Oh, the weekend

Guess what. I PLAYED RUGBY.

Okay, okay, so it wasn’t full on contact or whatever sort of thing they do here that looks so gladiator-like. We just played in the park and it only required you to tag a person to stop them. I caught the ball a total of two times and the other team won. I’m getting ahead of myself though…I should start with breakfast at the bakery.

I love mornings here…especially the smell when it’s rained during the night. The bus that Brooke and I take to school every day will either get us to our street 40 minutes early or 10 minutes late. We usually end up taking the early bus and therefore have quite a bit of time to wander around the stores and window shop at the corner bakery. We’ve eaten there a couple of times but they’re a little bit pricey…so most of the time we just sit. It’s crazy because the open up all the doors and just leave them that way! Most of the walls are actually doors so it’s completely open. Birds fly in and out all the time so it’s not so weird to find a bird sitting on the back of a chair or perched on the lights. They’re “cream cheese” there seems to me to be an actual slice of cheese. Lots of people like that I guess. Personally, I’m not all that keen on cheesing my banana chocolate chip muffin. They’re muffins are fantastic though! (They’re also the cheapest thing they have…)

While waiting for our bus to come in the afternoon Brooke and I went shopping into some small shops near the stop. There are two small shops of random stuff. They each have a plethora of anything and everything! I’ve never seen a shop so densely packed in my life. They have everything from New Moon pillows to carving knives to lingerie. Because we’ve spent so many afternoons there we’ve found many upon many treasures. I’ve bought nail clippers, a headband scarf thing, a water bottle, shampoo travel containers and bobby pins. And if I’m ever in need of Bob Marley sandals I know where to go.

Between the two “Hot Dollar” shops there’s a small bakery called “Hollywood Bakery”. It doesn’t actually have a door…just some plastic strips to keep the wind out. We were a little skeptical at first but that place is incredible! It’s one of those “hole in the wall” shops. They sell something called a “neenish tart” that is quite delicious. Our new favorite thing is called Lemonton. As contradictory as it might seem…it’s actually a giant chocolate cake with cream in the middle. And I lovvvve chocolate.

We spent a lot of time taking pictures before class because it was beautiful and sunny! I love the sun! People keep telling us that we need to be careful in the New Zealand sun because it’s a little more intense than we’re used to back at home. Really, I’m just trying to find the sun. This really is “the island of the long white cloud”…or island of the many, many, many clouds. I’ve got pretty used to the sporadic rain and have come to look forward to the spontaneous torrential downpours.

We were all so excited for Friday this week because not only did it mean the weekend but it was also the last day of both our Literacy and Assessment classes! It’s funny how we’ve been here for just over a week and we’ve already finished two of our six classes!

(This is us trying to form BYU with our shadows. If you squint real hard you might be able to see it.)

We’ve been practicing a song to sing for our welcoming ceremony into the schools. It’s a very traditional ceremony that we’re expected to take part in. We’ll be greeted by many of the school’s officials with the “hongi”, a traditional Maori greeting where people press their noses and foreheads together and then inhale, sharing a breath. We had the opportunity to practice on the first day of class. They made us go through it until we could do it without laughing. It’s definitely not something I’m used to. The song they’re teaching us to sing is really pretty. These are the lyrics:

Te aroha

Te whakapono (“wh” makes an “f” sound)

Me te rangimarie

Tatou, tatou e

It means:

Love

Faith

Peace

To everyone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2IAKQystzKA

After school a group of us went over to Kirsten (pronounced Ker-sten) and Emily’s homestay to be picked up by some guys they’d met at the last YSA activity. They told us that they’d show us around Mission Bay. Unfortunately Kirsten and Emily didn’t warn us how far they lived from their bus stop…I almost died before I got to the their house which just so happens to sit on the very top of a very steep hill overlooking the harbor. We took a couple pictures while we were waiting. The view turned out to be worth the walk.

Reece, Jershon and Ephraim picked us up and we drove down to Mission Bay in their big van! Kirsten and Emily’s homestay sister, Elyse, also helped to drive. It was so fun! We stopped at a park right next to the beach and they taught us how to properly throw a rugby ball. I’m about as good at rugby as I am at football. That would be REALLY good. We also played a game called “bull rush”…kind of like this shark attack game that my siblings and I used to play when we were younger. After they call you out you have to make it to the other side without being tagged and if you’re tagged you join the taggers team. Needless to say they picked on me first! Apparently they go for the ones they think they can easily catch. Haha. After that they taught us to play rugby and I don’t know if I’ll ever get those rules down quite right. Especially the passing backwards…it seems very counterproductive to me. It was so fun though--It’s nice to actually be doing something outside!

We stopped by a beautiful overlook to take some pictures with a really nice memorial.

For dinner they took us to a burger place that they really like. It’s called Haddad’s and really it’s a stand by the street. I didn’t stray too far from the ordinary and just bought a cheeseburger. I asked for no ketchup because I’ve decided I’m not really a big fan of they’re “ketchup” out here. It’s just not the same. I also tried Ginger-beer. Ehhh…not my favorite. They told us that most Americans had that reaction! They said that that’s how they feel about our Root-beer. Haha, how someone could dislike the taste of rootbeer just boggles my mind.

It was only around 10pm when they took us home but for some reason it felt closer to 2am. I couldn’t believe how tired I was! It only took me a couple minutes to fall into bed and to fall asleep. I guess that’s what waking up at 6am everyday does to you. You’d think I’d be used to that. Haha, seminary seems so long ago.

The next day Phyllis took us to the ZOO! It was so fun! I haven’t been to a zoo in I don’t even know how long. It was funny because Brooke and I kept losing Phyllis! She had her own agenda and seemed to know the zoo like the back of her hand. (Probably because she was the only one with a map.) We had to keep running to catch up with her! We’d turn around and she simply wasn’t there! We’d panic for a moment until we’d spot her blue raincoat. The zoo itself was so great. I took a lot, a lot of pictures…but here are some of the highlights:

This is Berma the Elephant

These are the giraffes (just for Kristy!) They told us that this giraffe right below is actually pregnant right now.

Here's a mother giraffe and her baby. The baby was still about 8 ft. tall!

These ponchos were lifesavers when the downpour started! It was so sunny that morning that neither Brooke nor I thought to bring our umbrellas. Mistake...

This picture of the hippo is actually very exciting for me because this is the furthest he ever came out of the water!

Phyllis bought us some HokiPoki ice cream cones! They are incredible.

This guy was HUGGEEE.

See that thing under that guy's neck? Well, anytime he made his screeching sound it would bulge out really big, like a bull frog.

This is the closest we got to seeing a real kiwi. Unfortunately they weren't feeling very social today.

They're eggs are giant! I can't believe a bird that size could lay such a huge egg!

An Emu!

Eye of the Tiger kept playing over and over again through my head.

Ahhh, it’s been such a good weekend and I still feel like it’s just begun! Phyllis’ brother, Brian, and his wife came over for dinner tonight. It was great to meet them! I’m not quite sure what sort of accent his wife had…but it’s not like the ones around here. I just got used to hearing the New Zealand accent and then she comes along! She had a little trouble saying my name at first. That’s alright though, most people around here seem to as well. (They say it kind of like key-a-stin, real fast…which is close enough for me). It was a lot of fun having them over and it was nice talking to them. Phyllis and her brother look a lot alike. Phyllis seemed very happy to have such company. I loved seeing them together. I hope my siblings and I do things like that when we’re old.

We have church in the morning and I can’t wait! I’m exciting to see our new ward and the new people. I’ll keep you posted!