My First Week in New Zealand

Kia Ora! Between AustraLearn orientation, exploring the country, and moving into my flat in Auckland, the past week of my life has been very busy, but very exciting!! So here's a little update:

If you didn't already know, New Zealand is in the future, so things are very different here (it's just like in the Jetsons, flying cars and everything). The time difference is about 18 hours- so for those of you on the East Coast, its about 11:55pm on Tuesday, February 23rd; here in Auckland, its about 17:55 (or 5:55pm) on Wednesday, February 24rd. Getting to the future was no fun- I left Rockaway, NJ around 9 am, took a 2pm flight from Philadelphia, took off from LAX at 10pm (local time), and flew for 13 hours over the Pacific Ocean to land in Auckland International at 5:30am local. After collecting all of my luggage and surviving customs (apparently sand in hiking boots is a biohazard), I piled onto the bus with 100 other AustraLearn students for a three hour bus ride to Rotorua (meaning "two lakes" in the Maori language), where our orientation would take place.

The North Island countryside is beautiful, and we got to explore it a little during our orientation, as well as experience some of the outdoors activities that New Zealand prides itself on. I went Zorbing (which is basically rolling down a hill in a giant hampster ball), saw a sheep shearing show (they are super serious about their farms- and it's true that there are a ton of sheet in New Zealand), and went swiming/tubing/hiking through a cave in Wiatomo. As a geology student, I am required to think that caves are pretty much the coolest things out there, but the best part was all the glow worms on the ceiling of the cave. We were all dressed in wet suits, hard hats and muck boots, and had the opportunity to jump into deep water and swim or tube through parts of the cave. It was an amazing feeling to be laying on your back in a pitch black cavern and look up to the ceiling and see a Milky Way of little green glowing orbes, Planet Earth style.

While in Rotorua, we also had the opportunity to visit and eat dinner at Tamaki Village, a traditional Maori village and learn the Haka, a Maori dance made famous by the All Blacks, the New Zealand rugby team. The story we learned told the story of a cheif who was protected from enemy armies by hiding in a cellar with his wife's legs spread over the door, which no enemy soldier would dare to go between (this is because the Maori believe that the gate to hell is contained in a woman's genitals).

On Sunday, we drove from Rotorua back up to Auckland, and moved into our flat in Auckland. I am on the seventh floor of a building with a (very small) view of the harbour and the sunset between some neighboring buildings. I am right in the center of the city, near Auckland Domain, the SkyTower, and Queen Street. You can find my building on GoogleEarth or Maps by searching for Wellesley Apartments, AUT, or University of Auckland. I've spent the past few days exploring the city and getting settled into my flat and new campus. Yesterday, a group of us went out to Wiaheke Island, one of the barrier islands in Auckland Harbour- it is paradise. This country is absoulutely beautiful! Pictures will be posted soon to Facebook and/or Picasa.

Anyways, for your entertainment, some Kiwi humour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjtdQ9JP7h4 (togs are bathing suits btw).

Love,
Rachael