Mellow time.

So that last few days have just been random. Friday night, Jo, has two friends visiting from England (Kat and Jenna), so we had a girls night on the town. The City is DEAD this time of year because everyone goes out of town. We were the only people in our bar. Pretty pathetic.
Saturday through Monday, Nicky was house sitting in Waikeni (about 20 minutes north of Jim), so I tagged along because the weather has been awesome, there was a hot tub, and it's a beach house. It was an AWESOME house! I basically caught up on my television shows from home, read, and layed out on the beach.

I don't have much to post about because I really haven't had much to do since I don't start work for another 2 weeks. I'm so bored and I'm looking forward to going back to work and my regular schedule.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Moved IN!

I'm an offical resident of 1 Moxham Ave in Haitaitai. Yesterday Greg and Cathy came over to help move my bed and shove it up a flight of stairs. After I settled in, Cathy spoiled me with my first homecooked meal in a REALLY long time. MMM! Fried chicken, peas, potatos, bread. So NICE! The place is great. It's on a second story above a mini-mart and across the street from my favorite burger chain AND my favorite pizza joint!  The flat is "L" shaped and you walk in through the front door and on the left is Cathy's room followed by Greg's sleeping chambers. On the corner of the "L" is our living room with balcony and then my room comes next. The kitchen and toilet is on the end. My room is huge. I have a fireplace, a wall of windows, and a wardrobe chest. My bed is in the corner and looks slightly ridiculous with the extra space. I'm calling this spare space "my workout area". 

The one down side to this new paradise is that Internet is REALLY slow (Dial-up, anyone? So vintage!) and isn't wireless. So I won't be checking my email every 5 minutes like at the old place but I will be checking it regularly. The best way to reach me is by investing in a phone card and calling me on my cell. Ohhhh....it's not that bad!! I always love phone calls. (0640211312082)

But anyways, just enjoying my time off at the moment.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my readers out in Blog land! What a Christmas it was! Christmas Eve was spent hanging around in a stubborn state of mind. I was determined to not change out of my pajamas for 2 whole days. I wasn't going to do anything but eat chocolate and watch horrible Christmas movies on tv. But after my pushy flatmate, Haydn, convinced me that is no way to spend a holiday we went and got Chinese and watched one of my favorite movies, Love Actually.
Christmas morning I woke up to the sound of POURING RAIN and opened an assortment of Christmas cards and presents that have been stashed under the miniature tree my mom sent, complete with mini-ornaments. My mom sent a mini bottle of perfume, a necklace, bookmark, and bracelet, my grandma sent me a gift card, and my Aunt and Uncle sent the HUGE Mickey! (How I will get that thing home, I will NEVER know!) Thank to everyone that sent gifts, including Grandma and Grandpa Triplett and my Dad (which I opened early...hey, I need something to hold me over!)
Haydn and I then made a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, bagels, juice and hot chocolate. Then I made brownies and cookies for a BBQ Haydn convinced me to go to. I'll admit. I was apprehensive..."great....a holiday with strangers" but I had an AMAZING time! Cathy and her family showed up and the host, Allen, has two boys (ages 5 and 7). We ate till we were going to burst, played ping pong and Foosball, and then had quite the game of PlayStation going on. I spent a majority of the time chasing and wrestling the boys around the house and yard. Jake, the youngest son, cuddled up in my lap towards the end of the night and said "I like you...even if you do sound funny. Can you stay over tonight?" and I said "Sorry, but I have my own room I have to stay in." He then asked "Well, can you come out and play tomorrow?" Haha! I guess I finally met a Kiwi boy and Allen and his wife are stoked they found a new babysitter.

Anyways, it was a surprise of a day and I'm really glad I enjoyed myself. I was a bit worried. I want to wish a Merry Christmas to my family that I miss so much, especially on days like today. (By the way, we aren't the only family that gets ridiculously loud....today felt like the Watts household before we've all stuffed ourselves into a coma!). Merry Christmas to all my friends too. Next year, you know it's ON!

Love you all!

Rockin' and Rollin'

Due to the large amount of concern my loved ones showed today by an earthquake that rocked New Zealand last night....this is my blog to let everyone know I'm okay. Haha, this California girl didn't even feel it!
The quake was centered about 30 miles off the eastern coast about 5 hours north of Wellington in a town called Gisbane. It registered at a 6.8

Tonight I went upstairs and noticed my flatmates bedside table was knocked over and some books they had on the edge of the desk were on the floor. How I didn't feel this thing I will never know.....and all I was doing was sitting on the couch watching TV.

Thank you for all the text messages, IMs, and emails. I knew you all loved me. :)

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...oh yea, and Ferries! (The South Island)

I can officially say that the South Island of New Zealand is by far one of the most stunningly beautiful countries I've ever seen. In a matter of 6 days I saw white sandy beaches, barren dry deserts, snow caped mountains, and rain forests. The Clark Family (Mr. and Mrs. Clark, Will, and Nicky) and I covered so much in a few days so I will do my best to break it down.

SATURDAY:We started with an 8am ferry ride from Wellington to the northern most town of the South Island, Picton. The trip took about 3 hours to cross the Cook Strait. Apparently the ferry ride can go either really good OR really bad depending on the weather. Well, we lucked out! The weather was stunning and the ride was smooth and warm. Nicky and I spent a majority of the ride standing outside, watching the world go by. The water here is a blue I have never seen before and so is the sky. From the Interisland Ferry.

After a quick lunch, we boarded the train from Picton to Christchurch. The train ride took about 6 hours and follows through rocky coastline where dolphins, whales, sea birds, and seals can be spotted on a regular bases. The locals here would often wave to the train as we flew by, which I thought was amazing. You wouldn't see that in California, that is for sure! We then passed through some pretty dry areas which blew my mind considering how much rain New Zealand gets. The weather was the warmest at this point, around 90 degrees.

We arrived in Christchurch and after getting settled in our hotel headed off to dinner just as the sun was setting, a little after 9:00pm. We didn't really get to see much in the twilight but it is a cute little town with some amazing buildings. (The Starbucks is in an old train station!) From the train.

A sculpture from the heart of Christchurch
A really cool church.

SUNDAY: We boarded the next train that would take us from Christchurch to Greymouth. It was pretty uneventful. We arrived to Greymouth with the pouring rain and let me tell you, if you ever decide to go to New Zealand, you can avoid Greymouth. It was pretty boring. We mainly just layed around watching movies and went in the spa.

MONDAY: We were pretty stoked to get away from Greymouth so after a quick breakfast of McDonald's we hit the road in our rental car. The drive would have pretty cool if it hadn't been POURING rain for the entire 3 hours to Franz Josef. We arrived in "Glacier Country" with flying colors. Franz Josef has the Fox Glacier which you can climb (with proper tour guides and equipment). Well, we got to Franz Josef and you couldn't even see the mountain due to the fog and rain. The Clark's glacier hike was cancel due the MAJOR flooding in the area. (I wasn't going to go due the fact that I can barely walk on the sidewalk without making a mockery of myself...image me on ice. Scene from Bambi, anyone?) So out of sheer boredom we headed to the hotel bar for a few drinks. Well, as we were finishing our beverages we look out the window and the clouds had burned off and the rain had stopped. We immediately got in the car and headed for the Glacier. We took a quick 20min hike to the observation deck and WHAT A SIGHT!!! The glacier was right there, between two huge mountains with water falls dotting each side. It was amazing. I wanted to hike that beast right then and there but the tours were still cancelled the next morning.

New Zealand is known for it's sheep!

Catching rain....it actually tasted really yummy! Fox Glacier

TUESDAY: Well, we hit the road pretty early on the way to Queenstown because the drive is suppose to be one of the best in the world. 5 hours of nothing but beauty. The people that say that are definitely 100% correct. It was AMAZING! We stopped at Lake Mathewson, which is on the other side of Fox Glacier, and we took a hour and half hike/walk through a rain forest (a rain forest at the base of a glacier?!?! How does that work?) and came out to "Reflections Lookout" and in a lot of my pictures you can't tell which is the reflection and which is the scenery. We stopped at so many waterfalls and lakes, I have NEVER seen this much water in my life. To pass the time of the drive we started to play the "Celebrity Name Game" (Take the first inital of the last name to start the first name. EX: Brad Pitt, Pam Anderson, Allen Thicke, Tom Cruise...etc). 4 hours later we were STILL playing, but every 20 minutes someone in the car would just stop the game to say "Wow." It was literally a speechless kind of beauty. Cramming 3 grown adult into the backseat of a Nissan was definitely worth it!
A typical view from the car.Lake Mathewson, Reflection Look out. Just another great water fall! (Yes, my feet are going numb...this is water from a GLACIER!)

WEDNESDAY: Well, we arrived in Queenstown which was, by far, my favorite part and place of the trip! This town is on a the 3rd largest lake in New Zealand and really reminds me of Santa Cruz. It is named the "Adrenaline Capital of the World" for its invention of the Budgy Jump, Bridge Swing, and the Jet Boat. Due to the Adrenaline events and activities, the average age of the 7,000 people that populate Queenstown is early 20's. We checked out the gondola (I didn't go up) in the morning, did a little shopping, and then proceeded to do my FAVORITE thing of did the WHOLE trip! We went sailing....but just not any kind of sailing. We booked a 2 hour sailing trip on the America's Cup Yacht! (This boat was retired after its win in 1995) Jealous yet, Uncle Jim? It was SO much fun! We got to rig the sails up and down and I even got to steer for a little while. That boat can haul some speed too! I can't even imagine what it must be like during competition, which 17 crew members working together. (I also had the BEST burger of my life that night for dinner....Fregburger. Check it out if you ever go!)

The Queenstown Gondola. "I think I just dislocated my shoulder...."
"Where can I get me one of these things?"

THURSDAY: We, unfortunately, left Queenstown around 10am to head to the college town of Dunedin. 4 hours later of watching mountains covered in wild flowers (and sleeping for 2 hours) we arrived in Dunedin with about 2 hours to hang out before our flight back to Wellington. This will probably be the furthest south I will ever be in my life. There is a 3 hour drive to the tip of the island and a quick boat ride to Antarctica. We checked out the town center and the historic train station. Occasionally you would catch the awesome scent of chocolate. Come to find out the Cadbury Chocolate Factory is right across the street from the train station. No wonder it's a college town!! We grabbed a quick bite to eat and boarded the plane back to Welly.

Dunedin Town Centre

The Historic Train Station

It was an amazing trip and I'm so stoked I had a chance to see the island. FINALLY! Thank you so much to the Clark family for inviting me on their family vacation. I will never forget this and the beautiful country we saw. Oh yea, thanks for putting up with my 6 foot frame in the backseat! (And anytime you want me to beat you at Hearts, I'm IN!)

Well, back to normal life. I will basically hanging out for the next week till I have to move. I do have a diving lesson on Saturday and I head back to work on January 14th. I also came hope to numerous Christmas cards and a few boxes, which I will save for Christmas morning. So expect a few emails.

WoooWhooo!

I drove my final commute to Raumati tonight and I officially don't have to work for the next month! (Don't worry. I'm already bored!)

The kids were really funny tonight. They hijacked my coaching whiteboard and wrote good-bye wishes all over it. We had practice and I then received about 20 wet hugs. I will miss those kids.

Group shot!

Awww!

My final sunset from Raumati Beach.

The Texas bus (shout out to Aly!) It is parked in front of the pool every night. In my opinion they have the best view on the island!

Tomorrow morning I'll be boarding the interisland ferry and spending the next 5 days crusin' the South Island. I'm really excited! I will definitely post pictures.

Also my new address (as of the 27th of December) is:

1 Moxham Ave., Flat #1,

Hataitai, Wellington,

New Zealand, 6021

I won't be living on the streets of Welly!

....And Haydn pulls another fantastic save tonight! What I would do without this guy!?!....

After spending the day looking at 5 flats, I felt extremely defeated. Nothing felt like "home". Each had their pros and cons, like one room had its own private entrance and a view but no Internet. Another room had cool flatmates but the room was the size of a shoebox. The Beach House I was excited about wanted me to move in right away and a $600 safety deposit. (also each of the places were FILTHY!) So, I come home, feeling like a deflated balloon and Haydn mentions he has a friend that has a room. He called her up right away and we went and checked out the place....and it was AWESOME!! The room is HUGE (bigger then I technically need), there is cable television, and the flat is extremely large! It is a little more then I wanted to spent per week but since I won't have a car cost it is worth the splurge. The flat is located above a dairy in a suburb called Haitaitai. It's a 15min walk from the pool and my flatmates are Gary and Cathy. Gary is a male in his mid-30's and works in the fishing industry so he leaves for work early and gets home late. Cathy is in her early-60's and works at WRAC also and she is hysterically funny, extremely active, and one of the best swim coaches in New Zealand. I had met her a few times before tonight so when I walked in the door, I had a tour, and she sat down and handed me some keys. It was GREAT! I move in December 27th (but I can take stuff over this week while I have the rental car). I will post my address as soon as possible. (also pictures!)

The Christmas party was really fun. Basically just me and about 80 co-workers standing around drinking, chatting, eating. It was neat to see everyone dressed up and not in our typical orange and black gear. We went to a place called The Establishment afterwards, but to be completely honest, I'm not really into the whole bar seen. I spent 2 hours getting pushed and shoved by drunken dancers and then what really made me end my night was this girl bumped into me and her ENTIRE drink ended up down the back of my new dress. I look like my water just broke. I called it a night after that. But then that it was a blast. I have Raumati's Christmas party on Tuesday and then my last day there is Friday!

My New Hawaiian inspired dress...now it just needs to be in HAWAII!

Myself, Ali, and Jo. They really make me love my job!

On Saturday, I checked a flat, which I didn't like but to make my day a little more worth while I went out to lunch with Seka. Then she took me up to the Botanical Gardens, think Central Park but WAY cooler! It has a cable car that takes you to the top of a mountain and over looks the entire city! There are streams, fountains, hiking, status, a Jewish cemetery, ducks, and the rose garden. All plunked down in the middle of Wellington. I had no idea it was even there! It was so cool!! Over looking Mount Victoria and part of Wellington Harbor!
The Rose Garden. (The smell was phenomenal!)

Other then that I'm just looking forward to seeing the south island. We leave Saturday morning and we take the ferry to Picton. We then take the train to Christchurch and then a train to Greymouth. In Greymouth we'll rent a car and drive half the length of the island in 3 days and then fly home on Thursday from Dunedin. Apparently, the island is AMAZING! I really can't wait. Then it will be Christmas. Not sure what I'm doing yet. I have a few invitations, including one with Haydn and Cathy (My new flatmate). I guess they are doing a BBQ at the beach which seems really cool! But I'll let you know!

RIP Dorothy!

The week has been VERY eventful. I spent a very relaxing weekend at Jim's pad while he was in the states. My friend, Jo, came up to spend the night with me and we layed out and did some shopping (I purchased a really cute black and white hawaiian print dress!) and just vegged in front of the tellie. Well, Tuesday night my car started to make really bad TICK sound and it stalled a few times on the way home. I got it started and took it to the closest mechanic to my house. The car is dead. Major engine damage. Poor Dorothy just couldn't deal with 120 kilometers a day anymore. I ended up having to rent a car, a gold Toyota Corolla, and I love it! The thing has a radio/cd player and it gets great gas mileage! Sure, I'll only have it for 2 weeks and it's a cost me, but at least I can enjoy driving again.
I'm also looking into a new flat, since the lease is up in January in the house I'm currently living in and all the flatmates are going their separate ways. Basically there is a website just for New Zealand that is kinda like our Ebay. People can put up listings for anything they want to sell or rooms they want to rent. It's really easy and that is how 90% of people find their current places of resident over here. So far, I've found 3 places within walking distance of WRAC, two are actually a 2 minute walk, the other is RIGHT on the beach about a 15 minute walk away (think: my bedroom...then the street...then the beach with ocean. VERY much "me"). I'm set up to check out the "beach house" on Sunday and it looks like a good prospect considering I've already talked about surfing with one of the flatmates. All the flats I'm looking into are cheaper then what I'm paying for currently and will be within walking distance. That means...no car, gas, and public transportation costs!
I also told Ali, my boss, that I will officially go full-time at WRAC for the next term....Monday through Friday 9am-5pm. I usually have Mondays off to do laundry, errands, clean house, and talk to an assortment of family and friends by phone, skype, aim, or carrier pigeon. I want the money. I'm greedy and cheap. Hey, can't blame a girl for being honest!
Tomorrow night is the WRAC Christmas party. I plan on wearing my new dress (by the way it is really cool to be wearing SUMMER clothes during Christmas!!). The company rented out a steak house in the city and we basically get to eat and drink what we want for about 2 hours. Then we will head out to a dance club (I'm hoping for the 80's club, Electric Avenue. I LOVE THAT PLACE!) But it should be a great time and it usually is when you get two or more swim instructors in the same place.

Anyways, that's about it for now. I'll keep ya updated...as always!

Beckham Fever!

Since I have arrived in Wellington 5 months ago, I have seen promotional posters of "LA GALAXY starring DAVID BECKHAM!" scattered on bus stops, billboards, and even fliers. It has been insane since the team arrived at the airport on Thursday. On Friday, one of the main reasons the staff was so bored was because the stadium was holding an open practice so that the public could watch Mr. Posh Spice himself kick a football around. Out of 3 hours, I literally only taught ten kids. It's insane! People have been asking me all week the dreaded question...

"Wellington Phoenix or LA Galaxy?"

Heck if I even CARE! But I have to openly admit I did watch the game with Jo today. LA Galaxy creamed the Welly team (4-1) and the crowd of Phoenix fans would go bonkers if the ball even came close to Becks. I ended up cheering the Phoenix because when does anyone in LA actually care about soccer? I'm never been one to cheer for hype.

Let's hope I don't have to stare at those posters anymore!

We're all going Crazy!

So, what happens on a Friday with 8 weeks of work and chlorinated water being absorbed through the pores of your skin for hours each day? The staff gets silly! Ma, one of my dearly loved co-workers, got drafted to an Australian rugby team (he was named Player of the Year Under 21 in New Zealand) and today was his last day. While half the staff distracted him by taking him to someones house to hang out, Ali, Jo, and I ran to get the cheapest toilet paper possible and took the next hour writing on his car with whiteboard marker and toilet papering his car. Me...and my TWO bosses....toilet papering! This would have never have taken flight in the states. Can you imagine? I spent the whole time giggling to myself as Ali and I crawled on the ground to rolled rolls back and forth to each other. Ma bursted out in giggles when he saw his car and then it took six of us to push him in the pool (which is a normal tradition at WRAC). On roll 8 out of twelve....we weren't even close to being done yet!

Currently, I'm laying in Jim's master bedroom with the windows open and listening to the sound of rolling waves, overlooking the ocean and stars. Both dogs are laying at my feet, snoring away and I have happily channel surfed through 100+ and smiled as I agreed there was nothing on television! I love house sitting! I grabbed a large pizza for dinner (and to last me through the rest of the weekend) and came to the house and took the dogs on an hour long sunset walk. During this walk I literally only saw one living soul and I couldn't believe it! Don't these people know they have a stunning beach and it's SUNSET at their door step!?! I am going to primp myself this weekend....facial, pedicure, movies, junk food. WEE!

Off to bed!

Don't cry for me California!

Thanksgiving was existent this year, even in Kiwi-land! I spent my Friday/your Thursday talking to family and a few friends, which I am truly thankful for, and Saturday was spent cooking and heading over to Nicky's, where we did a full Thanksgiving feast! We had about 10 people there, Yanks, Poms, and Kiwis and it was really nice. Sure, it wasn't home, but it was cool. Nicky's First Turkey and all the fixings!
Can't beat a Thanksgiving meal at 6pm and having it still be light out!

We are getting into full-swing of summer. It is stunningly gorgeous EVERY day and the sun is shinning till about 8:30pm. It is sooo nice. After Thanksgiving dinner a few of us headed out into town for some drinks and for the first time since I've been here I didn't have to wear my jacket! It was great!

This weekend I'm housing sitting for Jim while he goes to the States to spend some time with his wife. I am really looking forward to it. A beach house to myself for a WHOLE 4 days! Internet, cable tv, walks on the beach, dogs, and junk food! I'm so excited. Work is going to suck with him being gone. I have to coach his kids as well as mine. That's going to get interesting since we have about 3 different levels going at once.

There are only 2.5 weeks till the end of term! YES!! Then I head to the south island for 5 days with Nicky and her family, and I'm super stoked about that. So, keep checking back for pictures.

Gobble! Gobble!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, for me at least. Today, I wished everyone I knew a "Happy Thanksgiving" and their reply was "What's Thanksgiving?!?" I then had to explain the Santa Maria, Pilgrims and Indians, and then ended with "...and then we took their land! Let's EAT!" I didn't really do anything special today, but tomorrow I am webcaming with my family which I have been excited about all week! (I will try not to bawl this time, but no promises) Saturday, Nicky is throwing a Thanksgiving dinner with a turkey and everything, so don't feel to sad for me.

Since I don't get to say what I'm thankful for at the table this year, I will say it in my blog.

....I am thankful for....

....all the words of wisdom, emails, calls, letters that I receive on a daily bases from my family and friends. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm 7,000 miles away from home due to all the great things I get from people. The world doesn't feel like such a big place and I don't feel so alone and small in it.

.....the support I receive from everyone. Without it, I probably wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes here, let alone 5 months! Everyone has been really understanding in the meaning of this adventure and what it meant to me as a developing human being and the molding of my character as an adult. (AHHH! Being an ADULT!!)

....my family. I knew how thankful I was before I left but being here realized how much of a backbone you are all for me. You are my oxygen and without the love from you I would die. I love you.

Everyone have a Fantastic Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey, have a piece of pie for me (Grandma's Tollhouse!), and go play some American football!

Just a quick update:

Just spending a Saturday night at home. It was a really busy two weeks at work due to a school coming in everyday between 12-1, so that meant no break. (This makes eating lunch really interesting. "I got 3 minutes to eat an entire PB&J sandwich. I need MILK, STAT!") But it's money, right?

Bekki, the other American on staff and one of my bosses, resigned due to travel expenses. (She lives up near Raumati) A bunch of the staff went out for drinks last night to our favorite place, Hope Brothers. I was on call today and actually had to go in and teach Preschool this morning. I really didn't mind because it ended up being alot of my kids from last term ("Miss Casey!") and I get payed 7 hours for 3 hours of work. (2 for being on call and 5 to actually work).

The Latest News is I'm quitting Raumati in December and I'm going to go full time at WRAC. I'm going to try and find a place within walking distance of the pool so that means NO gas expenses and NO car expenses. It will be the first time I've ever had a job that ends before 5pm! I'm bummed that I have to quit at Raumati but I'm spending about $450 on gas each month which is more then one of my paychecks. The kids are great and I'll be sad to see them go.

Anyways, here are a few more pictures from the Napier roadtrip. Have a great weekend!

Just trying to hitchhike on a back country road in the middle of New Zealand.

Really stopping to smell the roses.

ROADTRIP!

My American friend, James, told me a few weeks ago "Casey, I'm taking you to Napier because you need to see New Zealand. You are going to go home and tell everyone how great it is and truly, you're only seeing places that involve chlorinated water!" So, this weekend we headed off for the four hour drive to the east coast of the island to a town called Napier on Hawke's Bay.

James has to be one of the best road trip buddies I've ever had. We took the off-beaten path on the way to Napier and found great little roads with FANTASTIC views. We basically looked at the map and said "Lets take this road!" New Zealand is so green it is hard to capture in a photo. It looks like God just layed out a green blanket. And I now understand when people say "New Zealand has more sheep then people" they REALLY mean it! We saw white sheep, black sheep, brown cows, black cows, lambs, pigs, and roadkill....lots of animals here in NZ.
The random road where I learned how to throw a rugby ball on.
The view from the other side of the world.
Hahaha. I thought this was pretty funny considering the turmoil of our government in the US.

Now before you look at the pictures of Napier, I have to give you a little background info. Napier was destroyed in 1931 by a 7.9 earthquake that lasted over 2.5 minutes (oh, and 525 aftershocks in the two weeks after). Fires then broke out and burned for over 3 days. The town was wiped out. So, during the rebuilding process the buildings took on a "new", modern look and Napier is now OFFICIALLY known as "The Art Deco Capital of the World". Not having any idea what Art Deco was, I have to admit it was REALLY cool! It feels like you're dropped into the 1930's (think Downtown Orange....but a WHOLE town!). There are old fashion vintage stores and the town lays right on the water. The weather was great ALL weekend. YAY! I finally wore shorts!




I thought this was a cool shot of the fountain at night James and I went to the museum and learned all about the earthquake and alot about Maori history, walked the beach, ate ice cream, and walked around the town. We looked for really cool views, went exploring in the art deco suburbs, and checked out art gallery's. We also went to a "Pa", which is a Maori battle ground and fort. It was really neat looking at these pieces of wood that have been standing for hundreds of years.
"Mom and Dad, the Maori people caught me. Please send Del Taco and magazines."


On the way home on Sunday, we just drove. We headed over to Te Mata Peak to check out the view and what a view it was.

From the base of Te Mata Peak (over 100 Meters).
The View off Te Mata

Then on the way home, we took a 2 hour detour and discovered this beach that was just beautiful. It reminded me of Maui....long white sandy beach with green cliffs on the side. Now, if only I could be that warm!

Overall, it was an amazing trip and I want to thank James for taking me and showing me apart of New Zealand. I have a TON of other pictures, which I will make a part of my album when I get home. But in the meantime it is time for bed and work (*groan*) tomorrow. Sorry I'm not writing as so much. I thought I would spare you the yucky details of my job....you know, getting booger snot on me, being bitten, and simply exhausted all the time. NIGHT!

P.S. My ipod got wet last week. Just another electronic that hates me. It is now dead. Great. No music. May it Rest in Peace.

4th of July in November?

Happy Guy Fawkes Day! It is the New Zealand version of the 4th of July. Everyone shoots fireworks in their street and the city of Wellington has a huge firework show over the water. I guess it's pretty cool but I still have to work at Raumati tonight and I won't end up even close to Wellington by 8pm.

I had a pretty interesting weekend. I was feeling really homesick this weekend, mainly because my whole family has gathered in Orange County to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. I webcamed with my mom for the first time on Friday night and then on Saturday I got to webcam with the whole family all at once. My little cousins are getting really big and it was cute for them to wave and say "Hi Casey!" I pretty much cried through the whole 30 minutes of web chatting because I didn't realize how much I do miss my family. Being so far away from home it doesn't do any good to think about how much you miss them so you stick the homesickness to the back of your brain. It was a real blessing to be able to see them and I hope with the holiday season around the corner I'll get to do it again.

I found out one of my closest friends from back home is going to be in Auckland at the end of November/early December and I couldn't be more ecstatic. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the friends I've made here. We laugh together and hang out, but it's different. We don't have a history, they don't really know the REAL me. So a few days with Erin will be really reassuring and comforting.

The next two weeks will be crazy. We have a school coming in for two weeks so I'll be working pretty much 9-3 in the water, straight through, with no breaks. I actually like working that way...makes the day go by faster, even if I do crash out asleep at 8pm.

Time to go play with some fire!

BOO!!

The number one question I've been asked lately "Is how do Kiwi's celebrate Halloween?" Well, hate to break it to ya, is they really don't. I asked a co-worker why there is no pumpkin carving, trick or treating, and "fun sized" candy! And he just replied with "Americans need an excuse to drink, where Kiwi's just drink". I about fell out of my chair I laughed so hard, but it's really true!

However, on Saturday night, Simon (Seka's boyfriend) had some friends that were throwing a costume party so that afternoon Seka, Simon, Nicky, and I hit up the $2 store for some costume props. I decided against the Secert Spy and decided White Trash was alot more fun. But "White Trash" ended up being "Gangsta Girl". I donned black converse, jeans with the wife beater and black bra underneath, red bandanna tied around my leg, fake tattoos, a bling-bling necklace, a trucker hat to the side, and really heavy makeup with black nail polish. Oh, I also had a pair of handcuffs around on wrist. The party was alot of fun and I met some really cool people, but due to having to work the next day after one beer I called it a early night and was in bed by midnight. The Devil (Simon) went down to Georgia!
You shoot ONE ex-boyfriend in the leg and the Feds (Nicky) are all over ya!
I'm so ready for Mo-vember!

(By the way, November is prostate awareness month and males are suppose to show support by growing mustaches. (hence the name "MO-vember) You start clean shaven on the 1st of November and on the last day of the month you shave your hair into something ridiculous. All the lifeguards at the pool are having a contest...it is a huge event here in New Zealand.)

On Sunday, Nicky and I ended up siting on her balcony sunning ourselves and talking all day. Seka came over and we ended up watching girlie movies and eating pizza and having a Girls Day. The weather has been beautiful lately and I'm really excited to be having ACTUAL weather!

At least my feet will be tan!

So that is about it for now. Work is going really well now that I've gotten into the groove. I coach the Haitaitai water polo team on Friday mornings (co-ed 11-13 year olds) and their games are on Monday nights but I can't go because I'm at Raumati, but I got an email from the teacher that hired me to coach (she coaches them during the games) and she says that they have grown leaps and bounds over the last few weeks and are even winning their games on Mondays! Yay! Go me! I actually DO know what I'm doing!