Week 21! Wow! This semester has been flying by! That means only three weeks till Easter break. We’ve begin making plans, applying for camps and booking flights. Highlights from this past week were the guy/girl weekend, an awesome game of ‘body body’, a long, wet, beautiful walk in the rain, French lessons, and lots of warm fires.
For the guy/girl weekend, us girls headed out to a camp just outside of Christchurch in a bay similar to Akaraoa. Debbie Bryson from San Diego was our speaker with lectures on ‘Moments with the Master.’ We enjoyed some encouraging and challenging lectures, ate some delicious food, swam in the pool, and went for some beautiful hikes. Our cabin was at the top of a really steep hill so it was really nice to be able to get some exercise climbing the hill several times a day. We also took the opportunity to make a day trip to Christchurch for some shopping since prices are way better there than here in Geraldine.
Apparently, every single one of the guys plans for the weekend fell through. They had been hoping to go possum hunting and boating, but both cancelled at the last minute.
When we got back on Sunday evening, we all played a few rounds of ‘body body’. Basically, all the lights get turned off (and we play relatively late at night) and one person is the murderer (we chose by picking cards from a deck). If you get touched on the head by the murderer, you have to simply drop, limp, to the ground without making a noise. The murderer then has the option of dragging you to another location or hiding your body. The game continues until someone finds a body and yells “Body, body!” at which point the lights are turned on and everyone meets around the body. A vote is taken as to who the murderer is (after much debate and logic). The person chosen is eliminated. If the person chosen is the murderer, the game is over, otherwise, the game continues and the person chosen must sit out while the murderer is still on the loose. The game continues until the murderer (or murderers, depending on how many you choose to have) is eliminated or manages to kill everyone. We played until at least midnight.
On Wednesday morning, I got the opportunity to teach French to a bunch of 5 to 8 year old homeschooled kids from the area. We learned about farm animals and memorized John 10:11. I get to teach French to them twice more before Easter break.
On Thursday, the rain came, and with it came the cold. I enjoyed a wonderful long walk in the pouring rain (and discovered that my raincoat is not completely waterproof) followed by a nice warm mug of Milo (NZ’s almost equivalent to hot chocolate). It was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits.
The cold weather has continued and we have built several fires. The formal lounge has therefore once again become the favourite hang out place as we congregate around the fireplace to attempt o restore warmth to our fingers and toes. This has given me the opportunity to perfect my new favourite snack: apples over the fire. They are quite simple and quite delicious. You will need: one apple cut into 8ths, one warm fire, and a utensil with which to roast the apple. Peanut butter and graham crackers are an optional treat to accompany your roasted apples. Simply roast the apple wedges over red coals (you definitely want coals because if there are still large flames, your apple will taste like smoke) until the edges start to go slightly black. The end result is a wonderful treat that tastes like apple pie without the crust! You may also want to try it with a graham cracker topped with crunchy peanut butter or even dipped in cinnamon.
On Thursday, we had been warned by the electrical company that they would be turning off the power from 9am to 4pm, so in the morning, we filled countless jugs and buckets of water and set the table with paper plates and plastic forks.
On Saturday, we got together with the Geraldine youth group for a game of soccer, which my team won! (Although I was off the field for the last minutes of the game.)
Although I had meant to blog and work on my Bible study on Sunday afternoon, I fell asleep after lunch and slept till supper. And yet I still managed to fall asleep at a reasonable hour and slept in this morning! On Sunday evening, Amber, Cam, Adam, Hanna, and I drove into Timaru for Isabelle’s ballet recital. They kids were quite good and the younger ones were really cute! They were almost synchronized.
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ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that you ate teaching a little French. I am sure that you are enjoying it and that you are a good teacher
I also just wanted to remind you (just in case you did not know) that if you try calling home at some point our time has rolled ahead by one hour so you have to keep that in mind when figuring out the time change.
Take care and keep having fun
That sounds like a super game!!! I really feel like playing it now. Have you ever played Lockout? It's kind of like your game. Almost everyone gets locked outside, but 1 person hides inside, preferably with a chocolate bar to share with the people who find them. 2 other people wander around inside; 1 person unlocking doors to let those outside in, a few at a time; and 1 person throwing people out. Of course you play this game at night in the dark. It's most fun for those on the outside, trying to get in, and then creeping about in the dark looking for the person with the chocolate bar, trying not to be seen and thrown out. But some people like throwing people out best, some people like opening the door... and some people like to be lazy and lie under a bed with a chocolate bar. :) Just be careful for doors... they can get broken pretty easily. ;)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I got your postcard today! :D Only I knew most of what's in it. Time to write back! TTFN