1 week down

It seems like we've been here longer than just one week. So much has happened.

Friday night Mekelle and I had plans with two other girls in our group to take the train to downtown Auckland. Jules got home late, but still wanted to make us dinner - she made us "buttered chicken" - an Indian dish (so good). So we bumped back the time we were going to meet at the train station so we could eat dinner. Jules gave us a lift there and we waited for a few minutes before realizing it was the wrong train station. This was the first time I actually missed the convenience of a cell phone. We had to solve our problem the old fashioned way…..
We were supposed to meet at Henderson train station, and since we live in Henderson, we just figured that's the one we were at. Little did we know there are several train stations around this area with different names. We didn't know what to do. So we just laughed about it for a while and predicted different scenarios of how the night might turn out. We mostly weren’t sure how to communicate with our friends, because we weren’t sure if they would still get on the train or not on its way to our station. But after about 15 minutes, a cute Chinese couple came and told us, “No train, no train!” We eventually found out that the train was down for a couple of weeks for construction, and the bus is the only transportation option. We just ended up walking home. It was a good navigation lesson anyway. We joked about it the whole way and had fun still. We were walking up the drive way as Jules was getting in her car to come and get us – she had gotten a call from the other girls host mom about the train. So we ended up watching an old wedding video of Jules’ daughter that she had found as she was cleaning out her basement for the garage sale she had Saturday morning. We basically know the whole family now!
Saturday morning we all met up to go to the YSA activity at the beach. People have no concept of time here, so it took a while to actually get there. Our BYU gang kind of dominated in number, but the others were nice. I think they were intimidated by all of us. But the sun was out and were soaking it up like crazy! It was so beautiful. We spent most of the day here and had a huge barbeque. We pretty much just ate all kinds of meat. They know how to barbeque here.
I was trying to be so cautious by slopping on so much sunscreen, but the sun is SO HOT here and I still burned quite a bit. Mekelle just turned tan. I hate her…..

Saturday night we went over to our friends’ house (Breanna and Ashley) to do homework and hang out with them….(plus they have wireless). They are actually staying at Jules’ son house.

Jules went to pick up her daughter Kamaea from the airport late that night. She’s been on holiday in Australia for the past few weeks. I was excited to meet her.

Sunday morning we slept in – we don’t have church until 1pm. Jules made another delicious meal for lunch and we finally met Kamaea. She is 14 but she looks like she’s 20. She’s stunning.
Church was good. I felt like I was back in the branch because they were so small in number. I think that was mostly because a lot of people are still on holiday, since it’s their summer break here. Even the bishop was out of town. Mekelle and I were headed down the hall to find where the YSA’s meet and suddenly a man was calling after us down the hall. He wanted us to follow him….
So he took us to the bishops office and gave us callings right then and there! Mekelle is with the primary and I’m with the young women. Haha, we didn’t know what to think about that, it was all so sudden. So, I’m now working with the young women, which means mutual every week, temple trips, and other youth activities. Should be interesting, but I’m excited. I also found out that the Young Women President is also going to be my associate teacher at Ranui Primary school in a few weeks. We were joking that we were going to get to know each other really well because we would be seeing each other 6-7 days a week.

They are holding the first EFY ever in New Zealand this week and Kamaea is there now. A few other girls went as well. They were all so excited and we helped Kamaea pack for it as she modeled outfits to take.

There is another little boy with Down syndrome in the ward, so Jules took Beau over there to play for a few hours Sunday night. Me, Mekelle, and Kamaea talked and talked and got to know each other better. I love her – she even gave me her hair straightener to use all week while she’s gone! I almost cried as I threw my arms around her. None of my American electric appliances work over here, so it’s been frustrating. I can’t even charge my camera, so that’s why there has not been any pictures yet…..no camera and no chi….I’m adapting!

Today was an interesting day at school. There ended up being a Samoan funeral for a little stillborn baby at the chapel, which the bishop came in and invited us to attend. It was really nice and the people are just so kind and gracious. Afterwards, they also invited us to their feast – and it was a FEAST! I really don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food in one place. I think they had 3 or 4 tables just packed. These people KNOW how to eat.
It’s funny because that’s pretty much all they do here. They eat about 6 meals a day. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and then another snack before bed. And their snacks are a meal. I’m in trouble…..
So, we got out of an hour or two of class for some “cultural learning experiences.”
We also had a big dinner tonight with everyone in the group and all of the host families. We went to a really pretty park, Western Springs, which is right next to the Auckland zoo. So the lions were roaring the whole time, right next to us. It was fun to meet everyone and see who they all live with. And I finally got to have fish and chips, as well as hokey pokey ice cream! SOOOO good!

Things are wonderful and I’m feeling more and more comfortable every day.

Until next time. =)