It's been a few weeks since my last blog, and they have been very busy. A few weeks ago, I started working with two different Moxie groups at Recreate. This is their job skills program. I have been working at one of their orchards and gardens, helping participants learn new skills and work on old ones, like mowing, weeding and pruning, while gaining soft skills, like task focus and time management. It has been incredible to see the amount of growth that everyone, including myself, has gone through in 3 weeks. Working in the orchard with Recreate's young adults has probably been one of my favorite parts of the job so far. I've learned a lot over the past few weeks about both teaching job skills and working in a garden.
I have also done some more traveling and exploration over the past few weeks. During the last week of July I went on a 4 night solo trip to Queenstown, a beautiful city on New Zealand's South Island. As my plane approached Queenstown, we flew through the Southern Alps. I stayed in a hotel and got to meet some very interesting people there. On my first night, got to meet up with a friend for dinner at Fergburger, a famous burger restaurant, and to catch up on her last night there. My highlights from Queenstown include going to an ice bar, taking a cruise on the inaccurately named Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, and hiking on Ben Lomond.
I have also done some more traveling and exploration over the past few weeks. During the last week of July I went on a 4 night solo trip to Queenstown, a beautiful city on New Zealand's South Island. As my plane approached Queenstown, we flew through the Southern Alps. I stayed in a hotel and got to meet some very interesting people there. On my first night, got to meet up with a friend for dinner at Fergburger, a famous burger restaurant, and to catch up on her last night there. My highlights from Queenstown include going to an ice bar, taking a cruise on the inaccurately named Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, and hiking on Ben Lomond.
For my last week, I am working with Recreate's Moxie and Life Skills and continuing to enjoy living in Auckland. On Monday, I finally went to the top of Mount Eden, the dormant volcano I pass every day going to and from work, to take in the city I have been living in for 2 months. I'm sad to be leaving New Zealand this weekend, but I am so glad I got this incredible experience. My job here has shown me what I want to do when I graduate in December. I have been to some incredible places, and I've grown a lot from my time here. The only thing I would change about my time here if I could would be to make it longer.
