Tails from the city of sails..

Now begins the period in which blog updates will be very few and far between. I just got back from a weekend in Auckland, and tomorrow we have a day to clean and learn, then we are leaving at the crack of dawn on Tuesday for Opoutere for 3 days. We'll be back Friday with a day off on Saturday, and then we are leaving for journey to the South Island for 4 weeks! That's right, four weeks sans laptop, so I'll have to do blog the old fashioned way: write in a notebook journal.

This weekend was so much fun. We started it off right by going to the pub in town as a whole group. Basically, the locals were pretty much waiting for us to come (our field leaders must have given them a warning so they could stock up). It's actually a bit of a walk from campus, about 2 miles, so about a half hour walk. We sang songs and looked at the amazing sky which opened up just for us. Friday mother nature was on our side and it finally stopped raining for a little while. There are very few lights around so the amount of stars you can see in the night sky as staggering. That in combination with the moon lit the way for us. The pub was really fun and the locals were incredibly friendly and interested in where we came from, and very eager to give us advice on things to see and such. No heated politic debates yet, but we've been warned haha.

(Kelsey and I at the pub... don't think I could have smiled any wider)

Saturday morning was a bit of a rough start since we had to leave so early to catch the train for Auckland. I actually felt great other than being a bit sleep deprived but some other people were dragging pretty badly. It was also raining (big surprise) so that kind of put a damper on things. After about 2 and a half hours we made it to Auckland, missed the Polynesian market, and checked into our hostel. For a first time hostel experience it was actually REALLY cool! Our "apartment" thing was kind of styled like a Gables apartment at UNH except with much brighter colors, cooler couches, and 8 beds/bunks in each room. Luckily there were enough of us that we had 1 room to ourself (on a girls only apartment, which was nice) and a key so that we could lock our belongings. We set out to shop and dine after that and split up but agreed to meet back by 5 so that we could go to the rugby game together. Auckland food is ridiculously expensive which was really frustrating. I ended up paying 11 dollars to eat a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, and that was the cheapest thing on the lunch menu. Yikes.

The rugby game was really cool! We sat in front of some men who explained the rules to us. It's such a fast paced game and so much more badass than football. It was also raining which made for nice mud effect. It was just a regional game, Auckland vs. Wellington but everyone was still really into it. I was starting to fade a bit towards the end (3 hours of sleep, remember) but once we got back to the hostel and got ready to go out for a night on the town, there was no turning back.

(On top of Mt. Eden)

Our hostel actually had a bar on the bottom floor so we decided to start there. The drinks were cheap (2 for $5 power hour woo) and the New Zealand vs. Australia rugby game was on. Now THIS was a sight to see. So many 20-somethings jammed in a bar with the game projected on a huge screen and everyone intently watching and getting rowdy. We sang the national anthem and boo'ed at the Aussies (haha where did i suddenly get all this pride?). The coolest part had to be when the All Blacks (NZ team) did their Maori style battle cry (hakka) in the beginning. I have seen what the Maori actually do in movies but I didn't know that the All Blacks actually performed the hakka before the start of the game in a stand-off with the opposing team. If you're curious, just youtube it. It really was so intense, I loved it.

Kate and I met a really cool Australian while playing pool actually. His name was Glen and he was in Auckland for 2 weeks on business (works for IBM, and reminded me so much of Tomek!) and already had some time to scope out the nightlife. We told him that our group was interested in some dance clubs, so after the game was over around 11 we went to one down the street. They gave us some trouble because we didn't have our passports but I spoke to the manager on our behalf and somehow sweet-talked our way into the club. The music was amazing (putting E-Marcee to shame) and the vibe of the club was really good. The drinks were ridiculously expensive but there was no cover charge and you don't tip bartenders here, so it didn't really matter. The dance floor was a lot better than the ones i've been to in Boston at least because there's more room and people aren't packed in like sardines so you have more room to... express yourself, if you will, haha. I showed Auckland my moves and got some compliments. Before we knew it, it was 2:30. It's not uncommon for bars and clubs here to be open til 6 in the morning! I was ready to go all night, but half the group wanted to leave and get food. I convinced 4 others to stay for a while, and then us and Glen moved on to a different club down the street. It was this really cool marketplace during the day that is situated on the 2nd story above a restaurant in the artsy-district of Queens St. At night the place was completely transformed. It was a lot trippier than the first place but equally as awesome. Eventually we left to go get food at this bus that's permanently parked on Fort street that sells food 24 a day, kind of reminiscent of one in Portsmouth. We parted ways with Australia (as we so affectionately called him) and went to bed close to 4. Not bad.

Breakfast this morning was another ordeal because nothing is open on Sundays and our few options that were open had $20 meals. Later we split up and most of the group went to the Museum of Auckland (which was the plan if it ended up being a rainy day) but a few of us didn't want to spend the whole day cooped up inside because it was actually sunny! So John, Kate, Sam, Abby and I took the bus to the base of Mt. Eden and ascended Auckland's tallest volcano. It was a lot of fun, and it sure beat the museum. We took lots of funny photos and explored and didn't get rained on, which was key. The views of the city and the surrounding islands were gorgeous. Later we headed back downtown and ate lunch at this swanky restaurant that made me feel like I was in a loft Manhattan. My food was delicious and cheap. Some gelato to end the day, and then we caught the train back to Katapura, all of us falling dead asleep along the way.

(Look at meee, so stylish in my skinny jeans and running shoes)

To sum it up, I had an amazing time and feel like I bonded really well with some people. It's definitely starting to feel like family here.