Why is There No Ice?!

I have not seen ONE ice cube since I've been here! It's so weird! J and I got tea (which is a variable word meaning some kind of food, dinner, lunch, breakfast, or the beverage) at this adorable tea shop down the road and she got a diet coke. They brought her a glass and a can. No ice! There isn't even ice here at the house or in the fridge at school. I think they like all of their beverages lukewarm or boiling hot. Most the time, the half hour tea time during the school, I can't even drink a cup of coffee because the water is so freakin' hot. I have no idea how the others just gulp it down. I've scorched my own mouth a few times to know better now.

My other complaint, is what in the hell is Indiana known for?! I get asked this all the time and I have NO idea what to answer! Corn? Bob Knight? What is a Hoosier? We are known for being hoosiers but a hoosier is a person from Indiana, not an actual thing. It's a conundrum. If I say Bob Knight they don't really know who that is because they don't pay attention to basketball, if I say corn it's not a big deal because they have corn all over the place here.. Sometimes I say we have all four seasons and that usually pacifies who ever has asked. Snow is once in every 5 year rarity so it's easy to impress people by mentioning the FEET or snow we get, not inches or just frost. Oh Indiana... lovely flat Indiana...Thank god we have Indiana University!

It's also weird how they don't take any pride in their flag. There is no such thing as flag loyalty. There's been a constant debate about whether to use the NZ flag or the use the Maori one. Some people use both but then there is still a divide. Others don't like the... uh.. I'm drawing a blank.. the crossed arms, or whatever you want to call the pattern on th NZ glad. They don't like what it means and want it changed. It's a mess. The only time you hear the National Anthem is at sporting events and even then they don't sing the whole thing. They sing a third or it and then sing the Maori anthem. J said there is NO way you would get a whole school to stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of a school day.

I ate Fish n' Chips on Friday with J and B. J brought them home in newspaper. The only thing around here are Fish n' Chip shops. Though, I have discovered a SUBWAY! but, I'm resisting to attempt to remain in the culture and not revert to the wonderful goodness of a 6 inch turkey sub (they don't have turkey here anyway). Back to the Fish n' Chips. I ate a coney dog type thing also. First of all, the sausage was HUGE. Second, the batter was really bumpy and didn't cover all areas of this massive sausage. Thirdly, the outside layer was pink on the sausage. I just didn't look at it so I could still eat it. The fish was alright. I'm not a huge fish fan but I doused it in ketchup (which is much more spicy here.. sort of like ketchup, barbecue sauce, and Arby's sauce all in one. pretty good though). J and B made me try a deep fried oyster. Oh boy, that did not go over well. I should not have bit through the middle of it! Big mistake. It was SO squishy and dark in the middle. I held it in my mouth for a little bit while my eyes started watering. I swallowed it without chewing and shuddered for I swear a full five minutes afterwords. Yuck! Won't be doing that again.

I'm going to the New Zealand ballet tomorrow. I'm excited. I've never seen a real live ballet. I really like ballet movies so I'm hoping I will be just as impressed with it live.

Olivia West- There are NO Jonas Brothers CD's here. I asked and the lady laughed at me because she was well aware of their popularity. Sorry! I tried!

Okay, I have got to do my first field assignment. Man, are those mother's long! I have almost all of it done except for the last question which is somewhat of an essay. I feel like I'm still waiting for my brain to catch up to the time change because I have been somewhat dim the last couple days. I can't think of quick as I normally can. I've even been playing Brain Quest on Nintendo DS and have improved my Sudoku time dramatically!