Halloween![]() |
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We're in New Zealand! : 5 November 2003![]() |
We're in New Zealand, and it's cold! So we're now in our first foreign country (not counting dealing with children, which is surprisingly similar). And it took us quite a journey to get here. First, we improved hotel rooms once again, through an inadvertant experience which shall remain unexplained. However, that last hotel room was amazing. We were right on the beach in Waikiki (See our view!), and had the ocean surf to lull us to sleep. Then, our last night was spent back at the Morland-Tellez residence, and our last chance to not sleep with the kids. Little Andrea was dancing on Andrea's stomach at 4 in the morning saying, "Dance! Barney! Doo doo doo!" On Monday (Hawaii time) we caught the red-eye to Auckland, where we landed Wednesday morning. We have both lost forever the day of November 4th, to the mysterious International Date Line. We immediately caught a domestic flight down to Christchurch, where we are currently freezing, due to the drastic change in the weather. It's not actually that cold, but coming from Hawaii where it's hot all the time, it's quite a change. The most adventurous part so far was finding the place to sleep. We caught a shuttle from the airport to this one hotel, where our tour thing departs from on Sunday. Deciding that it was too expensive, too far out of town, and not available for the last night anyway, we thought, hey, let's just walk back to that hostel we saw on the way. Right. That was clever. So we gathered our 800 pound bags and started trucking back to town. It actually wasn't impossible but we definitely need to downsize the luggage...big time. So now we are killing time and relaxing at the YHA of Christchurch. So far the people are really cool but do have to be carefull around the streets because no car will stop for anything. Today we hung out in the main square and watched some guy that was "Merlin" as he preached about how women need to become beasts not wives. Whatever. The room was another adventure. We're in the 8 x 10 cell with a skylight as the only natural light. Mind you, the skylight is actually like 20 feet from the actual roof of the building, so it's not exactly a lot of light. Actually, it's not that bad, because it's quiet, and it's just the two of us. Even if the toilet and showers are shared down the hall... We have had our first experience of foreign plumbing as well, and boy is it foreign. Most toilets here have two flush options, a half and a full flush. But every toilet is marked differently as to which is which, and sometimes not marked at all. It's always an adventure when you go to the bathroom, because you're never sure exactly how the toilet is going to flush this time. There's also no such thing as paper towels here. You either get the automatic air blower thing, or some nasty old rag that's been sitting there for who knows how long. And you want warm water? Ha ha! With the split taps, it's either scalding hot or ice cold for you! Anyway, more as it comes. Hope everyone is well, and we'll talk to you all soon! |
Replies: 1 Comment
Glad you guys made it safe and sound. So you're having a difficult time with hot and cold water....ha!
Miss you, be safe and take care of Posted by michelle steinau @ 11/06/2003 08:02 PM PST |