Calling Napier home

In comparison to our previous weeks traveling, it has been a relatively low-key last couple of weeks since I last wrote. Sonja & I have been living in Napier at a hostel & working at the restaurant next door. We were lucky enough to meet a great group from France that has also been staying at our hostel--Gregoire (Greg), Paul Auguste (Paulo), Cedric & Marion. So, for the past two weeks, we have been spending almost all of our time with them when we're not at work. Although they already knew quite a bit of English when we met them, we were also able to teach them some more while they were here. Sadly, Greg & Paulo left yesterday morning to head up north for vineyard work. Today was our first day without our Frenchmen & it was quite depressing. I'll be seeing them again in a few weeks though. Marion is still here to keep us company though, so that's good. She is in our hostel room, along with Kayla from Singapore and Nana from Japan. They are all sooo wonderful & sweet. Nana has been learning English by reptitively listening to & watching Lilo and Stich on her computer..absolutely adorable. However, Nana & Kayla are both leaving tomorrow for Wellington. So, once again, after getting so used to having the same people around all the time, we have to say goodbye. It will be really hard tomorrow when both they & the Frenchmen aren't here.

On a lighter note, we have had some good times with our work crew and the French group over the last couple of weeks. With the guys, we went to a spot called Bluff Hill Lookout where we walked up quite a hill and got a really great view of Napier from the top. On our way to the bluff, we came across this waterfall that was just around the corner from the hostel in the middle of some beautiful botanical gardens. I climbed up one smaller part of the mountain with the guys to get a closer look at the waterfall. It was gorgeous =) Then, I opted to go back down, while the guys decided to continue their way up the mountainside. Sonja & I just watched from below while they literally looked like monkeys climbing along the huge grass mountain--quite amusing/nerveracking to watch them. Another day, I went to the spa down the road with the guys & we swam in the nice heated pools and relaxed in the jacuzzis overlooking the beach.

In the evenings, we've primarily just been staying at the hostel, playing pool, watching movies, playing games, and just chilling out, laughing and having a good time. Oh, and we experienced our first time getting hit with water balloons one evening when Sonja, Greg, Paulo and I were walking back from the grocery store haha. I could NOT believe it! The local Kiwi or Maori kids apparently have to find things to entertain themselves with since Napier is pretty dull in the evenings otherwise. One night last week, our Frenchmen cooked us a nice meal with some wine & dessert. Mmm..so good! Sonja & I decorated a going-away cake for the guys a couple of days ago with a little French flag and a message saying "Bon Voyage."

The night life around Napier is..well..pretty much nonexistent. Sonja & I tried to take one of our previous roommates out for her last night in town. It was a Friday night around 10:30 pm, we got all dressed up, did our makeup, and walked out to the center of town to find that we were LITERALLY the only people on the streets. It was crazzzy....felt like we were in I Am Legend or something. But, we have now learned that Saturday is the only night that people go out. So, a large group from the hostel went out this past Saturday for the guys' last night in town. Let's just say it was an evening to remember! I had a 7:00 am breakfast shift at work the following morning, which I went to on absolutely no sleep whatsoever haha.

Work has been really good. Whitney, the main girl who trained us, left last week to go traveling
 down south. So, about 8 or 9 of us from work went out one night before she left to the only place in town that ever has anyone there, a pub called The Rose. It was quite fun--the pub actually has a small gambling room attached to it with a decent number of slot machines. The next night, Carl from work and his fiance Megan picked Sonja & I up from the hostel, and we all rode together to Whitneys' house for a going away party for her. The house was literally right next door to Napier's historical prison, so that was pretty interesting. It was such a fun evening with a crew from work that we absolutely adore.

Well, now that I know that the free wi-fi at McDonalds works nowadays, I will try to write more often.

Cheers,
Ash