The Mile High Duo

Tuesday and we were back to the ol grind one last time! I heard back from SWIF and "congratulations you have received $1000" Thats great guys, when do I get the other half? Needless to say I have commenced the appeal process. We had our OT support meeting and Jo and I both presented on our projects that we had worked on while here on placement. I created a new kitchen assessment to be used by the facility, and everyone said it was heaps better than what they had been using, so job done. Becky and I were then off to complete a worksite assessment on a guy who was injured playing tag rugby (I didnt ask). Becky handed me the assessment form in the parkign lot and said here do you want to complete the assessment. I joked about how she spent the OT meeting complaining that she didnt have enough training for these assessments and now she was handing me the form and sending me in cold...but I had a hard time refusing since its a type of work I enjoy and I havent done much else lately :P So I completed that assessment without destroying the poor boys faith in our profession and we were out of there by 2. The weekend had taken some of the wind out of my sails and Becky had noticed so we decided to call it a day at 2! To relieve the stresses of travelling and money Becky and I went for a great hard run, it was so great, I didnt even feel out of shape, I kicked it really hard and just ran and ran! At her apartment gym I showed her some exercises that I had learned from Laura and from around the gym and then swam some laps in the pool. I finished off with a quick dip in the hot tub! Becky lives in a very posh place, and I also finally got to meet her much talked about bloke Frank (whose name is actually Kevin...dont ask). Walking home I could feel how rejuvenated I was...a new found energy! Back at the apartment I showered because I had a hot date! Jo and I had reservations for the sky towers orbit restaurant that slowly spins high above the city. Because of the special occasion we both donned our cute dresses (her in polka dots, me in sail boats) and made our ascent to the main observation deck. It wasnt AS impressive as I had imagined but cool as none the less! They even had a glass floor so we could practice psyching ourselves up for the bungee jump! We were seated in our seats up in the restaurant, in the 2nd row which meant another table was between us and the window...bummer. Jo asked to get us moved but no can do. Our mission: stay as long as possible. Our time of exit from the tower: 11pm. Mission status: success. The key element to the success in our mission was our well timed staggering of ordering items, so that while one ate or drank or nursed her free glass of wine (yes we had a coupon!) the other preoccupied herself with another dining experience. I am pretty sure we were not well loved by the waiting staff who wanted to turn our table over...we however were going to soak up as much of our moneys worth as possible. Upon our first order the waiter asked us if we would like bread, Jo who had just earlier mentioned they should have bread here which ensued into an east side marios talk piped up and immediately said yes...the result was a 4.50 addition to our bill. Sneaky little buggers...our revenge...we counted that as his tip. muahahaha! We left the tower when we were told "the deck will be closing in ten minutes ladies" We walked home stuffed to the gills, how stuffed were you melissa? JoAnna offered to treat us to 50cent icecreams and we both declined if thats any indication. I woke up this morning (Wed) feeling pretty sick to my stomach....likewise for Jo...hmmm?

Auckland Day weekend

Friday evening was spent in New Market in search of the perfect calendar…again I returned home empty handed. They do not make it easy to find a good NZ calendar in late Jan., I guess you have to be on the ball as soon as they come out…perhaps in October. Store clerks all tell me more will be in when the 2008 stock arrives…thanks for the help. My mission is still determined though, I will find one! Other than that I met up with Jo and we did some browsing, and I got 2 shirts that are NZ souvies. In a record store Jo finally found the theme song to our trip which she has been diligently searching for. The next part was a little entertainment for myself…she popped it into the stereo and was listening to it through the headphones, and mustve had it up to quite the volume because when she turned to talk to me about it she was yelling throughout the entire shop “I AM SUCH A HAPPY GIRL RIGHT NOW” pause… “ I AM SO EXCITED I AM SWEATING” haha…the guy behind the counter and I shared some muffled laughter and I tried to let her know she was being pretty loud…but well she couldn’t hear me. So as you can see, she was pleased to find the cd and immediately purchased it. I browsed through some NZ bands and found Evermore which I really like. I was wondering if someone…perhaps young hip Christopher, could browse around and see if the CD is available at home to save me from having to purchase it here best price here is $20 CND. Sunday morning we took the ferry to Waiheiki Island for some exploring. Apparently most people book tours etc before they get on the ferry because we quickly realized all the busses out of the terminal leave pretty much as soon as the boat is cleared. I had my heart set on horseback riding, and this was my plan for this trip…ride then go to the beach. Unfortunately all the guidebooks that assured me this was a possibility were wrong as all outfits had stopped riding over a yr ago. My heart dropped. So instead we booked a bus tour that came with a free bus pass at the end so we could go out and pick the best beach etc. We had an hour or so to wait, for the next batch of busses that coincided with the next ferry arrival…so we hiked up the mountain by the docks and explored the Art by the Sea. It was pretty interesting, some neat sculptures like peek through sculptures that frame the cliffs, a xylophone bridge, clear towers full of fluorescent orange hats and pink sashes that you were to model for the rest of the hike, a huge bathtub plug floating in the ocean (which funnily enough had a sold sign on the label) and so on and so on. Some of the pieces were nice to look at while others were just odd…but that’s how art goes. I was broiling as we hiked around, at a quicker pace than the average participant as we had to be back to catch the bus. I was also wearing jeans so that didn’t help. We made it back in time though and began our winding tour of the residential area of the island. The homes there are immaculate….contemporary styles and huge windows in order to take in the spectacular views all around the island. Homes start at around 4mil if anyone is interested. The island is mostly comprised of artists, musicians, writers, tv personalities and sports related famous people. After the tour we settled in Onerewa I think and browsed shops before setting up camp on the beach. Another lovely swim for me. Upon retiring form the beach for our evening tea…we quickly came to the conclusion that Waiheiki does not partake in evening tea, and all the shops, including restaurants were closed at 4. We walked up and down the streets and found a fish n chips shop so I got a kids pack chicken and chips…Jo wanted something cold so we walked on and found an upscale place that served salads. We couldn’t sit down to eat because I had my takeaway box so Jo ordered it to go…only when it arrived they did not have to go forks so we both had to sit in the waiting chairs in front of everyone and eat our of boxes because we couldn’t leave with the fork. I felt like quite the knob. Every minute that passed felt like I dropped a notch on the cool scale. On the bright side the bartender was a work of art himself so that took away some of the sting. We then headed out to The Little Day In, Waihieke’s version of the Big Day Out held in Auckland a few weekends ago. The band playing when we arrived was My Life Story, and I also enjoyed their music, another recommend. Next on was Kora who was a more pacific style band so not exactly my style but still presented a good beat. I think they are pretty famous here as the crown went wild and knew their songs. I was in the crowd mostly by myself and I think I stuck out like a sore thumb…could also be why I didn’t enjoy them as much. Saturday…was not a good day on the Melissa Jo front. People who know Jo and her OCD tendencies will understand that Jo had to be at the tourist centre at 8am to check for the best rental places. I tried to tell her before that it wouldn’t open until 9, but again Jo is not easy to reckon with on these matters…she needs to check for herself (like the time we were half way to Queen street and she had to run back to the apt to make sure I locked the door even when I told her I had…which I had). So anyway…I don’t know how she passed her time until the place opened at 9, but I ate breakfast and packed a beach bag and paid the rent. When I arrived at the centre at about 10 after 9 I saw that she wasn’t there and assumed she had gone for a walk while waiting for it to open. So I browsed the pamphlets picking up maps and such on our destination for the day Coramendel. I was getting pretty excited about our first road trip! After awhile I began to think about how odd it was that Jo still wasn’t here and it was 25 past… I was staring aimlessly out the window waiting for her when a guide asked if I needed any help…I told her I was just waiting for a friend because we were looking into rental cars. That’s when another guide popped up and said oh she already left, she was waiting outside and when we went over the schedule she decided it would be easier to take the ferry than to drive so she had to run to catch the 9 ferry and told us to let you know. Ok so I asked when the next ferry left…9 am the next day…oh ok what about a bus…the bus leaves at 1 and will get you there at 5 and your friend will be coming back by then. I stared at them in silence, mostly because I couldnt speak. My options were swirling around in my head along with all this info, I tried to process this all, of course without crying in public. I managed to ask about what else I could do today. You could go to Waiheiki Island, its really nice there! Yes I know, we were there yesterday. You could go to Devonport they have a great beach, yes I know…we have been there a few times. Everything they suggested was old news and their surprised faces diminished when they heard we had been here awhile. They were truly sympathetic but didn’t have much else to offer. I looked into going to Piha beach a day early, perhaps hiking Rangitoto, or a trip up to cape rainga... even considered renting a car myself but that was too expensive to do alone…and well I couldn’t even imagine trying to navigate on my own. I walked the streets trying to get rid of the ‘burst into tears’ feeling and went to Becky’s building to see if she would like to do something. The apt building intercom wasn’t labeled and I didn’t know her number so I sat on the steps and collected myself. I wound up back on the north head where I spent the day on a secluded beach reading a book, just me and my ‘ol pal rangitoto. I caught the Red Checkers on my way back, NZ’s equivalent of the Snow Birds….and I caught the tail end of an outdoor concert a block from our apt (funny the tourist guides neglected to mention that) and then did some laundry (finally washed my staple sweater!) I had gone into a few hostels on my way home to ask about transportation to Piha beach, as I was losing faith in any previous plans. I found out about a shuttle that runs once a day and got the number but no answer when I called. I got up early Monday and booked seats out to Piha. Jo assured me she wasn’t leaving anywhere without me today so I booked 2 seats. We have taken to blaming the people at the tourist info centre as they gave us both different information. Our driver was quite chatty on the way out so we got more NZ lessons (Maui dolphins are the most rare in the world and were spotted the other day off Piha, maui is the name of the Moari legend who fished the north island out of the sea from the south island, minah birds came over from India with immigrants as pets, manuka is tea tree, pukekos are the only native bird farmers can shoot on sight), even a bit of Bible FYI (Ezekiel describes a helicopter in his chapter). Part way into our journey it began to rain. And we then aptly entered the rain forest…more breathtaking views! You could actually see the steam rising from the trees as the rain hit. Yes, I was shopping for property in Piha also. He told us about a great hike up the mountains and a route we could take to get to the 5 stage waterfall. Taking cover under the trees in the rain sounded better than hiding in a shop or sitting on the beach so we took off in that direction. It began to rain harder and I wrapped myself in my towel to protect my bags and then we were under the canopy and fairly protected. It was a sweet as hike and the waterfall was just large enough to be very impressive. We hiked up to the top and back around and exited the trails at around 12:15 (I believe we entered at around 9:30-10). At the top of the falls we got separated as while we both carefully watched our feet as we made our way across the treacherous terrain we were unable to watch the other person heading in the opposite direction, kind of funny really, Jo had headed back the way we came up and I had continued on the path. I assumed we would meet back up in a loop, Jo said she was screaming my name but any sound was absorbed by the lush vegetation (a thought that would make a lone explorer nervous I would think). After 10 minutes we found each other back where we separated after I trekked back not finding her, Jo was yelling and cursing while I laughed on the inside as I recalled how we handle our anger differently and I chose not to speak at all when returning on Sunday. She thought that this would make us even, but I figured it would only be even if I left her in the forest all day and send a messenger to tell her I was having fun down on the beach. It's a good thing we love each other eh? Nearly out of the forest a group of Spanish speaking tourists approached me whilst taking a photo of Jo on a bridge and volunteered to take our pictures together…or that’s what I assume she said as all I truly comprehended was Hola…the rest was sounds and gestures as she spoke rapidly and pointed to jo and took the camera. Luckily she didn’t run off with it (I definitely could’ve caught her). She took our photo and their interpreter asked if we were from Australia….that was a new one for sure. They seemed pleased that we were Canadian. Back in town we stopped in at an art gallery….very exquisite pieces I must say…some even copy-able and I think Jo took pictures so we can do just that. We went into the bakery so Jo could buy lunch, nothing to her palate, then into the surf shop because I was interested in renting a body board….but changed my mind with the prices. Jo got lunch at the surf café by the beach and we set up camp in the black volcanic sand in front of the lifeguard hut. Emily…I’m sorry…no funny Bondi like beanies…sigh. Now onto the swim. It was the first thing I did because I was pretty muddy from the wet hike (we had to cross many streams and tramp through the mud) so before applying more sunscreen I needed to “bathe”. I donned my rash guard to protect my shoulders while in the water and headed off toward the surf…passing a film camera on my way (I had seen a poster at the café looking for extras for a Nickalodian movie they were shooting on the beach late jan early feb….ages 25 was there with a fee of 150/day). Walking out for a swim was pretty tricky, as rushing water was constantly upsetting your footing in many different directions. It stayed shallow for pretty far, but at variant degrees because the ripple on the sandbar was 200x magnified what the little ripples at home are like…so it was deep shallow deep shallow. The waves put magic mountain to shame, and Lawrencetown would be jealous! For someone who is not a huge fan of the water it was a nightmare of fighting for survival. The broken waves were the toughies, large white walls of rushing sea water would pound you with impressive force hurling you back toward the shore, as if saying you weren’t wanted on its turf. I would dive under the waves and feel the awesome sensation of the huge rolling wave tunnel as it passed around me and then emerge on the other side. I would sometimes emerge and have the opportunity to push my hair out of my face, take some breaths and wipe my eyes before diving under the next or I would emerge to immediately see another oncoming white wall forcing me to take another gasp and dive under once more…or if unlucky I would emerge only to find out I wasn’t truly emerging but more so being rocked by the next wave and tossed and tumbled. My heart was pounding, my eyes were stinging, my throat was burning, I was constantly clutching my suit bottoms as they were struggling to stay on…and I was having the time of my life. What a great swim!! I had to pretty much force myself out of the water, eventhough a good solid rocking by a massive wave made it a little easier, so that Jo and I could do some more exploring. However, returning to the towels it was later than i thought and we rushed off to meet our shuttle, me still just wrapped in a towel! On the way out the strip of plastic that I proclaimed "looks like a slip and slide" was indeed such....and we watched some kids whip down the hillside and into the river. We stopped at the top lookout spot before making our way back to the city to take before and after shots of the coast line because it was rainy when we drove in. The shuttle driver took a great shot of us on the top but when reviewing the photo Jo discovered she had visible sunscreen all over her nose. I thought she had done it on purpose and had forgotten it was even there by that point...perhaps they can photoshop that off? My version is in Sepia colour so you cant even notice. To end the day and the long weekend, and our last weekend in Auckland there was only one perfect thing for us to do...one guess. Ice cream! Movenpick ice cream of course...we went out to Mission Bay and ordered our much loved Carmellita and tried a new one Vanilla Brownie....to die for! Did I neglect to mention that Jo and I were dressed in matching outfits? Atesting to the fact that our love has gotten slightly out of hand? We matched right down to the necklaces...we figured it was our last weekend here and if we hadnt been noticed yet it was time to take some drastic measures. And I report success...people stopped dead in their tracks to comment, some requesting an explanations, others just gawking, and the ones we liked best, adoring! We were like peas and carrots jo and me or should I say just peas and peas? On the way home our lazy butts decided to walk up the hill instead of bus, and this decision of mine ended up with us walking all over the city until midnight! We went to cut up throught the park by our apt aptly stepping over some papers strewn on the stairs...I looked down and read the title on one "tips on takign better vacation photographs" of course peaking my interest I bent to pick it up...and under neath lay a guys passport photos...dear me! I called out to Jo and she picked up some of the papers near her and exclaimed "He's Canadian!" Our maple leaf blood forced us to help our fellow travellor out so instead of securing the scene of the crime and searching for his body in the park (a la Kelly and LB) we brought his stuff (tickets, travel cuts stuff etc) to the cop shop across town. With our good deed out of the way we went home and collapsed into bed for much much needed sleep!

Shopping for Property

Been busy at work this week, and I use busy in a loose sense. Havent had much time to do the school work we were supposed to do however, I have no idea when they expected us to fit that nonsense in! I took the bus up to the Sony Solution Centre this morning instead of heading right to the train. It was a tearful reunion as my camera missed me very much. She was so delighted to see me, well frankly she was delighted to see anything as she had been blind for a few days. They replaced her lens so she is like brand new. Wait....she is brand new! Total cost was 134.50, total cost out of my pocket 0%. That's how I like to do business. The church where the bus let me off was St.Davids Presbyterian...I didnt know we had another branch. I think I will start going to that one instead...who's with me? Today we went to a beach on the Tasman sea....much different than the Pacific ones...very rough and the sand was black! Everytime we go on another outing I find new places I want to live. I cant even describe the scenery...hardly anything is flat, massive rolling hills and mountains that peek through to the crashing sea! I enjoyed the area around Awhitu if youre looking for me when I dont return as scheduled.
I think Jo is going to come to work with me tomorrow and then we get a long weekend, Monday is Auckland day so dont forget to celebrate! Each city centre has its own holiday and they dotn really have a NZ day as we have Canada day...and I hear they dont care...no fireworks, no parades...just a day off. Hogwash...give me a party! This weekend we will be renting a car and driving out to the places we need to fit in before we head south! Next weekend! We are on real holiday NEXT WEEKEND!! Piha beach is on the schedule, it's quite popular...and Dad and Emily do you remember the Discovery show we watched that had Bondi Beach...I have been told the lifeguards look the same...I will be taking a picture of course...because I have a camera...I will be taking pictures every time I turn around. I will not let the camera out of my hand for the rest of the trip. I almost bought 10 new tapes at sony today, but I am going to shop around for the best price first...there it was $90. Oh and when I got back from the outing there was a msg from mom on the phone! She found me! Havent heard that voice in awhile!

oh joy

I only have a quick second, but I just had to had to say MY CAMERA IS FIXED! I LOVE NEW ZEALAND! They did it for free in one day...I only dropped it off yesterday after work at like 4pm! They emailed to say i can come pick it up!!! oooh so happy so happy! Also heard from SWIF and they said I should knwo more by the end of the week because their paper work takes awhile.

Bay of Islands

We didn’t actually get to do a tour of the winery, more just a tour of the shop area. More importantly we were able to sample the different varieties to choose the best one for purchasing. Out of my many attempts to find the perfect bottle I chose a light Chardonnay, and no, I don’t know how to spell that. Canadian customs will only let us bring back 1L of wine so I am hopeful they do not sell this at the local LC. Jo said even if they do we can just take pleasure in knowing it came from the real deal. I had to do a little work in the vines to pay off my bottle but I think it will be well worth it. After that we went down to a little fruit place to browse around and perhaps pick up more lunch food. I did find some quirky little things…like Italian ketchup in a toothpaste style bottle with only Italian labels (very tempted to buy it for a laugh but couldn’t part with the $5). I did get some curries etc to have a go at making a meal with Emily when I get back because I didn’t think they would have the proper stuff in Pictou (seeing as how they don’t even know what Hummus is, and don’t get me started on baba ganouch, no I cant spell that either). We attempted to go watch some of the international beach volleyball tournie at the tennis stadium but I was not even near close to willing to part with 12 precious dollars to watch it. On the upside after leaving the stadium we discovered sweet as walking trails right in the middle of the city that make you feel as though you fell into the middle of the rainforest! Saturday morning we caught the bus to the Bay of Islands. After some trouble at the booking booth (trying to agree on our weekend plans) we decided on the excitor jet boat for sat and the ferry to Urupukapuka for Sunday. About 30 seconds on the boat my head scarf blew off and from there on in my hair was just whipping in the wind as the scarf had been my only line of wind defence…Lisa…all I have to say si you may need to prepare the clippers as I had some very lovely dread locks by the end of the hour and a half. I didn’t even attempt to brush it on Sunday and opted for the classic Melissa buns. We went through the hole in the rock and we saw bottle nose dolphins (whoopee eh Emily?). Hahaha, they were actually cool, I mean I don’t not like dolphins, I just have a respect for them as wild animals. The little kids were ooing and awing about how badly they wanted to jump in and hug them…while I gripped the side of the boat in awe and fear. The mere thought of falling in and “hugging” the dolphins made me nauseous! I couldn’t even imagine what scene would’ve unfolded had I dropped into the water….a series of desperate screaming and then dead silence perhaps as I slipped into a hyperventilated coma and drowned. Ah yes so we moved on and left the dolphins and their massive bodies (they were much larger than I imagined…with a mottled grey colour as opposed to a solid grey) with huge sharp teeth behind and continued to sail around the beautiful islands. Much like how I imagine the cliffs and crags of Scotland! Oh how nice it would’ve been if I could’ve taken pictures of these beautiful scenes but alas…my camera has died…and took a chunk of my soul right along with it. As such a lover of photography to have your camera die, to look down at the non responsive screen, hear the beeps of failure...was like punching me in the face. All my insides melted and I just didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s really not explainable how I felt. I took it to a photo shop and their only advice was send it back under warranty and buy disposable cameras for the rest of my trip. So we sat on the beach for a bit that evening and I found 2 free dockets (coupons) for beer at one of the pubs. Ah just what the doctor ordered…I guess god can only test me so far and then provides a little treat. They were only valid between 9-10 so I ordered fish and chips at the shop announcing they were voted best in the northlands. I had Hoki fish if anyone knows what that is because I do not. It was good none the less. However you had to pay extra for tartar sauce and ketchup so I ate it with just the lemon. Then we went to another pub to try and get the pizza deal for Jo but they only had that at 7pm and it was 8 something so we left empty handed. We went and found the Lighthouse where our dockets were for and I tried a beer that I saw was brewed in NZ, Lion Red and Jo just watched me drink it as she wouldn’t drink any herself. The pub was quite literally empty aside from the nice bartender the big friendly bouncer, some one playing vlt and a guy waiting for the wet t-shirt contest. Wet t-shirt contest you say….hmm perhaps the answer to some of my money problems with that 500$ prize….uhm yes dad I won some money…haha…never in a million yrs…we nearly ran out of that place. We went back to check out the spa, but after changing into my togs (swimsuit) I realized that what Jo meant by going in the spa was really translated into watching me go into the spa. That sounded about as much fun as her watching me drink my beer so I decided to change into my pj’s and just go to bed….at 10pm. We are the wild ones eh? We went to bed but did not sleep as our lovely hostel mates decided it was party time…in Spanish I believe was the language. I tried a few times to get them to stop to no avail. Sunday we set off and tried to visit the Waitangi Treaty house…we were told it would be a 15 minute walk but it was in reality 50 minutes…plus a fee to view the house and a ferry time to catch left us turning right back around and walking back. We had a nice ferry ride out to Urupukapuka (I think we renamed the island about 10 times on our video, my video camera was taken out to replace my camera) We had a nice tramp around the island and then settled on a nice beach which was practically our own, had fun with picture taking and then I went for a swim while Jo filmed onshore. I am getting better at the sunscreen and am now only red behind my ears, a little behind the knees and I can see the outline of my sunnies on the right side. The water seemed a bit colder here, but very clear and once in was very nice! I took some sand home because it looked like neopolitan icecream! I also found some superb shells! Back on the mainland we got icecream (mint stratacellio or something) I believe Jo had 4 icecreams this weekend. Then went home.

AUT School of OT

I am at Jo's workplace in Kumeu so I did get a chance before Monday to play on this. I was able to fix the pictures on the post titled Week One, so I hope now they are viewable. We were picked up this morning outside our apt by Mathijs the AUT fieldwork coordinator and we got a tour of the OT school and a history lesson on NZ (his favourite subject in school!) Their school si quite spread out and intertwined with physio, nursing and pediatry so there is no real clear OT section (aside from a cubby space in the office he explained). He thought it was pretty funny when we took pictures. He thought it was too bad the students wouldnt get to meet us, although he said we wouldve been swarmed with questions! We popped into the bookstore to see if they had AUT OT merchandise, but they didnt. They did however have a lot of the same texts as us...aside from the Maori culture sensitivity ones etc. We then took the bus into Jo's farm to "work on our project" and now we are going to do some more research at the winery down the street! The weather is beautiful and we are goign to stop in at another fabric store in Henderson and then see if we can catch the beach volleyball tournament at the tennis courts by our apt!

Star Ship envy

:D SO Bev has had what I believe to be an excellent idea! Donations to the "Save Melissa's New Zealand Memories" Fund can be made out to myself and either deposited directly into my account or given to my mother for transfer! This is prime entertainment by the way...I would think better than a movie...hahaha!!

It’s always difficult to start the posts that are a few days behind. Today I am at the Star Ship Hospital which is a children’s hospital a ten minute walk from our apartment. Why they weren’t able to place me here I am unsure, as after 10 minutes of being here I was really wishing this was my complete placement. There already is apparent a vastly more wide range of learning opportunities, so I told them if they ever want me to come back I will be here in a second…well maybe ten minutes. Yesterday with Becky I did an in home pain assessment in Cambridge which is about a 2 hour drive south east toward Rotarua. It was the only thing we did all day as the rest of our time was spent travelling. We used one of those print out internet maps which tells you which street to turn onto and for how many km’s to drive down it etc…Becky says I jinxed us as I immediately told her the story of how the last time I used one of these I wound up on a dead end lane in the middle of the woods. We got lost. Of course. I believe we stopped at 5 garages to repeatedly ask directions. We even stopped a film crew to ask…and I really wanted to ask them what they were doing and whether or not they could make me famous…but I held back. When we found the mans house it was simply amazing…what a back yard! Mountains and rolling hills, fields of sheep and deer and cows and rocky crags. Very very nice. That evening Jo and I went back over to Devonport where we were met by some distant something or other somehow possibly related to Jo family. The father David and his two sons Christopher and Luke met us on the dock and as we walked to the car I couldn’t help notice how the 2 boys kept looking at me…then one says to me You look like you live here. I, however, heard you look like you love here…as they had pretty strong accents. I said that I do…and was surprised by their surprised looks, as they would’ve heard I was Canadian. After a bit we had it all sorted out, and it was by far the best compliment I have received since arriving! My assimilation is successful. Luke was even training me on the accent…but they said I often sounded to Aussie. So I am working on it. The supper, or evening tea, was simply delicious…we definitely appreciate food. It was really cute too because they brought out a birthday cake for JO. Today is Jo’s bday and we are heading out for a buffet meal tonight where hopefully Jo’s meal will be free. Tomorrow we are touring the Auckland School of OT and then on Saturday we will be heading off to the Bay of Islands for fun fun fun! My hopes are to go sea kayaking and get some amazing photos!

From week one

Another shot from the New Years celebration of my embarrassing attempt at pacific dancing, Jo made sure to capture it all
Taking in the view at Western Springs, I am pretty sure we are sitting on the lava flow

Rediscovering our inner child at the Auckland Zoo...yes I did ask a stranger to witness our foolishness and take the picture for us!

Jo and I getting in touch with our inner wild side at the Auckland Zoo
Arriving at Long bay Beach before the sun had a chance to brand me

This our first trip to Takanini when we couldnt find my work placement, here we are sheltering ourselves from the rain at the train platform in the middle of nowhere

Internet Dungeon

So I came to the internet basement dungeon to post pictures, paid the man my money and now I am sitting here watching nothing happen. You cant say I didnt try. I love watching that hour glass just sit there....well worth my food money...

P.S. They just opened another asian restaurant in our building and I couldnt be more delighted but that sweet as suprise when I returned from work...


woohoo it worked...me on Devonport Island with skycity in background


New Years Eve on stage with the Sarong ladies


Long Bay Beach


Our very first sheep siting at One Tree Hill


Our handy work at one tree hill...bigger than appears!

Well thats my time up...argh...maybe more to come...if I get a laptop?

Bathing in Sunscreen

So I havent quite gotten to the point where I need to swim in SPF 200 before leaving the house, but that may be the next step I have to take.
I cant quite remember what we did on Friday, so I am sure it was exciting. I am still getting dizzy spells, and while we bumped around downtown looking at souveneirs I almost toppled over a few times after bending over to pick something up. Not sure what could be causing that, as I am drinking a lot of water etc. Saturday was a rubbish day, rainy and dreary most of the time, and if not that still dreary and then drizzly. We figured we may as well head over to Devonport as it is a free trip and Becky recommended the view from the Northhead. When we had headed out it actually looked like it may be a nice day so we were equipped in swimsuits. The only use they served was as unders that day though. I did however get to quench that cheesecake craving at a bakery. We hiked up Mount Victoria or something, I really should bring my journal to work as a reminder when I type these things up. Even with the weather as it was the view was great! That I played with my secret remote in the TV lounge preparing for our movie night on Sunday. We went down and watched Anchor Man later still that night and had a good laugh! Sunday we decided to go back to Devonport to give it one more shot at wowing us. And needless to say it did that and more. JoAnna had given up all hope on using her swimsuit and traded it for an umbrella...but I clung firm to the belief that the day would turn around for us. I am pretty sure the quote I gave Jo at the elevator was "You'll be sorry when I am working on my tan on the beach as you sit there in your jeans." As we sat on the ferry on the way over out broke the sund through the clouds creating an instant heat wave. We explored the farmers market for a bit, but were a little disappointed that it was just food items. Not that I frown at free samples! MMM puhatakana honey! butterscotch and brandy pancake topping! venitian olive oil and bread! We so very much wanted to buy some of the dessert toppings, for the bottle presentation alone was purchase worthy...but we could envision arriving home with passionfruit sauce all over our belongings. It may still happen...if we return to the market in 2 weeks. We went off in search of the beach Becks had recommended and almost settled for a strip of sand by the Yacht Club. I am very glad I asked a man for his recommendation of a good beach in the area (first thing out of his mouth: 'youre from North America...at least he didnt say american) then pointed us in the direction of the best swimming at Chelteham Beach beyond the north head. Appearantly we climbed the wrong mountain the day before...oh well. We found the beach and then proceeded to crisp ourselves accidently...I swear to you all I was coated in SPF 50, I am now getting this down to an art....practice makes perfect...my coating technique needs work...as in dont worry about getting the cream on your suit as you will burn in a line all along the edge, dont forget to cream your eye lids as they too will burn, and dont forget your toes. As in the bath of SPF 200 that is in my future. The sunscreen Jo borrowed from Annie failed to do a proper job as now Jo is unable to stand under the shower without endearing pain. Aside from the scorching sun (I have never been so hot in my life, no exaggeration) it was a great great day. I went for my first NZ swim on Jan.14th! SO very very nice...I swam with mount rangitoto in the background in the Hauraki Gulf. And if I didnt fear all water creatures it wouldve been a longer swim ...but as fate shoudl have it a little fish wouldnt leave me alone...I swear the thing bit me...I swear it...so i ran back to my towel. Jo and I then explored the North head which has heaps of World War relics built into the mountain. We may have to go back equipped with a video camera and a flashlight. There were neat caves and lookout points, and the walk around the mountain, on a pathway that jutted out from the cliff face wall above the water was...beyond words. At another little secluded beach I had to run back into the water as by this point I had dried off again and was over heated. Definately a very nice day trip which cost nothing at all, and yes chris I took heaps of pictures. Yet even after getting my pictures onto CD (ah yes that did work on Friday, I stayed at work until 5 to make sure of it...however unable to email them to myself and therefore unable to post yet) I am scared to delete them off my camera...we will see how long this struggle lasts. I guess I could delete the 20 pictures I have of spider monkeys. And the 300 I have of Rangitoto! I may make it to a library tonight to see if I can upload some pics. Last night we watched Whale Rider, and it was a different experience to be able to watch it after I have been here for awhile... there are more things that you pick up on that I wouldnt have known 2 yrs ago. I definately recommend the movie to anyone...as I have been for the past 2 yrs...and to be quite honest is probably the reason I am here right now :P Oh and mom you were askign about mailing things, Jo's mom was to send a parcel but when she asked at the post office how long it would take to arrive they said 2 MONTHS! Incredible. Planes come here everyday, I guess after Tom Hanks crashed the fed ex plane they are making fewer trips. Speaking of Tom Hanks, Jo and I will be living at the airport for valentines day...hopefully we can have as much fun. Didnt he have some scheme worked out with returning luggage carts? Do you get money when you return them? That would be sweet as...maybe we could eat...

Hard to Catch up!

So even on the days where it may seem to us like we arent doing very much, I still seem to take a long time to get it all out on my journal. So, to have to catch up an entire week seems difficult right now! I should always read my last post before I start a new one because now I dont know where I left off. Rotarua? Turns out I just missed seeing Kelly MacDonald in Rotarua because her email arrived when I returned to Auckland. Now I'm not sure if we will get a chance to meet up on the other side of the world. :) Some of the things Jo and I have been doing: Tuesday we were going to go to the thermal pools but it was raining and we both got in late from work (also the last bus leaves Weiwera at 7:40 so we wouldnt have had long there). So instead I found a flyer on a free slideshow about tramping in NZ put on by Active Earth which is a company that runs tramping tours. It had some amazing photos and really looked like it would offer a sweet as trip, seeing teh side of NZ many tourists dont get a chance to be a part of since it is so far off the beaten path. It also wouldve given us a chance to further explore our new discovery of ourselves eh? However afetr we really thought about it, it seemed like the kind of trip you needed to have more time for...there was so much we wanted to do on our time off that we wouldve missed by being in the back woods and on several mountain tops. We have also discovered it is most often cheaper to explore on your own and just pay for travelling there. It is good though to see what is out there. At this event they had free wine (from a box mind you, but I rarely turn down requests that say free in them) and you got 20% off everything in the store so I bought a pair of "jandals" which I havent been able to add to my vocabulary here because I still prefer sandals :P They are heaps more comfortable than my old ones (which I discovered during cleaning the Rotarua mud off them have a heel that is pushing 2mm thick). We went down to the sky tower on Wednesday to explore the casino...JoAnna won few cents on the slots so that was exciting...we spent it on more spins! hahaha she played the 2cent game and I tried to play a dollar but you couldnt, it had to be 2 dollars so I just watched and took a few of Jo's button pushes. There was a little band there playing and salsa dancers (supposedly from the audience, Jo thinks they were paid because they were too good to be randoms) entertained us for awhile. We were ID'ed twice so we will thank them when we turn 30. We checked out the orbit restaurant prices while we were there (the spinning eatery at the Sky Tower observation deck) (oh and also saw our first transvestites which took some convincing for jo to believe one was truely a boy- thats how good he was, to be quite honest the bugger looked better in a dress than I ever would) The prices at the restaurant are quite high, so I am dragging my feet and beign hesitant on commiting to going, there wasnt even really anything on the menu I wanted...it would be more for the experience of eating there. If they had lamb chops in mint sauce I might be more willing because its soemthing I want to try somewhere nice....or even good fish. We'll see. As I continue my tales you will see why I am even more hesitant now. At work I also got to go out on some community runs, and my first client had quite the story. He was a missionary for yrs and played in a quite famous christian rock band which has tourned North America but I cant breach confidentiality, and got a brain tumour and chemo that resulted in brain damage. He and his wife stopped their missionary work but quite often thanked god during the assessment for what they had, ie. a very accessible home, very helpful children etc. Actually they are attending a huge outdoor weekend christian music festival in the area this month called Parachute if you mightve heard of it Sarah or Bev? Maybe if you google it you will recognize some good bands. The next client was Maori and the nurse travelling with us was quite rude to him but I dont have the energy to go into it, I was just quite appalled by her manner of interviewing. Yesterday I got to go to the zoo again with the clients. Definately a different experience than with JO. Definately more fun with JO, plus we had better animal viewings. I took on the role of describing everything to our blind client who loves animals, so that was actually quite fun. I later heard her back at the house telling people what she had seen so she was definately paying attention. This lady is always givign me hugs and saying oh youre such a sweet girl, such a good girl. SO of course I like her hehe :P I'm still getting sunburnt even with spf 50 and spf 30 on top of that! It boggles my mind. Jo's approach is to wear long sleeves and pants but I just cant do it. Last night Jo and I went to Mission Bay and had THE BEST icecream we ever had at Movenpick a switzerland company. I cant even type the flavour names because they were unpronounceable. We planned on walking the beach with them but I couldnt walk and eat it at teh same time...thats how good it was! One scoop I think was carmaletta and had chunks of carmel in it....the other was...no i cant do it...but it was vanilla'ey with chocolate chunks. Then we walked the beach picking up shells and wading our feet...still havent been in swimming. After work we booked our flights to the south island and that ran us about 330NZ. We then went down to look into Bay of Island tours for this weekend...and the lady there was...oh dear...she left me speechless...it was like when we entered the tour shop we had walked into her family home and she had no idea why we would be there. Jo tried to inquire on bus prices to the Bay of Islands...and its really hard to describe...the woman acted so stunned...long pauses and weird looks at us...blunt bitchy responses...Jo and I kept lookign at each other unsure of what to make of her. We were even trying to be extra polite to see if her attitude would change. No luck...we walked out onto the sidewalk and stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. neither of us knew what to think...she had me so shocked I could barely get words out....but as we walked up the street I definately thought of some things I wouldve liked to say to her. At the tourism centre we did book through I discovered that I reached my limit on my Visa. Something that until that moment had crossed my mind. Oops. I cant even explain the thoughts that ran through my head after that. Jo did her best to reassure me that everything would be fine, and she paid for what we had booked for now. I am hoping that the SWIF funding was reviewed today so I can get some money enough to leave the country at least. Jo also took care of our first two weeks of rent so I am going to have a heap load to pay when my time comes around :P I didnt want to have to tell anyone about this because I couldve very easily kept it a secret. But a bird plopped on my shoulder while at the zoo, and my only witness was blind. However when one of our clients lit therubbish bin on fire and my preceptor broke her shoe trying to get to it I offered up my tale to her to ease her suffering over the loss of her shoe. (she had to walk the zoo barefoot). And I only tell you so that we can put an end to the myth of it being good luck. Whereas I missed my train home that evening, which I ran all the way to catch skipping a much needed trip to the loo, which I then had to hold for the wait until the next train and accompanying ride and walk around Auckland booking our trips, plus the odd lady at the tour shop, plus the sunburn, plus the declined VISA etc etc. I figure is enough evidence to reject the hypothesis. We have no real plans for this weekend because Becks told me she heard that it is calling for rain all weekend, and the tourist info lady confirmed it, so we booked for next weekend. As I sit here in the little office on the prarie...it is indeed pouring. My new raincoat is proving handy. I was allowed to leave work hours ago but chose to stay because well, its shopping day so I can stay and eat and also Jo wouldnt be back until later anyway. I had my meeting with Mathijs (Mah-tace) today, the Auckland University liason to talk about the placement so far...he was really nice. I also tried to get our non communicative autistic qualities TBI client to interact with me today to no avail by dumping out different coloured blocks in front of him and then proceeded to sort them to see if he would at least watch me (he instead kept his eyes squeezed shut laughing (I thought crying at one point) to himself). Our other non communicative client played pool with me, beating me once again....and answered some questions in the communication book with me: fave tv show is coronation street, liked the monkeys best yesterday. SO I am starting to do stuff on my own while Becky does paper work. Jo and I might do the thermal pools tonight, she was going to look into see if the tuesday special really exists and if not we would go even in the rain I guess (which has just stopped suddenly) I think this would be a good time to run into the main house and eat some lunch. I have missed a lot of stuff but you will hear it all I am sure when I get back and dont stop talking for a month straight. Jo says I talk too much. I'm trying to cut back...savign my stories for Emily, I know she will listen. Chris too...I may have to get them together so i can save some breath. Maybe rent out the hall and show my pics and tell my stories all at once...hahaha....oh later today I am hoping to work on getting pics up....I think I will go back in and put them with corresponding posts so you will have to search (we'll see about flickr colleen). I asked the lady with the laptop and she said after her work is done so we will see what I can get done (I got blank cd's last night chris so my potential to take pics has just exponentially expanded!)

I'm in Love

I really cannot get over how much in love with this island I have become. It is like every time I blink I am visually assulted with more beauty than I can withstand! It is somewhat like the screensavers you have on your computer of places you wish you were instead of in fron of your computer...and that is what I see everytime I turn around. I couldnt possibly take all the pictures I wish to take...or I would quite literally have a bajillion kazillion pictures! I have been taking care to moderate my picture taking as Jo sometimes makes fun of me...but she has applauded my good eye so it equals out. So where did we leave off? Friday afternoon seems so long ago...we tried to purchase tickets to the rugby game but it turns out they dont go on sale until the 22 of January, so we have to bide our time on that one. We went out to the museum after that because on one of my work outings I saw signs up for night in the Auckland museum and thought that would be a good chance for us to see the museum and get a little tour (as we are at work during the day). The sign could have perhaps mentioned that this event was geared towards children...I dont think Jo was impressed with our evening plans. Harry the museum security guard came out to let us know that they started up these tours because they got bored in the evening and wanted to make some extra cash (28 of those dollars were faught out of mine and jo's hands once we noticed the alarming amount of children). They also infromed us that things get quite strange in the museum at night and they often hear odd noises but that we arent to get frightened. We ran into a ghost in the aviary section and he taught us a bit abotu how the museum was back in his day (he was one of the founding members but died before it was built) ie. they didnt have enough birds for a spectacular display so they went out and shot some. He also taught us about the creatures we saw ie. the Wandering Abatross ahas the widest wingspan of any flying creature ever which is 11ft. As we were coming out of the ocean section we caught sight of a running dino (the costumes actually were quite impressive, aside from the children yelling 'nice legs'). Then we got to see baby dinosaurs and fend ourselves from being eaten by the father. After that it was pretty much over, Harry asked the kids if they had any good jokes...they didnt...they were rubbish...oh expcept 'why did the pirate cross the road- to get to the second hand shop' I did giev a little giggle for that kid. Saturday morning we got up early and caught our bus at the skytower to Rotarua. The trip takes 4 hrs. The people sitting infront of us were from Alberta. The scenery on the trip was of course superb, but I found easier to enjoy on the way home. We were let off at the Rotarua tourism centre so we went in straight away to check on seeing a Maori show and taking part in a feast...because we had been given conflicting information on whether to book or not. You did need to book so we had to make a choice between 5 shows. The 2 in hotels we ruled out. And then Chose Te Puia because it also had thermal geysers and mudpools (over the village demonstrations and glow worms at the other 2). When ordering a show you got a free voucher to a choice of three destinations 1. The spa 2. The thermal fields mud baths and 3. the museum. Which one do you think we chose? Did you guess the museum? Because that's where I reluctantly went because Jo didnt want to get wet or dirty. haha! So the museum was an old bathhouse that was running until the 60's so we saw old tubs and stuff. And a section on the latest volcano eruption Mt. Tarawera in the early 1800's that destroyed the fabulous pink and white terraces which were at one time the 8th wonder of the world...if we hadnt found out they were destroyed we wouldve wasted a lot of time searching for them :P There was a sweet as cinema viewing on the event with seats that rumbled when the volcano went off etc. There was also a Maori section on war vets and artifacts. The shuttle to Te Puia picked us up in front of our hostel Treks at 5:30. We took part in a welcoming ceremony that was just as if we were a visiting tribe...we even had to pick a chief to be a leader...and no they wouldnt let girls do it. A warrior came out to offer us a peace token which was a leaf and our chief had to accept it. The a prominent woman sang us welcome to enter. Upon entering the Moari (or morae I saw it spelled also) we had to remove shoes, sunglasses and hats and only men were allowed in the front rows, which we were assured wasnt a sexist idea, but more so that if war did break out between the tribes, the men would be there to protect the women and children...I still didnt feel safe from the looks of our tribe and the looks of theirs. The formal ceremony then took place and after that hoopla was done we were allowed to move up fron as the local tribe entertained us. At the end we were invited up to learn how to do the Haka dance, no correction...the men were invited up and I had to sit on my hands. AFTER THAT the women were invited up to twirl balls on string. I am rubbish at twirling a ball on a string and catching it all the while singing in a foreign language. I have it on film so you dont only have to laugh at the image in your head. After the show it was Hangi time, the traditional meal which wasnt so traditional as some things seemed unMaorian like sushi. JoAnna and I were amazed by all the food as we hadnt had access to that much at once in a long time...we were planning on eating 85$ worth! I think we managed on the dessert table alone. I also got to have my first taste of lamb and I did like it. I did not like some of the other things, and the sweetpotato soup wasnt so great. I have also been finding that lettuce here tastes more like grass and puckers up my face. Also the people there were putting ketchup on their salad...I had to ask 3 times what the red sauce was because I just couldnt believe, I figured they must be mistaken...but I got ketchup as an answer 3 times. My other option was mayonaise....so I just tried the lettuce straight up. Dessert was amazing! That's all I have to say. As we sat there running out of places in our stamachs to squish more chocolate mousse I began to realize the evening was drawing to a close and we hadnt yet seen any thermal activity. So we snuck off and ran around the grounds and were so lucky to get there when teh geyser shot off! Jo and I are feeling very blessed by our luck lately and are having a lot of fun together being silly!! When we returned we saw the group coming towards us and thought that perhaps they were actually going to do a tour and we would have to go through again...but all they did was look down at the geyser from the look off and exclaim that it wasnt active right now. The crowd in unison "awww" Jo and I give sly grins to each other ;) I actually thought we were going to get in trouble as the security guard came towards our group saying something about 2 girls group into a walkie talkie...so I blended further into the group and we walked out without being approached. When we got back to our hostel we refreshned up and grapped our free drink voucher and went to the Pig and Whistle up the street for a glass of wine while listening to The Sesames from Tuaranga. They were an alright band, even playing some snow patrol and green day. We had a good laugh at some of the patrons and their dancing techniques. The next morning I went Zorbing, and JoAnna watched because again it involved getting wet (but we have it in writing here that she promised promised to go bungee jumping with me) I chose the zigzag route and when i got to the top made sure I got a nice and clear zorb ball so JoAnna could see me when I came down (she was lead video director). I was to wave when it was my turn at the top, however the guy in front of me also waved down (quite frantically Jo said) so she filmed him all the way down with commentary on my style...or lack there of (as I had said I was going to do my best to hurl myself around inside the ball) She got a surprise when out popped a guy at the end. Luckily she filmed the next zorb which was indeed myself. We then walked up to the sheep farm and looked around there for a bit. As we were taking pictures we missed the return shuttle that comes every hour so we walked to the Kiwi encounter. Neither of us had appropriate foot wear for such a journey and were melting under the heat. We stopped at a B&B to get a drink of water, she asked where we were coming from and Jo said Canada, we are walkign from the agridome...and she directed us to the hose out back. Pretty funny as this hose had only one setting I believe was called spray yourself in the face. Refreshing at the same time...with that awesome hosey taste. Jo finds it hard to believe we managed to find the one B&B without a sink and a cup. Haha...I said at least they didnt direct us to the creek over the hill! We eventually made it to the kiwis mostly in one piece where Jo downed an apple juice in record time, and I refused to pay 1$ for a banana :P We caught the shuttle at this place (and saved a whole doller...I couldve gotten the banana I suppose) and he dropped us off at the (I will fill in name later) lake (starts with K is all I remember). This is a thermal lake that steams up all around you as you walk over the boardwalk...very cool! We then ate at subway and bought our friends and family souveniers before catching the bus home. We got a pizza with a coupln our way back to the apt that I will finish for supper (a large pizza from dominos here looks like a medium and the classic crust is thin crust, we cant imagine what thin crust is...so jo finished her half because it was just enough to fill her up...still tasted good though! Hard to fit in our mini fridge though!) Today at work I did a lot of 1:1 work with the clients so that was fun...started some kitchen assessments. Tonight Jo and I are going to try and book our South Island trip!! We are so excited!! We may try and join a tour group if it turns out to be cheaper then hiring a car, purchasing the petrol and hostels stays along with the activities we want to do....and inculded trip may prove to be more cost efficient plus provide us with the opportunity to meet more people. I can leave work as soon as I am done with my stuff in here on the computer so i am off to check all the fabulous emails you guys write me :)

Ah weekends...

Last night Jo and I met up at the travel bureau and booked our coach tickets to Rotorua. We will be leaving on Sat morning and then returning Sunday night. Although it turns out I am getting Friday afternoons off so we might've been able to leave earlier. While there we are hoping to go Zorbing, for those who I havent already told about this it is basically rolling down a hill inside a big rubber ball. You can opt for the wet or dry version. I am still contemplating this decision...wet sounds like it would be pretty exciting because you would fly all around, but the dry option offers me the chance to film the descent. Hmm...I'll perhaps base my decision on price. Either way it will be filmed...although from the outside it will just look like a ball rolling down a hill. :) We will also be visiting a Maori village where we will watch a show and take part in a feast. There are some other options in the area but these are our only for sures...so you will have to stay tuned on Monday, your sunday morning, for an update on our excitement! We didnt get a chance to book our rugby tickets because the place closed. We then ate supper at Dennys and had BLT's and fries for 7$ which is one of the best prices we had seen around...although the fries were not up to my fry standards haha! The Maori dictionary says that those fries were torouka (uncooked). We then stopped in at Borders book shop to check out their Maori section...JoAnna was hoping to pick up a Maori dictionary. We spent a long time reading through the books and there were so many we wanted to take home. However books are pricey and heavy so we had to leave them behind. I did purchase a new journal as mine is nearly full and a bugger to write in because it is small and stiff, and also a book on Maori legends. I almost got a new copy of Whale Rider as mine has disappeared but I am still hopefull that it will reappear soon! We were pretty tired at that point so we retired to our apartment to journal and sleep! Today was a pretty slow day at work as most of the clients who are communicative were out at day programs. Becky and I went over some goals and I read more up on the clients. She is off at a meeting and I am free for the afternoon to go home and "study" which she said is code for shop. I am very excited about our trip this weekend, it shoudl be a blast. Although Becky says we couldve saved a lot of money by renting a car and driving...but the travel lady told Jo it was more expensive. More research for next time I guess...and we'll save the kiwi's from having to experience us on the roads! Speaking of Kiwi's I see some here now, I may go eat my first NZ kiwi then catch the train home and "Study". I miss you guys heaps and so many times wish you could be here experiencing everything as I do!
Oh and my burn is beginning to fade, I have been lathering on the sunscreen every day and now wear a head scarf to work to protect my hair part. Also today I had the nurse put an antiseptic iodine spray on my hands and they already look better. If I see an aloe plant on my journeys I will be sure to rip one open and spread it on :) I also kept my long sleeves on all day even though it is hot hot! There...now my mom can rest easy...hehe

I missed a day

I forgot about Tuesday. So tuesday we had planned on checking out Kumeu where Jo works and then touring a winery. SO I wasnt expecting to be out in the sun much. Jo ran into the transport station when we got down there to check on the bus schedule as I sat out on a bench peeling off a layer due to the increasing heat. She ran back out and sat next to me and said Well, lets go to the beach! The bus wasnt running due to holidays. We went to Long Bay Regional Park and the temperature fluxuated all day. Sometimes chilly othertimes scorching! Peeling and relayering constantly. WHen Kiwis go to the beach it is quite an event...huge groups of people playing games, singing, BBQ'ing...all with tents and blankets and all the fixings! Perfect for people watching! We hiked all along the cliffs and it was simply spectacular! I am in love with the vegetation here and all the colours. I may skip Canadian winters every year. We had sme great photo ops and video set ups on our long hike. Back down on the beach we rolled up our pants and waded (Becky calls it foot paddling) and collected some sea shells- Jo had the idea to write the name of each place from which we collect the shells. A few times we almost got stuck swimming as we suddenly be trapped by deeper water on the rollong sandbar. We sat on the sand for awhile and watched people walk by. I definately got way too much sun which I was really trying to avoid on this trip. But accidents happen and now I have better planning. After the beach we still had day light hours left so we went to One tree Hill because Emily said I had to go there. And when we got there we found our first pasture of sheep! Well I use the term pasture loosely because they had free roam. Again photo-ops and video set ups abounded. We chased sheep and wrote our names in the volcanoes valley in volcanic rock...a lot easier than we thought it would be and well well worth the effort! We were approached by two guys at the top to say ahppy new year and other greetings, even giving us hugs. A little unnerving as they wouldnt leave us. One even asked if I was was Samoan...I didnt think I had gotten any tan but perhaps I am mistaken. That new years wish to become pacific may be coming true. Buhbye freckles...
Oh the name of the wine we got last night was Montana Souvignion Blanc or however you spell that word, if you want to see if they have it in the home LC's.

Poutama Lodge

Wednesday was my first day at work, and oh boy what a rough go! Haha. Not at all. It didnt take me too too long to find the building when I arrived in Takanini that morning, I was given directions to the street by a man payin gfor his petrol at the cash which was super lucky. I walked up and was suprised by a girl who walked out to see what I was doing (I was of course taking a photo of the builiding because I was so shocked). Its just a house on a normal residential street. The girl who came out turned out to be my preceptor Becky who is from Wales and over here on a work visa. We took a tour of the facility and I learned that it is not as much hands on rehab as I had thought it would be. We sat in the yard and did some chart reviews so i could get to know the clients that live here, and talk about what the OT goals for each were. (Becky just came in and said I hope you arent saying its one big skive, which means I get away with doing nothing...so now I have to make something up haha)Once people were all up and about we went on an outing. Our first stop was to one of the workers house to play with her new puppies. Oh I am in the right line of work. Then we were off to the bakery where they purchased my lunch and we ate it down on a gorgeous beach. I swear the water here changes colour every day. We then went to a different beach to walk along and collect shells for my collection. When we returned to the lodge we wrote up the client notes (because a lot of the goals have to do with how they interact on the outings and physical activity) and then I was off work at around 3. Becky is super nice and she is just 24 so we have heaps to talk about. She has done a lot of travelling and since she is a new kiwi herself she has already done the travelling around here so she can give advice on where to go and what to skip. I think my only new friend here will be her...:)
I learned heaps on our outing from Becky and Eileen another staff member, like names of flowers we have pics of, that rangitoto is the landmark of New Zealand and you can see it from all over the island, and it is the oldest volcano here apparantly...it last erupted 600 yrs ago!
JoAnna also loved her first day so we are off to a great start and are in right proper moods. We spent the evening walking around the water front looking for apartments because Becky lives down there and says she pays the same rent for better. We couldnt find where she lived so we just went into a rugby shop. I asked if they had posters and from that one question we ended up having a 45 min convo about rugby. We even got an autograph and our picture taken with a rugby player in the store. We found out that the first game here is the 2nd of February, so we are excited that we will get a chance to see some all blacks in action. The teams playing are the Auckland blues and the Christchurch cruisaders.
My second day has also been great. We had a meeting with some social workers on a potential new client, because Becky has found that working in private practice has resulted in clients being accepted that are not so much rehabilitatable but just because they have the money to pay. She shwoed me around the new property that was purchased next door to be turned into a transition house so that clients could practice living more independently than they do in the house currently. She is hoping that the two of us will get to create this new program together (It was supposed to be open in December). We went on an outing again to the beach but we took a picnic this time. It was out at mission bay which is where Jo wanted to go yesterday but it was pretty late by the time we wouldve gotten away and too cool outside to enjoy a beach. After our walk we went up to Baston Ridge with is important in the history of the Maori people and their clash with the Europeans...The europeans arrived and tried to just take the land and gave the maori village 10 days to remove themselves...but the Maori refused and protested for 100 days but in the end lost. Now they have the Waitanga which allows maori the right to protest the taking of their land in court and receive monies for their losses. However there is only one year left on that law and after that no more claims will be taken. The computer here doesnt have a hard drive connection so I am not usre how I will upload pictures. Today I learned more about the Maori culture and Becky is looking into getting me into a course to learn more about the Waitanga. The hut that is across from my apartment is called a Moari (pronounced moe-rye but dont say it slow like a canadian or they will laugh at you...I speak from experience) and they use them for a gathering place (like our church) funerals etc. The maori people have different tribes...just like the native american has micmac and mohawk...and they all have their own maori. Also Poutama means stair way to heaven.
Well I am in the office surrounded by people so I best be off...cheers!