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Published: February 14th 2008
Maori Warrior Face
I was trying to do the same warrior face as this guy...but couldn't quite tackle it!! He was so funny!! Very many Maori people get their faces tattooed like this; his is just paint for the performance but this is very common, even on their women!(I thought I had published this last week before leaving to Fiji but then just now realized I had only SAVED it...not PUBLISHED it, wow...well, now its a few days old but here it is)
I've been here in Auckland for 5 full days now! The accommodations and schooling here is much different then where we were in Australia. Here we live in 5 bedroom apartments that are a 30 minute bus ride outside of the city. We were spoiled living downtown in Melbourne because it was so convenient just walking outside our dorms and jumping on the trams to go anywhere. There it was just a quick walk to plenty of cafes, restaurants, etc. where as here we just have the Unitec Campus and houses around. Here the bus system is not near as reliable (never on time) and is pretty confusing, but thats ok...we're getting used to it! Auckland is much more green and greeted us with rain when we landed on Saturday. Apparently it hadn't rained here since Christmas but it has been raining off and on over the last few days. Also, unlike flat Australia, Auckland rests on 50 old volcanos so everything and everywhere is
City of Auckland
Walking thru a park that overlooked the city and Auckland's Sky Tower, like Seattle's space needle...they have a restaurant up there and for $175 you can repel down from the top...it sounded cool but is a little over my budgettt! up hills, down hills, up hills, down hills...great work outs just walking around the city or from my apt. to campus. I am living in an apt. with Sam & Melanie that are in a lot of my pictures and two other girls that I don't hangout with as much. Another thing thats different here is we don't have a cafeteria making us all our meals...so we went to the grocery store earlier in the week and had to spend quite a bit of money on food. The bummer after that was our fridge decided not to work so a lot of our food went bad!! 😞 They are still supposed to be coming to fix it...hopefully that happens soon! My apt is on the 2nd level and my room looks out the back over the walk we take to campus everyday. We go back behind the building and walk down these stairs, through trees, over a bridge and ravine area and up this steep walkway. Its about a 15 minute walk to our class...but I like it! (I added pictures from my walk so you can see exactly what its like, haha). The second day we were here we
On a Volcano
We climbed up this hill that is an old volcano...there is the city skyline in the background. See the Sky Tower? did a scavenger hunt around the city so we had to figure everything out and find stuff. Then we went to the Auckland Museum and watched a Maori, the indigenous people here, do a cultural performance that was really neat. They danced, showed us their old warrior moves and weaopns as well as the games they play in their culture. You could tell they were having a lot of fun and I had fun talking to one of the guys after and getting a picture with him (with our tongues sticking out)! Monday we were back in classes and tomorrow a page rough draft for my History paper and Culture paper are due. Earlier this week I had so much fun meeting up with a family friend and the doctor that delivered me and all my siblings: Johann Duenhoelter. He is on an around the world cruise for I think 3 months or so and his ship docked in Auckland for the night. So I met up with him and enjoyed a very nice 4 course meal for lunch! I ate all my own courses, tried the other 3 peoples appetizers and meals, and had a fantastic Peanut Butter Crunch
Crystal Serenity
Here is the cruise ship I met up with Dr. Duenhoelter on for lunch!! It was my first time on a cruise ship...it was so nice and I really enjoyed my 4 course meal, dessert, and trying the other 3 people's food at our table, haha! dessert...mmm! I sat down and there was waiters all around me scooting my chair out for me to sitt in, putting my surviet (napkin) in my lap, and opening my menu for me...I was so not used to the fancyness, but I think I could adjust! 😊 After that he showed me all around the ship and then we headed into town and enjoyed some coffee at one of the four Starbucks in downtown Auckland. Rather than making Johann his drink, like I do back home in Puyallup when he comes in to our Starubucks...I ordered him his Tall, 2 raw sugar, latte and we sat down to enjoy our lattes! He also had me get a postcard of the ship he's on that he signed to send to my store for everyone to see that we met up here. He comes there quite often when he's home so everyone knows who he is!
So, things are much different here than Melbourne and everyone keeps talking about how they miss Melbourne...I do too but I'm personally really excited to be here...any change always throws everyone off. We have three weeks of classes and then a week off to travel
Starbucks in Auckland
Enjoying our coffees! again before coming home. Yesterday I bought my cheap ticket to fly to the South Island for that week; I'll be there March 1-8th! The South Island is supposed to be beautiful (for any Lord of the Rings fans, they did a lot of the filming there). A group of 6 of us booked our tickets and are thinking about renting a van and just going from city to city staying in hostels and going to all the different National Parks, etc.
Since I don't have a phone here in my apt. and no good pay phones around... I will be using Skype a lot...once I figure out how to buy credit. For those of you that don't know about Skype its a great way to talk for FREE (all around the world) if you just make an account and download it at www.skype.com or I can call people's cell phones as well. Its quite fun because I have a built in webcam on my handy mac. Last night Bethany and I had fun talking for the first time she made it to South Africa. We talked about a lot of things that are similar there and here like
My Apt.
The building I live in EVERYone being extremely liberal and there being hardly any Christians around. America now seems so churched and religious to me! It's been weird not being in the normal Christian community that surrounds me when I'm at home. Even in my group of 33 students from Washington there are basically 2 of us that have any religious beliefs at all: Sam and me. Everyone cannot believe that I've never drank, never had a boyfriend, and why I'm so weird and different (they think I'm so happy all the time!?). This one girl just tells me all the time Lacey, your sooo weird but I love you, I'm so glad your here! Haha, I take it as a compliment!? When we were out on the reef a few of my friends ended up coming and joining me on the deck watching the lightening storm and looking at the stars...we ended up talking about "religion" and Christianity and what they all believe in til early into the morning. Like I said to Bethany last night and like she just wrote in her blog...I love talking to everyone about what they believe in, don't believe in, and why and I know things in my
Room in my Apt.
Yes, I love my dolphin comforter! :) head and want to say SO much but it never seems to come out the way I want it to. I feel like its so hard to explain anything to these people because they seem so far out there and have such different thoughts and ideas than me! And, to them...I seem so far out there. It's kind of draining. The day after being out on the boat and having that discussion I read, "The process of being made broken bread and poured out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people's souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely -- to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you... He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply." I found that very encouraging! I also have been looking for Blue Like Jazz to buy here for one of the girls and always think of like stuff from
Apt.
My rooms is at the end on the Left! books and everything that I want to explain and make people read but I just need to know how to say things. I don't know...anyways, its been really fun and I've been learning a lot from being around a whole different group of people! I'm also encouraged everyday by what good ole Oswald Chambers has to say to me in My Upmost For His Highest. Bethany said in her blog: "As we were staring at the breath taking dark sky splattered in stars with the mountains in the background, I couldn't help but be totally amazed and blown away at the fact that 95% of everyone I talk to just can't get their selves to believe in God. I'm like....really guys? Look around! But it is so fun talking and we have agreed to disagree I guess." This is exactly what I've been thinking and told someone the other day. We've been to some amazing places here and I sit thinking the same thing. I just read this week in the Oz "If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out
Maori Culture
Maori people doing a cultural performance for us at the Auckland Museaum. These are the people and culture that we are learning about here. to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades..." Thats definitely what I think of but other people don't quite see. If you think of me you can pray that God uses me here in every situation and that I feel like I know what I'm talking about when opportunities do come up to share!
Anyways, enough of that. Not to rub it in or anything, but I do have to go pack to leave to the airport in 2 hrs...to fly to Fiji for the next few days! I'm so thankful for all that I'm getting to do...I can't even believe it! I'm enjoying the Play Hard part of the quote Work Hard, Play Hard while I don't have a job for once, weird! 😊 I miss everyone and hope you are all doing well!
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mum
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AMAZING PHOTOS!
Thanks Lacey for all your time you invest in your blog so that we can enjoy a small bit 'o your journey! I can't wait to meet you for breakfast and coffee to chat! you are missed and loved so much, mum (keep shining!)