Tuesday, May 4, 2010

How to be Skux Delux

The title really has nothing to do with this post but skux is the word of the year at Boys High and I thought I may as well put it into a title.

This will just be a catch up the my goings on since the holidays.

I know I have said it feels like home here in earlier posts but I have to say that life has hit a normality here, and not in a bad boring way, but in a I-have-a-handle-on-New-Zealand-and-school-and-home-and-social-life-and-athletic-life sort of way. Over holidays I traveled to the north island and Stewart Island and was a tourist, but when I got to my HOME, I was not a tourist any more. Invercargill is not a tourist destination and there are very few foreigners and when you speak the language you tend to fit right in with sometimes the occasional person asking where you are from. I do not notice the accents anymore, not at all... literally, they are just not there. Accents in general with me are all kind of a blur now. What with American TV shows all the time, American commercials with kiwi voice overs, kiwi tv shows, kiwi commercials, tons of UK influence on TV, and the region I live in is also very Scottish. I hear different accents all the time and I am not even aware most of the time. Like when I was on the Stewart Island in the hut, one of my mates said I should go over and talk with the American girl in the corner because we had our mother nations in common. I gave a bewildered look and asked how he had known, to his reply that her accent was so strong. I had been talking to her about the island less than 5 minutes earlier and never even noticed that she was not a kiwi.

Man, I am so ADD I was not even meaning to write about this. Anyways, what I am trying to say is that I do not notice my accent anymore and I often forget I even have one. So in this way when I feel like I no longer have an accent, when I dont feel like a tourist in Invercargill, when I am involved with school, playing sports, and hanging out with people on the weekend, I just feel like I belong. Like I have hit my stride to be actually LIVING here and no longer on a "foreign exchange."

So my normal life goes like this right now:

Mondays: soccer practice
Tuesdays: Rugby practice, Ball Practice (I will get to this later but its like prom and we have to learn 14 dances.), Production Practice (will also get to this later)
Wednesday: soccer game
Thursday: rugby practice, Ball practice, Production practice
Friday:
Saturday: Rugby game
Sunday: Production practice, and this is also the day we do a massive house clean up

Things happening since I last wrote... I won the school Round the Park race. It was a complete debacle though. It was around the very large park right beside the school and had like 2 people directing people along the 2.4k course for juniors and 4k course for seniors. I was leading the senior race and just following the juniors who started before us. Well, these juniors turn in early at a spot that is unmarked for seniors but that I promptly turn into. turns out...WRONG! I was told this by a fat little junior who was so puffed that all he could get out was just that, "wrong!" And I  had to back track to second place and catch up and pass before I made my turn behind the school to the finish line. Right before i crossed the line a mate from my class said "Oi Trenor! you went the wrong way you were supposed to go in front of the school not BEHIND!" I looked behind me terrified that I would not see second place who probably had gone the right way and that my chances of going the southland cross country champs would disappear ( but even more worrisome, my free day off school would be gone as well). However, the second place guy did follow me the wrong way, and the third place, and fourth, and everyone else. I lead the whole freakin race the wrong way. The people putting on the race were all pissy but I was like "its not my fault no one was there to direct me which way to go!" and they were all "your a senior you should know this" and I was all "well yea thats true and shizz except for the fact that I am a foreign exchange student and have never seen this course and did not anticipate the follies that would befall me whilst running this poorly run race event."  except thats not really how it happened. It was more like they were really pissy and grumbling behind my back that I messed up the whole senior race and I stood in the background looking all around thinking "where the flip was the place I made the second wrong turn???" But it still really wasnt my fault, seriously, how was I supposed to know? Anyways I was still counted as the winner and am going to Southland Cross Country Champs in Te Anau in a week.

The next day I did a 9k race around the same park with all the Invercargill club teams and came in 2nd which I was very delighted with

I have been cast as Hortensio in Kiss Me Kate, my high school's production. I have to sing Tom Dick or Harry with two other chaps to one of the female main characters. I think we have to do a dance but I have also heard rumors that our dance was cut out. I will not be a happy camper if this is so because it will make the song look stupid if we are all just standing there trying to sing the song seriously. I just want to joke around and do lame dance moves on stage to make it more fun. AND it also turns out that in my solo for the song I have to hit this one really long and really high note at the end of my line saying "marry me". I can see it now: Marry Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee(((CRACK!!!!)))) ---- in front of the whole audience on the night of the show which will also include half the school. Do you know what my school does to a guy when his voice cracks?? Everyone stands up (if in the sitting position. If already standing, the position is maintained, but maybe just a step forward is taken for emphasis) and points to the horrified boy and yells "SQUEAKER! SQUEAKERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" -- I would go back to America right then and there...

I will get to the Ball on my next post along with duck shooting and orienteering, this one is long enough for now.

6 comments:

  1. Hi! I'm Vanessa from HK. I have been reading your blog for some time and I enjoy your sharing! I want to be an exchange student and I'm thinking about that if I should go to NZ or Austria cus I like music and nature. Seems that you get a lot of opportunities to do sports, don't you...by the way, how's school there?
    If it is possible, you may reply me by e-mail
    vanlissa@gmail.com
    =)

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  2. Hi!
    I'm Elijah from Switzerland and I've just had my interview with AFS about going abroad.
    Since my first priority ist NZ, they told me that I should really think hard if I really only want to go for 1/2 year. They told me that 1/2 year is too short.
    What do you personally think?
    Thank-you for your answer!

    Elijah

    PostScriptum: Great Blog!

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  3. hey thank you guys very much.

    elijah-
    do a year, half is too short i really agree with that but half worked out the best for me so i did not have to repeat a year of high school. but all the afs exchange kids here staying a year are happy and the ones going home now are sad. whatever works out for u is best and no matter what you will enjoy it and get a lot out of it.

    Vanessa, ill just reply to your email

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  4. hi trenor!

    I've decided to go for a whole year :). And I've been accepted by AFS Switzerland but I now have to get accepted by AFS New Zealand :)

    Elijah

    PostScriptum: You're at least one of the only ones who writes more than once per 2 months, so its even mor fun to follow ;)

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  5. sweet man thats great! im sure you will get accepted. I leave in a week so im just trying to enjoy my last bits of NZ, its very very sad but im still also excited to go home. I wonder how you will find NZ different from Switzerland?

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  6. Hi!

    I hope you have arrived well in the US...

    Quite sad, you're enriching blog won't have any NZ experiences any more.

    Personally, I see the differences in nature (except mountains and lakes), which Switzerland doesn't have. As well I expect NZ to have differnet climates than we do (puuh, right now it's appr. 31 degrees...

    I promise that if I get to go to NZ, I'll write a blog (chance to inform friends etc and to improve my English skills), but It won't be as interesting as yours was!

    All the best wishes, and if you get to go to Switzerland, write me an eMail or whatever :)

    Sincerly

    Elijah

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