The trials and tribulations of being an American in New Zealand...

Ah, it's tough sometimes. George Bush was in Australia at the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) conference all last week. The most memorable moments were him referring to it as OPEC (uh, that's something a LITTLE different) and and thanking the Austrians for their help in Iraq. The Austrians will be quite surprised to find out that they've sent troups and would probably wonder why the thanks were given at an Asia Pacific conference. Sigh. Is he turning into Dan Quayle? It's made all the news, and I've had a few people comment to me about it. Then on top on that the US Dollar is continually dropping, even within the week I've been here, quite dramatically. I hope it goes up again before I hit the next ATM! Many people here have asked if I'm Canadian. That's mostly because of the tried and true statement that you can't offend an American by calling them Canadian, but the same is not true vice versa. However, a few people have told me that I distinctly sound Canadian, so maybe that's the Minnesota coming through.

I'm in Rotorua for a super quick 26 hour stop after my last few sunny and active days in Mt. Maunganui, including my first jet boat ride. So much fun! Unfortunately, the good luck gave out again and I spent an incredibly rainy day at the Maori "theme park". My impressions may have been better if I wasn't getting soaked, if the exhibits and tour guides hadn't been drowned out by the packs of Japanese visitors with their own guides who shouted over everything else and if the geysers which make this place famous hadn't just quit erupting, and were dormant for the rest of my visit. Apparently the large one erupts about 20 minutes for every hour, but I still managed to miss all of them. But I did get to see 2 kiwi birds, which are very hard to see as they are both endangered and nocturnal.

Tomorrow I fly to Queenstown where I plan to stay for the rest of the week, and then work my way back to Auckland via bus and ferry for my October 5 flight to Sydney.