Living in an RV

Oh my! Living in a RV, or campervan ( or in the words of President Tuipi,"We can't tell you what Kiwis call them because kids are present." ) has been hard. We've learned it's common for both travelers and locals to rent (or hire) a van and use them to travel. Mike, a man we met in the branch, told us last night that its cheaper for a family in New Zealand to travel/live in a motorhome than to stay in hotels. So, that helped us feel good about our decision. 

Living in the RV has been hard. The space is small. We spend a large majority of our day taking care/cleaning the van and driving it which means less time to get things done. Today Sister Goodman said, "Maybe you should have left your children with one of the grandmas and them fly over later." She could see how stressful this is for all of us to be in such a small space with all our luggage, etc. BUT (I'm tired so I have a tired perspective) it's been working. We've been able to get around. It's cheaper to drive the RV the ride the bus. It's a pretty simple camper for 6 people: 3 double beds, kitchenette, storage, shower and toliet. The nice thing about renting an RV has been the amenities that come with it. We were surprised to find that they provide all the bedding, linens, dishes, etc. So, we've been able to keep our stuff stored up for when we find a place, or we've had extra blankets if we needed them. 

We do stay in KOA-like camp grounds. It's still cold here, so wIe need the electricity to run the heater. Last night we stayed behind the small chapel in Cambridge. It was nice because we didn't have to pay for a night, but it was pretty chilly. 

Eric lost his first tooth yesterday. 

The dinner at President Tuipi's house was so fun. He and his wife live with her grandma, her father and their children. The Elders were also at the dinner. They were so funny and helpful. They explained to me that college students are high school students in New Zealand. So, I shouldn't tell people I taught at a college. We had a great fresh meal and a fun dessert. It was a chocolate bread pudding with ice cream and cream with a custard topping as a option. Holy dairy! It was one of the best experiences we've had so far. 

We went to the mission office today. They told us we can use the internet and printers if we need. Apparently most Kiwi business is conducted online. We met another sister from Draper. We are really gaining a testimony of couple missionaries. We could see and sense they were important, but its been the couple missionaries serving here that have been the greatest asset to us. We've been SO GRATEFUL for them. 

Photos courtesy of Suzanne. . .or Eric. . .or whoever had the camera at the time. ;) 

Eric, Luke, Suzanne and Ryan all have chest colds. We found out today, at a pharmacy, that it is pretty common for long travelers to get chest colds a few days after they arrive in New Zealand. Our banker told us she gets a cold everytime she leaves the country and returns. At the pharmacy we got a medication for the exact symptoms. It's called Chesty Forte. I looked up the active ingredients. . .not approved by the USDA. We had to laugh, but it's working great ;)

(RANDOM FACTS: Kiwis travel overseas A LOT! Traveling outside the country is almost the norm. They also are provided LONG holidays, or vacations, where they go to the beach, travel the country, whatever for 3 or more weeks at a time. The minimum wage in New Zealand is 16.50 NZD, or 12.50 USD.)  

One of our favorite finds for the day was were the "American" foods at the grocery store. Mexican food made in Israel :) An American brownie that is really a cake. I put a picture on Facebook. A prepared "American hot dog" meal that consisted of fresh sausage-like hot dogs (they almost NO processed foods here), HUGE rolls that were supposed to be buns and slices of cheese. They have cheese, or other dairy products, with every meal it seems. 

We also learned that Hamilton is the foggiest city in New Zealand, during the winter. Elder Banks, an English national, said it is more like England than any other area he's lived. We've noticed that every town we've been to has streets named after classic English writers: Browning, Shakespeare, Marlow, Keates. Downtown Hamilton has a surprising amount of "adult" stores. . .interesting observations.