'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.