Monday was quite the whirlwind. I had an exam in my Education class first thing in the morning...I ended up getting an A on it, so I guess all of my studying over break paid off! Later that day I had two assignments dues as well, one for my Psychology class and another for my Politics class. Many thanks to the University of Auckland for their inspiration to make deadlines for the day everyone returns from break! That doesn't make life stressful at all..ha ya right!
Erin and I continue to make our Tuesday Fred's coffee/study/best friend time/plan the week date a ritual. Our Sencha Moonlight tea is absolutely delicious and going to be greatly missed when we head back to the states! Tuesday night was our EAP group dinner, and we all went out to a delicious Thai restaurant on Ponsonby Road. Perks to being a vegetarian...I was able to order ANYTHING I wanted instead of having to choose from the set menu designed for all of those crazy meat eaters! I had a delicious coconut milk and banana curry that seemed more like a dessert than a dinner, but delicious all the same! It was great to see and catch up with all of the people from my program. Some I had not seen since our orientation in the beginning of February, making this a great opportunity to hear how everyones time in NZ has been thus far.
The rest of the week carried on like any other week. Lots of class, working out, and soaking in everything about this country! I discovered the beauty of being able to make phone calls through Skype! $5.95 per month and I can call anyone in the US. Needless to say I took advantage of that right away. I started calling heaps of people, surprising many as they had not heard from me on an actual phone in months! I was able to call some amazing friends back in the states, my family, as well as my amazing friends and coworkers at Zin! It was incredible to talk to so many of them for the first time since I left...Rouz, Monica, Martin, Nick, Justin, Angelica, William...they all made my day as the phone was passed around the restaurant :) I can't wait to see them all so soon!
On Saturday, Erin and I headed to Farmers Market to get some basics that we needed for the coming week. That night we headed down to the Sky City Mall and studied for a while in Starbucks, had boba, and ate falafel for dinner. On Sunday we decided to put to use the pumpkin bread ingredients that Erin's mom had sent over in her care package. The bread was amazing!
As each week passes, the next seems to fly even faster. After Erin and I made pumpkin bread I decided to keep up with the spirit of baking and make banana bread. Another great recipe! Much of this week (April 26-30) was devoted to finishing up the journal I had to keep for my Women's Studies class. This journal was great because we were given prompts to respond to about the novels we read, but we were given personal response prompts as well. It was a great opportunity to read some fascinating novels written by extremely talented women, as well as reflect on my life and experiences.
After I turned in the journal on Friday, Erin, Anni, Chris and I began our road trip to Rotorua for the annual marathon, 10k and 5k. Erin's roommates Becca, Jamie, Brian and Matt, along with our friend Jess had left earlier in the day and we were meeting them there. We arrived late at night to the smell of sulphur filling the air...there are hot pools and sulphur springs all around Rotorua. We were starving, so we found a cheap and tasty looking Indian restaurant and walked on in. Just our luck...ALL 4 of us are vegetarian! We ordered four different dishes and then ate Bucca di Beppo/lazy susan style and passed the food around the table, making a rainbow design on top of the white rice...we had to have a quality meal before our big run! :)
After dinner we met up with the rest of our group and headed to the race headquarters to check in. We each received our bibs with our numbers on them, along with a super cool race shirt, a time monitor for our shoes, and some other goodies in the bags they gave us. Along with the registration area was a huge merch section for all of the Asics gear they had (Asics sponsored the event). I hadn't planned on shopping while I was there, but I needed a new pair of running shoes, so....I caved. But here is where I legitimize the purchase...they were ONLY $50 NZ, and they told me they would sell them to me for $40 NZ!! That's $28 US for a pair of $120 running shoes!! How could I pass that up? :)
After we all registered (Jamie registered too at the last minute meaning 8 out of the 9 of us that were there were running in the 10k), we went on a desperate mission to find ice cream. We found a Burger King that was open really late and ordered soft serve with fudge :) Then we headed to our hostel where we all piled into our room that slept 10 people. All of the bunks but one were occupied! Such a blast!
We woke up early the next morning, got dressed, stretched, ate just enough to give us energy, pinned our numbers onto our cool new shirts, and laced our timers onto our shoes...We were ready to go! We arrived at the starting line and watched the marathon runners wait for their signal to go. After they were on their way we all lined up waiting for our race to begin. We were treated to a performance of the traditional Maori Haka, given instructions by the officials, and then signaled to go by the firing of an authentic canon. It was raining at the start of our race which made conditions a little tough, but things cleared up after a while and it was nice and cool for the run. The race course was absolutely beautiful, winding along the far side of town, through a park, and along the back side of Lake Rotorua. I am not much of a runner AT ALL, but this was a wonderful experience and a great challenge! I won't give any specific number as far as my time goes, but I finished!!...and that was what was important to me!
After we all finished the race we were given bananas, hot tea and coffee, and soup from the foundation who runs the event. A previous foot injury from back when I was in elementary and middle school started acting up during the race so I had my foot iced and wrapped. We then all headed out to breakfast a a great place called the Fat Dog Cafe. I ordered a vegetarian breakfast special that was probably the best breakfast I have had in NZ, and one of the best ever. Wheat toast with potatoes on top (can you say hello carbs?!), and eggs over easy on top of that...mix that with caramelized onions, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, I think some spinach, and some serious spices and you get pure bliss! We were going to check out the hot pools after breakfast, but our group was so tired that we decided to just make the long trek home. What could possibly make 3 1/2 hours in a car bearable? A stop at Candyland for some fudge about halfway through! :)
What a great time with friends and a great physical challenge! Sunday became my day to sleep, catch up on school work, and prepare for the coming week. Oh...and a couple episodes of my favorite TV shows were thrown in there too! I can't pass up the drama on Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice while I'm here...and I am totally into the new NBC show Parenthood! If you get the chance, check it out! :)
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