SEVENS!

For those of you back in the states who have never really seen rugby before, there is a very good chance that you haven't heard of Sevens. "Sevens" rugby is where instead of playing 11 vs. 11, they play 7 vs. 7 in short games. As our luck would have it, it overlapped with our time in Wellington! Another wonderful thing about Sevens is that everyone dresses up in ridiculous costumes- think Halloween + Mardi Gras with some rugby thrown in. There's also an opening parade where countries get to introduce their teams and a bit of their culture. I feel like the best way to sum up this weekend is with one of my "things I learned" lists. Here we go people...

1) Cheering on the national sports team for your country while in another country makes you so much more proud of everything they do. I didn't even really see any of the matches until the last two on television, but I was so proud of our American team.


2) Professional rugby players are really nice (or at the least the USA ones are). Maybe it's because they don't get as much national attention as other professional players, but they didn't mind taking pictures or chatting for a minute.

3) If you spend a day working on your HTS paper down at the Alexander Turnball Library during Sevens, you absolutely won't regret having gotten that much work done. You will, however, be disappointed that you missed 20 Australian boys prancing around the playground outside your dorm in $300 Care Bear costumes. (Thanks for the picture Kari!)

4) American Flag leggings are worth the money. You will wear them more than once, I promise.

5) When you find yourself with three costumes for the weekend (Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls, Rattata the Pokemon, and just... USA), you should put on your puppy dog eyes and convince one of your goofiest guy friends to spend the next 12 hours in purple leggings so he can be Rattata instead.

6) Gabe is a really good sport... and a convincing Rattata. 4 Pikachus actually challenged him to a battle!

7) When you don't have a costume and you're supposed to be leaving in an hour, MAKE A TOGA! You're welcome Scott.

8) You don't need a beach to lay out and get a tan. The grassy steps near the Wellington Harbor's "Boathouse" is a great place to spend an afternoon (and delicious gelato is only steps away!)

9) When trying to look like you're a flying powerpuff girl, kick forwards not backwards. What can I say? I'm uncoordinated. It's part of my charm.

10) Courtney Place is where you should go during Sevens, especially on Saturday night. Between impromtu dance parties to music by street performers, thousands and thousands of crazy people (and their amazing costumes), and being able to buy pineapple on a stick before you make the long trek back home, I can definitely say the experience was something I won't forget.

11) I never thought I would say this... I think I like rugby better than football. To me, they're both similar and fun to watch, but in rugby it's continuous action and less whining about them being tackled. For example, I'm pretty sure in the Kenya vs. England final I witnessed a guy break a rib. He layed on the ground for a minute or so (there was no pause for a medical assessment) withering in pain, and then got up and started playing again. Long story short- watch some rugby.

That's it for now! In less than 12 hours, I'll be on a flight to Queenstown for a weekend of jumping off things and doing an excessive amount of water sports. Also, thanks to everyone who actually reads this blog! I did it more as a journal for myself, but I'm glad to see that at least a few people are enjoying it :).