the approach of sunny christmas

so this is the thing that has most shocked me while being away. sun and christmas just do not go together!!!

i feel that it is 60% harder to get the feel of christmas; maybe it is because of being away from home and maybe it is becuase of the sun, and the normal things that make it christmas for me.

but i start feeling christmassy on sunday at 'christmas at the lake' which i refer to as the pond (it in actually in cambridge and in a park, not like the lake i live next to). so after getting over eating stawberries when singing carols (which had been funkyed up (felt funked up wasnt really a word enough to be understood)). so the ending of spring is approachinga and summer hitting with adverage 20-26 degrees atm; although 24 is pretty normal and 20 when rain comes (which is great so no drought). the rain makes me realise how much it is harder to live in OZ than here and back home. no water restrictions all yr round!! woop woop
so all in all christmas is approachinga and i am just getting used to it! but thank you for the christmas cards that arrived earlyer this week! was nicely shocked to see them.
klio its all good in the hood, sorry felt like!! but yer things are going along and cant really believe that have been away now for 81days!! something crazy and 178 left, lol, i so didnt use a calculator for that!!

training!

so i am now passed my New Zealand version of the lifeguard qualification. whatever it is called, but i am not happy with the way it is assesed, and the first aid either. but i have passed it both and first aid in one day, lifeguarding in one day and a normal 2hr trainiing session. so i passed the lifeguarding quicker than most! lol. think hugely to having done the english one! haha

so i ahve found out my wage for lifeguarding $13 which is above the others due to my experience (tho do feel being worked that bit harder with questions and my opinion) and still trying to find out my teaching rate. i did however get paid a flat rate of $12.50 so awaiting the backpay in this week's pay. the weird thing is being paid fortnightly, but is actually very useful! much easier to plan money with that.

sadly i had totally forgotton christmas when planning money for the year and the possible savings i would have has been spent on christmas pressies, lol. but luckily have a busy jan so can get it back to what it should be at. lol.

Auckland has silly roads

so today was kinda odd jobs day, and i went in search of Newmarket. it is like the in city shopping place that isnt the touristy CBD with sky tower. it is the shopping central place tho. with just shops and food places everywhere for a wee bit in every direction. but of course driving there and back just really reminded me how annoying it is driving in a different place where you dont know the lanes and which go where; made worse by some lanes being parking lanes and also the lovely lanes that move across to the lane you think would go straight. or in a case for me i was in a lane that had been in for ages, thinking would keep going and the 3 lanes at this intersection and 1 went straight and left (expected) and 1 went right only (fair enough) and 1 went right only (what !? thats too many right lanes really). so i ended up indicating and sitting half way through lane change as not enough time when realised and seen the actual road markings. so i look really stupid, lol. 

but at another more local shopping mall style centre Westfields St Lukes, i managed to pick up some $15 PJ bottoms and they were $10 at the till. i have to love the cheap shops :) haha, so in pounds it must be around 4pounds. lol

things to see that i dont think ive been to before

so i dont really feel like being a tourist while i am in Auckland; mainly as dont want to spend money on something that i've already done before but also i cant even go walking around the CBD taking photos. some silly boy left the camera in Karapiro due to space reasons. yes i now do regret it but also not, as can feel more of an local, yay; confusing mind of dave a!

so first time of the ferries in Auckland on sat, over to devonport form CBD and up to Mt Victoria (im 80% sure right one) and went sledding. by sledding its not the sort you do back home on that cold thing called snow! its on cardboard and just down the steep slopes on the grass. it kinda gives you friction burns if your dave and piece of cardboard is just too small so slips out from your bottom 2/3 way down. lol, so roll the last bit often ending up head down. haha, kept nigel entertained.

and also city beaches of Auckland too. went down to the beach for a swim at a beach of auckland. high tide so not much sand but flat water due to being part of the 'harbour' ish. well on the river/estuary. i can still feel the salt on my back, or is that burn, mmm...

so all in all im starting to feel old and actually grown up with the happenings of life going on. with friends just married and getting married over the next couple months. it makes me feel old, well old is relative yea?! because i surely cant be, me being not a child. what are you talking about?? lol,

also helping me feel old was going to an assembly (which i cant spell to my dad on txt, lol) at the primary school. i cant think when i actually sat the whole way through an assembly as didnt go to one in yr13 and so must have been yr12. but the strange thing apart from having little kids do it rather than some teacher talking while i slept was the national anthem. both versions, the maori and english. yes i have actually paid attention to how to spell maori compared to where wrote it last and my shocked my mum. 

so now off to sit outside for my dinner that is around the corner. yes its only right to be sat out in the shade while hopefully some wind comes by. 

carols by natural light!

so thursday was my first bit of actually christmass ness, and i still bit puzzled by it!

so down to the kids school and out onto the grass; open the wine and nibbles (we're too disorganised to actually have a real picnic ready). and sit in the sun as it drives down the heat from above (ok slight exaggeration but it was a nice temp that eve). the carols musicians warm up to some christmas snow which i did have to be confused by as it involved snow!! however during the actual carols there was one vage mention so i will allow it. but just before it started one of the teachers i had just met said to me, "bet you they will sing 'dreaming of an white christmas'"; and luckily there were kinda wrong.

the whole of concept of a bbq christmas has nearly sunk in, but not quite. but it is making me think about what christmas is to me, and how i feel coming up to it (back home). seeing photos of a visit to see two girls in a certain Southampton uni and their trip to that christmas market with street lights and all the crew there wrapped up so so so so so so much. to me that is the build up to christmas, but do i need that to make christmas christmas?? 

as i mull over what is christmas and what does christmas mean to me, i would be interested to try and follow all my thinking but of course i lame enough to easily forget the moments that made me think about them, lol. but i am sure that it will be constantly changed until after christmas its self.

but the culture of christmas and new year from what i am learning are much more socialable and i think that that is so much better and nicer, but that is so much easier with the nicer weather and being able to sit and enjoy it all outside.

dual driving trucks :O

these are very funny!!

so to get to auckland i managed to get an lift in an recycling truck. but of course it wasnt just an normal truck as the title has let on.

i climbed in and told that not to touch the steering wheel or pedals. as we pulled out i then saw that the wheel infront of me was moving! it was weird to be being driven along in the driving seat. all the two hour journey up to auckland i was watching this wheel move infront of me. also the space was less as it was confined like a normal driving seat and not as spacious as an passenger seat. before i was actually dropped off we swapped trucks to another rubbish/recycling truck which needed dual control; this one had more space!

dropped off i then had an hour wait for Liz to pick me up as she had to drop off ruth to gym. so chilling out on this small patch of grass in the middle of an huge indrustrial estate with lots of concrete. all went to plan and arrived at the house to catch up with bascially my second family!!!

going back to school

so i am currently writing this at school, infact Balmoral School in Auckland. i have been left watching some of the kids making posters; mmm, they are yr5 & 6 and so 'blates' are fine with my back to them!
so what am i doing here? well that is a good question. i came here as to then know where liz worked and where ruth and william's school was. i then was introduced to the teacher and to the one next door and somehow i have been landed up with some jobs and spent lunch watching a game of fludder ball (similar to polo but easier). now it is afternoon and finished jobs but hr till end of school so have just stayed and been left with some kids. lol.

it is very weird being back at an school but also really great as not really spent time with junior school kids in a controlled enviroment (tho been preparing for a fundraising day but still been made kinda thought provoking and challenging them).

best was being asked what yr placement i was on! haha, love going to the staff room. its very funny but think it was as new face mid term (however only few weeks left of school yr).