I travelled on a flight from L.A. to Auckland, NZ with about 150 other students in my AustraLearn study abroad program. We arrived in Auckland after a 12 ½ hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. We were served dinner and breakfast on the plane; I only got out of my seat once to move around! The plane was huge! I slept for about 6 hours. It was kind of hard to get really comfortable. We were greeted at the airport by AustraLearn staff and boarded chartered buses. We drove 3 hours south to a town called Rotorua. We stayed at a hostel in this town for three nights while we did our program introduction. AustraLearn gave us helpful information about how to adapt to life in New Zealand and to ease our transition into our new university. While in Rotorua we went caving at Waitcomo Cave which was about two hours from Rotorua. This was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. We wore wetsuits and swam around in the cave and floated on inner tubes down a river in the cave. We also went to a real Maori village. The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. We watched the Maori people perform a dance for us and we feasted on an authentic Maori meal. I also went luging. I got to see lots of pretty scenery around the north island. Lots of farm land and wide green open spaces with mountains in the distance--so pretty!
After 4 days I flew to the south island of NZ with the 70 other students from AustraLearn who are attending the University of Otago with me. It has been so much fun getting settled into life here in Dunedin, the town where the "uni" is located. Dunedin is definitley a college town with the activities in town centered around the students. Last week was something called "O Week", which stands for orientation week the week before classes begin. Basically, it's just one big party for a week straight. There is an annual toga parade where freshmen Otago students wear togas and get eggs thrown at them by upperclassmen. It is a tradition that has been going on at Otago for 75 years. I didn't take part in the egg throwing but I saw the aftermath of it around town and it was quite disgusting. It made worldwide news as it got more out of hand than in past years. A very interesting tradition that would never be allowed in the States, that is for sure.
I learned how to kayak the other day in the Otago Harbour. I went on a train ride the other evening with the rest of the other international students at Otago. We road through the countryside and got to see lots of pretty scenery in the mountains. I plan to go camping on the beach this weekend and go tramping (hiking) on Sunday. The beach is about a 15 min bus ride from where I live. My friends and I have been going to the beach as much as possible and soaking in the lasts few days of summertime left here in Dunedin. The beach is gorgeous and the water is really blue. I may try surfing tomorrow, we'll see how that goes! I also went to a cricket match the other day but it got rained out so I didn't get to see them play. Hopefully another time. I do plan on going to a rugby game here at Otago soon! People in NZ are obsessed with rugby like Americans are about football. Rugby seems a lot more intense than football because it is just as rough but they do not wear any pads and the game is constantly going even when a player gets tackled.
The people of NZ, referred to as Kiwis, are wonderful people. They are so friendly and I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know lots of them. I have great Kiwi neighbors and I love learning about the Kiwi way of life. It is so laid-back here in NZ and everyone is so easy-going. It's so nice being in a culture where people are not in a hurry all the time. I've also noticed that Kiwis are not so concerned with having the fanciest of clothes, cars, things, etc. as we Americans often are. For example, the majority of the cars that people drive around here are atleast 15 years old...but no one even cares. There are also very few SUVs here.
Random things about NZ:--They drive on the left side of the road. I'm still having a hard time remembering to look right before I cross the road. They do not yield for pedestrians here so I really have to pay attention and turn my head about 5 times before I cross the road so I don't get hit. I had a close call the other day.
--I go to the grocery store, or the supermaket as they call it, and can bring my shopping cart filled with my grocercies home to my flat and the supermarket will pick it up from your flat the next day--very convenient service!
--Dinner=tea, sandals=jandals, bathing suit=tog, classes=papers, schedule=timetable, cheers=thank you
--you call your professors by their first names even if they have a doctorate
--America is a big influence on NZ and countless times references are made about America in the classroom. Just today my sociology professor was talking about 9/11
--I am 5 hours behind central time in the U.S. but one day ahead---that's an easier way to look at it than trying to count 19 hours back to figure out what time it is at home!
There's so much more that I think about on a daily basis that I think would be intersting to share but of course I can't think of all of them right now, so I'll just have to save those thoughts for another post. This one's already really long and if you've made it all the way to this point, congrats, and I thank you for reading!
Please email me! I'd love to hear from you! Hope everyone is doing well! Talk with you soon...
Love,
Maddin
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