I went to the wedding of my friends Brenda and Marcus today, it was a sunrise service, starting at 5.30 am and we the bridesmaids were ofcourse up hours before that, the first waking up at 11.30pm to be ready for the big day. Let me tell you, it was chaos.
But I think the ceremony was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen... the sun came up just as they made their vows and both of them were radiant, you would never had known the bride had had 2 hours sleep in the last 40. It was just 2 people, so excited about their love for eachother and for God and it was just really beautiful to watch and be a part of.
I guess weddings are always like that, I've just never seen the stress and work that goes into even the tiniest little details before; the costs that are paid (whether smart or unsmart) to set up the beginning of their lives together. I've never really noticed before the lengths that people will go to for someone they love who isn't their child. I know my parents love eachother so much but I haven't until now, realised the little sacrifices they make each day for eachother, and the willingness with which they give things up for eachother.
It was just a really cool day.
Will put up photos when I get them : )
much love
A
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Warning: Essay Follows
Hey everyone,
well I feel like I have so much to tell so hope you've got some time set aside for this essay you're in for.
We just finished school a couple of weeks ago, we did pretty well at our conference finals - we beat USC 9-10 to make the championship game and we ended up coming second so that was huge. Mich could hardly believe it. It was a pretty fun weekend - we were in Irvine and it was just a fun time I think. I didn't really play - I got majored in a couple of games so that was a bummer but it was fun anyway. The girls did really well.
Then we got home with a week to do finals, get out of the dorms and sort everything else out that we needed to do before leaving for nationals at UC Davis in Northern California. So that was a sleepless and slightly stressful week but managed to get on the plane to Sacremento having finished all my work and exams so it was awesome to just be able to think about polo and not have to worry about school or anything. The day we left was such a mess, Meike and myself had spent the whole night before packing so we'd had about 4 hrs sleep and then we got up, went for a swim, got a car from the athletic dept, packed the car and then Meike checked us out while I went to the chiropractor and then we got back to the pool just as the bus pulled up so we just managed to put all our gear (and trust me there was a LOT) in the storage room at the pool before jumping on the bus.
Davis was really special. We started out with 3 seniors at the beginning of the year and we finished with only one, Mari, and Ief was leaving us for national team commitments back in the Netherlands, and our assistant coaches Coralie and Margie were leaving us as well. So it was just a really good time of enjoying eachother and having fun playing together and I duno I just had a really good time. We ended up coming 4th but honestly, it didn't bother me. The last night we had a team dinner which was a lot of fun, everyone ended up giving a little speech about something they enjoyed about the team and saying thanks to eachother and the coaches - even Mich's friend who none of us had ever met before! so funny! and it was just so cool. We're going to miss them so incredibly much next year but I know wherever they all end up they're going to tear it up and keep being their awesome selves.
And then we came home and I spent a couple of days at Coralie and Margie's with Kelly (another Kiwi) and we went sea swimming and hiking and even did a short pool swim - it was a good time just relaxing. Me and Coralie went on this awesome hike around these rocks at a beach and there were all these deep rock pools you could swim in so we went for a dip and then kept going, and there were blow holes - that was cool. And the colours of the sea were so intense and so beautiful it was just rocking this world.
Now I am in Wyoming with my friend Emily from the UH soccer team for a couple of days before going to an Athletes in Action camp in Colorado tomorrow. It's been so nice. She has the coolest "American" house - has a basement and an attic! (never been in a house with either of those before) and from the outside it really looks like a doll house. So fun! Today we went on this little hike at a national park near here and it was so awesome driving out. just a road in the middle of these endless plains with the Rocky Mountains on the horizon. And the sky was so cool, we could see storms on the horizon and you could see lightening and stuff it was so cool. Also this afternoon when we got back, there was an afternoon thunder storm (quite a common summer occurrence) and the thunder was seriously right after the lightning. And you could see the lightning bolts. It was awesome. We were making guacamole and Emily's mum was like "I smell smoke!" and started running around all crazy like to make sure the house hadn't caught on fire or something. It was awesome.
And tomorrow I'm off to Fort Collins. Can't wait. This week is going to rock this world!
K, hope everyone is well - you should totally email me or something
much love
A xxox
well I feel like I have so much to tell so hope you've got some time set aside for this essay you're in for.
We just finished school a couple of weeks ago, we did pretty well at our conference finals - we beat USC 9-10 to make the championship game and we ended up coming second so that was huge. Mich could hardly believe it. It was a pretty fun weekend - we were in Irvine and it was just a fun time I think. I didn't really play - I got majored in a couple of games so that was a bummer but it was fun anyway. The girls did really well.
Then we got home with a week to do finals, get out of the dorms and sort everything else out that we needed to do before leaving for nationals at UC Davis in Northern California. So that was a sleepless and slightly stressful week but managed to get on the plane to Sacremento having finished all my work and exams so it was awesome to just be able to think about polo and not have to worry about school or anything. The day we left was such a mess, Meike and myself had spent the whole night before packing so we'd had about 4 hrs sleep and then we got up, went for a swim, got a car from the athletic dept, packed the car and then Meike checked us out while I went to the chiropractor and then we got back to the pool just as the bus pulled up so we just managed to put all our gear (and trust me there was a LOT) in the storage room at the pool before jumping on the bus.
Davis was really special. We started out with 3 seniors at the beginning of the year and we finished with only one, Mari, and Ief was leaving us for national team commitments back in the Netherlands, and our assistant coaches Coralie and Margie were leaving us as well. So it was just a really good time of enjoying eachother and having fun playing together and I duno I just had a really good time. We ended up coming 4th but honestly, it didn't bother me. The last night we had a team dinner which was a lot of fun, everyone ended up giving a little speech about something they enjoyed about the team and saying thanks to eachother and the coaches - even Mich's friend who none of us had ever met before! so funny! and it was just so cool. We're going to miss them so incredibly much next year but I know wherever they all end up they're going to tear it up and keep being their awesome selves.
And then we came home and I spent a couple of days at Coralie and Margie's with Kelly (another Kiwi) and we went sea swimming and hiking and even did a short pool swim - it was a good time just relaxing. Me and Coralie went on this awesome hike around these rocks at a beach and there were all these deep rock pools you could swim in so we went for a dip and then kept going, and there were blow holes - that was cool. And the colours of the sea were so intense and so beautiful it was just rocking this world.
Now I am in Wyoming with my friend Emily from the UH soccer team for a couple of days before going to an Athletes in Action camp in Colorado tomorrow. It's been so nice. She has the coolest "American" house - has a basement and an attic! (never been in a house with either of those before) and from the outside it really looks like a doll house. So fun! Today we went on this little hike at a national park near here and it was so awesome driving out. just a road in the middle of these endless plains with the Rocky Mountains on the horizon. And the sky was so cool, we could see storms on the horizon and you could see lightening and stuff it was so cool. Also this afternoon when we got back, there was an afternoon thunder storm (quite a common summer occurrence) and the thunder was seriously right after the lightning. And you could see the lightning bolts. It was awesome. We were making guacamole and Emily's mum was like "I smell smoke!" and started running around all crazy like to make sure the house hadn't caught on fire or something. It was awesome.
And tomorrow I'm off to Fort Collins. Can't wait. This week is going to rock this world!
K, hope everyone is well - you should totally email me or something
much love
A xxox
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Still Alive
Hey everyone,
sorry again for being so slack at this. i am going to be making more effort from now on i promise.
so how is everyone anyway? haven't been hearing much from the southern hemisphere lately *cough cough* I hope everyone is fantastic and Debbie if you read this I hope baby is fantastic and healthy and amazing fun even if you never get to sleep and are having to change nappies all day long : )
Here is good, the semester is finishing in 3 weeks and I'm baffled at how fast time flies. It's crazy I tell you. School has been going well - it turns out I'm smart or something - I got invited into the honours program which means I can take harder classes and on my diploma it says that I graduated "with honors" (no u because we're in america). I'm not sure if I will join yet, I haven't spoken to anyone, it would be cool to be a bit more challenged in classes and not just have to regurgitate everything I'm told but I do want to graduate asap and the thought of having to take extra classes isn't really very appealing. But we'll see anyway.
Polo has been improving, we started out shocker losing twice to Arizona which should NOT have happened but it did and twas horrible but then again I guess it was good to get a kick up the bum to get us motivated and realising that even though on paper we have an Iamazing team, we still have to work hard. Next weekend is our conference (league) finals are next weekend and it's basically going to come down to whether or not we beat berkeley to decide if we get to go to Nationals so that will be an exciting game. We've improved a lot this semester I think, and we definitely can it's just all up to us. I hope we do : ) will keep you posted on that one anyway.
I haven't had the most fun time with polo this semester, have had some major communication problems with the coach but we had this massive talk the other day and we both surprised ourselves with how un-stubborn we were and how much we actually listened, it was so good. Now I just have to remember to do that more often if a problem comes up and not get all prideful and try to ignore it and make everyone miserable... lol isn't that so funny how things snowball so much when all it would take to fix things is a bit of old fashioned talking over a cup of tea or something.
Went to disneyland last weekend! It was my second time there, and I have to say to anyone who goes in the future, make sure you scream your lungs out every ride. The first time I went, I thought I was too cool and was trying not to scream, but this time I just let loose, and it was so much more fun. So the key my friends, I guess for any adventure is to scream your lungs and and keep your eyes open and really experience it ya know? yea.
My sister in law had a baby on Friday NZ time, I have no idea what it is, or if everything went ok or anything. Mum and Dad have gone away for the weekend and I don't have their number, Emily thinks I'm really strange for not having my brother's number with my here. I've never thought about it. Maybe I should get it. I would quite like it - to be able to talk to my brothers/sister whenever I wanted just coz I could...My other brother is moving to Invercargill this week he's on the Southland NPC team and he's pretty much the best loch in the world so everyone keep your eyes open : ) Rees Logan yup, thats my brother!
Just watched a really intense movie called "Tsotsi". It's about South Africa and this boy who lives in a shanty town and steals a car that has a baby inside. It's based on a book. It's so good to see film coming out of Africa. What is it about Africa? It just tugs on my heart strings, not even really one place over another, when I look at my map, my eyes always come back to Africa. It could be because it's bang smack in the middle of my map, but I think it's something more than that...and I can't really explain it. Anyone else get that?
OK well I better go, will try to put some photos up, my computer is very stubborn at the mo and isn't uploading so will keep trying but otherwise you'll have to check out ringo.
OK I just found out about the unknown baby - 12.1 Lbs, 59 cm, Terence Nicholas Jens Logan. Will be called Nick most likely. My over 2m tall brother Rees the loch was 54cm when he was born. He is beautiful, lovely fat chubby cheeks but nothing else everything else is hot stuff. His hands are huge. He has a head full of black hair. Following all the voices around the room today (this is mum talking). When mummy was giving him his first bath the other day, his sister Kate asked "where's his fanny?" she really is quite intrigued with him. And he looks like his Aunty Amy - but you shoulda got that at the beautiful part ;)
sorry again for being so slack at this. i am going to be making more effort from now on i promise.
so how is everyone anyway? haven't been hearing much from the southern hemisphere lately *cough cough* I hope everyone is fantastic and Debbie if you read this I hope baby is fantastic and healthy and amazing fun even if you never get to sleep and are having to change nappies all day long : )
Here is good, the semester is finishing in 3 weeks and I'm baffled at how fast time flies. It's crazy I tell you. School has been going well - it turns out I'm smart or something - I got invited into the honours program which means I can take harder classes and on my diploma it says that I graduated "with honors" (no u because we're in america). I'm not sure if I will join yet, I haven't spoken to anyone, it would be cool to be a bit more challenged in classes and not just have to regurgitate everything I'm told but I do want to graduate asap and the thought of having to take extra classes isn't really very appealing. But we'll see anyway.
Polo has been improving, we started out shocker losing twice to Arizona which should NOT have happened but it did and twas horrible but then again I guess it was good to get a kick up the bum to get us motivated and realising that even though on paper we have an Iamazing team, we still have to work hard. Next weekend is our conference (league) finals are next weekend and it's basically going to come down to whether or not we beat berkeley to decide if we get to go to Nationals so that will be an exciting game. We've improved a lot this semester I think, and we definitely can it's just all up to us. I hope we do : ) will keep you posted on that one anyway.
I haven't had the most fun time with polo this semester, have had some major communication problems with the coach but we had this massive talk the other day and we both surprised ourselves with how un-stubborn we were and how much we actually listened, it was so good. Now I just have to remember to do that more often if a problem comes up and not get all prideful and try to ignore it and make everyone miserable... lol isn't that so funny how things snowball so much when all it would take to fix things is a bit of old fashioned talking over a cup of tea or something.
Went to disneyland last weekend! It was my second time there, and I have to say to anyone who goes in the future, make sure you scream your lungs out every ride. The first time I went, I thought I was too cool and was trying not to scream, but this time I just let loose, and it was so much more fun. So the key my friends, I guess for any adventure is to scream your lungs and and keep your eyes open and really experience it ya know? yea.
My sister in law had a baby on Friday NZ time, I have no idea what it is, or if everything went ok or anything. Mum and Dad have gone away for the weekend and I don't have their number, Emily thinks I'm really strange for not having my brother's number with my here. I've never thought about it. Maybe I should get it. I would quite like it - to be able to talk to my brothers/sister whenever I wanted just coz I could...My other brother is moving to Invercargill this week he's on the Southland NPC team and he's pretty much the best loch in the world so everyone keep your eyes open : ) Rees Logan yup, thats my brother!
Just watched a really intense movie called "Tsotsi". It's about South Africa and this boy who lives in a shanty town and steals a car that has a baby inside. It's based on a book. It's so good to see film coming out of Africa. What is it about Africa? It just tugs on my heart strings, not even really one place over another, when I look at my map, my eyes always come back to Africa. It could be because it's bang smack in the middle of my map, but I think it's something more than that...and I can't really explain it. Anyone else get that?
OK well I better go, will try to put some photos up, my computer is very stubborn at the mo and isn't uploading so will keep trying but otherwise you'll have to check out ringo.
OK I just found out about the unknown baby - 12.1 Lbs, 59 cm, Terence Nicholas Jens Logan. Will be called Nick most likely. My over 2m tall brother Rees the loch was 54cm when he was born. He is beautiful, lovely fat chubby cheeks but nothing else everything else is hot stuff. His hands are huge. He has a head full of black hair. Following all the voices around the room today (this is mum talking). When mummy was giving him his first bath the other day, his sister Kate asked "where's his fanny?" she really is quite intrigued with him. And he looks like his Aunty Amy - but you shoulda got that at the beautiful part ;)
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Alive
Hey all,
yes I'm still alive... sorry its been so long for those who have wanted updates!
Anyways, here I am back in Hawaii ish. It's week 7 of school and so far I've been to about 3 or 4 of each of my classes. We didn't get back until Feb 1st and then left on the 7th for a week and now, a week after arriving back again we are off again for another 8 days. It doesn't stop I tell you!
Home was good, I didn't get to see my family as much as I wanted to which was gutting but I did get to hang with polo peeps a LOT and that was heaps of fun. I am in love with my country. Everything I saw was like the most beautiful thing in the world I felt like such a tourist. haha.
The preparation for the Commonwealth Tournament was pretty tough, we had a week between xmas and new years in Tauranga, there were about 20 of us sleeping in a class room literally right next to the pool. It was an outside pool so that was really nice, and the Marae experience of communal living was surprisingly fun. We ran up Mount Maunganui a couple of times, which was one massive slog I tell you, but the view was awesome. It was such a killer but I decided that if I was any kind of runner or something I would be into mountain racing. Definitely a feeling of accomplishment (for the non-kiwis I honestly don't know how big the mount is but it is called a mountain so it's not that small...)
Anyways, then we got a couple of days off for new years and a bunch of us went to Emily's batch at cooks beach,which was a nice break, mostly consisting of sleeping but also got to see a few beaches I'd never been to before and that was awesome.
Then we went to another place for another week long camp, known as death camp II. We pretty much died. For my birthday the team filled my car up with balloons and shaving creamed the outside and I got a book called "Amy the Amethyst Fairy" and I even got cake. So it was a pretty good day considering we did about 5 hours of training during it...
Then we came back up to auckland for a tournament with England and Japan, which went pretty well we won it so that was good for us and our confidence going into the games. I won the MVP award which was really funny and cool, have never won an MVP before so I was stoked.
And then we left for Perth. I think I laughed more on this trip than any other trip I've ever been on, our manager Sharon was such good value and it was really cool to be on a trip with the NZ mens team as well and being able to watch and support them and hang out. We ended up coming third which is what we were expecting.
It was nice to win something for once and to send our coach Peter off on a good note. We got him this massive Pounamu (greenstone - has a lot of cultural meaning - they're Taonga = treasures, and you can't buy themyou have to be given them) hook which means strength, prosperity, and fortune over the water. It was really hard to say bye, we took him to the airport on the last day b/c he was going straight back to Hungary and it was really hard to say bye, I was surprised by how close we all were to him. But it's ok we'll be in touch he'll be around. Can't get rid of us that easily! And after that it was the usual mad rush 7hr flight home, 4 hrs at home then back to the airport to come here!
Hawaii has been heaps of fun so far with the extra kiwi girls here, especially em its so fun having someone in training I can properly wrestle with who can laugh about it and not get all upset. And just to see her all the time once again. Can't wait to start playing with her!
ok guys, for now this must be it, I know its not that entertaining but I am out of practice
peace out, would love to hear from anyone. Kelly whats your blog address?
So much love to everyone
A xxox
yes I'm still alive... sorry its been so long for those who have wanted updates!
Anyways, here I am back in Hawaii ish. It's week 7 of school and so far I've been to about 3 or 4 of each of my classes. We didn't get back until Feb 1st and then left on the 7th for a week and now, a week after arriving back again we are off again for another 8 days. It doesn't stop I tell you!
Home was good, I didn't get to see my family as much as I wanted to which was gutting but I did get to hang with polo peeps a LOT and that was heaps of fun. I am in love with my country. Everything I saw was like the most beautiful thing in the world I felt like such a tourist. haha.
The preparation for the Commonwealth Tournament was pretty tough, we had a week between xmas and new years in Tauranga, there were about 20 of us sleeping in a class room literally right next to the pool. It was an outside pool so that was really nice, and the Marae experience of communal living was surprisingly fun. We ran up Mount Maunganui a couple of times, which was one massive slog I tell you, but the view was awesome. It was such a killer but I decided that if I was any kind of runner or something I would be into mountain racing. Definitely a feeling of accomplishment (for the non-kiwis I honestly don't know how big the mount is but it is called a mountain so it's not that small...)
Anyways, then we got a couple of days off for new years and a bunch of us went to Emily's batch at cooks beach,which was a nice break, mostly consisting of sleeping but also got to see a few beaches I'd never been to before and that was awesome.
Then we went to another place for another week long camp, known as death camp II. We pretty much died. For my birthday the team filled my car up with balloons and shaving creamed the outside and I got a book called "Amy the Amethyst Fairy" and I even got cake. So it was a pretty good day considering we did about 5 hours of training during it...
Then we came back up to auckland for a tournament with England and Japan, which went pretty well we won it so that was good for us and our confidence going into the games. I won the MVP award which was really funny and cool, have never won an MVP before so I was stoked.
And then we left for Perth. I think I laughed more on this trip than any other trip I've ever been on, our manager Sharon was such good value and it was really cool to be on a trip with the NZ mens team as well and being able to watch and support them and hang out. We ended up coming third which is what we were expecting.
It was nice to win something for once and to send our coach Peter off on a good note. We got him this massive Pounamu (greenstone - has a lot of cultural meaning - they're Taonga = treasures, and you can't buy themyou have to be given them) hook which means strength, prosperity, and fortune over the water. It was really hard to say bye, we took him to the airport on the last day b/c he was going straight back to Hungary and it was really hard to say bye, I was surprised by how close we all were to him. But it's ok we'll be in touch he'll be around. Can't get rid of us that easily! And after that it was the usual mad rush 7hr flight home, 4 hrs at home then back to the airport to come here!
Hawaii has been heaps of fun so far with the extra kiwi girls here, especially em its so fun having someone in training I can properly wrestle with who can laugh about it and not get all upset. And just to see her all the time once again. Can't wait to start playing with her!
ok guys, for now this must be it, I know its not that entertaining but I am out of practice
peace out, would love to hear from anyone. Kelly whats your blog address?
So much love to everyone
A xxox
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
homey life
hey all,
my first week at home has definitely not been what i had expected...it seems something happens every day that just totally throws me for a six (thats kiwi for knocks me in the head sideways = catches me off guard) its been kinda weird, but i'm still really stoked to be home.
have been able to hang out with some really good friends and am finally starting to enjoy polo a little bit again, which totally rocks my world.
today i went dress shopping for my 21st. not that i have ever been a pro shopper, but having not bought any clothes at all for a whole semester, its pretty fair to say i'm a tad out of shape and today was a hard day. but we did find some random dresses to take photos of...
i dont know the free image hosting site that meike has on her computer and i can't seem to work the one that i have found so unfortunately ya'll will have to wait to see them. but there were some pretty random dresses for some pretty rediculous prices going on.
not too much else exciting has been happening, my team won junior nationals (competition over the weekend) and i was awarded best defensive player so that was good. practice has been fun - we've been doing this run over like a thousand hills - that bit sure isnt fun, but the view is so beautiful and the air is clean its not on any streets or anything so you can actually breathe, well as much as you can when you're running up and down hills anyway! and this morning we went for a surf swim in proper waves, which i haven't done in about a year so it was good to get the old heart rate up again diving under wave after wave. and the water wasn't even cold! so that was really awesome.
well, i hope everyone is really awesome wherever they are! don't forget to keep in touch k? k
much love
A xxox
my first week at home has definitely not been what i had expected...it seems something happens every day that just totally throws me for a six (thats kiwi for knocks me in the head sideways = catches me off guard) its been kinda weird, but i'm still really stoked to be home.
have been able to hang out with some really good friends and am finally starting to enjoy polo a little bit again, which totally rocks my world.
today i went dress shopping for my 21st. not that i have ever been a pro shopper, but having not bought any clothes at all for a whole semester, its pretty fair to say i'm a tad out of shape and today was a hard day. but we did find some random dresses to take photos of...
i dont know the free image hosting site that meike has on her computer and i can't seem to work the one that i have found so unfortunately ya'll will have to wait to see them. but there were some pretty random dresses for some pretty rediculous prices going on.
not too much else exciting has been happening, my team won junior nationals (competition over the weekend) and i was awarded best defensive player so that was good. practice has been fun - we've been doing this run over like a thousand hills - that bit sure isnt fun, but the view is so beautiful and the air is clean its not on any streets or anything so you can actually breathe, well as much as you can when you're running up and down hills anyway! and this morning we went for a surf swim in proper waves, which i haven't done in about a year so it was good to get the old heart rate up again diving under wave after wave. and the water wasn't even cold! so that was really awesome.
well, i hope everyone is really awesome wherever they are! don't forget to keep in touch k? k
much love
A xxox
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
home sweet home
hey all,
my last week in hawaii for 2005 was a good one, went surfing, went dancing in a torrential downpour, managed to get all my assignments done almost, and did my exams, and packed, and managed to buy a few (although still not enough) presents.
Last Saturday I went to the swap meet (big massive flea market) with Alyssa and it took a really long time to get around the thing - like 3 hours - but I had a good time hangin out with lyss, it was really nice to have some time to just hang out and chill together. And we ate some coconut! was really yum but I hadn't eaten much that day and so it kinda made me feel a wee bit sick after not too long. But twas all just dandy.
And then the Saturday just been we went surfing for practice so that was fun. Only my 2nd time surfing ever so it was a bit hilarious. I can catch the wave fine, just can't stand up. I keep landing on my toes somehow they just bend under for no particular reason and it hurts! but I got up once and stayed up for about 2.75 seconds before falling off. So really I'm the next big thing : )
Saturday night we had our team christmas dinner and we went to this yum Japanese restaurant and it was one of those ones when they cook infront of you with the fire and the flames and stuff. We had the coolest cook he was so excited it was awesome. We had a sinta klaus thing (dutch wrong spelling) when we each bought a present and gave it to someone else. I got a back scratcher/massager, a banana shaped water gun - which i have to say it pretty much the best water gun ever! I got my coach from like 20 metres away, and its just a little one nothing big and fancy or anything. And it says "I went bananas in Hawaii" on it. radical. and I got a men of Hawaii 2006 wall calendar woohoo
and then on Sunday I went to church and got showered with presents it was amazing. and then Sunday night me, Kezia, Alyssa, Meike, Aurelien, Arnaud, Mason, Jeremie and his recently arrived from france doesn't speak any english very beautiful girlfriend, Virginie. We had thai is was SO good. We tried speaking in french for 15 minutes for Vivi, but we were really bad and gave up pretty quick. It was funny to watch their faces when we were speaking wish I had a camera! :D
and Monday I ran around like a chook with her head chopped off, and now I'm home : ) would really love to sleep but have a polo game so have to go to that and remember to drive on the left hand side of the road again. As the plane was landing, I saw my street. I don't know why I've never seen it before! Maybe I've never looked or never been by the window before. But it was really cool. I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!
Everyone back in Hi you better keep in touch or I'll beat you up. Miss ya's already!
Much love
A xxox
my last week in hawaii for 2005 was a good one, went surfing, went dancing in a torrential downpour, managed to get all my assignments done almost, and did my exams, and packed, and managed to buy a few (although still not enough) presents.
Last Saturday I went to the swap meet (big massive flea market) with Alyssa and it took a really long time to get around the thing - like 3 hours - but I had a good time hangin out with lyss, it was really nice to have some time to just hang out and chill together. And we ate some coconut! was really yum but I hadn't eaten much that day and so it kinda made me feel a wee bit sick after not too long. But twas all just dandy.
And then the Saturday just been we went surfing for practice so that was fun. Only my 2nd time surfing ever so it was a bit hilarious. I can catch the wave fine, just can't stand up. I keep landing on my toes somehow they just bend under for no particular reason and it hurts! but I got up once and stayed up for about 2.75 seconds before falling off. So really I'm the next big thing : )
Saturday night we had our team christmas dinner and we went to this yum Japanese restaurant and it was one of those ones when they cook infront of you with the fire and the flames and stuff. We had the coolest cook he was so excited it was awesome. We had a sinta klaus thing (dutch wrong spelling) when we each bought a present and gave it to someone else. I got a back scratcher/massager, a banana shaped water gun - which i have to say it pretty much the best water gun ever! I got my coach from like 20 metres away, and its just a little one nothing big and fancy or anything. And it says "I went bananas in Hawaii" on it. radical. and I got a men of Hawaii 2006 wall calendar woohoo
and then on Sunday I went to church and got showered with presents it was amazing. and then Sunday night me, Kezia, Alyssa, Meike, Aurelien, Arnaud, Mason, Jeremie and his recently arrived from france doesn't speak any english very beautiful girlfriend, Virginie. We had thai is was SO good. We tried speaking in french for 15 minutes for Vivi, but we were really bad and gave up pretty quick. It was funny to watch their faces when we were speaking wish I had a camera! :D
and Monday I ran around like a chook with her head chopped off, and now I'm home : ) would really love to sleep but have a polo game so have to go to that and remember to drive on the left hand side of the road again. As the plane was landing, I saw my street. I don't know why I've never seen it before! Maybe I've never looked or never been by the window before. But it was really cool. I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!
Everyone back in Hi you better keep in touch or I'll beat you up. Miss ya's already!
Much love
A xxox
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
my peeps
OK so my window looks out on to the street, across the road is university, if I cross the road and go down the street thats there, a bunch of my friends live there, if I go away from university down a huge flight of stairs (don't tell peter! he's bringing a team over here next year :P) the pool is right behind me. I'm totally just loving that at home everything was so far away, and I spent so much time just driving everywhere and stuck in traffic, and here everything is 2 seconds away, and I have time to chill, and watch people from my window.
haha that sounds so melodramatic or something. but anyway. I really like watching people walking on the street from my window. people on their way to and from class, people waiting for the bus. Some people run, like you know when you're on your way home and you just have to run you just can't walk? some people look really stressed out, some people laugh and i totally have to gush when I see a boy and girl walk towards eachother, say hi, and then keep going, and one of them keeps smiling, or like, blushes to their friend or something. So fun.
Sometimes if I see someone I know, I yell out at them and tell them I love them. and they don't know where its coming from thats so fun too. a lot of them figure it out pretty quick though, I think the accent gives it away dang it!
I stole this idea off Meike, but sometimes I just want to take photos of random people. Capture something we see in someone we'll never know but will for some reason remember. Capture the uniqueness and beauty of a person, their strength or the way lines cut their face, or how they have no lines on their face.
I don't really know where I'm going with this, but basically, people are amazing. Our capacity to love, to hate, to explore, to push limits, to create, to destroy, to survive, to dream, to do anything is so huge, so amazing to me. When I see adds about starving african children, I'm not moved by the fact that they have nothing and that they're starving, that sounds really bad, but theres so much bad stuff it this world. But I can't no matter how hard I try, keep a tear away when I see one smiling. What is it about joy that is so intriguing/compelling/moving whatever the word is?
You're amazing. Go make a little history k? (if you don't know what that means, watch Garden State :D) Say it. I (your name) am amazing.
peace out
A xxox
haha that sounds so melodramatic or something. but anyway. I really like watching people walking on the street from my window. people on their way to and from class, people waiting for the bus. Some people run, like you know when you're on your way home and you just have to run you just can't walk? some people look really stressed out, some people laugh and i totally have to gush when I see a boy and girl walk towards eachother, say hi, and then keep going, and one of them keeps smiling, or like, blushes to their friend or something. So fun.
Sometimes if I see someone I know, I yell out at them and tell them I love them. and they don't know where its coming from thats so fun too. a lot of them figure it out pretty quick though, I think the accent gives it away dang it!
I stole this idea off Meike, but sometimes I just want to take photos of random people. Capture something we see in someone we'll never know but will for some reason remember. Capture the uniqueness and beauty of a person, their strength or the way lines cut their face, or how they have no lines on their face.
I don't really know where I'm going with this, but basically, people are amazing. Our capacity to love, to hate, to explore, to push limits, to create, to destroy, to survive, to dream, to do anything is so huge, so amazing to me. When I see adds about starving african children, I'm not moved by the fact that they have nothing and that they're starving, that sounds really bad, but theres so much bad stuff it this world. But I can't no matter how hard I try, keep a tear away when I see one smiling. What is it about joy that is so intriguing/compelling/moving whatever the word is?
You're amazing. Go make a little history k? (if you don't know what that means, watch Garden State :D) Say it. I (your name) am amazing.
peace out
A xxox
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
I so don't blame Persephone!
Hey everyone
I just ate my fist pomegranite
It was amazing.
It was like 1000 little rubies inside my mouth!
Taste explosion AND glorious to eat! like you just have to get it all over your face and hands and wherever else it ends up.
Meike reckons somewhere along the line someone made a mistake coz she'd rather pomegranite than rubies any day
I dont think its a mistake : )
delightful
have a fabulous day
much love
A xxox
I just ate my fist pomegranite
It was amazing.
It was like 1000 little rubies inside my mouth!
Taste explosion AND glorious to eat! like you just have to get it all over your face and hands and wherever else it ends up.
Meike reckons somewhere along the line someone made a mistake coz she'd rather pomegranite than rubies any day
I dont think its a mistake : )
delightful
have a fabulous day
much love
A xxox
Friday, November 04, 2005
Another Crazy Blog
Hey all,
I've been thinking a lot about all my God adventures as well as my normal adventures. And I want to share them but I don't want to make people uncomfortable if they don't want to hear about stuff like that. So I made another blog, that you can go check out if you want to or are interested and if you're not thats cool too : ) I'll add it to my links
peace out everyone
much love
A xxox
I've been thinking a lot about all my God adventures as well as my normal adventures. And I want to share them but I don't want to make people uncomfortable if they don't want to hear about stuff like that. So I made another blog, that you can go check out if you want to or are interested and if you're not thats cool too : ) I'll add it to my links
peace out everyone
much love
A xxox
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Bittersweet Good-Byes
So 5 out of the 8 french guys left on Tuesday, it was really sad... but we had some awesome last days together so it will be ok.
On Saturday there was a bbq, that was really cool. Ended up having some really random conversations with people I was not expecting to have random conversations with. So that was cool. And there was like, I don't know maybe 12 of us there? and we made a caterpilar with everyone. Ok so thats when your hands are on the ground, and your legs are on the person behind you's back, and the person in front of you's legs are on your back. Its hard to explain. But it was pretty funny. And we made a pyramid as well, I'm really glad I'm a girl and got to go on the top, coz we were mucking around for ages and I think the peeps on the bottom were pretty much dying. But it was all ok in the end.
And then on Sunday we had a really fancy dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese but everyone dressed nicely and me and Meike wore skirts and the boys all wore shirts and it was really cute. Especially considering that most of them probably didn't even have nice shirts in Hawaii with them. I think a few were borrowed from Thibault - the styly guy. hahaha. But it was really cute.
And then on Monday I decided I would do a secret stealth mission and make the boys who were leaving a Pavlova in my Halloween costume (didn't have anything so just went in a toga - complete with a wreath of real leaves Meike pulled off a tree for me, I knew the skills I learnt at the surf club would come in handy one day!). Because they (pavs, not togas) are really yum. So we went to the apartment of the boys who were staying and set to work. But they had no wisk. And they had no forks either because they were all in the other apartment from the night before. So we set to the egg whites with spoons for a while, and then we went down to 7/11 and stole (yes Juliana, I think we were stealing) some plastic forks, and had a go with them. But then I just gave up. I don't know whether the boys were tryin to make me feel better or just really wanted some pav but anyways, out comes the power drill with plastic forks taped to it. So fun and so cute! But it still didn't work, after a bit of research, I think plastic makes the egg whites not want to froth so thats why it didn't work. But the effort was so appreciated boys! : )
And then we went down to Waikiki to have a look at all the Halloween peeps. There were some really crazy costumes, some things I didn't particularly want to see but it was funny anyway. And we went and hung out and just chatted for a while on the beach. When it got late we all said our good-byes and took a bunch of photos you know, I always think I'm down with good-byes, but they always get me. I didn't cry coz I'm tough, but it was really sad. Definitely tugged at the ol' heart strings. I always get stuck between feeling gypped coz I only get to hang out with people for a short part of their lives, and stoked that I even got to meet them. But we'll keep in touch. And now I have a place to stay in France! And they have places to stay in NZ, the Netherlands, Washington, and Idaho. So really, it's all going to be ok.
And Tuesday was another day...
I'm really behind in school work. And coming home in 4.5 weeks. woa. another year nearly over. I wonder if I'll remember what it was like to be 20 when I'm 40. hahaha sorry Amy's gettin all goopy.
We have now officially started our 20hrs practice a week. So far its going surprisingly well! I hurt my quad really annoyingly last night, I was jumping to take a shot and something just popped. I think its just a strain but I can't jump or use it very well at all and its really annoying. But its ok. It's really nice to be scrimmaging again. Am a bit nervous about going home to the new rules, sounds like everyone is moving a lot and maybe even driving now shock horror!
OK guys, sorry that last bit sounds like a bit of a downer. I'm actually really enjoying myself. Today in Physics we made electrometers. And we got to take them home. I actually felt like I was 10 years old again taking my science experiments home and being so stoked about them waiting to show off to someone and explain all about it. Even if they already know. OK so its this thing like, a piece of video tape reelign tape folded in half on the end of a little metal thing inside a coke bottle with a ball of tin-foil on the top. And you get a balloon and rub it on your arm or hair (so much fun in itself!) and get it all charged up and then when you put it near the tin-foil ball and the tape in the bottle repells away from itself. If that makes sense. I felt cool anyway. Like a scientist on the verge of a huge discovery :D
OK better go. Hope everyone is awesome.
peace out and keep cool
much love
A xxox
On Saturday there was a bbq, that was really cool. Ended up having some really random conversations with people I was not expecting to have random conversations with. So that was cool. And there was like, I don't know maybe 12 of us there? and we made a caterpilar with everyone. Ok so thats when your hands are on the ground, and your legs are on the person behind you's back, and the person in front of you's legs are on your back. Its hard to explain. But it was pretty funny. And we made a pyramid as well, I'm really glad I'm a girl and got to go on the top, coz we were mucking around for ages and I think the peeps on the bottom were pretty much dying. But it was all ok in the end.
And then on Sunday we had a really fancy dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese but everyone dressed nicely and me and Meike wore skirts and the boys all wore shirts and it was really cute. Especially considering that most of them probably didn't even have nice shirts in Hawaii with them. I think a few were borrowed from Thibault - the styly guy. hahaha. But it was really cute.
And then on Monday I decided I would do a secret stealth mission and make the boys who were leaving a Pavlova in my Halloween costume (didn't have anything so just went in a toga - complete with a wreath of real leaves Meike pulled off a tree for me, I knew the skills I learnt at the surf club would come in handy one day!). Because they (pavs, not togas) are really yum. So we went to the apartment of the boys who were staying and set to work. But they had no wisk. And they had no forks either because they were all in the other apartment from the night before. So we set to the egg whites with spoons for a while, and then we went down to 7/11 and stole (yes Juliana, I think we were stealing) some plastic forks, and had a go with them. But then I just gave up. I don't know whether the boys were tryin to make me feel better or just really wanted some pav but anyways, out comes the power drill with plastic forks taped to it. So fun and so cute! But it still didn't work, after a bit of research, I think plastic makes the egg whites not want to froth so thats why it didn't work. But the effort was so appreciated boys! : )
And then we went down to Waikiki to have a look at all the Halloween peeps. There were some really crazy costumes, some things I didn't particularly want to see but it was funny anyway. And we went and hung out and just chatted for a while on the beach. When it got late we all said our good-byes and took a bunch of photos you know, I always think I'm down with good-byes, but they always get me. I didn't cry coz I'm tough, but it was really sad. Definitely tugged at the ol' heart strings. I always get stuck between feeling gypped coz I only get to hang out with people for a short part of their lives, and stoked that I even got to meet them. But we'll keep in touch. And now I have a place to stay in France! And they have places to stay in NZ, the Netherlands, Washington, and Idaho. So really, it's all going to be ok.
And Tuesday was another day...
I'm really behind in school work. And coming home in 4.5 weeks. woa. another year nearly over. I wonder if I'll remember what it was like to be 20 when I'm 40. hahaha sorry Amy's gettin all goopy.
We have now officially started our 20hrs practice a week. So far its going surprisingly well! I hurt my quad really annoyingly last night, I was jumping to take a shot and something just popped. I think its just a strain but I can't jump or use it very well at all and its really annoying. But its ok. It's really nice to be scrimmaging again. Am a bit nervous about going home to the new rules, sounds like everyone is moving a lot and maybe even driving now shock horror!
OK guys, sorry that last bit sounds like a bit of a downer. I'm actually really enjoying myself. Today in Physics we made electrometers. And we got to take them home. I actually felt like I was 10 years old again taking my science experiments home and being so stoked about them waiting to show off to someone and explain all about it. Even if they already know. OK so its this thing like, a piece of video tape reelign tape folded in half on the end of a little metal thing inside a coke bottle with a ball of tin-foil on the top. And you get a balloon and rub it on your arm or hair (so much fun in itself!) and get it all charged up and then when you put it near the tin-foil ball and the tape in the bottle repells away from itself. If that makes sense. I felt cool anyway. Like a scientist on the verge of a huge discovery :D
OK better go. Hope everyone is awesome.
peace out and keep cool
much love
A xxox
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Taking the Longs way home
Meike is going to teach me a song on the guitar. I can't wait. It's going to be hilarious, but then I will come home and wow everyone with my amazing skills. hahaha.
Anyways, so yesterday when I had finished class I decided that I didn't need to go to practice since I have been so active lately that I haven't had a day off in like 2 weeks nearly. So after class I went to go pick up some photos from Longs (drug store so kinda chemist kinda supermarket), which is like a 20 min walk away, and I was all bitter because my moped didn't work and Meike's bike is just too tall for me and woe is me I had to walk!?! But then, I started singing and it was a really enjoyable walk.
And then when I got to Longs and got my photos and started browsing, and then stopped myself because I didn't have time and had to be going. But actually I didn't have anywhere I had to be or anything that had to be done. And so I just hung out at Longs, and smelled all the nice smelling stuff and looked at greeting cards and cleaning products and other cool stuff that is so amazing to look at and inquire about. And I think I ended up spending like an hour there or something it was so fun. And I was singing along with the radio that was on, and then this lady walked past who was singing too! And it was really cool. And I had a bit of a boogie in one of the isles and it was just so fun!
And then I walked outside to make my way home, and there was this awesome big cool rainbow so that made me smile even more. And as I got closer to home it started dribbling but it was like, you know those really nice big fat drops that are so refreshing and when they hit the ground or whatever they splash? like when they hit your cheek it splashes back onto your eye-lashes? yea like that. It was so refreshing.
Anyways, better go. Here is a cool photo of Kathryn Cox when she came to visit
This is my beautiful friend Alyssa at the beach one day
And this is Kezia eating (another beautiful friend)
This is Kezia, Alyssa, Meike and me making human towers.
fun!
ok all, I hope you're really rad. I'm coming home in 6 weeks, thats so soon! Anyone want to come to Waikawau with me?
peace out
much love
A xxox
Anyways, so yesterday when I had finished class I decided that I didn't need to go to practice since I have been so active lately that I haven't had a day off in like 2 weeks nearly. So after class I went to go pick up some photos from Longs (drug store so kinda chemist kinda supermarket), which is like a 20 min walk away, and I was all bitter because my moped didn't work and Meike's bike is just too tall for me and woe is me I had to walk!?! But then, I started singing and it was a really enjoyable walk.
And then when I got to Longs and got my photos and started browsing, and then stopped myself because I didn't have time and had to be going. But actually I didn't have anywhere I had to be or anything that had to be done. And so I just hung out at Longs, and smelled all the nice smelling stuff and looked at greeting cards and cleaning products and other cool stuff that is so amazing to look at and inquire about. And I think I ended up spending like an hour there or something it was so fun. And I was singing along with the radio that was on, and then this lady walked past who was singing too! And it was really cool. And I had a bit of a boogie in one of the isles and it was just so fun!
And then I walked outside to make my way home, and there was this awesome big cool rainbow so that made me smile even more. And as I got closer to home it started dribbling but it was like, you know those really nice big fat drops that are so refreshing and when they hit the ground or whatever they splash? like when they hit your cheek it splashes back onto your eye-lashes? yea like that. It was so refreshing.
Anyways, better go. Here is a cool photo of Kathryn Cox when she came to visit
This is my beautiful friend Alyssa at the beach one day
And this is Kezia eating (another beautiful friend)
This is Kezia, Alyssa, Meike and me making human towers.
fun!
ok all, I hope you're really rad. I'm coming home in 6 weeks, thats so soon! Anyone want to come to Waikawau with me?
peace out
much love
A xxox
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Crazy/Beautiful
OK so the last week has been insane. I feel like I've been living like 5 different lives and each one is like, totally different. I had 3 mid terms, we got a new assistant coach (Coralie Simmons for those who have heard of her, was a silver medalist in Sydney), got some sad news from home about a family member, and improved my fire dancing and acrobatic skills!
I feel like I haven't stopped moving for a while, but really, I don't think I want to. I'm having so much fun and such an adventure.
Thursday night I was supossed to study for a mid term on friday and I just couldn't concentrate, and Meike was going to meet the french guys to practice some acrobatic stuff, and so I was like, well I'm not doing anything here so I'll join them for a little while anyway, but I'll totally be back by 9.30 to study. Didn't get home till like 11ish I think, and just crammed early friday morning, but I learnt how to do a flip. I couldn't land on my feet properly and was jumping onto the mat but I duno, have never done anything like that before so felt pretty cool actually : ) and decided if I can make a fool of myself like that with almost strangers, then I can pretty much do anything. And I learnt how to do a proper cart-wheel and we did some hand-stands against the wall it was just really rad.
Meike is playing this beautiful song on the guitar and I'm getting all lost in the moment hahahaha its really cool, its called "jeux interdits"
On Sunday we all went kayaking, we were supossed to leave at like 9.30ish and didn't end up leaving till like 11ish but that was ok because we needed some time to convince Jeremie to come, he was being a real cranky pants because he didn't get to sleep on his bed the night before. But we managed to persuade him so it was really cool. And we just had so much fun, caught a few waves, had a wee swim, kezia found some sea snails and big cyril educated us as to why snails ooze slime! So not only was it fun, it was also educating!
Yannick taught us how to do his radical dance. I wish I had a link for it! *hint hint* and I managed to get a really nice pink nose. You know you've had an awesome day when you get a pink nose : )
And then after bible study we went and had crepes for dinner and they were really good, even with stick to your teeth american cheese. And Meike played her guitar for us and we had a wee sing along, and I showed the boys Manukau city on google, and somehow we got into a chocolate fight with the left over chocolate from the crepes. Kezia put a bit on my nose and after that it was all over.
We spent a lot of the night trying to get a photo of Arnaud smiling, which we finally did, even though he has his eyes closed. But it is a beautiful smile :)
And this is the whole group, twas really quite a lovely evening
Hopefully this week things should calm down a bit, but next week we go to 20 hours practice so I am guna enjoy the chance to breathe a bit while I can.
It would be so rad to get an email or 2 from home *hint* Hope everyone is doing so radly
much love
A xxox
I feel like I haven't stopped moving for a while, but really, I don't think I want to. I'm having so much fun and such an adventure.
Thursday night I was supossed to study for a mid term on friday and I just couldn't concentrate, and Meike was going to meet the french guys to practice some acrobatic stuff, and so I was like, well I'm not doing anything here so I'll join them for a little while anyway, but I'll totally be back by 9.30 to study. Didn't get home till like 11ish I think, and just crammed early friday morning, but I learnt how to do a flip. I couldn't land on my feet properly and was jumping onto the mat but I duno, have never done anything like that before so felt pretty cool actually : ) and decided if I can make a fool of myself like that with almost strangers, then I can pretty much do anything. And I learnt how to do a proper cart-wheel and we did some hand-stands against the wall it was just really rad.
Meike is playing this beautiful song on the guitar and I'm getting all lost in the moment hahahaha its really cool, its called "jeux interdits"
On Sunday we all went kayaking, we were supossed to leave at like 9.30ish and didn't end up leaving till like 11ish but that was ok because we needed some time to convince Jeremie to come, he was being a real cranky pants because he didn't get to sleep on his bed the night before. But we managed to persuade him so it was really cool. And we just had so much fun, caught a few waves, had a wee swim, kezia found some sea snails and big cyril educated us as to why snails ooze slime! So not only was it fun, it was also educating!
Yannick taught us how to do his radical dance. I wish I had a link for it! *hint hint* and I managed to get a really nice pink nose. You know you've had an awesome day when you get a pink nose : )
And then after bible study we went and had crepes for dinner and they were really good, even with stick to your teeth american cheese. And Meike played her guitar for us and we had a wee sing along, and I showed the boys Manukau city on google, and somehow we got into a chocolate fight with the left over chocolate from the crepes. Kezia put a bit on my nose and after that it was all over.
We spent a lot of the night trying to get a photo of Arnaud smiling, which we finally did, even though he has his eyes closed. But it is a beautiful smile :)
And this is the whole group, twas really quite a lovely evening
Hopefully this week things should calm down a bit, but next week we go to 20 hours practice so I am guna enjoy the chance to breathe a bit while I can.
It would be so rad to get an email or 2 from home *hint* Hope everyone is doing so radly
much love
A xxox
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Really cool photo
This is Arnaud with the stick. Isn't it so cool! I took it, I'm so proud of myself!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Cool Photos
This is Aurelien standing on Big Cyril's shoulders.
Aurelien est magnifique au janglange, et Arnaud aussi mais je n'ai pas une photo.
Did I get it right that time?
This is ME! I am the bomb!
I just think this photo is really cool...I think its Aurelien but you can't really see him.
Tuesday
OK so last night was such a bunch of fun! First of all we all went out for dinner, to this vietnamese place and it was cheap AND good food, and the waiter was really nice. But we took quite a long time there so ended up only catching like the last 45 mins of the fire dancing but that was still really cool, and then we went to cold stone SO good. Vincent had a gotta have it size with a waffle cone and THEN rode really fast (i.e. beat the car) to a beach near by where a few of us kept up with the fire dancing for a while. I got the hang of the stick somehow (yes, this is the same unco amy you know and love) and managed to twirl it through my fingers AND go side to side. So really I'm a pro now : ) haha.
And Meike! Meike was doing the poi on fire, standing on Aureliens knees! And Kezia was standing on Arnauds hands and even Alyssa had a go with the poi on fire. So now we all have some pretty mad fire dancing skills : ) so fun. Em and Coralee and Michelle I wish you were here so much!
And there is a bit of chemistry in the air people. Its so cute! tellement mignon and lots of people in trees ; )
OK have to go practice now. Hope everyone is awesome. Photos to come soon
peace out
xxox
And Meike! Meike was doing the poi on fire, standing on Aureliens knees! And Kezia was standing on Arnauds hands and even Alyssa had a go with the poi on fire. So now we all have some pretty mad fire dancing skills : ) so fun. Em and Coralee and Michelle I wish you were here so much!
And there is a bit of chemistry in the air people. Its so cute! tellement mignon and lots of people in trees ; )
OK have to go practice now. Hope everyone is awesome. Photos to come soon
peace out
xxox
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Amy the Fire Dancer
Hey guys,
So the weekend was really really fun. Not only did I get to laugh at my attempts at french AND learn to juggle almost, but I did some fire dancing with a stick!
So a few weeks ago Meike and myself met a bunch of french guys who have discovered Hawaii is like a home for gypsies or something and have been learning acrobatics and flame throwing from these people they keep meeting. Meike has been hanging out with them and learning lots of cool tricks, and on Saturday night, Meike, Alyssa, Kezia and myself went to a bbq with them, and it was heaps and heaps of fun. They gave us french chocolate on the condition we would have our photo taken with "mini potam" this tiny magnetic hippopotomaus (sp?) that has travelled the world and has his own blog spot. And I was playing around with the fire sticks (unlit) and the boys were being very patient with me it was so surprising! And so I finally got the hang of it a little bit and even lit the stick, but I was too scared to do the cool tricks Í'd learnt coz you have to do them fast otherwise the fire comes down the stick and burns your hands. So I just twirled the stick around a few times in front of me and felt really cool. And then we practiced some juggling (jonglant en francais?) and the boys showed us a few tricks and Kezia got a halo. And it was so rad. And then on Sunday we met them at the beach again, and then tonight Alyssa and myselfs Bible Study and Kezia are coming to the actual place where you learn fire dancing and stuff. So thats guna be awesome.
I am eating snifters. SO good! Aparently they have them in Europe too so Meike tells me, just not here. Thanks Em for puttin them in that pack!
So anyways, here are the photos
This is Jeremie (not Jeremy^^), Arnaud and little Cyril (there are 2) and mini potam with the last of the chocolate
This is Kezia with her halo, Aurelien (sp?) is behind her with the fire stick.
This is Kezia and Alyssa with Mini Potam
FUN!
So the weekend was really really fun. Not only did I get to laugh at my attempts at french AND learn to juggle almost, but I did some fire dancing with a stick!
So a few weeks ago Meike and myself met a bunch of french guys who have discovered Hawaii is like a home for gypsies or something and have been learning acrobatics and flame throwing from these people they keep meeting. Meike has been hanging out with them and learning lots of cool tricks, and on Saturday night, Meike, Alyssa, Kezia and myself went to a bbq with them, and it was heaps and heaps of fun. They gave us french chocolate on the condition we would have our photo taken with "mini potam" this tiny magnetic hippopotomaus (sp?) that has travelled the world and has his own blog spot. And I was playing around with the fire sticks (unlit) and the boys were being very patient with me it was so surprising! And so I finally got the hang of it a little bit and even lit the stick, but I was too scared to do the cool tricks Í'd learnt coz you have to do them fast otherwise the fire comes down the stick and burns your hands. So I just twirled the stick around a few times in front of me and felt really cool. And then we practiced some juggling (jonglant en francais?) and the boys showed us a few tricks and Kezia got a halo. And it was so rad. And then on Sunday we met them at the beach again, and then tonight Alyssa and myselfs Bible Study and Kezia are coming to the actual place where you learn fire dancing and stuff. So thats guna be awesome.
I am eating snifters. SO good! Aparently they have them in Europe too so Meike tells me, just not here. Thanks Em for puttin them in that pack!
So anyways, here are the photos
This is Jeremie (not Jeremy^^), Arnaud and little Cyril (there are 2) and mini potam with the last of the chocolate
This is Kezia with her halo, Aurelien (sp?) is behind her with the fire stick.
This is Kezia and Alyssa with Mini Potam
FUN!
Friday, October 14, 2005
Hey Everyone,
I'm tryin to make my 21st invites, so my dad has emailed me all these photos reminding me just how cute I was! Thought not many had seen this side of me so will post them for you. Let me know if theres one in particular you think should be on my invite : )
I always have been one for washing I spose...
The Builder
The Runner!!?!??!
Funny though - I was number 5 all the way back then even!
Biker with a mullet! YUS! Mel are you so proud of me??
YAY for Pottys!
This is me stealing strawberries from Dad's garden
Man I'm Hot!!!
Afternoon Nap Time at the Beach
Thats all for now folks. Hope you enjoy : )
I'm tryin to make my 21st invites, so my dad has emailed me all these photos reminding me just how cute I was! Thought not many had seen this side of me so will post them for you. Let me know if theres one in particular you think should be on my invite : )
I always have been one for washing I spose...
The Builder
The Runner!!?!??!
Funny though - I was number 5 all the way back then even!
Biker with a mullet! YUS! Mel are you so proud of me??
YAY for Pottys!
This is me stealing strawberries from Dad's garden
Man I'm Hot!!!
Afternoon Nap Time at the Beach
Thats all for now folks. Hope you enjoy : )
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
A note from Meike
Hey guys, this is a wee note my room mate Meike wrote for me to help me get started on my blog. See I got a blog a REALLY long time before I put anything on it, so she wrote this for me and I just found it. So you can get an inside scoop on what its like to be my room mate : )
hope you're so rad!
Hello Folks
This is Meike, Amy’s room mate. I got her into this blog thing, but I think she needs to get a hand in keeping it up.
So here’s some news for ya!
We’ve been doing a lot of practice and Amy has even gone for the extra workouts (that are optional) most of the time. Then somewhere randomly on a day either one will pass out in the middle of studying and have the other one wake her up to go to class…
She’s been doing her job, sitting behind a desk and waiting for people to come and swim. She talks to them, receives and returns cards, and supposedly has really interesting conversations and is getting to know some of these people rather well. So well even that TWO! of them asked her out the other day! How sweet is that! So Amy is supposed to go dance somewhere in the near future.. I’l have to keep an eye on her!
So.. she’s busy, and in between activities she tries to make some time to spend with God. Or maybe it’s the other way around, she spends time with God and plans everything else around that! She’s managing very well though! LOL
This weekend there is a retreat and they are going up into the mountains with a whole lot of other Christians. She’s really looking forward to it and I think it’ll be good to get out of here for a bit. I met some of the girls that are going and I reckon it’s going to be a great weekend.
She has taking up giving bible study get-togethers (I don’t know if she used to do that before, at home) but she keeps them in our room and I am rather fascinated. It teaches me a lot and it’s nice to have everyone around. She goes to Cru, I don’t know if that is something common, but it seems like a mass to me. I’ll be going with her to see what it is like sometime soon.
At the end of the day before we turn out the lights we usually have a little quiet time because we both keep a diary and sometimes we end up discussing things just then. Or we just pass out due to lack of sleep.
She has seemingly mastered the art of riding on a moped.. it took a while to get over her fear and the speed limit ;) but she can now be found racing across Dole Street (where we live) and around the pool! Go Amy! Once I get my bicycle I’ll catch up with you!
What else.. well I think this should have helped he on her way, and I probably missed out on a lot of things so she will be motivated to correct me! Let’s have it Amy!!!
hope you're so rad!
Hello Folks
This is Meike, Amy’s room mate. I got her into this blog thing, but I think she needs to get a hand in keeping it up.
So here’s some news for ya!
We’ve been doing a lot of practice and Amy has even gone for the extra workouts (that are optional) most of the time. Then somewhere randomly on a day either one will pass out in the middle of studying and have the other one wake her up to go to class…
She’s been doing her job, sitting behind a desk and waiting for people to come and swim. She talks to them, receives and returns cards, and supposedly has really interesting conversations and is getting to know some of these people rather well. So well even that TWO! of them asked her out the other day! How sweet is that! So Amy is supposed to go dance somewhere in the near future.. I’l have to keep an eye on her!
So.. she’s busy, and in between activities she tries to make some time to spend with God. Or maybe it’s the other way around, she spends time with God and plans everything else around that! She’s managing very well though! LOL
This weekend there is a retreat and they are going up into the mountains with a whole lot of other Christians. She’s really looking forward to it and I think it’ll be good to get out of here for a bit. I met some of the girls that are going and I reckon it’s going to be a great weekend.
She has taking up giving bible study get-togethers (I don’t know if she used to do that before, at home) but she keeps them in our room and I am rather fascinated. It teaches me a lot and it’s nice to have everyone around. She goes to Cru, I don’t know if that is something common, but it seems like a mass to me. I’ll be going with her to see what it is like sometime soon.
At the end of the day before we turn out the lights we usually have a little quiet time because we both keep a diary and sometimes we end up discussing things just then. Or we just pass out due to lack of sleep.
She has seemingly mastered the art of riding on a moped.. it took a while to get over her fear and the speed limit ;) but she can now be found racing across Dole Street (where we live) and around the pool! Go Amy! Once I get my bicycle I’ll catch up with you!
What else.. well I think this should have helped he on her way, and I probably missed out on a lot of things so she will be motivated to correct me! Let’s have it Amy!!!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Thanks
Hey guys,
So its time for my weekly blog and I was sitting there feeling really boring but wanting to post something, and then I remembered a conversation I recently had with a girl who moved to the states when she was like 12 from Russia and is taking Arabic at uni and stuff, and I asked her what thank you is in those languages, and wrote them down on my thank you page in one of my books, and she was like why do you have all these thank yous? and I was like, well, I just really like the word, and even though it always means the samet thing, it means different things too in different languages when you think about the language and culture and stuff (even though most of the time I dont know what they are myself). haha, that was the first full stop in a while sorry guys! ok so back on track.
And then just now I was thinking, why am I so fascinated by the word thank you? and I came to the conclusion that even though I probably only very rarely express it, I'm really thankful. Quite simple really! Thankful for my friends, every one, seriously people, you have no idea how much you bless me and how much I appreciate you, even if I haven't spoken to you for like a year. You're amazing and I'm so glad to know you. And I'm so thankful for my family, you're actually incredible like you have no idea. And I'm thankful to come from New Zealand, and I'm thankful to be here in Hawaii, and I'm thankful to play water polo, and I'm thankful that even though experts say so many bad things are going to happen in this world (like global warming and extinction of animals and peoples, and the sun blowing up in 50mill yrs time), that I'm here now, and I get to experience them while we still can. I'm thankful that I get to travel so much. I'm thankful that I can see how beautiful people are. I'm thankful that even though sometimes it takes ages and ages, that I can forgive people. I'm thankful I have a camera and all those material things that so many people actually dont have. And I'm thankful that I'm thankful, because thats really hard for some people. I'm thankful that I know God.
So here are the thank you's I have learnt - I learnt the Czech thank you a couple of weeks ago but I lost it.
Thank you (English), Merci (French), Danke (German), Gracias (Spanish), Közönöm (Hungarian), Kia Ora (Maori), Mahalo (Hawaiian), Obligado (Portuguese), Grazie (Italian), Ta (Kiwi/Aussie), Dankje (?), Trimagassi (Indonesian), Arigato (Japanese), Tanks (Pidgin Hawaiian), Tak (Danish, Norweigan and Swedish), Beidanke (Dutch), Hvala (Croatian, Serbian), Sposibo (Russian), Shrukran (Arabic), Faafetai (Samoan), Dankie (Afrikans), Malo (Tongan), Asante (Swahili), Noa'ia (Rotuman)
and thats my list for now. if you have any more, you totally have to let me know.
k everyone, love you lots, have an awesome week.
much love
A xxox
So its time for my weekly blog and I was sitting there feeling really boring but wanting to post something, and then I remembered a conversation I recently had with a girl who moved to the states when she was like 12 from Russia and is taking Arabic at uni and stuff, and I asked her what thank you is in those languages, and wrote them down on my thank you page in one of my books, and she was like why do you have all these thank yous? and I was like, well, I just really like the word, and even though it always means the samet thing, it means different things too in different languages when you think about the language and culture and stuff (even though most of the time I dont know what they are myself). haha, that was the first full stop in a while sorry guys! ok so back on track.
And then just now I was thinking, why am I so fascinated by the word thank you? and I came to the conclusion that even though I probably only very rarely express it, I'm really thankful. Quite simple really! Thankful for my friends, every one, seriously people, you have no idea how much you bless me and how much I appreciate you, even if I haven't spoken to you for like a year. You're amazing and I'm so glad to know you. And I'm so thankful for my family, you're actually incredible like you have no idea. And I'm thankful to come from New Zealand, and I'm thankful to be here in Hawaii, and I'm thankful to play water polo, and I'm thankful that even though experts say so many bad things are going to happen in this world (like global warming and extinction of animals and peoples, and the sun blowing up in 50mill yrs time), that I'm here now, and I get to experience them while we still can. I'm thankful that I get to travel so much. I'm thankful that I can see how beautiful people are. I'm thankful that even though sometimes it takes ages and ages, that I can forgive people. I'm thankful I have a camera and all those material things that so many people actually dont have. And I'm thankful that I'm thankful, because thats really hard for some people. I'm thankful that I know God.
So here are the thank you's I have learnt - I learnt the Czech thank you a couple of weeks ago but I lost it.
Thank you (English), Merci (French), Danke (German), Gracias (Spanish), Közönöm (Hungarian), Kia Ora (Maori), Mahalo (Hawaiian), Obligado (Portuguese), Grazie (Italian), Ta (Kiwi/Aussie), Dankje (?), Trimagassi (Indonesian), Arigato (Japanese), Tanks (Pidgin Hawaiian), Tak (Danish, Norweigan and Swedish), Beidanke (Dutch), Hvala (Croatian, Serbian), Sposibo (Russian), Shrukran (Arabic), Faafetai (Samoan), Dankie (Afrikans), Malo (Tongan), Asante (Swahili), Noa'ia (Rotuman)
and thats my list for now. if you have any more, you totally have to let me know.
k everyone, love you lots, have an awesome week.
much love
A xxox
Saturday, October 01, 2005
the Weather Rocks my World
OK so its 8.30 on Saturday night, I was just driving back from the bookstore (yes, I am a fully fledged geek) on my moped and there was all this heaps and heaps of lightning. But I didn't hear any thunder. But it was really awesome. Meike is on her bicycle behind me, so I hope he didn't get struck on her way home! But it was seriously so cool! And the sky doesn't look that cloudy either. It's so awesome. We just don't get it that much at home. Ok so I am sure there is way more exciting stuff to see on a Saturday night but I just think it was really cool and wanted to tell everyone. It like, streaked across the sky like a spot light, but not. Agh, can't explain it. Too cool for me. but it's so cool ok? do you believe me? good. Meike just got home so she's ok you can stop worrying about her. But its really cool. : )
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