I was invited back to New Zealand for a second trip to speak at the 2019 Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Hui. It’s all the MIEExperts from New Zealand who can make it, plus some Aussies too. It is a great group and such an honor to be invited – back! I flew down on October 1 and landed on October 3.
Once I got settled into my studio apartment overlooking city center (!), I went out for breakfast.
Then I walked to St Patrick’s Cathedral…
And to Albert Park…
And to the Auckland Art Gallery.
I spent the afternoon at Takepuna Beach, got caught in the rain, and saw a rainbow!
Then I met up with four of the six MIE Fellows for dinner: Nikkie, Carmen, and Rachel. These are the ladies I work with to do this trip, who arrange my travel and pay me to be there. They are an awesome bunch. I’ve seen them in Seattle, Toronto, Budapest, and Singapore!
Friday morning I woke up to this lovely view of the Sky Tower out my balcony. I made breakfast in my apartment (thanks to a “breakfast basket” full of eggs, muesli, yogurt, toaster muffins, and fruit thanks to Nikkie) and took off for Rangitoto Island by ferry.
Rangitoto Island is a nature preserve. It is pest-free! There is no fresh water, snack shack, or power. It has miles of hiking trails, one that goes to the summit. I was ready for the day with my backpack of water, lunch, and rain gear.
The view from the top was gorgeous, as expected. The afternoon even warmed up a little. I walked lots of extra trails and – at one point – went 45 minutes without seeing another human being. It was so peaceful and invigorating!
I crawled through these lava caves in the pitch black too.
And then took the ferry back to Auckland. If you miss the last ferry back, you spend the night on the island!
On Saturday, I went to the first day of the summit and was immediately reunited with more educators I’ve met in cities around the world or in Auckland.
In the afternoon, we visited Freeman’s Bay School, a Microsoft Showcase School. It was a beautiful campus! I presented three workshop sessions that afternoon on a variety of topics.
We also had travel adventures in Ubers…
and in buses!
That evening was the fancy dinner. All the ladies wear dresses and a lot of the men wear collared shirts and there is a plated dinner.
Afterward, we walked back to the apartments to hang out as a group and socialize.
On Sunday, I had my keynote talk first thing in the morning. I told everyone to be on time and they were! 🙂
Then I attended some sessions put on by the local educators and sent encouraging tweets out to everyone I met.
At lunch, I went Lime scootering with two of the Australian educators. They planned ahead and even parked some scooters by the Microsoft offices that morning, and then told me about their plan to take me out!
We went all around the harbor in the sunshine. It was so fun!
We wrapped up the day with a learning challenge. I mainly walk around and talk to people and clap at their great ideas. It’s a nice way to end a busy weekend. I also organized a group photo! 🙂
And then I flew home… in premium. They take such good care of me! It was really fun to fly international premium. The seats are big and fully recline, and I had a real pillow, eye mask, cozy socks, lip balm, and food served in real dishes, in three courses each meal. I slept for seven hours straight!
The Keene Family 