So, 19th to 22nd October 2012. My Birthday Weekend.
Since my birthday fell on a friday, I had to endure classes for the entire day and take a Drug Calc test (which I passed with flying colors, thank you very much). Later that night, I gathered my stuff, hopped on a taxi and then a bus, and was finally on my way to Hamilton.
It was a loooong night. It was freezing, but it was endurable. Let me tell you this, though. A 7-hour bus ride is no joke. So if you don't have anything important, or urgent, or whatnot, don't bother trying it. If you've got the money, just buy a plane ticket and be on your way. Saves you a lot of back and bum pain. =)
Finally arrived at the wee hours of the morning, and after a few minutes of walking around the bus station to keep myself warm, Elbert, driving this borrowed car, arrived. Oh gosh, how I missed him! It felt like months and not weeks since I last saw him. Seeing him always made my heart skip a beat. Like I had premature ventricular contractions. =)
Slept through the rest of the morning and finally, at almost-lunch-hour, I greeted Kuya Inggo, his landlord who is absolutely the best kind of person you'll ever expect to meet in your life. He's just so....generous! I'm too lucky to have been able to meet such an awesome personality in my lifetime. =) One thing he said to me that shocked me? And I quote "Kumain na kayo. Ubusin nyo yang lahat na pagkain sa ref. May cake saka pizza at kung ano ano pa jan." ("Please eat. You can eat everything that's in the fridge. There cake and pizza and whatnot."). How cool is that? For the landlord to just practically give away the keys to the fridge to someone he's just met! Ha! Awesome! =D And of course, who am I, a mere mortal who has not eaten anything proper for the past half a month, to refuse? =D The best things DO come for free! =D
Moving on, spent the afternoon walking around Hamilton City Centre with Elbert. He took me to the lake which was incredible! He's such a great company to be with. Our wavelengths just match, you know? He understands me, even when I'm being difficult. And he puts up with all my nonsense, supports me, and always pushes me to do my best. In actual fact, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to go abroad. I mean, yes, I'm doing this for my family and my future, mainly, but because he pushed me (sometimes, pressuring me even), he made me pursue my dreams harder than I ever thought I'm capable. Even if sometimes, he had to remind me what they were when I lost focus. He's a catch. That I know. =)
So we toured around the place, saw some kids ice skating in broad daylight outside, walked a few more, and then shopped for groceries before heading home. On the way, instead of riding a bus, we did some river trekking. It was marvelous! I never thought I'd enjoy so much walking, and I actually did! We took lots of pictures, naturally, camwhore that I am. =D And then of course, we made some pasta that night to bring with us for our roadtrip-outing the day after. =) It was funny, coz experienced as I was at making pasta, he did all the work. I just did the tasting. Hahaha =) It's nice to know my guy can cook. I love guys who can cook and play guitar. And he does both! =)
Next morning came and I was up early. Elbert told me the night before that we had an early day today so I woke up at 5:30am. Still groggy from sleep, I went ahead and showered the sleepiness off. Prepared for my day, picked the lightest but warmest clothes I can manage (in New Zealand, you never know what the weather is like, so you just have to be prepared for all kinds of things) and ate some more pizza and pasta for breakfast (best meals I've had in 2 weeks! It was mouthwatering after all the bread, meatballs, sausages and noodles I've eaten. =p). And then I was done by 7am. Only, the others weren't.
Elbert and I waited for the rest of them to arrive, and yes, they did...at 10am. Hahaha Could've saved myself a lot more sleep had I known. =) But it was alright. At least I was all ready and itching to go when they arrived. One bad thing though, the weather. The rain was downright pouring buckets! So we decided to wait for a while for the rain to at least simmer down a little. Introductions were done (mostly, me being introduced since I was the only new one in the group) and a little chitchat here and there, and then we were off! =)
I rode with Elbert in one car, and the rest in Christian's. Nifty little gadgets, these GPS are. I'm almost amazed at how we Pinoys find our way to wherever without 'em! Headed down to Hobbiton, Matamata where some of the tiny houses in The Shire (Lord of the Rings) were built. And, like a tradition-in-the-making-everytime-I-go-on-roadtrips, we got lost again. Haha Had to use some of my charm to ask the trusty neighbors to point us the way. Kiwi hospitality is awesome! =) Saw lots and lots of sheep on the way and they were like little maggots from afar! They were sooooo cool! =D
Finally arrived at Hobbiton after a long, winding, nearly-all-little-green-hills-all-the-way scenery. I was so excited I almost jumped out of the car when we stopped! Haha And Hobbiton absolutely did NOT disappoint. We took the 11:00 tour and it lasted for 1hr 45min. =)
With Elbert, Christian, Jep, Loraine, Ate Grace, Ate Rose and a lot of other tourists all scattered around me, the tour around fairytale-land began. It was still drizzling as we walked around so we weren't able to savor the experience as much as we wanted to, but it was indescribably awesome, anyway. Words aren't enough to give you a clear mental picture of the pure beauty that was The Shire. It was as if hobbits might pop out of one corner anytime! Little round entrances of tiny hobbit houses were scattered all around a vast landscape of greenery and there were even realistic hobbit gardens scattered everywhere. It was like a fairytale come to life. And since my vocabulary is failing me in describing the sheer magnitude of the picturesque view, I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Although, seriously? Even the pictures do NOT do the place justice. You really have to go there to experience what I did. =D
There you go. Now what do you say about that, huh? =D Cool, isn't it? =D I know. It was just spectacular! =)
And then...the rain began drowning us again (exaggeration, i know). Thankfully, the tour had ended by then and we started making our way back to the souvenir shop. My friends bought some souvenirs before we headed back down to the main road and toward Hamilton, at Elbert's place, where we decided to have our lunch. Lunch was a feast! The biggest meal I've seen since they took me to that Pinoy restaurant in Auckland when I arrived (sheesh! I sound like a starved woman!). =D We tried going to Hamilton Gardens to visit the gorgeous flowers that began sprouting in the beginning of spring but all to no avail. The rain then was just too much that we can't really walk outside and enjoy a nice day out in the garden so we decided, as an alternative, we'll just spend the rest of the day at Te Awa, Hamilton's biggest mall (I think). Te awa was realatively big but still just a hairlilne compared to the sizes of the malls that I'm used to in the Philippines. I miss going to a mall and just waste your day walking around with friends. =D
The sun soon set and the day ended. The rest of the gang went back to Auckland while Elbert and I stayed longer at Te Awa to shop for his shoes. It was Labour Day weekend so things were on sale. =D
Then the night came and went and the next thing I knew, I was at the bus station trying to fight off tears for leaving, rode the bus bound for Palmerston North, and spent another gruelling 7 hours with back and bum pain. =p This time though, since it was a Day Bus, the bus ride was almost like a tour with the driver mentioning whatever about the places we passed or stopped at. It was fun actually, if not for the length of the ride. =)
Arrived in Palmerston and lo and behold, the town was devoid of life! No cars, no people, no buses. Well, ok, there were a few cars and people, but the shops were closed and there were no buses! So, yeah, in the end, I had no choice but to walk all the way home. Walking from Intercity bus terminal to Kelvin Grove took me an hour and 20min. A feat considering I don't usually walk and I was by myself carrying around this heavy overnight backpack. =D It was an experience I will surely remember. =D
Arrived home in record time and the weekend flew by just like that.
And that's how I spent my birthday weekend. =D
Kudos and many thanks to the best boyfriend in the world, for giving me one of my best weekends ever! =)
xoxo
-hny-
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