a day ahead

Okay so it may say Sunday to you all but it is Monday here, I flew over that dateline thingie so just so ya'all know....not like it matters. Anyway I was supposed to go swimming with dolphins today but not enough folks signed up to go out on the boat. So I will be back to this cute little town to do it again, likely in 3 weeks or so. I have met some great people and the SERVAS organization is truly amazing. I stayed with two couples. Both have grown children so I slept in their old rooms which was sweet. The first couple I stayed with is Maori and I learned some Maori words and customs.
Kohanna (hopefully I am spelling this correctly, sorry if not, but they are likely phonetically spelled) is what they call a preschool, which really means nest. Moanna is beach. Ko Akua toku ing oa - my name is Akua, No California ah how - I am from California , Mo rain na- good morning. Brenda took me to a preschool where she used to work and the kids sang me a song. The preschool is Maori speaking only, then when the kids go to first grade they learn English, though many know some English (some of their parents speak English, and are learning Maori also), they learn their own language first in a school setting. I was really thankful to get to see into the preschool, and the kids were very sweet. English is really not supposed to be spoken in the school so I was limited in what I could say to them, the phrases above were about it :) My Servas hosts had a lovely home and were really welcoming. I stayed in a cute girls room complete with a mosquito net!!! When Brenda met me at the bus stop I immediately noticed that we both have freckles; actually it seems that many Maori women seem to have freckles. Anyway it poured rain (much needed rain!) for a few days so we stayed in and watched Maori TV; which I really enjoyed. Their were cultural shows, documentaries and the news. There was a really cool documentary about a teacher that was instrumental in bring the Maori language back into the New Zealand classrooms.