Huh? You're going where?

I will be visitingSwanson Primary Schoolwhich is located on the northern island of New Zealand, west of Auckland. Swanson is a small town located approximately 50 minutes from Auckland International Airport.

Over the next eight weeks I plan to challenge myself to experience new things. I plan to gain new perspectives from a culture that is different from my own. I am planning to push myself outside of my comfort zone and gain a fresh perspective of who I am. I am very excited to be teaching in Auckland, New Zealand at Swanson Primary School. I am so excited to experience their culture, traditions, country and the school wide initiatives that will help me grow as a educator. :) It is both an exciting and anxious time and I am more than ready for this adventure to begin!

Here are some quick facts about Auckland and the county of New Zealand :)

• Population: 4.2 million
• Capital: Wellington
• Major languages: English, Maori
• Major religion: Christianity
• Life expectancy: 76 years (men), 81 years (women)
• Monetary unit: 1 New Zealand dollar ($NZ) = 100 cents
• Main exports: Wool, food and dairy products, wood and paper products
• Internet domain: .nz
• International dialling code: +64
  

• Auckland is the largest as well as the most populous urban area of New Zealand.
• Auckland was originally inhabited by the Maori people.
• Auckland was initially known as ‘Tamaki Makau Rau,’ meaning a maiden with 100 lovers.
• Auckland houses the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world.
• Auckland has two harbors on two separate major bodies of water, namely Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean.
• The largest volcano located in Auckalnd is in the Rangitoto Island.
• Auckland is located on and around an isthmus, with its narrowest point merely 2 kilometers in width, which is between Mangere Inlet and the Tamaki River.
• As per 2006 statistics, Auckland ranked 23^rd on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.
• With regard to the quality of life, Auckland currently ranks 5^th amongst 218 major cities of the world.
• Auckland is commonly referred as the "City of Sails", because the harbor is flanked by hundreds of yachts and has more yachts per capita than any other city in the world.
• The Sky Tower located in Auckland is the tallest free standing structure in the entire Southern Hemisphere.
• Auckland is the breeding ground for the New Zealand Sea Lion, which is the most endangered of the five species of sea lion in the world.
• Auckland houses approximately 30 percent of the world’s total population of yellow-eyed penguin, which is also bred here.

New Zealand lies in the southern Pacific Ocean, 1600 km east of Australia. It is made up of the North and South Islands and a number of smaller islands, with a total area of 268 000 sq km.

Mountain ranges and hill country dominate NZ's landscape; one of the most striking physical features is the Southern Alps. These, along with fiords glaciers and lakes and the coastal plains of Canterbury and Southland add to the variety of the South Island scenery. In the North Island the volcanic interior contains NZ's largest lake, Lake Taupo, and most of the country's active volcanoes - Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - Ruapehu erupted as recently as 1995 and 1996. Hot springs, geysers, mud pools also form part of the volcanic system centred around Rotorua.