Waikouaiti

On Sunday as part of the conference we went for a walk to the first settlement in Otago. It was a pleasant walk and had beautiful views! It's no wonder folks decided to settle there.

There were lovely woods to walk through.

And, of course, there was the sea!

And sheep! We never get enough sheep!

And here are the buildings. I don't know if the buildings themselves are real, but they might have been. They have been kept up pretty well so people can go in and see how big they were and what kind of furniture was in them. Sort of. Some rooms were empty. Rooms that were blocked off

Walks

We take a lot of walks around here. It is really entertaining to us to see all the varieties of plants because in Utah when you go on a walk you get to see about three plants- Aspens, scrub oaks and soemthing else. Not too thrilling.


But here! Wow! So many different types of plants! Have a look.

Laundry

After our weekend as chaperones for the YSA conference, we spent our Tuesday doing laundry and whatnot. People in New Zealand don't really use driers here because they cost so much to run. Mostly they just hang their clothes out on lines or hang them in their homes. It's not so bad as you might expect, but then again, it is not quite winter yet.

Yesterday we washed sheets and clothes and things, and then Eric hung them out. There are two lines at our complex- a set outside in the sun, and a set sort of inside, but really outside, sheltered from the rain. Eric chose to hang our clothes on the inside one because "The outside ones were occupied." When I looked out the window I saw LOTS of room, but Eric didn't know it is perfectly acceptable to share the lines with our neighbors. Anyway, by the time night came, our laundry wasn't completely dry.

The fitted sheet was dry enough to put on the bed, but the next sheet we hung in our living room, making a fort. And, most importantly, Eric's pajamas were not dry.

So I talked him into wearing my larger set. I pretty much laughed uncontrollably for the first five minutes that he wore them. Enjoy!

Bed and Breakfast

I know that I shared pictures of our flat before, but really. I don't think they do it justice. We have an amazing view! And whenever people come over, they always go back to it. Here we are in the middle of a conversation and, "Wow! That really is a terrific view!"

Honestly, sometimes I forget that I live here, and I'll think to myself how nice it was that Eric brought me to this lovely place to spend some time together. Honestly. That thought runs through my head. And then I remember that this is my flat! I live here!

Today's views were particularly lovely. They are always best when it is a sunny day. We can see very far into the distance, and there is such clarity. It is really breathtaking.

I had that feeling of being at a nice little bed and breakfast again today. I think it had to do with Eric bringing me breakfast in bed. He's charming, isn't he?

You should come visit us!*

*No strangers, please.

Status Updates

I really like Facebook. I think it is one of the best inventions of our time. I don't like MySpace. I think it is dirty, chaotic, and a cheap imitation of something that is really good.

I signed up for Facebook pretty early on- as soon as BYU was added to it- back before anyone could join. I liked feeling like I was in some sort of club. I liked finding my old high school friends, and I liked connecting with my BYU folks too. It is a really great way to keep up with oodles of people.

I like to see people's status updates, but I am a bit crazy about those. You see, I think you should only update your status if you are doing something really cool. Or really funny. Or really important. Status updates like "NAME is working." Make me want to vomit. I don't care that you are working. Now if you said, "NAME is in Tokyo." Well, that would be cool. I want to know that you are in Tokyo. I don't so much care that you are going to work. We all go to work. That is what we do.

Just to give you an idea- here are the 26 most recent status updates of my friends, followed by my commentary. Names have been changed.

A thinks it is all about time utilization!!!
B is well aware that love is in the air. Must be springtime.
C is ready to have a BABY--18 days and counting.
D tomorros is the day... :)
E is on level 18 of the numbrosia.com game with 810 points.
F is watching oreo and nickel fight! eek!
G can't wait til Camping in MOAB.
H wishes it were 2 days, 13 hours, 52 minutes already.
I finally has internet again.
J is need everyones phone numbers..her cell phone finally died :(.
K is over analyzing.. what am I a grownup or something?
L feels like a million bucks :)
M Arthur unplugged - 40 Day Fast http://tinyurl.com/3a6fpk
N likes watching Dr. House solve medical mysteries!
O is suffering from heartburn..... that mavs game was too intense for me.. i'm getting old
P is pretty sure EVERYONE in Irealand is named Seamus
Q is doing wedding plans.
R is playing the flute wide-eyed for Sarah D.
S wishes this week was over.
T is blue. Goodbye, Arthur C. Clarke.
U is finding Facebook to be boring.
V thinks that if your life is miserable you should change it.
W is studying on her lawn because she is locked out of her house and doesn't want to climb through the window...so if you're lookin to party...
X has started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Y is making ready for baby!!
Z is excited that I get to go on a date tonight with my husband!!

I guess so many things are just completely uninteresting to me because I don't get to see these people on a daily (or even annual, for that matter) basis, so I'm not really interested in their day-to-day lives. I'd like to know about cool trips, big changes (like marriage and babies), funny tidbits. But most stuff just doesn't interest me.

And grammar. ::sigh:: I just don't think there's anything to be done.

Except! When you type in the box, it says "Sherry ____________" and you are expected to fill in the rest. Obviously. Then it will show on all your friends whatever you've just typed. My #1 pet peeve is that what Z did above. People do it all the time. The sentence starts in third person and ends in first person. Drives. Me. Crazy. Z should have said, "Z is excited that she gets to go on a date tonight with her husband!!" A simple concept. Am I the only one who has noticed this?

Pubbing

After Eric's first day of classes, he went to the pub with his classmates. Of course, he did not order an alcoholic beverage. He just went to hang out with his classmates and get to know them better.

But he came home with reports from the pub. For instance, it cost him about $3 just to have a soda. $3!!!! And a beer? Like $6.

Since then I've started paying attention to prices for alcoholic beverages, and they are so expensive! The students at the University of Otago are known for being hard-core drinkers, and it just boggles my mind. How can they afford to consume such expensive drinks?

It also got me thinking about how much I'd be willing to spend to get totally wasted. It would depend, primarily, upon the state of my life. If it'd had been a really terrible week, I think I'd spend a little bit more to drown my sorrows.

I've come to the conclusion that I'd spend about $15 to get drunk on a week-to-week basis. If it were a bad week, I might be willing to spend $30-$45.

Honestly, I don't know how much it would take to get me drunk. But rest assured, if I couldn't do it in two beers, it would just not be worth it for me. And I'm not talking about a little buzz. I'd want to be totally hammered for my $15. Otherwise, totally not worth it, because really, folks, the smell of beer makes me want to vomit. I'm sure the taste can't be too magnificent.

Really, though. I just don't understand how students can blow so much money on something to drink, evenings they can't remember and killer hang-overs.