New Zealand's Finest Country Cinema

State Highway One runs through the centre of Taihape, so most New Zealanders know where Taihape is. But very few have ever ventured off the main road. I hadn't - until the indicator went on when we arrived with our first car load of possessions to move here. That first trip up the side road Leif and I both noticed a big sign on a beautiful old building - "The Majestic - New Zealand's Finest Country Cinema". Having never been inside a 'country cinema' before, let alone 'New Zealand's Finest' - we were intrigued.

We had heard rumours that there was a group working to save the theatre and kept meaning to do some investigating. Then a couple of weeks ago the Taihape Times had an article about this group asking if there was anyone in the community who was interested in helping out...

One phone call, a pot of tea and some delicious orange cake later I find myself as the secretary of the 'Taihape Heritage Trust'. Leif is the 'technical advisor'. We had our first meeting a last week. A cold night and five of us huddled round a heater in the 'Nibble Nook' - a room off the side of the theatre that used to be the theatre tuck shop.

The theatre itself is wonderful. It is really like stepping back in time. Old leather seats. Native wood interior. A huge amount of work has gone into it already since it was saved from demolition in 1998. We are currently looking to open it within the next year for regular film screenings.

Meanwhile, I have some meeting minutes to write up...

Inspirational Kids

In the last post I wrote about the challenging issues I face in my job.

I need to write a bit about how fantastic all of the kids I meet are - and I need to ask a favour.

Taihape is a small place and my goal is to give these students dreams beyond this small valley. I tell my students that they should definitely come back one day, but that it has to be a conscious choice: not one made because they had no other option.

I love Fridays. But not for the reason that I used to love Fridays when I was stuck in an office. I love Fridays because I get to teach a great bunch of Year 10 kids all day. During this class I hope to go a little way in opening their horizons by empowering them to connect with the world and instilling in them a sense that their voice is important.

The issue this class has decided to focus on is cleaning up the Hautapu River. The Hautapu flows around the town and is polluted by local industry and farming. The students have all set up their own blogs and are recording their progress. They are all first time bloggers and their enthusiasm is infectious. Through the internet, I want the students to learn how to find information, lobby and communicate with people around New Zealand and the world.

Yesterday I told the class that they needed to get their blogs 'out there' in the cyber world and they needed to email their link to as many overseas people that they knew. I was met with a sea of blank faces: Miss, we don't know anyone overseas!!
- One student was a mini-celeb for a second because she knew one person who lived in England and two people who lived in America.

So I taught them how to search for groups who had done a similar thing that they were trying to do. There was such a buzz in the room as they started finding out that they weren't the first group in the world to try and clean up a local river. One student managed to email a group in the USA.

Sweet Story:
I observed one student getting so excited because she was finding blogs written by people in exotic countries such as Denmark and China. I had said earlier that was a great idea to add links to sites that were relevant to their project. She called me back later on to show me that she had added a number of links to her site. She was so excited showing me. "Look Miss - this one is from AMERICA!... this one is from CHINA!" I was a little confused, as they didn't appear to have any relevance to our project... Then I realised: this student was so amazed that she could see something written by someone in another country. For her this was huge enough.

Here's where I ask the favour: Please visit our class website...

• http://www.leadingthroughcommunication.blogspot.com/
  

On the right-hand side, you will see links to the students' blogs. Please visit at least one of them and leave a comment - and say where you live. We are going to have a big map on the wall and we will mark where in the world (including NZ!) each email or comment has come from.

One student got a comment back yesterday from a teacher in the USA. There was yelling and screaming with excitement ...thanks so much in advance!

A Little Bit About My Job

I love my job. My overarching goal each day is to make someone's life a little more happier or a little more manageable. I couldn't imagine a better job description and I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.

My job focusses around counselling, social work and 'behaviour management'. As a result, I see the harsh realities of poverty, abuse and mental health issue on a daily basis. Despite this town providing me with a very Good Life, many kids in this town are not so lucky. There are a number of students at our school who have had a really tough life. The same old story of intergenerational poverty and social disenfranchisement.

Whilst living overseas it was tempting to idealise New Zealand and pretend that the abuse and violence featured so much in the UK media didn't exist in my homeland. Having spent my university years studying criminology, in theory I knew that this wasn't the case, but I hadn't experienced a 'real' view of what life is like for far too many kiwi kids. In our social circles of university educated, socially privileged people, it's easy to pretend that a safe life in a supportive family is the reality for everyone. It's not.

There are far too many kiwi kids growing up in homes full of violence with no real concept of a life without it. I grew up 'knowing' I could achieve anything I wanted to. Too many of the children I meet with every day don't have this same confidence. I know I wouldn't, had I been born into their lives. So many of these kids need someone to believe in them, someone to give them a dream and to show them that they can step out of the life they were born in to.

Not a day goes by that I do not appreciate the life that I had the lucky chance to be born into. So many of my university and work friends are similarly educated and privileged. To all you similarly lucky New Zealanders out their reading this I implore you to consider this next generation of kids coming through who were not as lucky as you. If you are not concerned about what life is going to be like for these kids when they grow up, get real and read about intergenerational violence, poverty and crime. These are 2020's welfare recipients and prison inmates funded by your taxes. If you are concerned, don't sit back to complain because every one of you can make a difference. New Zealand has some fantastic mentoring programmes and I guarantee it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. If you can't give your body, at least give some cash! ; )

NB: There are heaps of great youth programmes out there, really successful and crying out for cash. Project K is just one I have had a bit to do with. Voters yell at politicians to spend money on the results of crime (read: more prisons) than preventing it. I know you guys are wiser.

Retail Therapy

On Sunday Leif and I decided that it was time for a Momentous Purchase: Our Gumboots.

For those of you not in the know, Taihape is in fact 'The Gumboot Capital of the World'. Being newcomers to such a town we figured that life without gumboots in this town is like living in Montana without a cowboy hat. Most shops have hand-written signs asking patrons to remove their gumboots before entering.

I had not anticipated the array of gumboot choices I would be faced with. Remembering London's fad for dinky gumboots last winter I thought the biggest decision that I would face would be what colour to go for. Well, let me tell you - in Taihape gumboots come in one colour: black. None of those prissy pinks and mauves round this place. Do I go for knee-high, mid-calve or ankle? Steel caps, pure rubber or part neoprene? Snug fit or loose? Red-band, Skellerups or Sloggers? Cleated, molded or mud-grips? Lace-up or not? Overwhelmed by the selection I decided to post-pone my purchase to fully consider all the options. This was not a decision to be taken lightly.

On my way out the door I was drawn to a big Ice Breaker sale. I managed to gather in excess of $500 of goodies but couldn't decide on the colours. I asked if I could purchase them and return the ones I didn't like the next day. The woman just said to me - oh don't worry about it, just tell me your name and phone number. And so then I was allowed to take it all home without any deposit based on her trusting me. I was pretty amazed.

Mushrooms galore

After the seething mass of people and anonymity of London I am constantly delighted by the many acts of neighbourliness that we encounter in Taihape. This evening Leif and I returned home from work to see a car in our driveway. It was the parents of a student of mine dropping off a big bowl of wild mushrooms they'd picked this afternoon on their farm. I had only met them once before but had waved to them in the main street yesterday. They simply thought we might like some mushrooms - given they are the most luscious-looking, picture-perfect (hence the photo!) mushies I have even seen I was a very happy recipient!