Epic

Epic.  That's the word for this weekend.  There wasn't anything too terribly out of the ordinary, but it was awesome.  This is a long one, so you can read portions at separate points in time if you'd like.  I won't judge you.

I finally got some vision correction in the form of glasses on Thursday, and it just kicked off the weekend right.  Yes, Thursday is the weekend.  We made some excellent chicken parmesan, as a part of our newly instated "family night" consisting of my flatmates and me, and then we eventually headed out for a little karaoke.  Ray and Lindsay did a stellar dance while i rapped to "men in black" and it was quite hilarious.  Yes, they did practice the dance specifically for this performance.

Friday was our R.A.'s birthday, so we had some bbq in the courtyard with everyone in the court, followed by some classic American games.  I was planning on taking it easy, so I went to take a nap after dinner, but i was awoken shortly later by some prolific losers of beer pong and was convinced to go out.  We hit up some new places, and i very much enjoyed chillin by the fire and having a solid conversation with Ray.  After that, we went yet again to the karaoke bar.  You know you go there too much when the bartenders laugh when you walk in, like "are these people really back again?"  yeah... After a rousing rendition of "piano man" we headed off to do a little dancing, and on the way, we thought it would be a good idea to continue "singing" (it was more just shouting than anything else) the song as we trekked across town.  

Saturday afternoon we went to a Super 14 rugby game (the Highlanders from Dunedin in the south island, and the Bulls from South Africa).  I actually enjoy watching the game, but as you may know, the fans are a little rowdy- at least the fans that go to Massey and are completely hammered before the game.  I guess it would be like going to any big university sporting event.  I don't know, I was slightly annoyed after about 20 minutes.  Since none of us have any transportation, we were just going to hang out in town, but Ray and I went to get cash and just decided to cab it back to the hostel (they call dorms hostels).  We eventually ventured back into town and checked out a live band for a bit and then hit up the karaoke bar for the third night in a row.  It was great fun as always.

This morning I went to check out the Lutheran church.  It wasn't the most convenient trip as the busses only run once every hour or more, so I hung out with the ducks in the center of town for about 30 mins.  It was pretty small, and it was contemporary style with the praise band and the powerpoint.  The church didn't really seem very Lutheran to me.  The service was fine and everything, but it was extremely casual (granted it was the "family" service).  There was definitely a small child playing on the altar at one point and that was totally ok with everyone.  I could hear people murmuring in their pews from across the world.  Also, and if you're not familiar with the Lutheran church this probably won't mean anything to you, but there was very minimal responsive reading.  And the weirdest thing was the fact that we didn't sing the part before communion (pax domini perhaps?), you know, "the Lord be with you, and also with you..." and "holy, holy, holy".  It was hard just reading it and not singing it.  After the service, there wasn't a bus for over an hour, so I opted for the 45 minute walk instead.

Just letting everyone know, and this might be slightly disconcerting for some, but I'm trying to figure out a way to stay.  I know everyone says that, and maybe I'm just saying it too, but I absolutely love it here. I just feel amazing in every way - physically, mentally, socially, and whatever else there is.  I'm not sure when the last time I was this happy and this content.  Look, I used italics, I must be pretty serious.  Maybe it's just infatuation, I don't know.  However, the urge to come back for an extended period of time is definitely present, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens.

here's a picture of some rugby action, as well as me in my glasses.  I feel a little silly putting a picture up of just myself, but i wanted to show off my super-sweet spectacles.  they say spectacles.

good on ya!