Updates

I apologize for not updating this as much, I'm surprised by how fast time goes here. I've started work. The transition into working 40 hour a week wasn't that bad at all. I enjoy the people and the variety of projects I work on. The hardest part is leaving Rambo every morning. I had an adorable photo of her, but Corina has my camera so I can't use it for this post. I'm still getting used to Friday drinks in the office. In case you are unaware, most of NZ offices provide beer and wine to their workers around 4 on Friday to celebrate the end of the week. Usually everyone in my office has left by 6, which is when I get off work, so I don't participate. But the entire idea is still weird to me. I usually set up for Friday drinks and I'm just not quite comfortable carrying around bottles of wine around the office.

I'm still working on getting a routine down that includes going to the gym after work, but I'm getting better! It's hard when the weather is so nice. I think when winter comes and it gets dark at like 5 I won't have a problem being in the gym until 7.

This morning I woke up to strange noise, at first I thought Rambo was chewing on something weird, but there was actually a bird in the living room! I think it got in when I had the backdoor open yesterday afternoon. Of course Corina and Lee are in Melbourne until Wednesday so it was just me, Rambo and a bird at 8am. My first instinct was to tell someone of the ridiculous situation I was in. But then I realized I should probably do something, so I grabbed Rambo and put her in the bathroom so she wouldn't attack the bird. Then I opened and backdoor and called Lee's dad because I figured it was 8am, I hadn't had coffee there might be something smart I should be doing. In the end, the bird made it out and Rambo was let out of the bathroom.

I changed my return ticket to June 17th. So if you want to come see me in NZ, now is your chance! Or if you are counting down when I leave this country, make sure you change the date on your calender!

Not much else new to report here....Just trying to enjoy this amazing weather before winter comes.

Next week I will be in Wellington, so I will be updating my blog with stories from my trip.

The Longest Weekend Ever

Friday afternoon Natasha, Elle, Kasey, Corina and I packed up Natasha's Subaru and headed to Ohakune for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The trek is 19.5 km and supposed to be one of the best in the world. It exceeded all of our expectations.

We settled into our lodging after a 5-hour drive and started to prepare for the hike. Because the Crossing starts at the Mangatepopo Valley and ends in another location, we had a shuttle pick us up at 7:15 Saturday morning. Natasha's dad is an avid hiker and provided her with some serious gear. Sometimes the walking sticks were very helpful, but the excess amount of water became a pain in the ass for her (literally). Most of the hike still doesn't feel real. At some parts I thought I was on another planet. Unfortunately because of the fog, we weren't able to see the red crater and a lot of other scenery, but it was still amazing.
The hike started with a slight incline. An hour into the hike there were signs warning hikers to turn around if they are not in good physical condition because the hard part was about to start. The next thing I know, I'm climbing up a mountain.

Before the hard part

Still smiling, still easy

Corina jumping for joy...little does she know what is ahead...But as you can see from the picture, she did.

On the way up one of the highest mountains that we climbed on Saturday, I saw an older man suffering from cardiac arrest. Apparently a helicopter came and airlifted him to the hospital. I'm not sure if he survived or not.
On the way down from that same mountain, the sulfur winds hissed by us as we slid down the mountain on the fine gravel. At the bottom we saw the Blue Lake where we stopped for lunch.

The girls fighting the winds to make it down the mountain

you can't tell from this picture, but this is the trail and the cliff next to it.

After lunch we walked for a while on flat terrain. We thought the hard part was over. But then in the distance a mountain appeared and we could see people who were hiking ahead of us, following the trail up the mountain.

Yes, we hiked up this mountain.

The rest of the walk was absolutely beautiful. With about 1 km left in our walk, our butts, knees, thighs and muscles that we didn't even know existed before this hike were either throbbing or giving up on us, sometimes both. Kasey, Corina and I were exhausted mentally and physically, so we did what any exhausted individual would do. We ran the rest of the way. We just wanted to be done so badly and make sure we didn't miss the 4pm bus. Because the last thing you want to do after completing a 7-hour hike is wait another hour for the 5pm bus to pick you up. We came out screaming for joy at 3:45, while the rest of the hikers who were ahead of us were sitting under a hut, exhausted and looking at us like we were crazy. We made it!!

We were so happy to see our shuttle arrive!

The next day we went to Taupo where we stayed in what I learned is the "typical New Zealand bach."

View of Lake Taupo from the bach.

the bach.

Now that a few days have passed and my legs are not sore anymore I can say that I would do the walk again on a clearer day. Thanks to Corina, Kasey, Elle and Natasha there was never a dull moment on the trip and whenever I hear Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" I will think of this weekend.

Sweet As

Christmas Eve

The holidays were nice in New Zealand. Of course it doesn't really feel like Christmas Eve when you spend it slathering on sunscreen on the beach.

Christmas Eve Lee's family roasted a lamb on a spit. It tasted good and wasn't that gross to look at.

Corina and Lee had their engagement party on the 23rd. It was really nice to meet more of Corina and Lee's friends and family.

On Christmas we went over to Lee's parents' and just hung out there in the morning. Dad made the mistake of jokingly suggesting taking shots of Rakia at 9am. Tony (Lee's dad) brought out the shot glasses and the guys took shots before coffee.

Boxing day we went to a cricket game, which was fun. I am able to understand it more by watching it in person. I think. I still prefer my American football.

The 27th we left for a beach house ( I believe they call them baches here?).

We stayed there for 4 days with Lee's brothers and parents. The first day the weather was nice, but it got progressively worse and by the last day it was pouring rain. I finished the Hunger Games there and managed to work on my tan a little (sort of). Thursday night we went and saw Ladi6 and The Black Seeds play at the Mangawhai Tavern. It was this pretty cool tavern in what felt like the middle of nowhere. The place was packed even with pouring down rain.

Tonight is New Year's. I worked until 10 then got a beer with dad and Corina down the street at a bar that has Rogue Ales on tap! I went up to the biggest waiter at the restaurant (at least 6 foot) with a beard and asked for a napkin. Corina started laughing hysterically in the background. When I returned to the table (with my napkin) I found out that napkins in New Zealand are sanitary pads. They call napkins serviettes here. I am so glad she told me this before I started working at a restaurant. OH WAIT.

After the beer I should have gone out with Rocky, but instead I went back to Corina's with my dad. We are getting up at 7 tomorrow to go to the farmer's market with Lee's dad. I'm actually pretty excited about this.

So instead of partying at midnight like a normal 23 year old girl in Auckland I'm sitting here writing, watching the fireworks, wearing my pj's with swollen feet from work and listening to Rambo bark at the noise outside. Not the best New Year's, but not the worst either. At least I'm comfortable and happy.

Oh and for my American readers, if you are wondering why the title of the blog is "Sweet As," a lot of people say that here instead of cool. I've been warned about it because with a New Zealand accent it sounds like someone is saying "Sweet Ass."

Everything will be fine

Rambo's first brothel party.

I can now say that I've driven in New Zealand, not just New Zealand, but NZ's biggest city, Auckland. I can also now say that I've driven onto a sidewalk to avoid hitting a car head on because I turned into the wrong side of the road. Oh how I miss my Honda.

This week has been rather draining, and it's only Tuesday. Monday morning my mood was "why did I move to foreign country, I must be out of my mind to think this will work out," by Monday night my mood had shifted into "I fucking love this place, it's beautiful, everyone is so friendly and everything is ten time easier here." And that's how my mood generally is. My mom is not going to like reading about how much I love it here, sorry mom!

Lauryn is enjoying her job at Sale Street Bar. Today I had a great interview where I was asked if I had a boyfriend. I won't tell you where this was of course, but I will tell you that it wasn't a brothel. Actually a place I'm very keen to working at.

Oh did I mention my dad arrived on Friday? I haven't seen my dad on vacation in a while. It's really nice/weird to see my dad so jolly. He wasn't even this happy when he was on Vicodin a few years back.
I apologize for the lack of photos, I will work on documenting more.

It is holiday yet?

Mt Eden

Rambo and me

This week hasn't started off that great. It's cloudy and rainy here. But I did manage to figure out how to use the can openers here when I was making salsa! BIG accomplishment! Last week I went down to Mission Bay, the beach community in Auckland. Not to be confused with Mission Beach in San Diego. It was such a beautiful day and so relaxing. It made me thankful to be in such a beautiful relaxing place and reminded me how much room I have to relax more here.

I still don't understand Cricket. Games last for 5 days here (and you thought football games were long).

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks when my dad gets here and Corina takes 3 weeks off. It will be nice to spend my holiday on the beach, eating and drinking too much.

Friday we went to an "All-American" New Zealand party. Yeah...That was fun! Rocky was a great host. Lauryn and I talked to a lot of random people. It's weird going out here and meeting 20-year-olds at events like that. I felt like such a cougar talking to this guy. Having an accent always helps. I think I've given out my number more times here than I did in like a year at the University. I jumped on the mechanical bull that was at the party (well actually I fell off in my first attempt, but successfully got on the second time). But it wasn't working and there wasn't any padding...End of story.

Still looking for a job, I'm supposed to hear back from one that I had two interviews with today. I really hope I get it! But I'm also applying to other jobs that look like a lot of fun. I actually found an office admin job today that required a photo to even be considered. That would not be alright in the States.

This week I am meeting with a recruitment lady tomorrow and Thursday I have an interview at a restaurant. And Friday dad comes!! Yay!

If you are reading this, it probably means you need to get on Skype more and try to talk to me.

Sunshine, wet dog and......

Another week has gone by with not much new to report. I'm going through serious burrito withdraws, oh what I would do for a La Roca burrito right now. Lauryn got a job at a cafe in the Newmarket neighborhood! I had an interesting job interview last week that I'm not going to get into on my blog. On my way to the interview I got terribly lost for about 2 hours, but with the help of Corina and a few bus drivers, I made it to the interview with 30 minutes to spare. As much as I'm enjoying staying with Corina, Lee and Rambo, I am very much looking forward to finding a job and moving in with people my own age.

Last Tuesday Lauryn and I checked out this bar called Chapel, which reminded me of Max's in Eugene (minus the free popcorn and with a little more class).
Lauryn and I also explored High Street, which is just a street downtown.

High Street

Corina, Rambo and I hiked Mt. Eden the other day. I should have brought my camera, but I didn't feel like it. It had great views of the city. Rocky has been taking great care of Lauryn and me. He taught us some bar tending skills and keeps inviting us out to do things. We might go sailing with him on Wednesday.

Yesterday it was raining here, perfect weather to make cupcakes to test for Corina's engagement party.

Not much else is new here. This week Lauryn and I have many adventures planned. Stay tuned...

Photos!

My apologies for being lazy, but I don't feel like writing right now. Corina took us to the beach this weekend, here are some photos from the adventure. And photos of Rambo. Enjoy!

I wear my Soft Star Shoes everywhere!

Yes Rambo has her own shoe as a chew toy.