Week Review
New Zealand internet is very different than in the U.S. in that you have a limit of downloads/uploads per month according to your "plan". We have been using the lady's internet where we are staying and have used over 80% of her allowance so there will be no pictures today. I wanted to recap on the highlights of the last week and weekend. Last week I started my normal schedule at work of four 10 hour shifts and I really like not working 12 hour days. On Tuesday night we went to the Fox and Ferret, a restaurant/pub with Jonny and his roommate Craig (we refer to him as "Craiger") to play Quiz bowl...this is very popular in NZ. A big screen TV poses a series of questions under categories such as sports, geography, entertainment and your team of 4 competes to answer the most right. We named our team the "Biscuits and Crawdads" in honor of our Southern heritage. Unfortunately, we came in near the middle but it was a lot of fun! On Thursday night we went to a car auction just to look around and get an idea of what we might buy in the near future. One car went for $100! It is difficult to know what you are getting here because all the cars are named differently than in the US...have you ever heard of a Nissan California? Also, they list the cars by how many kilometers they have been driven and by what kind of gas mileage they get in kilometers per liter. So confusing! We did not bid on a car but it was an interesting experience. Friday night we introduced our group of church friends to a game of Phase 10 and it was a hit! We met the other Nashville couple that lives here and they actually know Leslie Townsend (our friend in Jackson who is in law school and is from Nashville)! Such a small world. Saturday we ate lunch downtown with Jonny and his sister that was in town and threw the frisbee; went to eat Indian food for dinner and it was my first time...very good. Sunday Blaine and I jogged/walked the 7 kilometer loop around Hagley Park. The daffodils are blooming and the jogging trail winds along the Avon River past the golf course and Botanical Gardens...so gorgeous! Had a picnic in the Gardens after church and then went to pick up my bicycle that I am borrowing from one of the Australians while we are here. We move into our apartment tomorrow! So we will have our own internet, phone number, address and space! I will post pictures of it at the end of the week!