Safe and Sound

After a long journey, I am finally safe and sound in Swanson, New Zealand. I have been here for the entire day, which is Monday here (Sunday in America) and have spent my time becoming familiar with the area and getting myself situated.

When we arrived in Auckland this morning, we had a somewhat interesting situation on the plane. We were told that we had an unwanted visitor on the plane with us. Miranda and I had no idea what they were referring to. Come to find out, a fly from America had come with us on the plane and New Zealand will not allow bugs form another country to be introduced into their environment for fear of destroying the agriculture. So, the agricultural department came on board with insecticide and sprayed down the entire plane until they knew that the culprit had been eliminated.

Once that was over, we had an easy time coming into the country and finding our bags. Miranda's house mum was able to pick us up form the airport and take us to a park where we were able to see the beautiful skyline.

These are some pictures of the island from on top of One Tree Hill. It's park of a gorgeous park that is close to the Auckland airport.

Once we got home, I made sure to get myself situated and take a short nap! I spent some time chatting with my host mum, Rachel, and learned a lot about her and the experiences that she has had. We then went to pick Miranda up and go see the school that we will be volunteering at, as well as the town. We then all had supper together.

Now it is time for me to get some sleep! I have had a long day but can't wait to see what tomorrow is going to bring when I am able to meet my kiddos! For those of you in the US, have a happy Monday. For me, tomorrow is happy Tuesday!