More About My Homestay!

So I heard back from Jules and she is awesome! I'm already so in love with her and her family. She has 8 kids, but because most of them are older, there will only be 1 living at home while I am there. It will just be Jules, Beau (her 9-year-old son), Whitney, and me. I'm so excited! It's going to be so much fun. Jules' home is about a 30 minute walk from the school we'll be at and according to googlemaps, it's not too far from the beach either! She was excited to hear that I love the beach and play guitar because those are two of her favorite things too. It looks like I'm in for quite an amazing experience, and I get to start in less than three weeks now! I'm getting more excited every day!

Here's a map to give you an idea of where the house is.

 

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Homestay Assignments

So I got my homestay assignment from the program today. I'll be living with a woman named Julie Ngawaka and teaching at Ranui Primary School in Auckland. I emailed her so as soon as I get more information, I'll be sure to post it here. But I did google the school, and although they have no website, I did find out that it's like 3 miles from the beach. I'll embed the map here so you can get a feel for where it is and stuff. Less than a month now until I get to New Zealand! I am BEYOND excited.

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Shotover Jet

This is one of the activities we're going to do as a group when we're in Queenstown in February. SO AWESOME!!!

This is What I Have to Look Forward To

A friend in one of my classes that recently came back from taking a group of recreation management students to NZ recommended this video to me. These kids are seriously adorable. I couldn't understand half of what they were saying, but this video definitely brightened my day (which desperately needed some brightening).

Just 2 More Months!

So my flight to New Zealand is exactly 2 months from tomorrow. I'm getting so excited! We had our second prep class today, and I did a presentation on the city of Christchurch (located on the South Island). What a beautiful country! Christchurch alone is full of amazing things to see and do. Since it was settled by English explorers, it is kind of a mini-England. There's a really European feel to the city. Some places I really want to go are the Botanic Gardens (ranked among the best in the world), Cathedral Square, Akaroa (a french settlement within Christchurch), and the Avon River (where you can go "Punting on the Park" in classic Cambridge punts!)

Christchurch's Botanic Gardens

Akaroa

Cathedral Square

The Avon River

 So needless to say, this prep class is getting me pretty excited to go. I'm learning a ton about the culture, the school system, and the beauty of the country. And as if the prep class wasn't enough to get me overly excited, a guy I recently met in my ward served his mission in New Zealand and gave me a list on Sunday of things I need to do/try while I'm there. Here's what he suggests:

-buy Bundaberg Ginger Beer and Peacheee

-Tim Tam Slam

-try a mince and cheese pie at a bakery

-also at the bakery, try the puddings and other desserts

-go to a fish and chips shop and get 1 fish and a scoop of chips

-also at the fish and chips shop, try a deep fried mars bar (don't do this too much--it might kill you)

-play tough rugby with some kids

-learn a Haka from the kids

-learn some Maori works such as "kia ora" (hello), "whanau" (family), and "haere mai" (welcome)

-learn the slang

-go Zorbing

-Love it! Enjoy it! Relax!

So I'm basically counting the days now until I get to go (especially because I just made my last payment on the trip, so I'm definitely feelin it financially already). I already know that this is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm so grateful for the experiences I'm going to have while I'm there.

Until next time... E noho ra!

New Zealand, Australia, Western Samoa...

I went to a meeting today with all my fellow New Zealand girls so we could go over our Work Visa applications (exciting, I know!). At the meeting, we were discussing what some of our plans were for the time we have after we finish in New Zealand. Nancy and Hannah told us that they were going to Australia and Western Samoa before returning to LA, and I thought that sounded like a lot of fun. After the meeting, a few of us went to meet with the woman at BYU Travel who is helping us to get our flights and I found out that it's only an additional $350 to do that extra week and a half in Sydney and Samoa. So I booked the flight!

Flight Itinerary:

Jan 3 - Depart from LA

Jan 5 - Arrive in Auckland

April 8 - Depart from Auckland

April 8 - Arrive in Sydney

April 12 - Depart from Sydney

April 11 - Arrive in Apia

April 18 - Depart from Apia

April 18 - Arrive in LA

Auckland, New Zealand

Sydney, Australia

Apia, Samoa

I am in for quite an adventurous 4 months, and I couldn't be more excited!

I Finally Made a Blog...

So I decided that because I'm going to be traveling so much this next year, I should start a blog so people can get in on all the excitement. I'll post pictures and updates on what I'm doing so you can stay in touch. Enjoy!