Day 31

I've passed the one month mark!! Woo!!

I can't believe I'm on my fourth week of work already... Time sure flies when you're busy!

This past weekend, Jon and I went driving around, north of Auckland. It was the first time we really got out of the city. The New Zealand countryside looks a lot like Nor-Cal, except with wider and better paved roads. The curves aren't as tight, so I think you could drive pretty fast, but seeing as that was only my third time driving on the left side of the road, I didn't... I finally saw my first New Zealand sheep too! They are BIG! The cows and horses seem big too... But I don't think they're fed hormones or anything..?

Another weekend happening- I went and got my first New Zealand hair cut! I just walked down the street until I found a place that had time to cut my hair... The first two shops that I went to were booked for the day... The third place I went had no customers... I should've taken that as a hint, but I really just wanted to get a haircut. The entire family and extended family and neighborhood was hanging out in the shop, looking up stuff on the Internet, singing Michael Jackson songs, talking on the phone, etc. I think they were Brazilian- really nice people, but not the best English-speakers ever. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but it was a second sign of how my hair would turn out. The lady dangled pieces of hair in the air and then cut at it and if pieces got cut, they got cut, and if not, oh well. My hair is surpringly straight, considering. She did a really nice job blow drying my hair. She asked me if I wanted it to be straight or curly... I told her I had a perm and she said "ok, curly", but my hair was straight when I left. I'm not sure what happened. I also tried to get her to cut some long bangs, but now I have really awkward "I'm trying to grow out my bangs" bangs. Oh well- it will grow back!

Sunday was the first day of 'Dinner Club' too- busy weekend! Man, this was the first weekend I got out and did something other than trying to move or moving!! Once a month, Paul, Jonti/Katie, Jon and I are taking turns hosting dinner. This first one was at Jonti and Katie's place. Jonti made a very traditional New Zealand meal of lamb roast with homemade gravy and veggies (green beans, kumara, parsnip, carrots, potatoes, pumpkin). He also got these funny little self-icing cakes, which he topped with custard, chopped bananas, and shaved chocolate. Custard in New Zealand is so different than custard in the US! It is kind of runny, and the custard we had was eaten hot. I'm cooking next month... I was thinking baked beans, some kind of protein, corn bread, and trifle.

The phone (land line) and (better) Internet got installed last week, but it still doesn't work. Someone was supposed to come fix everything today, but I tried picking up the phone and it didn't make any noise, so I'm guessing it still doesn't work. Plus, I'm still using the slow wireless connection.

In other news, it seems like a dog might actually be happening! Wait and see...