On Thursday I met up with another Au Pair named Ashley from Colorado. We were very “typical New Zealander” when we got our fish and chips and walked to a nearby park here called “One Tree Hill”. The name of this park is quite interesting because it got its name because there was one huge tree on the very top of the hill however, apparently an activist a couple years ago came a chopped it down in order to prove a point for some movement so they put a monument up instead so now it is the treeless “one tree hill”! It has been pretty wet and rainy here but we still had a great time.

On Saturday I went horseback riding with a group of Au Pairs in the hills near the Tasman Sea. My legs are still pretty sore. Being on the back of a horse reminded me of my favorite horse folks the Johnson’s and how we used to go riding all the time and when I used to take care of their critters! It was a little greener than riding out in the desert but still good fun!!! English style riding was also a new experience for me… I think I am more partial to western riding personally but it was still fun!

I was lucky enough to be able to catch a ride with this sweet Au pair from Georgia. We had an interesting conversation about the differences in language throughout the world. Such as a “Jumper” here is what we know in the US to be a Jacket or “rocket” is a type of lettuce also known as Arugula. Every day here I learn new words and ways people here refer to things. It’s interesting to see which things are the same and what differences there are even among two places that both speak English!  On our drive to the place we went riding we saw tons of sheep because of course there are more sheep than people here in NZ so we naturally had to stop and take pictures of the cute Sheepies!

 Later that afternoon I met up with a group of Au Pairs from Orientation at the Sky Tower here in Auckland City. We had a blast walking around Queen Street and taking pictures with random One Direction Fans that we happened to ask where a good place to eat was. We ended up exploring this area of town which is like a mini china town. There were Asian shops and things everywhere. I tried out the Bake house and had some garlic rolls there which were absolutely delicious then later we went to the international food court and ate some Indian food. Later we ended up at the Coffee House and I had a wonderful Chai Tea!!! Everything here is so creamy and delicious!
Since I was with a large group of German girls I had them show me their German Euros. And we found some sweet curios at the various shops around Queen Street!

German Euros 

 These Maori masks were so awesome! I totally Need some for my wall before I come home!