Puzzle Pieces

I've gotten a lot of questions, but I common response to my adjustment back has been, "So how have you changed?" (insert doubtful eyebrows). I realize that most people may not recognize that they are sounding like the doubt what I'm saying because hey- I look the same, right? Ya- wrong. The problem is that I have no clue how to describe it. It pretty similar to trying to describe New Zealand- too many words. And, they end up coming out all jumbled and not making any sense when I try... oober frustrating. Today while talking to a friend I used to drive to Church in Indy I finally got one analogy right- I'm like the puzzle piece that went missing under the couch for a few months, then when someone randomly finds me... I don't fit like I used to. Those months away from all the other pieces let me change in ways that I didn't anticipate, although everyone still expects me to make the picture complete. I know everyone wants me to snap back into life how I used to, but I honestly don't ever want to. Because all those things that changed me are now a part of me... and although I can't always put words together to try and explain them, they are still there. I don't ever want to forget those memories or feelings I had when jumping off a bridge or even saying some things that probably weren't GLC (good life choices). So now I'm here with a different perspective on life, different goals, and a realization that not everything is the pretty picture I thought it was when I left it (Was I just blind to things before I left?). She pointed out that after her Mom studied abroad it took her about two months to get comfortable again. "She said it was much harder coming back- everyone has these expectations of you..." Yep, pretty much. They might not been spoken expectations, but even the comments of "Ew, are you going to eat that? (when making one of my fav NZ foods- Grilled chese with pinapple)" pretty much squash my heart. Because, yes I am- and it sucks that you can't be open enough to try it. I guess I'll have to check in after two months to see how its all going. Maybe then I'll be able to explain things better.

Looking Back

Okay, I’m back in the states. I’ve visited all the places that represent home to me… Germantown, Indy, Theta, Butler, East 91st, and Lafayette… and now I’ve decided that I need to narrow down what all I have taken away from this trip.

So, a) One plane ride changes everything
Ok- I know, it’s obvious. But, I had no idea the impact of one plane ride… the people, the places, and the memories. I guess it’s this realization that you can’t just click you heels together and be back “home”… and if you’ve figured it out, let me know ASAP. I never really got homesick while I was abroad, and I’m not homesick for Auckland now. I’m just… here. Maybe a little deer in the headlights, but here. Auckland isn’t better than any other place in the world, but the fact that it all changed so fast boggles my mind. Normally I hate big changes.. it scares me so bad when people change, but I'll cover that later. Sometimes my mind will just wander and I’ll convince myself that I can wake up in my former room, knock on my wall, and get a knock back from Kaitlyn. Some things I joke about here- no one understands, but also some things I joke about- everyone understands. One plane ride changes everything, but I guess some things have the same base and grow from there. I have a feeling that it will take me a little while to process this whole plane ride thing, but I’m working on it…

b) Do something everyday that scares you
Kim and I both talk heeps about learning this while traveling, and I got a little magnet with that saying to remind myself of it. Because, I think we all need to admit to ourselves that we can say that we “step outside of our comfort zone” or “take chances”, but really? Do we honestly do things that don’t have a backup and that could potentially not have a safety net? For example- ya, I went to Butler.. didn’t know anyone.. joined Theta… didn’t know anyone, but I had always wrote down a pros and cons sheet (or spreadsheet) and dwelled on every aspect… and I always had a safety net. Now, this in no way, shape, or form means you should drove 100mph on your way to work, but maybe say hi to someone that you’re pretty sure thinks they are too cool for you, or my personal favorite- fist pump when its really not appropriate (small, but scary when old people are staring at you). It might not be the best form of advice for you, but it is for me now and when I was abroad. Helen keeps on telling me that "All change is good". So I guess change is was holds me back a little and scares me a lot, but it will never really stop happening because things change everyday and nothing you can do will every stop it-- which is why I try to do something everyday that scares me.

c) I’m not attached to my phone… and you might have to call me twice
Before I left, I was kind of a “sure” person- I did things (aka everthing) because that’s what the good kids were supposed to do. I was always able to be contacted…. Always. I am still available for my friends and family when they need me- but you might have to call me twice, sorry. Right now (and possibly for a little while) I’m living a little less high strung and fast paced, because who told me I had to live like that? People- and I’m not here to follow people. I guess this is a warning that yes, I still do want to talk to you- but maybe in 5 minutes, or even tomorrow.

d) Turn off your lights and use less water- seriously, people
New Zealand wasn’t as rural as some places I have been, but I did get in the habit of turning off lights and using less water. Honestly people, we use sooo much. Some limits are bad- but we did have a limit on internet and electricity, and it wasn’t all that bad. I guess it has been a huge shock to me how much we use/waste. Even leaving things plugged in sometimes waste energy. It was one of the hardest things to see when I came back… I had a little mini panic attack thinking “We are going to have to pay so much this month!” I definitely appreciated the once-in-a-month Youtube splurges more that just being able to sit there for hours and use all the megabites you want. A lot of people commented on my tan when I got back- well, enjoy it, cause that is probably the darkest I will ever get since there was no ozone down there. Yep, the entire world causes people in New Zealand to be subjected to insane amounts of bad sun ray thinggies. I’m such a business major and can’t tell you exactly what the carbon and CFCs are bonding to up there… but I can tell you that I got burnt one day after walking outside for about 20 minutes. I'm not going to get a tattoo of the recycle symbol, but just think a little bit about how long you leave things on.

Hopefully this mess of words and sentence makes a little bit of sense, and if doesn't maybe it will in a while.

As always, miss and love you all!

Bonus Round

The last week of classes came and went- as with most things over here- way to fast. A pause button would be awesome right now, or even a rewind button… but unfortunately God doesn’t give us those for a reason. Each day that goes by is one less here, but one closer to my world back home. Estelle, a friend from church, told me about her experiences travelling and coming back home… and how she almost didn’t go through customs. It might sound strange to some, but I completely understand what she is saying. I love my family, friends, and school… but stepping off that plane is a huge step back into my life, well- how I left it. Its one of those thoughts that makes you stomach drop so fast and so far that you don’t even know if you have one anymore. I have less than a month now, but I know one of the reasons that I am able to enjoy each day is that I have that restriction on my time here. So- I made a little sign for my room to remind myself to enjoy each day and I do.

So, with that said, I spent a lot of time enjoying the people here this past week. I told Kaitlyn this before… but people come first for me. If you don’t love other people, you are going to have one interesting and lonely life. My junior year I learned a lot about loving people through the “mess” [a.k.a. the crappy times/decisions that happen to everyone], and I promised myself to stick to it. We are all starting to get to know each other on a deeper level here, and I feel like I’m meeting a whole new person every day. My roommates and I have had the goofiest week- but I wouldn’t trade those PLCs of talking late at night for anything. Flying squirrel jumps from the couch to my bed are a common reoccurrence, and it’s not usual if I start crying from laughing so hard from one of Jasmine’s or Kaitlyn’s comments.

On Tuesday a group of us ventured back to Devonport, the home of the “Hardest Pub Quiz in Auckland”. It was a beautiful day, and the ferry was too much fun. Although we were tragically bad at the pub quiz, we did learn a lot… and I still say the answer to that coffee bean question is monkeys! The owner was really nice to us, and gave me his number [no, not like that] in case we ever came back- he said he would throw in an American round, just for us! We all agreed and laughed afterwards at the fact that we might not even know some of those answers. On the way home, Annie and I decided to serenade Helen and Vaness with Disney songs. I was not in any, way, shape or form a Disney child- but everyone loves the Acuna Matatta song!

My Kiwi friend, Jess, turned 21 on Thursday, so we decided to all bring in goodies for our end-of-year party. Jess specifically asked for granola, since she had never heard of it. No worries… no fire this time, but I found out how to make it in a stir-pan. Other students brought in brownies, cakes, muffins, and I was so excited to have this “home cooked buffet.”

Friday was officially the last day of classes- creepy. One of my friends is done with school and I think I asked him about 5 times in a row if he was “seriously” done, since I can’t believe I will be in the same boat next semester. University of Auckland showed a glimpse of student life by holding an exam jam, which Helen, Britt, and I stopped by to check out. It was a little Woodstockish, including girls dancing by themselves with daises in their hair- but there was no way you could deny the feeling of after-class freedom. Jenna and I headed on an adventure later that afternoon, which ended up at a “soccer” tournament in Takapuna complete with a concert from Tiki Taane. Soccer is my favourite group sport to watch, but this was more like human Foosball. Our group enjoyed the tournament from a Belgium beer bar, where I was able to try some fruity beers…. including cherry- so good! There is no way I can possibly describe the events of the Tiki concert- the music was so not what we expected, and Tiki definitely decided to call us “soldiers” for standing out in the rain. I guess if I’m part of the “gangsta youth”, I might as well be a soldier. Oh Tiki....

Saturday and Sunday were full of “attempts” to study… but resulted in walks in domain and sunbathing. This was Labour Day weekend, so most people were in the Bay of Islands or off in the Coromandel having fun. Similar to the weekend in America, it marks the start of summer. Although NZ winters are nothing like Indiana or Illinois, summer couldn’t come fast enough.

Wish me luck for my exams next week! I have two in a row- International Business and the Theology. And you can't forget Halloween!!

Miss and love you all!!

Finish Line

Yep. This is it… the last week of class. Its exciting, nerve-racking, and just a little [okay, a lot] scary all mixed together in one week that I’m sure will fly by… before I even have time to take a deep breath. It means I need to get my life in order, which I’m secretly convinced will never happen, no matter how hard I try. It’s an ideal that we were taught somewhere between tying our shoes and how to write an essay freshman year. But honestly, being “together” is totally over-rated. It’s better to enjoy life a little [okay, a lot : )].

Monday was Amanda’s 22nd birthday, and she had the awesome idea of having a pot-luck where you wear whatever makes you look absolutely cray-cray. I went with a dream of mine…. Bathrobe and rain boots. I love bathrobes, and think they should be implemented in the dress code at offices around the U.S. It would make the nation a much happier place. Mike won the best costume prize in my mind, since he sported “Italian swimwear”, a cowboy hat, tattoos, and a blow-up air guitar…. Vaness and I decided to make Mac and Cheese and the classic 7-layer dip. Both items turned out great, but I seriously wanted to file a complaint at Food Town due to the lack of ingredients. We improvised… a lot… and when people asked for the recipes, Vaness and I just looked at each other and laughed. Annie was the birthday-party-surprise-planner-extraordinaire, and we were able to sneak Amanda out to fill her room with balloons. By the end of the night, the balloons were used in a crazy rave/dance party/ balloon fight. Too much crazy fun. I love seeing people happy, and my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard…. Good night. It was also fun to watch people’s reaction when they saw my outfit in the elevator…. Especially when I they started talking about me in another language I can’t understand.

Pumpkin-carving was another way my roommate and I found joy in the week. The activity sounds simple, but pumpkins aren’t the same on the other side of the world. They are heavy, greenish, and look like big, Alice-in-wonderland apples. But, that doesn’t stop two girls on a mission. We found two pumpkins at the Asian market, and had to use some major muscles to even get the knife through the tough skin and thick inside part. These pumpkins were definitely only supposed to be used for cooking. When Kaitlyn first saw them, she flat out said, “That is by far the ugliest pumpkin I have ever seen!” After a few hours and a lot of laughing, we had cut off the tops and were attempting to cook some pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin was surprisingly good, and the seeds were surprisingly bad- the lack of oven had a big affect on the crispy factor of the seeds… looks like I will admit cooking defeat on that one. At the end of the night, Kaitlyn had one mean looking pumpkin with a goofy face, and mine had a bat shaped object next to a half-moon. We were pretty proud of them, and they helped us realise that Halloween is only two weeks away!

Thursday brought about the IFSA Butler Farewell Dinner.It was another reminder that our time here is running out. Cara and Alex made the trip up from Wellington, and it was so good to catch up with them! They have such kind spirits and are great people. It’s rare that people are able to put others before themselves- and both Alex and Cara have gone above and beyond to help us! The dinner was in a Japanese restaurant, which was a first for me. We all sat on the floor and watched a slide show of our adventures together while eating a variety of food that came scattered throughout the night. Looking back at orientation photos seemed like ages ago, but just yesterday at the same time. Each member of the group got an award from the rest of the group, and I was awarded the most likely to find herself in an awkward situation- true fact right there. If anything awkward or embarrassing has an ounce of a chance of happening… it will… to me… in public. It was sad to say goodbye to the IFSA Butler staff, but I have a feeling I will see them again. Plus, the office is a 2 minute walk from Theta back in Indy!

That Friday I decided to change my life room around- it was much needed, and my bed is now in the perfect position for the “Flying Squirrel” manoeuvre of running and jumping on my bed from the kitchen. After a little convincing, I got a video of each of my roommate’s interpretation of “flying squirrel” that I will never post for public viewing, but it makes me laugh so hard. It was a great, goofy start to the weekend.

Saturday brought a good talk with Ash, and some great advice of taking care of myself. She said my job was to eat ice cream and go shopping… so that’s what I did. Kaitlyn and I were the only ones left here, since Sarah and Jasmine went to Taupo to go skydiving. We decided pretty early on that we would make our room into a fort…. Because we can. Before getting to work setting up the table and couches, we headed down to the Diwali Festival of Lights on the Viaduct harbour. It was an Indian festival that featured a bunch of food, crafts, and dancing. We watched the cutest kids dance and sampled some food before we headed back to the UniLodge. Kaitlyn and I had a great time putting together the fort, but we forgot how much harder it was to crawl through things when you are over 5 ft. tall. Some cookies and ice cream made the night perfect and we slept on the kitchen floor. Because we can. The only downer of the night was that both our pumpkins got greener… in a mouldy kind of way. 5 days…. Wow. So, we lit some candles and watched them glow for a while before throwing them out.

Sunday was one of the best days we’ve had in a while, so Kaitlyn and I got up to do work, lay out in the sun shine, and hit Piha beach with my Kiwi friend Richard. Jenna joined us on a relaxing day out on the black sand, which was pretty crowded with people. Some of Richard’s friends met up with us, and we all ended up laughing and giving each other a hard time. People really make the place- and your experience. The place will pretty much always be there, but the people wont. And that hit me during church, when I looked down, did some mental math, and found out that we have less than a month. I know there is no way to slow down time, but I would try anything right now. Jess got done with her fast for Church, so we headed to Burger Fuel for some food after the service. The guest speaker was a preacher that was also an artist and had painted the book of John… so cool. The paintings are pretty abstract, but I’ve never seen anything close to it.

So that leads me to right now, looking out my window at Rangitoto and Auckland and listening to a mix of John Mayer, a Spanish rock band, and Colbie Caillat. Each was given to me by a friends in different stages of my life- funny how it makes your heart beat a little faster…. Hope you all have a great week, and love and miss you all!!

Happy Days

Although Sunday was the most action-packed, I can’t forget all the other blessings and funny things that happened throughout the week. I did have 2 assignments- one in Finance [much easier than the first one] and the other in Theology- an essay on the nature of the church. Where do I even start on that one? Nevertheless, everything got turned in on time… barely… and now it is time to focus on exams! Each test is worth at least sixty percent of my grade, which isn’t intimidating. At all.

On Tuesday, my friend Annie and I headed to campus for a vegan/vegetarian cooking class that Jess suggested. We honestly had no idea what to expect, but we ended up with a happy Canadian man that didn’t use any measurements… but he did smile after everything he said/did/thought about doing. The dude was exact opposite of Emeril- no bam, wham, or any vocal fluctuation- a lot of smiling though. The menu consisted of samosas [sp?] made of cauliflower and peas and some Indian cake I can pronounce and don’t even want to try and spell. I’m scared of Indian food due to my first bite that was so spicy that I wanted to lick a faucet…. Really, I didn’t know spices like that existed. Anyway, we made everything from scratch and learned all about spices, grains, and possible variations of the recipe from some chick that was American… but I kind of don’t want to admit that because of the obnoxious amount of times she talked. It was a long process, but worth the wait. Don’t you just love things like that? It makes everything better [And yes, this is coming from the girl who thrives off of immediate gratification]. There is a slim chance that I will ever make Indian food from scratch, but it was an awesome experience.

The cooking class put me in the mood to experiment, and so I tackled…. Wait for it….. no bake cookies [which NO one has heard of here, and they are very hard to explain]. Nothing big, but perfect for a bake sale to raise money for a girl in my Bible Study who is going to India. I know how difficult saving and raising money can be, so I was more than happy to help. Everything turned out pretty good, although my roommate came out to check on me several times- one time I dropped an oat on the burner and it kind of smelled. Homegirl was out in 2 second flat. “Dude, I smell burning!” No worries Jasmine, I won’t pull another granola incident : ] All the extra ingredients got thrown together to make fudge, but the cookies were peanut butter or chocolate with coconut. The fudge needed to be frozen, so it didn’t make the bake sale, but all the peanut butter cookies were sold, and the chocolate coconut ones held their own too.

Thursday was full of PLCs. PLCs, also known as Poor Life Decisions, are the decisions between something good- like schoolwork or just work and something fun- like beaches, but what defines the PLC is always choosing the fun option. On Thursday it was going to Forbe’s Bar with some friends and then talking to the roommate for a few hours before even starting the paper. It was another great night though, and I got to watch the sunset in the morning!

Friday was full of last-minute scrambles, but at night I found myself in a fountain, happy as a clam. I love running through, in, and around fountains- and I haven’t been able to do it for a looong time. This fountain was pretty low key, but the fun was still there. It inspired me to run through all the fountains back at BU, so if anyone is up for a little swim in the library, let me know!

On Saturday, Jess and Estelle to Vaness and I out to Piha. It is a black sand beach, that is like everything else in New Zealand= jaw-dropping beautiful. The weather wasn’t perfect, but sometimes you need a cloudy day. We had fish and chips on the beach for lunch, after exploring the beach/rocks. Estelle then led us to a waterfall that was gorgeous, where the photos on this blog were snapped! On the way home, we stopped for some hot chocolate, and continued to laugh about the random differences in Kiwi and American culture. I came to New Zealand with high hopes of meeting heeps of Kiwi friends, but was convinced that it was simply too hard in such a short amount of time, especially in Kiwi culture. But, Jess and Estelle have been so awesome, and I want her to visit in the states! I also made a few other friends in my classes, and it does break my heart to know I’m leaving.

That night we left for Rotorua… which deserved an entire post to itself.

We're Supposed To Be There.... Now

I hope that sometime in your life you have experienced the “last minute save” moment- it’s the one where you are seriously doubting that you will get there on time, but by some force of nature- [I like to think its the Big Guy upstairs] things fall into place. Well, this entire weekend was the epitome of the “last minute save”.

On Saturday afternoon a group of my friends and I decided to go to Rotorua rafting.. after a few complications, we figured out that Vaness and I could take the bus, and Mike, Mike, Amanda and Annie would be able to drive down. So, that led to last- minute bus tickets, last-minute packing, and leaving late to go catch that last-minute bus. The “last minute save” isn’t complete without a dead sprint, so Vaness and I looked down at our handy-dandy cell phones and figured out we are supposed to be at the bus station- now. [Insert dead sprint down Queen Street].

Our bus driver was an angry, angry man- but he did let us slip onto the bus pretty much as it was moving to leave. It took a solid twenty minutes for us to stop sweating/panting, but we were on our way to R-town. Angry man was supposed to stop for food, but he decided to circle the parking lot of Subway, then McDonald's, and also a gas station- without stopping. In fact, when I asked if I could run to the restroom at one of the stops, he actually shut the door on me as I tried to walk out by hitting some magic button from his chair. Rude. So, we get to Rotorua and everything is pretty much closed, except for Dominos!! So, Vaness and I go down to the wonderful beacon of glory- only to have one of the most frustrating conversations ever.
Me “and one order of cheesy garlic bread”
Her: “We’re out. Sorry.”
Me: “Um, okay, can I have some garlic bread with cheese on it.”
Her: “No, we don’t have cheese”
Me: “Like, just pizza cheese, you know- you put it on the pizza.”
Vaness: “Ya, just sprinkle it on top.” [She notices the huge tub of shredded cheese behind the cashier].
Her: “No cheese.”
Me: “Ok, so what else is there with cheese?”
Her: “Cheese on a garlic herb crust- it’s the same price.”
Me: “Okay, that.”
We then got three different sets of directions to the restroom, only to find them ourselves and also find out that they were closed.
After successfully getting our pizzas, we met up with the our friends to find a place to camp. A bit of driving led us to a spot that was satisfactory, and we all pitched our tents. Yep, flashback to girl-scout camp. I loved it though, and I’m pretty determined to camp outside on Theta’s lawn at some point of time before I graduate…. Take that Alice [For those of you who don't know Alice- she is an older Theta that runs our house board and hates me because I eat in my room, sneak in the house when its closed, and do other illegal things that are completely normal].

In the morning, we all headed to town to have a solid b-fast, and then on to our rafting adventure. Mike found out about this bad boy of a river- and that it’s only open 26 days of the year, since water needs to be released for the rapids to be wet enough to maneuver- so we already had 10am reservations. What we didn’t anticipate was the little dot on the map was a lot farther from where we were than we thought. I whipped out the business/marketing voice to talk to a very lovely woman named Cheryl to have them simmer down long enough for us to get there. Very last-minute save. We jammed out for a little while, I called again just to make sure Cheryl stuck to her word, and wha-la! We were there… about 40 minutes late. Everyone was pretty laid back and they got us our gear, but there was a little problemo. Three of the girls didn’t have their swimming suits on… and we all looked at each other and thought the same thing. “Crap. Car- oh, that’s an idea.” Soon I was changing in the car, which I thought was safe only to find out that we forgot to put a towel over the back left window… with direct view of the people on the bus. And yes, they were staring. So, I put my shoes on the wrong foot [not on purpose, but it was the heat of the moment] and as soon as I got on the bus, one of the Irish dudes looks at me and says, “Ya, we saw everything.” No last-minute save on that one.

So, I’ve never rafted, and grade 5 sounds pretty intimidating. We made our way to the entry point of the river, and I knew this was going to be good. Vaness and I went in a raft with Tony and Dave. They were both Irish and “Traveling the World”, and I was thinking of recruiting Tony for the Colts. He was about 220 lbs and was positioned right across from me on the raft. In my eyes this could be a good or bad thing- I easily could go flying off, or he could almost take me off and go off. Luckily the latter happened. Ya, big last-minute save. We ended up taking a rapid backwards [Which Barry, our guide, said that he has never done in the 23 some years he had been on the river]. Tony said to me, “I’m going over. [Plus a few explicatives]” and then rolled on top of me, and then off the raft. It got a little tense, since the guides were all in survival mode, and they didn’t exactly know what was going on. We got Tony back on the raft and continued on. On each rapid, 1 of the 3 rafts would take turns going first, so we could all watch each other. We were blessed with a beautiful day, and I was so up for round 2- but we ended at 1pm, had lunch, and then set out to find some natural hot springs.

After driving for a while, grabbing some ice cream, and singing to a bunch of songs that reminded me of high school, we found this hot spring that was directly behind a big, scary commercial one. Mike found some mud- and we all had ourselves a good old spa mud treatment. After some awesome picture-taking and rinsing off the mud, Vaness and I found ourselves on the bus headed back to Auckland, while the other group headed back in the car. It was all fine and dandy, except we stopped to get food at one of our stops, and Burger Kind was not “fast” food. It was very, very slow… and they had the nerve to ask if we wanted to take a customer survey. We declined and headed back to the bus… the moving bus… and I have never seen Vaness run so fast in my life. We stopped the bus and jumped on- very very last minute save. Before we knew it, we were home sweet home!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

When choosing to study on the “most geographically isolated country in the world” one of my largest areas of concern was loosing touch with my family and friends…and that they would forget about me. This week I realised that the exact opposite has happened. I feel that I have gone closer with all my friends and family through long emails and skype chats. On average, I spend about 3 hours a day communicating with people outside of Auckland, and each day I learn something new. So thank you for all the long emails, early Skype calls, and facebook posts- they have all deepened my understanding of true communication. Instead of the meaningless things of life, I hear what is in people’s hearts… and more importantly… why.

This week shared some similarities with the past week in that I attended another walk sponsored by the city council for the Heritage Festival. This walk was fully booked, since it explored Auckland’s history through the stories found in the Symonds Street Cemetery. I wasn’t exactly sure where our meeting spot was, but I followed an elderly couple of women [picking up on the hint from the Art Deco walk], and they led me straight there!

Cemeteries do kind of creep me out, but the stories outweigh the whole creep factor. It was surprisingly beautiful, and very peaceful. Although there are only 1,300 gravestones, about 15,000 people were buried there, so at one point our guide said, “So you are probably standing on someone’s grave. Haha [Insert old-English-man laugh].” Since when did that become funny? The highlight came when one of the women was announcing an iron showcase- yes, like irons used in ironing your clothes- of about 800 irons. Another woman had seen the host of the iron showcase before and mention how she owned an iron swan [Ya, I don't exactly know either]. She was trying to explain it by saying, “I was so excited to see that she [Iron lady] had the swan, since its so.. so… um. What’s the word?” The other lady responded “Ugly” right before the swan woman finished her sentence with “rare.” Haha- I had to walk away to avoid laughing right next to them, cause that’s just funny.

Sorry to everyone I missed on Wednesday Skype/chat, I stopped in to see my Management teacher and we ended up chatting for and hour and a half. He filled me in about the way the department works, and that all classes were required to split their grading systems as 30% assessment and 70% final, unless they appealed to change it- max 50% assessment and 50% final. Crazy. He also shared his experience of the US- a visit to LA and Las Vegas. He knew that the entire US was not the same, but I did have to remind him that we live where it gets really cold in the winter… with heeps of snow, so not everyone wears bikinis and high heals around the hotel lobby.

That evening we rounded up some people for the free “Happy Hour” with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra. They played 2 full songs, each very different, and did not use a conductor for either. It was so good to be around classical music again, and it honestly took my breath away. I don’t really miss it, but my background does give me an intense appreciation for their talent and hard work. I also found out that some of the people on the Boston group are still actively playing instruments, and the sight of them so happy made me extra happy. The main violin soloist was German and was totally rocking out the crazy violin hair… ah, brings me back to the good old days.

Thursday [Sorry for the intense level of detail- but I really don’t want to start working on my paper], brought by a special help session with our new Finance lecturer and some great coffee under the twinkly lights of the CBD with Vaness. So- one of the highlights of the week- Emily, another American student, and I went in to review the last test with our finance professor, Cameron. Cameron is exact opposite from Russell, in that he is pretty ripped and about 30 years younger. In fact, he was looking ten times better in a t-shirt that I'm pretty sure I would wear. Emily was getting pretty frustrated at the end of the session, and finally said, “This, this! What is this junk?” haha- oh Emily, but what made it even better was that Cameron calmly said, “Well, this junk is the EAA formula….” Cameron’s Chinese accent made that statement really funny, and I was trying to be polite and turn my head to give a little cough/laugh, but I kept on “coughing” until I ended up full- on laugh. Ah, good times.

Oh, and I can’t forget that evening- the granola incident of 2008. I had made granola the night before as a trial run, and I was definitely craving it for the morning, so I decided to make it at about 11:30pm. The oven is MIA, so I had to resort to using the “convection oven” A.k.a a Microwave that thinks its cooler that all the other ones cause it has a “crisp” function. So I popped the granola w/pistachios in that bad boy for 15 minutes on the cake function [in the main kitchen on the ground floor]. I went back up to the room and was cleaning up the mass of papers on the floor, and then my roommate came up from working out in a panic. “Dude, there is smoke everywhere downstairs. I think something is on fire.” Me: “What?” Jasmine: “I came back from working out and the smoke was pouring out the windows. I dropped my books and screamed “My granola!” Jasmine: “What?” Then we both sprinted down stairs as I tried to explain everything. As I rounded the corner, the smoke wasn’t honestly as bad as I thought, but it definitely reminded me of the Safety Town smoke houses that we had to crawl through in grade school. We found my granola black, but not flaming. We’re were both laughing very hard, but managed to get the pan upstairs and cleaned it off. I still wanted my granola, so I started to get the ingredients out for another round and Jasmine wasn’t a big proponent of the idea. “What the hell are you doing?” “Round two.” “No, you almost burnt this place down!” Okay- true, but I didn’t almost burn it down, the convection oven did. Round two ended up okay, but the smoke was causing almost everyone to cough as the walked by, and my friend on the first floor mentioned that she smelled something and went out to check on it, but couldn’t find anything. Oops. On Friday my friend Annie and I were able to bake a cake successfully it- it took a little over 2 hours, but nothing says happy birthday like a homemade cake!

On Saturday, I decide to brave the Les Mills classes at the official Les Mills Gym. Les Mills is a series of workout classes that were developed right here in New Zealand, but are used all over the world. They were in Mexico and in every part of the US that I’ve lived. They are all the same, which is cool- and they pretty much kick your but. Upon walking up to the big class box of a building, you could hear the music and the instructor yelling “One, two. Ahh!” Haha- I knew this was going to be a good morning. The gym was pretty nice, and very very big. The classes were in a separate building, which attached to the main gym that also had a large gym area and the 4 floors of rooms for work out classes. The actual gym was pretty modern, and not as intense as I imagined. So, I took BodyAttack and BodyPump- getting a great work out. Both instructors were hilarious/intense, and very enthusiastic. My favourite line of the morning was, “Bring it down or….. I’ll kick your ass!” Okay buddy, easy there. I didn’t get an exact count, but I’m guessing around 80 to 100 people were in each class. There were some insanely fit people, but mostly everyone else looked pretty normal. It was a great way to start the weekend, and I am going to attempt to be productive, since next week looks crazy with cooking class [with Jess] and a paper and finance assignment.

Have a great weekend! Miss and Love you all!