today was my second full day here. i already love it! i've made a generalization about all of the people from Auckland; they are the most welcoming, laid back, funny people of all the countries i have visited. really everyone here has been so wonderful. my family is great and very lively. they are open with one another and with me and make it easy for me to feel at home and comfortable, as coming into someone else's home can be awkward. they have more wine glasses than any other cup in their house which is fine by me!

so this morning i went into school for a little bit just to meet my teacher and see my way around, that sort of thing. what a wonderful place. here children start school on the day of their 5th birthday. crazy right?!? so children are coming in every week as new students and they just fill up their classrooms, and once they reach 18 they move on to the next teacher. i will be interested to ask my teacher more about what she thinks of this process. our classroom is full but it would be interesting to see what its like when new children are coming in all the time. but anyways, my little ones are precious! if you thought you liked accents then you would love these little ones. i can't get enough. favorite quote of the day "look mrs turner i can balance my lunch box on my head," funnier seen/hear probably, but it made me laugh. i can also tell i'm going to come to love morning tea. a sort of snack period that happens just before 11:00. on fridays the teacher go up to the staff room and there is a lot of food and the principal (the funniest man!) makes announcements and people share things. its fun. and i think its great that all the teachers are so close to one another! or at least are so involved in knowing what is happening with all the grades at the school.

so, so far so good! i'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. i'm going to watch my first game of net ball tomorrow, similar to basketball but with no backboard. i'll have to report back. also plan on making some of my traveling plans this weekend which will be great! so happy weekend to you all, hope its a wonderful one. and as they say in NZ, cheers!