Week #2 The Real Dirt

Hey all!
Well I cut the last entry short, so now I am going to fill in some gaps. Here are some things I forgot to tell you about.
Tuesday was Fish and Chips lunch at ispace (the international student lounge). Great food! I met two girls from Germany and another girl from the states. It was one of the German girl's birthday, so they brought a cake. Made from scratch (which is an American saying for sure) a red wine cake. It was sooo good! They were so nice to share it with us and we sang happy birthday, but I couldn't pronounce the girl's name. I hate it when I can't say people's names, it has become a new pet peeve.

Wednesday ispace had a wine tasting. Leigh and I came at 7 because that is when we thought it started, but turned out it ended at seven. So they served us both four tiny cups with different wines then sent us on our way with half empty bottles. I thought it was pretty funny that I (of all people) ended up walking through Auckland with a wine bottle in hand. To be exact it is a Nelson Pinot Noir, for anyone that means anything to. I still have the bottle for kicks and giggles, and I don't know what to do with it. I think I might use it as a flower vase. In the end I was none the wiser because I'm still not sure what I like.

Thursday was ethnic food night at ispace. Leigh and I made snickerdoodle cookies, but they turned out a little dry and needed more sugar. There was tons of food there and it was all good. Some of the French students made crepes and then there was some good sushi. A German student brought some beer and I thought that was funny. German kids are crazy. It was all a good time and I am really appreciating all of the ispace events.

Friday Leigh and I don't have class so we went to the market and stuff. By the afternoon we just stayed in. She is having problems with her foot and I wasn't feeling well. After spending Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning feeling bad, I think I got a mild food poisoning from ethnic food night.

I spent all day Saturday inside my room doing homework and trying to rest. Then at 4PM, Max, Victoria, Leigh and I met up to go to the All Black vs. Australia game. This game determined which team would win the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri Nation Cup. We went to the Globe Bar to get our tickets from Base Travel and have our faces painted. They also served us sausages. Then we took group of four buses to the game. At the game we each got a cardboard sign with "Go All Blacks" on it. It had rained lightly earlier, so we wiped off our seats. Right when the pregame performances were beginning, it began to pour buckets! Leigh and I didn't have rain jackets or anything and we were all soaked to the bone. I was sitting in a puddle and water had even gone through my hoodie.

Cold and wet, the rain slowed after about 10-15min and turned into a light shower to mist. The first picture shows the giant All Blacks flag, the band, some players practicing, and a smart person with an umbrella. The picture to the left is Leigh and me not looking as miserable as we were. I heard Max has some more revealing pictures of our rain battle. But it was a rewarding experience in the end. We saw the Haka and the All Blacks won!!!! 26 to 12!!! Although we were so drenched we didn't stay out to celebrate, we still had a great time taking hot showers once we returned. I have been stuck in horrible weather without the appropriate amounts of clothes (NY St. Patrick's Day parade, snow, band uniform) but I think this was the worst! and that is saying a lot.

Today I woke up to go to Rangitoto, a volcano island, for a hike. However, after last night, no one wanted to go completely. The weather was threatening rain again and I was not the only one who felt sick. So we postponed our trip until next weekend. Instead I went back to sleep, then met up with Leigh and Victoria to go shopping at thrift stores. We took the Free Bus to Sky tower. Then went to the thrift store from there. Then we walked back toward Railway Campus. We stopped at Food Town on the way. It turned out to be a beautiful day.

Tonight I went to Equippers Church again for my second time. It is similar to Lake Forest (my church at Davidson) but people jump more. I am really enjoying it and all of the great people. They are so nice at the church and I am really excited about getting involved. They have a group called Raw Life for young adults between the ages 18-25 that is like our Young Life. It is the same group that I went to the BBQ with. The sermon series is using movies to parallel God's message. It is a lot of fun, they hand out popcorn and get really into it. This week was Saving Private Ryan, it was good stuff. We hang out talking after the service and get to meet people. I found out they don't watch "The Sandlot" as kids, so sad.