all in a days work

School here really is the best thing that's ever happened. This week we've moved into social studies and science. No offense to Professor Sitiene, but science is definitely the better end of the deal.

To investigate air pressure, we put balloons underneath an upside down table and saw how many people we could get standing on top of it before the balloons popped. Extremely entertaining? yes. Extremely productive? maybe not.

We were even able to fit the whole class on one table without the balloons popping. It's science!

We also looked at solubility and experimented with different scientific substances such as M&Ms, gingerbread babies, and ginger nuts :)

Outside of school, everything has been brilliant. It's sunny, I've mastered the bus system, and my roommates and I have decided to run a half marathon at the end of February! I've been running every day and one morning decided to run to school instead of taking the bus. It was a great idea! Minus the smelling/looking bad for the rest of the day part. And once I got there I realized I didn't have any school supplies. Wasn't the most thought out plan I've ever had. Stacey pointed out that I could run with my fanny pack to school! That was also a bad idea.

Fanny pack. Literally.

saddle sore but so happy

This is my second post for the day because it's Sunday here and my internet is working! (which isn't always the case). Plus there was so much happening in one week, I didn't want to make a post the size of Texas (shout out to JR, KM, & JS). After a wonderful week of school, we spent the weekend relaxing at the house, doing chores, and horseback riding.

!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! I love everything about my life !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure how to explain how I felt, so this will have to do the trick.

The sun was out, the hillsides were breath taking, I was riding on a horse, and in New Zealand. Life couldn't get any better. I even got a bit of color! More of a burn actually. I used sunscreen but missed the back of my neck, which is now a gorgeous brick red color. When I came home Victoria (my host mother) came into my room with a plant. I wasn't sure what she wanted me to do with it, but she ripped off a section, opened it up and started rubbing it on my neck. It was an aloe plant! Maybe I'm the only one who hadn't put those pieces together, but aloe vera isn't just a made up name. It's named after a spiky, sticky plant in New Zealand!

The horses we rode apparently starred in The Chronicles of Narnia - cool huh? One was Prince Peter's horse and I guess my horse played dead in a war scene. Can't get any closer to Hollywood than that!

And they had little hobbit horses!!

I was just a little excited

I'm a little embarrassed I posted so many horse pictures, but I just couldn't help myself. And these are just the selected few of many. It was a dream day! Afterwards we came home and had the house to ourselves so Stacey, Mallory and I cooked dinner, cleaned, and then watched Signs. Victoria came home to see us all piled on one couch yelling about aliens. We even stayed up until midnight. wooohoo late night!!

but seriously.

ABC easy as 1, 2, 3

3 classes and only two more to go! Classes can seem long since each session is 6 hours, but considering what we do in school, time goes by pretty fast. This week we've been working on "maths", as the New Zealanders call it. At first I thought our teacher had a lisp, but then realized that's what they really call it. They call it "maths" because it's referring to mathematicS not mathematic. Hahaha apparently Americans are the stupid ones.

Here is a little review of our week:

Became familiar with the metric system by

measuring how far we can blow objects across the carpet

used the golden ratio (and other essential materials) to figure out the dimensions

and size of goliath's body: 12 feet tall!

practiced writing upside down - a commonly used teacher skill. yeah. . . it's safe to say that there's definitely some room for improvement. I particularly struggle with the numbers.

learned about place value in exchanging "United Octopus Bank" money

activity for reflection, translation, and rotation = an excuse to do art for a whole day

1. First we created a pattern, which was hard for me because my creative juices are permanently dried up. That's why everyone has flowers and turtles and I just drew lines.

2. Then wrinkle up the paper and iron it out. This gave me a chance to really show off my domestic skills.

3. Dye your tapa with brown dye

4. Bleach the parts you want to be white

5. Be proud of your ability to make elementary art!

In other exciting news - my roommate Stacey got her mission call!!! :):) She skyped with her family and she will be serving in Carlsbad, CA speaking Spanish. She is going to be a wonderful missionary. I'm so excited for her!

Next week is my last week of school! Once we finish up social studies and science, I will be all done :) and the most wonderful part about it, is that finals don't exist here. Can't say I'm too bummed about that.

laundry lover

I have discovered a chore that I love to do!! I usually hate doing laundry - I have always hated it. Especially at BYU. . you haul all your clothes down (from the past 3 months haha) and try to fit it in one machine because it's cheaper. Then you have to put the quarters in, calculate what time you should come back, and then walk back home. 36 minutes later you come back to move all the clothes to the dryer. Then start the whole thing over. And you really end up doing 3 rounds of drying because your clothes are still soaking wet.

Laundry here is a little different because there are no dryers! (unless you are absolutely loaded). So you hang your laundry out to dry in the sun. This is my new favorite chore. I love to be outside in the sun, hanging clothes, and listening to music. All of the clothes are so colorful and when you deal with more difficult items (such as sheets or unmentionables) you feel accomplished when everything is perfectly hung and you've used the minimum number of clothespins. Only drawback is when it starts raining, which has been happening a lot lately. But again, another reason why this is one of the better chores. It requires athleticism, coordination, and concentration. seriously. It's like a game - running out in the rain and seeing how many clothes you can stuff in the basket and get back inside before everything is soaked. If you really wanna get intense, try it in the dark holding a flashlight in your mouth!

Recently my laundry playlist has consisted of bon iver, the new coldplay album, and lil wayne "how to love". Interesting mix, but I love it. If you haven't heard this song you are really missing out. It's short but wonderful. Shout out to Jazz Myres! We used to listen to this song over and over back in the roommate days :)

a productive weekend

Today is Sunday and the weekend has been so relaxing and wonderful. I'm almost sad to go back to school tomorrow. The good news is . . . I'm already finished with two of my BYU classes and only have four classes left. hoorah!

On Friday I went with some friends from my stake to Mission Bay in Auckland. We went out to ice cream and dinner, visited a park by the bay, and played some rugby! I like to think that I'm coordinated and good at sports but rugby was a little different! It moved super fast and the whole "only-throw-backwards-or-laterally-thing" did not work for me. So instead I would grab the ball and just run until somebody yelled at me to stop. what? i don't know the rules!

walking to school - gotta take a few runway shots

where we go to school e'ry day

visiting Kirsten and Emily at the Sorensens

view of Auckland from Mission Bay

scenic "hot spot"

i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!

how could you resist this?!

somehow i'm always camera ready. . .don't know how it happens

told you

rugby at the park

That night to celebrate Friday the 13th we went into downtown Auckland to see the "three witches". Ephraim and Jershon claimed there are three witches hanging from a tree in the park. It was just a joke, but I definitely fell for it. Because I fall for everything. We were driving in the dark and I was looking reeeeally close to see the "three witches". Then a hand smacked against the window (stupid Jershon from the front seat). I nearly had a heart attack! Ok yeah...I did have a heart attack. I thought for sure the three witches were out to get me.

On the drive home, with all of us piled in the van, we turned off the radio and sang songs while Ephraim played the guitar. It was a great playlist: Beyonce, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, and Jack Johnson. I think we all realized we didn't know the words to "Halo" as well as we thought we did. lawls. They also taught us how to "talk New Zealander" - probably so they aren't so embarrassed to be with us.

Saturday was the day of productivity!

1. Slept in just a little :)

2. Saturday chores: vacuumed, dusted, cleaned the bathroom, did laundry, and hung it out to dry.

3. Went for a run and worked out

4. Rearranged our bedroom to make more space

5. Read a book - I don't know why, but I am super into reading lately. Probably because I have the time now. I've already read a few and need to figure out how to get more!

6. Made dinner and did the dishes (my mother probably thinks I'm lying about now)

7. Went to bed early (best part of the day :))

ok, it might not look any bigger, but it is. really, I promise.

Even though we're from America we still know how to do laundry. Shocker!

Now it is Sunday and I'm sitting with Victoria and Stacey and watching Beauty and the Beast. Not the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, but instead it's the "Latter-day Saint Tale". If you ever want to crack up, watch this movie. As long as you can handle Cheesy McCheeserson movies. But if you love those like I do, you'll soak this one up! The acting is phenomenal and the soundtrack absolutely inspiring. I would say it gives Twilight a run for it's money!

Church was wonderful as always. . .next week we're getting callings! They hinted it would be with the Primary kids so I'm excited :) And later tonight I'm going to a YSA planning meeting to help with an upcoming stake activity. I'm such a socialite! The ward is great and loves to get together, and get togethers always means food! Which is ok, because after all, "I'm only here for the food." (if you don't know that movie quote, you probably think I'm a brat).