You People Are Crazy

Yep… I definitely told my kayak instructor that after I attempted to roll in a kayak and got stuck upside-down. In my eyes, I almost died. I haven’t been in a pool in 2 years, and people don’t comprehend that the rivers/lakes in the Midwest aren’t exactly places that you would want to spend a whole lot of time in… But, it was a great night in general, and I learned a lot of new stuff. This next weekend [yes, the birthday weekend], I’m going on a rafting/kayaking trip in the central part of the North Island. Two of my good friends are also going, and we always seem to have the best times in the most random situations, so I’m sure this trip will be no exception. We were advised to get a wetsuit, which was equally as entertaining as getting stuck upside-down. Due to the lack of sizes at the Warehouse, I ended up trying on one of the kids’ sizes, and Vanessa and I had to use a joint effort to get that bad boy off. I know it is supposed to be a “second skin”, but as far as I’m concerned, no skin is should ever feel like that. [Yes Jess, flashback to prom].

We did get to see the opening of the Olympics when we were out Friday night at the Irish pub. After buying a couple diet cokes, I convinced the barrista to change it from the Rugby game [which Lally was watching live in Australia! Yay!]. Everything is on 3 hours later here, and they mostly focus on the sports that New Zealand is doing well in… so I have watched the rowing competition 3 times… Hopefully they will feature a couple of the random sports I love to watch…aka badminton, ping-pong, and sailing. Update me on how America is doing!!

Basically this week I am trying to crack down and work ahead so I can go out and celebrate the 21st this Thursday! It looks like the plan is to go to dinner, then karaoke, then hit a couple bars. It has been beautiful here [just like our clear days that are perfect for football], so I hope it won’t rain. But, last month it did rain 27/31 days….so…. it can only get better, right? haha. I started to get a little homesick when I was telling some people I met at church that it was my birthday this week- I think the realization that I won’t hear anyone’s voice or see anyone on my actual birthday hit me pretty hard. I have to keep telling myself that its just a day, like any other day, but I am so nervous [for no real reason] about the day in general- I still say that I’m 18 sometimes when people ask me. Seriously?!? Plus- most of you know my theory on birthdays.

Well, I should get back to being semi-productive. Thanks for all the emails recently and all the chats! Love you all!

p.s. My roommates and I are obsessed with a local singer- his name is Tikki Taane [sp?], and he looks like a convict, but his song, “Always on My Mind”, is absolutely amazing- YouTube it!