Homestay Weekend: Ben & Josh with Stephan and the Boys

Ben Hepler (Messiah, '12) writes:

I was extremely excited when I found out that my home stay host was an outdoor enthusiast. It didn’t bother me at all either that his wife would be away for the weekend, and Josh and I would be going to a house of four Kiwi “blokes” (ages 8, 11, 12 & over 30ish). I pictured us doing all sorts of manly activities, which wasn’t far from the truth. I also learned, however, that Kiwi brothers are the same as American brothers: they fight constantly, love practical jokes, and throw temper tantrums when they don’t get their own way. In other words, there was never a dull moment this weekend.

As far as activities go, I was not disappointed. Saturday, we went four-wheeling on the beach. I had never four-wheeled before, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first time. Being all guys, we had to also build a fire on the beach. As outdoorsman, you would think that we would do it by rubbing two sticks together. Wrong! Our host, Stephan, was smart enough to bring a can of highly flammable hairspray. Soon, we had a nice fire going, and we even saw a dolphin about 20 meters offshore. Later that day, we watched a junior league rugby match. It’s such an exciting game to watch, and Josh and I both hope to form a touch rugby team of CCSP students (hopefully we won’t be the laughing stock of Kaikoura!). My favorite single event of the weekend was when Steph spotted a rabbit in a field and began to chase after it in his truck. We were all cheering and laughing. It was great! (Don’t worry, the rabbit got away!).

After a great church service at New Life on Sunday, we had a great lunch of roast chicken. We also had a few more laughs as the boys had a few more arguments. I even got to fight the youngest. I think I won, but Josh thought it was disputable. The main event of the trip was a diving/spear-fishing excursion later in the day. Steph kept on telling us how cold it would be, but we really didn’t care. There are two things I made note of about the diving trip. First, that it was in fact freezing cold. Despite the fact that I was wearing a wet suit, I felt like I was swimming in a glass of ice. I literally could not stop shivering when I got out of the water. Second, it was amazing! It’s like a different world down there. The bull kelp made it seem like swimming in an underwater forest. Steph caught a pretty big crayfish, which he cooked for us later that evening. It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Josh and I both cannot wait for our next dive (hopefully it will be warmer next time).

“I couldn’t have asked for a better home stay weekend experience.” That’s exactly what I told our host when he dropped us off Sunday night, and I meant it.

-Ben