Bonding Like Super Glue

After wrapping up my "I made it safely" email at the Internet cafe, I headed back to our hotel just in time for our first dinner together as a group. Such gatherings in the early stage of a trip like this can be strikingly similar to walking into a cafeteria on your first day of high school, where you try to make a quick assessment of where to sit without looking like the freshman who's got nobody to sit next to.

Upon my arrival at the hotel, I was happy to see a moderately sized congregation of people from our tour loittering outside of one of the hotel rooms with an assortment of alcoholic beverages in their hands and a decent amount of empty cans and bottles of the social lubricant at their sides. So, while I was out pounding on a keyboard, the rest of the tour was having their first happy hour together and getting to know each other.

So of course, I was destined to be that guy in the cafeteria, with may eyes darting across each table hoping for a friendly face. That was until I heard a "hey, you want a beer?" come my side on my way into dinner.

Ethan's Infamous Sandal

Within a few minutes we had gotten all the basics sorted out, and it seemed readily evident that we had a great group on our hands. I knew it would be good times when a fellow Californian ripped off his sandal to pop open my beer (it had a bottle opener built-in to the bottom).

After dinner, our fearless (and extraordinary) leader Libby led us out for a night on the town, which in a sleepy tourist town like Paihia, essentially means a choice of about 3 bars/clubs. Her theory was that there's nothing like a couple of cocktails to get everyone to bond together as a group, which a few of us had already figured out. We were excited about a 2 for 1 coupon on draft beer that had been passed around, but quickly found out why it was 2 for 1. It had to be the worst tasting beer I've ever had the displeasure of consuming, so I am sure that the only way they are able to move it is to bait people with the special. The second stop of the night was much better, with more palatable libations and some decent billiard and foosball action. By the end of the night, I'd say that Libby's idea worked like a charm: we were ready and excited to spend the next couple of weeks together travelling around New Zealand.

written by

CaliJoe on February 22, 2007 from Paihia, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Time to Visit Some Kiwis in Their Natural Habitat

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