Hello Again!

So, sorry about that rather long delay of updates! Firstly, I added some pictures to the bottom of my blog, which you can click on to advance through. They are currently in reverse chronological order (a.k.a. most recent first), and only a few of them have been uploaded as of yet. I have been staying with my Aunt who lives in Wellington, in the suburb of Khandallah, atop an absolutely MONSTROUS hill (take a look at the pictures, and you'll see what I mean)--but there's a very nice view of Wellington Harbour (there's another name for it, but I forget what it is right now). I did a lot of roaming around the city, getting to know the kind of people and places I can expect in the future--as well as looking at NZ bank accounts, and getting my equivalent of a Social Security Number. I also went up to the top of Mt. Kaukau, near Wellington on the 27th.



I greatly enjoyed going to the Botanic Gardens, and poking around all of the different plants and trees--I especially liked those big, tall Nikau palms they had there, as well as their assortment of ferns. They had a very nice little greenhouse called the Begonia House, and there was a cafe within--but unfortunately the cafe didn't open until several days after (under construction). I walked back up a nice path through the woods, and took the cable car back down into central Wellington City.



I also took a foray into the National museum, Te Papa. It was very similar to the Science Museum of Minnesota in that there are lots of interactive, fun, and colourful exhibits to look at and experiment with--they even have an earthquake demo center, where you can go and stand in a little house and feel what a minor earthquake feels like!!



The people have been nice, but different. The other day I was walking around in a little store when a couple of construction workers came in to get something. One of the was wearing a Minnesota Twins cap! I did a double take, and then said something similar to: "Unghh??! A TWINS cap?!" and proceeded to stare blankly at his forehead with my jaw dropped. He was rather confused at first, and had no idea what I was talking about. I explained that he was wearing a baseball hat from back home in Minnesota, and that the team was called the "Twins", and the TC logo stood for "Twin Cities". He was joking around and said that he thought it stood for "Totally Cool". So, that was a little odd.



I pieced my bike together the first day I got there, but neglected to take it out for a ride until about 4 days into my stay at my Aunt's house. Wellington is NOT cyclist friendly. The hills are terrible (again, look at the pictures), the roads steep and narrow- as well as windy and curving (this is in the suburbs of Wellington, mind you--the city itself is quite flat). The drivers are impatient and unused to dealing with cyclists, and the wind...the wind can practically blow you uphill backwards with both brakes on! So, after spending half an hour getting down from where I am living. I promptly turned around and trudged my way back up. Another thing that has suprised me: it seems that every single bicycle I see out being ridden is a brand new, Carbon-fiber, $3,000 bike. I don't think I've seen a proper used bike my whole time here so far! That whole subset of culture is completely missing.



The sausage rolls here have been very good. The first two that I had were NZ$2.80 each, with 30 cents for one ketchup container. At the moment I thought they were a really god deal. They were a very tasty meal, and for a little more than NZ$6, not too expensive. However, the other day I was around the odd end of Wellington (Cuba Street, for those who know/care), when I found a very nice bakery. I think it was called "Elite Bakery," or something odd like that. I went in, and to my delight, sausage rolls there only cost $1.40 each! Half as much money!! Or, the way I looked at: Twice as much Sausage rolls!

Now, I'm up with my other Aunt, Uncle, and cousin, in Raumati, near Paraparaumu, and it is VERY nice up here. They are literally a stone's throw away from the beach and sea, just behind another house on top of a dune. The feed me very well up here, and I'm just up for the weekend at the moment. Yesterday I went for a longer ride on my bike, going about 60 kilometers--including a gigantic hill which was probably about half to one third of the distance!!! Not quite like back home. That was really nice, and I felt just about fine afterwards--the only thing being that I may have gently pulled something in my right shoulder. But doesn't hurt too bad, as I went our for a shorter (15k) mountain bike ride this morning by the sea (I borrowed my cousin's full-suspension mountain bike), which was extremely nice. After that, we went and poked around on the beach for a couple of hours, and looked at shells and other odd things which had washed up on the sand. I found some bamboo, and spent most of the time trying to make various implements out of it, including (but not limited to) bow and arrow, spitball gun, and flute (more or less in that order). Right now it's time for dinner, so I better go! (Pork roast, which I'm sure will be fantastic!)
Hope you're all having a good time, wherever you are!
-Ben