Well, I just got back from orientation and a lot has happed to catch ya’all up on : ]. SO first- Taupo was a cold, but beautiful place. The little city was a huge contrast with the urban Sydney, but the views were breathtaking. We drove up to one of the volcanic mountains and there was about 2 feet of snow. Dad [against the advice of the very smart woman at the information booth] drove our little Mazda up the ice path of doom- no worries, its not really named that, I just thought it was fitting- just to take a picture. I forbid him from skiing… and trout fishing…and other manly stuff. I’m all about Christmas in July, but not large amounts of coldness and wetness. The next day we went bungee jumping and I really wish I had a recording on the whole ordeal… but basically Dad went first and wanted to touch the water. I went second and didn’t want anything to do with water. Guess who got the wetness? Yep- me. I had no idea I was physically capable of making that kind of scream. After I told the nice bungy man that I wasn’t ready, I found myself falling 148 m toward a beautiful blue aqua stream. [Berkley girls- you know I wish I was doing a reenactment rather than typing this.] It was tons of fun though, and I can’t wait to go again. Any takers? Lake Taupo was so beautiful and the little shops were great. The third day, unfortunately, was not the best. In true Yonker family fashion, we hiked in the rain for an hour. Again… coldness and wetness. But, after we soaked in the mineral hot springs and it was almost too hot to handle [If I could insert a little audio clip of the great MC Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This”, I totally would]. The next day [July 3rd] we headed for Auckland very early in the morning and got acclimated. I finally admitted to myself that I am in love with the NZ version of the sweet potato, Kumara, during dinner. But honestly, the city is awesome from what I see- I found a few sushi places and cafes that got added to my Auckland to do list. The next morning I needed to meet my group at 6:30. Any guess what time I woke up? 4:30- that’s not the point. The point is that I was on time and everything was great until we could not get out of the Car Park. So we drove up and down, and up and down and swiped credit card after credit card and coins and oh wow- there is no word to adequately explain it [Ash- maybe you could help me out?]. The solution came when the security guard used his badge to let us out after the wrath of Momma Yonker. [p.s. I totally know you were thinking that I woke up late, but “Apple Bottom Jeans” never fails]. We got the airport in good time, and I met up with all the staff even before the rest of the group got through customs. There are two schools and this orientation- the University of Auckland students and the Christchurch students. Everyone was jet lagged/tired/wanting sleep, and then there was me- wide eyed and ready to make friends. Well, I can’t say I made tons of friends, but I did meet a really nice girl from Gettysburg College and a few buddies during a standing up in the kayak exercise. We went for a hike, went kayaking, and went to this hot pools area where they actually had a Movie Pool! I tried a slide, and called it a night. Everyone was in bed around 8:30, so I spent some time catching up on journaling and writing this. Thanks for taking time to read this, and hope the Fourth of July was a blast!! [Get it… blast… haha]. Cheers!
Oh- p.s. I met a girl whose brother had my mom for a teacher in Spring Grove, PA. Ya, we laughed about that one for a little while.
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