7 months!

Scarcely five months left. This thought fills me with great joy: going back home, to my warm little corner of paradise, to my family and friends, home. But at the same time it fills me with immense sadness when I think of what I'll leave behind: a loving family, great friends and a beautiful and very seasonal city, my second home.
So another month has gone by, another gorgeous summer month, and the holidays ended with it.
My lasts weeks of holidays were incredibly fun. As I said just before i left you last time, I went camping with my family and Filipe. We went up north to Whanaki, about an hour north of Whangarei, the biggest city in Northland. Whanaki is a beautiful little town with amazing beaches. We left the comfort of the city, our beds, running water, toilets and good food, and spent a week on a tent, with no electricity or any facilities. But the experience was remarkable. The first days were very relaxing: it was rather rainy and grey but I used them to sleep in a bit and catch up on some reading. It was great!
Te following days were much more busy and adventurous. The weather turned out to be perfect and so we were able to enjoy of the beach. We took some long walks over the rocks and swam in beautiful and secluded beaches. We also took the kayaks up the river and pedaled all the way down. This was heaps of fun, although my arms were a bit sore afterwards.
Our last day up there was also Karen's birthday, so we had a bit of a party with a fruit cake and a very yummy dinner, given the conditions. It was a very nice little celebration.

I spent the last weekend of the holidays in Waiheke with my friends (Waiheke is an island 30 minutes from Auckland by ferry were, if you have been reading my letters, is were I spent the last day of the end of term holidays last October with the same group of friends). Just like last time, it was THE best way to end the holidays. The weather was great and the water was warm. We stayed there Friday and Saturday and took advantage of the beach and the sun. At night we had a nice bun fire at the beach and hardly got any sleep. Nevertheless we were up and swimming early next morning. It was so nice and fun that I felt sad to have to come back.

And thus the holidays were over and it was time to go back to school. Because i got chosen as a peer support leader I started school on Monday the second. It wasn't a normal day of holidays but just the year 9 and all the other peer support leaders.
I witnessed my first Powhiri, which is the Maori welcome ritual that we performed for the year 9 students. I actually had to sing in Maori, which wasn't very easy.
For the rest of the day I showed a group of students around the school and played games with them. It was fun and useful (I was learning most of the things because I didn't even know where most of these things were).
Tuesday was a normal school day. I had to go into all of my classes. This year I'm taking New Zealand History, Biology, Classical Studies (golden age history), Calculus and Social Studies. They are all really good subjects, and with really good teachers. And I have friends in every class so school is actually quite nice. And it's not a very loaded classwork compared to what I am used to so I take it very relaxed.
I have joined the school's volleyball team and have practice several times a week and games every Thursday and will joined Stage Challenge which is a theatrical inter-school competition so I will be quite busy with school activities.

It is time for me to go now so hope you've enjoyed my little recount. If you want to know more just email me and I will be happy to answer.
Love,
Camila