Trivia, toilets, and Thai -- oh my!

Yesterday we went to a trivia night at a local bar with some of the other American students here. It has become a weekly tradition for the group. They're determined to beat the New Zealanders at their own game! It was certainly unlike any other trivia night I've attended, with questions such as the following:

• Name the famous New Zealand cricketer pictured here!
• These three rugby players retired in which year?
• Who trained the horse that won this race?
• Which netball team merged with this other netball team in 1996?
• Name one of the three singers in New Zealand's hottest band, Atomic Kitten!
• Which female duo sang back-up for Wham?

Nevertheless, Team FREEDOM! was in the lead for several rounds... but we came in third at the end. We'll try again next week!

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Look what we found in the camping section of a local store. It comes with a snap-on toilet seat!

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We had dinner tonight at Food Alley, one of the many fine "food courts" of Auckland. This particular food court boasts 10-15 different stands -- Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish, Malaysian, and Indonesian. There is one stand ("Alley Cats") that sells only drinks (including beers and cocktails). Each place has a menu featuring 15 or 20 pictured meals, for easy ordering. Most meals cost about $10. My pineapple fried rice was cooked to order and was delicious! The crowd was varied, from long-haired hipsters to a gentleman sipping wine with his meal. We'll have to return and eat our way around the world (or at least East Asia!).