New Friends and Rugby Games

The five of us were sitting around the living room Thursday night, playing “Name that Song” and laughing hysterically, when Jen suddenly shouted, “There goes the hedgehog!” She’d seen him (my under-the-window pal) scurry by just outside the big sliding glass door. Like a shot I had grabbed a dish towel (beware of spikes) and was after it. “It was a huge one,” Jen was saying as I myself scurried into the night.

He WAS huge. About three times the size of my little Pippo at home: the size of a rotund puppy or a very, very small cat. I found him sitting quietly under a spiky bush, very still, like it might make him invisible. I readied myself for a chase, but when I settled the towel over him, he didn’t even budge. I just picked him up. It was almost too easy.


It was basically, like, the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. Jeff (he was thus titled by Steven, for reasons unknown) was an extremely chill hedgehog. Within minutes, his spikes were laying flat, enabling some nice petting. I ditched the towel.

I did let him back out into the yard eventually, but it’s nice to know he’s around whenever I want a good cuddle.

In other news, last night we attended my first ever professional rugby game: The Auckland Blues vs. the Wellington Hurricanes. It was a pre-season game, but the stands were still quite packed and excitement was high. There were more people in Kerikeri than I’ve seen yet.

Watching rugby is extremely exciting, especially when it’s all taking place just a few meters away. Guys get smashed into the ground or skid along the grass for several feet. It was a fast-paced game: lots of running, some very poor kicking. The final score was 33-22 (Blues won.) And the THIGHS of these guys. Holy crap. They’re literally the size of tree trunks.

Afterwards, Jamie and Lewis (major rugby fans) got the autographs of their favorite All Blacks players (the All Blacks is New Zealand’s very, very good international team.) Also I hugged one of them. He was extremely sweaty.