Mostly in Napier...

I'm sure you guys have been wondering where I am and sitting by the computer waiting for a new post, so I won't keep you waiting any longer.

Last week, the one and only Stephanie Figgers came for a short visit, so Ray and I took here around Palmy and a bit of the east coast.  

Tuesday morning we went to pick up a rental car from a BP, which was a bit odd, but it had a sweet interior so we couldn't complain.  We drove a couple of hours to Hastings/Napier for a wine tour, but about an hour before we were scheduled to go, the guy called and said he had to cancel.  No worries, though, we went to a tourist info place and they got us fixed up with another one that was supposed to be at about the same time.  Unfortunately, the lady, Val, was about 45 minutes late, was a new tour guide, and was driving a standard van (she hadn't driven a standard in years).  After stalling once, getting slightly lost, and hitting a curb (or kerb, I refuse to spell it like that), we finally made it to our first stop, an "olivery."  I tried an olive, but it was way too salty for me to eat by itself, and some vinegars and "salsas".  It was an interesting experience, but i don't know, I guess I need to develop a liking for olives and oils before I go back to one.

After the olivery, we set out for our actual wine stops.  And I basically confirmed what I already knew - I'm a red wine person.  I tried all of the whites, but they were too sweet and just didn't do it for me, though I must say that chardonnay or viognier would be my top choices.  It was fun tasting the reds too - I had never had syrah before so that was fun.  In all, we went to three wineries, and had a "cheese break" at one of them, which was a delight.  The last winery we went to, the Mission, was apparently the oldest in NZ - it was once a Catholic (?) mission and was later turned into a vineyard/winery/restaurant.  They were a little snooty at this one, but  it was a really nice place and had a beautiful view.  Here's some pics:

^view from the restaurant

After the wine tour, we headed into Napier to find a place to stay for the night, and decided on a hostel/backpackers right across from the ocean ($20 NZD a night! haha).  We made Ray watch Hostel II with us the week before, so she was scared that we'd be drugged and sold to psychos, but I assured her that that only happened in Slovokia.  And obviously, that did not happen to us.  After checking in, we went to search for a place to eat, and settled on bar food (garlic bread and soup that looked like baby food- it was pretty good).  I also had my first gambling experience, losing $6 on the pokies (slots).  It was fun, but don't worry, not that much fun.  Following that thrilling outing, we headed back to the hostel, and got ready for bed... at 8:30.  Yeah, so it was a long day.

The next day we got up and wandered around Napier for a couple of hours, our last stop being "Opossum World", which we thought was a souvenir shop.  It was- sort of.  But it was also a possum museum, filled with stuffed possums and their history in NZ.  Please just look at this picture of one of the things they had:  

Yes, those are possums caroling on top of a car. WHAT?!  I don't know, but I thought it was pretty hilarious.

That made me completely lose my train of thought... Oh, after that delightfully unexpected stop, we made our way back to Palmy.  I drove the whole way, and I'm quite proud of myself, even though the double roundabouts were confusing as.  That night we went to a quiz night, which was cool, even though we didn't win.  They kept bringing us free food, so I can't really complain.

Thursday night was the usual for me, although this time we were able to introduce Steph to the NZ karaoke scene.  It was a good night.  

Friday night was pretty low key - we just ate some homemade flautas and guacamole courtesy of Steph and watched some movies.  Oh how I can't wait for some OTB when I get back...  

Saturday and Sunday I headed back to Napier, this time for another volleyball tournament.  We ended up beating the team we lost to at the last tournament in the finals, so yay sweet redemption.  It was also fun because I got to know some of my teammates a little better and was reminded of one of the reasons why I love NZ so much- they're just nice, good people, and they were very keen on helping me figure out what I'm going to do for the two extra months I'm here. 

This week is the last week of lectures, which is odd since we still have a month left, but hey whatever.  I need to find a hobby... I mean, I'm going to be studying constantly for the next month.  Yeah, that's what I meant... 

Well, I'll try to be better about updating, though I'm not sure if anything exciting is going to happen during the next three weeks... 

Baby, it's cold outside

Wednesday afternoon, the Massey international office put on a little "kiwi culture afternoon."  We got some free food  like marmite and toast, minced meat pies, pavlova, and even some wine and cheese haha, played traditional games (toss the gum boot, poi, etc.).  They also had some NZ music on in the background, as well as Flight of the Conchords on the TV.  Haha, it was slightly over-stimulating, but it was fun nevertheless.  In case you're not familiar with it, the Flight of the Conchords is a show/comedy duo from NZ, but their show also comes on HBO back home I believe.  Oh and they gave us a little gift bag too!  They're very accommodating to international students here...

Other than that the week was just more of the usual:  classes, volleyball, and a little singing.

Only one other person showed up to my sports history class today.  I felt kind of bad for the professor, what a waste of time!  It was kind of funny though.

It's pretty wild, I only have two weeks of class left after this week, a "study break" week, and then the two weeks of finals.  Wowzas!  

I actually thought about it, and it's quite sad, but I won't really have a summer for another year if I stay here until august!  Bummer!  It's getting rather cold here- I even busted out the gloves today.

Here's some clips from the break... the first is of the sperm whale, and I love how you can hear my mom and me laughing at how anticlimactic it was after watching it float for 20 minutes; the second is of an orca; and the last is of some seals.  Don't worry, I'm not planning on going into the film business.

'When will you realise, [New Zealand] waits for you'

Nothing too exciting happened since the last post, except a couple of friends and I went to a bonfire for some military guys who just got back from Afghanistan.  It was a pretty good time, except when one of the dogs ran under some of the brush for the bonfire that hadn't caught fire yet.  Don't worry, after several minutes of grueling uncertainty, someone was able to grab the little guy and pull him out.  The dog was pretty lucky as he escaped with minor burns on one of his paws and tail.  We slept in the car that night, and let's just say that it was freezing and terribly uncomfortable.  That was Saturday, and three days later, my hip still hurts from lying in the back seat.  My hip!?  How old am I, really?

On the way home on Sunday I had my first experience driving on the left side of the road.  I did pretty good, save for when I was only halfway in the road when I first started.  I'm just glad I've had a lot of practice looking right and then left when turning, otherwise I might have freaked out a little. 

So today is Cinqo de Mayo, and in case you were wondering, no it is not celebrated here.  I have no idea why... However, we made the best of it, having Old El Paso burritos, which is the best Mexican food we can find.  As you may have guessed, there aren't any Mexican food restaurants in Palmy, and just as a generalisation, Kiwis don't really like spicy foods.  We got some "hot" salsa once and it was probably the mildest salsa i've ever had.  It was basically tomato chunks.  Boy oh boy do I miss On the Border.

I realised when my parents were here that I've gotten much better at understanding people here.  I felt pretty cool when I could "translate" things to them when they couldn't understand a Kiwi.  Of course, if I hadn't gotten better at understanding people here by now, I would just be pathetic.  

As you may have noticed, their spelling has become quite natural to me for the most part.  Maybe it's because the "s" is easier to type on the keyboard than the "z"... It probably drives my mom crazy :)

And while it's not absolutely official yet, I'm planning on staying here until the end of August after volleyball nationals.  I'm working on getting my flight changed and getting a visa/holiday work permit at the moment and let's just say it's a process.  

Sorry about the lack of videos/photos on here lately, it's crunch time.