Bronze Trivia Medalist & International Potluck Kai

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:

1. What TV shows takes place in the hospital Sacred Heart?  (becca )
2. Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her role in which 2010 movie?
3. What is the family’s last name in the Home Alone movies?
4. In golf, what is it called when you score 2 under par?
5. Who originally sang the song “Hotel California” (this was the luckiest guess of my life)
6. In which decade was the electric hairdryer first seen?  20s, 40s, or 60s?
7. Who did a 2003 cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi?”
8. Who’s song “I’m Yours” is rapidly becoming one of the best-selling song on iTunes?
9. In what year did Green Day’s album “American Idiot” release?
10. What is a traditional song played by trumpet or brass instruments?
11. In what century was Abraham Lincoln born?
12. 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:

1. Julia Roberts
2. Kathy Bates
3. Jamie Foxx
4. Anne Hathaway
5. Taylor Swift
6. Jessica Alba
7. Queen Latifa
8. Bradley Cooper
9. Ashton Kutcher
10. Patrick Dempsey
11. 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:

1. Scrubs
2. Black Swan
3. McCallister
4. Eagle
5. The Eagles
6. 20s
7. Counting Crows
8. Jason Mraz
9. 2004
10. Fanfare
11. 19th
12. Gwen Stefani
13. Celebrity link: roles in the 2010 movie “Valentine’s Day”

Third-Wheeling is Fun!

How could it not be with these cuties?

Alex + Hannah = L<3VE

After our massively festive dinner, we took Alex with us on our Tuesday night ritual:  Trivia at Father Ted’s!  Though Alex claimed himself a “Division-1 Partier,” over 24 hours of travel, including time travel, and little sleep left him pretty much half dead before the quiz even started.   Our little trio (named “The Sleep Heads” tonight) came in last place, again, but it was still a super fun night.  We laughed a lot, learned a lot, and eagerly split the complimentary bowl of spring rolls between the three of us.

The real highlight of the night was that Alex bought me my Guinness!  A real gentlemen knows that you can’t just buy a drink for your girlfriend, you’ve gotta get one for her girlfriend, too

Thanks so much, Alex!  Third-wheeling is FUN!

This morning after breakfast (coffee with soymilk, a mandarin, and a mini bowl of banana-cinnamon oats with p’nut butt-),

I made a very pathetic attempt at getting work done.  I did complete my final paper for my Reading course (woot woot!), but I am struggling with the other assignment I currently have on my plate. For the first time in a blissfully long time, I have to write a 1500 word essay on something other than education.  SHOCKER!!!!  For my Maori culture class, I need to write a research paper on the Treaty of Waitangi.  No me gusta.  Though I find the subject really interesting and I have loved the lectures on the topic, I am having a seriously hard time getting motivated to research.  It’s actually getting to be a pretty desperate situation.  It’s not due for two weeks, but I just wasted the entire morning not.accomplishing.a.thing.  uh-oh!

After a snack of vampire toast with 1/2 a banana,

I let myself go on a yoga break that I did not deserve.  The beginner Ashtanga class at Auckland Yoga Academy which I usually attend on Wednesdays was a bit different today.  I think there was some sort of teacher-training going on, because there was an extra instructor in the room giving assists.  The normal teacher didn’t explain anything, and the assistant (pun intended!) gave me quite a few adjustments.  In fact, she adjusted my downdog TWICE in a row!  ?  I’ve done hundreds of downdogs in my lifetime and this was the first time anyone adjusted me.  She wanted me to move my feet closer to my hands and farther apart from each other.  I love downdog assists (where they push you deeper into it), but I didn’t feel like it was a legitimate enough adjustment to make TWICE in a row.

Then in forward fold and two of my backbends, she told me that my feet weren’t correctly parallel, and she would barely adjust them, only about a millimeter.  ? again.  Of course I want to have the right alignment, but something about these assists irked me.  I think it’s because to me, she was some a random lady and I didn’t trust her to know what she was talking about.  Maybe I was easy to practice on or something, like I just needed minor adjustments?  I don’t know!

When I got home, I had to rush to get dressed and eat lunch to be on time for class.  I shoveled in a huge, healthy lunch:

On the plate there were carrot sticks, green pepper slices, wholemeal grain toast, an egg, Swiss chard, and pumpkin-kumara hummus.  It was a sandwich, it was a salad, it was a great meal!

After class (which was particularly boring and long today, may I add), I skipped my second class to meet Alex at Father Ted’s.  Guilty!  When else in my life am I going to be able to meet my bro for a happy hour (half) pint of Guinness, in New Zealand?  The answer is never, especially because I am a goody-two-shoes and it took enough courage for me to skip one class!

I was ravenous with hunger when I got there, so I also ordered potato wedges with sweet chili sauce and sour cream.  Hannah joined us soon after she left class so we shared them among the three of us.  The perfect snack!

For dinner, Alex wanted Chinese food, and Hannah found a superb Food Court devoted to Asian cuisine.

Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian – SO many options to choose from!  It was even two floors!

We made sure to check out each place before we settled.  The best part was that any meal would be less than nz$13.  Sweet!  We finally chose a Chinese place, The Clay Pot, since that’s what we had initially set out for.

Everyone’s meal was AWESOME.  We were all really happy. 

Especially ME!!!

For just nz$9, I got a JUMBO bowl of rice, vegetables, and tofu in a spicy sauce.  It was to so so so yummy.  I loved how spicy it was!

I couldn’t eat very much after the beer and fries, so naturally I brought the rest home.  I can’t wait for leftovers – I think I even have enough for two more meals!

Third-wheeling is SO much fun.

How do you feel about assists/adjustments in yoga?

Namaste.

Yoga Solutions!

Today has been a grrrrreat day!  We woke up to sunshine, so of course I woke up smiling.  But how could I not smile the morning after a night of fun at Father Ted’s?

I do have bad news about that, though.  We came in last place for trivia.  Humiliating.  Also, Hannah and I didn’t have anything prepared for Karaoke, so we just spectated.  But that turned out to be so much fun, we ended up staying a long while!  We really missed Father Ted’s while we were on break.  I love that the bartenders recognize us and the trivia dude always chats us up.  I feel so at home there!

Anyway, back to today.  I went to yoga and guess what, it was stupendous!  I guess Monday was just an off day.

I attended a beginner’s Ashtanga class at Auckland Yoga Academy.

Just 50 minutes long, it’s like an abridged version of full Primary Series, which is usually a breeze for me.

But today it totally kicked my butt!  Maybe that’s because I’m still getting into the swing of things, but whatever the reason it felt soooo good.  I love it when yoga makes me a sweaty yet confident mess, with breath like a refreshing life force as my muscles work until they shake.  It was awesome.

lol!  That’s a card I got today from Hannah’s mom today.  Isn’t it just perfect for me?  She sent Hannah a package, with a few things in it for me, too!

It was like Christmas Easter morning as we opened up the package!  I got that hilarious card with a lovely message, that cute puppy, a box of Rainsinet’s (my fave!), a fun wooden airplane kit, a square of Ghiradelli 60% Dark Chocolate (my OTHER fave!), and a gift card to Starbucks!  Lucky me!

Thank you so much, Mrs. Pace!  It was so thoughtful and generous    I love you and miss you!

Me & Mrs. P apple picking in VT, fall 2010

Getting the package made me yearn for home a bit, but I came across a quote today that I am trying to keep in mind:

Don’t count the days, make the days count.

With less than two months left in this amazing country, I really need to focus on that idea.

Lunch was last night’s leftovers:

We made roasted mushrooms, carrots, and broccoli with quinoa.  After dressing the chopped veggies in olive oil mixed with Italian herb paste and S&P, I roasted them in our microwave/oven for 25 minutes on 240*C (tossing them halfway through).  They came out still a bit crunchy so I probably could have left them in longer.  But I didn’t, and it was still fab!  Fresh, but with enough roasting to bring out those flava flaves.

What quote is getting you through lately?

Namaste.

Journey to Wellington

(Read about my entire trip around the South Island of New Zealand!)

Waste not! I’ve been working hard the past few days, trying to whittle down our food supply so that we didn’t waste anything over break.

For example, breakfast was an egg over-easy on a toasty pita smeared with hummus.

Perfectly runny!

Also, coffee was enjoyed while last-minute blogging. Never know when I’ll be able to again!

Plus a hard-boiled egg with S&P, cause it’s almost Easter <3

I threw together a stir-fry with most of the remnants of the fridge.

(Nearly) empty!

Froze what could be kept frozen: oat milk, pasta sauce, hummus, and chocolates!

And said a little prayer for our “pantry” stash.

After some frantic, last-minute packing (Hannah.) we hopped on the Airbus Express for our 2:30pm flight to Wellington! The bus ride took a lot longer than I thought, but since we left early enough, we got to the airport by 12:30. No. Problem. At. All. Check in was as easy as swiping the credit card I used. As in, that was exactly all i had to do! However, we were pissed because BOTH of our suitcases didn’t fit into the “maximum carry-on size” box, so we had to check our bags. This was also easy, but a big pain because 1) the woman at the luggage factory told me it would work as a carry on–that’s why I bought it, and 2) Hannah’s suitcase was so small–hence the stressful packing! But, we were quickly happy again because there was literally NO LINE at security. In fact, I told the security man that it was the easiest security experience of my life, and he joked, “in that case, I’d better look in your bag!” We were at the gate by 12:50pm.

To kill time, we admired the contents of the vending machine, celebrated the water bottle refill station, and gobbled our pre-packed fried rice (with stolen plastic forks–shhh!). Once on the plane, we were offered a complimentary drink and snack! Not bad for an hour flight. I got coffee (french pressed–oh yeah baby)

And given the choice, “biscuit or sweets?” I of course went for the biscuit because I have become the Cookie Monster’s Kiwi cousin, the Biscuit Banshee.

One of the most pleasant flights that I’ve been on! We did end up getting a sweet, anyway

There was also trivia playing on the TV screens! Which actress played the voice of Charlotte in the recent Charlotte’s Web?

Before we knew it, we were landing in Wellington. It was particularly terrifying exciting because the runway was right off the beach. It looked like we were going to land on the water! We picked up our luggage, then one pleasant bus ride later, we were officially in Wellington!

What’s the best flight you’ve ever been on?

Namaste.

Dreaming of Kitchen-Ware

Here are the answers to the trivia questions from last post:

• The celebrities pictured all had roles in Scream movies.
• Pinenuts are used to make pesto.
• Grease is the musical with “Pink Ladies” and “T-Birds”.
• The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia!
• Natalie Portman won Best Actress at the Oscar’s this year.

If you guessed them all right, then you are as smart as I am!  (Actually you are smarter because I did not make the Scream connection.)

I had a fantastic lunch today!  Leftover Energizing Salad with two falafel balls, spinach, and carrot sticks.  I picked up a trick from the blog Une Vie Saine and nuked my carrots in the microwave for a minute.  They got deliciously soft, warm, and sweet!

This lunch was SO filling and satisfying, which is good because I had a long afternoon of class ahead of me.

Class wasn’t too bad today.  After learning about Maori language during Maori Culture & Society, I had a one-hour break before learning about “planning with the end in mind” in my leadership class. It was a really interesting topic, and I’d like to share my thoughts on it after I write the accompanying assignment

After class on Wednesdays, I barely put my backpack down before starting on dinner.  Tonight was no different!

I sliced some sweet potatoes kumara and sauteed them with onion and shrimp, flavoring it all with curry powder.  I ate it with quinoa and some shredded coconut on top.  It was super tasty, but my crummy pan heats up too fast, so the potatoes and onions were crunchier than I would have liked.

*sighs, looks into distance, dreams of future sophisticated kitchen-ware*

All I want to do is hit the sack since I barely slept last night.  But I need to prep for student teaching tomorrow and try and stay awake until 11pm (7am EST) to register for classes next semester.    Course registration is always super stressful for me because I have such a rigid schedule.  In order to graduate in four years with my certification in both elementary and special education, with this semester abroad, I need to get into each class exactly where I have plotted them for the next two years.  There is no room for flexibility.  Anxiety and exhaustion are running high, but I’m trying to remain calm yet alert.

What’s your dream piece of kitchen ware?

Namaste.