Kiwi Flu and Pahi Beach

I apologize for my lack of posting. There honestly hasn't been a whole lot to report on this past week, as we've been spending the majority of our time here at the Bible college having class and completing assignments. We only have the rental vans on certain weekends, so unless we have either a day trip or weekend excursion planned, we can't get anywhere unless we use the bus system, which can get a little pricy (as can everything here in New Zealand!). Also, I've been battling the "Kiwi Flu," or so its called by the New Zealand natives, who refer to themselves as "kiwi's" after their national bird. It started out as a fever and sore throat and has morphed into a really bad cold. I'm constantly either coughing, sneezing, or blowing my nose. I've been told that this is normal, that everyone who travels to New Zealand comes down with this at some point, so I'm just trying to push my way through it. It has made getting a lot of homework done difficult, however, so I'll have to make up for lost time later. Everyone on the team has been very supportive, though, giving me cough drops and Tylenol cold medicine. I've been drinking lots of water and eating lots of organges to get that oh-so-important Vitamin C, so hopefully I'll kick this thing in a couple more days.

We picked up rental vans yesterday so that we'd have them for this weekend (more on that later), so last night after supper we took a trip out to Pahi Beach, which is known to be an excellent surfing beach, but also dangerous due to the waves and strong tide and rip current. The 30 minute ride there was adventure enough! We had to drive up these extremely narrow, winding, mountain roads and at points I was sure we were either going to go careening over a cliff or hit another car as it came flying around the corner. It was certainly a harrowing experience. However, the scenery we saw during the drive was absolutely beautiful, and the site that we beheld when we reached our destination made it all worth it.

We had fun taking pictures and wading out into the water. Feeling the pull of the tide coming in and out was amazing. I'd be standing out in the water taking a picture and then I'd feel the sand beneath my feet start to sink. Some of the team decided to go swimming. I figured that wouldn't be such a great idea since I was sick, so I limited myself to just wading in a bit. I really enjoyed getting out into the country side (this area was pretty isolated) and away from the city, and catching a glimpse of the beauty that New Zealand is so well known for. God totally captured my heart as I saw such a clear picture of His majesty displayed in His creation, and as I watched the sunset, it made the discouragement of being sick these past few days momentarily fade away.

After we made our way back down the mountain, which was even scarier in the dark, we stopped at McDonald's before heading back to the Bible College. I'm generally not the greatest fan of McDonald's. However, New Zealand has some pretty classy McDonald's (even though you don't have to wear shoes when you go in, although that is typical of most places we've been so far in New Zealand). I'd been craving french fries, so I got that taken care of, and when we returned to the Bibe College I fell asleep with a happy tummy inside my freshly washed and sun-dried sheets feeling a great deal of contentment.

Now, for our up-coming weekend adventure. The plan is to leave after lunch today and head to Ragland, which is a beach town about 2 1/2 hours away. We're going to stay at a campground whose cabins are designed to look like train cars...kind of cool. We'll spend time at the beach and shopping, and then on Saturday we'll go to Hamilton for the Parachute Music Festival. It's a huge music festival that happens anually here, and I guess it's a pretty big deal. I don't recognize many of the bands other than Switchfoot, which we'll get to see play on Saturday, so maybe this will be a chance to broaden my horizons as far as musical taste is concerned. Hillsong United is going to be there on Sunday, but, alas, we're only going to be at the festival on Saturday :-( I'm hoping to still get a chance to see them at some point while we're here, though. We'll stay at the campground again on Saturday night, have a slow Sunday mornining, and head back here to the Bible college early afternoon. So, when I get back, I'll let you know how it went! Time to pack now!