I desire. One of the posts are of pictures and videos of a wonderful Saturday outing with the family, discovering yet another juxtaposition of city, bush and beach not too far from our house. Another post discusses the efforts that the obstetric and gynaecology governing body are making to call out the effects of colonization and offer a guidepost for decreasing the disparity in morbidity and mortality amongst the indigenous population of New Zealand.

When I can, I will definitely finish that one.

We have been here in Aotearoa for a little over a year now and we are still having experiences that we know we would simply not have in Arizona and I continue to observe times when my mind is braced to deal with a microagression or inappropriate comment that does not come. I remain on guard, but increasingly I sit in incredulity when I have moments of conscious thought about 'this is how white people feel when they walk through life?!'

Being able to be an individual without the weight of the world on your shoulders and the burden of existential dread over what malicious policy may be lurking around the corner. I am by no means saying that racism does not exist here. That is not true. I am saying that thus far, I have not had to experience it to the intimate, aggressive and pervasive degree that I did in the States.

I sit here quickly typing late at night before bed to share another one of those moments where I see the tangible differences and benefits of leaving the US.

I know that there are parts of the US where people send their kids to schools with money and means, or they pay for private tuition that funds extravagent trips for their students in primary school. That simply would not have been the case if our family stayed in Arizona.

My eldest joined his Year 8 classmates and enjoyed Camp Bentzon on Kawau island last week for 5 days of bush walking, sailing, kayaking, archery, bivuoac building, confidence course traversing, soccer and volleyball playing, movie watching, and skit performing.

They took turns in carrying out chores such as cleaning and dishwashing. It was entertaining to see how they decorated their rooms and the shows they put on trying to pass their daily room inspections.

It was also a week of hugging and cheering, and encouraging mates and challenging bodies and minds and growing physically and mentally.

I volunteered in the camp as the Camp Medic. It was a bit daunting to be responsible for the health and safety of 54 children and 12 other adults. My week was peppered with cuts and scrapes and bruises and falls and I did have to send someone to the mainland for a few hours to get stitches since sutures weren't in my med kit.

The complement of kids at this school is so very diverse. So many cultures, ethnicities and languages represented. Many of them also experienced migrating to New Zealand from elsewhere. Many of them are already world travelers and thus have such a pragmatic, open minded approach to people and life. The two year 8 teachers were stern yet soft and you could see how much the students respected and love them. Chatting with the students during our walks was entertaining. They are such inquisitive children, but open and not ashamed to ask questions that others their age might be. We talked about racism vs prejudice, intersectionality, and the dangers of generalizing people. One evening, I stood in the corner of the kitchen with a group of girls while sipping my evening tea and answered all of their questions about the body, periods, sex etc.

We have a student who came to NZ only a few weeks ago as a refugee from Afghanistan. He speaks little to no English. Luckily one of his classmates speaks his language. To make things as easy as possible for him, the teachers made sure all signs used were bilingual.

I spent the week really getting to know my son's classmates, teachers and friends. I am so grateful that I have the ability to take a week off of work, paid, with little impact on my total allotted time off for the year. I am so impressed with the way Micah's teachers addressed each individual child, meeting them where they are, adjusting their methods to the specific emotional (and sometimes spectrum) needs of each child. The shy and the extrovert were seen, no one overlooked. I was so happy to see how the students all worked to make the recent refugee student comfortable and feeling included. I loved how much all of the children interacted with each other, not staying within strict clique groups. Everyone knew everyone and were kind and encouraging to everyone. I loved the side conversations I was able to witness and the way that even when there was mischief and teasing, it was on the obvious foundation of kindness and mutual respect. Hearing "I love you" between classmates was a common occurrence. If one is hurt or sad, the others come to their side. So much depth in a group of 12 and 13 yr. olds that I did not expect to see, but that I have become more used to as I've interacted with the youth in this part of the country.

You can really see how being exposed to a diverse population and seeing the world has armed these children against the tendency toward ethnocentricity and closed mindedness. You can see how the leadership and example set by the teachers and staff trickle down to the children in positive ways.

I could go on and on but I'll stop here. I know that I could not say all of this about my children's classes in Arizona. We are blessed to be here. Everyday 'The Why' shows itself in spades.