A Hotdog's a Hotdog's a Hotdog

So much to catch up on! So right after I updated last, on Saturday morning, I made the nice 30 minute hike (I say hike and not stroll because while it was an incredibly beautiful walk through Howick neighborhoods, there was a hill a half mile long and practically vertical in steepness I had to conquer along the way) anyways, the hike to where Amy was taking her sailing test! As soon as I got to the beach, she was sprinting towards me on the beach shouting that there were killer whales out in the water! She was SO excited because she had never seen them before! They were flipping up their tails and you could see the water spray up from their pray holes! SO freaking awesome! Then she was back in the water for the next 3 hours to complete her test while I was happy as a little clam on the beach snapping photo after photo. Families and people with their dogs came and went, strolling along the beach, visiting with each other; it was so casual and peaceful. The weather went from sunny and beautiful to rolling gray clouds, a lot of wind, a few sprinkles and back to sunny and warm over the course of the 3 hours. I think because the island is so small and the wind is so constant, that the weather is just always changing, especially over that beach. Then Amy came running back up the beach in the same fashion as before yelling something about a hair appointment in “TWO MINUTES!!” haha so we ran to the car where she hopped in the car in her “togs” (aka bathing suit) and drove off barefoot to her hair appt! (She did later put on pants and her UGG boots haha)

The HUGE hill I "got" to walk up

She had a hair appt, I chilled and wandered for a bit to find us lunch. Then we went back to the house to shower and head to her Mom and step dad’s house to get ready for her and Brett’s engagement party with her sisters! Her mom’s house is beautiful and her sisters were so much fun! We were all packed in the upstairs bathroom having Champaign and doing each other’s hair and makeup. Her sister’ names are Laura and Sarah and she has a step sister named Maddy who is 17. After we were all beautified we headed to the bar where they had their party! They had this room rented out and it was all decorated! They had music (mostly from America haha) going and food being served all night, so many people came! I must admit I was a bit nervous going into the night because I had been in NZ for only 2 ½ days and knew very few people, but everyone was so warm and welcoming. Of course they wanted to talk to the random American and find out what I was doing there! It’s crazy how Kiwi’s know a lot about America and most of them have been there but very few Americans have actually been to NZ. I am sure this is because America is so huge and if we vacation we can just head to somewhere else in the same country, but New Zealanders are pretty well traveled, it’s awesome. Anyhow, I ended up hanging out mostly with Amy’s younger sister Laura who is 21 and Jodi, one of Amy’s friends who is also my age! We had such a good time!

  

Next morning we were off to Brett’s parents’ house for breakfast and to open gifts! Brett’s family is nothing short of welcoming, and amusing! They remind me a lot of Michael’s family J Brett has an older brother Allen who is great as well. We had fried ham, fried eggs, corn fritters, and toast and of course tea J Hot tea is such a big deal over here. Guess the British’s influence must have really rubbed off. I suppose we still would be huge tea drinkers if it weren’t for their crazy taxes and the Boston Tea party that ruined all the fun for us Americans. (jk, kind of) After breakfast and opening all the presents, the 4 “kids” headed off to the movies. No worries the tickets are a mere $17 NZD, their concessions are just as expensive, and they don’t have slurpies. I will say the theater was really nice. We saw Hangover II, which is course, is hilarious. Funny though, they don’t have much of a film industry, so all the movies showing are American. They even had a preview for a movie “coming soon” that I just saw in theaters in the states! I must admit, I felt pretty special. Back to the house for a spa and movie night, so relaxing before my first day in the classroom.

So today was the big day- my first day in the classroom. I have to say anything after having Mrs. Maxwell would be a bit of a letdown, and I’ll leave it at that. Overall, the day was fantastic though. I love the little Kiwi kids! Their accents are adorable. They do a WHOLE LOT different over here. First of all their scool day starts at almost 8am, SO refreshing! I did “road patrol” with my mentor teacher, but all we had to do was basically watch the kids do it! I quickly found the students do a whole lot more for themselves/on their own than American students. Also, the kids either walk to school or get dropped off by their parents, there is no bus system provided by the school or district. We started off the day with attendance and morning meeting of sorts, normal enough, but then we headed outside for physical fitness time! They do not have specials like we do (music, art, PE etc) they get that periodically, but most of it is up to the individual teacher! So out we went to run around on the blacktop and play some games for about 15 minutes! The way the classrooms buildings are all set up they are like all little cottage clusters so each room has tons of windows and a door outside, everything is very open, it’s nice.

Back inside for poetry and then at 10:40-11 morning tea! All the teachers get together for tea and snacks while the children play outside! This is by far the BEST idea I have ever heard of and strongly believe the US should adopt this act. It’s the perfect opportunity to detox and relax before continuing on with the day. What a lovely surprise. Then was spelling rotations and a couple other things before lunch. And oh yeah, lunch hour is literally an hour. As in 60 minutes. And 60 minutes Kiwi time is the same as 60 full American minutes. No tricks. No conversion fees. Straight up ONE HOUR for lunch. The kids go outside to eat what they brought from home and then get to run around and play. Teachers rotate outside duty and the rest of the time is theirs. WOW.

The rest of the day flew by after that and I left the school day at 2:30 with more energy than I ever left an American classroom! Haha, I’m sure every day will not pass with as much ease, but let me tell you what, tea time and an hour for lunch makes the world go round a bit smoother.

So after a wonderful day in the classroom Amy and I were off to spend some of the “Vouchers” (aka gift cards) her and Brett received from their party. Then we happened to end up in a mall and did a little Kiwi shopping. The “incredible deals” and “cheap prices” are the equivalent to our normal prices unfortunately. Good news- they have Starbucks. Sad news- they wouldn’t accept my American Starbucks gift card. L

Home to make “American Hotdogs” haha they are all the same, but for some reason, if u ask for a “hotdog” over here, you will get a corndog. So what we think of as hotdogs are called “American Hotdogs” here. I was incredibly sad to find that they do not have ANY, I repeat, NO form of ANY kind of pre-made macaroni and cheese packages. No Velveeta shells, no Easy Mac, nothing. Amy promised we would make homemade macaroni instead. So we got home and were making the Hotdogs and I asked when we were making the macaroni n cheese and Amy said “Tomorrow”. And I said “but we are having the hotdogs tonight?” And Amy did not understand why I would have BOTH hotdogs AND macaroni together, that was way too much! And I told her if my family was eating hotdogs we would also have macaroni and baked beans and maybe tater tots and pickles or something haha. No wonder America is so fat. So we just had Hotdogs, and I had some BBQ chips I bought for my lunches… of course Amy thought that was bizarre too. I love combining cultures! We just laugh at each other constantly- “wait… you do WHAT?!?” and “Why would you do THAT?!?” haha it’s entertaining.

Trying out their new fondu set!

Wierd New Zealand Hotdogs with cheese on top?

Alrighty, I believe that’s all for now. I don’t think anyone signed up to read a novel, so Mom, this is all for you because I am sure you are the only one who reads it start to finish. They won’t all be this long, I just got carried away. LOVE YOU!