No More Suitcase!!!

Kia Ora! These first few pics are some that should've  been in previous posts.

So yesterday was supposed to be Community Day, which was supposed to mean heading out to Whakarewarewa Village, which is a Maori villagve, to do some community work such as painting, planting, weeding, and/or raking. Well it started out by seven of us missing the bus. We were supposed to leave at 9:20. We walked out at 9:15 and the bus was already gone. We couldn't believe they left without us. They always count, and seven is a lot to be missing. So someone called the guide, and they came back to get us. When we got to the village, we got a tour. There are twenty-five families that live in the village. This village sits on an area full of hot springs. Some of the families have had to leave their homes because suddenly hot water will erupt through their floor. The springs are gorgeous. Some of them are so crystal clear and blue that you just want to dive in, but the temperature is around boiling. They even use these springs to cook food. There was a bag of sweetcorn sitting in one of them.
After the tour, we were supposed to volunteer. Apparently they didn't really have anything for us to do, plus the ground is too unstable for all of us to be in some places. So instead we took a nature walk and picked up trash. We then had some lunch. I had a meat pie, which I was a bit nervous about, but it was awesome. I would describe it as solid chicken soup in a flaky pastry.
We then had most of the day off until dinner time when we went to the Tamaki Village for a living Maori village experience. This was an awesome way to end the Culture and Adventure Program. On the bus ride there, our driver picked a chief. When we got there, our chief along with three others had to stand before the Maori people, who danced and were kind of scary. One of the warriors then laid down a silver fern, which is New Zealand's like national plant, one of the chiefs then had to slowly move forward to pick it up. This was to see if we came in peace. After that the Maori people were very nice. They had small houses set up around the woods where they would talk about things such as their food and tattoos. We then got to see outside oven where they cooked our dinner. After that, they put on a performace of cultural music and dance. It was so awesome.I just loved it. It didn't even matter that I couldn't understand. We then were lead into the dining hall for the hangi, which is their feast. It was pretty much like Thanksgiving. There was chicken, beef, potatoes, New Zealand sweet potatoes, carrots, bread, salads, fish, mussels, and I'm sure I'm missing something. One of the boys talked me into trying a mussel. I seem to have a really hard time swallowing such large amounts of food. I seriously couldnt' swallow it all at one time.And then I tried chewing it, but half was down my throat already, and then I thought it was all going to come back up, but I finally got it all down. Of course it was all photographed, but on someone else's camera.

Today we had to get up a little before five to catch our plane to Wellington. Finally. I finally know where I'm living. Its called Te Kotahinga at University Hall. It is a duplex way up on of the hills. I have a Kiwi Mate, which is a New Zealander who's here to help show us around. Unfortunately, everyone else is an American even though its International housing.Oh well. One of my roommates from this past week lives downstairs. So when we got here, we already had rooms assigned. I was supposed to have this awesome room, but one of the girls who got here before me decided to take it. Of course I said something to her about it, but whatever. My room isn't too bad. It's actually bigger than I thought, and the view is pretty awesome.
So all those beautiful hills I recently talked about, well they're still beautiful, but now I have to climb them to get to my house. It is absolutely ridiculous. I have never climbed such a steep hill in my life. If I don't lose some weight while I'm here, there's a problem. The only good thing about the hill is the view. Its amazing. It looks down to the harbor and the rest of the city. My Kiwi Mate, Helen, took us grocery shopping today. Problem is that the cheapest one is really far away, and you can't buy much because you have to carry it all back. I thought my hands were goinjg to fall off. This definitely didn't make the hill any easier. We then went for another walk to see where orientation is tomorrow, but then kept on walking all the way around the city and down to the waterfront. While I enjoyed seeing the city, I thought I was going to die of exhaustion, but at least the heat isn't as bad down here as it was up north.

Until next time...

Kia Ora,

~Laura