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!
