I was asked in May if I would be available to keynote the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert summit in Auckland, New Zealand this July. At first, we weren’t sure about me going because there was a lot going on that weekend: JT had a baseball tournament and a birthday, and we were supposed to be leaving for a weeklong camping trip with family. But once Jim and I talked it over, he said, “You don’t know if you’ll ever get another chance to do this. You should go.” So I said yes!
It’s pretty amazing to me that I have a job where someone will ask me to fly to New Zealand and speak at a conference… and pay for everything… and pay me a speaker fee on top of it all. This isn’t how I envisioned living my life at 38! 🙂
I flew to NZ on Tuesday, July 10. Because NZ is over the dateline and it’s about 17 hours of travel, I landed Thursday, July 12 at 5:30 AM. I lost Wednesday to the universe! It is also winter in the southern hemisphere, so I had to mentally adjust to that!
After I arrived, I caught my reserved shuttle to the hotel and had early check-in. I was in my room before 7 AM! I worked for about an hour (it was midday Wednesday in the States and I had a ton of emails) and then unpacked before heading out the door to find breakfast. I ate at a little café and then caught an Uber to the bottom of Mount Eden, just outside the city. It is the tallest natural point in Auckland. I walked up the hill (one mile, steady climb) in the sunshine!
It is a volcano that erupted a very long time ago, and you can walk the rim of the crater. It’s gorgeous!
Then I caught another Uber over to St John’s Hill/Cornwall Park. I hiked up that and walked miles around the park. It is a working farm and is owned by a trust so that it does not cost the taxpayers anything. Very cool.
After a quick lunch and a recharge of devices at the hotel (and a half hour nap; I’d been up since 2:30 AM Auckland time), I walked the waterfront and enjoyed the gorgeous city views.
The Auckland Harbor bridge is a scale replica of the Sydney Harbor bridge.
I was all excited to try the Auckland Fish Market… it was smaller than I thought it would be!
I planned to go up the Sky Tower to watch sunset. It is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. It is similar to the Space Needle or the CN Tower or other tall building… but with new scenery.
I met the two ladies who arranged my trip, Rachel and Nikkie, for dinner Thursday evening in the harbor. Then I crashed in bed!
On Friday, we met after breakfast and walked to Microsoft House, just half a mile from the hotel.
We met with Morgan, another educator, and Anne, the Teacher Engagement Manager for Microsoft New Zealand, to go over last minute details for the event.
Then Nikkie had arranged for us to take a ferry to Waiheke Island for lunch!
A shuttle picked us up at the ferry landing on Waiheke and drove us to the top of the island. The view was gorgeous!
Lunch at a winery in New Zealand calls for a tasting flight… and lamb shepherd pie! It was so good!
Friday night we met the Australian educators who had flown in for the summit (five of them) for pizza at a restaurant in the harbor.
And then Saturday… the big event began! Seventy educators attended the morning session. I had the opening keynote and I finally felt ready.
After that, I led two more breakout sessions in the afternoon and then joined everyone for dinner at the Royal Squadron Yacht Club, hosted by the event.
On Sunday, the day flew by. I attended sessions led by the New Zealand educators and Australian guest speakers, and helped the educators with their group challenge. Then I changed into my travel outfit and got ready to fly home!
As we were leaving the summit in our shuttle buses, one educator noticed a rainbow over the Sky Tower. How timely and beautiful!
After I landed in the US, I saw a tweet from one of the other speakers at the event that made me feel awesome. I wasn’t sure if my keynote had been on point… but I got lots of positive feedback at the event, and lots of tweets and blogs and posts afterward. Success!
The Keene Family 