A Tan in Tonga

"Tonga?" That was the normal response to the plans for the end of my semester break. The Kingdom of Tonga is in the middle of nowhere, so don't feel bad if you have never heard of it before.

It’s rare that you get a chance to vay-cay on an island/paradise where you are technically [in Kaitlyn’s words] “Unreachable”, and I couldn't have had better travels buddies or a better time! Upon arrival, the heat felt so good compared to the Auckland chill/massive amounts of rain. The island is still uncommercialized, showing the raw reality of living where the only supplies available are shipped over every other week/month. It became a joke throughout the week, but it seemed that instead of choosing between option a, b, or c… it was option a or nothing. As we passed through the town full of laughing kids, pigs, dogs, chickens, and tropical flowers, I felt memories of Jamaica and Acuna slipping back into my mind. Our resort was 5 minutes outside of town, but we headed straight into town to get food and find out what was going on throughout the week after dropping our bags off.

The Aquarium Cafe soon became our second home, due to the fact that it had amazing food and the hook-up with everyone on the Vava’u island. We booked a sailing trip and swimming with the whales [with much hesitation from me], and found out about some great beach spots for Thursday. That night we attempted to grocery shop, but came to the conclusion that it would be better to visit the local restaurants... lots of "option nothing". After contemplating life together on the dock, we hit the sack under bug nets that made me revert back to when I was 6 with a canopy on my bed… those were the days : ].

The next morning we headed into town for breakfast [again, the Aquarium] and our long day of sailing. I hadn’t touched saltwater since I was about 13, so I was a little nervous, but the owners of the sailboat made us feel right at home. I’m trying to find the words to adequately describe the water, but I’m honestly still trying to process the breathtaking beauty. The water was crystal blue- the kind you see on the back of the Fiji water bottles- and everything seemed so untouched. We sailed out to a snorkeling spot, and Kaitlyn was the first one in the water. The girl is basically part mermaid, and it made me so happy to see her giddy over being around water again. Most of you know that I am not the biggest fan of deep water [thank you Jaws movie], but I was not going to miss this chance to see the coral. After a while we hopped back onto the boat, ate, and then headed off to another snorkeling spot. This one had a beach, and it was at this point in time that the scenery took my breath away. I was so incandescently happy that I just started laughing and jumping up and down with the girls. The sand was pure white, and our sailing guides pointed out the hermit crabs that we soon began to race. After a while of playing around on the beach, we swam back to the boat, ditched the flippers and began cannon-balling into the ocean. I definitely nailed a school of fish, but they seemed pretty cool with it.

Our next stop was Swallow’s Cave, where I got to kayak into a cave that I still can’t wrap my mind around. I could see straight to the bottom, even with the small amount of light. The girls and I took full advantage of the sun warming the deck on the boat, and we docked right around dinner time. We ate $2 tacos at Tonga Bob's and then returned back to our room, which was changed to the bigger cabin with multiple rooms. After a visit from a cockroach- well, 3 cockroaches, we talked about life for a while until we all passed out.

The next day we went to get suited for a wetsuit before boarding for our whale watching adventure. "Suited" is really a loose term, since it was definitely a struggle that I would never wish on anyone else. Although not as bad as the freefall extreme suits... equally as entertaining. Everyone was really nice on the ship, and one of the guides was actually from North Carolina. We had eavesdropped on a Whale info session the night before at Tonga Bob’s, so we knew a little about whales, but Paul filled us in about the sleeping patterns of whales after we found a whale that was apparently sleeping. The only come up every 25 or so minutes for air and then fall back asleep. We saw a Mom and calf, and followed them a little until we were instructed to get in the water. This water was very, very choppy and deep.. oh about 300 meters [ya- thats deeper than my little heart every needed to swim in]. Only 4 people were aloud to go at a time, and I was the last of our group in the water- so I missed the calf, but I was just happy that I was able to swim in that deep of water and not completely freak out. Just a day before my heart sped up Indy 500 style out during snorkeling, and I was honestly thinking about backing out, but again.... didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Tonga is the 'hub' for all the whales to cross through when Antarctica gets too cold. If I was a whale, I would just hang out here for life... Antarctica is just a few degrees too cold, but I've heard its pretty. After the whales swam away, we boarded the boat and went searching for calmer waters. There were a few times that I thought we were going to flip the boat, but we were relieved to find calmer waters and hit up a great snorkeling spot. The fish were all different colours and sizes, and we even found Nemo! We saw a bunch of dolphins and enjoyed the rest of the day, but no more whales. We headed back to shower up after realizing that we all smelled like wetsuit, and chowed down in our last dinner by candlelight at the Aquarium. It was at this point in time that I realized that I had almost every crepe on the menu. We were also introduced to the awesomeness of the tomato ketchup dispenser- it’s the little things in life. It was so interesting to watch the different travellers know that they all had unique stories- some had travelled the world, others needed to get away for a week, and randomly sailed down to Tonga.

The next morning we traveled to the beach for a few hours before heading into town for our domestic flight. It felt so good to build a sand castle, soak up some sun, and enjoy the beach. The travels home were interesting… including a few moments where we were seriously scared about our flight, but we ended the night by making friends with an awesome family that stayed on their own island. They had two sons that reminded Vaness of her little brother, and we made a date for meeting up in the future. And how could I forget getting stuck in security- twice for me and three times Vaness- due to the fact that she had a "torch". Here is a little snapshot of what happened:

"Ma'am, do you have a torch?"

"No."

"Ma'am! Do YOU have a torch?"

"No"

"Ma'am- You have a torch"

"Torch?"

"Yes, Torch." - It was at this point I had to walk away from starting to laugh

-He searched through Vaneffa's bag and pulls out her flashlight. He then angrily took out the batteries. "No battery."

I was laughing, and then got herded over to the trash can where I had to show my water bottle was empty- twice. Point of advice- don't laugh during security when you don't speak the native language. Good thing to keep in mind.

It feels good to be home in Auckland, and today Vaness and I visited the markets and ran errands. We didn’t need a jacket today, and I can’t wait to see the city warm up! Tomorrow I’m attempting to catch up with emails and life in general, and also enjoying the last rugby game of the season!
To all my Thetas- have a great Grill Off!! Raise some money for those awesome CASA kids!

p.s. Happy B-day Brinks!!

The Day I Stopped Trying To Fit the World Into A 3x5 Picture Frame

Wow! So much has happened over the last 3 weeks- lots of travels, funny stories, and personal growth. There is a lot to cover, so I decided to separate this blog into categories to make it a little easier to handle:

Finance:
I spent the entire week studying at Esquires [coffee house], but all my efforts couldn’t help the test from approaching. On Friday I turned in my other two assignments, and then found a little cubby in the Law Library until my 6 o’clock pm exam. The test was taken in a different lecture hall than normal, and I found myself being forced into a line of about 115 people [ok, I counted] in alphabetical order. No, I wasn’t last- I was second to last. I didn’t know anyone, so I tried to make a friend with Mr. Yu behind me. He was really nice, and he tried to understand my jumbled explanation of a Liberal Arts degree at a US university. Anyway, I soon found out that Mr. Yu already had 3 degrees, and a MBA. Seriously?!? I secretly wanted to tell him to get out of my finance class so he wouldn’t break the curve, but I didn’t, I just smiled and tried to find out how hard he found the material. I went into the hall, put down my bag in the front of the room, and then found myself in a ten minute “reading” period, where I was not allowed to touch the test. The test wasn’t easy, it actually falls under the category of utterly impossible. But, I couldn't wait to hop into our manual car named Malachi to head out to the Bay of Islands with a Red Bull Sugar Free in hand. Oh ya- I can’t forget the chocolate fish, a miracle of New Zealand.

Bay of Islands Weekend
My travel partner-in-crime, Helen, and I made our way north to Whangarei, which flew by due to the sweet mix Helen made for us, and we woke up to a beautiful morning. Our hostel, due to great planning by Helen, was right next to the “Most photographed waterfall in NZ.” After a homemade breakfast, we tackled that bad boy. This waterfall was massively beautiful- and we walked around the park and through the canopy walk to discover how awe inspiring the forest can be. NZ is crazy in the way that it can change climates in about 2 seconds. We can be walking in rolling hills, and then stumble on a forest, which leads into wetlands, and then ends up at a beach. Crazy, but I love it. We then headed up to Russell, a historic little town you have to take a car ferry to reach. Oh, and I almost forgot we saw the World’ Largest Sundial on the way. In true NZ fashion, it rained, but it was peaceful. I found a Cameo in one of the antique stores, and Helen and I enjoyed a lovely lunch on the port. One of my goals of studying abroad has been to find out what I truly like, and this break helped me recognize what actually makes me happy- not complacent, since I’m easy to please- but what truly gives me joy. I’m not expecting my life to go exactly how I want it, but I do have to confront the reality that I am graduating in about 6 months, where I will have to make some life- changing decisions. If you want me to continue more in depth, shoot me an email. I would love to hear what you enjoy too!
So, we travelled to the west coast, and stayed the night at a lovely hostel- where we had the place to ourselves. We woke up to a clear morning, and took a quick drive to the beach, but also found out that Vanessa missed her bus to come meet us in Paihia. Luckily, she found a later bus, so Helen and I found a scenic highway to enjoy the aqua blue Tazman tea. The next stop was Waitangi for another bush walk, and we found it to be a lovely walk that travelled through clay hills, wetlands, waterfalls, and forest. We travelled to the next town over for Fish and Chips , then met up with Vanessa. We had some time to kill, so I learned how to drive a manual. Yes, on the right side of the car, driving on the left side of the road. Malachi was on the road to Dargaville when we hit some bumps in the road- literally. The road was basically a mirror image of the crazy curvy roads in the “Zoom Zoom” commercials, and we found Malachi got a flat tire right in the center of a 'hairpin' curve. Vaness and I whipped out flashlights, only to discover that the hubcap was zip-tied to the wheel. Two guys drove by before two men- very large men- stopped to help us. We tried to explain the zip-tie, but the man grabbed the hubcap and ripped it off. I tried not to laugh when Vaness said, “Wow, Um, that’s one way…Wow”. After the men changed the tire in 2 seconds, we jumped in the car too eager to get to our hostel. What I completely and utterly forgot was my cell phone on the top of the car. Nevertheless, my phone became phonekill on the middle of the road. The vacation wrapped up by Vanessa getting confronted at the hostel due to Helen and I’s snoring, fixing the flat tire, and stopping by Helensville so Helen could enjoy the town that has one of the coolest names out there. Back in Auckland, I got my phone sorted and life semi-organized before the morning flight to Christchurch.

Christchurch
I woke up to my Mom’s lovely voice, and she called to catch up before the next round of adventures. My two roommates, Sarah and Kaitlyn, and then Vaness and I all headed to the airport for the quick flight to Christchurch. Kaitlyn, Vaness, and I still had to sort some stuff out with out Tonga flight, so we headed over to the Pacific Blue counter for some “customer service”. After explaining the details of our problem, the service rep looked back at us and said, “Ya.. um…. I don’t know.” I asked if we could get on the line with the International unit and got the response, “Ya, I don’t know the number.” Me; “To the international terminal?” Her: “There is a shuttle out of gate 4.” Me: “Okay. Um, do you know the international code for Tonga?” Her: “I would check the phonebook at the payphone over there.” [Yes, flashback to the episode in Marsh in Jeff] So, we didn’t get any questions answered, but we did get safely to Christchurch, where we were greeted by some awesome friends in Lucille, the camper van that they lived in for the last 12 days on the South Island. It was great to see the girls again from orientation, and hear all their stories. Christchurch was a historical European city with an awesome art culture. The four of us went around town, and that night we had way too much fun with the sleep-deprived Vanessa at an Irish bar. It was sing-along night, and although our group was the youngest and most sober, you would have guessed we had already gone through a couple rounds. I can’t sing, and I understand that- but I don’t think I’ve grasped the idea that other people don’t want to hear my singing. Oh! And I almost forgot- I had my first drink in a bar! A Bailey’s and coffee- yummy! The next morning I got a tour of the Canterbury campus from Dana, and we then headed into town to Kayak down the river in the botanical gardens. It turned out to be a sunny, beautiful day, and the daffodils were stunning. Being adventurous, the girls and I headed up a vertical slant called a “hill” to the Christchurch lookout. After being passed up by people three times our age, we reached the top. NZ hills may all look similar, but they never cease to amaze me. It took equally as long to get down the hill, and we ended the night with fish and chips, a visit to see my other roommate- Jasmine- in town, and the movie “You Just Got Served.” That movie was so bad it was funny, yet the title is way too easy to quote at random moments. The next morning we headed to the airport, and Vaness and I went to Wellington, while Kaitlyn headed home for some studytime.

Wellington
It felt so good to be back in Wellington. I surprisingly remembered where everything was, and Vaness and I went to my favourite café for lunch. We were also staying in the same hostel as I had a year and a half ago, so that really helped the navigation. Te Papa, the national museum, provided the entertainment for the afternoon and shelter from the miserable rain. For dinner, Vaness and I opted to use the coupon at the bar next door for dinner, where we ran into one of the most entertaining situations ever. We sat down, not hoping to meet anyone, but backpackers always want to talk, so we were cornered by two guys that were rated 15% on the man scale. Some of my favourite lines from the night were;
“You’ve got to try the pickles, they’ll knock your socks off.”- multiple times Me:"I really don't want to try the pickles." Him: "Aw come on, you've never had these pickles before."
“Those Dutch [talking about himself], they can swing their child bearing hips.”- while trying to dance/seduce us; followed by my comment “I have never been so disappointed of my heritage”.
“You must be from a rural town” Me: “Not exactly.” Him: “Where are you from?” Vaness: “New York. Its as big as they get.” Him: “Oh, wow.”
Vaness and I noticed people around us laughing, and soon I couldn’t help myself… I just cracked up. They asked us repeatedly to join their ‘Bar hopping’ but Vaness and I gratefully declined. We planned to hit the town, but found out that we were more tired than planned.
The next morning, we visited Ernesto’s, the IFSA Butler staff, and shopped up and down Cuba Street. The night brought about clear skies, and Vaness and I attempted to roller skate the harbour- attempt being the key word. We then took the trolley up to the top of the hill, and then to ‘The Lanes’ for dinner. The Lanes were described as “sophisticated bowling” and Vaness and I soon found out that it was basically a club with bowling lanes. But- we found real ketchup! The NZ version is pretty sugary, and really not enjoyable. But, Vaness and I asked for two serving of it and I think I texted everyone in my phonebook.
Vaness left the next morning for home, but I stayed on to spend some time with Kara, my friend/Bible study leader from Butler. I spent the morning in the Art Gallery and the Library, and before I knew it- sunshine!! Kara and I caught up over hot chocolate, and it was so encouraging to chat with her! Not only was I able to catch her up on Butler life, but we were able to talk about things that had really been on my heart. It was one of their roommate's last nights, but I was welcomed into the house for a goodbye dinner and the gripping movie 'La Vie en Rose'. On Sunday, it was refreshing to go to Church with the girls and to a great lunch before heading back to Auckland in the evening.

Tonga
Arriving in Auckland was exciting, but the sleepless night that followed made travel a little more difficult. We had an early morning flight to the capital city in Tonga, and then a domestic flight to Vava'u. We found that our names had been changed to the correct spelling... from Vaneffa Yu to Vanessa Yu and Kaitlyn Shacklepon to Kaitlyn Shackleton.

Semester Break

So, you know that feeling that you get right before Christmas break?? Ya- I definitely have that right now. I have 3 hours until my finance exam, and then we are leaving right after to head up to the Bay of Isles. I won't be able to skype/chat/email for the next two weeks, but I would love to hear all about life back home.

Here is the basic breakdown (but nothing really goes according to plan, so I'll update you all when we get back):
Friday night- Monday Evening: Bay of Isles
-very old tree
-beaches
-tramping
-historic Russel
Monday Evening: Auckland and packing!
Tuesday morning- Thursday morning: Christchurch
-cute small town
-friends
-tramping
-art museum
Thursday afternoon to Sunday evening: Wellington
-big museum
-IFSA butler people
-cafes
-shopping
-Kara!!
Sunday Evening: Auckland and packing!
Monday morning- Thursday night late: TONGA!!!
-beaches
-kayaking
-snorkeling
-tan
-boat
-sleep
-sun
-warmness
Friday morning: Auckland
-research
-study

Love you all!!

“You Go First”

This past week has been full of countless hours focused on Finance, or should I say “FUN-ance”. I had a project due on Friday, and I have a test this Friday from 6 to 9pm. Seriously?!? What am I doing on a Friday night before a 2 week semester break…. That would be taking a midterm. Cruel, so so cruel. However, I refuse to let finance stand in my way of having an awesome week. On Thursday I experienced everyone’s dream [although most people refuse to admit it]- a light-up dance floor. That’s right, we had a good- old American girls’ night at “Boogie Wonderland”. We all got spiffied up together- and my outfit was classified as “International Only” because let's face it, I haven’t worn patterned tights since I was 6. No one was there, but the mass amounts of disco balls, furry walls, and Jackson 5 turned the night from funky to fresh, and we danced with ourselves- having a great time.

Saturday brought a whole new kind of fun. The IFSA Butler group went to “Wonder” in the Waitakeres, but by wonder they meant hike, swim, jump off waterfalls, play in the sand, and oh wait- rock climb. It was an absolutely amazing trip; I still can’t believe how blessed I am to see God’s work half way around the world from my normal world. And looking back, it was hilarious. The first time someone fell, it was kind of embarrassing- but then it just became the norm. In fact, one time no one even touched me and I wiped out on the rocks. That was classy.

We all were unsure of what exactly we were doing at the start of the day, and before we knew it we were told to take off all cotton, since it strips you of body heat when it is wet. That should have been the first clue. Soon, we are approaching a stream that I naively think we are crossing. Sebastian [yes, the 100% man guide] said “No, we’re going down there.” There?!? There is a river. Okay- this is sweet, cold but sweet. At that point in time I turned to Brad and said, “You go first.”


We proceeded down/in the stream of sparkling clear water, over rocks, and down 3 waterfalls. We repelled down the first waterfall, jumped off the second, and climbed down the third. And no, these were not puny streams slightly slanting down the side of a hill. These were full on, water crashing, kick your butt, white-watered waterfalls. We all survived each endeavour, but at several times during the trip, I did notify our guides that they were crazy. We were a slow group, mostly since someone bit the dust every 5 seconds, and the thought of being completely wet had not fully set in for all of us. My friends pointed and experimented with the fact that every time I laughed, I fell over. And yes- every time.

At one point I could see a very painful fall coming ahead when watching everyone attempt to shimmy/slide across some rocks after the 1st waterfall. I already couldn’t feel my feet…so… I opted for option hard core: swim that bad boy. After getting the go ahead, I was in the water and I said to myself [in Ash’s words] “Self, you are in a very cold, beautiful river- it is time to doggy paddle.” Swimming in tramping gear is a whole new kind of wet. We all slowly made it down the stream, but not before climbing trees and sharp rocks, and exploring some New Zealand Mud. So this is the definition of tramping...

Looking up, the scenery took my breath away. It was a rainy, cloudy day, but there was no denying the awe of the massive cliffs. I had to remind myself to take a mental picture, because a) my camera was packed away on the dry bus and b) I never, ever want to forget how amazing God is- He made that landscape, He made me, and He planned for me to be there in that moment. And that is freaking awesome.

At the end of the “Bush” we hit the black sand- it is a fine, black sand from volcanic rock that is magnetic. So, we jumped off the dunes, and then climbed on a bus to enjoy the hot springs. “Very” cold cannot even describe feeling at that time- the feeling of the “Polar Bear Plunge” cold is actually exactly a better description, only instead of being cold for 15 minutes, it was for an extended period of time (About 3 hours). But, the hot springs warmed us up, and we had an awesome dinner, and now I am currently comfortably writing this at a cozy café inside FoodTown.

This next week will be a challenge, but the weekend will bring a trip to the Bay of Island,s Christchurch, Wellington, and Tonga!!!
Miss and love you all!

“Did you guys see the elephant?” "No"

So I’m now officially 21- the celebration in Auckland was a little different than I expected, but the decorated door, dinner, and piñata let me enjoy the birthday like I hoped- like a little kid!

We ended up vetoing the Kayak trip due to freezing temperature and the predicted storm. Instead, Vanessa, Kaitlyn and I jumped on a bus to Rotorua- the “Vegas” of the North Island. We got to the city around lunch and went to the Mad Dog Café- which has more character than any café I’ve ever seen before... and totally reminded my of Blue II!! After dropping off our stuff at Blarney’s Rock… our hostel… we hit up the luge. I’m convinced it is my true calling. Not only did I scream like I was 6, I giggled the entire way down the mountain. The luge is basically a grown-up scooter with enough leg room for an 8 year-old. The first time down the mountain I used the break almost the entire way, due to the fact that I couldn’t breathe from laughing so hard. I was getting passed right and left, but the next time down, I definitely went NASCAR on Vanessa and Kaitlyn. After cutting them off a couple times, they made sure to let me know that I am never, ever allowed to drive in New Zealand. So, by the third run we all felt confident enough to go down the advanced run- which was soo much fun. What was not fun was the random hail that we got stuck in on the way up the mountain. It went from “Wow, I think its sprinkling” to “Ouch, Charlie…. That really hurts!!” haha- ok, so no Charlie but people that share my passion for Charlie the youtube video will enjoy that. No really, we were on this bad boy of a chair lift for about 7 minutes of pouring rain and hail. We finally got to the top, then hit up the café while it finished being feisty… determined to finish our last 2 runs. It did stop raining/hailing, and we got a view of the best rainbow ever! On the last run, I whipped out Indiana driving again and won : ] But, I was screaming “Too fast!! Too fast! For the majority of the time”. After drying our jeans in the bathroom dryer, we decided to hit up the Polyensian Spa. That’s right- warm spring water that smells like eggs. We opted for the “adult pools” so we could enjoy the night in peace and quiet. I can honestly say I’ve never seen prettier stars, a brighter full moon, or a prettier sight than soaking in the hot pools about 4 meters from the lake. We marinated for about 3 hours, and then had an amazing dinner at a random restaurant. After a Pack-n-Save trip consisting of candy and Sprite Zero, I was thoroughly impressed by the Olympic men speedwalking back at the Hostel. The next morning we went to Agroadventures for a little FreeFall Extreme, Swoop, and Shweeb. The FreeFall Extreme was basically a flying squirrel experience over a large fan. And no, they body suit they gave me was not long enough, so I looked like a bad version of a ghetto Huck-Fin from the 8Os. [A denim jumpsuit with yellow accents that went MC Hammer in all the wrong places]. In fact, the instructor actually said to me, is that creeping up on you? I’m not going to answer that. So, I laughed until I cried watching both Vanessa and Kaitlyn enjoy themselves and then tried to laugh during my turn, but couldn’t due to the crazy amount of wind blowing in my face.

Next up was the Schweeb- basically, bikes inside of a pill capsule thingy. It was pretty hard on the legs, and a little creepy…. But fun. I talked Kaitlyn into the swing on steroids after the Aerojet was out of commission. The staff saw the fear in our eyes, and took full advantage of creeping us out. After I made our safety person pinky swear we wouldn’t die, I found myself up in the air in a cocoon strapped to Kaitlyn. Instead of freaking out, Kaitlyn was so calm and kept on saying, “Wow, look at the view”. Before we knew it, I had to pull the cord to send us on our way. It was actually so much fun and both Kaitlyn and I could have gone a couple more times. "One more time!!" haha. We then headed back to Rotorua for lunch, walking around in the rain, got tea, and then we waited for our bus, called the Nakedbus, to get there. We slept most of the way home, and Kaitlyn was totally bummed she couldn’t see any more elephants [see below for details]. We got home pretty late, so I am currently behind in all my classes, but it was a great weekend! Watch for pictures!

Oh, and for the title… Kaitlyn definitely looked at me on the bus and said, “Hey, did you see that elephant?” “Um, No- do they have elephants in New Zealand?”
So if anyone knows the answer, please let me know! hahaha

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!

Sack em!

Rugby here is huge, especially since they only have one national team [not like all our football teams]. But, I learned that the Kiwi fans support their team very differently than Americans. I don’t want this to sound bad- but they actually watch what is going on, and they care about every play. I went through the majority of my intense Metamora football fan career without really understanding what happened at the games. While the All Blacks are moving, no one talks. They don’t wave anything, yell, or anything… I really enjoyed watching the game, since it was fast moving and aggressive [in a good way].

Our group had great seats, and we were able to see all parts of the field. I decided to follow the motto, “Go big or go home” when planning my outfit. It consisted of black pants, black and white underwear on the outside of the pants, black top with the number 1o taped on the back, an All Blacks Hat, and a sign saying “Once You Go All Black, You Don’t Go Back.” Momma Yonker would have been proud. We also found face tattoos and face paint that completed the ensemble. I got a lot of looks, and a few people asked to take pictures of me, but we still didn’t attract enough attention to get on TV.

The All Blacks played really well- and we smashed the Wallabies.
It was pretty easy to tell that some people from my group have never experienced the Metamora football fan etiquette. I got a lot looks after yelling “Sack em’ and Take him down!” But, then they told me that they don’t really use the term “Sack”. Definitley did a little giggle after I realized that. Fun times.

Enjoy the pictures on Facebook, or shoot me an email if you want me to email you some!