Everything they say about New Zealand is true. It is magical and beautiful and has more sheep than people. It has trees and flowers I’ve never seen, as well as mountains, lakes, and deserts. It is, after all, Middle Earth. And it’s also the land of the dinosaurs, but more about that in a later post. For now, let’s visit New Zealand’s largest city and a neighboring island. (I didn’t know it before I visited, but there are lots of neighboring islands!)
For three weeks I explored New Zealand with Sharon, who was one of my travel partners in Greece earlier this year. We landed in Auckland in the afternoon and headed to Queen Street, a popular shopping area. We got our bearings and took ourselves through Viaduct Harbor. It’s a great place to walk, eat, drink, people watch, and admire boats. I was particularly excited about the last part, but my first beer from New Zealand in New Zealand was great, too.
We spent the evening at the Viaduct and were glad for the sunshine that woke us the next morning after the clouds of the first day. We went out in the opposite direction towards Mount Eden, from which we’d been promised the best views of the city. (We soon learned that New Zealand’s best views only get better.) We explored Symonds Street Cemetery on the way.
The hike up Mount Eden, the first of many hikes that largely characterized our three weeks, was beautiful and a lovely welcome to New Zealand. The sun was shining and we could see so much of Auckland and its environs.
We took a taxi back towards the Viaduct from the Mount Eden neighborhood, intending to take a ferry to one of the beaches. It wasn’t warm enough to swim but it was certainly warm enough to take a walk on the sand. Instead, though, the driver suggested we visit Waiheke Island and go wine tasting. We didn’t need much convincing and I loved everything about it from the start.
The ferry ride was beautiful . . .
. . . and so were the flowers, vineyards, and walking trails.
We visited Wild Estate, Te Motu, Stonyridge, and Cable Bay and I have only good things to say about all of them. We watched the sunset from Cable Bay, too.
We had a bit of an adventure getting back, for which we can only blame ourselves. The lady at the ticket counter said they ferry departed every half-hour and we neglected to verify that even though we were carrying the timetable. Turns out that as the day grows later, the ferry leaves every 45 minutes . . . and then every 90 minutes . . . and so we were stuck at the Waiheke Island ferry terminal from 9:40pm-11pm. Oops.
The next morning it was time to say goodbye to Auckland pick up our car, a white Toyota Yaris that I named Sylvia, and begin our North Island road trip! Stay tuned!
I recently had the privilege to lead a group of grade 11 students on a week-long journey through Yunnan Province in southwestern China. As on the trip to Battambang, Cambodia that I led for this group as grade 10 students, we worked with the JUMP! Foundation, who continue to be my favorite people. They develop, design, and manage the program along with their partner schools and it’s an honor to work with them each year.
This trip was the first time many of our students experienced what it’s like to be a backpacker. We traveled with packs and on overnight trains, moving to multiple locations throughout the trip. There’s a lot of travel in one week because we spend the first and last days transitioning between planes, trains, and buses but it was a phenomenal experience.
After a series of opening activities (JUMP! programs involve lots of running around and games, which are really fun, as well as group reflections that are valuable) and another bus ride, we arrived in our first base, Jianchuan. The town itself is quite small and there was no restaurant in town large enough for all 63 of us so one of the restaurant families opened their courtyard and invited local chefs to cook the three meals we’d be eating there. The food we had all week was truly extraordinary and a major highlight for some of the students and even the staff.
JUMP! had told us about Bai, the minority group that we’d be spending much of our time with on the trip. China doesn’t have the best history in its treatment of minorities, but Bai language, culture, and style of dress remain vibrant and distinct. Learning about and from the Bai people began almost immediately. After some food and our first shower in 36 hours, we headed to a traditional pottery workshop and learned about the ancient art of black pottery that is famous in this region. Interestingly, it’s the use of pine wood in the kiln at the comparatively low temperature of 500°C that makes the pottery black.
Walking through Jianchuan the next day was like going back in time. The main road of the ancient town was part of Tea Horse Caravan Road that connected to the Silk Road and although no longer a merchant spot, it’s still a functioning street.
Our morning activity was a scavenger hunt following a hand-drawn map through Jianchuan Old Town. We began at the central town square . . .
. . . with the goal of investigating the local economy . . .
. . . a beautiful shrine . . .
. . . and a local park with pagodas.
From Jianchuan we headed to Shaxi where we’d spend the next three nights. Shaxi is a very small town and a bit like a fairytale. Like Jianchuan, it’s part of the Tea Horse Caravan Road, which is really cool. I even did some shopping there!
We had time to wander through town during our stay and it was so serene and beautiful.
The countryside was equally beautiful and we went on a bike ride through the fields across the river.
In keeping with the connection to nature, we hiked Shi Bao Mountain the following day. It’s a beautiful pine forest with grottos, temples, and views of Shaxi and the fields beyond. My stereotypes of China had been fading since our arrival and I voiced that for the first time with my students up on the mountain. I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
At the summit, we had a picnic linch of the rice rolls and rice balls that we’d made that morning, which had been really fun.
Then we spent the rest of the day in a tiny Bai village, Bao Xiang Si-Shi Long. “Bai” means “white” and many of the homes and buildings were painted white and then decorated, which was quite charming.
Much of the afternoon was spent learning a song in the Bai language. Bai bears no similarity to Mandarin, so it was a challenge for everyone. Our hosts also taught us a traditional dance and performed it for us in full traditional dress at a bonfire later that evening. Two singers performed the song that we’d painstakingly learned after transliterating the Mandarin characters and then we tried to show them what we’d learned of their dance. Try is the key word here, but the Bai people have only recently started teaching their language to outsiders so it was an honor to be included.
A major endeavor during our time in Shaxi was a fascinating anthropology research project that had students learning about local concerns as a result of migration, modernization, and the mixing of immigrants to Shaxi and the Bai locals. Students then followed a hand-drawn map around town to conduct interviews, mostly in Mandarin, to ask a series of questions they’d devised to learn more about the problems. Then, they were tasked with coming up with viable solutions, which prompted excellent group discussions about the appropriateness of walking into a culture and trying to be of help. On the last day of the trip, students presented their proposals to each other and the group voted for three of the ten presentations to give to some of the locals they’d interviewed. I certainly learned a lot and I know the students did, too. And as always, food was a highlight.
The end of our interview day was one of my favorite experiences of the trip, probably because it was so simple. We went stargazing! We don’t see stars that often in Singapore because of light pollution and cloud cover, but the sky in Yunnan was clear and bright. It was cold, too, winter cold, but we headed to the rooftop of our hostel after dark to lie there and simply look up. We gazed in silence for a while and then played a game of “I Wonder”. At the end of the day, I wonder how we all happened to be there.
Our final activity the next afternoon was a really nice follow-up to the stargazing, meeting people, and group reflections that we’d done throughout the week. My group’s leader and I also taught a few meditation techniques that our students enjoyed. So when it came time to hike an hour through the rice fields for half an hour of silence and solitude, our students were ready and looking forward to reconnecting with themselves and how they’d changed during the week.
And all too soon, we were back on buses, the overnight train, and the plane home. As a staff, we high-fived at the happy faces and safe return. As an educator, I delighted in seeing my students grow and mature over the week, developing new friendships and connections with others. And as a person, I was happy with the crisp air, bright sunshine, learning, and laughter that made up every day.
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir
My family has always loved hiking and we used to do a lot of state park camping when we were growing up. I have fond memories of weekends spent in Stony Brook, Watkins Glen, and Letchworth, all of which are just a couple hours’ drive from Rochester. Last summer, we spent a week in the Adirondacks hiking, boating, and spending time without cell phone service in beautiful scenery. This year, for the first time ever, we had a proper staycation in the Rochester area and spent the week doing a variety of Fun Family Activities, which ranged from hiking and wine tasting to board games and bar trivia. We chose Letchworth State Park for our hike because the park is huge and we knew it would be easy terrain for the dog.
I love the gorges at Letchworth . . .
. . . the trees . . .
. . . and everything that grows and lives along the trails. . . .
Pretty, right? I highly recommend a visit. Need a buddy? Happy to go with you if I’m in the area! If camping isn’t your thing, there’s the beautiful Glen Iris Inn in the park, too, and the best view of the gorge is just beyond.
But one hike was not enough, so my sister and I spent a day at her newest local find, Grimes Glen, which has now topped the list of my favorite Rochester area hikes. It’s also probably the most challenging hike I’ve done around here and perhaps the only hike that my sister and I have done just the two of us. And we had such a great time.
Grimes Glen is basically a walk up Grimes Creek that takes you in the creek itself . . .
I sorely missed my Tevas, sitting unhelpfully outside the door of my apartment in Singapore.
. . . scaling ropes tethered to trees and rocks to get up the banks and waterfalls . . .
. . . and picking your way through trees, waterways, and shale walls that basically become a playground!
There are three major waterfalls at Grimes Glen and we spent a few hours sitting on the ledge of the third fall. It was tricky to get to and we saw exactly three groups of people in the entire time we were there. The noise of the water echoed off the shale and our vantage point from the top of the waterfall let us see all the way to the bend in the creek. It was so unexpectedly private!
Once the sun reached the highest point in the sky, we were ready for a swim. I find counting to three very motivating and my sister was kind enough to indulge me until I was (briefly) completely submerged in the frigid water. I couldn’t bring myself to join her in the fall itself, though, not once I came up shrieking because of the cold. My last swimming in a waterfall experience was in Laos a couple years ago where it was much, much warmer!
And the privacy I mentioned? We climbed back up to our ledge and spent a few minutes topless to dry off, enjoying the sun after our dip. And why not, really?
Upstate New York may be older, emptier, and more downtrodden than I remembered, but it’s as beautiful as ever.
Go exploring. Spend some time outside; it’s lovely there.
Photos, travels, musings, and ideas on education by someone trying to make the world a better and more peaceful place
By Rebecca Michelle 