Wednesday started with a fresh croissant, pineapple, and some tea. Going to be a good day! The weather is a bit chillier as we head further south down the North Island. I took the students to Tepapa today, New Zealand's national museum. It was pretty cool, lots of art and a thorough history of New Zealand or Aoteoroa as the Maori call it (land of long white clouds). I especially loved seeing the only colossal squid on display in the world. We decided her name should be Gertrude. About 15 feet long and weighing a half ton, this giant beast was captured off the coast of Antarctica and transported to New Zealand for scientific study and to go on display at Tepapa.
There was a hilarious section about how parenting has changed through the years and there was a voice recording stating how often baby should be allowed to play and kick in his buggy and when he should eat and be changed. We found it pretty amusing. Near that was an area about women's rights and we saw real job listings from the 50's and 60's saying how female applicants needed to be, "pleasant, attractive, and feminine." Don't see a job ad like that lasting long these days!
One of then students and I found a lost little boy in the museum and we tried to help him find his mom but he kept saying no when we offered. I did find his mom and he was quite thrilled to see her. He had only strayed about twenty feet away but it was in another exhibit and he couldn't figure out how to find her. We decided after that good deed for the day we didn't have to be nice to any other random kids. That bit us in the butt later on when Sarah and I were climbing around in a replica of a blue whale's heart and a random little kid started hitting her in the face! We were tempted to knock him down. Juuuuust kidding. But seriously the kid was working our nerves.
After the museum we did some shopping while some of our group hiked up to Mount Victoria for the spectacular view. Shopping here is really different. A lot of the malls are just a collection of ten or twelve shops and they are all really small and narrow. We found some cool rugby gear as New Zealand hosts the rugby World Cup in September. Everything is more expensive here. A 24 pack of Tylenol is $24 NZ. It is crazy. If you want extra strength Tylenol you have to speak to the Chemist (pharmacist). Same for hydrogen peroxide. The Tylenol with codeine is available over the counter though. So we have that going for us...but god forbid you get a cut and a pharmacy be closed. No peroxide at the grocery. That needs a licensed Chemist. Oy.
For dinner the students did "brinner" or breakfast-for-dinner. Mark and I and his family went to a great little restaurant known for their desserts. I ate a modest salad so I would have room for dessert. I have to say...the tiramisu I had changed my life. I never knew it could taste that amazing! I brought an apple pie for Sean back to the hostel. We literally ate art for dessert. The presentation was very Food Channel-esque. Sugar art and cool designs in sauces and a little collection of fresh fruit.
After dinner we sat out front of the hostel and chatted with some other backpackers from France, Germany, and England. One of the French backpackers had a guitar and we sang a random selection of songs and even taught us some lines in French for the song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. This lot is a bunch of night owls so I have to pack it in for the night while they keep that midnight oil burning. At least their fun and shenanigans is happening with other people from the hostel instead of just in one of their rooms like the first night in Auckland. Branching out...I likes it.
keep it coming....
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