Overseas Birthday

Trip Start Jun 01, 2011

Trip End Jun 01, 2012

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Flag of New Zealand Pukehina Beach, Auckland, New Zealand
Saturday, July 2, 2011

My original plan for my birthday was to just have a relaxing night in, seeing as how I'd only been in the country about a week and didn't really know anyone. However, on second thought, that really wasn't my style. So I emailed some of the other au pairs in the area and invited them out for my birthday night :).

Two other girls and I ended up going out. One of the girls lived in the city so she met us there, and the other girl lived out by me so we drove up together. I volunteered to drive, which could have ended badly seeing as it was my second or third time out on the road and it was dark and rainy; but luckily, I'm still here, ha. *side note about driving* they drive on the left side of the road, there are a ton of roundabouts and different "give way" rules (person on right always has right of way), and speed limits are higher than they would be in the states- I'm still getting used to it

Birthday bar #1

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Anyways, it was a Wednesday night so the bars weren't really hopping (for my Columbus readers, lets put it this way, it was no Cantina lol). The first bar we went to was called Crowne and Badger, had a country theme with a live band, and most of the patrons were 50+. Nonetheless, it was a good time and I met some people at the bar who suggested some cool places to check out while I'm here. And I had my first NZ beer, called a Steinlager or something like that.

The next bar was called Za and it was a little pizza bar that also had a live band playing. I was pretty pleased with all the live entertainment going on :). A dance class must have all gone out together because out of nowhere they swarmed onto the dance floor and started doing this partner dance that I couldn't put my finger on (it was like a mix of tango, salsa, and disco). I looked it up online later and it was a modern social dance called Ceroc. It was awesome, and I'd love to take some classes while I'm here. One of the guys from the class came up to our table and asked if we wanted to dance, and we all ended up dancing with him at some point. It was pretty cool! In case anyone was worried (Mom and Dad), I only had one beer so I was fine to drive home :). That night and the next day I loved reading my birthday emails and messages on facebook. So thanks to anyone who wrote me a message, it made my day!

This Friday I went to a town about 45 minutes away called Rotorua. Its famous for its natural geo-thermal pools (basically like natural hottubs in the ground) and geysers. I walked around the city and toured the museum there. Maybe next time I go, I will try the hot pools!

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