Schools out for the Summer!

As usual, I am falling behind updating my blog!!

Before I get to the last week of school the weekend before Ellie and I went to Cape Kidnappers and did a quad bike tour! It was phenomenal! It was just Ellie and I and the tour guide. We stopped along the way to check out several sights including a great fishing spot that will be featured on...well I forget what show but some show, several gannets locations and also just to tell us general information about the surrounding area and land owners. It was so beautiful and really neat, we would just cruise on by sheep, cows, bulls and the like. Apparently the golf course there is also world famous and very challenging and several professional golfers go there including Tiger Woods. Ellie has most of the pics from that so I will post ASAP.

School


I finished up my student teaching last Friday the 16th! It was an awesome last week. The students mostly did team challenges and finished up any straggling work and we had fun whole school activities. No tests, no quizzes, no stress. It was great! We really just got to enjoy the each other. One day the years 7 and 8 made up games for the 5/6 (my class). They were done in small groups in rotations. My personal favourite was the rely. They had to bob for apples, then race through the playground equipment obstacle course with the apple in their mouth!!! It was so funny! The kids loved it! Another day the whole school had a BIG day out to celebrate the end of the year and everyone's hard work. We went to the Frimely Pool in Hastings. It was pretty boring for the teachers because we just walked around for hours while the kids played but that was nice for them. Even after 8 weeks it still cracks me up that the whole school at once. It is only 240  students. The year 5 and 6 only make two classes of 33 students each. Wednesday was the breakup or prize giving after school. During this time 3 students from each class are given a merit award for excellence. It is almost like a personal best but the teacher can personalize to recognize that students individual achievements. Between each years merits award two or three classes would do a "prize giving item" together. We have been practicing ours for quite awhile and I was excited to see how my students did with all the parents there. Our item was to the song "We are the Champions" by Queen. We did this with the All Blacks World Cup win in mind. The year 6 girls did a mini game of rugby in a circle of the rest of the students. While the girls played the circle did variations of the Mexican wave. It was really neat and they did awesome! We finished the week off with the leavers assembly. This was mainly dedicated to the year 8s that are going to high school but everyone that is not returning was given a little farewell.

Oh and I almost forgot...my host brother Nick also had a prize giving the week prior from Napier Boys High! He was given a scholarship for University next year! Congrats Nick and good luck at Vic! As I have said you will do awesome, definitely choose the right course of study! Love you!

Nick's Prize giving (Diane, Mel, Nick and John)

Holiday


My first night off from school, Friday, Ellie her host dad and sister and her dad came to my house for afternoon tea. It was so nice to visit with them before Ellie and her parents headed to the South Island!

Ellie as you know, I have had an amazing time with you in NZ. You have been an amazing travel buddy, friend, support and comedian. I love you and can't wait to spend more time with you when we get back to the good ol' US of A!  :)

So my first actual day of holiday, no rest for the weary. I still got up at 5:30am to do my morning trek with my host dad. I of course laid on the couch the rest of the day reading and napping! :) Thank goodness I did rest because that night "I went to town", literally, with my beautiful sister Mel and her friends for Mia's birthday! We had a great night hanging out, eating and dancing!
The rest of the week was filled with shopping, playing and just hanging out with my host family. This week was also full of good eats! Monday night: lamb from the neighbors paddock. Best lamb I have ever eaten. Tuesday night: fresh venison that had been marinating for two days. Although some of you have water mouths...sorry dad, still not my thing. After dinner Tuesday we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Not quiet the same as at home but it was still really nice and meant a lot to me that we all went together!

Wednesday and Thursday I spent with Ellie's host family! We spent the day hanging out and had Pippi's Pizza in Havelock North for dinner. We got three different pizzas to try, so naturally I ate way too much! But it was so nice! I apparently eat anything theses days, even mushrooms on pizza Abby!!! The next day we decorated gingerbread Christmas trees, Kate and I had lunch together and then went to the library. That evening we finished up some Christmas shopping and I headed back to Napier.

That night I took Nick and Matt to see Immortals, my treat for Christmas!! I know they really like it but I think I may have been equally as geeked to see it!!! It was sooo good!! And was really nice to spend time with my two brothers!

The weekend was spent preparing for Christmas and soon the family is heading to the beach for holiday!!!! I will elaborate later as my little fingers are hurting and I have other things to do! Pictures and more exciting news to come soon!!


All my love from NZ!! xoxo

Recent Adventures

Whoa! I am behind! Things have been so incredibly busy!

Year 5 Camp


I was really lucky to be invited to help at Puketapu's year 5 camp. It was a three day, two night camp at a girl guide camp location (aka girl scouts :)). My mentor teacher, 10 parents and myself took 32 students.

We spent the week prior getting the kids prepared organizing cabins, talking about potential hazards, how to make it fun for everyone, chores and general expectations. The kids were so excited! We left the school on a Wednesday morning and it was only a 20 minute drive to the camp. After the kids got settled in their dorms the activities started straight away. The first day consisted of 5 different rotations: river safety/crossing, river exploration, boat making, games and stone skipping (which turned into a water slide). The parents were in charge of the activities, while Nicky and I wandered to make sure the kids were following directions and having fun and they were having a blast! They were so on to it! They were so excited about all the activities and especially loved the impromptu water slide!!

That night after tea we made camp fires and roasted marshmallows! The kids complimented my phenomenal roasting skills! Thanks dad! That wasn't all though...we went eeling!!! You have to do this late at night. With our camp fire groups we found spots and went eeling. First I spotted a little fresh water lobster and then saw an eel! It bit my line but fell off when I pulled up, which was a bum! However, another group did catch an eel and back in the kitchen it was in the sink with its head cut off still moving! It was so cool!!

Thursday was the big day as we had our tubing adventure that everyone was looking forward to. We took about a 40 minute walk up stream, crossed the swing bridge and found a nice spot for lunch. After lunch the kids had an opportunity to swim and get used to the water. For the adults it was a time to numb our  legs for the hour and half tubing down steam. I was one of the lucky few who did not have a tube and had some of the best students in my group too. ;) I spent the hour and a half dragging the five students down stream and out of the way of the hazards. This was not my favorite part of camp needless to say. The kids really enjoyed as it was very relaxing for them and they loved being in the water. That night they smoked the eel and I tried it...it was umm nasty. That's all but I tried it. :)

That night was the camp concert, the kids had put together little skits and I started off the night with a cheer. They are really fascinated with American cheerleading so I figured what the hey! The skits were so cute and creative. The last day I tried Marmite for breakfast thanks to a few lovely students. It was quite the ordeal and all the kids gathered around. I believe my choice words for it were interesting, different and salty. Then we played a guys versus girls game of capture the flag with parents! That was heaps of fun! Then back to school.

When I got home I laid down for a rest at 6:30pm and did not wake up until 6:30am! I could not believe how long I slept. Camp is exhausting!

Wellington

The next day Ellie and I caught the bus to Wellington in Hastings (because we missed the one in Napier). When we arrived it was a beautiful sunshine day! We checked into our hostel and found we were in a room with four guys. Our room smelled so bad. One was from Canada, another from the UK and two others from Germany. After we got settled we walked to the super market to get lunch and had a picnic in a park. The park was great. It had these huge bean bags all over the place that you could just grab and lounge in. There was also I giant Christmas tree of lights in the center and telephones to call Santa! We spent the entire afternoon there just relaxing.

All Shook Up


That night we went shopping and just wondered around the town before going to a delicious Indian dinner. While at dinner the whole restuarant started shaking, walls and all. My thought processes Omg, can everyone feel that? is that an Earthquake? Aren't you like suppose to get under the table or in a doorway? Just as soon as these passed Ellie was freaking out that it was an Earthquake. It stopped as abruptly as it started and the waiters checked if we were alright. I could not believe I had actually been in an Earthquake. I felt I had officially experienced New Zealand at that point. :)


Museums and more


The rest of our time there was a mixture of fun and relaxation. We visited the Te Papa Museum, which is the National museum of New Zealand. My favorite feature was the giant squid, the eyeball was as big as a soccer ball!!! We also went to the theater to see Aladdin in Pantomime and did the Cable Car that took us up to a beautiful botanical garden.


This is the last week of school. Yesterday I went on a safe cycle trip with year 6. Our destination: pool, water slide and sausage sizzle. Today we had our BIG day out and the whole school went to the Frimely Pool for a fun day swimming. Tomorrow is prize giving, then the last two days will consist of team challenges, Christmas activities and on the last day all the teachers are going to room 11, the pub to celebrate the end of the year.

I cannot believe my time in New Zealand is almost up. Still working out plans for my last two weeks after school is out but I am getting very anxious to come and see everyone!

Love and Hugs from the Bay! xoxo

Time Flies!

She said luck is all you make it
You just reach out and take it
Now let's dance a while

She said nothing ever happens
if you don't make it happen
And if you can't laugh then smile

But after a while
You realize time flies
And the best thing that you can do
Is take whatever comes to you
'Cause time flies

That about sums up what has been going through my head. We are in week 6 at school! It is crazy. The year is winding down but by no means slowing down.

The Blustery Day!
The wind here is insane! I brought all these skirts and I cannot even wear them without someone seeing my knickers TGFL! (Thank God for Leggings!) I have never been anywhere this windy! On the news this women literally got blown over by the wind.

In other news, elections were on Saturday and John Key was re-elected for another 3 year term.

Double Digits

Popcorn Cake!

This Friday Ellie and I chaperoned her host sister's 10th birthday sleepover party! It was so fun and busy! Eleven, ten year old girls, whew! They swam in the pool, played pass the parcel, and other games while Ellie, Shaun (their neighbor) and I decorated the cake. The cake was a big hit! Not only did they eat cake but they decorated heaps of cupcakes and had tons of lollies! To wind down the night we did nails, hair and watched movies! It was so great to be a part of her special day and give her parents a break while we hosted. Thankfully, Lynda was home to get them to bed and make breakfast in the morning. I think all of New Zealand now knows that I do not function without sleep and am not a morning person!!

Birthday girl, Kate, Ellie and I!!

Staff "Do"

Puketapu on Tour

At the end of term the school staff has a social. I was fortunate enough to be "in the know" because my cooperating teacher is on the social committee. The theme was Puketapu on Tour. Ellie and I got picked up by the school bus and we toured around to different local places for drinks and activities with the rest of the staff. It started at the deputy principals with champagne and snacks and team challenges. The challenges included gutter ball, canoe polo (out of the water), shooting a gun at water balloons (I hit the target the first time!) and touching an electric fence for 2 minutes (those that participated were actually acting).

We then headed to a winery for golf, sketching, wine and breads, yum!! Golf was an epic fail but the wine was great! Following the winery activities we went to Pettigrew Green Arena for  Kiwiana themed activities and snacks. This included toss the gum boot, a hedge hog pineapple and cheese, pineapple lumps, kiwi dip and more!

I cannot remember what this lovely
 kiwi snack is called but they were very fun and yum! 

Our tour continued on to Park Island, which is a cemetery and park. Here we had spirits in the cemetery and played big ball soccer! At this point we were knackered and  headed back to the principals for take out and Kiwi sledding. Last stop, Westshore pub for dessert and more drinks! I opted out of both! I was stuffed!
Best part...when Ellie and I got home our bed had been short sheet-ed!!! We could not figure out what was going on! So we just went to bed.

A Kiwi Thanksgiving

Sunday was another busy day as Ellie and I were hosting an American Thanksgiving for our host families. We woke up and started baking and cooking straight away, three pies (apple, pecan and french silk) in addition to beautiful fruit trays and left over cupcakes. Lynda's mom brought a Pavlova, which is a New Zealand dessert kind of like Angel food cake but way more sugar.

Kate's teacher brought
us an American flag :)

 It was a beautiful combination of American and Kiwi. Instead of turkey we had chicken and had pumpkin for a veggie. We also ate outside because it was such a beautiful day, played rugby and went swimming after dinner. 

Coming Up


This week we have year 5 camp, which I am really excited about! The following week we will be finishing up our units of inquiry, doing team challenges, etc. I will be observing at Frimley and go to my host brothers prize giving. He just finished his last year of high school! This weekend Ellie and I will be travelling to Wellington and staying in a hostel. That'll be first! So lots of exciting stuff coming up.
Only a few weeks left...time flies!

Cheers!
xoxo

Hasting Happenings

I spent this last weekend relaxing with Ellie in Hastings and catching up with her host family. It was really nice to just hang out. Friday night was 11/11/11 so we bought scratch offs. As soon as we scratched them (I won all of $3) we went to bed to wake up for an early morning. 

Walking up Te Mata Peak

So if you remember my first weekend here we drove up Te Mata Peak and took pictures of the beautiful scenery. Well this Saturday morning Ellie, her host dad, sister and I woke up at 6am and were hiking up the gigantic hill by 6:30(ish). It was EXHAUSTING. It took us an hour to walk up and..... 15  minutes down! Haha! I felt so good and accomplished afterwards. My shirt was drenched in sweat! On the way home we stopped and got some lovely strawberries picked that morning! At home Lynda had a lovely breakfast prepared that we were so thankful for! 

That afternoon we headed to Napier for Kai in the Bay (Food in the Bay), a Maori food festival and shopping. At the festival I tried well, I'm not really sure what some of it was called, but among it was seaweed and sushi. We were also fortunate enough to be invited to eat with a table of elders and introduced to the whole tent. It was such an honor to be a part of the experience. Everyone was so kind and hospitable. Pictures to come. 

That night we made a nice healthy salad for dinner. Which of course was countered with homemade chocolate chip ice cream sundaes!! Ellie's host family had never had them so that was so fun! And delicious!

Despite our best intentions to go out that night, I feel asleep at an embarrassing 10:30 on the couch. 

Reports

Sunday we started off headed to my favorite place, The Hastings Farmers Market. I enjoyed a yummy pizza and Vitamin C fresh squeezed juice. I also bought lots of goodies to bring home for my lovely blog followers! :) The best surprise at the market was John Key, the Prime Minister came. Ellie was so brave and walked right up and introduced herself, so of course I followed suit and we got our photograph taken. He was very nice and personal. What a great experience! 

As much as I would love to say we went to the beach or swam with the sharks Sunday afternoon, I cannot. What we did was way more exciting and a great use of the our time here in New Zealand. We wrote reports for our lovely AI back at good ol' IU. 

That is about it for last week...

Teaching is going really, really well. Despite the differences I am adjusting quiet nicely. My cooperating teacher said I am much more relaxed and doing very well teaching and with classroom management. She also said despite my lack of concrete lesson plans I come very prepared every day! Who knew I could teach without those things!?

A lot is coming up at school including Interschool athletics Wednesday, Pet Day on Thursday, Puketapu School Athletics next Wednesday, Camp, Staff Social and much more.

Ttfn! 

Lots of love and kisses.

Camping in Taupo

Our goodies! Mmmm

This weekend Scott, Ellie and I headed on our next adventure to Taupo, a small lake town north of Hawkes Bay. Although it is a lake town it was too chilly to actually do anything on the lake! We rented a car and drove up Friday evening after school. First stop the iSite to grab brochures and pamphlets and eat! We were starving! We went to Hell's pizza and got a yummy vegetarian pizza, garlic bread and squid rings. The pizza and garlic bread was great...squid rings I tried but not so much. Then to our campsite to set up our tent before it got too dark. Scott found a great place just outside of the town that was free! No showers but it was right on the river. We were not quick enough and did end up having to set up in the dark a little but we figured out. Then headed back to the grocery store for breakfast food and goodies for that night.
Friday night we had no plans so we curled up in pjams and our sleeping bags and drank wine and cider and munched on Tim Tams and Whittakers caramel chocolate until we fell asleep. It was a perfect way to spend our night after a long week!

Why live life on the edge when you can jump off?


Saturday we had big plans! The main event was the cliffhanging. Skydiving was a little pricey and there is no way I am doing bungy, so this is the other option Scott found. To see more about what it is you can check out the link. Also, Ellie got a DVD that hopefully I can burn.

http://www.taupobungy.co.nz/

So with this on our schedule at noon, we woke up early and planned our day around it. First stop, Huka Falls. The Huka Falls is the largest falls on the Waitako River and they supply 15% of New Zealand's power. Also, if I remember correctly the river is dammed and supply's a great deal of power to the North Island, which is pretty cool. The falls were beautiful and the water was white and so pure blue. It was spectacular.

The beautiful falls! Can you see the rainbow?

After the falls we had to head to Taupo Bungy for our Extreme Swing Experience. I was freaking out! I love roller coasters but this was almost like a free fall and I hate falling. Ellie and I went first together. We freaked out the whole time. When they dropped us Ellie screamed and I curled up in a ball!!! We got a DVD and it is hilarious to watch! Once we got to swinging though it was really neat. There were pigeons in the side of the cliff and we just swung back and forth over the water. I was so proud of myself and glad I did it! Scott went after us and said he was nervous but you couldn't tell. He walked up to the platform like he owned! It was awesome! Thanks Scott and Ellie!!!

Oncoming traffic!!


After our adrenaline rush we were all starved so we went town for lunch and shopping. I was feeling quiet brave after this endeavor and decided I was ready to drive on the left hand side of the road! I had to think really hard and kept accidentally turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker! Oops! But I did manage to stay on the correct side of the road and get us to our destination safely. After a yummy Thai lunch we went to the thermal springs for the afternoon.
The thermal springs are natural hot springs and they were hot! It was so relaxing and felt so good. While there we decided to mingle and made friends with four students at the university in Hawkes Bay! We exchanged numbers and hopefully will meet up with them in the Bay sometime.

"Ellie will you be my full length mirror?"

All the heat took it out of us, so it was a quick dinner and a nap before hitting the pubs. Two unfortunate things about this situation... One there really are not full length mirrors in New Zealand...at least not that I have seen, except at the gym. On top of that we were at a free campground that had no showers...

So we used some wipes and we girls did our hair and makeup in the car! It was quite funny. Ellie and I had to check each other’s makeup and Scott just sat there patiently waiting. Poor guy. Once we were all ready I realized I could not give my thrown together self a once over, so naturally I hopped out of the car and asked Ellie to be my full length mirror!



Once we got to the pubs...no cover by the way! It was a quick shot and straight to the dance floor! Ellie and Scott have an equal amount of passion for dancing so we are a perfect trio! We danced the night away!! It was a perfect Saturday night! When we got back to the camp sight we were knackered! Ellie and I didn't even bother going back into our cold tent we curled up in our sleeping bags in the front seats and Scott slept on the cold hard tent floor...he didn't seem to mind though.

Sunday we packed up and headed out for a big breakfast at a cafe. Eggs Benedict, poached stacker, muffins, lamb pie and salad! Yummy!  At this point we were still so tired but felt the need to do at least one more activity before heading home. Since it was raining it was off to the Huka Honey Hive! And yah we did! They had heaps of samples and it was all inside. Not only could you try all different kinds of honey they had honey lotions and candy and all sorts of other things. It was the neatest little shop. I got some honey soap and lotion and my skin is now so soft!

After the hive we couldn't go any further but home. Thank you Jelly B for driving home!!!! I spent the rest of my Sunday resting after a long weekend!

Finding my niche

As you all have been reading everything has been going great. However, there are times when I have been a tad home sick and missing you guys! I found the perfect quote to lift my spirits...

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you."  ~Frederick Buechner

So just know I am thinking of you all and love you very much!

Also, as things have picked up at school, I have been feeling much better to. And today sooo much happened!!

Basketball

Some of you have heard that I was asked to coach basketball and most of you laughed. (As did I.) However, today was out first practice and it went really well. There are 16 kids on two coed teams, years 5/6. Today we worked on dribbling and getting control of the ball. They knew the basics but were so worried about going fast they kept losing the ball or dribbling to high. So we talked about what good dribbling looks like and then ran drills. Even in that short time many kids improved. We also did a little with passing, but not too much.   It was so fun! I've never been very athletic but I know basic skills and apparently really like coaching! The kids have a game on Monday and I cannot wait to be on the sidelines cheering them on! It will also be really good to see what else they need to work on. Unfortunately though, we are limited to drills that do not include shooting until Tennis is over because they are on the same court. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully, I will be writing soon saying my fabulous team has won a game. But don't count on that happening on Monday :) 

The best part about my coaching today was they all thanked me and some even said that it really helped! That always makes you feel pretty good! 

USA Inquiry Unit

My unit is off to a wonderful start! The kids already know so much about US tourism! So far we have read three short articles. One was on overview of the US and the other two were specific tourist locations. We practiced how to take notes and not just copy the text word for word. This will be so helpful when they start their research. Then today we brainstormed as a class a list of possible places they could choose. Being the prepared teacher I am, I made a list of about 15 places just in case. It was totally unnecessary. They had a ton of fantastic ideas and places they wanted to see and learn more about. Some I didn't even know about, like M&M world in Vegas. They were so enthusiastic! Also, I allotted about 20 minutes to brainstorm. I usually teach in short chucks because they can only focus so long, but they used the whole block of time from morning tea until lunch, that is about an hour! The cool thing about that, besides the fact that they were so engaged they could stay focused for that long, but I did not have to stop them because we were pressed for time. The New Zealand curriculum has much more flexibility and really focuses on digging deep into a subject and not just surface level. You can stretch out lessons and adjust as needed. Of course they do have deadlines but mostly it is all really flexible, which is great!!!!! (And fun fact...new teachers in New Zealand get one day off a week to plan. We should implement this in the States!! All you teachers know why!) 

So now that I am teaching I am feeling much more at home. I also forget how much I love teaching until I actual start up again. And I do love it so very much. 

Kapa Haka Festival

Tonight was the annual Kapa Haka festival and Puketapu School had a group of students preforming, five of which are in my class. There were seven schools total and all did at least two dance/songs. It was unbelievable. At one point I actually almost cried, despite the fact the entire show was in Maori and I couldn't understand a dag-on thing. It was really beautiful to see the students dressed up in traditional Maori clothing and having such pride, even the none Maori students. One thing I found really neat was to show fierceness or scare opponents, they stick their tongues out and bulge their eyes. It was so neat to see the kids do this, especially these beautiful young girls. I wish I could explain it  better but it is just so neat. 

I am sure I have more to say but I am completely knackered and have a long day tomorrow. Up early for a run, school, then off to Taupo for the weekend with Ellie and Scott. 

Love and Kisses from New Zealand!!!

Sarah

One week down...

Oh boy, I'm not off to a very good start keeping up with my blog friends! So sorry! I am still alive and all is well! My host family is absolutely wonderful, feeling right at home and comfortable.
It has been a busy first week and enjoyable weekend. I will try and just hit highlights and not ramble to much!!! Complete photo albums should be one Facebook by the end of this week too.

School
Okay let's see...last week at school was great! It was really hard getting adjusted at first, but it is a beautiful school and the students and staff have been so welcoming. On Friday we played a game called "Pass the Smile". The students pass a ball, with a big smiley face on it, to a classmate and give a genuine compliment. If they don't have one they can choose to skip and let someone else have a go. One big smile passed my way when a student tossed it to me complimenting me for "adjusting so well to the school and community" and thanked me for helping him with his spelling. All the students gave great compliments to each other as well. It was a really neat way to build classroom community and get the students to communicate in a positive way. Definitely something I would love to incorporate.
Also last week during assembly Friday afternoon (which is held every week) the kapa haka group shared. This is a group of students who practice the haka, which is a traditional Maori dance. It was absolutely amazing seeing the students taking it so seriously and really giving it their best. The haka may be one of the most fascinating, intriguing, beautiful dances I have ever seen. I could watch it over and over again!! It is very different to what we think if as dance.Also, I learned there is more than one type of haka and it is not just exclusive to Maori individuals. So I really wish I had a video of the students but bad news....I forgot my camera. Good news, kapa haka group will still be practicing until the end of term! :)
Check out the Youtube link of the All Blacks, New Zealands Rugby team if you want to see it. It is different than the one the students did but none the less.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49M5MByiqfY

This week at school I began teaching! When I first arrived the students had a gazillion questions about the US, which sadly I couldn't answer. Mostly they were have I been here or there, so I turned their curiosity into a unit on tourism in the US. I introduced the unit today and they are really excited to get started. The focusing question is: If you could visit one place in the United States where would you go and why? Students will be able to choose where they want to visit and do research answering the 7 servants (what, when , why, how, etc.) Then they have to make a travel brochure and write a persuasive piece on why it is the best place to travel. It is more in depth than that, but you get the gist! They already have some great ideas but we are taking it slow. There is a lot more time and flexibility here to really dive deep into units and I am excited to see how it goes! Tomorrow short readings about the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon to practice note taking skills! Yahoo!

Weekend in the Bay
This weekend my host family invited Ellie and Scott, two other IU student teachers in Hawkes Bay, to stay with us. Although we all want to do lots of travel we decided to take our first weekend easy, get familiar with the area, discuss future travel plans and catch up on anything that needed done (yes, already trying to catch up). Friday my older host brother, Matt, took us down to the pubs in Napier. Apparently though the night to go out is Saturday.

Scott and I at the Thirsty Whale.
First drinks out in New Zealand! Thanks Matt!

We had a few drinks and with the lack of people and Ellie and I, dare I say yawning at 9:30pm, headed in for an early night. Once we got back to the house we made the valiant effort to stay up until at least midnight and barely made it! I couldn't believe it, three college students ready to hit the sack so early! In our defense, it had been a long week! 

 

Saturday we slept in and my host mom, Diane, made us a fantastic breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, tomatoes, avocados and beans! We enjoyed both the breakfast and the beautiful view from the picnic table outside! Following our hearty breakfast we hiked to the top of Sugarloaf and then walked into town...for lunch and to buy groceries for dinner. (There has been a lot of eating since I have arrived. The food is amazing! So fresh and delicious! 

Some of our yummy breakfast!

Sitting outside Four Square enjoying
our first taste of a
Whittaker's Caramel Chocoalte Bar!!!

We planned to make dinner for my host family and using the selection available were trying to think of a typical American meal. We settled with homemade pizza and dirt! The dirt was definitely a new treat and the three of us really enjoyed cooking a meal for them! 

Dirt with snakes and a strawberry.
 (They don't have worms.)

Matt, Scott, John (dad), Nick, me and Ellie
(Diane, my host mom , was at work and Mel,
host sister, is still at University)

Better than the dinner was the fabulous company and conversation! We finished the night with a New Zealand film "Boy", which I would highly recommend. It's a sad one though.

Sunday we were up bright and early for a busy, fun filled day! We started by going to one of my very favorite places here, the Farmer's Market! We enjoyed toasted bacon sandwiches, fresh squeezed juice and truffles for breakfast!! (And of course sampled other goodies along the way.) I purchased two varieties of strawberries, which was pretty exciting as they are my favorite fruit and some truffles! (Which come to think of it, I still have a peppermint truffle in the fridge..mmmm morning tea tomorrow!)
After the Farmer's Market we got ready for a day of biking. John, my host dad, set a route up for us to do a bike riding winery tour. It included three wineries, one brew house and a chocolate shop. The weather was perfect and we were ecstatic to go! We started biking on the board walk next to the Pacific Ocean. It was gorgeous! You could see the mountains, blue sky, sea. Perfection. We stopped to dunk our toes in and then head to our first stop, the Filter Room. Here they had a beer sampler where you could choose six different beers! Ellie and I split one and Matt and Scott one. Then we were off again. We stopped at the second winery, Brookfields, where we got a personal tour! We saw the french oak barrels the wine sits in for 12 to 18 months, the packaging room, the big silver things that I can't remember the name, but the purpose is to get the sediment to settle at the bottom to have pure wine or something like that. And we even got to dunk our fingers in a big oak barrel to taste the wine that is not even bottle yet! "Sweet az"! From there we headed to Silky Oak Chocolate Factory (on the top of the recommendations from my students). The chocolate was amazing. My personal favorite that I tried, Boysenberry cream filling! We ate our chocolates there, so they wouldn't melt in the hot sun and headed to Church Road Winery. Quick stop there, then to The Mission, the oldest winery in New Zealand, for a late lunch and of course wine! Then back home. (Church Road Winery and The Mission are at the bottom of the hill I live on.) Total distance biked, 23 k. And we walked our bikes up the monstrous hill to get home! I would say all in, all successful day of guilt free drinking and eating! Doesn't get much better!

Other Tidbits

• I have been asked to coach basketball at the school! If you know me you know how hilarious that is!! Thankfully, it is not high school, so I don't need to remember where point guard is or any other positions for that matter or teach them how to set up picks. Just basic dribbling, shooting (which I'm not too bad at, if I stand still), and passing. I think it is manageable! 
• Funny gym story: I went to lift weights this morning and picked up the free weights labeled 12. I could not figure out why they seemed so heavy. Had a I really lost that much muscle mass in a week? So I was humble and moved to the 10s. Still it seemed really difficult and yet again moved to the 8s. At this point when I was struggling I knew something was up. They just seemed so heavy.....and they were! Because they were in kilograms not pounds! 2.2lbs=1kg. I was trying to lift more than twice as much as I normally do! I did still get a great resistance training workout in after I figured out my mistake. The gym has a great core section and after all the drinking from the weekend was much needed! :)

I think that about covers it! Whew! I will try to keep it updated more frequently so you can read in smaller chunks! Thanks for reading! Miss you all!!

xxxooooo

Cheers,

Sarah