My first Week of classes

Well, I began my first week of classes this week and it has been information overload but I'm enjoying it...

We began the week with a Maori welcome and official pinning of our sessions banner, which I had the privilege of pinning...

Our session name is "Prayer Warriors" so I was very proud to have been asked to pin the banner on the flag...

I've had a fun week of orientation and on Monday night, us girls went out and celebrated Alison's birthday (Gloria Hobb's niece) and when I got home very late, the moon was out looking very spectacular so I tried to take a photo of it but as you can see, it just looks like a little dot - it actually looked more spectacular that this photo...

As I was taking a photo, my rowdy girlfriends drove past my unit and all yelled out "Cheese" so I took a photo of them as you can see below... I'm sure they'll be very pleased I have published them on my blog...

AND A BIG THANK YOU TO THE FAITH FACTORY FOR MY BEAUTIFUL AND MOST PERFECT GIFT THAT WAS DELIVERED ON MY FIRST DAY OF CLASSES - I WAS VERY IMPRESSED THAT MY GIFT BASKET WAS FILLED WITH DIET COKE CANS - SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FAITH FACTORY FAMILY - I MISS YOU HEAPS!!!

A week of sight seeing

I've had an exciting week...

I've been up to Pukaha wildlife reserve up at Mt Bruce and have seen some very big eels get fed as well as the native Kaka (kind of like the Kea)...

Anyone, who knows me well, knows I have a love for birds and especially native NZ birds so it has been such a thrill for me to get up close to these beautiful native birds...

Then I had the awesome opportunity to go to Karori wildlife reserve in the middle of Wellington. This park is amazing, it is in the middle of the city and it is like walking into NZ bush 200 years ago - all the bush is like it once was and there is a great number of native birds thriving in this bush that you would not see in the wild any longer. I walked for a good 3 hours in that bush and heard the beautiful birdsongs of the bellbird, hihi, saddleback, kaka, North Island Robin, Grey warbler, Whitehead, Weka, tomtit, tui, fantail, etc... it was amazing as I have never heard this in my lifetime before because our forests just don't have these birds anymore... I even got to see some of these birds sitting in the trees - in the wild - truly amazing. I don't know if you can see him, but below is a photo of the North Island Robin - he is very little and was very close but he blends well into the bush. I was so impressed with this place, I brought a membership...
I've been to Castle point, a quaint wee place in the Wairarapa with a lighthouse and an awesome beach...

I went to Masterton and spent a day with the Tong Family, who are doing very well... It was great catching up with them and spending some time with them...

I'm still not done sightseeing yet - I plan to go up to Kaitoke national park for a tramp and view the place where they filmed the scene of "Rivendell" in Lord of the Rings.

School starts next week for me so I'm going to try and get as much as I can in before I get really busy...

Amanda's little herb & vege garden

I'm all settled into my little unit in Upper Hutt.

I noticed that there is a little garden out the back that has been - say about 4 years - let go so there are a lot of weeds and dried up dirt.

I decided, with the permission of BCM, to weed the garden and dig it up.

After turning the dirt over, I planted a lot of herbs because I love cooking with herbs and a few vegetables (the ones I use a lot, like red capsicums, spring onions, bok choy, spinach, carrots, cherry tomatoes, etc...)

So my herb & vege garden is complete, now I am just waiting on the sun and my watering can to do it's work. Hopefully my little garden will save me money.

Amanda has finally reached BCM

I arrived at BCM on Monday, 4th Feb with my parents, who drove a van full of all my stuff.

I am in Unit 4 at the college - a cosy 2 bedroom unit.

We unpacked and set up late Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday.

My parents left early Wednesday morning and I finally completed my set up.

It's been a little strange sitting in my unit thinking about where I was last week and where I am now.

I have had a few moments of feeling a little homesick, especially when it was real cold on Tuesday, but I am still very excited about this year.

Kylie came over for a cuppa on Wednesday morning so it was good to catch up with her and I briefly saw Karen on Wednesday morning as well.

I went & had a cuppa with Philippa (a fellow cadet) this morning and we also went for a walk down to Trentham primary school together.

Dale (a fellow single cadet) came over this afternoon to catch up and I got to meet my neighbour, Rochelle (another fellow single cadet) as well.

BCM staff and fellow cadets have been very welcoming so it's been great so far.

I will keep you all posted...