Nov. 6 - Nov. 12 (Rotorua weekend)
Anyway, I better have a quick update on the weeks where I've left everyone in the dark. So, this post will be about my experiences 11/6/10 - 11/12/10.
This was a lovely weekend when Beth's host mom Jan took us South to Rotorua, or I'm told the locals call it, "Rota-Vegas." It was a nice town, very turisty, kind of like a Wisconsin Dells. I liked it. Friday night we just had time for a quick dinner at a place called the Noodle Canteen, which was a bit like a Noodles and Company, but with all Asian dishes. It was delicious! I've been craving it every since. Saturday Jan drove us to Taupo, where I put my sometimes present fear of heights behind me and leapt off a 47 meter (154 ft) ledge over a river, with a nice, flexible bungee cord attached to my feet of course. I had big dreams of doing an epic leap off the edge to quench my "flying" desires, but that all went to poo once I was actually standing on the edge, bungee cord pulling softly at my feet, looking down to my apparent doom. Luckily enough, I was able to react pretty quickly once the guide said "Alright, you're ready. Have fun." At this point I began whispering to myself, "ok go. ok go. ok go," but before I could let my fear get ahold of myself, I leaned. After that first half second, my mind realized I had hit the point of no return, and all it could focus on was the ground zooming towards me, seemingly to my death. It was then that I couldn't help it, it was more out of reaction, that I screamed. And I mean, SCREAMED. But just at that last second before you think the ground is getting a little too close, you feel the bungee, and it's like a wave of relief that pours over you. After that, you're golden. I could enjoy the thrill, and the weightless feeling of moving up and down through the air. It was brilliant. Getting down was interesting, as you had to grab a pole that workers in a boat were lifting to you, and then they pulled you down to detach the bungee. But at that moment, all I could really think about was how I could actually have just done that, so I really didn't mind. I definitely have never had that kind of rush before, and it was definitely worth it. Beth went after me, jumping feet first and making a more "Eh!" sound on the way down...that was interesting. Katie came next, finishing off our adventures.
After this, I have a seriously hard time remembering what else happened that day; the adrenaline sort of took over my mind, so by the end of the day, I was asking "wait, what'd we do today after bungee jumping?" Not that I could remember jumping that much, it happened so fast. :) However, after a chat with Katie and Beth, we got the day straight. Jan then took us to some falls nearby for lunch, and then back to Rotorua, where she took us to a few nice lookouts for some pictures. We also went to a Redwood forest park, which was so different from the vegetation we'd been seeing while here. It was much more quiet, empty, kind of magical and eerie. Very cool. That night we then went to a Maori presentation, about the native peoples of New Zealand. It was so interesting and I really enjoyed it. After dinner they took us to these old springs (water) with the purest, clearest water you've ever seen, and the area was covered with glow worms as well. It was like looking at thousands of twinkle lights. :)
Sunday was a more relaxing day, where we did some shopping in town and then went to a thermal activity park, with boiling mud and stinky sulfur emissions. We then drove back, through the wonderful scenery once again. It was like looking out at a scene from the Lord of the Rings; I felt like I was in the Shire. All in all, a great weekend.
As far as school goes, it was also a busy week. I had began my own Narrative Writing unit that went pretty well, as well as teaching my students Spanish. That was fun! They really got into it, and I enjoyed it as well. They're still a very challenging group, but my cooperating teacher helped me manage them as I was getting used to teaching them.
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