Hello again!

The weather is lovely when it's not raining! The photos below show the walk I take from my rental down to the beach.

I take the footpath ahead and then clamber down lots of steps to get to the sea.

This is the view from the top of the stairs - it's all so beautiful!
And here I am at the bottom of the stairs, nearly at the beach.














Once there, I happily plopped around in the mud and watched the slimy shell creatures make their slow journeys across the sticky brown beach (the tide was out). I had a lovely time squelching up and down the shore.

Kids were out there too making the most of their 2 week school break. It was so relaxed and quiet - everyone just pottering about, building sandcastles, sunbathing, poking things under rocks, reading etc etc.......

Off on a tangent now - Another word that I have noticed used here in a different way than is normal to the average Brit is 'stink'. When something bad happens or you don't want to do something (like the kids in my class!) then that is really STINK!

"Today we're going to do lots of maths, including arduous long division!"
"STINK!".

"He robbed their home and left nothing behind".
"That's really STINK".

As opposed to the Brit version:

"He didn't flush the loo"
"Pooah - what a stink!"

Also being poorly is not always understood - a South African friend of mine laughed when I said it and told me it sounded like an excerpt from an Enid Blyton book! Some kiwis thought I was saying I was poor. Oh well - all fun and games.

Yoghurt is pronounced in the American way over here - so when I was talking about it in relation to Healthy Eating at school - the kids collapsed with laughter, all concentration was lost and the lesson came to an abrupt halt with lots of copies of my English accent saying "yoghurt" in a very pronounced way. Ah well - I do try you know!

Spent yesterday with Kiwi friend and daughters trying to get them to say Aero properly and was rewarded with a chocolate Aero bar! Don't think they're convinced that mine is the correct way to say it though!

Went to Sylvia Park yesterday too - a new shopping centre - very nice - reminded me of a cross between Fosse Park and the Bull Ring. There was some filming going on there too - but we managed to desist from walking to and fro past the camera making funny faces and exaggerated movements.

We are still house hunting with a vengeance! Spent most of my 2 weeks off doing so...... Even got stung on my foot by a bee whilst having a quick look outside - yeouch that hurt. My hopping around and squeals of pain must have brightened up the other house viewers' day I expect. Probably looked totally stupid bouncing around on one foot trying to poke out the sting asap! Spent the following 2 days inspecting said foot to make sure toe hadn't fallen off or gone black - you'll be glad to hear that my toe only itched for 2 days and I am still fit and healthy!

However, on the house front, we may be getting close - so will keep you up-to-date!

Back to work tomorrow - boooo! Ah well - only 10 weeks til the long summer hols and lots of boogie boarding with family and friends.

Take care - and to all fellow Brits, I shall continue my crusade on correct pronounciation for all! I will make you proud! Ha ha.

See ya!

x Sue