Cricket, One Tree Hill, an apostle, and Seafood Festival

We did several cool things this past week.  On Tuesday we went to a cricket game here in Auckland; none of us knew much about cricket, and all I remembered was watching Lagaan a few years ago...it was a long movie because the game is even longer.  But actually, we went to a 20/20 match which is not very long at all, and it was a cool experience.  They actually let you go on the field at "halftime" and let you play, so we got a few pictures on the field.  Also, at one point the game was so slow that some of the outfielders were signing autographs for kids.  It was really funny, but I guess that's one of the perks of the 20/20 version of the game; it seems more relaxed and made for the crowds rather than the competition.  There was a cool couple sitting next to us that, by our conversation, gathered that we were foreign and had no idea what we were doing there.  They were nice enough to explain it to us and not make fun of us!

After the game, we went up to One Tree Hill, which may or may not be named after the TV show.  I'm just kidding, it's not, and there's definitely not a tree on the top.  So I actually don't know the significance of it at all, but there were some spectacular views from the top.

 

 

Thursday was such a funny day.  In the evening we went with Rosie to the area training with Elder Christofferson, Elder Jensen, and Elder Callister.  It was for auxillary presidents and since Rosie is RS president, we went along!  It was a really great meeting and relatively informal.  At the end, instead of waiting for the bretheren to leave, everyone just left at the same time and while we were waiting in the lobby for Rosie, the bretheren were on their way out, too.  We were trying to inch our way forward because we were quite timid, but Elder Sorensen, an area 70, saw us being awkward and shooed us forward to shake hands with Elder Christofferson and Elder Jensen.  It was so cool!  I couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, so I just smiled.  That was it.  Then on the way home, a police car was trailing us and Rosie pulled over so it could pass; she then proceeded to follow it to see where it was going.  It was so niele!  And then we came home and found out that she had bought a new puppy.  It was a really bizzare kind of evening after that training meeting...

We finished classes on Friday, hooooray!  My last classes of my BYU career!  We celebrated by making rockets in our science class and eating smores in the evening.

 

  

Today we went to the Auckland Seafood Festival down by the ferry in downtown Auckland.  Before we left, however, we made a golden purchase: the design for the 2011 world rugby world cup was leaked and unofficial gear with the official design is being sold at knock-off prices all over, but the trick is finding it...well, today we found it!  We went to a discount store nearby because Rosie needed sunglasses; lo and behold in the display was a NZ 2011 rugby t-shirt!  For the low, low price of $12 we got "official" rugby gear.  By far the best purchase of the day!  Well, we eventually got to the festival and it was a seafood lovers dream, and though it was a bit pricey, there was a nice variety.  Apparently seafood and crepes go together, because that's all we saw.  We got our crepes from a totally legit French booth, where a Frenchman made our crepes!  Sam got apple cinnamon (which turned out to be applesauce) and I got Nutella.  Delicious.  Then I had a mixed paella and we got a bucket of muscles and oysters for Rosie.  I sampled both and they were equally delicious. Sam had shrimp skewers.  Yum yum.  We also got sunburnt eating our food.

After the festival we went to the beach for a bit and then caught the bus home.  We're practically local by the way we get around on the bus!  It was a good week!

New Zealand: a month in review

So far, I have shared some specific activity experiences.  Overall, it has been very nice for the almost-month that we've been here.  The people are very warm and friendly and we've gotten to try lots of new things.  Some favorites are different ice cream flavors, different cookies (called biscuits) and new words in English.  Like how cookies are "biscuits" here, dinner is "tea" and parking lots are "car parks."  Napkins are servillets (I don't even know if that's how it's spelt, but it sounds like Spanish and that's how I'd spell it in Spanish.)

A view of Auckland

Rosie, our host mum, is very cool and also knows everyone in the ward because she is the RS president.  As a result, we get to know everyone in the ward quickly and she buys us new food every week to try so we can get a varied experience.  She has 2 dogs, Toby and Sophie, who, despite their small size, bark loud enough to scare anyone away.  We have one last puppy left from the litter, Cloe Rose, who will be given to her new owner at the end of this week.  They are great pups.

A cool freshwater lake we went to after the beach one afternoon

Sam is my roommate and adventure partner here in New Zealand.  We met back in our 1st semester in the ElEd program where we suffered through drama and art together.  She is from California and just a bundle of sunshine.  Don't let her small size fool you, either; she'll beat you up for me any day.  We've been figuring out the bus system here, which is a bit confusing but we live on a main line, so it's not so bad.  People are also really good about giving us rides and stuff, so it's been fine.  The only thing is the whole driving on the left side of the road thing.  That's still strange.

Sam and I catching the bus for the 1st time

So far we've just been in class all day.  We go to classes in the chapel where we go to church, so I guess it IS like BYU.  We get there at 7:45 and leave at about 3:45.  We sit in the cultural hall all day unless we are having lunch, then we sit in the hallway outside the chapel.  We live about 15-20 minutes walking distance from the chapel so we enjoy those morning and afternoon walks, unless we catch a ride with Joy, our professor, which is always nice.  Joy lives in the house in front of us, so not only do we bum rides off of her, we also bum internet off of her.  We made an excellent house choice!

After 8 hours of math, this was all I had to show for the day's work.

This week we will finish up classes with Science and Social Studies.  Next Monday we celebrate Auckland Anniversary, where the ward is haivng a BBQ at the beach.  Tuesday is a free day and then we leave to the South Island for some sightseeing there!

January 23

This weekend we had Megan and Angela spend the night.  There was a YSA pool activity and then on Saturday we planned on going to a local swap meet.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy, rainy weekend.  In fact, we got drenched walking home.  It sort of reminded me of the mission; actually, it reminded me a lot of the mission, but fortunately we didn't need to stay outdoors.  The pool activity was fine, there was, as always, lots of food (I do enjoy the New Zealand version of the hot dog!) but it was a bit too cold for my liking and consequentially I did not swim.  A lot of people actually came out.

After we tried a yummy treat named poke, which in New Zealand is NOT raw fish!  It's more like kulolo in coconut cream.  Very delicious!

On Saturday we went to the swap meet, which was pretty cool.  There's lots of touristy stuff for cheap...I may or may not be getting souveneirs for you there, people!  It was still rainy so it wasn't nearly as crowded.  Then we went to a place called Crystal Mountain.  It's basically a museum and shop of different types of crystalized rocks; a geologist's dream.  We were there for about 20 minutes when all that there was to do was done, and then we kinda just wandered around until we got picked up again.  But the cafe was nice and it was good to not be walking around in the rain, I guess.

 

There were some huge rocks there!

The day cleared up a bit, and in the evening we went mini golfing by the airport.  Oh!  We also tried a deep fried Moro bar, which is like a cross between a 3 Musketeers bar and a Milky Way bar.  It was at some random Chinese take-out place.  It was yum-o!  But I did not finish it because it was way too much sugar and fat for one sitting.

It was pirate themed.

January 16

Saturday in Devonport!  It's a quaint town on the other side of Auckland; half the adventure is getting there!  We took the bus to the ferry, then the ferry to Devonport.  We got lunch (fish & chips and sushi) and hiked a bit to get some nice views of the city and enjoy our lunch.  We got some fun pictures up there, too.  Then we came back down and went for a quick swim at the beach; it was really hot by then.  We also got some gelato which was yum-o, also, the waffle cones were made fresh so that they're still warm when you get them.  Then we made our way back to they city and then home.  I think that night I watched the queen's new tv series, the Monarchy, and followed her around for half an hour.  Boring as heck, but long live the queen.

Waiting for the bus!

On the ferry back to Auckland city proper

A view of Auckland downtown from the opposite side of the bay

The thinker was actually Maori...

January 13

We were invited to dinner again by a nice family that Sam met at the YSA conference.  They are originally from South Africa but have been here for several years.  They are always very welcoming to us and feed us really good food.  After dinner we went for a walk at a nearby beach.




A pretty rainbow we saw on our way to school

A toilet-like seat with the family Roddings

One last look at the shore

January 11

Monday: we had a combined FHE with all the families hosting us BYU students.  It was a lovely evening for a potluck in the park.  I had my first try of fish & chips, New Zealand Chinese take-out, and all sorts of goodies that you find at potlucks.  The park is right next to the Auckland Zoo and the lions were right next to the fence.  We went for a walk through the park and got some nice pictures:

This is not Photoshopped!  It really was this nice in the park!

Below: Me, Sam, Angela, Jayna, Mekelle, and the bishop's wife, Monique

 Peeking through the forest

Our group and host families

January 9

The first YSA acitivity of the year for our ward, Lincoln Ward.  We went to Orewa Beach and had a picnic/day at the beach.  It was fun; we made new friends and got to soak up some sun.  Interestingly, the beach was rather shelly in the sense that there were shells all up and down the shore.  Also, the water was very shallow.  The sun is super intense here and fortunately we had lots of sunblock and shade, so I didn't get burnt.  But you can literally feel the difference in the intensity of the sun here! We got home in the evening and went for a jog.  It was a good day.

New Year

2010!
Happy New Year!  The first day of the new year found me traveling to Aotearoa/New Zealand.  The plane ride was quite pleasant as I had 2 meals and an endless supply of movies and music.  I arrived at 6 in the morning and finally made it out of the airport at 7. I had several items to declare as New Zealand is rather strict about what they let into their beautiful country.

On Sunday I met up with Sam at the hotel and we rested for a bit before going to the national YSA conference close by. We were able to listen to talks from Curtis Jacobs (CES speaker), Elder Nielson (Area Presidency) and President Porter (Auckland Mission President).  It was very uplifting and edifying, and everyone was very nice to us.

On Monday we finished at the YSA conference then went into downtown Auckland.  Everything is very expensive here!  I didn’t buy anything.

On Tuesday I met my host lady, Rosie, and her dogs.  Yes, they came along for the ride, too.  She took us to our new home in Waitakere City.  We live in a modest home and discovered that we actually were quite space efficient in our space.  Then we went to the movies to see The Lovely Bones; it was good.