First Day in Auckland!

Monday morning I left the Salt Lake Airport and headed to LA where we had a 9 hour layover. We had lots of time to play games, perform yoga moves, and headstands for other people waiting.

During our long wait my friend Heidi and I started to get hungry so we headed towards the Burger King sign. There we met none other than Bon Qui Qui’s twin!!! Bon Qui Qui, for anyone who doesn’t know, is from the funniest youtube video ever that my cousins Kylie and Alex shared with me, Bon Qui Qui at King Burger from SNL. She was shouting orders out such as “I got two tenna grrils” which meant two tender grilled chicken sandwiches. When it was my turn to order I asked her how much French fries were.

She looked at us and said “I dun no, what size you want.”
My friend Heidi and I replied, “a medium please, how much is a medium fry.”
The same response came, “uh I dun no.”
We had to get a picture with this lady :)

Finally we got to board the plane for a 13 hour flight. I struggled getting to sleep at all during our night flight, and the dinner consisted of a sketchy chicken with fluffy food storage like potatoes (sorry dad- food storage food is not my favorite), a frozen yet soggy salad, and a dessert that I took one bite of and then tossed to the side. So I didn’t get to eat much. I’m not sure I want to do that flight again so I might be stuck here ha.

Once I stepped off the plane it was all worth it though! It is so beautiful here. The trees are amazing, there are palm trees everywhere, and the air smells like flowers! The accent of the people here so fun to listen too! I could listen to these people talk all day long! The only problem here is the humidity. I was sweating and greasy the moment we stepped off the plane. The Bringhurst sweat genes are really kicking in unfortunately.

Phyllis (the lady we are living with) is so wonderful! She made a cute room for Christine and me to share! There were smiling stuffed animal monkeys on our beds to greet us when we got in!

Then we gave Phyllis our presents which she loved and talked with her about her family. Then Christine and I set out on a walk to see the park near our house. Phyllis has been so gracious to take us in! She is an elderly lady who was widowed a year ago. She has had an amazing life though. She served a mission for her Christian church for 12 year in India working with a leper colony and helping with other medical difficulties there. She was a physician for many years and after she retired she began a school chaplain, where she helps guide and counsel with the students at the school I will be helping next month! Phyllis is very reserved and proper though. It takes a lot of questioning to find much out about her, but she is always willing to help us. She has put in a lot of effort helping us get wireless internet, finding public bus routes, making lunches for school, and anything else we need.

So far I have been loving everything about New Zealand! The girls I came here with are wonderful, my host family Phyllis has been so sweet, and the area is beautiful!