This past week has been full of ups and downs, or maybe just one ‘down’. As I have 5 weeks left in New Zealand I’ve found myself caught between wanting SO badly to be home, but also wanting to pack SO much in at the same time. So many emotions at once sure can take a toll on a girl!
There were lots of warm, sunny afternoons this week and 2 of my 2 hour lectures were cancelled, so I ended up spending a few afternoons just soaking up the beginning of spring! There’s a patio and grassy lawn area outside the dining hall, so I tried to eat outside as often as I could this week, which also caused me to get to watch the boys playing “touch”. Touch=touch rugby. However, on Wednesday, this was NOT the case. You know that TV that they put in the dining hall for us to watch the rugby world cup games on? Well, on Wednesday, the TV was flipped to ESPN and THE BRAVES WERE ON. BRAVES, AS IN THE ATLANTA BRAVES, BASEBALL, BRIAN MCCANN, TOMAHAWK CHOP, ETC. I had pretty much given up on trying to watch them and have just been relying on updates from my family, so this viewing was not planned at all. The moment I saw Turner Field, I turned to the girl next to me, pointed to the TV, and said “THAT’S MY HOME!!!” Then when they showed the Braves taking the field, I said “THOSE ARE MY BOYS!!!” This lunch turned into an anti-social one very quickly as I just sat in front of the TV and took it all in. After about and hour (…of the Braves losing, but that’s beside the point here), I started to just dwell on the fact that the scene on the TV was so familiar and comforting and just… home. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and decided I better leave and go back to my room before it got any worse. I ended up balling my eyes out for a good 45 minutes and longing for home more than I have before. After an impromptu call to my mom and more than a few tissues, the afternoon started to brighten up. Long story short, I’ve started to realize that, yes of course I miss home, but I also just miss familiar things… like Turner Field, Monday Night Football, TJ Maxx, a refrigerator, my car, etc. Wednesday was definitely my lowest homesickness point, and I hope/think that it’ll stay that way. I’m just glad that I love home so much that I miss it to the point of crying so hard. That sounds sad, but I’m viewing it as a positive thing!
Onto the weekend…
Friday (aka Free-day): I went to $10 lunch at a place called The Bank with Shannon and Kelsey (on of the Americans that came on the 2 week trip). I got a delicious grilled chicken sandwich on the best bun I’ve ever tasted in my life. Shannon and Kelsey are definitely 2 of my favorite people that I’ve met here and it was fun to get to hang out with them at the same time! As always, I spent the majority of the time laughing at Shannon’s hilariousness. After lunch, we walked around a little and FOUND DR. PEPPER, or Dr. Peps as Shannon says. What a great start to the weekend!
 |
| Shannon and me with our Dr. Peps |
Saturday: Earlier in the week, Kelsey and I had planned to go hiking with Loren (remember that sweet NZ girl that gave me a ride into town that very first week when my computer took the tumble, that was Loren) at a Pirongia National Park track that wasn’t too far from Hamilton. We headed out on Saturday morning only to find that I had done a worse than horrible job with the directions that I had written down. We didn’t even make it out of the city before we resorted to the typical gas station stop for directions. Great job, Al. With high hopes, we finally made it! The ~4 hour return went from horizontal bush walk to minor incline to minor+ incline to minor/major incline to major incline to vertical rock climbing. The track was full of lots of tree roots, so just picture this: at first you’re stepping over the roots, trying not to trip over them…then you’re using the roots as natural stairs (nature is SO cool)… then you’re grabbing the roots, as if they’re handles, to pull yourself up the mountain. Eventually we made it to the top, ate some snack lunch, hung out, took pictures, and soaked in the view, which consisted of SO MUCH GREEN. Mountains covered in trees, farmland/pastures that looked like a big green quilt, hills, and even OCEAN in the far distance! You’d think I’d be used to this by now, but every new view just continues to amaze me. We headed back down (which might lead to knee problems in 20 years) and back to Uni, and may or may not have gotten lost again on the way back… but we made it! Usually the NZ people at Uni aren’t to keen (yep, I just said keen) to go on adventures and explorations with the international students, so I was SO glad that Loren came! It was super fun to get to hang out with her outside of Uni and refreshing to do some hiking with a non-American (don’t worry, I really do love Americans)!
 |
| The part where the roots turned into handles |
 |
| Me and Kelsey |
 |
| Loren and me at the top! |
That night, the 3 of us cleaned up and went over to a restaurant across town where Paul, one of the orientation leaders (the one that we stayed with in Auckland on the last night of our 2 week trip), was playing a gig. One of the other leaders came along too, so it was fun to see them, catch up, and hear Paul play!
Sunday: I love Sundays in general, but I’m pretty sure Sunday has become my favorite day here :) I texted Lynda and John this morning for a ride, as I usually do, and they picked me up on their way to church across town. This church, Reformed Church of Hamilton, has become one of my favorite places here. Favorite day + favorite place = wonderfulness! The sermon was on Isaiah 12 and it was so comforting to be reminded that the Lord is our salvation, strength, and song. After my crying-so-hard-to-the-point-of-almost-choking episode on Wednesday, I was encouraged and reassured today just hearing and knowing that even though I think that I can be my own strength, especially when homesickness kicks in, I can’t. My strength is found in Jesus, not myself. How awesome is it that the Lord uses our weaknesses, whether they are as obvious as breakdowns that stem from Turner Field or not, to draw us closer to Him?! Apart from being willing to give us everything we need, He gives us so many experiences that lead to so much joy (story of my life for the past 3 months!), but best of all He gives us HIMSELF, grace, and His death in the place of ours. I am so thankful for the chance to get to learn more about Christ through this church while I am here and also so thankful for all of the people that I have been surrounded by! Everyone is SO inviting and friendly, and the pastor even knew my name today! One grandpa-ish guy came up to me afterwards and said, “I’ve seen you here before, but I don’t know you. Who are you??” Haha! It is so awesome that literally every Sunday that I’ve been to this church someone different has noticed that I’m new and introduced themselves! There was a “shared lunch” after the service, so that took the place of Sunday lunch at the Hemmes’. I know what you’re thinking… ‘Oh that stinks that she didn’t get to go hang out with them this Sunday, what a bummer’. Think again. Despite the fact that they wouldn’t be eating lunch, Jackie and Lisa both invited me over to hang out at their house! I went home with them and finally learned how to throw a rugby ball!! Maybe now I can do something sporty that my brothers can’t do.. Yes!! 4 of their kids and I tossed around the rugby ball in their backyard for a little while and then came in to have some juice and cookies/brownies that Lisa had made. YUM. We all chatted for a little bit and then Jackie took me back to Uni just in time for me to watch the All Blacks stomp all over Canada. I know I say this every time I write about the Hemmes family, but I can’t even express how grateful I am for them. I have learned so much about selflessness in the form of opening up your day, time, and house to others through them. It is so awesome that God has provided me whole families of believers to retreat to and get to know while also learning more about Jesus’ love through the way others show love to me!
Interesting Observations:
-Ketchup=tomato sauce
-They use the word “reckon” a LOT. This is probably one of my top 3 favorite words now. Example: “Do you reckon I could use your book?” or “I reckon I’m really gonna miss this place” or “What do you reckon?” or “Yeah, I reckon!” Sometimes I find this really funny because I feel like in the US reckon is kind of a hillbilly word. Sorry if I just offended anyone.
-America, take note: They don’t tip at restaurants. None. No tipping in the whole country.
-Jello (gelatin)=jelly. This can get really confusing.
-“flash”=snazzy, gaudy, showy, extravagant. Example: “That’s a flash new car” or “Her sparkly dress is way too flash” or “That million dollar house is super flash”
No comments:
Post a Comment