Kia ora from New Zealand

It’s still weird to think that I’m in New Zealand. It’s been a long couple days of traveling. Stayed up until 1 a.m. packing on Saturday night, then got up at 3 so we could leave for the airport at 3:30. It was snowing and below zero temps. I flew out of Sioux City, IA to Minneapolis, MN. From there I flew to LAX and spent 8 hours in the terminal waiting for my flight to leave at 7:30. Others from my group eventually arrived, so it helped pass the time a little. The plane was HUGE. My first experience on a 7-47! I was so lucky.
A. I had a window seat.
B. I was right by the wing exit door, so there was just space in front of me rather than a row of seats. Hello leg room! I couldn’t have asked for a better spot.
C. I sat by a New Zealander who knew someone working on the plane. It’s all about the connections. I was offered sparkling champagne, extra treats, first class headphones, and the whole works. They said they didn’t want me to feel left out. haha I stuck with bottled water and vegecrisps, but I still felt special. I basically had first class treatment though. When I first sat down I was really disappointed because I assumed I had no screen to watch movies on. The guy next to me was so nice and took good care of me though. He must have been able to sense I had no idea what was going on, so without saying anything he popped out a screen for me. He showed me how everything worked with the switches and TV settings and such, and did mostly everything for me. He was so kind and I appreciated his friendliness, especially because I wasn’t sitting near and of the people in my group. The plane ride was fine – a long 12 hours but we were well taken care of.

Okay Kirst – this is for you – the plane food was delicious. For dinner, we were given the option of pasta with meat and parm on it or chicken with vegetables. It also came with a roll, cheese and crackers, some sort of chicken salad with cucumbers, chick peas, and a sponge-cake dessert with frosting and slivered almonds. So tasty!
For breakfast we were given the option of a fruit dish with a muffin, yogurt, and orange juice or an omelet with potato/hash brown things and a baked tomato. I opted for the fruit dish.

I was so sore from sitting in the same position for so long, but I got a little bit of sleep and we landed at 5 a.m. and were out of customs and baggage at 6. It was also weird to think that I essentially lost an entire day. January 4, 2010 did not exist for us.

My host mum (Jules) was late picking us up at the airport, but she was so friendly and made us feel comfortable. She brought her 8-year-old son (Beau) who has Down syndrome. He’s just adorable. I asked him if he would show me his room and he took me through every little detail – he showed me every item in that room, even down to Woody’s hat (from Toystory). He wanted to watch Home Alone – it’s his favorite movie. Jules daughter (Kamaea) is still on holiday in Australia, so we will meet her in a few days.

We got to the car and loaded all 4 of our giant suitcases into the car – Mekelle and I both had to carry one on our laps. It took me a second to figure out why Jules was walking around to the right side of the car. Haha. It’s going to take some getting used to the fact they drive on the left side of the road here. I keep forgetting and sometimes it makes me nervous when I see a car coming. We were instantly offered a biscuit (cookie) and headed to our new home. It was pretty chilly and windy this early and you can definitely feel the humidity in the air.

It turns out that Mekelle and I basically have our own apartment. We have the bottom part of the house to ourselves – fully equipped with our own bathroom, couch and coffee table, and little kitchen area with a mini fridge. We are really excited about that. It’s just so nice to have our own space where we can come and go. We even have our own little patio area with grape vines we will be able to pick in a while. There was a cute little fruit basket she had made. And dad – the kiwis are so big and delicious!!

After we unpacked and got cleaned up, we went for a drive around the city (we live in Henderson, which is a suburb of Auckland) and went to the grocery store. Jules was trying to get an idea of what we like, but I’m afraid we weren’t much help because we told her we would eat anything. We put all of our food in a “trolley” and Mekelle and I had fun finding things that were familiar to U.S. products, but just had a different name. Jules thought it was pretty funny. But I think it’s funny that everything here is “lovely.” She thinks we BYU girls are lovely, as well as the food we picked, or even the big American truck she spotted. Haha I love it.

Jules rents a little cottage at the back of her property to a young couple in the ward – Italia and Heber. Heber is a policeman. They are awesome! Italia came over and greeted us and invited us to a barbeque – a celebration for Heber’s birthday really. Me and Mekelle walked over to help Italia set up and decorate. We had lamb chops and another kind of meat, fresh potatoes, salad, and grapes. The missionaries came over for it. They call Jules “auntie.” They have a 3-year-old girl they call Bella and a 10-month old baby boy named Heber, Jr. They are such a fun family. Heber refers to us as “sisters” as well as an extension of the family. Italia is the sweetest person ever.

Mekelle and I spent a few hours just chillin in our space and chatting and getting to know each other. We start classes tomorrow morning already, so we’re enjoying the time of freedom we have left. It has really warmed up now – probably in the high 70’s, although they use Celsius here so I’m not exactly positive. I told everyone at the barbeque that I had come from below 0 temps and mounds of snow to enjoying a meal in the sunshine in the month of January. They thought that was pretty interesting.

So far day one has been sweet as, and I absolutely love how they talk here. I’m trying to pick up on it.

Love and miss you all!