New Zealand for me was the mythical, magical land where elves and hobbits competed with the All Blacks for space while doing the haka.
Basically, I didn't know alot.
What I found was a little different. The country is amazingly beautiful and VERY wet. The people are friendly, and the Christians have a passion for God. No funky hobbits though.
And I had an amazing host family where I felt comfortable to be myself instantly.
We worked for a week at a wintercamp for children aged 5-11. They really wiped us out by the end of each afternoon. They all had different needs and different personalites and different things that grabbed their attention, usually away from what we were actually trying to teach them.
I saw 6 5-year olds emerge from being really shy in front of the big group and not thinking they were good enough to beat the bigger kids in competition, to shouting out the memory verses as loud as they could (and winning twice - GO CLOWNS!).
There is also the childrens' parents that got saved after the pastor had an opportunity to share the gospel with them.
And finally, I learned that God provides what you need, when you need it. Energy when you have none left, stories when your brain is dead, affection when your nature is murder.
God is good! (If I could find the silly elves, I'm sure they'd agree.)