Dear Diary

I am kidding...this is not my diary, I just was having a difficult time coming up with a title for this blog post! Anyway...

I have noticed that you cannot go 5 kilometers without setting your eyes on a rugby field here.  New Zealand’s national team, the All Blacks, is represented with upmost prestige and honor.  They played Fiji at the new 200 million dollar stadium in Dunedin, built specifically for the Rugby World Cup this fall (their spring), on Friday.  I didn’t get the pleasure of attending the game, but me and two of my flat mates went to a restaurant to watch it instead. We ordered dessert, and I tried kiwi pavlova.  Pavlova is New Zealand’s national dessert.  It reminded me of cotton candy because it just melts in your mouth aka VERY GOOD! It’s a meringue cake, typically topped with berries.  Mine had a side of kiwi flavored ice cream which added a perfect touch of tropical!  My first food review!! J

Not my picture...but what pavlova looks like. So good!

 Even though the game was totally dominated by the All Blacks, it was certainly fun to catch on to one of NZ’s favorite pastimes.  It is crazy how rarely the trainer has to come out onto the field considering how aggressive they are!! (Side note: BK and JP, you wouldn’t have to remind them to be aggressive, be be aggressive haha!) It will be fun to watch the actual World Cup versus Australia (the archenemy)! On a partially similar note, I am not ruling out a pick up rugby game if I ever get the opportunity…

Before the game, I hiked to Flagstaff Mountain, which is directly west of the city. It started out quite sunny, and by the time we reached the top it clouded over and the air turned crisp.  The scenery was not as drastic as Mount Cargill, but I believe if the clouds were absent, it would have opened up a whole new world!  Nevertheless, it is always worth my time to get out of the flat and explore!  We hiked up the Pineapple Track to get to the summit, and the beginning of it was so jungle-like, I swore I was in Brazil or something!  Hence the name Pineapple, I am assuming?!  Toward the latter end, there was this huge, steep ridge and seriously the incline would NOT stop.  My pace drastically declined to a snail’s pace by the end of the hill.  Pain is beauty though, as my pain brought me to more beauty in the natural world! 

This trees reminded me of California.

Jungle!

On the way up!

LOVED LOVED the frosted tips!

Looking onward...

Me and my awkward posing...currently in training to become slightly  more modelesque!

The marker at the top.

I think I have seen the city from all angles now!

On our way back, we got sidetracked by the cutest sheep I have ever seen!  They are so fluffy this time of year, and the little ones are at a melt-my-heart level of cuteness.  Which is…making me consider getting a pet sheep.  I think my dad won’t mind one bit!! J

This little thing posed for me! :)

Even though they speak English here, there are definitely some differences.  First off, the accent.  It is slightly British with a touch of Australian.  Whenever I am speaking to a Kiwi, I mentally pick up the accent and then when I start talking back…it turns into a mess of things.  I sound like a complete idiot because I say some words with their accent and then I say some words paying homage to Minnesooooota (which I get teased for relentlessly by other Americans).  I don’t purposefully sound like them…it just slips off my tongue because mentally, I remember the pronunciation of how they state the vowels and then it just doesn’t switch off until they ask me…”So, where are you from?”.  Then of course, I realize how foolish I presented myself after I answer “the United States”.  I probably come across as a wannabe actress!  Which of course, underneath it all, I am just DYING to be!!! Practice makes perfect! ;)

Update on school is not anything that I would consider breaking news…but just some highlights this week:  I am taking a Maori language class and it is by far my favorite class here.  BUT, I embarrass myself daily in this class.  We go through words by flashcards as a class, so I think that I am sounding everything out okay.  Then we get to the end of the class, and my teacher has us pronounce a word before we leave.  I wait my turn in line praying that I get an easy word so I don’t mess up.  I get an easy one, and of course I mess it up!! I immediately get frustrated and my face gets red and my teacher feels bad for me so she gives me another one and helps me pronounce it…which irks me more because I know I can do it by myself!  Next time, I swear I will get it!!  I am really glad that I am taking this class though, it is definitely my favorite!  Otherwise, I am analyzing tourism on different scales, finding ‘truth’ in media (yay!), and discovering the Pacific Islands!  In one of these classes (guess which one), I made my to-do list for while I am here. 

Sorry for the lengthy post.  I hope everyone back home is enjoying the humidity and warmth…it is currently snowing here and there is about an inch on outside my door!

My reality:

Minnesota in contrast to NZ

Okay, really going to go now!  Have a fantastic, heart-warming, fun, exponentially epic, and smiley week! :)