Bookworm

My favorite thing about summertime is being able to read. I never read during school because I knew I wouldn't do my homework so I lived for the summers. Now that I'm done with school I have one more summer until I start working so I'm going to try to read as much as possible. Today mom asked me for some recommendations and I thought I'd make a list of my favorite books.

1. Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier
2. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
3. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
4. Persuasion - Jane Austen
5. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
6. Dracula - Bram Stoker
7. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
8. Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
9. Uglies (series) - Scott Westerfeld 
10. The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

These are just a few and I'm sure it will change after this summer of reading. Currently on my list is Cold Comfort Farm, The Name of the Rose, The Tenant of Wildlfell Hall, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 

Kiwi-speak 101

During my time in New Zealand, I've been keeping track of all the words/phrases people use here that I found amusing. So listed below are the Kiwi terms with my American English translation. Enjoy :)

.NZ - Pronounced en-zed. The letter "zee" does not exist in Kiwi's vocabulary. When reciting a website it's always "dot co dot en-zed."

Keen - Probably my favorite NZ word
Example: If you're keen, I'd like to take you to dinner tonight. OR Should we get lunch now? I'm keen!

Translation: Are you down to do this? OR I'm down.

Jeepers - an exclamation that may or may not be used only by my supervisor Tim

Example: Jeepers! That bus almost hit us!

Translation: There is none. I'm pretty sure the last time that word was used in the States was during the making of the Scooby Doo cartoon.

Heaps - used to describe amounts of things

Example: I have heaps of work to get done.

Translation: I have tons to do today!

Cheers - used for almost EVERYTHING

Example: Can you get this done for me? Cheers. (Leaving) Cheers! (Making a joke) Cheers!

Translation: Thank you, goodbye, etc.

As at - seen in Financial statements

Example: Loans as at 30/06/11

Translation: Loans as of 6/30/11

Lollies - Did the lollypop guild song just pop into anyone elses' head?

Example: Pinapple lumps?! Look everyone, Kaitlin just brought us some lollies!

Translation: No, Pinapple lumps are not a kind of lollypop. Lollies = any kind of candy

Pash - Not to be confused with posh

Example: I'm not going to pash just anyone!

Translation: Make-out, snog, mack on

Twink - No, this is not referring to the Rainbow Brite Character

Example: Can you pass me the twink? Cheers!

Translation: Twink = white-out

Flash - No, not that kind of flashing...

Example: Wow, your flat is so flash.

Translation: Hip, cool, fancy

Sweet as - Sweet as what? No. It's just sweet as. (can be used with anything - cool as, sweet as, flash as...)

Example: That outfit is sweet as!

Translation: Take the "as" off the phrase and that's what it means

Ta - I still can't use this one without feeling awkward

Example: Can you pass me that lemonade? Ta!

Translation: Thanks!

Well, I hope you were keen to read this and thought it was sweet as. I have heaps to get done so I have to end this blog post. I'll probably post about all the other flash things I did in NZ after I get back to the states.

Cheers!

Falling in Love with Auckland

(This was written a week ago. I've been so busy at the client and running around NZ that I haven't had time to post.)

Wow, what a weekend. It was amazing, crazy, shocking, beautiful, peaceful, warm, and loving. Yes, that many adjectives in one weekend. So let's start with the actual week. It's was my first week on the actual client. My co-workers explained the client as the NZ equivalent of a US credit union. They're a huge company, but they have our audit team in a conference room that is as big as my room at college. There are 5 of us working in this room. Really tight quarters. It's a really good thing I get along with the people on my team. I'm in the corner and if I need to get out I practically have to climb over my teammates. And one side of our conference room is glass. One time I was trying to slide behind my in-charge and I gave the people at the client a very nice view of my bum pushed against the glass. So classy. You can view the miniscule space I work in below.
My team is really fun to work with because it's really diverse. My in-charge, Reka, is Hungarian (blonde hair, black and red sweater) and has told me a bit about life during the cold war in Hungary. Linda, the G3 (third year) is from Vietnam and is dating a boy from Russia. Tijana, the G1 on the client is from Croatia. She has a ton of crazy stories from everything that went down between Croatia and Serbia. Tim, aka The Wolf, is the only Kiwi I work with on a regular basis. He's teaching me all the fun Kiwi lingo and the cultural difference between NZ and the US.

Linda and Tim have to go to Christchurch next week to do some audit work down there. Linda's freaking out because of the tremors that happened about a month ago after the initial earthquake. Tim was talking about how he's not going to put the latch on hid hotel room door in case there's another quake or tremor so he can get out quickly. Oh the exciting world of accounting.

Friday night was... an adventure. First of all, Friday was the big "chip in for Christchurhc". Everyone in NZ wore black and red and did something to help people in Christchurch. My firm had a mixer where we recorded a message for our coworkers in Christchurch. Then Claire, Renae, a few Kiwis and I went to see the Warriors take on the Bulldogs in Rugby. It was really fun. Thankfully one of the G1s brought me a ski jacket so I wasn't freezing. This G1 was also the guy who gave me a USB with heaps of Kiwi music on it. Awesome. It's a really good thing we had covered seating because it started POURING part-way through the game. And of course the players kept going like nothing had happened. It didn't phase them at all.


After the game we met up with a bunch of G1s from the office. Ok, let me tell you - Kiwis drink like fish. I'm pretty sure they could give any Irish person a run for their money. They were all smashed before we even went out. Yeah, in a nut shell I've never been more grateful for my BYU College experience in my life.

Moving on, Saturday we woke up to a BEAUTIFUL day. It was amazing outside. We got up and ran out to mission bay and back. (Google Mission Bay - It's amazing) I ran about 6-7 miles and Claire did about 10. It was amazing, but Claire screwed up her foot and I totally killed my knee. We make quite the crippled pair.

After we showered we got ready and went to the skytower. It was AMAZING. It would've made my mom freak out because it was so high! It's the highest building in the southern hemisphere.

After the skytower we tried to go to Newmarket where I work everyday to get some cupcakes that my team introduced me to. I hate frosting, but I LOVE these cupcakes. I'd seriously eat their frosting with a spoon. Anyway, we learned that everything in NZ closes at 5pm - which is the time we got to Newmarket. Yeah, awesome. After walking around Newmarket we decided to test my sense of direction and attempt to find Parnell St. to get something to eat. Anyone who knows me knows that was a bad idea. We ended up having to call Renae and have her pick us up at a random Caltex (petrol station) in another town. We would seriously not be able to survive without Renae. But if you think about it - getting lost only once in 2 weeks is pretty good.

Anyway, Renae dropped us off back in the city. We went and got Thai food at this little hole-in-the-wall place that was recommended to us and it was SO GOOD! Then we decided to splurge and get a really nice dessert at a restaurant overlooking the city. It was really beautiful. It was one of those moments where Claire and I looked at each other and said, "Oh my gosh, we're in New Zealand!"

This morning Renae drove me out to the Hamilton Temple. It was so cool to be at a place where my Dad was when he was on his mission. I also go to see the LDS College where Dad played basketball against the NZ teams. It's so surreal to see places I've been dearing about from my dad my whole life.

I was able to attend church today which was so wonderful. I seriously needed that. One of Dad's companion's families have totally taken me under their wing. I'm now attending FHE with them, going Visiting Teaching with their niece, going to their daughter's birthday party, and am now singing in the choir at a musical fireside with them next Sunday. At choir pratice today they introduced me to everyone as their daughter. It's so nice to feel like I have family here. Plus, everyone in the ward wants to take me places, give me rides, etc.

The first week Claire and I went to bed at 7:30 every night because of the jet lag and had no social life outside of work. Now, we don't know how we're going to eat all our food that we have in our apartment because we have someone who wants to take us to dinner almost every night this week. We've finally settled in and we only have two weeks left. It's surreal.

I'm totally in love with this place.

NZed

Here are a few pictures from our (Me and Claire) trip to Rotorua. Our first day was really cold and wet and we were both in a not so great mood. But day 2 we completely fell in love with New Zealand.
Yes, I am sitting in the right side of the car, in the drivers seat. I took the first 1.5 hour shift and Claire took the second shift. We survived - obviously. But we're really glad we had each other while we were driving at night as we were still adjusting a bit to the time change.

This is at the thermal village - I dare you to try and say that name. (The full name is the really long name at the bottom) Thank goodness it was a thermal village - that's the only way we didn't freeze.

Day 2 we went to the Rotorua Museum (the really pretty building behind me). Up until the 60's it was used as a bath house (kind of like a spa, but to treat ailments) using the natural hot springs. It opened in the early 1900s. They had some pretty fun exhibits, including some childrens book authors. I now have to go buy the books for my nephew. Or to keep for myself :)

After the museum it was raining on and off and Claire and I were sick of being cold. We decided that we would drive around Rotorua's mountains in the safety and warmth of the car. This was the point where we fell in love with NZ. Honestly pictures can't do justice to the beauty we saw. The most beautiful thing we saw was when we happened by the Blue Lake.

That's me by the Blue Lake. It was phenomenal. It really IS bright blue! After driving around a bit more, we went back to the edge of Rotorua Lake - more specifically to the Polynesian Spa. Ok, the Polynesian Spa is one of the top 10 spas in the world and it was AMAZING. We got to soak in the natural hot pools for an hour before our massages, and we got to wear these amazingly comfortable robes. We were so relaxed after our massages. After my massage, my massuse came up and asked if she could ask a personal question.... she asked how small my waist was! That was pretty funny. But it turns out she asked because apparently her waist was about 2 inches smaller than mine when she was 18 and she just couldn't believe she had ever been that small! Haha Anyway, the spa was the perfect end to our weekend. We made it back to Auckland in one piece and were SO glad to sleep in our WARM apartment. Plus, we IMMEDIATELY did all of our laundry because all our clothes smelled like sulphur - yuck!

This week I started working onsite at the client. There are 5 of us working at a round table in a room that is approximately the size of my bedroom in Provo - no joke. It's definitely cozy. Thank goodness I get along well with the people on my team - at least so far.

One of the perks of being an intern is that we aren't supposed to work overtime so I get sent home at 5pm while the rest of my team works until about 7 or 8. Since the rest of my team works overtime I get to take the train home instead of catching a ride with one of my coworkers. Today I walked 5 minutes from the client to the train, got on the train, and walked what was supposed to be a 15 minute walk home. Ha! 15 minutes? With my sense of direction? Yeah, try 30 minutes. But I didn't mind too much because I walked by a bunch of cute boutiques and cafes I want to try out.

Claire and I went to Ponsonby (one of the "posh" neighborhoods) and had Thai food for dinner. We LOVE this city now and are SO glad we've started taking some time after work to explore it. We're definitely going to explore more after work. NZ and I got off to a bit of a rocky start - mostly due to jet lag. But now I'm totally falling in love with this place!

P.S. NZed is what people here say when they're telling you the url of a website. It's always .co.nz and instead of saying "en-zee" they say "en-zed". Quite entertaining.

Cheers!

Kia Ora

Kia Ora from New Zealand! Claire and I have almost been here a week and it's been quite the journey so far! We have limited access to internet which is why I have been a bit MIA lately. So much has happened that I hardly know where to start!

The flight over was LONG, but thanks to the ambien that the doctor gave me I slept for about 10 of the 13 hours to Auckland. Once we arrived Claire and I were pretty dazed. The expat from Boise in the office, Renae, came and picked us up and made sure we stayed awake our first day to try and start adjusting. (I JUST got over my jetlag) Seriously, Renae has been a lifesaver - she takes us grocery shopping, helped us get sorted with our phones, and even took us driving a few times so we wouldn't be complete novices on our first weekend trip!

Speaking of, right now I'm in a hostel in Rotorua. Claire and I rented a car and drove the 3.5 hours to Rotorua. That's right - I drove on the left side of the road, on the right side of the car, in the dark and rain - and survived!

It is COLD and raining like mad here. But we braved it all and went to a geothermal Maori village with a name I still can't pronounce. Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao is the full name of the village. (Quite a mouthful). We saw the geysers, hot pools, hangis, and a really cool cultural performance. I think it was the first time that it REALLY hit me that I'm in NEW ZEALAND!

Since it was so cold and wet we couldn't do the luge today, but we're really looking forward to the polynesian spa. We have to drive back to Auckland tomorrow night to be at work bright and early Monday morning. Our hostel is quite interesting. It's super clean, which will make my mom happy, but there's no central heating. There's something called underground heating. Supposedly there's heat coming up through the floors. It's warm enough that we don't die, but I still have to go to bed in my flannel pjs, knee socks, and hoodie and I'm still cold. Oh well, it's only one more night.

Our apartment in Auckland also doesn't have central heating, but we have electric heaters in our bedrooms and one in the livingroom/kitchen. And surprisingly we stay really warm. Our apartment is RIGHT next to the harbour. The view is so beautiful, and we're literally right across the street from the office. It was really convenient last week as I was working in the office. But I start working on a client site on Monday so my commute will be quite a bit longer. Everyone in the office is really nice and quite keen on getting to know the new US interns. In fact, we've been invited to go out several times with the G1s and G2s (1st and 2nd year associates).

Next weekend we're going to see a proper Rugby match - the Warriors. I'm pretty excited. We're going with a bunch of people from the office. Renae made sure that some of the guys were coming with us so they could explain everything. (Little do they know I already know a wee bit about Rugby).

Claire and I are going to start going to cafes near our apartment with free wifi after work so I should be able to upload pictures soon. Sorry for the novella with no pictures, but now you're all caught up on my adventures and next time (hopefully) there will be pictures.

I miss you all and love getting emails/fb messages. Ask my dad or fb me if you want my work email - I'll be able to respond more quickly that way. xoxo

DC Commuter

If you can't read what Meg wrote on my mirror on my first day of work I'll translate for you. It says: Good luck! Play nice with the other kids!

I've been working for almost 3 weeks now and am finally a real DC commuter. Every morning I get on the Metro using my smartrip card (similar to the oyster card I had in London), ride for about 30-40 minutes reading my book (Persuasion, by Jane Austen this week), then get off and walk approximately 4 blocks to the office. I feel like an adult- it's weird.

This past week was a bit rough because I've been (and still am) sick; however, a very sweet guy from school sent me lilies and chocolates. :) Definitely made my week better.

Anyway, today was spent getting everything ready for New Zealand. I leave in less than a week! I can't even believe it. I don't think it will really hit me until my first few days in Auckland. I met the girl I'll be living with at national training in Orlando and I think we're going to get along wonderfully.

This will most likely be my last post while in the States, but stay tuned for news from New Zealand!

Thrill Issues?

Tonight Meg, Alisa, Alisa's friend Jen, Mom, and I will be staying overnight at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia.

Well, staying overnight isn't exactly the best description. We're going on a ghost hunt. In other words, we've paid to explore a 200-year old building that was used as a mental hospital in the 1800's, at night, and freak ourselves out.

If you want to see where we'll be staying, or see the interesting history of the place, click here.

Meg and I are currently taking bets on who will start crying first.