Goodbye New Zealand

I'm leaving New Zealand...booo. 11 months have passed by so fast and I am, again, in the midst of saying some tearful goodbyes. It never gets easier. I've put off updating my blog for a few reasons; one because I'm lazy, two because it means I have to get on my computer that is so slow and aggravating, and three because it means that time is passing and that means I'll leave soon. I think I'm in denial! Anyways, I looked through some photos over the last couple months and found some I wanted to share.

Well, I moved out of the flat back in June. I've still spent a lot of time of there in the last months and still see the boys often. We did a big clean out and finally got rid of our "rubbish corner". Whenever we were in the the lounge we'd throw our rubbish behind the corner couch, hehe! The flat is now a lot cleaner and quieter I'm sure.

Here's where I've been staying for the last few months; Michelle's parent's house. Michelle's parents were in Europe all of July and some of June, so we had the house to ourselves for a long while. It's a really cute and comfy house and I have a pet cat!

I thought July 4th would be another good opportunity to teach the Kiwis about America, just like at Thanksgiving. We had a BBQ and decorated in all the red, white, and blue we could find. Not far back, Michelle and I also got to meet up with our friend Kellie, an au pair we met in Switzerland. She's a kiwi, but the timing never quite worked out to meet up until just recently. It was fun to reminisce about Switzerland.

In the last few months I've been trying to squeeze in as much stuff on a budget as I can. I've been working pretty much full time during the week and then the weekend is mine. One weekend we headed down to the mountains and skied for the day at Whakapapa. Michelle, Jason, and I also spent a Saturday at Rainbow's End, NZ's only theme park. It's no Disney, but still a lot of fun. On a rainy Saturday, Michelle and Andrea took me to Lollipop Land just out of Hamilton. We got a little tour around the factory and then got to make our own lollipops!!



Back in July Michelle, Tiffany, Chris, and I took a road trip down to Wellington. I had stopped there in January on my big trip around NZ. It was one of my favorite cities, so I was excited for the chance to go back. We did a lot of walking around town, museums, and hanging out with friends. We also stopped off at "Owlcatraz" (get it!!), to pet some animals and see the colossal bull! Not far from Owlcatraz is a city called Bulls. On the sign behind us you maybe be able to read some of the "Bull" puns.

One of our recent discovers in Hamilton has been a Korean karaoke bar. It's exactly the same kind of karaoke as in Korea where you rent out a room and have full access to the list of songs. Best part of course is that you are only singing in front of your friends and not an entire bar of strangers. We first discovered it at Tiffany's tea party birthday, and have been back since.

Jimmy had his 21st birthday in August. He had a big "piss up" as they say out at his parent's farm in Te Akau. It was a lot of fun. One of the traditions at Kiwi 21st birthdays is to drink a yardy, which is the same as 1.4 liters (that's what Jimmy is drinking in his photo). I've yet to see anyone drink one without spewing. yuck!

Andrea, Michelle's sister, also had her 21st birthday in August. It was at their parent's house and the theme was Good vs. Evil. I just love dress up parties! I was a Care Bear in case you couldn't quite tell. We also set up a photo booth at the party, which turned out to be a big hit. Here's some of our family photos.

I had my last days at work this week. While I have enjoyed working in the day cares, I will especially miss working at the cafe. The place was so great and I really enjoyed the people I worked with. Before I left they got me a Maori green stone necklace made especially for me and the sweetest card. Couldn't have found a better place to work while in NZ.
I haven't talked too much about my soccer team, but it has been a big part of my time in NZ; training twice a week and games on Sundays. It has been so great to play soccer again and I'm happy to have found a good group to play with. We even won the plate...just barely!


Like I said, 11 months came and went in a heart beat and I'm here thinking about all the people I met, all the friends I made, all the things I saw, and all the places I went. What a ride! I credit Michelle for making my time here so wonderful; she is such an amazing friend and I'm so glad I don't have to say goodbye to her, but see you soon. She's coming to the US in November and I can't wait for our adventures together. I'm also really appreciative to both Michelle's and Jason's families. They invited me to every holiday and every family event without a second thought. It has been hard making friends on my own, but all of Michelle's and the boys' friends have welcomed me and made me feel part of the crowd. And my flat family of course. I know I'm a bit of a sap, but Michelle, Jason, Josh, Jimmy, and Hayden were my family for almost a year and it's especially hard to say goodbye to them. I've told everyone they better come visit me in America and I hope they do. I've loved my year in New Zealand; It couldn't have been any better!

Around Town

Hello friends!
It's been a long time and there's no excuse. Despite the long break in updates, I have no pictures to share. I haven't taken a single photos in the last 6 weeks!! Sorry... I have been staying in Hamilton mostly these days, working and playing soccer. So, when I do stuff I forget to bring a camera to things since it feel like I'm "at home" here. If I were going out of town, a camera is always on my mental check list, but when I'm in town, it slips my mind every time. So, I'll just give a written update this time and promise to take photos soon. Both jobs are going good and I'm really enjoying soccer. We are 3-1 right now and getting better every game. Also, I'm moving!! I'm still in Hamilton, just moving across town. Michelle and I are moving into her parent's house (they have 2 spare rooms) to save money for upcoming trips! I'm going to really miss hanging out in the flat with the boys and their crazy antics, but I'm sure we'll hang out lots anyways. Plus, with winter creeping closer everyday and no heat in the flat, moving to a house with heat will be great.
A few weeks ago I went on my first boys weekend. Jason, Josh, Jimmy, a friend of theirs Cookie, and I spent the weekend up in Auckland. We went to the casino for 4 hours, hung at a few different bars, ate McDonald's late at night, and went to a Rugby League game. I don't know why I didn't bring my camera because I would have come back with some hilarious photos. I've now actually been to 2 rugby games (Rugby is like America's football...they're crazy about it!). They are a lot of fun to watch and I think I have the basics down now.
In other news, I have my flight booked home...plus a few extras, hehe! I leave NZ the 10th of Sept and am flying to Australia. I'm meeting my sister there and we are going on a diving trip in the Great Barrier Reef and then a road trip along the east coast. After that, I fly to Malaysia to meet up with my friend Rebekah and we'll be traveling SE Asia for the next 2 months. The trips will include visits to Malaysia, Singapore, India, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand. You can see why I need to save as much money as I can! It will be the trip of a lifetime and you can bet I'll have plenty of pictures to share then. The best part of all though, is that I'll be back home in Tallahassee in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas! It'll be my first holidays home in 3 years. I'm so excited!
So, sorry again for no photos, but know that I'm doing well, trucking along and laying low a little bit. I'm still enjoying NZ, don't doubt that. It's just a little different than in the past where I was traveling around every other weekend with other eager foreigners. I realized the other day how different my experience in NZ has been than in the past, such as Switzerland or Korea. I feel like being here is more "real life" than the past. All of my experiences have been a limited time thing, but here I don't hang out with other foreigners who are in the same situation as me. It's been challenging to shift my mind set but really awesome as well because I feel like I'm settled in a place more than before. I can't believe I am only here 4 more months; I know it will fly by! But I am still appreciating everyday and loving NZ.

What's been up

Concerts:
First of all, don't judge me that I went and saw Backstreet Boys! Yeah they are old school, and yeah they are a boy band, but they are good fun and I bet you know all the words to at least 5 of their songs too. Michelle, her sister Andrea, a friend Brooke, and I all went up to Auckland on Thursday to see them. They did all the old dance moves and sang their big hits from the 90's.

On Sunday of the same week we went and saw Lady Gaga preform, also in Auckland. WOW! She was so amazing. She wore like 10 different costumes, had a flaming piano, 20 or so back-up dancers, and more props than I've ever seen. It was mesmerizing and the best performance I've ever seen.


Adventure:
This past weekend Michelle, Jason and I went for a big hike. We drove down south on Saturday, spent the night in a hostel, and then did the Tongariro Crossing on Sunday. The hike is about 7 hours and the area was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions. The hike up as pretty steep and windy, but when you get to the top there is the Red Crater to your right and the Emerald lakes below you. It was beautiful. We had a little picnic just next to one of the lakes and, though it smelled of sulfur, it couldn't have been nicer. We had an amazing day for hiking as well, not a cloud in the sky. Amazing!

A few weekends ago we went for a day at the beach only to arrive and find it closed due to a tsunami warning; Oops! We spent the day at McClaren Falls instead, which was just as cool. The rocks had made little pools to swim in. A day of swimming, laying in the sun and picnics.


Life:
The long, tedious wait is over and I am finally employed again!! It took A LOT of searching and applying, but I now have not one, but 2 jobs! I'm relief teaching at daycare centers Monday- Wednesday and then working at Grace Cafe Thursdays and Fridays. The relief teaching is on-call, so I don't always get a job, but so far it has been working out pretty well. I'm enjoying both of my jobs and it has been nice having an income again!

Also, I joined a soccer team. The past to weekends were try-outs and I found out last week that I made the A team! Woo Hoo! Our first game is April 11th, and so we have started out by-weekly practices. It has been so nice playing soccer again, I've really missed it. Can't wait to get the season underway.

I spent my 26th birthday here in NZ as well. It was great, besides the getting old part. Michelle made me a scavenger hunt to find a dress she gave me. I had 2 cakes and dinner at Michelle's parent's house. My parent's and Kate sent me b-day packages which was awesome. Got lots of presents and ate too much; couldn't be better!

On the occasional night I do make my way into town as well.


Blast from the past:
These are a few photos I stole from Michelle that I thought shouldn't be missed out on. Just wanted to remind you what it's like to have Christmas in summer :) A day spent in the sun, playing a little soccer and watching Michelle's granddad open his presents (isn't he the cutest)! The last photos is over New Years, just before I went to the south island for my big trip. We stopped off at a place called "Whitty Farm" (pronounced Fitty Farm) to see all the animals. I got to see and feed llamas, sheep, pigs, rabbits, and all kinds of little guys. I wasn't as scared as I look. haha!