The First Week in Kiwi Town

So I've been here long enough to really have a legitimate opinion. The short answer is that life down here is quite enjoyable. I've yet to do anything I haven't liked and most of the people I've been meeting are all really fun. The University often jokes that any student form the US brave and cool enough to choose N Zed (as they call is), already have something great in common with each other. I think there's some truth to it really. Everyone I've met is so laid back and ready for anything.

I spent my last days alone checking out some areas around Auckland City Center. Of the worthy destinations was Mt. Eden and Mission Bay. Mt. Eden is a part of Auckland and in the center there is a dormant volcano you can hike up. From there you can see pretty much all of downtown. I'm told I should go back at dusk and see the sun set and I could see how that would be nice. On a clear day you can see quite far from the top. There's also this huge creator about 800 meters wide that just sort of comes out of no where while you're hiking up. Mission Bay is another suburb of Auckland and it's main attraction is a huge park that surrounds a really popular and beautiful beach. New Zealand is said to have 4 seasons and every day and I got there sometime between fall and winter because it was really cloudy and cold in the middle of what was a perfect day.

Seclusion ended with a flat wide BBQ Sunday. I met pretty much everyone that I'll be sharing the complex with and for the most part everyone was pretty great. It's a unique dynamic here in the flats. I have a room bellow the main courtyard but everything above it is wide and open so you can pretty much talk to anyone across the way from one apartment to the other. The occupants are mostly American or European. Kiwi's are actually a minority but I've met some great Kiwi's randomly. At the BBQ I met my third roommate, Lindsy, whose from Washington DC and studying for her masters. So far I love living in my flat and everyone in the complex is a lot of fun.

The past couple of days have been a combo of dense and relaxing. I've pretty much settled in completely and I've had a good chance to see more of Auckland. Today we went to a huge beach in the north (forgot to take pictures) which was wide open and surrounded by these 30 feet cliffs on both ends and a huge grassy hills behind it...and that's just the local beach. We've also done a lot of bonding back at the flats. The Americans decided it would be great to teach all the international students and locals Beer Pong. It was pretty funny watching Kiwi's discover and then reject the typical American frat boy past time.

All and all I'm having a blast. The last 4 days have been about meeting people and the next 4 are about seeing New Zealand. Tomorrow I leave for a 4 day road trip south centered around hiking the Tongariro Crossing, or Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings films. We have a basic plan and a car we're renting so I'm sure we'll have a good time. I'm going to wait to put up picture until after the trip since I'm planning on coming back with some great ones.

The First Impressions

I'm finally here!!! Today I got in at 6am and got to my dorm at 8:30. Imagine a Village B with single bedrooms and a lock. Not to shabby. The complex has 24 "flats" and most of them have 5 rooms (mine has 4). The bathroom is nice and all that greats stuff. There a big courtyard on the inside with a ping pong table, grill, vending machine and benches. I'm very pleased to say the least.

Around 11:30 I started out on my first exploration. The University is about a 7 minute walk (uphill both ways...) from my front step. Got a little a lost but for the most part sings for everything is everywhere. Got my ID and a chance to meet my adviser who was really impressed by how together and organized I was. I get the impression that it's not so much that I'm really organized and that New Zealand is kind of just laid back. Anyways, I continued to walk around and set up a bank account and got a phone. Both tasks took about 10 minutes (I had dedicated my whole first day to that task). So at around 12:30 i searched for lunch and didn't find anything special. I think I'll be cooking more here because the food options weren't so grand. I guess they are British decedents after all...

When I got back to my room I set up some more things and for the most part I'm really moved in. I need to locate a Bed Bath and Beyond type thing to find some odds and ends but for the most part I'm set. The city is pretty big so I'll have plenty of times to do some exploring. I ended up getting very lost looking for dinner and I saw water at one point but I couldn't tell you much else about it. I've met one roommate thus far, Alethea. She's a Stats PhD student from New Zealand. She's been very nice and while we have nothing to socialize around like a TV or music or anything really, we've made an effort to meet each other. She suggested a park for me to go to tomorrow once I'm done running some errands and in general has been very helpful.

So far everything has been great. Earlier in the day I was a little scared that I had 5 days completely on my own with nothing to do. But now I feel like I'll get some solid exploring in. Tomorrow I'm even trying the bus so we'll see how that goes.

Oh and by the way the money is really weird here. It's super smooth and slick and has these transparent window type things. I don't know how to explain it but it feels pretend. Picture soonish...

The Last Week in the USA

SO…I’m counting down the hours now until I can bored my plane from LA. Now seems like as good a time as any to just give you all a general idea what I’ve been doing in my last American week for a few months.

Matt and I left on a week ago Saturday from home to embark on our week long trip to Tucson, AZ. We kind of sprinted out of the gates so we could spend more time in more foreign parts of the country. Instead of just listing place names and brief descriptions I’ll try and just post some pictures of everything we saw. There was always a picture to be taken on this trip. A lot of different landscapes and views. I’ll just list places names in chronological order and if you want to find out more ask me or google. Hopefully the pictures will go up chronologically too.

So here are the places explored:

Delaware Water Gap
Shenandoah National Park
Nashville, TN
Graceland
The Big Texas Steak Ranch (home of the 72oz steak challenge)
Cadillac Ranch
Palo Duro Canyon
White Sands National Monument
Chiricahua National Monument
Bisbee, AZ
Tombstone, AZ

Those were just the major highlights. We did a lot of great eating and driving. Matt did a great job driving all 3,000 or so miles. Check out the pictures once I figure out how to load them.

After I left Arizona, I flew to LA for a few days visiting friends who go to school out here. Life would have been very different I went to school out here. Pretty much have just been hanging out here. The one adventure worth noting, I got the chance to go to Disneyland and while we were there Thunder Mountain stopped and we had to wait 10 minutes for a “guide” to come get us and take us on a “hike”. Never happened to me.

All and all, my last week here has been a good last impression of home. I’m definitely going to miss it here and only now, 7 hours before my flight, is it hitting me I’m actually going. Very very excited to get to New Zealand. Next post will be once I’m settled.

So until then here's the link to my pictures.