So I've decided to tell you all about Christmas before I go backwards to tell you about Motiti Island and other adventures!
I'm now working 2 jobs here in the Mount; during the week I can be found at Mount Backpackers, the hostel I used to live at, working reception. This is a pretty sweet deal because I still have many friends staying at the hostel. Nothing's better than getting paid to hang out with your favorite backpackers!
During the weekends you will find me covered in ice cream and syrup serving families delicious treats at Yumm! This is also a VERY sweet deal because I get to eat pancakes for lunch and all the ice cream I want! My housemates also enjoy the free pancakes, ice cream and soda I bring home for them!
This was my first Christmas away from my family which hit me harder than I thought it would! Leading up to Christmas day it didn't feel very Christmasy given the warm temperature and palm trees! And when Christmas Eve. was finally here, while working at the hostel during the day, I found myself getting pretty sad missing our family's annual traditions back home. The holidays really are about family I've realized, so I am very lucky to have made an amazing little family over here! Yvonne, my boss at Mount Backacker's/my Mom away from home, gave me a bottle of Champagne and a box of chocolates! She is an amazing woman and I would be lost here without her! I feel very lucky to have met her and Mom and Dad, you can feel better knowing there's someone looking out for me on the other side of the world!
After work I headed home where I failed at making a pumpkin pie as well as Grandpa's famous fruitcake. My oven is very tiny and old and I couldn't find the right ingredients for the fruitcake over here! But it's the thought that counts so at least I tried keeping Grandpa's spirit alive even if his fruitcake didn't make it in New Zealand! I made up for my baking disasters by putting everyone's names on Santa hats with glitter and making shell pets with a couple of the coolest guys I know! I really think the guys got into it more than I did!
After craft time André and I headed to church. The church was beautiful and most of the service consisted of singing Christmas carols which I know my family members would have loved! We even sang a Maori Christmas song! The best part of the service was the minister who wore a santa hat the entire time with the words "Merry Christmas" flashing in green lights! Only in New Zealand!
André and I then headed to meet our friends at the hostel for a bit before heading to bed! The stars were pretty amazing on Christmas Eve and looking at the sky reminded me of every Christmas Eve as a child when I used to look at the stars with my Dad hoping to finally catch a glimpse of Santa and his sleigh!
Christmas morning I woke up to screaming children upstairs and 2 little kittens cuddled on my chest :)
I started Pumpkin Pie #2 which I finally got right! Then I got to skype with my crazy family who was celebrating their Christmas Eve! Their performance of some favorite Christmas carols made it a musical experience I know André will never forget :)
We then headed to the hostel to meet up with the rest of our backpacker family for our giant secret santa exchange! I have to say, we are all very creative gift givers! Here are some of the highlights, and yes that is a box of marshmallows shaped like inappropriate private parts that I received...sorry Mom!
After the presents we took all the food we had made for our giant feast and brought it down to the bay! When planning a big holiday meal remember; it's always good having a few foreign chefs as friends!
(Delicious meal complete with 2 Turkeys, a Ham and all the fixins!)
The weather could not have been more perfect and everyone looked great in their bathing suits and santa hats!
(Happy Housemates!)
After a satisfying meal, some swimming and a little hoola-hooping we packed up and headed to the main beach where I watched André have a Christmas surf.
Back at the house, Nicky (the woman who lives upstairs and is also our landlord), had prepared a big Christmas dinner! She even invited some of our friends to join! I can't even describe how delicious everything was and had my camera not died I would've taken a picture of the beautiful display! It was nice getting to spend time with Ashlyn and Daniel (the 10 year old twins of Nicky) as well since I always feel like Christmas isn't the same without children! We all sat around the porch eating and laughing and I had a moment where I thought, "How amazing is this Christmas?" In that porch there were people from every corner of the world all coming together to celebrate this year.
Next came New Years Eve! I had originally planned on being in Sydney this year for New Years but I guess love changes everything! I changed my flight to Sydney to March 16th and stayed in the Mount with my wonderful boyfriend and family of friends. There was supposed to be a big celebration on the beach but everything got washed out by the rain! The night turned out to be pretty amazing despite the bad weather. Once again, Nicky managed to create another amazing meal for us, complete with Granny's favorite; lemon meringue pie! I always love spending time with her family!
After dinner we headed to our friend's apartment where we played some games and rang in the new year! We even got to see fireworks from the balcony!
New Years day was by far one of my favorite days I've had here. After working hard these last few weeks, Andre and I finally had a day off together to do absolutely nothing but relax! We slept in late, had a nice breakfast and hung out in our backyard all day! 2012 is definitely starting off right...and it got even better when I finally received Christmas cards and packages from my family! I thought I was going to have to wait an entire year before eating fruitcake again so thank GOD my parents surprised me with a whole fruitcake allll for me! And Christmas wouldn't be the same without Christmas cookies so thank you Tammy!
Hope everyone had happy holidays! Happy New Year! Til next time!
