It's been a Good Friday

So yeah, it's Good Friday here. Which is cool because I don't recall having ever spent Good Friday in another country before and it's a little different in New Zealand than in the US. More on that later.

Today has been a REALLY long one. Laura and Ev have already gone to bed so I'm braving this internet cafe that has no less than 35 backpackers in it alone. After an early morning and a long flight we arrived in NZ and caught a bus to the hostel where we were staying. Except, it wasn't the hostel where we were staying. It was another one by the same name 10 blocks north. So we started walking and for the first time, I offically felt like a backpacker.

By the time we'd made it we were all a bit tired. Laura and I checked in our room and agreed to meet Ev in ten minutes in the lobby. We got on the elevator, hit the button for our floor and nothing happened. Then we hit the button for other floors. Nothing. Then we started yelling. Nothing. Then we hit the alarm. Finally, some reaction from outside. We heard "I think someone's stuck in the lift." "Yes!!!" we screamed. Silence again. We couldn't stop laughing. Or sweating. It was VERY small and VERY hot in the "lift."

And no one was doing anything.

We screamed again. This time I yelled "EVERETT!!!" as loud as a I could. And I could hear Everett start laughing and say "Oh my gosh." Then his voice got closer. We screamed again.

"Be quiet," he said, clearly exasperated. "They're going to help you. I'm going to go put my stuff in my room, I'll see you in a little bit."

Laura and I felt a little abandoned.

We screamed again. And then we took some pics for memory's sake.

Finally, someone came to the other side and told us to pull the doors as they pulled. As the doors opened, the worker looked at us like we were crazy, complained that her hand her from pulling open the doors and then walked off. Welcome to New Zealand.

The day improved drastically from there. Our room is nice and private. The weather is insanely perfect after the humidity in Fiji. There's a Starbucks across the street (I've already been). We walked in the park, went to the top of the sky needle (or whatever they call it) and hung out down at the harbor where we got dinner and drinks. Interesting note though (back to Good Friday) on Good Friday, they can't sell alcohol to you unless you have food in front of you. So, while we probably would have hung out longer by the harbor, our food was taken away and hence, we were left with nothing.

We wandered for awhile, but everything is closed for the holiday. It's kind of refreshing really compared to the US where CVS is still open 24 hours on Christmas day.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow we're splitting up again. Laura and I are going to an island that sounds like Waikeke and Everett is going to a town that sounds like RoterRuter. I don't know how either are actually spelled. Hopefully we'll figure that out sooner rather than later.

"Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit. The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. When the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said 'Truly this man was the Son of God!'" - Mark 15: 37-39