Sledging, Porridge, Caving, and Indie Music

It's been a bit, but good news; I'm not paying for internet right now! We found a library, which is something I will have to do more often. I guess, I'll continue on from where I left off. When we were in Rotorua, we stayed in this awesome hostel called the "Funky Green Backpackers". The owners were awesome. As you could gather from the name, they were all about being kind to our earth, they recycled everything and had compost. Well... our good friend Bretton loves to debate, and they kind-of got into it for a while about politics, the earth, their ancestors... anyways, it all worked out good, it was quite amusing to listen to. I mean honestly, it was getting down to, how did your ancestors get to Canada? Well, mine went by boat and then walked to their town, not much gas involved hey? It was fun. We met a lot of cool people at that hostel too, many Germans, one cocky American, and a Finnish guy. We went sledging in Rotorua, which basically consists of having a large plastic flutter board thing and flippers and a wetsuit, and jumping into a river. It was a lot of fun, but only at the end. Most of the time, we were being shouted at about which way to turn ("When I look at you and say 'come to me', come to me! You have to open your eyes girlie"). Yeah, it was fun, but kind of scary at the same time. Then we walked around Rotorua for a bit, played frisbee, went to gift shops, and then made supper. We had lamburgers, which, by the way, were kind of terrible. But, now I can say I've tried lamb. The next day, we were leaving for Raglan. The Finnish guy we met, Olli, had his birthday the next day. We felt bad that we wouldn't be there, so we made him a peanut butter bagel and egg, and stuck a candle in it. I felt bad though, it was the first time he ever had peanut butter, and he didn't like it! Oh well. So, the next morning, I was so excited about having oatmeal to eat. So I was making it on the stove. There was a bowl of sugar by the stove, so I added a bit to my porridge and my tea. I put apples and cinnamon in the porridge, it was going to be awesome. Then I sat down to eat it. Well... it sure had a distinct taste. You know that bowl of sugar? Well... it was salt! Yeah, it was pretty gross. I had to remake my whole breakfast. Then we went and took our surfing lessons. I was really nervous, but it turned out really good. We didnt' go too deep and we all got up a couple of times. It was so much fun! Where am I going to use my new found skill in Canada now? That night, our hostel owner offered to drive us to Bridal Veil Falls (higher than Niagra Falls). It was so nice of her, and they were beautiful. The next day, I decided to go to church. I got up, ate, tried to look nice, and left to walk to church. I started out on the beach, but that was taking too long, so I cut through the trees. By cut, I mean cut my leg on a tree. Ouch, that hurt, but I still had to go to church. The first church I tried was locked, so I left to go to the other one. I thought I was going to be soooooo late! It was 9:50 and this church started a 9:30. I walked in and everything was okay. Apparently, it was actually 9:20. All of our watches were on the wrong time! Anyways, after church, this lady invited me to her house. So we drove out and ate, and talked. She was a really nice lady, but she started going on about some conspiracy theories. I just shut my mouth and ate. Then, when she saw the cut on my leg she said, "Oh dear, you have to clean that." So, she got some (I thought) medical cleaner in a bowl and gave it to me with a cloth. I cleaned my leg, but it really really burned. After, when I looked on the counter, I realized she gave me house disinfectant for my leg! I don't know if that is totally right, but whatever. After lunch, she drove me to the beach and we watched paragliders for a bit, then she drove me back to the hostel. That was really nice of her. The next day, we caught a 6:50 bus to Waitomo. We got there at about 10:00 and our caving trip started at 1:00. Bretton and I played a card game called gin that the American taught us. We have an ongoing total. I think I'm winning right now at 1200 points. Yeah, we've played it a lot. For the caving trip, called the "Black Abyss", we got to repell into a hole, go on a zip line, tube, look at glow worms, walk in the caves, walk in the water, climb up waterfalls, and have tea by a river. It was awesome. Just before I went down the zipline, a guide asked me, "How long have you had that nose ring?" "About six months." "Well, it's looking pretty pink right now." Then he pushed me down the zipline. What kind of guide says that to you, in a cave, in almost pitch black? It struck my as kind-of strange. But the caves were amazing. The next day, we headed for Otorohanga, and then New Plymouth. Today we biked all over New Plymouth, going on the coastal walkways and stuff. It was really nice. Then we checked out this awesome Indie Music Store. I wanted all the CD's, but they were $35 each, so I couldn't afford any of them. We made a chicken stir fry for supper, it was really good. Anyways, I'm out of time. Sorry for any spelling mistakes. Talk to you all soon!