By the end of today, I will have been in New Zealand for 6 days. Crazy. Here is a brief summary on my life here so far:
Where I am living: I am still living in the room next to Aaron's at the ex-honey farmer Barry's house. For breakfast I choose from his 12 (I think it is 12...) different types of honey. (Laur, I know you would LOVE that) He makes us both dinner each night. It isn't bad food, but it isn't really good either. Generally it involves some kind of meat, potato, and vegetable. So far I have two offers of some where else to stay. The first one is with a girl named Dani, a university student that goes to the church Aaron has been attending. Her flatmates are on holiday. The second is with James', Dani's boyfriend's, grandparents. Dani lives further away from town which would mean I would have to find rides constantly, whereas James' grandparents live in town. Living with Dani does sound more exciting though. We will see.
What I am doing: Well, that really does depend on the day.
Day 1- Aaron and I got something to eat at the takeaway here in Leeston (a burger with chips- as a side note, they put beets on their burgers), walked through the small town of Leeston some, went to the sheep farm he works at, and then Tim (the sheep farmer) took us on a scenic tour. We hiked some around a lake and went to their very rocky beach.
Day 2- I was VERY tired and so slept in; Aaron picked me up at lunch and took me to the sheep farm; I ran errands with Julie, Tim's wife, throughout Leeston and the surrounding small towns; I visited the library (and was super excited about it!) with Julie; had an afternoon T (I am not sure if it is a T or tea or tee... I will ask about that) with a little chocolate piece of goodness; and made up a list of places Aaron and I should visit in New Zealand.
Day 3- I decided to go to the farm with Aaron bright and early. We went to tend to the cattle (they have beef cows along with the sheep) where I at first helped Aaron and then got rather bored and read the Wildlife in New Zealand book that I got at the library (I figured I should get some New Zealand reading material while I was there). I then went back to Tim and Julie's house where I embarked on the mission of making a Coconut Feijoa Cake (Feijoa's are a little green fruit that kind of remind me of kiwis, but they are more tart). This took quite some time- a couple of hours just to make the batter. The recipe told me to beat the egg whites until stiff, something I had never done before. Unfortunately, they only had one of the antique hand mixers that you cannot plug in (like one that we played with and wondered who would use it at the kitchen supplies store Laur) and it took AGES to make the egg whites stiff. I know it took me over forty-five minutes. Ridiculous. After that, Julie and I took a bike ride (to get my butt used to riding on a bike so Aaron I can do one of the Kiwis favorite things- mountain bike). After burning off enough calories, we then ate some cake (which was quite tasty) and I spent the last hour Aaron was working reading a book by a Kiwi author (which really isn't that good...). That night we attended a quiz night that was held as a fundraiser for two girls that will be working at an orphanage in Africa during their holiday. We were on a team with four of the guys from the church Aaron has been attending and were named "Team America." Although some of the questions I had no idea about (there were many about the All Blacks their rugby team), New Zealand trivia is similiar to American trivia because they often watch the same movies and things we do.
Day 4- Aaron and I went to the church that he has been attending while he was here. It's a small church, with lots of youth. It's weird being known as "Aaron's girlfriend" not because I am not used to being associated with him (4 and 1/2 years makes that easy...), but because I am not used to people knowing Aaron before me. Pretty much everyone knew who I was and my name before I talked to them. The sermon was very good, and then the youth (including the University, or Uni, students) went to the warehouse across the street that the church just purchased to hang out. After getting lunch at the grocery store, we then went to the warehouse that is full of game tables and hung out. Later on that night, we went to one of the girls house and watched a news special (which everyone was quite into) and then played a game that I have played before with lots of Texas people... I think we called it fish bowl? Overall, it was fun hanging out with everyone, but it was VERY weird to be the outsider.
Day 5- I didn't want to continue impeding upon Tim and Julie's hospitality so decided to stay at Barry's house while Aaron went to work. I slept in; checked my facebook and e-mail; talked to my family; thought about taking a walk outside, but changed my mind when I stepped out the door and it was freezing; read; decided to make a blog; and basically sat around and did nothing.
Day 6- Today! Well, the beginning of the day has started off much like yesterday, but I am hoping Aaron will be picking me up soon and taking me to the farm. There I don't know what adventures will be awaiting me...
As for a job update, there is a lead with a kindergarten that I might be able to volunteer at. Unfortunately, the lady that said I could work there is gone on vacation right now so I am playing a waiting game on that one. I have also recently been debating on seeing if people around me could use somebody to help them around the house for a couple of days. We will see what happens with all of that. I am praying for direction.
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