What went well?
Arriving my first week in New Zealand I was having a wonderful time exploring the town and the area of Whakatipu. Right off the bat I purchased a bicycle off facebook marketplace for extremely cheap and was able to scout locations for setting up my donation table for used snowgear or any handmedowns people have to support the Adaptive Snowsports Whakatipu's gear collection. 

What could have been done differently?
I should have checked the interesting climate in New Zealand area prior to coming (especially the Whakatipu region). This is because interestingly it only gets cold and snowy on the top of the mountains where the ski areas are and down in the plains where the towns are it is quite warm. warm enough so to actually go for a morning jog in t shirts and sweatpants and then hit the slopes for night skiing in the afternoon. Although at the moment, the ski season is predicted to commence rather late but that just means more time to explore the nature that NZ offers! Can't complain about more hiking, exploring and camping! No Bears or crazy predators in NZ!!! :) 

What did I learn about myself when working with others?
I am more independent than I thought. Upon arrival in New Zealand my supervisor was quite surprised with how much I adjusted by myself although to be fair it wasn't like I was struggling with language as they speak English but with a noticeable twang to their sentences as well as region specific terminology such as "Ute." You'd have never guessed what a "Ute" is but its short for utility and is what Kiwi's call Pick-up trucks! I'm going to start calling my truck back at home a Ute now. 

What did I learn about leadership?
It's important for leaders to know the context or the background of the issue they are approaching. While coming from a US family and living in Canada at the moment paying for goods in New Zealand felt like quite the discount due to the strength of the Canadian and US dollar. For Kiwi's living there though, with getting materials to this small island separated by enormous distances from much of the world, everyday goods are quite pricey on the Kiwi salary. This leaves quite little for people, especially with kids, to experience the joys of snowsports considering the very high expense of not only just renting the skis/boards, but also appropriate snow wear, transport, etc. 

What do I want to develop or focus on next?
I will be focusing on scouting out where to set up a donation table/information table in the following week via renting a car (very cheap in NZ) in neighboring towns such as Arrowtown, Wanaka, Te Anau, etc. 

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