I am thrilled to announce that last night at Father Ted’s trivia, Hannah and I came in 3rd place!!!! That’s much better than second-to-last and it a heck of a lot better than DFL!!! I thought it was pretty easy this week, but it was also helpful that our knowledgeable Mexican friend was there playing pool for a bit and kept popping over to give us answers he knew. Regardless, it’s pretty impressive just the two of us were able to snag 3rd place. We got a massive 40 points (we usually get about 22, lol) and here is just some of the stuff we knew:
- What TV shows takes place in the hospital Sacred Heart? (becca
) - Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her role in which 2010 movie?
- What is the family’s last name in the Home Alone movies?
- In golf, what is it called when you score 2 under par?
- Who originally sang the song “Hotel California” (this was the luckiest guess of my life)
- In which decade was the electric hairdryer first seen? 20s, 40s, or 60s?
- Who did a 2003 cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi?”
- Who’s song “I’m Yours” is rapidly becoming one of the best-selling song on iTunes?
- In what year did Green Day’s album “American Idiot” release?
- What is a traditional song played by trumpet or brass instruments?
- In what century was Abraham Lincoln born?
- Who was the lead singer of No Doubt?
But the big picture round really put us to the over the top. We were able to identify teenaged pictures of:
- Julia Roberts
- Kathy Bates
- Jamie Foxx
- Anne Hathaway
- Taylor Swift
- Jessica Alba
- Queen Latifa
- Bradley Cooper
- Ashton Kutcher
- Patrick Dempsey
- Jennifer Garner
and we also guessed the common link between them all.
We squealed with pleasure after each one of our correct answers was called and we felt SHOCKED to get third place. We are essentially Bronze Medalists of Pub Quiz now! Not only did we come in third, but we were served my favorite complimentary snack to share between the two of us:
POTATO WEDGES!!! They were great brain fuel; I can probably attribute 75% of my victory to these bad boys. The red wine helped to. And I do owe the Mexican some credit.
My super fun night was followed by an uuber busy day. All before 11:30, I made flashcards for my Maori final, cooked a pot of chili, and wrote 4 heart-felt thank you notes in preparation for my last day of school tomorrow. Whew!
At noon I was rewarded with a yoga class! I went to a Beginner’s Ashtanga class at Auckland Yoga Academy and used up the last class on my 10-pass card. 
It was with my favorite teacher, who isn’t very warm and fuzzy, but she gives the BEST adjustments ever. Seriously, they are heavenly. I can’t believe that it was my last class in NZ. That means, the next class I go to will not only be in Doylestown, but it will be on June 26th!!!! That time’s gonna fly.
I had class for the rest of the afternoon, which was really quite fun. We had a lecture on Maori education by an ex-Maori Primary school teacher (who also reminded me a lot of my Nanny), so obviously I was wrapped with attention. It really sounded just like education in the US in those times (what with corporal punishment and such) except they rode horses to school and being forced to assimilate to European, or Pakeha, culture. It’s amazing how resiliently they held onto their culture and customs. Auckland positively shines with Maori culture, and I’m really gonna miss it.
After our lecture, we were given a mock final exam to study from (can you guess what I’ve been doing all evening????) and then we had an international potluck kai. (“Kai” basically means a celebratory meal.) Everyone (most of us are international students) brought in a dish that is traditional to our home culture. I made chili (which came out spicier than I’d planned) and Hannah made brownies. Check out my plate, Round 1, without touching anything “American!”
The most delicious potato salad, fruity pasta salad, spinach quiche, feijoa muffins, clam cakes, fried dough, jam flatbread, dressed mussels, Dutch breakfast loaf, some kind of meat with a German name, and some kind of tasty-cake-like Korean cookie. I ate waaaaay too much, but when else am I going to have access to all of this home-cooked, authentic, international food at once?
In addition, everyone has to prepare a song from their home culture. Hannah and I performed “The 5 Little Pumpkins.” We explained about Halloween at this season back in the states, and how we are teachers and often sing this song to our class. We got lots of smiles, which is all I care about.
The Maori students performed a wonderful Maori song. It’s so cool how nonchalantly they pulled out a guitar and sang in perfect harmony, with so much soul. They were raised that way, and it’s a beautiful thang. Another notable performance was by two New Zealanders who sang the NZ national anthem (which is SO PRETTY) first in Maori, then in English, and doing the NZ Sign Language signs both times, too. Too cool. Other Americans did “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies” and “I’m Gonna Let it Shine.” The Germans did their national anthem–very bashfully, I might add! Another New Zealand guy said he didn’t have anything prepared, but he is in a reggae band and he gave us his CD. Sweeeet, bra!! There is lots of reggae in NZ (with all the surfer dudes, you know), so I’m excited to have some authentic jams in my iTunes!
Then, my professor sang for us and I cried. The traditional Maori music is so beautiful, and it really hit me how much I have grown to love the Maori culture. I have been sung to in Maori countless times, and that was probably the last time I’ll get a personal performance. Good thing I’ve learned a few songs to take back 
At the end of class, they put out tupperware so that we could each fill one up with whatever leftovers we wanted and take it home!
But for now, back to studying…
Know any of the trivia answers?
Namaste.
TRIVIA ANSWERS:
- Scrubs
- Black Swan
- McCallister
- Eagle
- The Eagles
- 20s
- Counting Crows
- Jason Mraz
- 2004
- Fanfare
- 19th
- Gwen Stefani
- Celebrity link: roles in the 2010 movie “Valentine’s Day”
