Kayaking Weekend

Thursday after school Whitney suggested a great idea… Group work out video- thank you Jillian Michaels!  With Jillian Michael’s (from the biggest loser) work out video all 16 of us stayed after school at the church to get an extra good work out.  We were quite the sight.  But we could feel it in our calves the next few day, we got worked!  There is no other bond like the one that comes from sweating together as you dance along with a video!

Friday night the BYU American girls decided to attend a big YSA (young single adult) activity!  It was called a Milo-Side.   Milo is a warm drink that they like here that is similar to hot chocolate.  When we got to the milo-side to our disappointment we found that the milo had been replaced with soda because the soda was cheaper ha.  But besides the switch in treats the activity was great!  We started out with games and a little “mingle jingle.”  We have a friend from our ward that calls the social interaction at these activities mingle and jingling.  He is probably one of the biggest guys I have ever seen but so nice and is always entertaining us.  After the games we had our first New Zealand Dance Party!!! I was so excited to dance with all my girls but I was a little bit shocked how shy the New Zealanders were at dancing.  It took some forward American girls to get a few of the guys to dance.  Our friend Daniel, who is from Zimbabwe and a few other Kiwis joined us occasionally.  But all the study abroad girls could have had fun even if we were the only ones dancing the whole time!  The girls I’m with are so great!   We do have one really great friend that we have made with the YSA named Natalie who was showing us a few moves and helping us get some of the kids to come dance with us!  She is also been so sweet to help get us to all the YSA activities, she is going to introduce us to New Zealand music, and were hopefully going to explore the main city part of Auckland with her soon.  After the dancing we got the chance to listen to some of the most amazing musical talent I have ever heard.  There were about 10 performers from around the North Island that sang and played live for us.  There must be something in the Kiwi blood but it was a extraordinary performance.  One of my favorite numbers came from a group of about four guys.  They walk up to the stage with their gangster clothes on, hats backwards, and they sing a unique version of  one of the hymns, and I was blown away.  There was such a strong spirit that they brought to that event through their musical talent.  Over all the activity was a success and were starting to fit in with everyone a little bit better.  Actually maybe not fit in, but they are starting to accept us into the YSA little by little.

Saturday Phyllis took Christine, Whitney, Emily and I on a kayaking adventure along the Puhoi River.

  The weather was overcast but perfect temperature for our two hour trip along some of the prettiest scenes I have ever seen.  The pictures that I took don’t even give it justice.  We had to time our journey down the river just right because of the way the tide was.  While the tide was high the river has enough water and current to help us make it towards the ocean.  Only a few hours after we had finished our kayake ride the water was so low in the river you could have walked across and only gotten your feet wet.  Phyllis was so impressive on this trek!  It was an arm work out for sure but she did pretty well at staying right with us and even passing me and Whitney up a few times!  We had a few troubles with running into the side or running into trees but overall no injuries.  It was so peaceful and serene as we listened to the birds around us and taking in all the amazing hills and plants!  It was the perfect afternoon.

Then Phyllis had a surprise for us for lunch.  She took us to this Cheese Café.  It was full of different kinds of aged cheese that came from different animals… kinda weird ha… but interesting.  I have never been into knowing and tasting different cheeses but it was a new experience.  The food was great!  I split this huge plate of Nachos with Christine and she split her penne sandwich with me.  Her sandwich was a big on the skimpy side but it was the whole experience that we enjoyed!  

On the way home from our adventure we took a more scenic route along the northern coast.  It started raining a bit but we still hoped out to walk out onto Long Bay.  

I have a new favorite thing to do… be on the beach when it rains!!  It was so beautiful and you could really smell the ocean.  Surprisingly there were quite a few people still swimming out in the ocean.  I found some of the most beautiful shells and I started collecting some of my favorites!

Christine and I got the chance to cook dinner for Phyllis that evening!  We made breakfast for dinner with eggs, hash browns, toast, and bacon.  It was a success and I think Phyllis liked the break from cooking!  After cleaning up dinner we sat down to watch one of the best New Zealand films I have seen yet, it’s called Whale Rider.  This movie was about this Maori tribe and some of their ancient beliefs. 

It’s been a really good week and only one more week of classes to go!  A week from Monday I will be flying down to the south Island and then a week and a half later I will be teaching at the primary (elementary) school!