Homeward Bound.

Hey everyone,
It's hard to believe that the time has gone by so quickly! We will be returning in eleven days and though I'm excited to come home and see everyone and start working again, I have to say that I'm really sad to leave, it feels as if I am a part of this country and this is my home. Australia and New Zealand have been my home for the past nine weeks and it's so different from the States that I think when I first get home, it will feel foreign and strange. I found a one dollar bill (U.S.) in my suitcase this morning and just sat there and stared at it for a few minutes, because our money looks so different. New Zealand and Australian money is bright and colorful and America's is so...green. haha.
Rain will be good to see again though.

Anyway, Monday and Tuesday we had classes all day. My movie group's presentation went really well! Our whole group was relaxed and we really had fun with the whole thing, and had the whole group laughing. Jordan's birthday was on Tuesday, so we hiked up Mt. Albert and watched the sunset and had a little party up there. Wednesday morning we had to catch a ferry to Tiritiri Matangi, which is an open bird sanctuary. We split up into groups, (Ella, Maddy and I were all in different groups) and followed our guide around the island, taking in the beautiful scenery and the chatty birds. We saw a variety of birds including: the Stitchbird, Red-crowned Parakeet, Bellbird (I wrote my biology paper on this one), Tui, Saddlebacks and a whole bunch more. It was hard for my camera to capture the birds, so I don't have a lot of pictures that aren't anything but blurry blobs, but I think Ella has some, so I will have to get some from her later. But apparently Hobbs beach on Tiritiri is almost exactly like Fiji, where the sand stretches out forever and you can walk 100 feet out and the water is still only up to your knees. Maddy and some of the other girls saw a stingray while swimming in the area but I unfortunately, was not lucky enough to see it. This morning in Maori culture class we got to participate in the same ceremony that we first viewed when we arrived here. But this time we got to stand on the Maori side and welcome the newcomers, we even performed our Haka (war dance) for them. This is a huge honor and we are the first Greenriver group that has been asked to perform with the Maori for this ceremony. It was a lot of fun and then we shared the breath of life with the newcomers, like the Maori had done for us not so long ago.
It was really amazing.

Climbing on top of Mt. Albert. The guys easily pulled themselves up onto the top of this structure but the girls couldn't do it at first. So I tried and pulled myself up rather quickly and then the other girls followed suit. Have to say I was a little proud that I did it first :)

Sunset on top of Mt. Albert.

Hello Moon :)

Me, Lindsay and Jordan before the sunset on Mt. Albert. Happy 22nd Birthday to Jordan!

Looking out from Tiritiri Matangi.

From the ferry looking at Tiritiri.

Tiritiri - Hobbs Beach.

Tiny little Bellbird on Tiritiri at a feeder. They're nectar eaters like hummingbirds.

Sitichbird and Bellbird feeder.

At the summit of Tiritiri.

Looks very tropical, right?

Tui feeder. 

Lighthouse at the top of the island.

Ella and I on Hobbs beach.

Takahe - Huge bird, there are only about 250 left. 

Looking out from Hobbs beach. 

Tonight we have a goodbye barbecue at some friends of Bruce's house and tomorrow we're going to a rugby game. Saturday morning, Hannah, Ella and I are leaving for Queenstown for a few days and then will be back in Auckland on the 5th. We're hoping to catch up with Ryan while we're here, he promised to show us the night life downtown as well as do a few other day trips that we still want to do.
I'm not sure if I'll get to post anymore before that but I'll try to when we arrive back in Auckland.
I love you all and I'm excited to be able to hug you again!