Weekend

The more time I spend with people, naturally, the more open we become with each other.  I have had some insightful conversations about politics with many members of my host family this weekend.  I quite enjoying hearing outsiders perspectives on American politics and culture.  Let's face it, Americans can be pretty ignorant (video evidence here).  The more that I have traveled internationally the more I have been able to see just how self-absorbed and conceited our country can be at times.  We aren't the number one country in the world, we definitely might have been in the 50's, but times have changed.  I don't want to sound anti-american because that is not the truth at all, I have a lot of respect for the values that our country was built upon.  I also acknowledge that there are some positives to being so confident. We are a country that is willing to go out and try the seemingly impossible because we sometimes have the philosophy that if anybody is going to do something it will have to be us.  Ironically, traveling can be a great way to learn more about your own passport country.

I crossed another item off my Top 10 list by trying L&P!  L&P is a classic New Zealand beverage, the closest thing that I could relate it to in the States is lemonade.  However, describing it as lemonade just doesn't do it justice.  It is super sweet, with just a hint of a lemon flavor...perfect for the hot summer day.

I spent Saturday morning at Willa's softball game (she is a mean 1st base player) followed by a quick drive into the heart of the city.  I have had a lovely view of the city during my after school runs, but have never actually made it into the city.  Vincent (my host Dad) drove me around the highlights and then we parked by the wharf.  There is currently a lot of revitalization of the inner city waterfront occurring and it really looks amazing.  We spent some time looking at the oversized yachts and sailboats in the harbour and took in some pacific island music and dancing from a free show on the street.   They even play movies every Friday night down on the wharf by projecting them onto storage silos, hoping that I can head down next week to catch a movie!  Once we returned home I baked a Lohnes family recipe (applesauce cake) for my host family.  Even after cooking with the metric system, substituting multiple ingredients, making homemade applesauce for the first time, and failing at operating the oven the cake turned out absolutely delightful!  We ate it at morning, afternoon, and evening tea for the next few days and I will be sharing the recipe with Sarah (my host Mum) in return for her chutney recipes.  The rest of my Saturday was extremely relaxing, it even included a quick trip to Red Beach with Levi (oldest host brother). We didn't swim in the Hauraki Gulf on this occasion, but another trip out is in the making.

I went to church Sunday night with Levi to a service that was a little more youth focused so that meant Sunday morning could be a time for resting, devotions, and a little extra bit of sleep.  I did take away some time from sleeping in to walk up Mt. Albert (the volcano that the surburb I live in and my school is located in is named after/located on).  The venture to the top wasn't nearly as exerting as I had first assumed, but the view from the top is even better than I could have imagined.  I forgot my camera back in my room, but that just gives me another reason to climb to the top again.  This weekend of relaxation and reflection was exactly what my introverted personality needed!  Sunday was filled with lesson plans, house cleaning, and meeting some of my host family's extended family.  It is amazing how much humor I don't understand because I lack cultural/political background knowledge.  There have been numerous times that a joke was told and everyone else in the room laughed, while I sat silently with a stumped look on my face.  Luckily, Levi and Toby have always come to my rescue and quickly explained the necessary background knowledge that I was missing.  I have never really realized just how cultural humor was until now, a great learning experience this adventure has been.