Palmerston North

Kia Ora! I'm sorry I haven't updated recently. I got a little bogged down with homework. So, two weekends ago I went to Palmerston North, or Palmy as the kiwis say. Prior to he trip, I was warned by heaps of people, kiwis and others, that there is nothing to do there. However, I was going to visit some family friends.

I left Friday morning before the sun was up and caught the shuttle to the airport. Again, I got to walk right up to the plane with a water bottle in hand. I don't even think I had to put my bag through security. Don came to pick me up on the other side.

We drove into town past my old school and to the house we lived in. After Don's coaxing, we went up and rang the neighbor's doorbell. I thought it was the house where an author lived, but turns out it was the neighborhood gossip. The author, my Dad informed me, lives on the other side. Anyway, we were invited in and brewed a cup of tea. She enlightened us with the changes in the neighborhood, all of which flew over my head because I couldn't really remember anything. The owners of the house are constantly renting it out, so their neighbors (the lady whose house we invaded) do all of the up keep. She gave us the tour of the yard and knocked on the door so we could say hello to the current occupants. Everything was a lot smaller than I remembered. There were also two trampolines in the back yard. One of which, caused many injuries to Nora and I. Explains a lot, I know. There were still fruit trees and a large back yard.

Next, we went to the good ol' DRI. Something I really don't ever remember going to, but my parents worked there. Don took me on a run with the running group and I got to hear all their jokes on my dad. Plus, their criticism for being like him. We ran through a sheep pasture, jumped a creek and a few fences. The typical kiwi attitude is "as long as you don't disturb the animals or the land, you are ok to trespass." It results in fun runs with manure on your shoes.

We went to pick up Sam from primary school and just missed the net ball game. The primary and secondary schools were beginning their two week holiday, so all of the kids were really excited. From the school, we went to their house to meet up with Kirsten and James. Both of the boys look the same, just a lot bigger. Both of them were fun to see and talk with.

After getting settled in, we all went on a walk around the farm. Their house is surrounded by sheep pastures and other farm land, so it makes for good walks. We brought the dog and let her run free as long as she didn't nip at the sheep. She is a small dog, black and white, and she minds better than Lolly. It was fun to see her chase the rabbits. We hopped fences and I got to see where they are going to build a new house. The boys are getting big and Don says they are running out of space. The new lot is in a nice place away from the road and when it is clear you can see Ruapehu, the active volcano. On the way into the house, we walked through their pig pen, but they aren't keeping any pigs right now. Then we went by the chickens and saw a little chick. Only one, the other eggs didn't hatch. The next day, the boys threw the bad eggs at trees. They weren't any good, so it was wasn't any harm, and worth the entertainment.

That night we had take aways and I got fish'n chips. Some of the better take away I've had, it is normally a hit and miss. We watched some American classics "Friends" and "The Simpsons." This was the first TV I've watched here, other than the rugby games, so it was the first time I'd seen any kiwi advertisements. I got to see the controversial Ford commercial. Ford sued because it was a warning ad not to go too fast, but you could tell it was their car. James is really smart, he told me about it. I wonder if I would have paid attention to that type of news when I was his age.

That night, I passed out until the roosters crowed, literally! They wake you up on about 15-30 minute intervals. The whole group got up to go to Sam's soccer club finale. Don coaches and organizes the club, so we went early to set up. There were so many kids from ages ~6 to 12. I played in the parents versus kids game for Sam's age group. I played with the parents and got whooped by the kids. I mean, don't get me wrong, the kids won. But, that was no thanks to me. After the games, there was a BBQ. I have never seen kids hoard fizzy (or sodas), but these kids acted like they had never seen it before.

On the way back, we stopped at the grocery store and got ingredients for Peanut Butter Blossoms. That afternoon, I went on a bike ride with Don and Sam. We went to the Manawatu River and threw rocks in the water. Once it was dark, we took the pick up out to a dried creek or river bed. We had to hop a fence in the dark and walk up the creek bed with our torches (flash lights). After about a ten minute walk you could see glow worms on the hills on either side of you. It was really cool! There were heaps of them with their chemiluminescent bums!

Sunday morning, I went running with Don again. We went out for about an hour around the farm and on a golf course. The boys and I made the biscuits (cookies). It was fun! They ate so many chocolate buttons, hehe! Then we went into Palmerston North and up to the windmills. There is a farm up on the mountains with so many of them and they are pretty new. We got lunch from a cafe and took it to a park. Before dropping me off at the airport, we went to the museum and saw the Leonardo De Vinci exhibit. They had models of all his designs. It was pretty sweet. It was funny, we knocked down one of the bridges and it fell apart. You were aloud to walk over it, so it wasn't that big of a deal. But, we had to put it back together, which was pretty funny. We got it to stay and then ran away from it so someone else could mess it up. Kirsten said she heard it fall and just knew it was her boys!

The flight back was sort of funny, I was next to a big Maori guy who does construction work. We had a good talk, then the plain started flying through the rain and hit some turbulence. He was like, I hope I don't have to fly again for a while! I was like, you are a big dude and you're freaked. It just made me laugh.