Friends at the Beach

Friday was a half day of class so to celebrate we had a "New Zealand" lunch meaning our director brought in a bunch of food for us to try that is strictly Kiwi made but that turned into a variety of stuff. So we had more meat pies (Mom- it's so good you got those mini pie makers for Christmas because I'm going to use that ALL THE TIME when I get home just a heads up :) ), veggie mite (again eat in very small quantities), L&P (kind of like sprite), doughnuts (long and filled with custard so "yum" as they say), golden kiwis (sweeter and not hairy), tim tams (best cookies ever!), pavlova (cake but more a hardened meringue), banana custard pies, and milo for tim tam slams. It was delicious.

Later that afternoon we had an outing with Julie and Beau to the beach. Julie invited on of her friends who has a daughter similar in age to Beau who also has down syndrome. The beach that we went to was very calm and shallow so that the kids could play. They brought chocolate and cake and juice for a snack.  Julie and her friend stayed on the beach mat while we took the kids out swimming. It was hilarious because Beau kept pretending to be a shark and trying to scare us. He would jump out of the water and splash us and then JC (the girl Beau's age) would start screaming because she hated getting splashed. She started just latching onto our backs and hiding behind us when she would see Beau approaching. We played games in the water until the moms said it was time to go. Julie dropped Beau of at her sister's house for the night and left Sara and I ate the beach to walk around and enjoy the water. Later that night after dinner Sara and I watched an old Cary Grant movie called Mother Goose. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. It's hilarious and of course it has Cary Grant :).

I'm so glad I'm living with Beau. He has already taught me so much about working with people who have special needs. His ability to love and serve is out of this world. He loves introducing us to people and he always says "these are my friends Sara and Katelyn." I used to be uncomfortable with people like Beau because I was never quite sure what to do or say but Beau is teaching me that I can just be myself. I love watching Julie work with Beau because she is so patient and loving. I've decided that all parents who have special needs children are saints since it is such an exhausting job. But it's also one of the greatest blessings at least that's what Julie tells me and from watching her I can tell that it's true.

Goal: 20lbs and Internet

Thursday! After our literature class we finished our homework (it's SO nice only have one subject to worry about at a time!) and we headed over to our director's house to skype the family. Internet here is really different than from the states. People have internet plans but instead of getting unlimited internet they only get a certain amount of GB and once those are gone there are a lot of fees to pay and the internet gets a lot slower. It's been a bit strange to get used- to meaning it's hard to know how to use the internet when you think of using GB instead of time limits. Basically this means we can check our email and facebook often but skyping or streaming videos takes up a lot so I can't do it very often. Interesting huh? It's always the little things that we take for granted. It's amazing to think that no matter where you are across the world it's possible to talk to anyone anywhere as long as there's internet/cell service. My roommate's brother got his mission call- Taiwan! Super exciting! It was good to see the family and wish Anna a happy 18th birthday!

After I hung up, the family that our director lives with invited us to eat dinner (nachos) with them. They have 4 kids under 8 and it was super fun! The dad works for the church education system and is from Tonga and the mom is American and is super human managing the kids. The dad is super funny and kept teasing us :) He said that as girls we always think that we need to lose weight- he told us that his goal for us Americans is to gain 20 pounds before we leave. His direction to us (and I quote) "Do not eat until you are full. Eat until you are tired!" Haha well we did eat the ice cream they gave us but I'm staying away from the tired advice. It was so much fun to be in that family environment with young kids and to play with them after dinner. They call our director America and we don't have names only BYU girl 1 and BYU girl 2. We went home and ended up staying up late talking to Julie. She told us some really funny stories about Beau :). She's is such an incredible woman! I feel really lucky to have her as a host mum.

Basketball and Setting Apart

Tuesday night Camilla invited us to come play basketball with the YSA. We hadn't finished our homework yet so we did the responsible thing and brought it with us :). Sara jumped in to play with them right away (she's 6ft) but I played it a little bit more conservative and made friends on the side lines. They randomly make teams and then play to five baskets. The winning team stays on the court and plays another random group. Sara stayed on the court with her team for an hour! They were all impressed with her skill and everyone would shout Go BYU or call her BYU as she made baskets. It was hilarious! The Kiwi boys were crazy players jumping all around the court, yelling a gibberish mixture of English and Maori. The YSA were pretty awesome and a bunch of them came up to talk to us. It was super fun. We didn't get home until kind of late... but it was so fun!

Then Wednesday Camilla invited us to come with her to her friend's setting apart as a missionary. We were a little apprehensive because usually a setting apart just involves family and close friends but she told us that there would be a lot of people there so we decided to go. We pulled up to the parking lot (car park) and there were so many cars. The chapel was very full as we walked it. It was the coolest experience to go! We sang a song and had a prayer and then the bishop spoke followed by the missionary's mum. Afterwards the stake president set apart the missionary. The spirit filled the chapel- oh it was amazing! A bunch of young men then sang a musical number followed by the testimony of the missionary. The stake president (random note- he is the personal body guard of NZ's prime minister. He looks the part too :) ) spoke last followed by a song and a prayer. Then came the food. Lots and lots of it! There were so many people to meet and so many new things to try. The best part came at the end when a bunch of the missionary's friends gathered and presented a haka for the missionary. It was so incredible! Sara had never seen one before so it was a bit of a surprise for her but she enjoyed it. Such an awesome experience! 

Pack and Save

We stopped by the cheapest grocery store in NZ and here are some of the things we found: milo (kind of like hot chocolate), gummy airplanes, fish heads (apparently a treat thankfully our host mum doesn't like them), yogurt in funky containers, kiwi fruit juice, banana or mint chocolate or Carmel or lime flavored milk, chicken flavored chips (I'll try those tomorrow), fridge mate sprite, hokey pokey ice cream (so so so delicious!! It's honey suckle flavor), and different kinds of bread including olive bread. You know just your traditional foods....

Tena koe

What a day!! Our classes were only from 8 to 1130 and it was an introduction/welcome to New Zealand culture from a native kiwi (what they call themselves). After a breakfast of milo (like hot chocolate but not as sweet) and wheet bix (like shredded wheat without the sugar) and toast with some marmite (a yeast spread they love that I would recommend in very small amounts) Sarah and I walked to the chapel from our house only about a 15 minute walk. We laughed on the way out because we didn't have to worry about jackets or ice or freezing in general. It was a beautiful perfect day. It only gets up to the 70s with a super mild climate. Not really humid but not dry just perfect!

Class consisted of our literacy professor with help from her daughter teaching us Maori (the native NZ people) words like kai- food and hongi- the traditional Maori greeting of pressing foreheads and noses together which we practiced. We played a traditional children's stick game and we learned the national anthem in both English and Maori (look it up on YouTube it's God Defend New Zealand). We talked about traditional foods and customs. Our host mum is awesome at bringing us into the culture and helping us try all of the new things. I've learned so many new things college is high school here and the trunk of a car is the boot. The highway is the motorway and people say heaps instead of lots.

We only had half a class today which left plenty of time for the beach!!! We hopped into some cars and drove 30 minutes to Milton beach. The water was gorgeous and the huge mountain you see is a dormant volcano. The waves were pretty calm and the water perfect. The sun is a lot stronger here and a bunch of the girls already had sunburns from a previous beach trip so they hung out in the shade but we ended up convincing them to come swim in the water. It was pretty windy but awesome!! The picture of the city is Auckland and its so pretty!

I rode home with Erika and after dropping off some of the girls she bought me some of the best ice cream I've ever had (because all the girls had had some when they first arrived in country)! It was so creamy and full of fresh mixed fruit that had just been picked. I decided that food in the US well just isn't that great. Here you can taste the difference and its so much better!! What a great way to spend the first day of class :)

Time Warp

It's a very strange feeling- skipping a day of your life. Even though we went to church I've still had to constantly remind myself that today is Sunday January 6. Then you throw in jet lag and trying to figure out when you can talk to the family via FaceTime (5 hours ahead minus a day) and its a mess. I'm not that jet lagged though. I think it's a lot easier to travel almost a full day ahead than going 6 or 8 hours difference.

The flights weren't bad. Even the 14 hour one from Los Angeles to Sydney. I had the window seat and the middle seat next to me was open. Couple that with a pillow pet and some sleeping pills and i was set. We flew through the night and it was so weird to look out the window and only see blackness not a shingle light anywhere for hours. That is until i woke up several hours later and saw the australian coastline as the sun was rising. Sydney was a bit crazy because if you are catching another flight you have to go through this liquids check point where they make sure you're not carrying anything you shouldn't you know over the 3oz limit (no idea what that is in liters). I probably heard at least 50 different languages being spoken all around as I headed to my gate.

The flight from Sydney to Auckland is about 3 hours. We had our safety video hobbit style which was quite amusing. If you have seen it just check out air New Zealand video on YouTube and it should pop up. As we flew in we flew over most of the north island and boy was it stunning! Getting off and walking through the airport was like walking through middle earth. They have artwork and stone carvings everywhere with elvish symbols. I had some minor excitement because my suitcases didn't make it with me but I got them today so it worked out. Always carry extra clothes in your carry on!! It saved my life :)

The family I'm staying with is awesome! The mum is Julie and all but one of her eight kids have grown and left home. Some live here in town and others in Australia. Her youngest is Beau and he's 11. Beau has Down syndrome but is such a sweet boy and does all he can to make us feel welcome. Julie and Beau stay at a small house right behind ours. We sleep on the main floor of the house with a girl living across the hall from us and a young family with 3 kids living upstairs. Everyone knows everyone it's so cool.

Today at church Julie's oldest son and her youngest brother both had babies blessed. After church we gathered at her son's house and had the largest family gathering/dinner I've ever been too! The food was so delicious. It was definitely a challenge to keep everyone straight let alone pronounce all of their names correctly :) but it was super fun!

Tomorrow starts our first day of class and its only a half day so we're planning a beach trip for the afternoon!! I can't wait!!

24 bazillion flight hours later....

I made it! More on the flight adventures after I get through customs. I'm here!!!!