Thinking and Missing

Tuesday 30-03-10

Well, today started off not so great. I didn't feel wonderful and my head was pounding. A little later, I started feeling better, and the preschool called me in for a couple hours. I also got asked to come in on the following Tuesday which makes three days out of four for next week (Monday is a holiday).

I started walking back, and my head started pounding again. I don't know what is going on with me, but maybe I didn't eat enough or something. I walked to the Cathedral and sat down for a while and read. Then I went to visit Alison at work, then walked back home to work on dinner. Alison works until 9:00, so I prepared dinner for the two of us when she gets back. Kind of late for us, but it will be fine.

So when I was in the cafe yesterday, I noticed two babies. One was looking at me and then cracking up as I smiled at him. Every time I smiled, he would smile really big and laugh. The other baby was surrounded by adults and completely entertaining them. I couldn't see what he was doing, but they were laughing and saying how cute it was. I thinking he was sucking on a coffee cup or something. Anyway, it made me miss my niece desperately. I read her blog as much as I can and adore all of her pictures, but I miss her so much and just want to hold her. Karsie, your Auntie Mandy has not stopped thinking about you since she has left The States. I miss you so much and think and pray for you every day!!! I love you!!!

More Transitions

Tuesday 30 March 2010

I know it has been a while since my last entry, and I am trying to figure out how to write what has happened in the past couple of days.

On Tuesday, I went to the bank and opened an account. It took quite a while to do that, but at least it is done now, and I don't have to worry about cashing a check every time I get one. I also went to the library where I went to look for a few books (none of which were there). As soon as I walked in, I walked to a broken down computer I couldn't use and had to go up the escalator and went to the wrong side. When I finally went to the side that was going up, I missed the step and stumbled on the escalator very clumsily. It was kind of embarrassing.

On Wednesday, I got up and started writing in my journal. As soon as I put the pen down, I got a phone call from the preschool asking if I could come in for 1/2 a day. I immediately accepted and ran to the bus stop (as it would take me an hour to walk there). I got to work for three hours.

On Thursday, I got up at 6:37 to get to the preschool and worked. It was so cold in the morning that my fingers were in pain. I was freezing and someone said the morning was probably a frosty morning. It just shows us that autumn is here and summer has gone. When I walked home, a little girl in front of the school stopped me and asked if I had seen her mom. I really wanted to go on, but of course instinct kicked in, and I could not leave this seven year old girl by herself. So I stayed with her and asked her some questions. Fortunately, her mom came a little later. When I got home, one of our flatmate's friend wrote a nasty note to all of us that really made Alison and I angry. Plus, we discovered quite a bit of mold in the bathroom. There were also other things that we found out that has disturbed us, so now we are trying to think of what to do.

On Friday, I got up and my throat itched making me think I am coming down with something. It wasn't too bad, but it made me nervous. It was Alison's day off, so we wanted to go out and do something, but as soon as we walked in the kitchen, there was oil on the floor, coffee on the floor, a rotten tomato on the floor, a thousand dishes, and nasty counters. We wanted to just leave and not think about it, but we couldn't, so we started to surface clean (at least pick up the food and wipe the counters and clean the dishes). We started feeling very angry that every day off we have is filled with chores. We then left the flat so we wouldn't do anything else, but of course we were talking and thinking about it a lot. We went to the Art Gallery for the first time, and the temporary exhibit they were displaying was all about nakedness and sex. They actually had videos displayed of this. We walked around a lot and sat in a cafe for a while. We were gone from 12:00-8:30. As we were heading back, we went to the sprinklers and the lights were on for the first time. I don't have the pictures yet, but will post them when I get the chance. I decided to take a shower after our day. As soon as I opened the door after my shower, our new flatmate ran up to the door and introduced himself. I had my towel, washcloth, and soaps in on hand, and my clothes (with undergarments exposed) in the other hand. I quickly tried to hide my clothes behind the door as he stood there and talked to me. I could barely focus on what he was saying, since I was surprised and not in my best after the shower. I just wanted to leave and get into bed. Too bad he didn't introduce himself at another time, when I would be more prepared. He is French and apparently does not speak that much English. We were also told that another flatmate is wanting to leave for the lack of jobs available. Her money is running out.

On Saturday, I had a mission. I decided to get as many of the books that Alison and I wanted to get. This meant I had to go to multiple libraries. The unfortunate part was that I was on a time constraint as it was Saturday and most of them close early. I went to three libraries and got most of the books that were on the list. I got 17 books, so we have a lot to read. I rode 7 buses today, so I was a busy girl. On one of the bus stops, there were two teenage girls making fun of each other. One of the girls didn't know a word and the other was making fun of her. So of course the other girl thought of a word the other girl didn't know so she could make fun of her. It sounded like quite an interesting relationship. I wanted to just tell them what the words meant so they would stop talking to each other like that. I am glad my friends haven't made fun of me when I didn't know what something was. Also, the bus driver let a couple girls off at one stop and they just missed the bus, so he told them to get back on and he would chase the bus. He did catch up to the bus, and the girls were very thankful. It is people like the bus driver who really make the day better. Even my day was better, just to see his kindness to others.

On Sunday, I felt awful. I was not achy, but I felt like I had a severe cold. I couldn't follow the sermon and was very unfocused for most of the day. After Church, Alison and I put the ingredients for Tuna Loaf, then went to the Cathedral as there was going to be an Organ Recital. We went in the Cathedral for 1/2 hour to listen to the organ practice. It was amazing. Then we went to a cafe until 6:00 and returned to the Salvation Army Church to participate in their worship. For Palm Sunday, they had a music night where their band played (Alison and I sang to a couple of the songs), and the choir sang, and we sang. It was really fun and we enjoyed it. Then we returned home, cooked dinner (very tasty) and went to bed. We also found out that on Easter, we have Daylight Saving. So we will be turning the clock back for the "Fall, back." This means that starting Sunday, we will be five hours difference than The States. This has been quite confusing.

On Monday, I got up early (as did Alison, by her own choice...sick girl). I went to work and had a pretty good day. The preschool owner said I was going to go to her house today (I forgot to write it on my calendar, and did not realize I was going to watch her kids today...my mistake). Anyway, I got her kids and took them to the bus. Unfortunately, I left my metro card (along with the library card) in my pants and did not have them with me. So it cost me extra to pay for the ride. I got to the house and when the dad came home, he showed me around. They asked me earlier if I would house sit for them while they were gone on holiday for Australia. Soooo...Alison and I get to live in their house for 10 days starting this Thursday. We are extremely excited for this. It will be our own vacation. So I returned home and Alison told me that our landlady said a person was interested in a double room and if she could show it to them. We thought this was strange for her to ask. None of us would be able to be here during that time, so we felt a little uncomfortable about it. We asked her about having a cleaning lady instead of the switch we had earlier (a movie channel and more power that we don't need). She said she would hire someone who would start Thursday and we will have to let her know how she does. It would help so much if the kitchen and bathrooms are just vacuumed and mopped. Maybe people won't be so messy. I don't know though. Anyway, we also found out the the last of the original people in the flat is thinking of moving (because so many other people are moving). That didn't make a whole lot of sense to us, since he would just move in another flat that had a whole bunch of new people, but whatever. I don't think he really will move, but we will see. Also, I got a call from a school to be a relief teacher for Tuesday and Wednesday. It took me a while to figure out what school this was, as I have not received any calls from them telling me they would put me on their list. I have been having troubling feelings about relief teaching here, and the organization of New Zealand, so I asked her how I would be paid since they have none of my information. She said she would call the principal and ask him. I got a call 1/2 hour later and she said that they would not use me, because none of them had any idea how I would be paid. They were going blindly seeing if I would sub for them, yet they didn't know how I would be paid? Now I don't want to be a relief teacher at all, because I don't trust this system. It is incredibly unorganized and frustrating.

So, that is about it for me. I think we have a couple moving in to a room. The cleaning lady is now vacuuming the hall (Hallelujah!), so that is helpful. Sorry for the long entries. Hope you enjoyed!

Maori Dances

Well, I have two videos of my day in the Cathedral Square. They are both of the same group. The first one is a Maori dance or something. I didn't get to see the whole thing, and only got to see it from the back, so I don't know how they looked. They may have been sticking out their tongue (to show aggression).

The second video shows the dance with poi balls. Very graceful.

Hope you enjoy!

Back to Work

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Soooooo...we were told by a flatmate that he saw no less than two mice in the kitchen when he got up. DISGUSTING!!! So now we have to figure out what to do. We are being very careful where we tread in the mornings (especially when it is dark).

The weekend was fine, but short. Alison was working, so we really didn't have a chance to go anywhere. We have decided to make the Salvation Army our Church. We are happy to finally have a home Church here.

We have also had a couple nights of wild partying. Well, not us, but people right outside our house. They are really noisy, crank up the music, and are obnoxious. We weren't the happiest of people when we have to get up early.

Yesterday I got up at 6:37 and dressed in the dark. I got everything together and tried to make the 7:30 free shuttle, but I just missed it. Unfortunately, they skipped the 7:40 shuttle, so I had to wait until the 7:50 shuttle. I still made it on time, but I had to walk a lot faster. While I was walking, I saw several people look at me, but I didn't think too hard on it, until I got to a mirrorlike window and saw that the shirt I was wearing was inside out. I quickly changed as soon as I reached the preschool. I guess that is what I get for dressing blindly. Plus I was wearing a skirt and of course it was crazy windy. Fortunately it was a long skirt and did not do things that would make me embarrassed. I also wore nicer shoes. The shoes were fine, but of course I worked mostly outside today and I got sand in them. I did not have socks, so the sand rubbed against my feet until I developed a nice, fat blister. Way to go Mandy.

Anyway, work was fine today. There was a girl who was a teacher in training who was there today. I kind of felt for her, because I know how it feels to be thrown in and have no idea what to do next. She asked me if she could sweep the floor at the end of the day, and I told her that there were floor cleaners that night who did it. Of course as soon as I told her that, the preschool owner started sweeping the floor. The reason was that she wanted to save the glitter or sparkles, but it made me feel like I was lying to the girl.

So I walked to the store to buy a couple things...mainly juice. Then I met Alison and we walked home and prepared dinner. We ate the last of our enchiladas (which wasn't very much) and made a side salad (which ended up being more like a main dish salad. We got a little carried away). Some of our tomatoes were going bad, so we had a lot of tomatoes in our salad. It was quite tasty though.

Well, today I do not have work, so I will be trying to open a bank account, attempt to figure out the vacuum again, and do a couple more chores. I can't have a day off and not have it be filled with a bunch of chores.

Cheers!

Many Eventful Days

Saturday, 10/03/10

Well, these past few days have been nothing short of interesting. On Wednesday, Alison and I decided to make chili (ingredients were the compliments of my mom...THANKS!!!) Unfortunately, there are no tortilla chips in this country. I think it's a crime, but we can't do anything about that I am afraid. We decided to freeze the chili, and looked around for a freezer safe container. We came across an ice cream container, so we figured it should be safe. Then, we decided to be really adventurous and make...chicken.

Now I have cooked chicken before, but cleaning raw chicken is nasty and vile. Plus, I realized that I spent most of the money on chicken fat. So frustrating when you pay by kilo and most of the weight is in fat. Well, I cut the fat and was able to borrow a crock pot from a flatmate. Actually, before I could even clean the chicken, I had to clean the sink. Dishes everywhere. Anyway, I got everything clean and then put the chicken in the crock pot. Then I had to clean the sink again, using bleach (there is no comet in this country either). Then, I set it on low and took a shower. I never feel clean after touching raw chicken unless I have a shower.

So on Thursday, I got to wake up at 6:47 again and get ready in the dark. This time it did not go very smoothly. I ended up catching my nail on something, and it ripped off...below the skin. Yeah...it hurt. So I got a band aid and hoped that I wouldn't have to worry about it the rest of the day. I got to the shuttle stop and just missed the shuttle. It is supposed to run every 10 minutes, but a shuttle didn't come by until 20 minutes. So I got to the closest stop I could and walked the rest of the way (about 35 minutes). I didn't bring the book (Outliers), and of course my lunch was quiet and lonely. I felt less stupid as I worked, but still made frequent mistakes.

I have noticed that the safety issues are quite a bit different than the States. The playground equipment would be considered hazardous in the US (especially for preschool), yet here, it is considered a learning tool. Which is difficult for me in interpreting what is actually considered dangerous here.

During the students lunch time, I tried to keep a girl from stealing food and attacking others. It was my lunch time, but no other teachers were able to help. Then I got a lecture from a teacher saying I needed to take my lunch break or else it would throw everything off. It frustrated me, because no one else was there to handle the situation, and it wasn't like I could just leave them alone.

Anyway, after work I had to go to the local grocery store (Pak-N-Save) to buy several things (our fridge is empty). I was weighted down quite a bit, but fortunately the shuttle was right there when I needed to board. Then I made the last stop and had to waddle all the way back to the flat. My shoulders felt like they were coming out of their sockets. It wasn't pleasant. Then I walked to the back of the house where most of the flatmates would be, and of course today, no one was there. So I squeezed everything through the window and desperately looked for my keys. As soon as I walked in, someone came home. Well, then I put everything away.

Alison and I took out the chicken. It was a little dry, especially the top which was where the cream of chicken was placed. So the cream of chicken was caked on the top. We decided to make vegetables and rice. Well, I put too much water for the rice (I was reading the label of another rice packet), so we ended up cooking the whole packet of rice. We had a lot of rice, chicken, and veggies.

We also decided to make lemonade. We had lemon juice and a couple sugar packets. Unfortunately, we used the sugar packets and not enough lemon juice, so it tasted like watery lemon aftertaste interestingness. Don't know how else to describe it. Yes...we drank it.

Although, my chicken was so dry, I poured some lemonade stuff on my chicken. It started mixing with everything, so I mixed everything up to make a chicken casserole. It tasted quite good actually.

Friday, I got up at 6:37, so I could make the 7:30 shuttle. I made it on time, got dropped off, and walked the rest of the way. All the way, I was reading Outliers. I made it to the preschool, and had a decent day, but I was VERY busy the whole time. I didn't feel like I had any time to think. Just do.

There were several issues with the children, as to be expected. Also, I tried to keep my band aide on my finger, but I kept having to wash something: dishes, paint, art stuff...So it kept coming off. I had to get another band aide. I did get paid though...HALLELUJAH!!! Then I read Outliers back and finished it. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in social psychology.

It also gave me interesting insight...I think. It talked about PDI (power Distance index). Well, basically that is talking about responses to authority. Such as how people treat, speak, value, react to people with authority. The higher the PDI, the more respect (for lack of better word) the authority gets. The lower the PDI...well, I think you get it. I'm sure there is a better way of explaining this, but my point is, there were 50 countries that were listed. The highest PDI was Brazil and South Korea. The third to last in the PDI was the United States (surprised anyone?). And the bottom of the list...New Zealand. Interesting, huh? I wanted to research that a bit more, but I haven't had the time yet.

Anyway, we made the chicken/rice/veggie casserole again and were quite pleased, but realised we were running out of chicken. No more casserole for us. I set up the chicken for enchiladas.

Oh, but I forgot to mention something that happened earlier. I heard a noise like rustling, and it made me think there was some kind of creature in our room. I envisioned a tarantula rummaging around in my chocolate, but the drawer was shut. Although, I noticed a hole in the bag, where my chocolate is kept, and something that looked like droppings in the bag. Kind of scary and disturbing. We put all of our chocolate in a sealed (non chewable) container.

So today...finally. I got up and did some laundry. Then I decided to vacuum our floor. I couldn't find the cord and started asking around. Then I discovered it was attached to the vacuum, in a secure and unique location. I felt stupid. Anyway, I turned it on, and it made a horrible noise and wouldn't suck up anything. So I thought maybe the bag was too full. So I took the bag out and realised I would have to pry my fingers through this tiny hole and drag whatever was in the bag out.

It was nasty with tons of hair, dust, and other vile things floating through the air. I finished cleaning it out and feeling completely nasty. I put it back in the vacuum and turned it on. Nothing changed. All that...for nothing. Figures.

Anyway, it is 3:30 and the day isn't over yet. I am sure much more can happen. It has been quite difficult typing all of this with a band aide still on my finger. It gets annoying, because I am making many mistakes with it on. Okay, I am going to go now. I meet Alison in an hour. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Bird Attack

17/03/2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day...well, for me anyway.

So here is the video I promised about the bird attacks. It took me a long time to figure out how to upload it. I also was not able to shorten it, so it is a little longer than should be. Plus, it doesn't show the real bloodbath of the bird fights, but it gives you an idea of how mean they are.

On another note, yesterday was a pretty good day. Not a whole lot to report on, but I did get to go to the Gardens and got attacked by a couple mosquitoes. I did some more reading and journaling.

I have been having a chat with two groups from New Zealand trying to figure out if I could get qualifications for Early Childhood Education. Well, they both seem disconnected from each other, even though they are supposed to be connected with teaching. All I can really say is that they are both basically saying there is nothing they can do. The first one I contacted told me to contact the other group. The other group told me they couldn't do anything about it and it was up to the educational facility. Well, I know for a fact the preschool contacted this group to find funding and they said it was not possible. Yet they are telling me it is totally up to the preschool. A little misinformation is there somewhere. Then I contacted them both again about another issue and they couldn't do anything again. I talked to Alison and she said it must be the way here. Just send the issue to someone else, so they don't have to deal with it. Sounds about right to me.

Alison and I actually met up with each other and then went back home. Since Alison missed the party last week, one of our roommates wanted to make something for her and me. She showed us how to make it. It is Korean food and really tasty. So now we have the recipe. We will see if we can actually make it sometime in the future.

I guess that is about it. Enjoy your day, and I hope you enjoyed the video.

First Official Day of Work

Tuesday 15/03/2010

So, I know I have written a lot on this blog, but I have actually written more in my journal. Unfortunately that means...I am out of journal space. I only have about 20 pages left. So sad. I am going to have to try to find another journal to write in. So I have been here about what, two months? Well, maybe my writing will slow down a bit.

Well, yesterday was my first official work day. I got up at 6:47 am (a very ugly hour) and got ready so that I could leave before 7:30. I walked slower than I should have, so I had to hustle the last part of my hour walk. I made it on time, fortunately. So then the preschool director gave me a rundown of what my duties were. I helped set up however I could, then I interacted with the children. Basically doing what I did on Friday, only more. I was outside most of the time, and since I was in braids, I think I got a sunburn, on my part, all the way down my head. Not good.

My hair did not look the best, and the preschool director wanted a picture of me, so I asked if we could do it a different day. She agreed. I guess she thought it looked pretty bad too. I got a 1/2 hour lunch break, and when I went back, I washed the dishes. A lady was trying to say something to me, but I couldn't understand her. There was a lot of background noise and she kept turning her back to me when she asked me something. She got really frustrated and spoke slowly to me. I think I am getting on her nerves. Not a good start. All the teachers have been really friendly with me. It has been nice. In fact, one of the ladies said she remembers going to a Church when she was little and her father was the speaker. She said the Church said "Church of the Nazarene" and asked if that was my background. Actually, it was the same exact Church I went to several weeks ago that had 13 people in it. I was excited to have some kind of way to relate to her initially. Well, then she mentioned that she wanted to learn puppeteering. I can see we will be getting along fine.

During clean up time at the end of the day, I was given several duties (which I liked, because then I knew what I was supposed to do). The end was to read a story to the kids, but I wasn't sure how to round the kids up. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do exactly. I just chose a story quickly, but realized it would not work for them developmentally. The story was way to complex, and they were not into it. It was really loud and I tried to raise my voice so they could hear me. I eventually skipped pages to finish the book and then got my favorite Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham. They did a lot better, but I had to go get the preschool owner's kids and take them on the bus. The youngest was upset about something, and didn't want to go. I pried her away from her mom and we rushed out the door, crossed the street, and made it to the bus stop before the bus came. I was exhausted though.

We got on the bus, but had to change buses and waited a while for that bus. I could not see exactly where to get off the bus, but the preschool owner said her son would be at the bus stop. Well...the son was there, but we did not see him until the bus started to leave. So we got off at the next bus stuff (fortunately not too far away) and met him. We walked the rest of the way to their house and I stayed there a little over 2 hours, when the dad came home.

I then walked home. Fortunately, they do not live that far away from me, or I would have had to take the bus again. I got home and crashed. I was tired from the long day. It was a really good day though. It feels good to be working again. I won't work until Thursday, but at least I have that. Hopefully I will get used to my way around as well as all their names. A lot of their names are easy, but then trying to figure out what name belongs to what person will be tricky. There are several names that will probably take me a long time to figure out and pronounce. My mouth does not move in those directions! I asked a girl today about a colour and she didn't say green but some really different word. I asked her if it was Maori and she said yes. So I will be getting the Maori language in. This will definitely be a learning experience for me.

Well, I also got a letter from my mom and her small group from Church for my birthday. Apparently it was mailed a LONG time ago, but it took that long to get here. Kind of interesting, since the box she sent took half the time the letter took. It made me really happy though. Thanks guys! Now I can add the card to my wall.

Also, I have been reading Outliers and love it so far. Basically the author has a point to prove and uses several scenarios to prove the point in each chapter. Well, this book is about the people who are outliers, successful people and their circumstances. I have to say, it has made me feel better about myself. The reason I am not successful and rich is not my fault. It is because I am born at the wrong time and do not have extraordinary circumstances to help me become rich and successful.

So everyone my age, it isn't our fault. We were not in the right place at the right time and do not have extraordinary happenings that make us rich and successful. And Kevin, unfortunately we will never be that rich and successful, so forget about getting 1/2 of my earnings. We passed that mark. Mom was the only one who would have had that chance, but she missed it. She was born in the right year and was in the right field, but she was in the wrong location...or at least she went to the wrong University to help her become rich and successful. Sorry to disappoint you.

I am sure I just caused a lot of confusion, but there is a trail of thought there.

The Cathedral Square in the Daytime

Okay, so I know these probably won't be in order, but I can't figure out how to fix it. The first picture is the Rugby World Cup Timeline. It is quite an ordeal as you can see. The next picture is of a Maori singing group. The third and fourth picture are of the giant chess set. The fifth and sixth picture of of the Cathedral, in the daylight this time. You can see some of the vendors with their items. The seventh picture is of the big structure in the square. The last picture is the tram the runs through town. So now you have a perspective of the Cathedral square.

Avoiding Sickness

Sunday, March 14, 2010 or 14/3/2010

Okay, so some of you may have noticed that I added a "u" in the word color to make colours. I did this consciously, because I need to practise (yes I know this is spelled strange) the British spelling of words. So if you see something spelled strangely, it may be the British way of spelling. I am also thinking of just using this as an excuse to misspell. I am sure that I will be thoroughly confused with American and British spelling. I am trying to get used to the British spelling of words, since I am teaching little children. That way, it may become natural for me to spell the words correctly over here.

Anyway, there is not a whole lot to report on here. The past couple of days have been slow ones, because Alison is sick. I am scared that I will be to, as it is kind of hard to avoid close quarters. I didn't feel the best today, but I am hoping that is because of the lack of sleep. I had a really hard time sleeping, and a few flatmates banged the door several times to get in and out of rooms.

Yesterday was better. I went to the Cathedral Square to take pictures. There was a Maori group of high school students (I think) who were singing and dancing. I tried taking a video, which I may post later. I also went and found Alison's restaurant to take pictures. That was difficult to do as my camera was almost out of batteries and would not take proper pictures. I also tried to take a video of a bird fight, but I think I mainly got birds chasing each other. I think they got ticked at me, as one of them went above me and gave me a lovely present. I guess he got his revenge. I quickly rushed to the bathroom to be clean again.

Today, we went to the Baptist Church again. After that, I went to bed to get some rest. I didn't exactly sleep, but rested. I was glad I got apple juice earlier to kick up the Vitamin C intake a notch.

So there you have it. Our weekend. It was slow, but I think we needed it. Not a whole lot of fun, but a chance to try to get well again.

A Working Day

Friday, March 12, 2010

So I got up today and got ready. I left a little before 9, because it takes me an hour to walk and I needed to be there at 10. While I was walking, I passed an older man, but he caught up to me at the stoplight and commented on the loveliness of the day. It really was pretty. Sunshine, but slightly cloudy, cool enough to be walking fast and not be all sweaty at the destination. I said it was a perfect day (I actually had the song "I love to be in Your Presence" going through my head all the way to the preschool). He asked if I was from the States and I said yes. So then he started talking about how he fought alongside the States in Vietnam and the Korean war. He was really a sweet man, but after we crossed the street, we had to part ways. I wished him well and continued on. I made it to the preschool at exactly 10 and fortunately the preschool director saw me through the window, because I was locked out. She told me the combination, so hopefully I will remember. Then she introduced me to several people and brought me into a room to do some serious reading of the emergency procedures and policies. Another lady gave me a relief form to read as well. So, I was in there for 3 1/2 hours reading everything. I was on information overload. People would come in and out and talk to me for a bit, so I wasn't strictly reading for that whole time, but pretty much.

Anyway, I came across a word I didn't know, "iwi". I asked the preschool director what this was and she said it would be similar to a tribe. Maori's are made up of the core families (which include cousins and such) and then there is the rest of the "tribe" called iwi. There are 10 tribes in New Zealand, but only 2 in the South Island. The Maori people in the South Island tend to be lighter, because there is not as much sun here. Maori people typically have more than one iwi they belong to, because of mixing. She also talked of the stereotypes of the Maori people, which I already presumed, but it was very interesting to me. I remember being ingrained about being equal to the Maori people in the classroom. This was interesting to me as I live in Southern California where the population is so mixed, why would I not be treating people fairly in the classroom? Apparently there is still quite a bit of prejudice here among the white people and the Maori people. Lots of tension. Anyway, I thought that was fascinating, so sorry if I completely bored you.

So the preschool owner then came in and talked to me about days I could work. She gave me a list of days and said there may and probably will be more days, but that is what she has on the books right now. She will let me know when more come up. She is really trying to help me out. She even is having me watch her kids for 2 hours one day a month while she is at a meeting. So I will get paid then too. She also mentioned I should email NZQA to see if they would reassess my qualifications, and see if I could have qualification in early childhood. I might do that Saturday.

Then I was on the floor. I really was not sure what I should be doing, so I just interacted with the children while they were playing. Bringing up things (how many do you see there?, what colours do you see?, why do you think it does that?) to develop language. Then came clean up time, and I had no idea what the procedures were there, so I was kind of at a loss. I tried to pick up stuff on the floor. I asked a teacher if there was a broom and she said the floor cleaners would do that. Then I tried to put things away and the tubs were being washed. Everyone was preoccupied and doing something, but not knowing exactly what needed to be done, I felt like I didn't have anything to do. Someone said I could stack chairs, but that didn't take that long. I just kind of felt awkward. Finally, all that was done, and the children were leaving. 3:30 came around and it was time for me to leave. It was also pouring down rain. The preschool owner asked if I would like a ride, and I gratefully accepted.

She drove me home and then I came in and got to see Alison for 10 minutes before she went to her restaurant. THEN, I finally got my taxes finished. As soon as I submitted everything, , my mom called on skype, and we actually talked somewhat normally, meaning it wasn't as bad as before. The tricky part was trying to explain to my mom how to change her watch for daylight savings. That was interesting...

Alison came back later and said it was SUPER fine dining, where she had to have a towel on her arm and multiple utensils (anything more than one fork is SUPER fine dining to me). She even got to eat a fancy meal before she started. Now we will see what happens with this place.

It was pretty late, so we went to bed, but it was FREEZING at night. We were shivering since we don't have an extra blanket. This is supposed to be summer...although I was told that in Christchurch, you get four seasons in one day. Unlike California where you get 1 1/2 seasons in one year...HOT and not so hot.

Well, the smoke alarm went off early Saturday morning for no reason at all and was quite loud. I didn't get up, because my bed was so warm and to get up was to freeze. Two flatmates got up and couldn't figure out what to do, so they were trying to wake up another flatmate to help them. He refused, and I don't blame him. I figured they should take the batteries out altogether. I know it is a safety factor, but I have never been in to smoke alarms. I think the batteries eventually gave out, because it was fading and slowing down, until it finally stopped. What a nice way to get some sleep around here!

Picture and Explanation Time

So here are some more pictures for you to enjoy. These are more famous sights that you would see in Christchurch. Famous meaning you would see these pictures on postcards. So the first picture is of the Cathedral in...Cathedral Square. Quite a clever name huh? I took it at night, because that is when I had my camera with me. In the daytime, there are so many people and lots of activities. There are constantly musicians, such as a recorder player (a lot better sounding than the squeaky sound you hear from fourth graders), drummer, guitar players, singers, and many violin players who are around 7 or 8 years old. There are food stands and a giant chess board set that has pieces that go up to your kneecap. Or if you have very short legs, up to your hip. Heehee. Also, when the cruise ships come in, they have lots of booths of items to sell. This is usually on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. This strange piece of work is also in the Cathedral square to the left of the Cathedral if you are facing the front of it. Don't know anything about it, other than it is a big picture point.

This is the Gondola ride. Although it's not cheap, we got a year pass that includes a tram ride for a year (which is quite convenient for Alison to get to work everyday. It overlooks lots of places, but mainly Lyttleton's Harbor. Before going on the Gondolas, you can see the sign of locations of many cities of the world. Los Angeles was not one of them, but New York was.





















We really don't know the purpose of this, but Alison and I call it the sprinklers. It is on many postcards and it just shoots out water in the shape of the balls. It kind of sounds like the sound sprinklers make, which is why we named it that. On some of the postcards, it showed these with lights under it. Well, that is a fallacy, as they actually turn off at a certain time, and there are no lights near it.











This is the picture of the Art Museum. We have not had the chance to go in yet, but we pass by it occasionally. I don't know anything about the interesting architecture, so don't ask. It is art. Just leave it at that.

The Revenge of the Taxes

Thursday March 11, 2010

Well, yesterday was kind of a lazy day. Although it started with a blaring ring of Alison's cell phone that made me panic thinking it was mine. She has another job training/interview at another place on Friday at 5:00. All of a sudden she is quite popular with the restaurants. I couldn't go to sleep after that, but I did try. We realized that we probably won't see each other as I work from 10-3:30, but probably won't get back until 4:30. She starts at 5 (meaning she will leave at 4:30), but who knows when she will get back. It will be very late. We actually have not seen each other most of this week.

It was cold and raining, so I didn't go outside, even though I really wanted to. So I decided to do my taxes. I got ready, and the Internet died. I couldn't go on, so I shut down my computer and turned it back on later. It worked for a few minutes and then died again. So I quite and did other productive things...well, maybe not that productive...

Alison went to work at 2:00 pm, so I was alone for much of the time. It gets really lonely in the house. So I decided to do my taxes again when my mom was on skype. I talked to her, and she listened, because I really could not hear her much of the time. She would have to repeat and I would try to read her lips. We got to the point where she had to do letters in sign language so I could understand her. It was interesting.

After our conversation, I did my taxes...but I realized I did not have all the information I needed. So I emailed my mom for the information, but she wasn't there at the time. Without the information, it looked like I owed the government quite a bit of money. I really would like that info!!!

So I had to stop again and work on something else. All of a sudden, I get a phone call. It made me panic, but I answered it. I always get panicked when the phone rings. For those of you who know me, you know I hate the phone. I have never enjoyed talking on the phone. So, if I talk to you on the phone, take it as a huge compliment that I think it is worth it to talk to you. I love talking to people in person, but the phone is horrible.

Anyway, getting off the track, it was...the toy store. Who would have thought? They were telling me that they have not forgotten about me. He said he knew I was expecting a call yesterday (uh...can we say Friday?) but they haven't finished interviewing people yet, so they won't be able to tell me until Wednesday. So I am guessing I won't know for a month or two...

Well, then I went into the Living Room and all my flatmates (minus Alison) were there. It was one of my flatmates birthday and we were celebrating by cooking food. Okay, so our flatmate said it was her birthday and we got the impression we were going out to dinner. Well, everyone else seemed to know we were all going to make food. So one made Korean food, one made Indian food, one made chili and rice, and one had ice cream. So guess who felt like el cheapo guy? Yeah, that would be me. I felt like a jerk.

The food was good. We started off with the Korean food which was vegetarian dumplings and a potato pancake type thing with a spicy soy sauce. It was sooooo good. The Indian food was...some kind of ricy thing with vegetables, and pepper, and spicy something or other. I can't say I was the biggest fan of it. The chili was fine, but after the previous meals, I was so full! I couldn't eat anymore. I didn't even have ice cream. I did eat chocolate later though. So, quite a surprise for me.

So I went back to my computer, as my mom sent me the information and I tried to finish my taxes. I went to the website I needed, and they said they were doing construction until 2:00 am and I wouldn't be able to access it. So...I give up. Try again tomorrow...if it lets me.

Lyttleton and Sumner: Our First Outing

Okay, so I have had several comments about not having pictures. I apologize for this. The truth is, I haven't gotten the hang of figuring out how to format the pictures properly. I post them, and somehow it is differnt than it shows me on the preview. So, I think the first that show up are of Sumner, which is the beach. The other three are of Lyttleton, there is a harbor and lots of houses on the hills. I will try to put more pictures up. Also, if you have any questions about anything, pictures, lifestyle, my blog...just ask in the comment box, and I will try to respond back in the comment section or in the next posting. So...enjoy.

Just Breathe

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

So today I decided to do my taxes. Ambitious, I know. Well, I have to give credit to my mom who has been so helpful, but I realized there was information I didn't have that I really needed. So I actually couldn't do my taxes until I go that information. So much for being productive.


I got an email from the person who was supposed to call me (well, one of the people who was supposed to call me) and I am going to start working at the preschool this Friday. So Friday will be more of an observation day and then I will work Mondays and Thursdays for three weeks. Then full time for three weeks. Then Mondays and Thursdays for three weeks again. It is nice to feel employed. Also, I got a call from a school asking if I wanted to be a relief teacher or if I wanted to be a teacher. I said I wanted to be a teacher and they told me to look on the website, and they would put me down as a relief teacher. So I had to give her all the days I was available, since I will be working some of those days. I still have not heard back from the toy store and am thinking I never will. I emailed my CV and cover letter to several positions that are opening and I got one back saying they would not consider me. I tell you...if anything, I am getting calloused to these brazen statements.


Since I couldn't be productive, I decided to go to the Gardens and sit down. Well, first I went to the library to finish the book I was reading. I only had 25 or so pages, so I went to the second floor and sat a couple seats from this guy. This guy was breathing really hard, like he had been running. He continued breathing like this, and it started making me feel apprehensive and my breathing became irregular. It was stressing me out and I felt like I could smell his breath (although I think I was imagining it, just because I was already feeling nervous about his breathing).

So I quickly finished checked out a book by Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers). I was told he was a good author, but I couldn't find his books since they were always checked out. Anyway, I made my way to the Gardens. I found this huge tree and decided to sit and write all the events in my journal. I hadn't written in it for several days and I had a lot to write. So I was deep in thought writing in my journal and I hear something. I looked up and there was this man who was looking at me. I said hello and he said he had a magazine if I wanted it. He said he hadn't read it yet, because it was a new addition. At first I thought it was a religious thing, but then I thought it was a salesman or something. He knelt down close to me, because there really wasn't a seat for him, as I was sitting on a huge root from the tree.


He started talking to me about Adam and Eve and the fall and how it was their fault there is death. He said that if it wasn't for the sin, they would still be alive today. He went on about living forever on Earth as I was looking through the magazine trying to figure out what he was proclaiming. He said something about a website on the back and I saw it...Jehovah's Witness. Well...I realized what was going on then and decided to talk to him. He showed me a lot of verses and stories. I knew them all, but it was hard trying to put them in context when he was skipping around so much.

He kept talking about the Kingdom and that we will live on Earth forever. He was talking about something related to Heaven. I think he was trying to say that Heaven is not going to be like the Heaven everyone pictures, but it will be on Earth so we will never die. I told him that I cannot think of a more wonderful place that the beauty of his creation in the mountains or Botanical Gardens, or the like, but does it matter if we are in these places on Earth or in a place far beyond our comprehension if we are in His presence? We love these places and I cannot think of a more amazing place than these, but that is because it is something I have seen and understand. Just because Earth is what we know and understand, it doesn't mean that is all there is.

He kept talking about World War One being the monumental time and about 2,520 days being years and that was when World War One started, Jesus reigned. He said this was a calculation some place thought up and it marked this time or that time. He drew out a timeline for me and eventually asked if it made sense. I told him no and that it seemed like this mathematical equation looked more like a way people tried to explain certain things that happened. It was like...horrible things happened...now lets come up with some equation and use Bible references to make the equation work. It was like they chose these random verses and said, okay now lets try these numbers and make it work with these numbers and Voila! We have a system that works!

I could hear the irritation in my voice and I had to take a couple breaths to relax, because I wanted to do some sharing, too. It was also frustrating for me, because he would ask specific questions about verses that I did not have immediate answers to. I hate it when I have a chance to share something, but I cannot just have the answer to say. I know this is a growing opportunity and it is okay and even good not to have all the answers. This way it will help me learn more and grow. It is just hard for me to fail.

Anyway, the conversations continued. I started really getting fed up with his explanation of this timeline so I just said, "What is your purpose? Why are you telling me about this timeline and why is it so important. What are you trying to convince me of?" I don't feel like I got a real good answer, but he did say, "There have been wars and it has gotten significantly worse since World War One, which is when Satan ruled the Earth. People don't do anything about it, but something does need to be done about it." I asked what should be done about it. He also did not give a real clear answer, but I gave him one.

I said, "Our purpose is to have a relationship with God and let others know about His love. We are here on Earth to do His will and we have a choice of what to do with it." He said that having a relationship with God is ultimately what we want, but it is not the most important thing. I almost interrupted him when I told him, "Having a personal relationship with God is the most important thing there is. This relationship, understanding God's love, and sharing that love with others is why we are here. We are here to serve Him, love Him, and share the Good News to others."

He stopped with that and then started talking about sacrifice. He talked about sacrifices that were made, although we do not do that anymore with animals. I said, "Well, there is no need for these sacrifices, as Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. He paid the price of our sins."

He mentioned something else about sacrifice, and I really liked what he said about it, but I changed it. He first asked what kind of sacrifice I could give up. I was kind of confused what he meant, because I wasn't sure where this was coming from. I could sacrifice everything. I wasn't sure what he meant. He then said that I sacrificed an hour and a half for God talking to him (him being the Jehovah's Witness), when I could be writing in my journal. I never thought of that. It is true I was sacrificing that time, because I would much prefer to finish my writing that doing this discussion. I don't love this kind of thing. But I told him, "Actually, I sacrificed for YOU, because I LOVE God, and because I have a RELATIONSHIP with him." I never thought to myself, "I will do this for God." I thought more about the fact that he is a person who needs God. I did it for him, because I love God and want him to know that kind of love.

Eventually he decided to move on. It made me sad that I couldn't make things more clear for him in some aspects, such as several of his questions. A lot of his statements were some kind of formula, but you can't do that in relationships, which is what Christianity is about. We are not a religion, but a relationship with God...with people...I wish I was able to speak clearly and give others a real understanding of who God is, but I know these situations are ways to help me with this. I prayed for him on my way back home where I met Alison and shared my day. I find it interesting that I meet these people in the Gardens. I am expecting to meet a Mormon next...

I found out that another one of our flatmates is leaving in a couple weeks and another flatmate is thinking of leaving soon. So that leaves Alison and I, and one other flatmate left. Kind of crazy. We will have a whole new flat. We really don't know what to think of this. Well, I think this has been a long enough entry. Thanks for your endurance.

Battle of the Accents

Tuesday, March 9, 2010



Okay, second post of the day. So I decided to do this one separately, because it would be longer. So Alison and I made a deal today, and my end of the deal was to get a facebook. I never ever wanted a facebook (as all my friends know), but had started thinking about it when I moved to New Zealand for a while. So she showed me how (and I have to admit she was very patient with me). So far I really don't like it. There are too many buttons to push and it looks cluttered to me with all the postings and people's changes or whatever. I don't know how much I will be using it, but I got it (much to the amazement of all of my friends...and they let me know it). I do have to admit that it is convenient to get any posts right to my email instead of having to look on the website. Although it has been difficult to get a picture posted on my profile. I have already made several mistakes as I tried to comment on one friend and somehow commented on another. This made for lots of confusion. We will see how this turns out.



Anyway, I was in The Gardens for a while, and then walked home after buying a couple of things from the store. Unfortunately they were VERY heavy and I got to waddle all the way home. Nothing unusual for me. I am sure all the people in this city are saying to each other, "Oh, there goes that crazy American girl with all the groceries again." You would think I would have major muscles in my arms.



So after my walk and putting everything away, my Korean flatmate told me several of her friends were coming over to have a party (dinner that she made). These were people in her classes who are studying English. She introduced me to all of them: four Koreans (not including my flatmate), two Colombians, and one Swiss. It was the battle of the accents as we were all conversing. There are some pronunciation differences and all of us would laugh at one time or another (pretty much nonstop) as we would look at each other in confusion.


I seemed to be the prize as everyone would ask me how to say this or how would my facial expression look if I would have this feeling...It was pretty hilarious, I guess being a native born English speaker helped them somewhat. They all said I was a good teacher, but I really didn't feel like I did anything. Some of the Koreans would ask me something, and I would just stare at them blankly, because they would say some in English some in Korean or their accent was so thick, they didn't pronounce things correctly. So I would look at them with a blank look on my face and they would laugh and chatter to each other in Korean.


One of the Korean guys would take pity on me sometimes and try to translate what they were saying. Actually he translated a lot of inside jokes or statements about class, since I was the only one who wasn't in their class. The Swiss guy was so sarcastic and would try to tease us all the time, so you never knew if he was telling the truth or not. I was excited when I hear the Colombian couple say something to each other, because it was something I could understand!!! Even though it was in Spanish (a language I should know well, but don't).



So I don't know how to describe the food. There were miniature hotdoglike sausages, vegetarian pot stickers, salad with long pieces of lettuce, cucumber, yogurt garlic ranch type dressing, cheese, and cream of corn, and we had cheetolike stuff that kind of tasted like fish. We later had some kind of noodles. For dessert, we had ice cream with chocolate fishes. I told her we should offer this to our other flatmate.

So we talked and laughed until around 10:30 when they left. I went to help my flatmate clean up, but she literally grabbed my arm and shooed me away refusing me to let me help her. She is so sweet. I also found out that she is leaving the flat to live in Australia. It makes me so sad, because she is the flatmate I have been the closest to.

So get ready for the next posting!

A Surprise

Monday, March 8, 2010

So it has been a couple days again since I have written. I will have a couple posts today so this ought to be interesting. Well, Alison had a job interview/training, but it didn't work out for her. It was kind of unfortunate, because it was closer to walk, and it had Monday through Friday 7-3:30 hours. It just would have been nice to have a good schedule.

I went to the Gardens hoping for a call which never came. Although something did come...So here I was sitting in the Gardens minding my own business when I see something coming at me. I looked up and see some kind of rodent hopping towards me! It was coming dangerously close so I finched and he swerved a bit to scramble into the bushes. I later looked up rodents in New Zealand to see what I could find and I found three different species. One which was the Black Rat...Yeah this was not too comforting as I read that it was the rat that caused the black death...So if you don't hear from me in a long time...

The Silent Week

Sunday, March 8, 2010

I guess it has been a while since my last entry. It has been difficult for me to get motivated to write what has been happening. Especially when I feel like nothing really is happening. Although, I guess stuff has happened...like the interview.

Okay so the interview was interesting. I really didn't know what to expect, because the only interviews I have had were for teaching. I felt nervous at having no idea how to prepare. So I walked all the way to this toy store and had to go through a roundabout. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a circle in the middle of a busy road that has spokes coming out of it. You have to chose which spoke you want in the direction you are headed. I really don't like them, and they are confusing when you walk. Personally, I think they are just confusing in general. I guess it is like a whole bunch of exit and entrance ramps all in one circle. Anyway, I turned on the wrong spoke (so I thought) so I turned all the way around and headed in the opposite direction. Then I realized I was originally correct, so I had to turn around again. I then made my way to the street it was on. It took me a while to realize that the map search I wrote down had the wrong street. Basically no search engine knew the real address of this location. Fortunately there was a sign and I was able to locate the store. It was good that I allowed for an extra hour for "lost time."

Anyway, I went in and they immediately had me fill out an application. Then I had two people with a packet of paper that they were using as a guide to question me. They were asking me questions, but all my experience was in teaching so all the examples they wanted me to give, all my stories, everything was about teaching. I kind of felt like my experience is in the wrong field. You would think I could interview fine at a toy store. Anyway, they questioned me for over an hour, and they were pretty intense questions. In the interview, they asked questions that forced me explain programs for teaching. The thing is, these programs and stories are in another country, so it took even longer to explain things, because they don't understand some of the language. For example: I mentioned something like "in second grade." Well, for one thing, they don't have grades here. They are years. For another thing, their year 2 is more like 1st grade. Hope this gives you an idea. It frustrated me that as I was getting interviewed, I was feeling "unqualified" again...for a toy store for crying out loud! I actually have had experience as a cashier too! I just felt like a horrible interviewer. It seems like I can't say anything right. There were several other things that bothered me about this...actually about myself...but I can see this entry is already going to be too big. So moving on...

I know I made this sound really bad, but all in all the interview I guess was okay. I did my best anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't get the job though. I asked when I would hear about the job, and they said in a couple days (which would be Friday). Today is Monday and I still haven't heard from them. I was trying to figure out what to do, because the preschool owner asked what I wanted to do. I kept going back and forth trying to decide if I really wanted to work at the toy store or the preschool. There were so many advantages and disadvantages. I wasn't sure if I really would get the job at the toy store, but then it would be a full time job. Although, the preschool owner was holding the position for me, and I knew she needed to have an answer soon or else she would post the position. The preschool is more related to my major, and it would give me more experience, but it would only be two days a week. It was so frustrating and the days went by. I finally decided that I would let the preschool owner that I would take the job. It does work better for me in terms of experience, I really like the school and the teachers, and maybe I could find another part time job. I don't know. She was happy and was supposed to call me today, but didn't. We will see what happens there.

So now there is the job situation at this point. Now to the other stories. One night Alison worked until 10:30, so we decided to meet at her restaurant and walk to Denny's for a $2 breakfast from 11pm to 11am. Then we walked all the way back and crashed. It was a very late night. 2 am.

Also, we came to a point where we had to do laundry, even though it was raining. We put our clothes in the dryer, but the dryer wasn't working, so we had to spread everything out in our room again to dry. It was crowded.

We also decided to do major cooking...as in no salad or pasta. Well, I guess pasta was included, but we used the oven. We made chicken casserole (one of my favorite dishes at home). We put all the ingredients together, but had to put it in the oven for 1/2 hour. Well...we realized later that the oven only went to 250 degrees. I figured that our ovens went up to around 500 degrees. So if I needed to put the oven at 350 degrees, I would put this oven at 150 degrees. That was my quick reasoning. Well, amazingly enough, it did work and I didn't burn anything up. It looked and tasted amazing. Our first big meal that we made. It didn't last long. We ate it in two days, although we did have someone else helping us eat it...

Also, we have quite the canary in our flat. Constant singing..at ungodly hours in the morning.

We also went to New Brighton (the other beach area). It was really cold that day, so we didn't go to the beach for long. We looked around a while and then just came back.

In the Church department, we went back to the Salvation Army. We went to the morning and evening service. We met a couple more people there and they insisted on having our name and number. They greeted us from the pulpit. Also, it was considered National Children's Day, so they had all the kids come up and they blew bubbles for like 10 minutes while they told a story. We sang a bunch of children's songs like "If I were a Butterfly." The night service was interesting. They had an ice breaker. We got into teams of 6 and each person had an edible item. I chose a banana. Alison had juice. So the first person would have to stand up, eat or drink whatever they had as fast as they could. Then they sat down and the next person would do the same. It would continue until everyone was done. So the first person was a lady eating some kind of chew candy. It took quite a while. Most of the other teams were close to finished before she could finish the candy. They guy who started this icebreaker eventually took pity and had the second guy go. This guy had some kind of granola bar or something. He took bites fast, but he couldn't swallow it for a long time. By this time all but one team was finished. Then it was my turn. The first bite was too big and the banana was centered in my mouth and I couldn't rotate it to actually chew it. After a while I finally was able to and took smaller bites after that. Well, I finally got to the last bite and sat down, but realized I was not supposed to sit down until I swallowed so I started to stand up, but the guy said that was okay (considering all the other teams were done). Then Alison drank her juice, the next guy drank a bottle of soda (we were all impressed at his quick drinking), then the last lady ate marshmallows. It was quite interesting. The sermon was very good and quite deep about is God in control? We enjoyed it and like this Church better each time we go, but we are probably going to go back to the Baptist Church and compare.

Well, there is my week in general. Let see how this week will turn out. So many possibilities!

The Chocolate Fish Disaster

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

This weekend has been nice, but really uneventful. I got an email telling me my family was going to Disneyland...WITHOUT ME!!! Well, I got to see some really cute pictures and it looked like they had a great time in and out of rain. I love that place! It is the best place in the world!

Anyway, I went to the Salvation Army Church on Sunday. It wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be tiny, like the Nazarene Church I went to, but it was quite a bit larger than that. The sermon talked about waiting. He even mentioned "Like waiting for a job." It felt like he was just speaking to me. I loved the music. I knew a lot of the songs. So now Alison and I are considering the Baptist Church and this Church. We will have to compare, by going again.

I have still been going to the Gardens every day. We have been eating salad a lot lately, because a lot of our stuff is going bad. Sadly enough, our avocados have suffered. We had to throw away a couple, much to our dismay. We have also been getting headaches frequently. We have decided it is the intensity of the sun. We took a long nap Sunday afternoon.

One night another flatmate came back from going to Queenstown for the weekend. She bought all of us chocolate. She actually asked Alison and I if we liked chocolate. We laughed at the absurdity of the question. So one of our flatmates is a vegetarian. He received the chocolate, but gave it back to her immediately saying there was fish in it. We all looked at each other and at him saying, "There is no way there is fish in there." He showed us on the wrapper that is said fish. We started laughing out loud and said the chocolate must be in the shape of a fish. He still wouldn't touch it until we opened it up, broke the chocolate revealing marshmallow or whatever it was, and showed him. Then he finally took it and ate it. We were laughing so hard at that point, just picturing a chocolate covered fish. Watch out for the bones!

Well, about the job situation. I have been trying to contact the toy store to get a hold of the guy who called me. I called him four times asking for him. Once the store was closed, but I left a message. The second time he wasn't there, so I left a message with someone. The third time I called, he still wasn't there, but I didn't leave a message. The fourth time, today, I called and he was busy with someone else and I left another message. FINALLY, he called me back today and asked if I could interview tomorrow. So I have an interview at 2:00 tomorrow (5:00 California time). I really hope I will know tomorrow if I get the job or not, so that I can get back to the preschool owner and figure out what to do. Sooooo...until tomorrow then.