Written by South Pacific Students, Andy & Kyla
We arrived at the Hart family farm in New Zealand. This is where we met Greg and Rachel, the amazing hosts that run the cattle farm we worked on. Every morning, part of the group would go with Greg and do the animal related chores such as weighing and herding cattle, feeding pigs and chickens, and driving around on the yute with Greg. The other parts of the group would either clean or cook in the morning before the group would get together and complete our afternoon work. This work included sawing branches off of trees to help maintain a native forest, building forest steps, weeding different tracts of land on the property, demolition work on a neighbors house, and using a flamethrower to remove weeds from a driveway🔥 🔥. In the late afternoon/ early evening we would play games as a group including volleyball and soccer and hang out before dinner. Dinner was cooked by our group and we made a variety of delicious dishes including pizza, hamburgers, curry, and other delectable dishes 🍽️. After dinner we would either watch a movie as a group or play a game as a group.
What have been the three highlights of the week?
🥳 We celebrated our good friend RJ’s 19th birthday at the Hart family farm with cake, presents, and games. Everyone loved to spend his special day with him!
🛍️ After several days of work we had a day off where we went to the city of Napier. Once there, people bought clothes, snacks, and other fun items. The group got to go out for lunch and enjoy the variety of choices for food that Napier offers.
🎥 On one of the nights of the week, we watched a Kiwi movie called Hunt for the Wilder People. The group really enjoyed the movie and it made everyone laugh a lot. It also introduced us more to Kiwi movie productions and the work of Taika Waititi.
Growth comes with challenge – what are some of the challenges you’ve overcome this week?
This week was the week of adjustment. After spending weeks in Australia with temperatures staying steady at around 30C for the duration of our stay, transitioning to New Zealand was hard. People had realized that they might not clothes for the cold weather so they had to do some adjusting and shopping for the change in temperature.
How has the group been doing?
Our group is extremely close with lots of laughter, inside jokes, and the occasional bit. We always find ways to do things as a group and include everyone. Everyone in the group has gone above and beyond to establish a personal connection with each other. We overcome every bump in the road as a group and we pick each other up when needed. This is a group that is going to stay close friends after this trip concludes. Plans to reconnect have already begun:))
Anything else?
Hola mama te amo!! – Andy ❤️
