We Made It!

Yesterday we arrived at the Auckland airport after 15 hours of the most fun someone could have...next to the fun of giving birth. Traveling with a toddler is, shall we say, a character building experience not only for us, but everyone else on the airplane. Our flight out of PDX was an hour late which put us into San Francisco with just enough time to run to a shuttle which took us to the international terminal. Once we found our gate they were almost finished boarding. Elena was screaming like I had just chopped off her arm, and the people at the Air NZ counter had never seen Danny's type of visa stamp before so they had to call more people to verify. Talk about stress. I'm pretty sure we were the last people on the plane. Thank heavens they had movie screens on the seat in front of you, and they had several kid movies that are Elena's favorite.

Once at the Auckland airport we had to go through three different customs/security checks which included candy sniffing beagles (one of which almost ate our candy corn). Finally we we're out of the airport and were warmly greeted by Pastor David and Linda, Dustin and Robbie. We drove a couple hours through amazing landscape, including Hobbiton which was home to the Hobbit houses in Lord of the Rings. We arrived at our home where Tabi and Laura had made welcome banners for us. Our house is amazing. It's an older home that's been remodeled somewhat but has the original antique wood floors, doors and molding. The yard is beautiful with many flowers and trees and bushes. It's very peaceful.

They have a lot of the same kinds of foods (cereal, french fries, etc.) we have, but with different names and it tastes a bit different. I think food here is a bit less processed than in America. I have found a few things that are new that I enjoy. One is that they have tea everywhere (I like tea a lot, and they drink it with milk and sugar-YES!) then there are these candies (or sweets) called Minties. They taste just like candy canes but have the consistancy of a Now and Later candy. Kind of waxy, but chewy, stick to your fillings texture. They are really great. Also there's fresh kiwi fruit. I never knew there were gold kiwis as well as green. Pretty cool.

Today we went into the City Center of Tauranga. We visited what is called the "strand". It's basically a street with a bunch of shops on it. It was pretty cool. Elena puked right in the food court. Then proceeded to finish her ice cream. It was pretty sweetazz.

All I have to say is that it's a bit scary driving around here. The whole right side drive and driving on the opposite side of the road throws me off. The most different thing is they don't have stop signs. They have round abouts where you have to yield, then take your life into your hands and drive around them. People fly around these things like kamikaze go-carts. You'd think they would slow down, but I'm pretty sure they speed up double. Danny was doing a great job explaining how it works, like how to use your blinker in the situation, who you have to yield to, etc. but I'm pretty sure it will be a bit before I try.

This may sound weird, but I was noticing how bright blue the sky is here and how white the light is. The sunlight isn't really yellow here at all. It's bright white. Maybe it's because there's a giant hole in the ozone?? Whatever the reason, it's really amazing. The people here are super nice and welcoming. We were short a few beds and people from the church just brought what we needed over to the house. We also got some sweets and bedding. We are so blessed.

Well that's all for now.

-erin