Finally into February...

Tuesday 2 February
Today I worked on my Science and Social Studies papers, I wanted to get them done before we went down to the SOUTH ISLAND, and I did! During the day I went up to Nga’s house and worked on my paper, and talked to Mom and Dad on Skype and applied for a scholarship...since it was the last day to submit a scholarship, and they had some vital information that I needed. I returned home at dinnertime, ate dinner, and then played UNO with Cooper. He ended up being the champion…but just for that day. I have learned that he kind of cheats some times…like putting down 2 cards at once, and pretending he only put down one card…yeah…now I know why he was winning so much…haha. Then we played ping-pong. He used 2 cans of beans and tied a string to it to make the net, and then he had a small plastic/rubber ball, and we played ping-pong. He won again, tonight Cooper was the grand master Champion. After my humiliating defeat I packed my stuff for the South Island. Megan and I decided to share a suitcase. You don’t realize how much stuff you pack fro one week, until you try to fit it all in a suitcase, and share that suitcase with someone else. We fit everything into one suitcase, and went to bed anticipating our trip to the South Island…it was like the night before Christmas, and I was just waiting to hear Jingle Bells Fantasy.

Wednesday 3 February
Today, at about 9:45 the taxi van with Joy (our program director), Sam G, Jill, Daren, Lauren and Amanda pulled up to Paea’s. We loaded up our ginormous blue suitcase into the back of the van and we were off to the Auckland Airport. At 10:40 we boarded flight 525 to Christ church. The flight was pleasant, and I tried the veggie crisps. They are like potatos chips, but like something you might find in food storage…a little spongy. It wasn’t gross, but it wasn’t yum-o. Anyway, we safely landed in Christchurch at 12:20 and loaded up unto out glamourous tour vans. James (a man from the stake who takes the BYU group around, and is pretty much our personal tour guide) was in one van, and Joy was in the other. We started on our way to Queenstown. We stopped by Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The water is literally a cool turquoise blue. It was SO beautiful! I had never in my life seen something this beautiful with my own eyes. There were mountains in the distance the reflected in the still blue water making this place like heaven on earth. Then, we got back in the van and drove a bit more, we eventually made an Ice Cream stop. I tried the goody goody gumdrops and the Passion Fruit Mango. It was quite good. While we were driving the scenery kind of reminded me of a mixture of Ruby Valley/Flagstaff, Az/Oregon…yeas you can be jealous, it was beautiful. At about 9:30 pm we arrived in Queenstown. At that time the sun was just barely setting, so we got to enjoy the sunset. We checked into our Hostel called Nomads, it is pretty new, and was pretty nice…compared to others I have stayed in. Then we went to the Night and day 24 market just up the street and Megan and I got 2 meat pies for $5. It was pretty delicious and cheap. I am sharing a room with Mekelle, Jayna, Breanna, Ashley, Lauren, Amanda and Megan. There are 5 bunk beds in the room, and I got a bottom bunk. Queenstown seems pretty nice; I hope to see more of it tomorrow!

Thursday 4 February
FREE TOAST is what I had for breakfast, it was provided by the Hostel, and did I mention? It was free. ☺ Also, if your friend is like, “Hey, you should try some vegemite on your toast, but only on a little corner, it will give you a taste of the “New Zealand Experience!” You should say, “Thanks, but no thanks!” **I did try some vegemite, and I don’t see why it is so popular, it is pretty gross (in my opinion).** At 9 am our group met up and headed out the Arrow Town. We checked out the Chinese Mining camp and ate yellow plums. We also learned that the miners survived the hot summer months because of the yellow plums, so I guess it was like eating history…Anyway, we checked out the houses that had been built into the side of the mountain, it was actually pretty cool. Then we walked up to the cemetery, it was pretty cool seeing the graves, but also the valley of Arrowtown, it was pretty good looking. Then we walked up to a WW2 war memorial, it was pretty cool, we got to see more of Arrowtown. Then we walked up to the town center, it is a “sleepy little town” according to the lady who worked in the pharmacy. I think it was cute and quaint. Then we went to the Kawarau Bridge, site of the first Bungy. There were about 8 girls from the group that did the jump, I think they are crazily brave to do so, but more power to them!! There was a part of me that thought, “Hey! You should have done that!” Then again, there was another part of me that was like, “What?! Are you crazy! BYU health insurance does not cover and accidents that might occur in the Bungy!!” After the jump, we went back to our Hostel and got some Lunch. I shared a pull-apart with Megan, it supposedly had pineapple, ham and cheese, but it had $3.00, so it was worth it! After the quick lunch break we went to Skipper’s Canyon for the Skipper’s Canyon Shotover Jet! On the way to the canyon, the bus driver stopped and we looked over the valley and saw a hill/mountain that Gandalf apparently stood on in one of the Lord of the Rings Movies, so that was cool, but then we had to drive down through the mountains to get to the river. After the treacherous (I say treacherous because the ride was long and bumpy (and practically on the edge of a very step cliff)) bus ride, we arrived at the river. The ride was pretty dang fun, the guy would spin the boat around (really quickly) 360 degrees, and then keep on driving through rapids! It was pretty amazing. The boat driver even stopped and showed us where Liv Tyler’s character (erewen?) rides her horse into the river (while the ring wraiths are chasing her and Frodo (because the ring wraiths have just stabbed Frodo, because he was wearing the ring)), and then she commands the river to flood. **We watched the 1st movie in Christchurch, and confirmed that this was correct** After the super fun boat ride, we went back to Queenstown, I tried to sleep on the van/bus, but is was just so dang bumpy, and the view was so beautiful, that I didn’t want to sleep. (Wow, this post is long..haha.) That evening Megan, Joy (our director), Lauren and Daren and I went to “Fergburger”. What is Fergburger (you might ask)? It is the only restaurant of it’s kind in the world, and they have really clever burger names. Megan and I split a Southern Swine Burger (Prime NZ beef, Streaky (American) bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Aioli, and tomato relish). It was pretty delicious. Then, we went walked down the street (1 restaurant away) and found a gelato shop called “Lick”. Megan and I shared a sticky toffee gelato in a cone. It was pretty “de-lick-ious”. They had so many different flavors: kiwi, strawberry, chocolate fudge, boysenberry, and Ginger bread! Also, I am pretty sure they change the flavors around every day…it was crazy delicious!

Friday 5 February 2010
MILFORD SOUND…oh my heck. This place is beautiful! Our group met up at 6:30 to start our 4 hour drive to Milford Sound. The roads to Milford were curvy, and there were plenty of ups and downs, luckily I didn’t get sick! It was a nice clear-ish day, and then we went through Homer Tunnel, and all of the sudden it was super foggy!! We could barely see the mountains that were just off to the side, let alone the road in front of us...We eventually arrived at the Mitre Peak cruise station. We got on the boat, and started the most beautiful (an only) cruise I have ever been on. There are mountains that seem to endlessly rise up into a misty sky. Also, in the mountains you can see veins of gold in the face of the mountain. SO COOL!! Oh yeah, did I mention, I got to drive the boat! Yeah, it was pretty cool. Do you want to know what is cooler? I drove the boat to a pod of dolphins. Yep, you read it right…DOLPHINS!!! I have posted plenty of pictures and even some videos of the dolphin encounter on facebook. After the Mitre peak cruise, we were driving back to Queenstown, and stopped at the glacier outside of Homer Tunnel. It was pretty awesome and ginormous. Also on the way back to Queenstown we stopped at Mirror lakes. This is apparently where Gandalf saw his own reflection in one of the Lord of the Rings movies (we also think that this is where Golom (Golum) saw his own reflection in the 3rd movie and he is having his inner stuggle/battle being all…my precious…the ring…Frodo...you know? The drive to and from Milford Sound was quite beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, picturesque, incredible…need I go on? In the morning it was a bit foggy/misty, however on the way back there were clear skies all around! Blue skies=prime picture taking conditions! That evening, Megan, Lauren and I went to Four Square (a nearby grocery store) to try to scrounge up some dinner. Lauren and I found a Lamb, potatoes, and veggie combination that was already made up (and most likely left over from the lunch rush) for only $2! It was pretty delicious, and was the best $2 that I have ever spent on a lamb and potato dish. After the dinner of champions, we walked around the city, and I checked out the touristy gift shops to try to find the best deal on gifts. At around 10:00 we met up with our group and sat on the beach, we were supposed to play games, but we decided to just hang out, and chat. This is the night that I remembered that my camera has a pretty amazing night setting, and I took quite a few pictures (see Queenstown…out and about album on facebook).Oh yeah, I officially saw the Southern Cross and Orion’s belt tonight.

Saturday 6 February 2010 Waitangi Day
Today I went to the Queenstown Arts Market. There were a lot of beautifully made things! I walked around all of the booths, and tried to scope out the best deals, and then made my move. I bought a cool coin necklace, this guy collects old coins, and then heats them up, and bends them, so it looks like a half circle. Then, the man puts 2 coins together the 2 coins make a circle, it is pretty cool. I also got some cool Paua shell things! Then, I went to the Farmer’s Market ad bought some Manuka Honey, from a man that is a part of the Glass Brothers Honey company. Oh yeah, I also went to the Patagonia Chocolatier (chocolatery…chalk-lottery? haha) and split a lavender Hot chocolate with Megan. It was pretty good, and we shared a wireless internet connection. After that, our group met up to go to the gondola (boxed sky lift) ride. It was kind of expensive, so some of out group walked down the hill, and ended up finding something cooler to do. This is no exaggeration. I remembered that there was a flier for a $25 cruise around the Queenstown bay. So Mekelle, Ashley, Breanna, Jayna, Amanda, Lauren, and I found the “Million Dollar Cruise” stand. We bought our tickets for the 4:00 ride, and waited for 4:00 to come. We got to sit on top of the boat. I coludn’t help but think of the line from the SNL skit “I’m on a boat!”, because I was literally on a boat. The cruise went around the Queenstown bay, up the Frankton Arm, and out to Willow Island. There was a great view of “The Remarkables” mountain range. Our cruise ended at about 5:30, and by 6:00 we were on the move again to the “beach” area away from the center of town. The reason I put the word “beach” in “quotation marks” is because the “beach” in Queenstown is rocky, not sandy, it is foreign to me. We had a barbeque with sausages, lamb, and chicken, it was delish. Then we presented our skits to the group. We were partnered up, and had to make something up that had movement, rhythm, and some kind of melodic song. Ashley and I did the cha-cha boochie dance/routine/roll call, and introduced ourselves. Ashley is from California (I have been to California), and lived in Scottsdale, Az when she was younger. It was pretty fantastic. Then we played some games to win some “South Island Survivor” games, like Volleyball (with a latex glove) in the wind and built a structure out of straws. It was good fun. On the way back to the Hostel, I took some more cool night shots, and then we tried to find some Aloe Vera (because my shoulders and arms were sunburned). No luck, most stores close at like 6 or 7, it is ridiculous. Oh yeah, the touristy stores close at like 10, or even 11, but the grocery stores close at 6 or 7….haha…oh well. Life is good.

Getting Caught Up with Adventures...

Here is an update of this blog.

I tried to be as thorough as possible...but, as you will see some days just weren't as exciting as others.

ENJOY!

Week of January 10
Sunday 10 January
Today was the first day of church with the Henderson Valley Ward. They were all really nice, and welcomed the 4 BYU girls that were visiting. Then It

was a pretty awesome day. This was the first day that we made the trek up to Nga’s house to use the internet. We have to walk up a steep hill, and I mean STEEP HILL. But, it is worth it as we check our e-mail on this glorious wireless internet connection.

Monday 11 January
Today we were sitting in our literacy class and then the Bishop of the Samoan ward came in and invited us a funeral they were having. As a class, we decided to go. It was a funeral or a baby that died. It was a solemn funeral, but you could still feel the spirit as the family talked about eternal families and how they will meet that baby again in t

he eternities. After the sweet service, they invited us in for refreshments. While we were eating the delicious food, the heads of each of the families starting saying something to each other in Samoan. We were thanking each other for the support each of the families had given. It was pretty cool. That evening all of the host families and BYU study aborad-ers got together for a bit of dinner in the Western Springs park by the Auckland Zoo. Then Megan’s cousin came to pick her up and take her to into Auckland. She invited me to come! We ate some Chinese food, and went to Hulu Cat Tea House. I used a mango slushie with Passion Fruit Jelly bits in it. It was pretty good. Megan’s cousin and her boyfriend shouted (paid for) us that evening! It was pretty fun!

Tuesday 12 JanuaryToday I made chocolate chip cookies with Cooper (Paea’s 10 year old grandson). He was pretty amazed by the ginormous bag of chocolate chips that I brought (thanks Mom). As we made the cookies he had a blast mixing up the ingredients, and tasting the dough. It was pretty fun. The biscuits/cookies here are pretty solid, not doughy like the cookies we made. I think he liked them.

Wednesday 13 JanuaryI took the cookies bars I made with Cooper into class to supplement the devotional I gave. Class was pretty interesting. At the end of the day, we were waiting for Nga to come pick us up, and Tiago, from the Fruit stand/van (named Bernie, yes, the van's name was Bernie) that was across the street from the church came over and gave us a note. He said that he wanted us to e-mail him the pictures that we took when we met him the first time. We said ok, and said goodbye to Bernie and Taigo. Then Nga came to pick us up and took us to Paea’s house. It was just a chill night of homework and chocolate cake mix cookies (made by Amanda). Then we went up to Nga’s with Cooper while Nga and Paea had a business meeting.
Thursday 14 January
Today was the day of eternal walking to find a bus after class. Here is what happened. One day, Lauren, Amanda, Megan and I needed to take the bus home. By the time we found the correct bus stop, we had missed the bus. The sign said that it would be a 40-minute wait. So, we decided to just keep on walking. Then we got the to the next stop, and we had JUST missed that bus. So we kept on walking. Eventually we came to the warehouse stationary store, and decided to do a bit of shopping since we had 35 minutes until the next bus. We got kind of carried away while we were shopping at the stores in the shopping center, and missed that bus. We decided that we should probably just walk to the mall and save $1.40 since we were over halfway there. Then we walked, and walked and walked…and eventually found the mall. We took a quick break in the mall, and the got on the bus that would take us up by Nga’s house. We used her internet. It was again, glorious.

Friday 15 January
Today was the last day of the Assesment and Literacy Classes, we still have some assignments left to do, but they aren’t due until Monday. So, we basically crammed a semester’s worth of information into a week. I bought some postcards and some stamps for the postcards today. (It was about $9.00 for a packet with 5 stamps).
Saturday 16 January
Today was a pretty chill Saturday filled with Laundry (I guess dryer’s aren’t very common here, so I got to hang my laundry up on the line…I felt pretty accomplished. Megan and I also moved our beds around in the room; it was quite exciting. For lunch we fended for ourselves because Nga was at a class to become a Zumba Instructor...yeah Zumba…this lady has got some moves going on. We made pizzas made from frozen pizza crusts we found in the freezer…it was quite the experience. At about 6 pm Paea returned and got some KFC for us for dinner.

Week of January 17
Sunday 17 January
So church was pretty awesome today…provident living, God’s love for us and our families. In Relief Society the lady welcomed the BYU Girl’s and the Sister Missionaries and pointed to Megan (my roommate) and I. We must have looked a but confused and puzzled, because the other counselor gently interrupted her and corrected her…it was just funny. After Church I got to SKYPE with my parents in AZ and my Niece and Nephew that were visiting (with my sister and her husband). Those kids are so freaking cute. I am not even embellishing one bit…they really are brilliant, happy, smiley kiddos. That night we listened to Neil L Anderson’s CES fireside online that was presented at BYU the week before.

Monday 18 January
Today we started the maths class. No, I did not just mistype they say maths, not math to describe a class one might teach…it took some getting used to. After class, Nga picked us up and took us to Pak N’ Save, and then Nga took us to Paea’s. We gave Cooper some American coins, and a dollar bill, he thought it was pretty cool. Then we all went up to Nga’s for FHE. Nga invited Sankita, a lady from the ward, and her 2 sons. It was a cool lesson about the creation and the plan of salvation. Then we had dinner, and played UNO for the activity. Let me just tell you Cooper is a pretty competitive kid…at least he is funny.

Tuesday 19 January
8 hours of Maths. YES!! (and by YES!! I mean maybe). After class we walked up to the Church by Opanaku stream for FHE with the YSA. They had a lot of fun games to play. We played a game that was like rock, paper, scissors, but it was Man, gun, rabbit. Man controls the gun, The gun kills the rabbit, the rabbit escapes the man. You stood in two lines facing each other, and the people on your side were your teammates and you all had to decide what you were going to choose. After we played this game we all introduced ourselves.
Then we put a bunch of chairs in a circle and people were assigned to be an apple, a pear, peach, or a banana. There was a person that would stand in the middle and shout out the fruits, or say fruit salad, and everyone would have to switch seats. The last person standing would be “it”. Then we played a game similar to that, where the person that was it would say, I have never…and if you have done what was said, you had to switch seats. It was pretty fun. Then we had some refreshments and chatted. After that, we played another game. They had an almost empty L&P bottle (a fizzy drink, like Lemonade and ginger ale). They split up the boys from the girls and gave each corresponding numbers. When she called certain numbers you had to run into the middle and grab the bottle. If the other person tagged you, you lost, but if you could outrun the person, you would get a point for your team. The girls made a landslide comeback and won. The boys said, they were just being nice and let us win…haha…Then we watched UP. Megan and I left a bit early because we needed to get to bed earlier…

Wednesday 20 January
8 hours of Maths. After class, we went to Nga’s to use the wireless internet. On our way home, Megan and I decided to try to find a path that would take us to Paea’s house faster. We had heard of this magical path, but we were unable to find it. We decided to just take the long way home, When we arrived home, Paea had dinner ready for us. Yum-o. Lamb, string beans, Kumara (like a sweet potato) and potatoes. Then Cooper taught us how to play cricket…I even hit the ball and scored 6 points!! Then we came inside and had cookies and Hokey Pokey Ice cream. Then we played UNO. It was pretty fun. Then they taught us how to play “last card” (it is like UNO with face cards). If someone puts down a 2 or a 5 you have to draw either 2 or 5 cards. If a 10 is put down, it is like a skip. An Ace with change the suite. You can use the same number/color/suite to change the suite. It was pretty fun.

Thursday 21 January
Today was the last day of the Math class! The teacher is just really interesting….and by interesting I mean eccentric…and by eccentric I mean different. After class we were going to go to Breanna’s house to plan our trip to Australia, but not enough people could go. So, we went with Nga. She took us to a fruit store called SilverBelles. Then we went to the Westfield Mall. After that we went to Nga’s house and used the internet. After that, we decided to try to find the shortcut home. After looking up a possible path from Nga’s house to Border road (which would take us to Paea’s) we decided to head out. We ended up walking through a foresty type of area. It was like hiking…with a heavy backpack…and I didn’t have proper hiking shoes, and there was not a path.
After traipsing through the forests of Waitakere, we eventually found our way to the main road after about 25 minutes. Then, we saw this path like thing. Well, it was more of a path then what we had just walked through. So, we walked up the path, and found that it led to the place that we had walked to the day before, and then just turned around. So, now we know which way to go. Megan and I felt pretty epic and empowered after our adventure. When we got back to Paea’s we told her about our adventure, and she just kind of laughed at us. At least she thought it was funny. After dinner (pizza), Paea had a meeting to go to, so we hung out with Cooper. We played UNO and then we played cricket, and then soccer. Cooper is pretty competitive, and he ended up winning the Cricket game. Overall, today was a pretty good day.

Friday 22 January
Today we started the Science and Social studies classes. It rained a bit today. Megan and I went to Sam and Jill’s host house for a SLEEPOVER! Yep. We watched hairspray, it was pretty fun. Then at 6:30 we went to a swim party at the High School. It was kid of raining, but they barbequed some sausages and we had a great time with the YSA.

Saturday 23 January
Today we went to the Otara Market with Rosie (Sam and Jill’s host mom). It was pretty sweet as. They had a lot of stuff. I bought a lava lava, ate a lamb kebab, and some banana flavored poke (pronounced pokey) in cream. It was a mixture of bread pudding/jello. It was also mighty tasty. After that we went to Crystal Mountain. It is a museum/gift shop in a big rock. It was pretty cool. We took the lift down to the museum, and say some mighty geodes and other rocks from around the world. It was sweet as. Then we went back to Rosie’s. I tried a mussel (seafood). It was interesting…and by interesting, I mean kind of gross. But I ate it. Then we watched Project Runway, and Rosie’s friend came over and visited with her. Then Roise drove us home.

Week of January 24th
Sunday 24 January
Learning about the Fall of Adam and Eve. Sizzlers (hot dogs/sausages with cheese in the middle). Chocolate chip cookies. Uno. Reading the Book of Mormon with Cooper. Good day.

Monday 25 January
School. In science class we learned why popcorn pops. In Social Stuides we learn about the Influenza Epidemic in 1918 in New Zealand. That night we had FHE with Amanda and Lauren.

Tuesday 26 January
Science: We mixed citric acid and baking soda with water. Then we mixed it in a soda bottle, and put a balloon over it, and it inflated the balloon.
Social Studies: Current events. 1080 poison and possums.
FHE at the church: we played basketball and Mafia. One person is the narrator, and other people are either the doctor, detective, and 2 people are mafia members, and the rest are citizens. Everyone closes their eyes except for the mafia members. They chose to “kill” someone and then the mafia members close their eyes. Then the doctor chooses one person to “save” in hopes of saving a random person they thought might be “killed”. The detective chooses one person they want to investigate as a mafia member. Then everyone opens their eyes and the narrator tells the story of how the person was killed, and if they were saved or not. Then the group elects a person that they think are a mafia member. That person is “killed’. And the game continues on. It was a pretty fun game.

Wednesday 27 January
Social Studies: Social Activism, children can change the world.
Science. Density tests…what floats your boat? Less dense water.
Uploaded pictures to facebook (check them out).

Thursday 28 January
Science: Talked about classifying things. During science, Megan and I went to the doctor to investigate the atrocious spots that were appearing on our legs, arms, backs…etc. We went to the Medical clinic. The doctor decided we just had some gnarly bug bites (my terminology, not his). He gave a prescription for some Hydrocortisone cream in an industrial grade size tube. Then we went back to class. In Social studies we talked about diversity and global citizenship.

Friday 29 January
Today was the last day of classes! In social studies we learned about the 1981 Springbok Rugby tour controversy. In the science class, we made rockets with film canisters. It was sweet as. That evening Megan and I took the bus from the Mall to the Sam and Jill’s. Most of the group got together and watched the movie Mean Girls. We made s’mores with wine crackers/biscuits, Cadbury chocolate, and tropical marshmallows. It was pretty fun.

Saturday 30 January
Cooper and I did some science experiments with baking soda and vinegar. It was awesome.
Today Chris (from our ward) took Megan and I too the Auckland Seafood Festival. Yes. I ate seafood…despite my initial aversion to it. Megan and I got in for free, because some random guy handed us some tickets for the festival. It was pretty cool. Once we got into the festival I ate Salmon, Prawns, mussels, part of a seafood fritter. I also tried some maple Syrup and Walnut Ice Cream and Swiss Chocolate Ice Cream. We also tried the fizzy drinks (soda) from Mac’s Brewery: black currant, Green apple, and Ginger beer. After the festival, we walked down Queens street, and stopped at Giapo and got some gelato. Megan and I shared a hazelnut and Nutella, and a black forest cherry gelato. Delish. Then Christ took us to a Marai (marae?). It was closed, but the structures were pretty cool. We also saw the Auckland skyline just as the sun was setting. B-E-A-U-TIFUL!

Week of January 31
Sunday 31 January
Church was pretty sublime today. We had a combined meeting in the last hour, as it was the 5th Sunday. That evening we went to a musical fireside. We got the times a bit mixed up, and were late for the English version. So we stayed for the Samoan Fireside. They talked about the plan of salvation. They had prompts that were read in Samoan and English, and then members of the ward would sing a musical number that coincided with a different part in the plan of salvation. It was pretty awesome. As people were leaving they shook our hands (we were sitting on the back row), and I felt like a celebrity. I think that they thought we were investigators (since we were obviously not Samoan), or they knew we were the “BYU girls”.

Monday 1 February
Today we packed our stuff for the South Island. It was a nice and chillaxin’ day. We were supposed to go the beach, but it was cancelled because it was raining in the morning. So I did homework. On the random, Paea brought home 2 HUGE rolls of carpet. They were kind of nasty and first, but then she cleaned them up, and cut them up, and we have a new pale pink area rug in the living, room, and under the dining room table. It is pretty nice!
That evening, Megan and I taught the FHE lesson about the Vision of the tree of life. I had a YOUtube video that had pictures, and a guy reading the verses from 1 Nephi Chapter 8 from the Book of Mormon. Then we talked about what they things in the vision meant. It was a pretty good lesson. Then we watched random YOUtube videos, The Nga had us play this game where we had to pass a piece…of something through our legs (while sitting down, with our legs like an upside down V). You had to rotate through the people on your team until the first person was the at the beginning of the line. It was pretty fun. Then we played Bum Charades, where you have to form the letters in the air, with your bum and spell out the word…it was pretty funny to watch…and embarrassing to perform. Then we played the game where you write down a question, and put you paper in the middle. Someone else answers your question. Then everybody switches up their papers. You then go around the circle and read your question, the person next to you reads their answer…and so on until you go around the circle. It is pretty funny.

In case you were wondering...

So, I went to Otara Market, and bought a Lava Lava.

Then, I started to do some homework...and by homework I mean...figured out the different ways to wear a Lava Lava while sitting on my bed...

(Don't worry Mom and Dad, I got my homework done...)

You can make it into a cowl neckline...

You can wear it like a hippie/gypsy headband...

Comfortable scarf anyone?

Crazy headband/bow?

You can use it to just look cool..

Très chic scarf...I think so...

Regular cool scarf...

Halter top/dress on bottom...

The lady said I could wear it this way "when I go Clubbing!"...yeah.

Yeah, I know. You're jealous.

Classy.

Cool and casual...

Letter...

Dear New Zealand,

I think I love you. Seriously, you are beautiful...and not cold and snowy Provo. Not that Provo is bad, I just don't really like the snow. Anyways, I digress. Thank you for being so lush.
That is all for now.
-Angela

Waitakere Ranges

Map of New Zealand

Week of January 3rd...when it all began...

Week 1: January 3-January 9

Sunday January 3rd
I flew from Phoenix to Los Angeles at 3:25 pm. I eventually got my luggage and was told how to get to the international terminal by bus. While I was on the bus my mom called me and told me that I have left my camera battery and charger in Arizona. So, I just used my phone as my camera…it was pretty lame.
Then, once I got to the international terminal, I walked for HOURS, ok, maybe just 30 minutes, but when you are lugging around 2 VERY large suitcases and a heavy backpack, it seems like forever…
I finally found the Air New Zealand desk, and got checked into my flight, and dropped off the luggage! Then I went through the security line (the 2nd one of the day), and found my gate, changed my money, and then bought a disposable camera (16 dollars=ripoff).
Oh well, I called my family to let them know I made it to the gate, fond my fellow co-horters (other BYU study abroad participants) and then we boarded the plane. By 7:30 the plane was ready to rumble.

Monday January 4th
We were on the plane…so it kind of didn’t happen…I think. I have not yet mastered this time-traveling stuff. I think I will by the end of this trip.

Tuesday: January 5th
We arrived in New Zealand at 4 am-ish. We went through customs and they checked our passports. When they were doing the final check of our luggage through the x-ray machine, they stopped my luggage. I had some “big Sexy Hair” product (that I was going to give to Sam Gardner (a girl on the trip that had forgotten it in the states)) it had an odd shape to it. I guess you could say it looked like a grenade. I have decided that this is why I was stopped, and why they searched my luggage.
After being stopped, I went through the zig-zaggety door of glory, which brought me into New Zealand, well the part I could see. Paea (Paya) Haraki, and Nga Jonassen were waiting for Lauren Eddington, Amanda Schieffer, Megan Harris, and I with flower Lei’I neckclaces. Then we all piled into Sam’s (a man from their ward) car. We barely fit everybody and their luggage into the car, but we made it.
After being dropped off at Paea’s house, we unpacked our stuff and got to know Paea. She let us use her dail-up internet to send an e-mil home to or families letting them know that we were safely in New Zealand.
Then Nga came and took us to the mall, I bought some Hangers I also went to Harvey Norman’s to see if they had Panasonic Camera Battery, and it was 100 NZD, which is like 72 USD. I decided it would be better if my mom could ship it to me.
Then we came back to Paea’s, and Megan took a rest, and I played UNO with Cooper (Paea’s 10 year old Son/Grandson)
So, I also talked to Paea, and even walked to a post office drop off area with her, it was about a 30 minute walk (roundtrip). On the way back to her house, Paea found some Cups and Saucers in a box, on the side of the road, and picked them up. She said that people will leave things in a box on the side of the road if they don’t want it, and it is up for grabs.
Then we went back to her place, and I took a rest for about 2 hours, it was needed. Paea made Bacon (ham steaks). Salad with tomato quarters and boiled eggs cut in half, with a potato salad with tomato bits. It was good. Then we played some more UNO with Cooper, he is a pretty intense UNO player.

Wednesday January 6th
Megan and I got up early (6:30) and took a walk around the area for about 30 minutes. We ate some breakfast, and then Nga picked us up and took us to school. We just had the Assessment class today. It was from 10-3, and was interesting. After school, Paea picked us up in Nga’s car and took us home. Then Megan and I had an adventure. We found the bus and took it to the mall/library. So, I used me Henderson Library card, and checked my e-mail. It was a good day. Then we came home and had dinner. Paea made Sizzlers (sausages with cheese in the middle), mashed poatoes, green beans, tomatoes and bread. It was pretty good. Then we played UNO with Cooper, and drank some Ovaltine. It was interesting, not quite what I expected.

Thursday January 7th
School. Library. Bus. Dinner (Hamburger with a fired egg on it). Tongan Wedding. Dancing at a Tongan Wedding. Eating at a Tongan Wedding. Sleeping, because I had so much fun at the Tongan Wedding.

Friday January 8th
At school we ate some cookies today (that are native to this part of the world), and graded them. This was by far the best assessment I have ever done. After class we caught the buss, and it took us to the Mall/Library area. After taking care of some business in the Library, we went home. That night we watched the “Other Side of Heaven”, and wouldn’t you know it...Nga (The other Host mom) was in the movie! She was Gossip #1. So, I basically know a movie star.

Saturday January 9th
Today we went to Orewas Beach with the Young Single Adults (YSA) from the Lincoln Ward. It was beautiful. Yeah, I love the beach. It is confirmed. Also, I learned how to play RUGBY!! Well, touch rugby. Any time they would give me the ball, I would stop, look around and ask them what to do. They would say…RUN, RUN, RUN! Or PASS IT, PASS IT, PASS IT!! It was pretty funny.

**Editor's Note**

I will post pictures to facebook, and I will try to summarize the activities I am doing, via this most excellent blog.

Yeah, I'm in New Zealand.

Well, as you might have noticed, I am not very good at blogging. Give me facebook, I am a pro. However, I was thinking I should probably update this thing once in a while, and I was thinking that New Zealand sounds like a great place to do so.
So, I am planning on updating this thing with hilarious anecdotes, photos, and other marvelous thing while I am studying abroad in New Zealand.
I must say, that I seem to have forgotten to pack my camera battery and charger amidst my packing frenzy. You can expect pictures soon.

Here's to hoping I update this thing, if not, you can check out the copiuous amounts of photos I plan to post on facebook.

First Field Trip Stratford Upon Avon. England July 2008